This dissertation is premised on the notions of connectedness and disconnectedness as a
contribution to the field of South African biography. I argue that Harry Gwala's life was
characterised by connectedness and disconnectedness and was shaped by his determination to
remain connected while the state utilised its coercive power to disconnect him. While South
African history has been largely written within the framework of repression and resistance, a
study of Gwala's life enables historians to examine twentieth century history from a different
perspective which focuses on themes of connectedness and disconnectedness. Gwala's rural
background, his training as a teacher and his later involvement in trade unionism enabled him
to develop and maintain connectedness with grassroots sentiments. In an attempt to
disconnect Gwala from these pursuits, he was occasionally tortured and served with banning
orders which restricted his movement and political activities. He was imprisoned on Robben
Island between 1964 to 1972 and 1977 to 1987. While disconnected by banning orders and
constant harassment by state security agents, Gwala continued to retain his connectedness
through underground activities and later through his involvement in re-establishing branches
of the African National Congress after his release from prison in 1988. This dissertation
argues that Gwala was a product of a complex society and varied social milieux which were
all characterised by high levels of class deprivation and exploitation. As he meandered
through various social milieux he developed a working class political approach which
impelled him towards mass mobilisation and opposition to the state's oppressive notion of
race and class. Gwala became a medium to connect various classes and political groupings
during the liberation struggle in South Africa. This biography also makes a contribution to
the emerging body of literature on the histories of resistance politics at local and national
levels in South Africa.


1. In the preceding paper, general expressions are derived for an hypothetical initial equilibrium between multivalent antigen and multivalent antibody, which form the basis for a
2. General theory of precipitation, which postulates a minimal disturbance of the initial equilibrium during aggregation, and a
3. Restricted theory, which specifies the direction of disturbances of the initial equilibrium if antigen and antibody are indeed multivalent.
4. For the special case of lattice-formation, the restricted theory is developed in a preliminary way to permit quantitative description of the composition of precipitates, and more fully to deal with flocculation-times and the meaning of optimal proportions.
5. The restricted theory leads to the concept of selective precipitation, which is probably adequate to explain the small volume effect observed in precipitating systems, and the different effects of excess of either reagent.
6. The relation of structure .to the properties of lattices are considered in connection with the solubility of precipitates and the problem of reversibility of biologic effects of antigen-antibody reactions.
7. Experimental methods are suggested for the measurement of the parameters of lattice-systems, which are three: the maximal valence of antigen, the maximal valence of antibody, and the dissociation-constant of the unit-valence. These, together with concentration-factors, completely define an ideal lattice-system.
8. In the application of the theory to experimental precipitating systems additional parameters such as the homogeneity and functional symmetry of the reactants, and nonspecific associative forces, are considered. In no case do available data clearly show that these influences seriously prejudice the usefulness of the theory. It is likely, however, that such instances will be found.
9. It is suggested that the principal parameter defining the individuality of different immune sera to a given antigen is the dissociation-constant of the specific valence. At present there is no reason to suppose that the diverse properties of different antisera, including their specificity, in any way imply a corresponding diversity of the fundamental immune response.
10. The unit-valence appears to represent an area of contact of the order 10—3 cm2. The relation between the dissociationconstant of the unit-valence and the structure of the antigenic surface is discussed briefly. The dissociation-constant of the immunologic valence is believed to be strongly influenced by associated substances foreign to the specific antibody.
11. The evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the hypothesis that antibody and antigen are multivalent, and that the maximal valence of antibody is small, probably two. The maximal valence of antigen is probably limited primarily by the physical surface of the molecule.
12. Several definitions of practical usefulness are proposed in part IIc.
The encouragement and instruction continuously offered by Dr. Bronfenbrenner have contributed decisively to the results achieved in this study.


Chocolate provide many health benefits when consumed in enough, such as reducing stress, lowers blood pressure, improves blood circulation, reduces the risk of cancer. So that processed chocolate has the opportunity to serve as the culinary field effort. Diverse menu flavored drinks provided by Franchise Chocolate Classic, to the satisfaction of chocolate drink lovers. The purpose of this study to analyze the antecedents of satisfaction (menu diversity, trust, and customer value) in the form of customer loyalty. Collecting data using primary and secondary data. The sampling method using a non-probability sampling with purposive sampling of 140 respondents. Validity and reliability using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and cronbach's alpha. Methods of data analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings of the research there is the influence of the diversity of the menu, the value of customers' satisfaction, there is no effect of trust on customer satisfaction, there is the influence of satisfaction on loyalty, there is the influence of the diversity of the menu on loyalty, there is no influence of the value of customer loyalty, satisfaction mediates the effect of the diversity of the menu and confidence customer loyalty, satisfaction does not mediate the effect of customer value on loyalty. Advice for Chocolate Franchise Classical Solo to pay attention to the diversity of the menu, keep the trust and customer value so as to encourage consumers to buy again, recommend to others and be loyal.


Abstract. Understanding the performance of large high performance manufactured structures can require highly accurate dimensional measurement across large volumes with the often conflicting capability to record critical parts of the structure in fine detail. Examples include turbine blades, aircraft wings and off-site manufactured modular structures assembled on-site for city, energy and transport infrastructure. Established large-volume industrial metrology systems such as laser trackers and photogrammetry partially meet the need through the measurement of targets and reflectors, but are limited in capability to record high density local detail needed to capture the finest manufactured features. Whilst large-volume surface sensing is possible with laser radar, photogrammetric pattern projection and contact probing for example, the detail required at a local level typically demands local sensing which generally takes the form of a tracked sensor such as a triangulation laser scanner or hand held touch probe. Local sensing systems face challenges where surfaces have fine detail of similar magnitude to the local sensing system sampling capability and particularly for optical sensors where the light reflected back to the sensor by the surface includes specular reflections compounded by local geometry. This paper investigates how Reflection Transformation Imaging (RTI) with a dome camera and lighting system might be calibrated, characterised and tracked as an alternative technology that is more robust to material surface properties and capable of very fine surface detail capture. Laboratory results demonstrate the capability to characterise and locate the dome to sub-millimetric accuracy within a large-volume tracked space to achieve local surface sampling at the 30 μm × 30 μm level. A method utilising sparse touch probe points to seed conversion of low and high frequency normal maps into a common 3D surface is explored with local agreement with laser tracker surface probe check points to the order of 30 μm.


We consider here the detailed application of a model Reynolds stress equation (Narasimha 1969) to plane turbulent wakes subjected to pressure gradients. The model, which is a transport equation for the stress exhibiting relaxation and diffusion, is found to be consistent with the observed response of a wake to a nearly impulsive pressure gradient (Narasimha & Prabhu 1971). It implies in particular that a wake can be in equilibrium only if the longitudinal strain rate is appreciably less than the wake shear. We then describe a further series of experiments, undertaken to investigate the range of validity of the model. It is found that, with an appropriate convergence correction when necessary, the model provides excellent predictions of wake development under favourable, adverse and mixed pressure gradients. Furthermore, the behaviour of constant-pressure distorted wakes, as reported by Keffer (1965, 1967), is also explained very well by the model when account is taken of the effective flow convergence produced by the distortion. In all these calculations, only a simple version of the model is used, involving two non-dimensional constants both of which have been estimated from a single relaxation experiment.


Background: Implants are connected to the natural teeth in the management of partially edentulous patients. The use of this concept has been a subject of discussion as some authors have recommended it while others stress on the potential complications associated with splinting implants to natural teeth. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to systematically review the literature regarding the rationale, difference in the biomechanical behavior of the implant and the natural teeth, nature of connection, potential complications associated with splinting of implants and teeth, and guidelines to be followed. Materials and Methods: Various databases like PubMed, Ebscohost, Science Direct were searched between 1980 to December 2011 to retrieve articles regarding the implant natural teeth connection. A manual search for the references from the retrieved articles was also completed. The articles published only in English, randomized clinical trials, prospective and retrospective clinical studies, laboratory and computer generated research were included. Abstracts, opinion articles, technique articles and questionnaire based studies were excluded. Results: The biomechanical impact of mismatch in the mobility pattern of natural teeth and implants has been controversial. Various complications associated with tooth implant supported prosthesis has been reported with intrusion and implant overloading being the cause of concern. Marginal bone loss associated with overload around the implant has been reported and found to be within acceptable levels. The reports also suggested no significant differences between various types of connections utilized and to use the non rigid connections with caution. Conclusion: Whenever possible implant supported prostheses should be the treatment of choice. However, certain clinical situations demand connecting teeth to implants. Clinical Relevance to Interdisciplinary Dentistry The difference in the biomechanical behaviour between osseointegrated implants and teeth and the efficacy of the different modes of connection that have been employed are explored. Evidence based decisions could be made concerning utility of connecting teeth to implants


Abstract. A controversial question concerning ancient geography is the location of the prime meridian which underlies the position data in Ptolemy's Geography and runs through the Fortunate Islands. An answer to this question is derived by means of a localisation of the places given by Ptolemy at the African western coast, i.e. in Mauritania Tingitana and Libya Interior, whose modern identifications are often uncertain or unknown. The origination of Ptolemy's positions from the distance data of seafarings is considered. A comparison of his data with distances reported by Pliny yields a satisfactory agreement. The localisation of Ptolemy's places is based on distances derived from Ptolemy's coordinates and partly on further information by ancient authors. Through it previous identifications are confirmed and new identifications are found. It shows that the Fortunate Islands correspond to several eastern islands of the Canary Islands. Explanations are given for the errors of Ptolemy's position data. A likely error by Ptolemy barely considered is his repetition of a part of Mauritania Tingitana in his description of Libya Interior. The existence of this repetition is confirmed by an adjustment of a transformation between the positions of the duplicated places and a statistical test of the arranged model. A comparison of longitudinal distances in different ancient sources reveals that the position of Ptolemy's prime meridian is based on distances given by Marinos and Eratosthenes.


Orientation: Workplace bullying is characterised as a counterproductive interpersonal behaviour, yielding severe consequences for both the individual and the organisation. The occurrence of workplace bullying is often attributed to a stressful work environment. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to test the work environment hypothesis by applying the Job Demands-Resources model to workplace bullying. We expected job demands and job resources to relate to both perpetrators' and actors' reports of workplace bullying. Motivation for the study: We aimed to extend the outcomes examined in the Job Demands- Resources model to a specific form of counterproductive interpersonal behaviour, namely workplace bullying. From the point of view of the literature on bullying, we aimed to substantiate the well-known work environment hypothesis with empirical data. Research design, approach and method: We applied structural equation modelling on questionnaire data of a large heterogeneous sample of Flemish employees ( N = 749). Main findings: Job demands and job resources interacted in the prediction of perpetrators' reports of bullying: job demands associated positively to perpetrators' reports of bullying particularly under the condition of high job resources. Job demands related positively to targets' reports of bullying, while job resources related negatively. These associations were (partially) mediated by emotional exhaustion. Practical/managerial implications: These results suggest that workplace bullying may indeed be reduced by good job design, that is, by limiting the job demands and increasing job resources. Particular prevention plans may be developed for exhausted employees, as they are vulnerable to workplace bullying, in terms of both becoming perpetrators and victims. Contribution/value-add: This study attests to the predictive validity of the JD-R model for perpetrators' and targets' reports of workplace bullying. The findings also underline the complex and multi-causal nature of workplace bullying.


OBJECTIVE
Sexual-minority women are at heightened risk for a number of mental health problems, including hazardous alcohol consumption, depression, and anxiety. We examined self-medication and impaired-functioning models of the associations among these variables and interpreted results within a life course framework that considered the unique social stressors experienced by sexual-minority women.

METHOD
Data were from a sample of 384 women interviewed during the first two waves of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study.

RESULTS
Covariance structure modeling revealed that (a) consistent with a self-medication process, anxiety was prospectively associated with hazardous drinking and (b) consistent with an impaired-functioning process, hazardous drinking was prospectively associated with depression.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings support a life course perspective that interprets the mental health of adult sexual-minority women as influenced by adverse childhood experiences, age at drinking onset, first heterosexual intercourse, and first sexual identity disclosure, as well as by processes associated with self-medication and impaired functioning during adulthood.


Channels within the SSW rift zone of Ascraeus Mons, a large shield volcano forming part of the Tharsis volcanic province on Mars, have morphological features extremely similar to those of channels identified elsewhere on Mars as being due to fluvial action. The channel sources are too far from the caldera rim and have the wrong morphology for it to be plausible that the channels were eroded during pyroclastic flow eruptions, and the sinuosities are not consistent with scenarios involving lava flows. We propose that these channels were formed by meltwater generated and released, mainly by relatively slow seepage, when a sill was emplaced within or beneath an ice-rich permafrost layer. Smaller, fan-like channels coalescing into the amphitheater headwall of the wider ones are secondary features produced by further sapping of the undermined flank. The minimum dimensions required for the sill (∼13 by 13 km in lateral extent and ∼120 m thick) are calculated using the thermal exchanges between the sill and the permafrost implied by the volumes of the channel head craters. The corresponding minimum sill volume, ∼19 km3, is similar to that df many surface lava flows associated with the Tharsis shield volcanoes and is of the order expected for an intrusion resulting from an elastic inflation-deflation event in the summit magma reservoir.


Abstract Policy authorities in the EU are increasingly aware of the need to remove structural rigidities, particularly in the labor market. One reason is the start of stage III of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). With increased labor mobility, Euroland will be closer to being an optimum currency area. Another reason structural reforms are advocated in the EU is the persistently high unemployment rate in some continental countries. Structural reforms are not sufficient for smooth functioning of the EMU. Neither are they sufficient for low unemployment. But as the Netherlands has shown, structural reforms can become part of a chain that leads to low unemployment and good overall economic conditions. Given the increased awareness of the need for structural reform in the EU, we ask why this need was met successfully in the Netherlands, but not in France. We find that crisis and communication are important in getting out of a prisoner's dilemma situation. There are two ways to interpret the success in the Netherlands. One, economic crisis pushed the government, employers, and workers to communicate with each other so that they could share a common understanding of the state of the overall economy. Communication also enabled them to sign a binding agreement to cooperate. The second interpretation is that the crisis deepened to the extent that "cooperative behavior" could be sustained by selfish decision making in a repeated game. In France, a binding agreement was less feasible because the collective sense of crisis was insufficient and an effective mechanism to communicate was lacking. The start of stage III of EMU will put further pressure on member economies for structural reform. EMU may even change the structure of the payoffs so that employers and workers in France may have incentives to voluntarily behave more cooperatively. When such a change is absent, what is needed in France is a framework to enable workers and employers to communicate with each other and place sufficient importance on the future so that agreements to cooperate become binding. J. Japan. Int. Econ. , December 1998, 12 (4), pp. 507–534.


This paper concerns provision of productive public inputs in the presence of unemployment. It is shown that if the government is able to implement optimal taxes on labor income and profit income, respectively, then the public input will be underprovided. On the other hand, if the government is not able to implement an optimal tax on labor income, e.g. because the labor income tax is determined at another level in the public sector (e.g. the municipal or the state level), then overprovision may occur. We derive an equation which links overprovision of the public input to (i) the employment rate and to (ii) the deviation of the actual labor income tax from the optimal level.


Recent floods in the United States and Asia again highlighted their devastating effects, and without investments in adaptation, the future impact of floods will continue to increase. Key to making accurate flood-risk projections are assessments of how disaster-risk reduction (DRR) measures reduce risk and how much risk remains after adaptation. Current flood-risk-assessment models are ill-equipped to address this, as they assume a static adaptation path, implying that vulnerability will remain constant. We present a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates different types of adaptive behaviour of governments (proactive and reactive) and households (rational and boundedly rational) in a continental-scale risk-assessment framework for river flooding in the European Union. Our methodology demonstrates how flood risk and adaptation might develop, indicates how DRR policies can steer decisions towards optimal behaviour, and indicates how much residual risk remains that has to be covered by risk-transfer mechanisms. We find that the increase in flood risk due to climate change may be largely offset by adaptation decisions. Moreover, we illustrate that adaptation by households may be more influential for risk reduction than government protection in the short term. The results highlight the importance of integrating behavioural methods from social sciences with quantitative models from the natural sciences, as advocated by both fields.


This book offers a unique overview of the current literature of language development. Beginning with an outline of the maturational changes that occur in linguistic knowledge in the period from birth to adulthood, it goes on to discuss the suggested causes for the changes and the controversies about the suggested causes.The theory of generative grammar advanced by Noam Chomsky was responsible for much of the excitement and interest that the study of language development has enjoyed over the past decade. Inevitably, however, some linguists have questioned whether Chomsky's hypothesis of an innate mechanism for language learning, distinct from other types of learning, is a valid model of the way children actually do acquire language competence. Present efforts are directed towards finding an explanation of development and processing of language in the cognitive and social functioning of the human being, but a clear understanding of the basis for language organization eludes proponents of both schools of thought.Language and Maturation summarizes some of the current findings on developmental language behavior in a concise, well-organized, and nonpartisan manner. It begins by describing the explanatory theories of language behavior in the adult and of language acquisition in the child that are current in the literature. The developmental course is then divided into the periods of infancy, early language development, and language development in middle and late childhood. Finally, the question of "adultlike" and "childlike" language behavior is discussed. Introducing each chapter are those questions most germane to an examination of that period of development. Some of the partial answers conclude sections of the discussion.Suitable for upper-level undergraduate or graduate students, the book is addressed not only to linguistics students but also to those preparing themselves to be psychologists, educators, and therapists. "I hope," Paula Menyuk writes in her introduction, "that readers of this book, that is, those interested in language development and processing, will find the questions and answers presented so intriguing and challenging that they themselves will become engaged in in-depth studies of the questions of language and maturation."


In Chaste, Silent and Obedient, Suzanne Hull lists 163 English books written for women (by both sexes) published between 1475 and 1640. Of the eighteen books she classifies as devotional, the second (chronologically) is Thomas Bentley's The Monument of Matrones (1582), an immense book—over 1500 quarto pages—containing prayers and meditations for a variety of occasions, extracts from the Bible, and brief lives of biblical and other model women. Hull has aptly commented that, "In fact, The Monument of Matrones comes close to being an entire female library between two covers." The iconography of various illustrated pages and some prayers have been analyzed, and some writings by women such as Queen Margaret of Navarre, Queen Katherine Parr, and Lady Jane Dudley, have been anthologized, but the book has not been studied as a whole. Bentley, in his introduction, "To the Christian Reader," describes the book as a collection of "diuers verie godlie, learned and diuine treatises, of meditationes and praier, made by sundrie right famous Queenes, noble Ladies, vertuous Virgins, and godlie Gentlewomen of al ages" (Bl) which had gone out of print. But is it simply an anthology of standard devotional material? Because it was directed to women, is it an affirmation of egalitarian impulses in Reformation English religious thought? Or does it prescribe the limited range of virtues acceptable to an increasingly patriarchal authority in late sixteenth-century society? It goes without saying that a book as rich and complex as the Monument will contain different, even conflicting, points of view, as the following, necessarily brief, summary will suggest.


The aim of this research was to improve the quantitative support to project planning and control principally through the use of more accurate forecasting for which new techniques were developed. This study arose from the observation that in most cases construction project forecasts were based on a methodology (c.1980) which relied on the DHSS cumulative cubic cost model and network based risk analysis (PERT). The former of these, in particular, imposes severe limitations which this study overcomes. Three areas of study were identified, namely growth curve forecasting, risk analysis and the interface of these quantitative techniques with project management. These fields have been used as a basis for the research programme. In order to give a sound basis for the research, industrial support was sought. This resulted in both the acquisition of cost profiles for a large number of projects and the opportunity to validate practical implementation. The outcome of this research project was deemed successful both in theory and practice. The new forecasting theory was shown to give major reductions in projection errors. The integration of the new predictive and risk analysis technologies with management principles, allowed the development of a viable software management aid which fills an acknowledged gap in current technology.


The purpose of this study is the degradation of methylene blue dye using TiO2 photocatalyst  as well as the effect of the calcination temperature and radiation are the formation of  TiO2. TiO2 prepared by sol-gel method. The type of light used is UV light. Furthermore, the cloth is dipped in a solution containing TiO2 for 1 minute, then the fabric is pressurized at 1.25 kg cm-2 for 5 minutes. Then the coated fabric that has been heated at 60°C in an oven, then the fabric is heated at 100°C for 5 minutes. Further degradation test conducted with stains Remazol Black B and laying in the water for 12 hours. From the observation of color to the study it can be concluded that the TiO2-coated fabric that has been there a sufficient photocatalytic effect on the fabric. Maximum calcination temperature to form anatase TiO2 is 600C. TiO2 coating system will soak up to 9x coating. It can be concluded in this experiment that the fabric is coated with TiO2 has a photocatalytic effect that makes the fabric anti-dirty, anti-odor and anti-bacterial effects of the photocatalyst photocatalyst although the effect of the cloth.


Marked changes in brain physiology and structure take place between childhood and adulthood, including changes in functional connectivity and changes in the balance between main excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters glutamate (Glu) and GABA. The balance of these neurotransmitters is thought to underlie neural activity in general and functional connectivity networks in particular, but so far no studies have investigated the relationship between human development related differences in these neurotransmitters and concomitant changes in functional connectivity. GABA+/H2O and Glu/H2O levels were acquired in a group of healthy children, adolescents, and adults in a subcortical (basal ganglia) region, as well as in a frontal region in adolescents and adults. Our results showed higher GABA+/Glu with age in both the subcortical and the frontal voxel, which were differentially associated with significantly lower Glu/H2O with age in the subcortical voxel and by significantly higher GABA+/H2O with age in the frontal voxel. Using a seed-to-voxel analysis, we were further able to show that functional connectivity between the putamen (seed) and other subcortical structures was lower with age. Lower subcortical Glu/H2O with age mediated the lower connectivity in the dorsal putamen. Based on these results, and the potential role of Glu in synaptic pruning, we suggest that lower Glu mediates a reduction of local connectivity during human development.


Diabetes mellitus accelerates atherosclerosis that causes most cardiovascular events. Several metabolic pathways are considered to contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, but comprehensive metabolic alterations to atherosclerotic arterial cells remain unknown. The present study investigated metabolic changes and their relationship to vascular histopathological changes in the atherosclerotic arteries of rabbits with alloxan-induced diabetes. Diabetic atherosclerosis was induced in rabbit ilio-femoral arteries by injecting alloxan (100 mg/kg), injuring the arteries using a balloon, and feeding with a 0.5% cholesterol diet. We histologically assessed the atherosclerotic lesion development, cellular content, pimonidazole positive-hypoxic area, the nuclear localization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, and apoptosis. We evaluated comprehensive arterial metabolism by performing metabolomic analyses using capillary electrophoresis-time of flight mass spectrometry. We evaluated glucose uptake and its relationship to vascular hypoxia using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and pimonidazole. Plaque burden, macrophage content, and hypoxic areas were more prevalent in arteries with diabetic, than non-diabetic atherosclerosis. Metabolomic analyses highlighted 12 metabolites that were significantly altered between diabetic and non-diabetic atherosclerosis. A half of them were associated with glycolysis metabolites, and their levels were decreased in diabetic atherosclerosis. The uptake of glucose evaluated as 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in atherosclerotic lesions increased according to increased macrophage content or hypoxic areas in non-diabetic, but not diabetic rabbits. Despite profound hypoxic areas, the nuclear localization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α decreased and the number of apoptotic cells increased in diabetic atherosclerotic lesions. Altered glycolysis metabolism and an impaired response to hypoxia in atherosclerotic lesions under conditions of insulin-dependent diabetes might be involved in the development of diabetic atherosclerosis.


It is shown that a traditional travel demand forecast combined with a simulationbased approach can serve as a short-term forecast for the traffic situation. The approach presented was developed and tested during the Soccer World Cup 2006 in the city of Cologne as a service for the action forces to react as fast as possible to developing aberrations. This paper discusses the merits and the short-comings of the approach.


Introduction: The experience of pregnancy following a previous pregnancy loss can be diffi cult and psychologicallychallenging. Over 34,000 women experience pregnancy loss in Taiwan every year. Objectives: Thispaper reports an action research project that mapped the journey of Taiwanese women who have sufferedprevious pregnancy loss.Methods: The methodology was participative and cyclical. Ethical approval was obtained from University ofUlster and the medical center in Taiwan. Women were invited to participant in the study and bereavement supportwas available for all participants. Initially, interviews were used with six Asian women living in Taiwan toelicit their perspectives on their journey. The second phase was the translation of the SANDS information packfrom English to Mandarin. The third phase was interviewed the reference mothers and health providers evaluatedthe value and acceptability of information pack. Results: The data of the first stage from six women wasanalyzed. A metaphor of "sailing against the tide" emerged from the data to depict three stages of the journeyfrom grief to joy. The second phase involved translation and adaptation of the SANDS pack into mandarin withthe support and advice of the expert reference groups including women, midwives, nurses, a social worker,and doctors. The analysis indicated an overall acceptance of the support pack with cultural modified required.There included removal of information about autopsy, clear indication that the majority of cases of the causeddeath is unknown, providing footprints of deceased baby as mementoes and more funeral information.Conclusion: The fi ndings have been used to draft a theoretical cameo of the journey and providechallenging insight into the needs of mothers. The information pack will be revised based on theculture difference and will support other women in similar circumstances. Perinatal bereavementcare with cultural sensitivity has potential in an Asian context.Acknowledgements: Thank the mothers and health providers whose commitment and generosityin sharing their stories and opinions made the research possible.


ALEKSIEV, Y., D. GUDEV and G. DIMOV, 2007. Thermal status in three breeds of newborn lambs during the first 24 hours of postnatal life. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 13: 563-573 Rectal temperature (RT) dynamics during the first 24 h after birth was studied in Pleven black head (PBH), Bulgarian fine wool (BFW) and Bulgarian fine wool x East-Friesian breed crosses (FC) lambs. Data were collected from a total of 137 lambs. For each breed group all lambs were paternal half sibs and born at term, without assistance. The ewes were housed in a sheep barn throughout the lambing period, which occurs in winter. Rectal temperature was recorded at 1, 3, 12, and 24 h after birth, within 0.1 °C. The newborn lambs were weighed within 1 h after birth. Skin fold thickness and fleece depth were measured on mid side. Time taken of each lamb until it first sucking was also recorded. The lambs of the studied breeds had similar pattern of RT dynamics throughout the first 24 h after birth. Fall of RT was observed in all breeds up to 12 h postpartum followed by an increase at the 24 th h. Bulgarian fine wool lambs had lower RT than the lambs of the other two breeds over the first day of postnatal life, but the difference was only significant at 1 h after birth (P<0.001). Lamb sex had no significant effect on the rate of RT decline during the first 12 h following birth. Single lambs had higher RT values at 1 h (P<0.01) and at 12 h (P<0.05) after birth than those in twins. Time to first sucking was similar in all breeds. In PBH lambs RT at 3, 12 and 24 h of postnatal life tended to be lower at ambient temperature 4.1 – 8.0 °C compared to that at 0.0 – 4.0 °C. The results suggest that under prevailing management system and specific conditions in the barn the newborn lambs of the studied breeds were able to maintain successfully their body temperature at a range of ambient temperature 0.0 – 8.0 °C without any incidence of hypothermia.


The proliferation of user-generated content on social media has made opinion mining an arduous job. As a microblogging platform, Twitter is being used to collect views about products, trends, and politics. Sentiment analysis is a technique used to analyze the attitude, emotions and opinions of different people towards anything, and it can be carried out on tweets to analyze public opinion on news, policies, social movements, and personalities. By employing Machine Learning models, opinion mining can be performed without reading tweets manually. Their results could assist governments and businesses in rolling out policies, products, and events. Seven Machine Learning models are implemented for emotion recognition by classifying tweets as happy or unhappy. With an in-depth comparative performance analysis, it was observed that proposed voting classifier(LR-SGD) with TF-IDF produces the most optimal result with 79% accuracy and 81% F1 score. To further validate stability of the proposed approach on two more datasets, one binary and other multi-class dataset and achieved robust results.


An understanding of charge-carrier recombination processes is essential for the development of hybrid metal halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications. We show that typical measurements of the radiative bimolecular recombination constant in CH3NH3PbI3 are strongly affected by photon reabsorption that masks a much larger intrinsic bimolecular recombination rate constant. By investigating a set of films whose thickness varies between 50 and 533 nm, we find that the bimolecular charge recombination rate appears to slow by an order of magnitude as the film thickness increases. However, by using a dynamical model that accounts for photon reabsorption and charge-carrier diffusion we determine that a single intrinsic bimolecular recombination coefficient of value 6.8 × 10-10 cm3s-1 is common to all samples irrespective of film thickness. Hence, we postulate that the wide range of literature values reported for such coefficients is partly to blame on differences in photon out-coupling between samples with crystal grains or mesoporous scaffolds of different sizes influencing light scattering, whereas thinner films or index-matched surrounding layers can reduce the possibility for photon reabsorption. We discuss the critical role of photon confinement on free charge-carrier retention in thin photovoltaic layers and highlight an approach to assess the success of such schemes from transient spectroscopic measurement.


Renal sympathetic denervation (RDNx) has emerged as a novel therapy for hypertension; however, the therapeutic mechanisms remain unclear. Efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity has recently been implicated in trafficking renal inflammatory immune cells and inflammatory chemokine and cytokine release. Several of these inflammatory mediators are known to activate or sensitize afferent nerves. This study aimed to elucidate the roles of efferent and afferent renal nerves in renal inflammation and hypertension in the deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) salt rat model. Uninephrectomized male Sprague–Dawley rats (275–300 g) underwent afferent-selective RDNx (n=10), total RDNx (n=10), or Sham (n=10) and were instrumented for the measurement of mean arterial pressure and heart rate by radiotelemetry. Rats received 100-mg DOCA (SC) and 0.9% saline for 21 days. Resting afferent renal nerve activity in DOCA and vehicle animals was measured after the treatment protocol. Renal tissue inflammation was assessed by renal cytokine content and T-cell infiltration and activation. Resting afferent renal nerve activity, expressed as a percent of peak afferent nerve activity, was substantially increased in DOCA than in vehicle (35.8±4.4 versus 15.3±2.8 %Amax). The DOCA–Sham hypertension (132±12 mm Hg) was attenuated by ≈50% in both total RDNx (111±8 mm Hg) and afferent-selective RDNx (117±5 mm Hg) groups. Renal inflammation induced by DOCA salt was attenuated by total RDNx and unaffected by afferent-selective RDNx. These data suggest that afferent renal nerve activity may mediate the hypertensive response to DOCA salt, but inflammation may be mediated primarily by efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity. Also, resting afferent renal nerve activity is elevated in DOCA salt rats, which may highlight a crucial neural mechanism in the development and maintenance of hypertension.

# Novelty and Significance {#article-title-46}


The purpose of this study is to quantify the bioactive substances contained in the stigmas of Algerian corn in the area Ain mlila, the sample was subjected to a maceration in the methanol, and the content of total phenols and flavonoids using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the trichloride of aluminum respectively showed that the results vary between 91.51 ± 2.83 to 313.58 ± 0.01μg AGE/mg of extract for the polyphenols and between 11.26 ± 2.64 to 101.59 ± 0.02μg QE/mg of extracts for the flavonoids. These results show the richness of the stigma of corn studied in phenolic compound. The anti-radical activity has proved that our extract is more active (84.57%) than that of ascorbic acid (83.4%) used as control. It is found that reducing activity is strongly related to the content of polyphenols with R2 = 0.9997. Antibacterial activity was also tested on four bacterial strains (gram + and gram -) according to the disk diffusion method. No activity was reported on the reference strain Escherichia coli (ATCC 25921) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and the two clinical strains tested.


Advanced wastewater treatment techniques, such as adsorption, are economically and environmentally essential in the removal of non-biodegradable toxic compounds from industrial wastewater. The present study focuses on the use of low cost adsorbents prepared from pine sawdust, coal fly ash and sugarcane bagasse to adsorb recalcitrant compounds such as heavy metals, phenol and direct dyes from synthetic wastewater. Carbonization of the adsorbents was done using a muffle furnace whereas a fluidized bed reactor was used to prepare steam activated sawdust. Both batch and column tests were performed to investigate the use of these alternative adsorbents as potential replacements for the current costly commercial adsorbents. A 2 full-factorial design with four centre points and response surface methodology were used to study the interactive effect of the operating conditions on the adsorption capacity of sawdust and coal fly ash. In addition, the performance of the low cost adsorbents was compared with that of commercial activated carbon (CAC). The maximum adsorption capacities were determined and correlated with the physicochemical properties of the adsorbents. Adsorption capacity was found to vary with initial concentration, adsorbent dose and pH. An increase in pH led to a significant increase in heavy metal removal suggesting the involvement of ion exchange mechanism. In column studies, breakthrough times increased with an increase in bed height and aspect ratio. Conversely, breakthrough times decreased with an increase in initial concentration. Overall, commercial activated carbon was found to be superior; however, sawdust and coal fly ash showed potential as alternative adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and phenol from petrochemical wastewater. Additionally, the trend followed by the maximum monolayer adsorption capacities, qmax for the four adsorbents used to treat petrochemical wastewater was in agreement with the specific surface area of the adsorbents i.e adsorbents with high specific surface area had high qmax values with a few exceptions. Amongst the low cost adsorbent, steam activated sawdust (SAS) was superior and coal fly ash had the lowest adsorption capacities. Also, the highest adsorbed contaminant by steam activated sawdust was Fe (15.385 mg/g). It has been shown that the performance of steam activated sawdust was comparable to that of commercial activated carbon in the removal of Pb and Ni. Nevertheless, sugarcane bagasse proved to be a better adsorbent than coal fly ash in the uptake of direct red dyes from textile wastewater. Direct red 80 (DR 80) was the highest adsorbed dye by both sugarcane bagasse (6.536 mg/g) and coal fly ash (1.560 mg/g). Equilibrium data for metal removal conformed well to the Freundlich isotherm whereas phenol and direct dye removal complied with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Kinetic data were fitted to Lagergren first-order, pseudo secondorder and the intraparticle diffusion models. Thus, kinetic parameters, rate constants, equilibrium adsorption capacities and related correlation coefficients, for each kinetic model were calculated and discussed. Consequently, the adsorption of cobalt followed pseudo second order kinetics suggesting chemisorption for all the tested adsorbents. Also, results suggested that intraparticle diffusion was not the only step controlling the overall adsorption process of cobalt. Results presented here can help to design an appropriate environmental management strategy to minimize the adverse impacts caused by industrial wastewater. Publications and conference presentations Musapatika, E.T., Onyango, M.S., Aoyi, O. (2009). Cobalt (II) removal from synthetic wastewater by adsorption on South African coal fly ash, (submitted to South African Journal of Science for review on 30 October 2009). Moodley, K., Singh, R., Musapatika, E.T., Onyango, M.S., Aoyi, O. (2009). Removal of nickel using an agricultural adsorbent, (submitted to Water SA for review on 26 October 2009). Musapatika, E.T., Moodley, K., Singh, R., Onyango, M.S., Aoyi, O. (2008). Removal of Iron (III) from aqueous solution using sawdust, South African Institute of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE) Postgraduate Student Symposium in Process Engineering, Johannesburg, South Africa, 29 September 2008 (abstract: oral presentation). Moodley, K., Singh, R., Musapatika, E.T., Onyango, M.S., Aoyi, O. (2009). Removal of nickel using an agricultural adsorbent, South African Chemical Engineering Congress (SACEC 2009), Somerset West, Capetown, South Africa, 20 – 23 September 2009 (paper: oral presentation). Musapatika, E.T., Onyango, M.S., Aoyi, O. (2009). Removal of cobalt (II) from synthetic wastewater using South African coal fly ash, Wits Postgraduate Cross Faculty Symposium, Johannesburg, 19 – 23 October 2008 (abstract: oral presentation).


Swaziland is the first country to introduce national early infant male circumcision (EIMC) into voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programming for HIV prevention. With more than 5,000 EIMCs performed between 2010 and 2014, Swaziland learned that EIMC requires inclusion of stakeholders within and outside of HIV prevention bodies; robust support at the facility, regional, and national levels; and informed demand. Expansion of EIMC and VMMC has the potential to avert more than 56,000 HIV infections in Swaziland over the next 20 years. Swaziland is the first country to introduce national early infant male circumcision (EIMC) into voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programming for HIV prevention. With more than 5,000 EIMCs performed between 2010 and 2014, Swaziland learned that EIMC requires inclusion of stakeholders within and outside of HIV prevention bodies; robust support at the facility, regional, and national levels; and informed demand. Expansion of EIMC and VMMC has the potential to avert more than 56,000 HIV infections in Swaziland over the next 20 years. ABSTRACT Background: The government of the Kingdom of Swaziland recognizes that it must urgently scale up HIV prevention interventions, such as voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). Swaziland has adopted a 2-phase approach to male circumcision scale-up. The catch-up phase prioritizes VMMC services for adolescents and adults, while the sustainability phase involves the establishment of early infant male circumcision (EIMC). Swaziland does not have a modern-day tradition of circumcision, and the VMMC program has met with client demand challenges. However, since the launch of the EIMC program in 2010, Swaziland now leads the Eastern and Southern Africa region in the scale-up of EIMC. Here we review Swaziland's program and its successes and challenges. Methods: From February to May 2014, we collected data while preparing Swaziland's "Male Circumcision Strategic and Operational Plan for HIV Prevention 2014–2018." We conducted structured stakeholder focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, and we collected EIMC service delivery data from an implementing partner responsible for VMMC and EIMC service delivery. Data were summarized in consolidated narratives. Results: Between 2010 and 2014, trained providers performed more than 5,000 EIMCs in 11 health care facilities in Swaziland, and they reported no moderate or severe adverse events. According to a broad group of EIMC program stakeholders, an EIMC program needs robust support from facility, regional, and national leadership, both within and outside of HIV prevention coordination bodies, to promote institutionalization and ownership. Providers and health care managers in 3 of Swaziland's 4 regional hospitals suggest that when EIMC is introduced into reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health platforms, dedicated staff attention can help ensure that EIMC is performed amid competing priorities. Creating informed demand from communities also supports EIMC as a service delivery priority. Formative research shows that EIMC programs should address the fears and anxieties of parents so that they, especially fathers, understand the health benefits of EIMC before the birth of their babies. Conclusion: The vast majority of public-sector facilities in Swaziland are led by nurses, and nurses and midwives have borne the brunt of caring for patients with HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. Like prevention of mother-to-child transmission, EIMC provides an opportunity for nurses and midwives to stand at the forefront of HIV prevention efforts. Rapid scale-up of VMMC and EIMC in Swaziland has the potential to avert more than 56,000 HIV infections and save US$370 million in the next 20 years.


Three species of small-diameter logs from the Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains and the Cascade Range in southwest Oregon were tested for their potential for value-added structural applications. The logs were tested in bending and compression parallel to the grain. Strength and stiffness values were correlated to possible nondestructive evaluation grading parameters and compared to values derived from published values based on tests of small-diameter clear wood of the test species. For the test sample, specific gravity and static bending modulus of elasticity were good indicators of strength. Growth rate, however, was poorly correlated to specific gravity, strength, and stiffness. The results suggest that the conventionally derived design values based on published small clear strength values are appropriate for bending but nonconservative for axial compressive strength. At present, established round timber specifications, modified to place limits on the presence of crown wood, would be sufficient for selection of small-diameter structural timbers. If a more tightly controlled strength limit is desirable for a specific application, static modulus of elasticity appears to be the most reliable indicator of strength of small-diameter logs.


A Cameroonian smectite clay collected in a deposit on Sabga hill (West Cameroon, Central Africa – denominated as Sa) and a metal free meso-tetra(4-carboxyl phenyl)porphyrin (shortened as TCPP) were used to modify carbon paste electrodes. They were then exploited for the simultaneous electrochemical detection of dopamine (DA), acetaminophen (AC) and tyrosine (Tyr). Square wave voltammetry (SWV) revealed an increase in oxidation peak responses along with a negative shift of the corresponding anodic peak potentials for DA, AC and Tyr when using a carbon paste electrode modified with clay and porphyrin (TCPP–Sa/CPE), in comparison with those obtained at carbon paste electrodes modified with either clay (Sa/CPE) or porphyrin (TCPP/CPE). The TCPP–Sa/CPE exhibited attractive characteristics such as extended linear ranges, high sensitivities and selectivities, and low limits of detection for DA (0.1 μM), AC (0.2 μM) and Tyr (0.7 μM), using square wave voltammetry. The developed sensors were applied to the determination of AC in a pharmaceutical preparation and simultaneously DA, AC and Tyr in human urine.


Recurrence networks are a novel tool of nonlinear time series analysis allowing the characterisation of higher-order geometric properties of complex dynamical systems based on recurrences in phase space, which are a fundamental concept in classical mechanics. In this letter, we demonstrate that recurrence networks obtained from various deterministic model systems as well as experimental data naturally display power-law degree distributions with scaling exponents γ that can be derived exclusively from the systems' invariant densities. For one-dimensional maps, we show analytically that γ is not related to the fractal dimension. For continuous systems, we find two distinct types of behaviour: power-laws with an exponent γ depending on a suitable notion of local dimension, and such with fixed γ=1.


To come to a critical understanding of personal experiences and existing knowledge, and to actively engage in knowledge production, an education based on problem posing and problem solving activities can open up the space to focus on people's real life concerns and come to local solutions for personal problems. The present study is an account of how centralizing themes and concerns from learners' real life in an educational enterprise and empowering the learners to be problem posers/solvers can create pedagogy of engagement and local knowledge production. In this study a group of 24 third-semester Iranian students of medicine decided to work on a course of English for specific purposes in an alternative way as an instance of challenging the existing taken-for-granted ways of dealing with course requirements. They considered some of their real-life medical concerns and developed a process of problem posing/solving in using various available resources to conduct a search and a research and produce knowledge. They also took part in a public medical show at the end of the semester to exchange their problem posing/solving experiences and the produced knowledge with other students in the university as another step to represent their one-semester attempt to approach a number of medical concerns and look at what they have done from de-emphasized unspoken hidden perspectives.

 Key words:  Language education, Medical English, problem posing, pedagogy of engagement, English in Iran.


The Royal Humane Society was founded in 1774 as Britain's first primary aid organisation. In addition to researching and disseminating information on the treatment of the apparently dead, it took practical steps both to prevent accidents and to reward individuals who saved others from drowning or asphyxiation. The Society and its work were widely admired and imitated both within the United Kingdom and overseas, whilst the medal which it established in 1775 to reward such deeds became the first British bravery medal to be widely distributed to both men and women of all social classes and also served as a model both for other societies and the Crown.
Unlike continental countries such as France, Britain had been slow to adopt the medal as a means of rewarding and encouraging bravery. Official interest in the use of medals to encourage loyalty to the Crown and to reward valour was prompted by the army's experiences in the Crimea, whilst the extension of such rewards to cover deeds of civil bravery was in part driven by public demand, although control of the distribution of these rewards remained firmly in the hands of middle and upper-class men, who imposed their own value systems on the deeds which they reviewed.
An analysis of both official and unofficial rewards shows that working class, female and non-white rescuers were under-represented. The tales of working class medallists were however of particular interest to the writers of improving tracts, who fashioned 'exemplary lives' around the bones of the stories of honoured workers. This in turn led to the creation of a new breed of working-class heroes, whose stories were widely distributed with the intention of providing acceptable role models for the labouring classes. This represented a radical departure from previous models of heroism, which had been sharply focussed on leaders and warriors drawn from the echelons of the ruling elite.
Until the outbreak of the Great War, the majority of bravery medals awarded each year were given by private societies in recognition of civilian bravery. This dominance ended in 1914, when conscription and wholesale slaughter altered forever the popular perception of courage.


Extracted from text ... E
Executive pay:
moral dilemma?
10 Management Today September 2006
Executive pay is in the news at the moment
with a survey indicating extremely
high rewards for CEOs of public companies
and, against that, news of workers in
some of these companies being unhappy
with their remuneration leading to strike
action and even getting violent at times
causing serious damage to property owned
by these organisations.
Against this background, we asked
Martin Westcott, CEO of P-E Corporate Services,
to comment as his company has been
involved in surveys on executive pay for
many years.
MT: Executive pay which runs into ..


This paper presents the first use of graph neural networks (GNNs) for higher-order proof search and demonstrates that GNNs can improve upon state-of-the-art results in this domain. Interactive, higher-order theorem provers allow for the formalization of most mathematical theories and have been shown to pose a significant challenge for deep learning. Higher-order logic is highly expressive and, even though it is well-structured with a clearly defined grammar and semantics, there still remains no well-established method to convert formulas into graph-based representations. In this paper, we consider several graphical representations of higher-order logic and evaluate them against the HOList benchmark for higher-order theorem proving.


Abstract. Two existing chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration retrieval procedures, which are analytical and empirical, are hindered by the complexity in radiative transfer equation (RTE) and in statistical analyses, respectively. Another promising model in this direction is the use of artificial neural networks (ANN). Mostly, a pixel-to-pixel with one-layer ANN model is used; where in fact that the satellite instrumental errors and man-made objects in water bodies might affect the retrieval and should be taken into account. In this study, the mask-based neural structure, called convolutional neural networks (CNN) model containing both the target and neighborhood pixels, is proposed to reduce the influence of the aforementioned premises. The proposed model is an end-to-end multiple-layer model which integrates band expansion, feature extraction, and chl-a estimation into the structure, leading to an optimal chl-a concentration retrieval. In addition to that, a two-stage training is also proposed to solve the problem of insufficient in-situ samples which happens in most of the time. In the first stage, the proposed model is trained by using the chl-a concentration derived from the water product, provided by satellite agency, and is refined with the in-situ samples in the second stage. Eight Sentinel-3 images from different acquisition time and coincide in-situ measurements over Laguna Lake waters of Philippines were utilized to conduct the model training and testing. Based on quantitative accuracy assessment, the proposed method outperformed the existing dual- and triple- bands combinations in chl-a concentration retrieval.


This paper investigates the efficiency of the Japanese distribution system, measured by the distribution margin. Most of the discussions on the Japanese distribution system have so far relied on institutional descriptions and anecdotal evidence, failing to substantiate the case. The present paper will show that the Japanese and U.S. distribution sectors are about the same in terms of value added and distribution margins. Therefore, it is not true that the distribution sector adds up unnecessary distribution costs or earns monopolistic operating profits. This paper will not address a question whether the distribution system is acting as a non-tariff barrier. Thus, even if the distribution sector in Japan is judged to be "efficient," it leaves open a possibility that the distribution system works as a barrier to potential new entrants from both home and foreign manufacturers.


Profiling floats with optical sensors can provide important complementary data to satellite ocean color
determinations by providing information about the vertical structure of ocean waters, as well as surface waters
obscured by clouds. Here we demonstrate this ability by pairing satellite ocean color data with records from a
profiling float that obtained continuous, high-quality optical data for 3 yr in the North Atlantic Ocean. Good
agreement was found between satellite and float data, and the relationship between satellite chlorophyll and floatderived
particulate backscattering was consistent with previously published data. Upper ocean biogeochemical
dynamics were evidenced in float measurements, which displayed strong seasonal patterns associated with
phytoplankton blooms, and depth and seasonal patterns associated with an increase in pigmentation per particle
at low light. Surface optical variables had shorter decorrelation timescales than did physical variables (unlike at
low latitudes), suggesting that biogeochemical rather than physical processes controlled much of the observed
variability. After 2.25 yr in the subpolar North Atlantic between Newfoundland and Greenland, the float crossed
the North Atlantic Current to warmer waters, where it sampled an unusual eddy for 3 months. This anticyclonic
feature contained elevated particulate material from surface to 1000-m depth and was the only such event in the
float's record. This eddy was associated with weakly elevated surface pigment and backscattering, but depthintegrated
backscattering was similar to that previously observed during spring blooms. Such seldom-observed
eddies, if frequent, are likely to make an important contribution to the delivery of particles to depth.


Analysing the demands of global justice for the distribution of resources is a complex task and requires consideration of a broad range of issues. Of particular relevance is the effect that different distributions will have on global population growth and individual welfare. Since changes in the consumption and distribution of resources can have major effects on the welfare of the global population, and the rate at which it increases, it is important to establish meaningful principles to ensure a just distribution of resources. In order to establish such principles we must consider the scope of any reproductive rights, and rights to other goods, such as food and health care, as well as examine the extent of duties correlating to those rights. In addition to the impact that distributions of global goods have on the welfare of current generations, it is also important to consider what duties we have, if any, to future generations.

Key Concepts:

Questions relating to global justice are concerned with the justice of international institutions and events; they are also concerned with establishing fundamental moral principles, which form the basis of international law.

Human rights are those rights which are held by all people in virtue of their status as human beings, rather than because of any specific law or in virtue of belonging to a specific group or country.

The distribution and consumption of resources is important in discussion of global justice since the way in which resources are allocated will have a major effect on human welfare and ability of individuals to enjoy their rights.

Distributive Justice can be analysed on a range of scales, from the local to the global and deals with questions relating to the distribution of resources and other important goods; these can be things like money, health care, or food, as well as more intangible concepts like freedom and liberty.

Environmental sustainability is important in the global justice context because environmental degradation can have severe impacts on human welfare; as such, the sustainability of different types, and rates, of resource consumption will be more or less just, depending on the harm that is caused by it.

Egalitarianism is the view, common in discussions of justice that all human beings are morally equal and that as a result, should be given equal moral consideration.

Prioritarianism is the view in theories of justice that a specific group, for example the citizens of a particular country, or those living in poverty should have their needs prioritised over the needs of other groups.

Sufficientarianism is the view that justice requires only that everyone has enough and that all people have sufficient resources or are above a specific welfare threshold, contrary to egalitarianism, sufficientarianism is compatible with the existence of unequal distribution of goods.

Keywords:

global justice;
reproductive rights;
population ethics;
environmental ethics;
sustainability;
resource constraints;
duties to aid;
human rights;
population growth;
climate change


Abstract: Traditional methods of drug delivery present several drawbacks, mainly due to off-target effects that may originate severe side and toxic effect to healthy tissues. Parallel to the development of novel more effective drugs, particular effort has been dedicated to develop and optimize drug delivery vehicles capable of specifically targeting the required tissue/organ and to deliver the cargo only where and when it is needed. New drug delivery systems based on nanoscale devices showing new and improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties like enhanced bioavailability, high drug loading or systemic stability have surged in the past decade as promising solutions to the required therapeutic efficacy. Amongst these nanoscale vectors, nanoparticles for drug delivery, such as polymeric, lipid-based, ceramic or metallic nanoparticles, have been at the forefront of pharmaceutical development. The interest in nanomedicine for treatment and diagnosis is clearly reflected on the increasing number of publications and issued patents every year. Here, we provide a broad overview of novel nanoparticle based drug delivery systems, ranging from polymeric systems to metal nanoparticles, while simultaneously listing the most relevant related patents.


Abstract The presence of a large pinch velocity in the edge pedestal of high-confinement (H-mode) tokamak plasmas implies that particle transport in the plasma edge must be treated by a generalized pinch-diffusion theory, rather than a pure diffusion theory. An investigation of extending the numerical solution methodology of the standard diffusion theory to the solution of the generalized pinch-diffusion theory has been carried out. It is found that in the edge pedestal, where the inward pinch velocity is large in H-mode plasmas, a finer mesh spacing will be required than is necessary for similar accuracy farther inward, where the pinch velocity diminishes. An expression for the numerical error in various finite-differencing algorithms is presented.


The literature on narcissism in organizational contexts is reviewed. We begin by describing the context of narcissism and several relevant theoretical approaches to understanding it. We next describe research on narcissism in a range of organizational topics, from leadership to metaorganizational issues. We conclude by highlighting several reoccurring themes involving the role of narcissism in organizational contexts, with an emphasis on articulating directions for


The genomes of human tumors contain many sequence alterations, a subset of which help drive tumor growth. Wood et al. (see Perspective by Trent and Touchman) have now undertaken a systematic sequence analysis of >18,000 genes in human breast and colorectal tumors. Depiction of the mutational data on a topographic map indicates that each of these tumor types contains only a few gene "mountains" mutated at high frequency and a much larger number of gene "hills" mutated at low frequency. Importantly, while a large fraction of the mutations driving tumor growth reside in the gene hills rather than the mountains--a finding that underscores the heterogeneity of human cancer--it appears that many of the mutated genes function through cellular signaling pathways that are already well known. L. D. Wood, D. W. Parsons, S. Jones, J. Lin, T. Sjöblom, R. J. Leary, D. Shen, S. M. Boca, T. Barber, J. Ptak, N. Silliman, S. Szabo, Z. Dezso, V. Ustyanksky, T. Nikolskaya, Y. Nikolsky, R. Karchin, P. A. Wilson, J. S. Kaminker, Z. Zhang, R. Croshaw, J. Willis, D. Dawson, M. Shipitsin, J. K. V. Willson, S. Sukumar, K. Polyak, B. H. Park, C. L. Pethiyagoda, P. V. Krishna Pant, D. G. Ballinger, A. B. Sparks, J. Hartigan, D. R. Smith, E. Suh, N. Papadopoulos, P. Buckhaults, S. D. Markowitz, G. Parmigiani, K. W. Kinzler, V. E. Velculescu, B. Vogelstein, The genomic landscapes of human breast and colorectal cancers. Science 318, 1108-1113 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text] J. M. Trent, J. W. Touchman, The gene topography of cancer. Science 318, 1079-1080 (2007). [Summary] [Full Text]


Pompeii is the most famous archaeological site in the world, visited by more than two million people each year. Yet it is also one of the most puzzling, with an intriguing and sometimes violent history, from the sixth century BCE to the present day. Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. But the eruptions are only part of the story. In "The Fires of Vesuvius", acclaimed historian Mary Beard makes sense of the remains. She explores what kind of town it was - more like Calcutta or the Costa del Sol? - and what it can tell us about 'ordinary' life there. From sex to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy, Beard offers us the big picture even as she takes us close enough to the past to smell the bad breath and see the intestinal tapeworms of the inhabitants of the lost city. She resurrects the Temple of Isis as a testament to ancient multiculturalism. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica. Recently, Pompeii has been a focus of pleasure and loss: from Pink Floyd's memorable rock concert to Primo Levi's elegy on the victims. But Pompeii still does not give up its secrets quite as easily as it may seem. This book shows us how much more and less there is to Pompeii than a city frozen in time as it went about its business on 24 August 79.


Evolve and resequence studies combine artificial selection experiments with massively parallel sequencing technology to study the genetic basis for complex traits. In these experiments, individuals are selected for extreme values of a trait, causing alleles at quantitative trait loci (QTL) to increase or decrease in frequency in the experimental population. We present a new analysis of the power of artificial selection experiments to detect and localize quantitative trait loci. This analysis uses a simulation framework that explicitly models whole genomes of individuals, quantitative traits, and selection based on individual trait values. We find that explicitly modeling QTL provides qualitatively different insights than considering independent loci with constant selection coefficients. Specifically, we observe how interference between QTL under selection affects the trajectories and lengthens the fixation times of selected alleles. We also show that a substantial portion of the genetic variance of the trait (50–100%) can be explained by detected QTL in as little as 20 generations of selection, depending on the trait architecture and experimental design. Furthermore, we show that power depends crucially on the opportunity for recombination during the experiment. Finally, we show that an increase in power is obtained by leveraging founder haplotype information to obtain allele frequency estimates.


Purpose: LibQUAL+® has provided libraries with a customer satisfaction benchmarking tool which is easy to administer and cost effective. The questionnaire was initially developed following a series of interviews conducted in late 1999 - early 2000 with academic library customers on what constitutes a quality library service. In order to remain current, LibQUAL+® must review the questions asked of the library customers to ensure that it remains relevant as user expectations alter over time (McKnight, 2008). Do the needs of the academic library customer still align to the views held over a decade ago? The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a Cranfield University research project into the current needs of its academic library customers, and to gauge if the LibQUAL+® questions are still assessing these needs.

Methodology: A series of focus groups were held at Cranfield University during 2011 capturing what academic library customers expect from their library service. Separate focus groups were conducted consisting of customers from four key stakeholder groups; full-time taught postgraduate students, part-time taught postgraduate students, doctoral research students and academic teaching staff. The semi-structured discussions covered the needs of the customers in four main areas; information provision, access to information resources, support from library staff and the physical library environment. The focus groups were transcribed then coded using Atlas.TI to identify common themes of service provision requirements across all user types. These common themes were then compared to the core LibQUAL+® questions to identify the differences and similarities between the two data sets.

Findings: The findings at Cranfield University show that LibQUAL+® is still addressing the issues that matter the most to our customers. As it stands, LibQUAL+® still provides Cranfield University with a cost effective and easy to administer survey tool which measures the areas of service provision that our customers expect from their academic library.

Research limitations and implications: Whist the discussions aimed to be as broad as possible, at this stage the research is restricted to Cranfield University customers only. Views from undergraduate students were not captured during this research project as Cranfield University is the UK's only wholly postgraduate university. For these reasons implications for the overall qualitative regrounding of LibQUAL+® are limited. Wide research into the qualitative regrounding of the LibQUAL+® survey should be considered.

Originality and value of the proposal: Customer Value Discovery research conducted by McKnight (2008) in a UK academic library in 2005 concluded that the LibQUAL+® core questions met most of the customer needs. Outside of the UK, the reforming and regrounding of the LibQUAL+® survey within the digital library environment has been developed through the DigiQUAL+ project based on qualitative research conducted in 2003 (Kyrillidou, et al, 2009a). No recent studies into the qualitative regrounded of LibQUAL+® have been identified.


There is a growing awareness in the multiagent systems research community that the environment plays a prominent role in multiagent systems. Originating from research on behavior-based agent systems and situated multiagent systems, the importance of the environment is now gradually been accepted in the multiagent system community in general. In this paper, we put forward the environment as a first-order abstraction in multiagent systems. This position is motivated by the fact that several aspects of multiagent systems that conceptually do not belong to agents themselves should not be assigned to, or hosted inside the agents. Examples are infrastructure for communication, the topology of a spatial domain or support for the action model. These and other aspects should be considered explicitly. The environment is the natural candidate to encapsulate these aspects. We elaborate on environment engineering, and we illustrate how the environment plays a central role in a real-world multiagent system application.


Nitrogenous fertilizer prices spiked in early 2010 despite the fact that natural gas prices, nitrogen fertilizer's main production cost, have dramatically fallen during this time period. We hypothesize that a merger which occurred between CF and Terra industries in 2010 exacerbated market power in an already concentrated industry, causing nitrogen fertilizer prices to increase. To test this hypothesis, we propose a structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model. By including corn futures, natural gas and nitrogen fertilizer prices within an SVAR model we control for demand and supply shocks which affect the nitrogen fertilizer market. The remaining variation in fertilizer prices at 2010 not explained by the model is attributed to the merger. If we set this residual to zero, we can then use the SVAR model to forecast a counterfactual fertilizer price series which represents the price of nitrogen fertilizer in the absencebsence of the merger. Applying this technique to the data suggests that the merger raised prices by roughly 75%. This approach presents a middle-ground between the current methodologies used in the retrospective merger analysis literature. It is more transparent than structural approaches such as Nevo (2000) which make strong assumptions on demand and market conduct. Conversely, this time series approach is more applicable than the reduced form approaches such as Hastings (2004) that employ a difference in difference method and consequently rely on the existence of a credible control group.


The outbreaks of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection has posed a severe threat to global public health. It is unclear how the human immune system responds to the virus infection. Here, we profiled the immune transcriptome signatures by metatranscriptome sequencing for the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from eight COVID-19 cases. The expression of the proinflammatory genes, especially chemokines, was markedly elevated in COVID-19 cases as compared to community-acquired pneumonia patients and healthy controls, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection caused hypercytokinemia. Contrasting with SARS-CoV, which is thought to induce inadequate interferon (IFN) response, SARS-CoV-2 robustly triggered the expression of myriad IFN-inducible genes (ISGs). These ISGs exhibit immunopathogenic potentials, characterized by the overrepresentation of genes involved in inflammation. Collectively, we profiled the molecular signatures of the host response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, which could help to understand the disease pathogenesis and provided clues for tailored antiviral strategies, such as IFN therapy.


Background: The rates of optimal asthma control and compliance to treatment in Israel are reportedly low. We postulated that adults attending our emergency department (ED) with asthma exacerbation were not using self-management strategies optimally.
Objectives: This pilot study aims to: (a) verify the above hypothesis and, if applicable, (b) determine whether an asthma education intervention (AEI) administered in the ED would encourage post-discharge use of a written asthma action plan (AAP).
Methods: Thirty-eight adults (>18 yr.) visiting the ED with asthma exacerbation received a 30-min AEI including a written AAP. Prior asthma education was assessed by questionnaire. Follow-up, carried out by phone ≥ 12 months after discharge, assessed AAP use, asthma control (GINA), and exacerbations in the past year.
Results: At baseline, participants denied previous education on asthma selfmanagement and AAP use. Of 27 patients available for follow-up, only 5 (18.5%) were using the AAP, assisted by their care-provider. Eighteen subjects (66.7%) presented uncontrolled asthma while, as a whole, the group reported significantly more exacerbation episodes than at enrolment (mean (SD)=5.1 (6.5) vs. 2.7 (3.0) (p=0.0498)). Finally, compared with AAP non-users (n=22) AAP users (n=5) tended to have better asthma control (60% vs. 18%) and fewer episodes of exacerbations (mean (SD)=2.8 (2.2) vs 5.9 (6.9)) but the differences did not reach significance.
Conclusion: Delivery to adults of a short AEI in the ED was of limited efficiency in post-discharge boosting of patient/doctor partnership, resulting in sub-optimal AAP use. Feasibility of the AEI in a crowded ED, however, justifies further research on AEI delivery coupled with alternative follow-up strategies targeting patient and doctor perception of AAPs.


The utilization of vaccines has proven to be a good strategy to prevent coccidiosis but the process of immunity acquisition needs to be approached from a nutritional point of view as well if complete success in broiler performance is to be achieved. It has been reported that Glutamine (GLU) plays a key role both in the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system and its utilization could be beneficial to cocci-vaccinated broilers. In this study, twelve hundred one-day-old male chicks were vaccinated at a commercial hatchery with a coccidiosis vaccine and randomly allocated to four treatments, each of which had six replications with 50 birds per pen. Birds were maintained in pens with built up wood shavings litter. Each treatment consisted of the same basal diet that met average nutrient levels in the U.S. poultry industry with four different inclusion rates of GLU (0, 0.5, 0.75 and 1%). Birds were fed the experimental diets from 1 to 28 days of age and a common unsupplemented diet to 42 d. Body weights were significantly improved at 21 and 28 days for all the treatments where the GLU was included. Feed conversion was not significantly affected by the inclusion of GLU. There were no significant differences in body weight and feed conversion at 42 days but the numerical difference in weight between the control and the treatments with GLU observed earlier were maintained. At 43 days, eight birds per pen were processed in a pilot processing plant. Breast meat yield was not significantly different among treatments. Glutamine proved to be beneficial during the process of immunity acquisition improving broiler performance significantly until 28 days and maintaining the body weight difference until the end of the experiment.


This thesis presents a detailed research work on the fabrication, characterisation and applications of optical fibre grating devices with operation wavelengths cover from near- to mid- infrared (IR) range. One of the major contributions described in this thesis is the systematic investigation on the structures, fabrication methods and spectral, thermal, strain and surrounding refractive index (SRI) characteristics of near-IR fibre gratings including fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs), chirped fibre Bragg grating (CFBGs) and long period grating (LPGs). For some applications, such as special engineering sensors and high power fibre laser, the fibre gratings have been fabricated on different novel fibres (metal coated fibre and large mode field fibre), respectively. Another important contribution from the studies is experimental investigation on 45o tilted fibre gratings (45°-TFGs) and excessively tilted fibre gratings (ex-TFGs), and their applications. 45o-TFGs with high polarisation dependent loss (PDL) in single mode and polarisation maintaining (PM) fibres have been fabricated. The 45°-TFG has been employed as in fibre polariser to obtain the single polarised laser, which has been further developed as transverse loading sensor achieving high sensitivities. Furthermore, all fibre Lyot filter with narrow bandwidth (26 pm), constructed by two 45o-TFGs with 100m long cavity in PM fibre has been demonstrated. For ex-TFGs, SRI sensor based on a surface modified 81°-TFG, showing capability to detect glucose concentration with relatively high RI sensitivity (~168nm/RIU). Finally, an all-fibre loading sensor based on a hybrid 45° and 81° TFG structure has been demonstrated. Finally, I have fabricated fibre gratings into mid-IR 2μm range. The mid-IR FBGs have been evaluated for thermal and strain response, revealing higher temperature sensitivities than that in near-IR range. The mid-IR LPGs have been investigated for the thermal and refractive index sensitivities, also showing significant enhancement. The 45°-TFGs in mid-IR have been investigated for their PDL characteristics. The mid-IR FBGs and 45°-TFGs have been employed in Tm-doped fibre laser cavity to realize multi-wavelength continued wave (CW) and single polarisation operation.


Bogotá's community policing programme is often cited as a successful or at least illustrative example of the modernisation of police forces in Latin America. However, we lack a rigorous evaluation of its scope and outcomes. Although the Bogotá community police project was one of the first programmes implemented on the continent and employs one of the largest number of officers, it never seems to have been completely integrated into the inner workings of the police department, and this has reduced its chances of success. Although there are community police platoons in the vast majority of Colombia's Departments/Provinces some of its founding purposes have been sidetracked due to the armed conflict in the country and the higher-ups within the institution have not given it sufficient importance beyond lip service. This analysis maintains that the limitations of this community model can be found in its attempt to retain a certain level of independence in the face of other institutional actors and the community at large. The possibility of losing prerogatives and authority has limited any and all attempts at transforming the institution. Given that a community oriented police force requires greater community oversight and supervision of the police and that beat officers must have greater on-the-job autonomy and discretion, this project does not fit well into an extremely hierarchical institution that has huge gaps between its higher officials and beat officers and that seeks to control the decision-making process regarding safety policies. This article, for all of these reasons, offers a discussion of Colombia's community police programme within the context of the role it plays and the place it occupies within the broader police organisation in light of that institution's history, culture and ethos.


Within the realm of e-government, the development has moved towards testing new means for democratic decision-making, like e-panels, electronic discussion forums, and polls. Although such new developments seem promising, they are not problem-free, and the outcomes are seldom used in the subsequent formal political procedures. Nevertheless, process models offer promising potential when it comes to structuring and supporting transparency of decision processes in order to facilitate the integration of the public into decision-making procedures in a reasonable and manageable way. Based on real-life cases of urban planning processes in Sweden, we present an outline for an integrated framework for public decision making to: a) provide tools for citizens to organize discussion and create opinions; b) enable governments, authorities, and institutions to better analyse these opinions; and c) enable governments to account for this information in planning and societal decision making by employing a process model for structured public decision making.


This exegetical component acts in congruity with the creative component - see related link.
The combined creative and exegetical components of 'The Universal Embrace' tease out
philosophies in regard to human nature and experiences, not only unique to a same sex embrace but
an overall essential expression of love and triumph. This exegesis utilises a living arts based
inquiry to explore the relationship with the self, the relationship with another, and a relationship to
not only spirituality but greater society and the universe. This is the essence of this study whilst
contrasting and comparing concepts such as science and the soul. The creative component consists
of a complex online interactive design of two men embracing that examines the metaphysical
complexities of a singular moment in time, that engages with the experiencer allowing them to
explore the design and consider their own complex ontologies in terms of physical, emotional,
spiritual and politicised lenses. The exegesis also asks the participant to relict on these themes under
an A/r/tographical methodology. The theoretical framework draws upon metaphysics and
reconciliation with the self. The essence of this project is rooted in qualitative research under the
methodological auspice of A/r/tography and considering queer theory as the two people in this
artistic embrace, incidentally, are men. The project combines digital and traditional means of
making art in an artistic statement contributing to the common good, and also contributes to Arts/
Education frameworks and pushes the limits of an artistic online web based study. Under an A/r/
tographical model, it exists in terms of practice-based research and draws from personal narrative
and lived experience, acting in congruency with an equal written component that is expressed in this
exegesis. The overall design aims to consider historical and present artistic statements of embraces
from across cultures and time and re-contextualise a modern embrace in a contemporary format that
politicizes the event, drawing from personal lived experience and narrative, and is expressed
through current web-based state of the art technologies.


When frequency tripling to Lyman-α in Kr, we find a Kerr-induced index mismatch per atom of γKr = −5.6 × 10−36 esu, which dominates the dispersion for power densities exceeding 4 × 1012 W/cm2. Results of phase matching Kr with Ar and Xe are presented. Dielectric breakdown provides a limitation that, when combined with a requirement of a 1-A bandwidth at Lyman-α, indicates that powers of a few kilowatts are achievable in a Kr–Ar phase-matched medium.


BACKGROUND
Randomized trials support the safety and efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) versus vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, leading to increased use of these compounds. Crushed forms of DOACs have been shown to be reliable, but evidence supporting percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) delivery is lacking. PEG is a long-term option for enteral food and drug delivery in patients unable to maintain oral intake, bypassing the risks and disadvantages of parenteral nutrition.

AIMS
The ORal anticoagulants In fraGile patients with percutAneous endoscopic gastrostoMy and atrIal fibrillation (ORIGAMI) study investigates the safety and efficacy of Edoxaban administered via PEG in patients with atrial fibrillation and a clinical indication for a long-term anticoagulation.

DESIGN
In this prospective, single-centre observational study, 12 PEG-treated patients with indication to anticoagulation will receive edoxaban via PEG and will be followed up to 6 months. Plasma antifactor Xa activity and edoxaban concentrations will be assessed. Thromboembolic (ischaemic stroke, systemic embolism, venous thromboembolism) and bleeding events (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) will be recorded at 1 and 6 months.

PRELIMINARY CASES
A retrospective analysis of five atrial fibrillation cases undergoing PEG implantation at our Institution who received edoxaban via PEG showed plasma anti-FXa levels at a steady state of 146 ± 15 ng/ml, without major adverse event at a mean follow-up of 6 months.

CONCLUSION
ORIGAMI prospectively investigates PEG-administration of edoxaban in PEG-treated patients requiring long-term anticoagulation. Our preliminary retrospective data support this route of DOAC administration. CLINICALTRIALS.

GOV IDENTIFIER
NCT04271293.


Environmental sensors play a crucial role in a wide range of applications. Among them, humidity sensors that are stable and operational in harsh environments are incredibly important for process control and monitoring. Nanocrystalline graphite (NCG) is a type of carbon-based thin film material. Previous work has shown that NCG has excellent mechanical properties and is able to withstand high radiation doses. The granular structure of the NCG film makes it a good candidate for humidity sensing as the film consists of conductive graphitic grains with a high density of sp2 bonds and amorphous grain boundaries with high resistivity, and adsorption of water molecule onto the film forms conductive pathways between grains through the Grotthuss mechanism which lowers the resistance of the film by a measurable amount. Here, we report for the first time a working humidity sensor with linear response, fabricated using NCG as the sensing material for harsh, real-world environments, which include exposure to weak acids via rainfall, UV radiation, mechanical wear, and high-humidity environments. The calculated sensitivity of the best-fabricated sensor is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${S} = 0.0334$ </tex-math></inline-formula>%, with a maximum resistance change of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$-4.4\,\,\text{k}\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, over the range of 15% RH to 85% RH. The response time of the sensor is 20 ms with the current measurement setup. The baseline resistance value of the sensor at 15% RH is 210 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{k}\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The sensor has the potential to be used as a humidity sensor for harsh environments due to the chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability of the NCG film.


This systematic review of systematic reviews investigated the effectiveness of lifestyle weight management interventions for postnatal women. We systematically reviewed Medline (PubMed), Embase, CINAHL Plus, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus from 2000 until January 2018, to identify systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effectiveness of behavioural lifestyle interventions for weight management in postnatal women. Results were summarized both descriptively and statistically using a mega meta‐analysis of data from randomized controlled trials included in previous systematic reviews. Nine systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria. Overall the reviews concluded that lifestyle interventions involving physical activity and/or dietary changes resulted in a reduction in postnatal weight. Results from the overall mega meta‐analysis confirmed this finding with a mean difference of −1.7 kg (95% CI, −2.3 to −1.1). Findings for subgroup analyses gave mean differences of −1.9 kg (95% CI, −2.9 to −1.0) for combined diet and physical activity interventions, −1.6 kg (95% CI, −2.1 to −1.2) for physical activity–only interventions, and −9.3 kg (95% CI, −16.5 to −2.1) for diet‐only interventions (one study). Heterogeneity varied from 0% to 68%. Interventions involving lifestyle interventions appeared to be effective in reducing weight in postnatal women, although these findings should be interpreted with some caution due to statistical heterogeneity.


When a plane breaks the sound barrier, the noise reverberates for miles around. The advent of e-pedagogy produced no sonic boom, but the message educators are getting rings loud and clear. Technology is a potentially powerful tool for more effective teaching and deeper learning. Used wisely and well, it may break down barriers to learning that traditional classroom-based instruction has unintentionally created.


Debates surrounding the psychological implications of human reproductive cloning (HRC) escalated in 1997, following the 1996 birth of Dolly, the cloned Scottish lamb. Aside from the physical risks to which cloned persons might be subjected, there was concern over psychological implications associated with family structure and relationships. Would cloned persons be deprived of autonomy and independence? Would parents impose unfair expectations on children who were their genetic replicas?


Aims Patients with type 1 diabetes have a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the importance of routine assessment of myocardial function in patients with type 1 diabetes is not known. Thus, we examined the prognostic importance of NT-proBNP and E/e', an echocardiographic measure of diastolic function, in type 1 diabetes patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and without known heart disease. Methods and Results Type 1 diabetes patients without known heart disease and LVEF ≥ 45% enrolled in the Thousand and1 study were included and followed through nationwide registries. The risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE) and death associated with levels of NT-proBNP and E/e' was examined. Of 960 patients, median follow-up of 6.3 years (Q1-Q3: 5.7-7.0), 121 (12%) experienced MACE and 51 (5%) died. Increased levels of both NT-proBNP and E/e' were associated with worse outcomes (adjusted hazard ratios for MACE = 1.56 (1.23-1.98) and 4.29 (2.25-8.16) per Loge increase for NT-proBNP and E/e', respectively). NTproBNP and E/e' combined significantly improved the discrimination power of the Steno T1D risk engine (MACE, C-index: 0.813 (0.779-0.847) vs 0.779 (0.742-0.816); P=0.0001; All-cause mortality, C-index 0.855 (0.806-0.903) vs 0.828 (0.776-0.880); P=0.03). Conclusion In patients with type 1 diabetes, preserved ejection fraction, and no known heart disease, NT-proBNP and E/e' were associated with increased risk of MACE and all-cause mortality. The risks associated with NT-proBNP and E/e' combined identified patients at remarkably high risk.