ABSTRACT External surfaces of barley florets have thick-walled epidermal cells resistant to direct penetration by the head blight pathogen, Fusarium graminearum. Surfaces within the floral cavity have thin-walled, susceptible cells. How the fungus gains access to the floral cavity, causing head blight, has not been determined. To investigate pathways of entry, field-grown plants were sprayed with macroconidial inoculum after heads emerged from the flag leaf sheath and then were mist irrigated daily in the morning and evening. On selected days, 1 to 8 days after inoculation (DAI), 80 to 190 florets per day were harvested, dissected, and examined for presence and location of mycelial colonies. At 1 to 12 DAI, 57 to 100 florets likewise were examined for lesions. Patterns of colonization indicated that the fungus entered florets principally through crevices between the overlapping lemma and palea or through the apical floret mouth. The crevices were open for entry until approximately 8 days after heads emerged. Most florets had mycelial colonies on the external surface in a sheltered pocket near the base of the ventral furrow of the palea. Mycelia spread laterally from the furrow to the crevice between lemma and palea. Anther colonization had only a minor role in invasion of florets. Hyphal penetration of stomates was not seen. Lesions usually developed first within 3 mm of the floret apex or 3 mm of the floret base. Within florets, lesions often were contiguous between lemma and palea, palea and caryopsis, or in all three floret parts. However, lesions in the caryopsis developed later and were fewer in number than in the lemma and palea and always were associated with lesions in the palea. The results show the importance of initial mycelial colonization of floret outer surfaces, pathways of entry via lemma or palea crevices or floret mouth, and spread of lesions within the floret at interfaces between lemma, palea, and caryopsis.


Pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome, one of the most common causes of glaucoma, represents a complex, multifactorial, late-onset disease of worldwide significance. The etiopathogenesis involves both genetic and non-genetic factors. The PEX-specific tissue alterations are caused by a generalized fibrotic matrix process, which has been characterized as a stress-induced elastosis associated with the excessive production and abnormal cross-linking of elastic microfibrils into fibrillar PEX aggregates. The identification of lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) as a major genetic risk factor for PEX syndrome and PEX glaucoma further supports a role of elastogenesis and elastosis in the pathophysiology of PEX, as LOXL1 is a pivotal cross-linking enzyme in elastic fiber formation and stabilization. The available data suggest that LOXL1 is markedly dysregulated depending on the stage of the fibrotic process. While transient upregulation of LOXL1 during the early stages of PEX fibrogenesis participates in the formation and aggregation of abnormal PEX fiber deposits, the decreased expression of LOXL1 during the advanced stages of the disease may affect elastin metabolism and promote elastotic processes, e.g. in the lamina cribrosa, predisposing to glaucoma development. However, in view of the low penetrance of the PEX-associated risk variants of LOXL1, other genetic and/or environmental factors must contribute to the risk of developing the PEX phenotype. Some evidence exists for the contribution of additional genes with relatively small effects, e.g. clusterin (CLU), contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2), apolipoprotein E (APOE), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA), in certain study populations. Several environmental conditions associated with PEX, such as oxidative stress as well as pro-fibrotic cytokines and growth factors, can regulate expression of LOXL1 and elastic proteins in vitro and may therefore act as co-modulating external factors. Ultimately, both detection and functional characterization of yet unidentified genetic and non-genetic factors may lead to the development of more precise screening tools for the risk of PEX glaucoma.


Abstract: Gender equality has made its way to the forefront of discussions across various sectors in the Canadian context. Yet the intentional inclusion of gender and other intersectional identity dimensions is just beginning to permeate the realities of performance measurement and evaluation practitioners, particularly those using program theory. There is a vast body of knowledge regarding the measurement of women's empowerment, gradually declining availability of resources targeting the inclusion of gender in theory, and even less guidance on integrating gender in theory in the context of gendered programming. Similarly, coordinated efforts from multiple sectors have resulted in an abundance of theory regarding girls and women's representation, recruitment, retention, and promotion within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) but less guidance on the measurement and evaluation in these areas. This article shares recent efforts to bridge the divide using theory knitting to develop a performance measurement framework addressing the decreasing representation of girls and women across the STEM "leaky pipeline" using the COM-B theory of change model.


The Swedish moose population has during the last 60 years been going through rather drastic changes in numbers. Recently there also seemed to have been a shift towards males with less and less developed antlers, which is an important problem for the moose population breeding. The aim with the present study was to study how antler size in the moose is related to age, body mass and population density. Information on the antler and body mass characters was obtained from 425 males that were shot during the annual moose hunting in October between the years 1999-2006. Age and body mass were the variables that explained most of the variation in antler size in this study. A residual of antler points over age, demonstrated a positive correlation between residuals and carcass, such that males with larger antlers for their age, was on average heavier than other males. There was also a significant negative correlation between population density and carcass. The high mortality rate of older males have lead to that few males reach an age where the horns are fully developed and the age distribution has moved to younger ages. As a consequence of this fact the males start to reproduce at younger ages. As the rutting behaviour is a very energy demanding activity, the younger male's body growth will be constrained and there will be a large cost to come in rutting stage early. As the percentage of males and male age is having an impact on the reproduction of the population, this is an important problem which should be considered in order to give the right prerequisites for a more productive population of moose with big males that have well developed horns.


Collins Complete Guide to British Muchrooms and Toadstools allows everyone to identify mushrooms found in Britain and Ireland. The book is illustrated with beautiful photographs throughout, featuring the species you are most likely to see. By only covering Britain and Ireland, fewer species are included than in many broader European guides, making it quicker and easier for the reader to accurately identify what they have found. Extensive details on size, shape and colour are given and over 1,500 photographs help you identify each species. This is the essential photographic guide to the mushrooms and toadstools of Britain and Ireland.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the prevalence and toxin production characteristics of non-emetic and emetic Bacillus cereus strains isolated via the laboratory surveillance system in Korea.

METHODS
A total of 667 B. cereus strains were collected by the Korea National Research Institute of Health laboratory surveillance system from 2012 to 2014. The collected strains were analyzed by geographical region, season, patient age, and patient sex. Additionally, the prevalence rates of enterotoxin and emetic toxin genes were evaluated.

RESULTS
The isolation rate of B. cereus strains increased during the summer, but the isolation rate was evenly distributed among patient age groups. Emetic toxin was produced by 20.2% of the isolated strains. The prevalence rates of five enterotoxin genes (entFM, nheA, cytK2, hblC, and bceT) were 85.0, 78.6, 44.5, 36.6, and 29.7%, respectively, among non-emetic strains and 77.8, 59.3, 17.8, 11.9 and 12.6%, respectively, among emetic strains. Thus, the prevalence rates of all five enterotoxin genes were lower in emetic B. cereus.

CONCLUSION
The prevalence of enterotoxin genes differed between non-emetic and emetic B. cereus strains. Among emetic B. cereus strains, the prevalence rates of two enterotoxin genes (cytK2 and hblC) were lower than those among the non-emetic strains. In both the emetic and non-emetic strains isolated in Korea, nheA and entFM were the most prevalent enterotoxin genes.


Introduction Health workforce shortages have driven the Australian and other Western governments to invest in engaging more health professional students in rural and remote placements. The aim of this qualitative study was to provide an understanding of the lived experiences of students undertaking placements in various nonmetropolitan locations across Australia. In addition to providing their suggestions to improve rural placements, the study provides insight into factors contributing to positive and negative experiences that influence students' future rural practice intentions. Methods Responses to open-ended survey questions from 3,204 students from multiple health professions and universities were analyzed using two independent methods applied concurrently: manual thematic analysis and computerized content analysis using Leximancer software. Results The core concept identified from the thematic analysis was "ruralization of students' horizons," a construct representing the importance of preparing health professional students for practice in nonmetropolitan locations. Ruralization embodies three interrelated themes, "preparation and support," "rural or remote health experience," and "rural lifestyle and socialization," each of which includes multiple subthemes. From the content analysis, factors that promoted students' rural practice intentions were having a "positive" practice experience, interactions with "supportive staff," and interactions with the "community" in general. It was apparent that "difficulties," eg, with "accommodation," "Internet" access, "transport," and "financial" support, negatively impacted students' placement experience and rural practice intentions. Conclusions The study findings have policy and practice implications for continuing to support students undertaking regional, rural, and remote placements and preparing them for future practice in nonmetropolitan locations. This study may, therefore, further inform ongoing strategies for improving rural placement experiences and enhancing rural health workforce recruitment, retention, and capacity building.


Recent research has explored the relationship between sports participation in high school and the sexual and reproductive behavior of females. Evidence has accumulated that playing sports is associated with a lowered risk of pregnancy among adolescents and positively associated with the use of contraceptives, but little evidence has been uncovered as to whether such associations endure into young adulthood. Using data from a representative community sample, we examined whether differences in high school sports participation has an association with the sexual and reproductive activities of young adult women after high school (n = 679). Results of multivariate analyses suggest that high school sports involvement is a predictor of the likelihood of childbirth outside of marriage and lifetime number of sex partners but is not a predictor of condom use during sex.


In the present work, nanoparticles of pure TiO2 and manganese doped TiO2 were prepared by sol-gel method. As-prepared photocatalyst performance was evaluated by degradation of rose Bengal in synthetic waste water system under visible light. The degradation of dye was studied spectrophotometrically. Optimum conditions were achieved for degradation of dye by varying different rate affecting parameters like pH, concentration of dye, amount of photocatalyst, and light intensity and these were found to be 7.0, 0.90 × 10−5 M, 0.12 g, and 60.0 mWcm-2, respectively. The physicochemical properties of samples were characterized by XRD and SEM. The observations revealed that Mn doped TiO2 showed better photocatalytic performance than pure TiO2.


Monitoring of rare species is a common feature of nature reserves. It can help identify
quantitatively the effects of habitat management (such as grazing regime), local changes (eg. scrub
development) or broader changes (eg climatic effects). A notable success of British conservation
has been the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme which has enabled local and national influences on a
species to be understood (Brereton et al, 2006). By contrast to butterflies long term monitoring of
plant species is difficult to standardise. This is due to the various factors that can be recorded (eg.
no. of individuals, degree of cover etc.), these in turn being a product of the various growth forms
and reproductive patterns of vascular plants. In an attempt to bring some order to plant
monitoring Menges and Gordon (1996) identified three basic levels of monitoring; Level 1
identifies species occurrence and the area of occurrence; Level 2 identifies a measure of
abundance based and Level 3 involves demographic monitoring of particular individuals such as
that employed by Hutchings (1987) on Ophyris sphegodes.
With its combination of relative isolation, climate, geology, soils and relatively long history of
protection Malham has many vascular plant species of conservation significance, although the
dynamics of these species is poorly understood. Hence initiation of Long Term Monitoring (LTM)
on at least some of these species is worthy of consideration. Following the mapping of British
plant species by Perring and Walters (1962) the degree of rarity of each member of the British flora
has been categorised using distribution. Rare plants are present in 15 or less hectads nationally
and scarce plants are present in 16-100 hectads nationally. These rare plants have been described
by Perring and Farrell (1977, 1983) and Wiggington (1999), while scarce plants have been
described by Stewart et al (1999). These lists have been recently reviewed by Cheffings (2004).
A different approach has been taken by Cheffings and Farrell (2005), who produced a Red List for
the British flora based upon the rate of decline and international distribution. This allocated
members of the British flora to IUCN categories of conservation importance. Malham has a
number of plant species which are designated scarce or rare or fall into IUCN categories. These
species may be appropriate for LTM. The aim of this paper is to confirm which rare and scarce
plants are at Malham; to identify which plants with significant IUCN categories are at Malham
and from these lists to identify which species could be suitable for LTM based upon the criteria of
access, safety, life history and abundance.


This paper uses macro-level data between 1997 and 2008 to evaluate the effects of China's pharmaceutical price regulations. We find that these regulations had short-run effects on medicine price indexes, reducing them by less than 0.5 percentage points. The effects could have been slightly reinforced when these regulations were imposed on more medicines. However, these regulations failed to reduce household health expenditures and the average profitability of the pharmaceutical industry, and firms on the break-even edge were worse off. Finally, although these regulations have no significant effects on the price of substitutes or complements for medicines, they increased expensive medicine imports.


AbstractRaman spectra of Hg_2Br_2 model improper ferroelastic crystals have been investigated in a wide range of high hydrostatic pressures. Baric dependences of the phonon frequencies have been obtained; of greatest interest are the observed soft mode originating from the slowest TA _1 acoustic branch at the Brillouin zone boundary ( X point) of the tetragonal phase and the anomalous behavior of this mode. In the ferroelastic phase spectra, the ignition of the second acoustic TA _2 from the same point has also been detected and its baric behavior has been studied. Under sufficiently high pressures, splitting of doubly degenerate phonons with the E _ g symmetry has been observed and explained. The parameters of the Grüneisen constants have been determined from the baric dependences of the phonon frequencies and discussed.


The banking industry has experienced a rapid growth in terms of profits, deposits and revenues in the recent past. This trend has triggered a lot of competition in the banking industry. Most commercial banks have managed to weather this competition to stand out among the most successful Kenyan businesses today. These banks have introduced and are currently thriving on agency banking business as well. This paper analyzes the strategies that are being used by bank agents to compete in the Kenyan banking industry. To achieve this, the study will focus on the following objectives; to establish the effects of service quality on bank agent's market share, to determine the value of technology on bank agent's market share, to examine the relationship between product knowledge and branding and bank agent's market share, to find out the influence of organization structure on bank agent's market share, to determine the agents monthly transaction volume. The study intends to use self-administered questionnaires to the target respondents who will be a sample of commercial bank agents in Migori County. The study shall consider a sample of ten (10) agents each for the three commercial banks currently engaging in agency banking in Migori County. The research will also use secondary data for the study. The data will be analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. The study shall consider whether bank agents use the following strategies to respond to competition in the banking industry: Service quality, technology, product knowledge and branding, and organization structure. These variables are expected to build competitive advantages that can be exploited to sustain and further grow the available market share. The agent's case study is relevant to researchers studying the following topics: Business in Kenya, bank pricing, marketing, micro-finance, bank business model, and strategy. It is equally useful to all the players in the banking industry as it provides an insight to some of the revenue addition strategies.


We present five design cases as an annotated portfolio, exploring ways to design for intimate, interpersonal touch and social intimacy in interaction design. Five key qualities are elicited from the cases, including novel connotations sparking curiosity; providing an excuse to interact; unfolding internal complexity; social ambiguity; norm-bending intimacy. The work highlights novel interaction design approaches fostering social play, turning participants into performers of their own narratives.


The 10th edition of Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology is a two volume, multiauthored work that spans the ever-expanding discipline of hematology in over 2,600 pages. The book is appropriately introduced by an excellent short chapter written previously by Dr. Wintrobe on "The Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach to Hematologic Problems." There follows a valuable series of six chapters totaling 133 pages devoted to laboratory hematology, including blood and bone marrow examination, immunodiagnosis, clinical flow cytometry, cytogenetics, clusters of differentiation, and molecular genetics. These chapters contain ample illustrations, diagrams, tables, and references.


In The End of Change, Peter Scott-Morgan, author of the best-selling, The Unwritten Rules of the Game, and his colleagues at Arthur D. Little have discovered that Fortune 500 companies are currently spending twice their profits on change initiatives; yet they are only satisfied with half the results. In 2002, the same 500 companies plan to spend almost $1 trillion on change initiatives, and they expect the changes will disrupt almost all of their employees. Pressure for performance has led to more change initiatives, which leads to greater disruption, which exacerbates change fatigue, which makes it harder to change, which increases pressure for performance...and on and on and on.The paradigm shifting answer in The End of Change, based on a six year study of Fortune 500 companies, is: concentrate on maximizing stability within a changing environment -- don't fixate on change. This book explains how by developing the six competencies needed to achieve dynamic stability -- the management stabilizers of strategy, tactics, operations, and the enabling stabilizers of teamwork, quality, and communication-companies can avoid being swamped by the disruption of unending turbulence.


We propose a model of coupled oscillators with noise that performs segmentation of stimuli using a set of stored images, each consisting of objects and a background. The oscillators' amplitudes encode the spatial and featural distribution of the external stimulus. The coherence of their phases signifies their belonging to the same object. In the learning stage, the couplings between phases are modified in a Hebb-like manner. By mean-field analysis and simulations, we show that an external stimulus whose local features resemble those of one or several of the stored objects generates a selective phase coherence that represents the stored pattern of segmentation.


Previous research supports that both empathic concern and perspective-taking are predictors of altruistic behaviours in dictator games. Less is known, however, about how the identity of the victim and the perpetrator and the strength of ingroup identity of the observer in such games impacts upon preferences for altruistic compensation and punishment. Focusing on gender identity, the present research aimed to examine the effects of empathy, perceived injustice, and ingroup identity strength on preferences for altruistic compensation and punishment. Female adult participants ( n = 116) were recruited through an online survey conducted in the United Kingdom. Using a dictator-style game, participants were randomly assigned to observe either a male or female distributing resources to a female victim, after which they were asked to rate their feelings of injustice and then completed a series of measures including empathic concern, perspective-taking and strength of gender identity. Results demonstrate that empathic concern and perspective-taking predicted third-party altruistic preferences but there was no effect of experimental condition (perpetrator identity). Results have implications for promoting perspective taking-focused empathy intervention in occasions where distributive inequality or intergroup bias frequently occurs. These are also the insight to female's awareness of gender equality and a novel enforce of norm violations.


Brain activation during executed (EM) and imagined movements (IM) of the right and left hand was studied in 10 healthy right-handed subjects using functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI). Low electromyographic (EMG) activity of the musculi flexor digitorum superficialis and high vividness of the imagined movements were trained prior to image acquisition. Regional cerebral activation was measured by fMRI during EM and IM and compared to resting conditions. Anatomically selected regions of interest (ROIs) were marked interactively over the entire brain. In each ROI activated pixels above a t value of 2.45 (p < 0.01) were counted and analyzed. In all subjects the supplementary motor area (SMA), the premotor cortex (PMC), and the primary motor cortex (M1) showed significant activation during both EM and IM; the somatosensory cortex (S1) was significantly activated only during EM. Ipsilateral cerebellar activation was decreased during IM compared to EM. In the cerebellum, IM and EM differed in their foci of maximal activation: Highest ipsilateral activation of the cerebellum was observed in the anterior lobe (Larsell lobule H IV) during EM, whereas a lower maximum was found about 2-cm dorsolateral (Larsell lobule H VII) during IM. The prefrontal and parietal regions revealed no significant changes during both conditions. The results of cortical activity support the hypothesis that motor imagery and motor performance possess similar neural substrates. The differential activation in the cerebellum during EM and IM is in accordance with the assumption that the posterior cerebellum is involved in the inhibition of movement execution during imagination.


In transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, the continuity of the flow field is an essential prerequisite. However, continuous flows can be separated under certain conditions, such as the process from valve opening to re-closure. The current method often leaves a narrow gap to estimate the full closing status, which will introduce a deviation. To address this issue, a full closing numerical simulation method (FCNSM) is developed to solve the problem of simulation between discontinuous flow field (DFF) and continuous flow field (CFF). The matrix laboratory (MATLAB) program has been used to communicate Fluent as a server session to call the files Fluent and automatically execute text-based user interface (TUI) commands. The radial basis function (RBF) is used to construct the relationship between the variables of the flow field and the coordinates of mesh nodes, which can achieve the data transmission from a DFF to a CFF. Automatic stopping of transient calculations is achieved by passing variables among MATLAB program, scheme language, and user-defined functions (UDF) when a physical quantity reaches a set value. Based on this method, a transient simulation with a dynamic mesh of a 2-D model regarding a pressure relief valve (PRV) is performed to simulate the process of the valve from full closing to re-closure, the flow characteristics through the PRV are obtained using this method. This study makes it possible to use FCNSM for understanding dynamic characteristics from DFF to CFF.


textabstractTotal Quality Management (TQM) is a systematic approach to managing a company. TQM is systematic in the sense that it is uses facts through observation, analysis and measurable goals. There are theoretical descriptions of this management concept, but there is no formal model of it. A formal model can give a very precise description of the concept and will be useful in organisations that consider to use TQM. Furthermore it can give organisations that have adopted TQM already more insight into their own situation. We will use the formal modelling method Paradigm as this method can give a clear description of systems in which communication plays an important role. To be more precise, Paradigm is a modelling method for parallel behaviour that shows in detail the interaction among components. We present two models in this paper: one for reactive improvement, both with and without a role for a separate manager, and a model for proactive improvement. The models are not normative in the sense that companies should exactly use TQM as we describe it in order to do it successfully. At the other hand the models are also not theoretical in the sense that they give a precise description of the theory concerning TQM as this is known of books and articles. Moreover, by making the Paradigm models we had to add details to TQM that are not described in informal descriptions of books and articles. The application of Paradigm shows much more detail in the management of the improvement processes. It provides insight as to when a manager using TQM can and probably should make choices and decisions regarding the improvement process. Furthermore, the models show that precise communication between the parties involved is of crucial importance to apply TQM.


Modern manufacturing enterprises are built from facilities spread around the globe, which contain equipment from hundreds of different manufacturers. Immense volumes of product information must be transferred between the various facilities and machines. Today's digital communications standards have solved the problem of reliably transferring information across global networks. For mechanical parts, the description of product data has been standardized by ISO 10303 (STEP). This leads to the possibility of using standard data throughout the entire process chain in the manufacturing enterprise. Barriers to realizing this principle are the data formats used at the machine level. Most computer numerical control (CNC) machines are programmed in the ISO 6983 " G-code " language. Programs are typically generated by computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems that use computer-aided design (CAD) information. However, " G-code " limits program portability for three reasons. First, the language focuses on programming the tool centre path with respect to machine axes, rather than the machining process with respect to the part. Second, the standard defines the syntax of program statements, but in most cases leaves the semantics ambiguous. Third, vendors usually supplement the language with extensions that are not covered in the limited scope of " G-code ". The replacement for G-code is so-called " STEP-NC " , the name STEP-NC meaning the STEP standard extended for NC. STEP-NC is a new model of data transfer between CAD/CAM systems and CNC machines. It remedies the shortcomings of " G-code " by specifying machining processes rather than machine tool motion, using the concept of workingsteps. Workingsteps correspond to high-level machining features and associated process parameters. CNCs are responsible for translating workingsteps to axis motion and tool operation.


India has attained much economic success in the past three decades. Yet an economic deceleration in recent years has generated worried commentaries about the country's growth outlook. This paper offers a long-term perspective on India's growth experience. Analyzing the past five decades of data, the paper notes that growth has slowly but steadily accelerated, become less erratic, and been well diversified across sectors and states. A more granular assessment of the period since the early 1990s finds that there were three distinct phases of growth: a period of slow acceleration from 1991 to the early 2000s; a short period of unusually rapid growth, with certain features of unsustainability, during 2004-08; and a corrective slowdown that started with the global financial crisis in 2008. The slowdown has been reflected most profoundly in investment, credit, and exports. Even as the economy has now recovered to a growth rate of 7 to 7.5 percent, durably accelerating it to a higher level will require a concerted policy momentum that succeeds in reversing the slowdown in investment, credit supply, and exports; and support from the global economy. Maintaining the hard-won macroeconomic stability, implementing a definite and durable solution to the banking sector issues, and realizing the expected growth and fiscal dividend from the Goods and Services Tax are some of the other factors that can help attain a higher growth rate.


A new coated time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) probe design is described and evaluated. In contrast to previous coated TDR probes, our probe may be used to measure both the dielectric constant (Ka) and bulk electrical conductivity (σa) in saline porous media. This was made possible by attaching two coaxial cables to a 0.27‐m three‐rod probe with a coated central rod. The shield of the first cable was connected to one of the outer rods and the conductor was connected to the coated central rod. The conductor and shield of the other coaxial cable were connected to each of the two outer rods, respectively. Thus, our probe consists of two unbalanced, two‐rod probes. The probe is called coated–uncoated probe (CUP). Four prototypes with two different coating materials (i.e., polyolefin and kynar heat‐shrink tubes) were evaluated. The probes were calibrated in several fluids having different Ka and σa The Ka measurement of the coated part of the probe was successfully fitted to target Ka using a two‐phase dielectric mixing model. Due to signal attenuation, measurements of Ka were not possible for σa higher than 9 dS m−1 for the polyolefin‐coated probes whereas the upper limits for the kynar‐coated probes and the uncoated probe were 5 and 2.5 dS m−1, respectively. Measurements of σa are only possible with the uncoated part. Measurements of Ka and σa were also taken during three upward infiltration experiments in sand using soil solution electrical conductivities of 0.01, 6.31, and 12.03 dS m−1 For the uncoated part, Ka could not be measured when σa was higher than about 2 dS m−1, whereas Ka measurements were possible using the coated part even when σa was 3 dS m−1


George H. Quester argues that the possibility of nuclear war continues to loom despite the reduction in stockpiles by the major powers. Supporters of total nuclear disarmament often dismiss pessimistic objections to the possibility of reaching nuclear zero as being hypothetical, but this book looks at real illustrations for this possibility, taken from the years that gave the world the Manhattan Project. Any advocate of total nuclear disarmament must deal with the challenge of orealisto analysts of international relations, those who worry that being at zero nuclear weapons, or even close to zero, would be unstable and dangerous. Mutual fears could be self-confirming, leading to cheating on disarmament, and even nuclear war. While such fears are often dismissed as theoretical or hypothetical, this book attempts to test them against the real-life experience of the last time we were at nuclear zero. The years from 1933 to 1945 saw many such self-confirming fears, leading to the Manhattan Project and the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Optimism about the future cannot be ruled out totally, but the history of our experience with nuclear disarmament must be examined carefully to identify the crucial prerequisites for elimination of such weapons of mass destruction. This book is required reading for courses on arms control, defence policy, and international relations, or for readers looking for historical background on a critical global issue.


Most academic contributions to literature on lean manufacturing (LM) focus on specific aspects of LM, while there is little discussion on overall implementation issues. This is despite the fact that lean principles encompass all aspects of manufacturing operations and the need of a systemic approach is clearly shown in practitioner-oriented literature. This paper proposes the idea of an innovative methodology able to guide the information management in LM, based on the 'system of systems' (SoS) approach currently being used for complex military initiatives. It is an attempt to describe how the main aspects of manufacturing systems can be represented within the SoS framework and how SoS can support the rational definition of a path leading from corporate strategy to system redesign.


c. = century ca. = circa MNV = minimum number of vessels sh. = shreds --- This thesis is the third and last part of a research project whose primary purpose was to revise the role of the sgraffiato ware ascribed to Ferrara during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The ceramic materials which we considered in our study come from two different settings: an underground brick pit excavated in 2001 at Ferrara's Municipal Square (anciently the city's Ducal Courtyard) and the Carife Foundation collection of objets d'art (group A). These settings diverge markedly from one another, starting from the type of formation, that is an archaeological deposit, once used for waste disposal, on the one hand and a group of objects from the antique trade on the other; despite that, what brings them together is high share of medieval and post-medieval sgraffiato ware. The study of pottery finds from the pit has pointed out the following data: a total of 4066 ceramic sh. (omitting illegible pieces), that reach 4118 if we add the kiln waste. Of these, 1439 are single sh., whereas 2627 are vessel units (joining in some cases), forming 476 MNV, plus 92 restored pieces. Sgraffiato ware consists mainly of open forms (in particular bowls and plates), few jugs and some other rare items such as inkstands. This group includes all the types of incised slipwares that are known to have been produced in the Padana region of Italy during the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance. Regarding the chronology, since the context was found sealed some metres under the square, both the written sources and the association of the finds allow us to determine when the pit was used for the last time; these two elements seem to suggest the second half of the 15th c. as a possible terminus ante quem for the pit. Furthermore, another aspect that emerges neatly from the study of the ceramic material is the connection with a privileged household, originally, which we can detect in the Este family, whose palace was built all around the square (the previous Courtyard) and where the family lived until the end of 1400s. The pottery that constitutes the group A of the Carife collection comprises 362 items dating between ca. the second half of the 14th c. and the second half of the 16th c.; ceramic classes include mainly slipwares and medieval tin-glazed wares. Unlike the context 1050, these ceramics do not represent a unit, in view of the fact that they were intentionally grouped together throughout the last three decades of the 20th c.; nearly 90% of the pieces consists of sgraffiato wares, all restored except for a plate fragment. Unfortunately, group A lacks any kind of information about its formation and no record is available with regard to the old owner/s, possible dealers and, lastly, to the provenance of the objects. All that we were able to find out has been summed up in one of the first paragraphs of the 3rd part of the thesis, but it is clear from these few facts, drawn mostly from the literature available for a small part of the vessels, that the basic problems related to this collection (i. e. method, type and place of recovery) are still far from solved. Owing to this, these ceramics can only be approximately 'placed', both chronologically and geographically; as a matter of fact, we couldn't avoid general attributions, which we based on comparisons with archaeological material from excavations carried out to scientifical standards, primarily in the north-eastern part of Italy.


Background The use of antidementia drugs indicated for the treatment of certain cognitive, behavioural and psychological symptoms related to dementia (BPSD) in elderly patients is limited because of their low efficacy. Therefore, other psychotropic drugs are commonly prescribed off-label. Data on off-label prescriptions of psychotropic drugs for BPSD are scarce. Purpose To assess both the frequency of psychotropic prescriptions for the treatment of BPSD and the conformity of prescriptions to official Swissmedic monographs1 (OSM) and to Swiss recommendations 20142 (SR). Material and methods Retrospective and descriptive study of patients discharged between June 1st 2013 and January 31st 2014 from the Organic Psychiatric Disorders Unit of the Geriatric Psychiatry Service of a primary and tertiary care university hospital. The number and the type of drugs prescribed were investigated and the percentage of conformity to references was analysed. Results 835 different drugs were prescribed to the 94 patients included. The average number of drugs per patient was 9 ± 3, including 4 ± 2 psychotropic drugs. Dementia was diagnosed in 89 of them for whom 409 psychotropic prescriptions were identified. Of these 409 prescriptions, 395 prescriptions targeted the treatment of BPSD. The conformity with OSM and SR were respectively 59.0% and 68.9% according to indication, 54.2% and 64.6% according to the route of administration, 38.0% and 38.8% according to the initial dose, 43.2% and 30.8% according to the maximum dose, 35.4% and 52.2% according to the duration of treatment. Conclusion Patients treated in a primary and tertiary hospital due to BPSD are systematically prescribed psychotropic medication, often outside the official recommendations. This may emphasise the substantial and unmet needs of approved drugs to treat BPSD. References Swissmedic. http://www.swissmedicinfo.ch/ (last access July 06, 2014) Savaskan, E. et al. Empfehlungen zur Diagnostik und Therapie der behavioralen und psychologischen Symptome der Demenz (BPSD). PRAXIS 2014;103:135–48 No conflict of interest.


Food is an essential part of our lives and is no longer simply a physiological function. This presentation aims to introduce an initial exploration of the literature with relations to the
potential relationship between celebrity chefs and the construction of taste. Taste is intrinsically linked to food, both from a gustatory aspect as well as from an aesthetic perspective. Within this arena, the celebrity chef has become an important part of contemporary British society as an actor in transmitting concepts of taste and distinction through television and media. However, as such, the specific association between celebrity chefs and taste remains under-examined.

A systematic and extensive review of the literature has been carried out using key words in databases, as well as an examination of important texts. The significant themes arising from the review may suggest that certain conceptual frameworks are emerging such as the significance of the structuralist approach which suggests that taste is socially and culturally constructed. This contrasts with the materialist approach which argues that taste is connected to external influences such as economic and political changes whilst a post-structuralist approach posits that individual identity is central to the construction of taste. Finally, a very useful categorisation and clustering of the chefs has arisen. This has informed the methodological approach which will be a qualitative discourse analysis of the television shows and cookbooks in order to extract the possible link between the chefs and the construction of taste. Findings so far may suggest that the celebrity chef has developed into a modern cultural figure that embodies important notions of contemporary shifts in attitudes towards gender, cooking, ethics, consumption, culinary taste and cultural capital and that they are becoming key players as a wider sociological phenomenon.


Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. is a fruit tree crop largely grown in tropical regions for its edible fruits. Though listed among underutilized crops, the demand for jackfruit in Uganda has increased. Amidst the increase in demand, the crop faces strong selective pressure and yet there is no documentation of the varieties and distribution of the crop in the country. This study therefore aimed at determining the varieties and distribution of jackfruit in Uganda using folk knowledge to provide a baseline for its production, booming market and conservation. A cross-sectional survey involving 349 participants comprising of 205 jackfruit traders and 144 jackfruit farmers from three political regions and three agro-ecological zones was conducted. Data were collected through face to face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and direct observations. Classification of jackfruit varieties, geographical location of the source of jackfruits for traders and the time of harvest of the fruit by the farmers were investigated. Occurrence of varieties per household was determined through on-farm visits. Data analysis techniques involved descriptive, chi-square and Cramer's V measure of association analyses. Traders mainly obtained jackfruit from Central (46.0%)  and Eastern (37.6%) political regions, Lake Victoria Crescent and Mbale Farmlands (41.1%) and Southern and Eastern Lake Kyoga Basin (30.0%) agro-ecological zones. Jackfruit varieties were classified basing on fruit texture and pulp colour, revealing four ethno-varieties, soft (Serebera), firm yellow (Kanaanansi), firm red (Namusaayi) and firm white (Namata). Namata and Serebera registered the lowest occurrences political regions and agro-ecological zones. Farmers harvested jackfruit throughout the year with a peak season in December and January. Folk knowledge provided baseline information for jackfruit variety categorization. Selection pressure exerted on Serebera and Namata demands for germplasm conservation. Since jackfruit thrives in a wide range of climatic conditions, its cultivation should be encouraged to ensure food security and sustain the increasing demand.


Author: Annie F. Albrecht Title: A Child in Every Way but One: Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility in Texas Supervising Professors: Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Melissa Murphy, Ph.D. At age 18, the federal government considers an individual an adult, and thus eligible to vote, sit on a jury, join the military, buy a cigarette, and serve time in an adult prison. The state of Texas follows similar policies, except in one respect. Texas sets the age of criminal responsibility, or the age at which one is considered an adult and eligible to be tried in criminal court, at seventeen. The state of Texas considers seventeen-year-olds mature enough to serve time in prison, but not mature enough to vote for the judges that may send them there. Over the past several years, there have been multiple attempts to raise the age of criminal responsibility from seventeen to eighteen. They have all failed. Those opposed to raising the age argue that the change will be too costly, that the current system is adequately serving both juvenile and adult offenders, and that such a change would be a threat to public safety. However, a case study of similar policy changes in the state of Illinois shows the exact opposite. After examining existing literature and data gathered following the state of Illinois' recent law raising the age of criminal responsibility to eighteen, I will argue that Texas' current policy is not only harmful to seventeen-year-olds incarcerated in adult prisons, but that the proposed policy change will also save money, improve public safety, and better serve both juvenile and adult offenders. I will then provide four policy recommendations to the Texas legislature: (1) raise the age of criminal responsibility to eighteen, (2) form a task force to recommend best practices for transition, (3) delay implementation for 2 years to allow time for transition preparation, and (4) create a matching grant program to fund the transition and ongoing costs.


American Indian Tribes in the United States have a unique legal and political status shaped by fluctuating federal policies and the over-arching history of this country's brand of settler-colonialism. One of the several legacies of this history is that federally recognized tribes have membership rules that diverge significantly from typical state or national citizenship criteria. These rules and their history are poorly understood by judges and members of the public, leading to misunderstandings about the "racial" status of tribes and Indian people, and on occasion to incoherent and damaging decisions on a range of Indian law issues. This article, which is part of a larger project on tribes, sovereignty, and race, will discuss the history of Florida's tribes, their road from pre-contact independent peoples to federally recognized tribes, and their contemporary membership criteria in order to shed light on the inextricably political nature of race, membership and sovereignty in the American Indian context.


This study investigates the wake interaction of four full-scale three-bladed tidal turbines with different ambient turbulence conditions, in straight and yawed flows. A three-dimensional unsteady Lagrangian Vortex Blob software is used for the numerical simulations of the turbines' wakes. In order to model the ambient turbulence in the Lagrangian Vortex Method formalism, a Synthetic Eddy Method is used. With this method, turbulent structures are added in the computational domain to generate a velocity field which statistically reproduces any ambient turbulence intensity and integral length scale. The influence of the size of the structures and their density (within the study volume) on the wake of a single turbine is studied. Good agreement is obtained between numerical and experimental results for a high turbulence intensity but too many structures can increase the numerical dissipation and reduce the wake extension. Numerical simulations of the four turbine array with the layout initially proposed for the NEPTHYD pilot farm are then presented. Two ambient turbulence intensities encountered in the Alderney Race and two integral length scales are tested with a straight flow. Finally, the wakes obtained for yawed flows with different angles are presented, highlighting turbine interactions.


Ever since his first experience with the remarkable "Upper Oligocene" molluscan fauna of the Isle of Buton, the present writer has endeavoured to find more convincing evidence for its age. One of the most tempting problems was why this fauna showed so few relationships to other fossil faunas or to the living mollusca (See Martin, 1933, 1935; Beets, 1942, a, d). Since the only firm point emerging from a number of more or less confusing data was that the closest relationships existed with the Neogene fauna of the East Indies, the writer started extensive comparisons with a number of undescribed fossil collections from that region kept in Netherlands museums (Leyden Geological Museum, Delft Mining Institute, Utrecht Geological Institute). Meanwhile, additional fossils from Buton at first still believed to be of an Oligocene age were received in 1943 from both the "Rijkswegenbouw-Laboratorium", The Hague, and the "Naturhistorisches Museum", Basle, the latter fauna accompanied by notes concerning the locality compiled by its collector, Dr. F. Weber, Lugano.
The comparisons mentioned above bore their first fruits late in 1943 and earljr in 1944 when species described from Buton were discovered in an undescribed collection of mollusca from East-Borneo which apparently indicated unusually deep water deposition. It soon became apparent that the "oligocene" mollusca from Buton too should be considered as a "deep water" fauna. This seemed to explain a number of puzzling facts which up till that time did not fit the picture of Tertiary faunal development in the East Indies. Moreover, it appeared that the age of the fauna most probably was to be considered as Mio-Pliocene. Following researches with the aid of the collections in the Zoological Museum, Amsterdam, the Leyden Museum of Natural History and the British Museum (Natural History) confirmed the above revised views.


We introduce the binary value principle which is a simple subset-sum instance expressing that a natural number written in binary cannot be negative, relating it to central problems in proof and algebraic complexity. We prove conditional superpolynomial lower bounds on the Ideal Proof System (IPS) refutation size of this instance, based on a well-known hypothesis by Shub and Smale about the hardness of computing factorials, where IPS is the strong algebraic proof system introduced by Grochow and Pitassi (2018). Conversely, we show that short IPS refutations of this instance bridge the gap between sufficiently strong algebraic and semi-algebraic proof systems. Our results extend to full-fledged IPS the paradigm introduced in Forbes et al. (2016), whereby lower bounds against subsystems of IPS were obtained using restricted algebraic circuit lower bounds, and demonstrate that the binary value principle captures the advantage of semi-algebraic over algebraic reasoning, for sufficiently strong systems. Specifically, we show the following: Conditional IPS lower bounds: The Shub-Smale hypothesis (1995) implies a superpolynomial lower bound on the size of IPS refutations of the binary value principle over the rationals defined as the unsatisfiable linear equation ∑ i=1 n 2 i−1 x i = −1, for boolean x i 's. Further, the related τ-conjecture (1995) implies a superpolynomial lower bound on the size of IPS refutations of a variant of the binary value principle over the ring of rational functions. No prior conditional lower bounds were known for IPS or for apparently much weaker propositional proof systems such as Frege. Algebraic vs. semi-algebraic proofs: Admitting short refutations of the binary value principle is necessary for any algebraic proof system to fully simulate any known semi-algebraic proof system, and for strong enough algebraic proof systems it is also sufficient. In particular, we introduce a very strong proof system that simulates all known semi-algebraic proof systems (and most other known concrete propositional proof systems), under the name Cone Proof System (CPS), as a semi-algebraic analogue of the ideal proof system: CPS establishes the unsatisfiability of collections of polynomial equalities and inequalities over the reals, by representing sum-of-squares proofs (and extensions) as algebraic circuits. We prove that IPS is polynomially equivalent to CPS iff IPS admits polynomial-size refutations of the binary value principle (for the language of systems of equations that have no 0/1-solutions), over both ℤ and ℚ.


With extensive use of information systems in day-to-day business operations, many organizations are facing challenges to develop robust computer-based information systems that are secure and widely used by the user community. In order to develop information systems that are secure and useful, understanding what stakeholders consider important and value about the security and usability is critical. Security refers to confidentiality, integrity and availability and usability refers to efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction. Using Value Focused Thinking approach, this research first proposes the usability objectives based on the values of system developers and users. Using the security objectives proposed by Dhillon & Torkzadeh (2006) and the usability objectives, this research proposes hierarchies with the overall/over-arching goals of security (confidentiality, integrity, availability) and/or usability (efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction). This research also analyzes a case of computer hacking and identifies which of the security and usability objectives that have not been met in that case study. The research contributions which include the usability objectives and security and usability hierarchies can be useful for theoretical as well as practical purposes.


Let $N$ balls of the same radius be given in a $d$-dimensional real normed vector space, i.e., in a Minkowski $d$-space. Then apply a uniform contraction to the centers of the $N$ balls without changing the common radius. Here a uniform contraction is a contraction where all the pairwise distances in the first set of centers are larger than all the pairwise distances in the second set of centers. The main results of this paper state that a uniform contraction of the centers does not increase (resp., decrease) the volume of the union (resp., intersection) of $N$ balls in Minkowski $d$-space, provided that $N\geq 2^d$ (resp., $N\geq 3^d$ and the unit ball of the Minkowski $d$-space is a generating set). Some improvements are presented in Euclidean spaces.


Earth System Models (ESMs) are essential tools for understanding and predicting global change, but they cannot explicitly resolve hillslope‐scale terrain structures that fundamentally organize water, energy, and biogeochemical stores and fluxes at subgrid scales. Here we bring together hydrologists, Critical Zone scientists, and ESM developers, to explore how hillslope structures may modulate ESM grid‐level water, energy, and biogeochemical fluxes. In contrast to the one‐dimensional (1‐D), 2‐ to 3‐m deep, and free‐draining soil hydrology in most ESM land models, we hypothesize that 3‐D, lateral ridge‐to‐valley flow through shallow and deep paths and insolation contrasts between sunny and shady slopes are the top two globally quantifiable organizers of water and energy (and vegetation) within an ESM grid cell. We hypothesize that these two processes are likely to impact ESM predictions where (and when) water and/or energy are limiting. We further hypothesize that, if implemented in ESM land models, these processes will increase simulated continental water storage and residence time, buffering terrestrial ecosystems against seasonal and interannual droughts. We explore efficient ways to capture these mechanisms in ESMs and identify critical knowledge gaps preventing us from scaling up hillslope to global processes. One such gap is our extremely limited knowledge of the subsurface, where water is stored (supporting vegetation) and released to stream baseflow (supporting aquatic ecosystems). We conclude with a set of organizing hypotheses and a call for global syntheses activities and model experiments to assess the impact of hillslope hydrology on global change predictions.


Interdisciplinary in design and concept, Speculation, Now illuminates unexpected convergences between images, concepts, and language. Artwork is interspersed among essays that approach speculation and progressive change from surprising perspectives. A radical cartographer asks whether "the speculative" can be represented on a map. An ethnographer investigates religious possession in Islam to contemplate states between the divine and the seemingly human. A financial technologist queries understandings of speculation in financial markets. A multimedia artist and activist considers the relation between social change and assumptions about the conditions to be changed, and an architect posits purposeful neglect as political strategy. The book includes an extensive glossary with more than twenty short entries in which scholars contemplate such speculation-related notions as insurance, hallucination, prophecy, the paradox of beginnings, and states of half-knowledge. The book's artful, nonlinear design mirrors and reinforces the notion of contingency that animates it. By embracing speculation substantively, stylistically, seriously, and playfully, Speculation, Now reveals its subversive and critical potential.

Artists and essayists include William Darity Jr., Filip De Boeck, Boris Groys, Hans Haacke, Darrick Hamilton, Laura Kurgan, Lin + Lam, Gary Lincoff, Lize Mogel, Christina Moon, Stefania Pandolfo, Satya Pemmaraju, Mary Poovey, Walid Raad, Sherene Schostak, Robert Sember, and Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss.

Published by Duke University Press and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School


Definition of international crime is still a question of serious considerations. First of all, there is no unified source of international law that provides for such a definition. The only source where such an attempt was made was an intermediate edition (1996) of Draft Articles on State Responsibility prepared by UN International Law Commission. This source in Article 19 provides for three basic features of International crime: First, an internationally wrongful act which results from the breach by a State of an international obligation; second, international obligation is so essential for the protection of fundamental interests of the international community that its breach (third) is recognised as a crime by that community as a whole. The most problematic is the third feature, i.e. how this recognition shall be verified? Could we apply the analogy of jus cogens or should we recognise only explicit recognition by the states or international institutions (UN Security Council, International Court of Justice, etc.?). After review of the state practice it becomes clear that the recognition of international crime is more political than le- gal issue. It is peculiarly clear while comparing the international condemnation of two major totalitarian regimes: nazi Germany and communist Soviet Union. Nuremberg Tribunal universally condemned the crimes committed by Nazis in 1945, however crimes of Soviet Union have received only limited, episodic international recognition. On the other hand, different sources of international law dealing with individual criminal responsibility for international crimes never provides for recognition criteria. State practice, particularly Pinochet case clearly shows that such a recognition is not necessary. Therefore, international recognition is useful, but not obligatory instrument in order to prosecute person responsible for international crime. Nevertheless, the failures of Lithuanian law enforcement institutions to bring to justice persons, responsible for the crimes, committed under USSR occupation (Nacham Dusanski, Piotr Raslan cases) clearly show that insufficient recognition is a serious obstacle for international cooperation. Moreover, additional obstacles are caused by inadequacies of Lithuanian legal system, particularly, extended definition of genocide in Lithuanian criminal code, political decision to treat most of the crimes committed by soviet repression structures as genocide.


Background: Endogenous estrogens prevent lipid peroxidation, which is pivotal in atherogenesis. Dyslipidemia may therefore be more dangerous for men than for women as a risk factor for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A differential effect by sex has not been empirically established. Methods: In a prospective population-based cohort study of 23,525 women and 20,725 men younger than 60 years of age at baseline, we followed participants for 12 years for a first AMI. By calculating the proportion of AMI among men with dyslipidemia attributable to the synergism between male sex and dyslipidemia, we assessed the degree to which dyslipidemia is more detrimental for men than for women. Results: Dyslipidemia and male sex enhanced the effect of one another in relation to AMI risk. The proportion of AMI cases among men with dyslipidemia attributable to this synergism alone was 0.46 (95% confidence interval = 0.35 to 0.57) for high total serum cholesterol, 0.23 (0.05 to 0.41) for low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and 0.52 (0.42 to 0.62) for high non-HDL cholesterol. In contrast, obesity and hypertension were equally detrimental for men and women in relation to AMI risk, with a corresponding attributable proportion of 0.02 (−0.21 to 0.25) and −0.01 (−0.27 to 0.24), respectively. Conclusions: Current clinical guidelines of dyslipidemia management do not distinguish between men and women in relation to primary prevention of AMI. Our results suggest that in middle age, dyslipidemia is much more detrimental for men than for women, and that preventing dyslipidemia has a greater potential to reduce the occurrence of AMI among men.


The aim of the current article is to overview the recent developments in the field of hemorrhagic shock research, as it relates to the roles of nitric oxide (NO) in the pathogenesis of this condition. The first part of the review focuses on the roles of peroxynitrite, a reactive oxidant produced from the reaction of NO and superoxide. The second part of the review deals with the novel findings related to the recently identified regulatory roles of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in hemorrhagic shock. (1) The role of peroxynitrite: Immunohistochemical and biochemical evidence demonstrate the production of peroxynitrite in hemorrhagic shock. Peroxynitrite can initiate a wide range of toxic oxidative reactions. These include initiation of tyrosine nitration, lipid peroxidation, direct inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes, inactivation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, inhibition of membrane sodium/potassium ATP-ase activity, inactivation of membrane sodium channels, and other oxidative modifications of proteins. All these toxicities are likely to play a role in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. A combined anti-inflammatory agent, mercaptoethylguanidine, which selectively inhibits iNOS and scavenges peroxynitrite, prevents the delayed vascular decompensation and the cellular energetic failure associated with late hemorrhagic shock. Peroxynitrite is a potent trigger of DNA single strand breakage, with subsequent activation of the nuclear enzyme poly (ADP ribose) synthetase (PARS), leading to eventual severe energy depletion of the cells, and necrotic-type cell death. Pharmacological inhibition of PARS, with 3-aminobenzamide or 5-iodo-6-amino-1,2-benzopyrone, improves hemodynamic status and prolongs survival time in rodent and porcine models of severe hemorrhagic shock. (2) Novel signaling roles of induced NO in hemorrhagic shock. Although the severity and duration of shock may dictate the timing and extent of iNOS expression, it is now evident that the up-regulation of iNOS can take place during sustained shock. Accumulated data indicate that iNOS expressed during shock contributes to vascular decompensation, as classically described by Wiggers. In addition, the presence of even low levels of iNOS at the time of resuscitation enhances the inflammatory response that follows the reperfusion state. Pharmacological inhibition of iNOS with N6-(iminoethyl)-L-lysine or genetic inactivation of iNOS (iNOS knockout mice) attenuates the activation of the transcription factors nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB) and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3), and ameliorates the increases in interleukin-6 and G-CSF messenger RNA levels in the lungs and liver. Inhibition of iNOS results in a marked reduction of lung and liver injury produced by hemorrhagic shock. Thus, induced nitric oxide, in addition to being a "final common mediator" of hemorrhagic shock, is essential for the up-regulation of the inflammatory response in resuscitated hemorrhagic shock. Furthermore, a picture of a pathway is evolving that contributes to tissue damage both directly via the formation of peroxynitrite, with its associated toxicities, and indirectly through the amplification of the inflammatory response.


Fuzzy Rule-Based Classification Systems (FRBCSs) have the potential to provide so-called interpretable classifiers, i.e. Classifiers which can be introspective, understood, validated and augmented by human experts by relying on fuzzy-set based rules. This paper builds on prior work for interval type-2 fuzzy set based FRBCs where the fuzzy sets and rules of the classifier are generated using an initial clustering stage. By introducing Subtractive Clustering in order to identify multiple cluster prototypes, the proposed approach has the potential to deliver improved classification performance while maintaining good interpretability, i.e. Without resulting in an excessive number of rules. The paper provides a detailed overview of the proposed FRBC framework, followed by a series of exploratory experiments on both linearly and non-linearly separable datasets, comparing results to existing rule-based and SVM approaches. Overall, initial results indicate that the approach enables comparable classification performance to non rule-based classifiers such as SVM, while often achieving this with a very small number of rules.


Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction is helpful to produce covalent
derivatives of fullerene with desirable electronic and physical
properties. In the present venture, we have computationally investigated
the reactivity of neutral C and its
Li encapsulated derivative towards Multi-Diels-Alder
(MDA) reaction with 1,3-butadiene, employing density functional theory
(DFT). The computational reports available to date illustrate the
functionalization of fullerene surfaces of neutral and encapsulated
C (Ca and Sm) with two butadiene molecules. In this
article, we aim to investigate whether more than two butadiene molecules
can be attached to the fullerene surface or not. To do so, we have shown
that the MDA reaction initiates with the formation of an encounter
complex between the mono-functionalized fullerene product and the second
butadiene molecule. In this context, two different approaches, namely
'Direct' and 'Alternative' have been considered based on the attachment
of the second butadiene, i.e., whether it is attached to the opposite or
adjacent position of the first functionalization, which eventually
produces the same final product. We have explored the MDA reactions by
considering a total of four diene molecules that can be embedded
successfully on the fullerene surface, with each reaction step having a
high degree of exothermicity, thus making the overall reaction
thermodynamically facile. In harmony with the mono- and
bis-cycloaddition reactions, for MDA reaction also, the positive impact
of Li encapsulation for enhancing the reactivity of
fullerene surface towards butadiene attachment is evident from our
study. On-the-fly calculations also suggest the bond preference for
[6, 6] connectivity than its [6, 5] counterpart, to be the
suitable dienophile, just like the mono- and bis-functionalization
reported earlier. Overall, the present study will foresee an extensive
idea about the detailed mechanism of the MDA reaction on neutral
C and Li@C that
could encourage the scientists to perform the aforementioned reaction
for other fullerene derivatives in the long run.


* Corresponding author:: Reza Shekarriz-Foumani E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Backgroundm: Based on recent evidence, inadequate and ineffective follow up after discharge increases the risk of unplanned readmissions, which is an indicator of poor healthcare system function. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of patient education and follow up after discharge on hospital readmission in heart failure patients. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 120 patients with heart failure admitted in Taleghani hospital, Tehran and were allocated equally with block randomization method. The intervention group were educated based on recent guidelines and their needs after discharge and were followed up for 3 months by 9 telephone interviews (every week for the first month after discharge, every two weeks for the next two months), but the control group received the routine care. Data were gathered based on a control check-list every two weeks for both groups and were analyzed using chi-square test, Fisher and t-test. Evaluation of intervention effect was done using generalized estimating equations (GEE) model. Results: Readmission rate was 19.3% in intervention group and 38.2% in control group (p=0.05). The patients that needed outpatient care did not differ significantly in both groups (17.5% in intervention group vs. 28.3% in control group). Conclusion: This study suggests that patient education and follow up after discharge might decrease readmission rate among heart failure patients.


Ubiquitous miniaturization requires an everchanging
 tool set for handling, controlling
 and manipulating on the micro- and nanoscale.
 Light-based technologies like optical
 tweezers provide the contactless high-precision
 treatment needed for work done at these scales.
 Holographic optical tweezers (HOT) are used
 in hundreds of interdisciplinary applications,
 allowing researchers to move many dielectric
 particles and biological specimens in 3-D.


Changes in heart rate variability (HRV) as a result of autonomic dysfunction has been reported in patients with epileptic seizures and this condition is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Because most studies have been limited to cases of temporal lobe epilepsy, our study focused on cases of generalized epilepsy and examined changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic regulation. Five patients with generalized seizures were enrolled. Before seizure control and for 6 months or more after seizure control, precordial electrocardiograms were taken during an interictal period in the daytime. Frequency-domain analysis of HRV was performed using a nonparametric method of fast Fourier transformation. Each power spectrum was subsequently converted to standard frequency domain measures, including R-R interval (RR), high frequency power (HF; 0.15-0.40 Hz), low frequency power (LF; 0.04-0.15 Hz), and LF/(HF+LF) expressed in normalized units (LF%). After seizure control, there was a significant increase in HF and significant decrease in LF% relative to their levels before seizure control but no changes in RR or LF were noted. Thus, control of generalized seizures was accompanied by a simultaneous increase in parasympathetic regulation and decrease in sympathetic regulation. Our study confirms that seizure control may modulate autonomic function.


An appearance-based framework for 3D hand shape classification and simultaneous camera viewpoint estimation is presented. Given an input image of a segmented hand, the most similar matches from a large database of synthetic hand images are retrieved. The ground truth labels of those matches, containing hand shape and camera viewpoint information, are returned by the system as estimates for the input image. Database retrieval is done hierarchically, by first quickly rejecting the vast majority of all database views, and then ranking the remaining candidates in order of similarity to the input. Four different similarity measures are employed, based on edge location, edge orientation, finger location and geometric moments.


Objectives High quality information, increasingly captured in clinical databases, is a useful resource for evaluating and improving newborn care. We conducted a systematic review to identify neonatal databases, and define their characteristics. Methods We followed a preregistered protocol using MesH terms to search MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and OVID Maternity and Infant Care Databases for articles identifying patient level databases covering more than one neonatal unit. Full-text articles were reviewed and information extracted on geographical coverage, criteria for inclusion, data source, and maternal and infant characteristics. Results We identified 82 databases from 2037 publications. Of the country-specific databases there were 39 regional and 39 national. Sixty databases restricted entries to neonatal unit admissions by birth characteristic or insurance cover; 22 had no restrictions. Data were captured specifically for 53 databases; 21 administrative sources; 8 clinical sources. Two clinical databases hold the largest range of data on patient characteristics, USA's Pediatrix BabySteps Clinical Data Warehouse and UK's National Neonatal Research Database. Conclusions A number of neonatal databases exist that have potential to contribute to evaluating neonatal care. The majority is created by entering data specifically for the database, duplicating information likely already captured in other administrative and clinical patient records. This repetitive data entry represents an unnecessary burden in an environment where electronic patient records are increasingly used. Standardisation of data items is necessary to facilitate linkage within and between countries.


The proliferation of technology and vast amount of data transferred every day has made it imperative to practice security measures to protect people and their information. This issue has been handled by the implementation of cryptography in exchange of data. However, there exist many algorithms that can be used to encrypt and decrypt information and choosing the right one for a specific task is crucial. This paper focuses on effectively comparing four popular encryption ciphers, namely RSA, DES, Triple DES and Blowfish, through a web application that allows for measuring various factors of encryption, to provide a graphical result of the best algorithm to use for encrypting text files.


A simple technique for precisely controlling the interfacial energies and wetting behavior of polymers in contact with solid surfaces is described. End-functionalized statistical random copolymers of styrene and methylmethacrylate were synthesized, with the styrene fraction f varying from 0 to 1, and were end-grafted onto silicon substrates to create random copolymer brushes about 5 nanometers thick. For f < 0.7, polystyrene (PS) films (20 nanometers thick) rapidly dewet from the brushes when heated well above the glass transition temperature. The contact angle of the resulting polymer droplets increased monotonically with decreasing f. Similar behavior was observed for poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) films but with an opposite dependence on f. The interfacial energies of the random copolymer brushes with PS and PMMA were equal when f was about 0.6. Thus, precise control of the relative surface affinities of PS and PMMA was possible, demonstrating a way to manipulate polymer-surface interactions.


Security is paramount to the success of pervasive computing environments. The system presented in this paper provides a communications and security infrastructure that goes far in advancing the goal of anywhere anytime computing. Our work securely enables clients to access and utilize services in heterogeneous networks. We provide a service registration and discovery mechanism implemented through a hierarchy of service management. The system is built upon a simpli ed Public Key Infrastructure that provides for authentication, non-repudiation, anti-playback, and access control. Smartcards are used as secure containers for digital certi cates. The system is implemented in Java and we use Extensible Markup Language as the sole medium for communications and data exchange. Currently, we are solely dependent on a base set of access rights for our distributed trust model however, we are expanding the model to include the delegation of rights based upon a prede ned policy. In our proposed expansion, instead of exclusively relying on prede ned access rights, we have developed a exible representation of trust information, in Prolog, that can model permissions, obligations, entitlements, and prohibitions. In this paper, we present the implementation of our system and describe the modi cations to the design that are required to further enhance distributed trust. Our implementation is applicable to any distributed service infrastructure, whether the infrastructure is wired, mobile, or ad-hoc.


Security awareness and its implementation within an organisation is crucial for preventing deliberate attacks or/and minimise system failures on organisation's system especially where critical infrastructure is involved including energy, water, gas and etc. This study is based on Integrated System Theory (IST) and focuses on measuring and assessing security goals including policies, risk management, internal control and contingency management implemented in 101 organisations that operate Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems. The data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling to test the structural and measurement model. The major finding of this study is that organisational information security goals are strongly related to the key measurement indicators, which include items assessing security policies, risk management, internal controls and contingency management.


The near-field optical interaction between a sharp probe and a sample of interest can be exploited to image, spectroscopically probe, or modify surfaces at a resolution (down to ∼12 nm) inaccessible by traditional far-field techniques. Many of the attractive features of conventional optics are retained, including noninvasiveness, reliability, and low cost. In addition, most optical contrast mechanisms can be extended to the near-field regime, resulting in a technique of considerable versatility. This versatility is demonstrated by several examples, such as the imaging of nanometric-scale features in mammalian tissue sections and the creation of ultrasmall, magneto-optic domains having implications for highdensity data storage. Although the technique may find uses in many diverse fields, two of the most exciting possibilities are localized optical spectroscopy of semiconductors and the fluorescence imaging of living cells.


Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous lipid modulator in animals and humans, and has been evaluated since the 1970s as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug in more than 30 clinical trials, in a total of ~6,000 patients. PEA is currently available worldwide as a nutraceutical in different formulations, with and without excipients. Here we describe the results of all clinical trials evaluating PEA's efficacy and safety in nerve compression syndromes: sciatic pain and pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome, and review preclinical evidence in nerve impingement models. Both the pharmacological studies as well as the clinical trials supported PEA's action as an analgesic compound. In total, eight clinical trials have been published in such entrapment syndromes, and 1,366 patients have been included in these trials. PEA proved to be effective and safe in nerve compression syndromes. In one pivotal, double blind, placebo controlled trial in 636 sciatic pain patients, the number needed to treat to reach 50% pain reduction compared to baseline was 1.5 after 3 weeks of treatment. Furthermore, no drug interactions or troublesome side effects have been described so far. Physicians are not always aware of PEA as a relevant and safe alternative to opioids and co-analgesics in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Especially since the often prescribed co-analgesic pregabaline has been proven to be ineffective in sciatic pain in a double blind enrichment trial, PEA should be considered as a new and safe treatment option for nerve compression syndromes.


Congress rarely participates in litigation about the meaning of federal law. By contrast, the executive branch joins in federal litigation on a regular basis as either a party or amicus curiae. Congress simply assumes that the president's lawyers adequately represent its interests save in those rare instances when the two branches have a direct conflict. This Article questions that assumption.The federal judiciary's approach to statutory and constitutional interpretation diminishes Congress's influence, often to the benefit of the executive branch. The rise of textualism, the canon of constitutional avoidance, the reliance on Chevron deference, and the courts' reluctance to second-guess the executive branch on issues of national security and foreign affairs all lead to judicial decisions that favor the president's preferences over those of Congress. Furthermore, Congress rarely challenges executive encroachment on its most basic institutional prerogatives, such as the executive's use of intrasession recess appointments to avoid Senate confirmation. Congress remains silent even when the executive branch takes positions in ideologically charged cases that are at odds with the preference of the majority of its members. Congress's poor track record in all these areas should come as no surprise in an adversarial system in which the executive is well represented and Congress is not.Congress can and should change this dynamic by becoming a more active participant in federal litigation. By speaking on its own behalf in court, Congress could both protect its institutional interests against executive encroachment and open direct lines of communication with the executive and judiciary that may improve the quality of judicial decisions about the meaning of federal law.


Background : In many countries around the world, the most damaging invasive plant species are grasses. However, the status of grass invasions in South Africa has not been documented recently. Objectives : To update Sue Milton's 2004 review of grasses as invasive alien plants in South Africa, provide the first detailed species level inventory of alien grasses in South Africa and assess the invasion dynamics and management of the group. Method : We compiled the most comprehensive inventory of alien grasses in South Africa to date using recorded occurrences of alien grasses in the country from various literature and database sources. Using historical literature, we reviewed past efforts to introduce alien grasses into South Africa. We sourced information on the origins, uses, distributions and minimum residence times to investigate pathways and patterns of spatial extent. We identified alien grasses in South Africa that are having environmental and economic impacts and determined whether management options have been identified, and legislation created, for these species. Results : There are at least 256 alien grass species in the country, 37 of which have become invasive. Alien grass species richness increased most dramatically from the late 1800s to about 1940. Alien grass species that are not naturalised or invasive have much shorter residence times than those that have naturalised or become invasive. Most grasses were probably introduced for forage purposes, and a large number of alien grass species were trialled at pasture research stations. A large number of alien grass species in South Africa are of Eurasian origin, although more recent introductions include species from elsewhere in Africa and from Australasia. Alien grasses are most prevalent in the south-west of the country, and the Fynbos Biome has the most alien grasses and the most widespread species. We identified 11 species that have recorded environmental and economic impacts in the country. Few alien grasses have prescribed or researched management techniques. Moreover, current legislation neither adequately covers invasive species nor reflects the impacts and geographical extent of these species. Conclusion : South Africa has few invasive grass species, but there is much uncertainty regarding the identity, numbers of species, distributions, abundances and impacts of alien grasses. Although introductions of alien grasses have declined in recent decades, South Africa has a potentially large invasion debt. This highlights the need for continued monitoring and much greater investment in alien grass management, research and legislation.


To reduce the concentrations of brominated disinfection by-products, a process is presented here which removes bromide from a widely used surface water source, the California State Water Project (SWP). The process consists of oxidizing bromide to bromine and volatilizing the bromine. SWP water was passed through this unit under various conditions and the bromide was oxidized and volatilized under a variety of conditions. Five different reactor bodies with seventeen different configurations were tested. The reactors differed in the depth of the anode, in the distance between the anodes and, in the surface area of the anodes. Each reactor had SWP water pumped through the reactor at three or more different flows and at four or more different currents, producing 267 experimental conditions. Both reaction rates and removal efficiency increased with increasing current and were generally higher in the shallower reactors. The highest reaction rates were observed in the shallowest reactors and highest flow rates but the greatest efficiency was achieved is in a slightly deeper reactor at lower flows. This appears to have been the effect of the shallowest reactor having the smallest surface area that was easily saturated and but being closest to atmosphere, allowing the most rapid volatilization of bromine.


We use information theoretic achievable rate formulas for the multi-relay channel to study the problem of optimal placement of relay nodes along the straight line joining a source node and a destination node. The achievable rate formulas that we utilize are for full-duplex radios at the relays and decode-and-forward relaying. For the single relay case, and individual power constraints at the source node and the relay node, we provide explicit formulas for the optimal relay location and the optimal power allocation to the source-relay channel, for the exponential and the power-law path-loss channel models. For the multiple relay case, we consider exponential path-loss and a total power constraint over the source and the relays, and derive an optimization problem, the solution of which provides the optimal relay locations. Numerical results suggest that at low attenuation the relays are mostly clustered close to the source in order to be able to cooperate among themselves, whereas at high attenuation they are uniformly placed and work as repeaters. We also prove that a constant rate independent of the attenuation in the network can be achieved by placing a large enough number of relay nodes uniformly between the source and the destination, under the exponential path-loss model with total power constraint.


The debate of the so-called "net neutrality" has been under the spotlight in the US for many years, whereas many believed it would not become an issue in Europe. However, over the past few months the need to revise the current regulatory framework to encourage investment in all-IP networks has led to greater attention for net neutrality and its consequences for investment and competition. After the Commission adopted a "light-touch" approach to the issue at the end of 2007, the European Parliament has started to reconsider the issue, and it is reportedly considering a move towards more pro-neutrality rules. This paper summarises the main issues at hand in the net neutrality debate and the views expressed by advocates and opponents of the neutrality principle. The problem is described from a multi-sided market perspective, stressing the role of network operators as intermediaries in the "layered" architecture of all-IP networks. Finally, the paper discusses whether the European regulatory framework and its interaction with ex post competition policy are likely to solve many of the concerns of net neutrality advocates without any need for ad hoc regulation; and whether currently proposed solutions are likely to prove welfare-enhancing and conducive to a better regulatory environment for future e-communications.


This thesis explored and compared primary school teachers* agendas and museum experiences in English and Taiwanese schools. Its aim was to understand the impacts of schooling contexts on teachers' perceptions, attitudes and experiences of utilising museums to facilitate their teaching in schools. This thesis employed a qualitative case study approach for its strengths in understanding the subject's viewpoints in his/her life context,/ Six case studies were conducted, three in England and three in Taiwan. Each case study focused on a primary school teacher's experience of conducting a museum visit. Unlike most research which only studies teachers within museums, this thesis adopted an approach which included participating in school life and recording every step when the teacher organised a museum visit, from preparation before the trip to the follow-up work. This strategy helped to thoroughly understand how the teacher's agenda was developed in the school context. It also investigated the whole process of the teacher's museum experience, and the effects of the teacher's agenda on this experience. In addition, this thesis compared the patterns which emerged from the English and Taiwanese case studies. This comparative approach further revealed the subtle, implicit sides of the teachers' ideas and schooling cultures. The findings of this thesis confirmed the hypothesis that the schooling context has a profound impact on teachers in terms of their attitude towards and usage of museums as an educational resource. Teachers, either explicitly or implicitly, do bring a set of values, needs and expectations when they come to museums. These perceptions, in other words, teachers' agendas, are substantially developed in schooling contexts. In terms of the schooling context, the thesis further identified its two main components, namely educational ideologies and structures. Due to different educational beliefs and curriculum requirements, English and Taiwanese teachers display contrast attitudes and approaches when they use similar educational resources— museums. The findings of this thesis implied the importance of the socio-cultural context that visitors bring to the exhibits, and in the case of this thesis, the schooling experience teachers bring to museums. This thesis also suggested that what teachers perceive and expect from the museum may not necessarily fit with the museum's agenda, that is, the message the museum tries to convey and what it expects visitors to do. In this case, teachers' experience in the museum will be more affected by their own rather than the museum's agenda because visitors are entitled to freely use museums in their own ways. This insight has encouraged museums, policy makers and researchers to pay close attention to the aspect of teachers' agendas, and to use a more holistic perspective to examine visitors' museum experiences which should not be limited to the museum setting, but should also extend to their life contexts in which their agendas are developed.


One hundred eighty-six papers presented at the seventeenth coastal engineering conference are included in these three volumes. There are four parts: 1) Theoretical and observed wave characteristics, 2) coastal sediment problems, 3) coastal structures and related problems, and 4) coastal, estuarine and environmental problems. Part one explores recent advances in wave theories, orbital velocities in irregular waves, and laboratory generation of long waves. Subjects in the second part include sediment flux through reef-lagoon systems, sediment dispersal, natural beaches, and dune dynamics. Part three examines coastal pipelines, seawalls, marinas and breakwaters, and part four explores estuarine modeling, tidal channels, mooring forces induced by passing ships, and port planning. The conference was sponsored by the ASCE Coastal Engineering Research Council, the ASCE Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Division, and the Australian Institution of Engineers.


It is shown that the resonant frequencies and the transmission spectra of ring resonators can be adjusted by depositing or etching the cladding nitride layer on the ring waveguide without introducing an extra loss or extra variations of channel spacing. The cladding nitride layer increases the minimum width of the gap in the coupling region to larger than 150nm which makes it possible to consider photolithography instead of E-beam lithography for the typical design rule of ring filters. KOH silicon etching can also adjust not only the resonance frequencies but also coupling coefficients with a small sacrifice of guiding loss.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between loan default and loss given default (LGD) in an agricultural loan portfolio. The analysis employs a simulation model approach to evaluate the role that systematic and non-systematic risks play in determining the economic capital requirements under different agricultural economic conditions. Design/methodology/approach - The authors employ the theoretical approach suggested by Miu and Ozdemir to assess the role of LGD in the banking industry. A Monte Carlo simulation model is developed using Excel and calibrated to an agricultural credit association using historical data. The simulation model is used to evaluate the mark-up to economic capital that is implied by increasing credit risks due to cyclical changes in farm real estate values. Findings - The paper demonstrates that historical systematic risks due to the correlation between probability of default (PD) and LGD through the business cycle can result in a significant mark-up in the economic capital required by an agricultural lender. Using historical land price changes as the driver of systematic risk, the authors show that the correlations between changing PD and land values and between the PD and LGD provide evidence of how sensitive credit risk exposure is to these parameters. Originality/value - This paper is the first application of the Miu and Ozdemir model of systematic risk to an agricultural lending institution. The model approach can be adapted by farm lenders to evaluate their changing economic capital requirements through an economic cycle in agriculture.


Co-existing infections (Malaria and dengue) go undetected due to lack of clinical suspicion and overlapping symptoms. Co-existing infections are on the rise in tropics. This study is undertaken to assess the prevalence of coinfections of some common tropical infections like malaria, dengue, typhoid, and leptospirosis in pyrexia cases. Also any associated complications with dual infections are dealt within this study. A cross-sectional study was undertaken including inpatient A.C.S. Medical college and hospital from May, 2013 to January, 2014 Suffering from fever of 100° and above with additional symptoms like Abdominal pain, Vomiting, Bleeding in both men and women between ages 5 and above and up to sixty years of age. A total of 100 pyrexia cases were studied. Of those 100 cases pyrexia, the percentage of a single infection, dual infection, triplet infection and other causes were 20%, 9%, 1% and 69% respectively. Among the dual infections, coinfection with malaria and dengue, dengue and typhoid, malaria and typhoid, dengue and leptospirosis were 33.33%, 22.22%, 22.22% and 22.22% respectively. One triplet infection with Malaria, leptospirosis and typhoid was also detected. There is prevalence of coexisting infections with tropical infections like malaria, dengue, leptospirosis and typhoid. Prompt detection of these dual infections can lead to decreased morbidity and mortality. A clinical suspicion must be present to detect these coexisting infections in pyrexia cases.