Abstract. Strong localized high-altitude auroral electric fields, such as those observed by Cluster, are often associated with magnetospheric interfaces. The type of high-altitude electric field profile (monopolar, bipolar, or more complicated) depends on the properties of the plasmas on either side of the interface, as well as on the total electric potential difference across the structure. The present paper explores the role of this cross-field electric potential difference in the situation where the interface is a tangential discontinuity. A self-consistent Vlasov description is used to determine the equilibrium configuration for different values of the transverse potential difference. A major observation is that there exist limits to the potential difference, beyond which no equilibrium configuration of the interface can be sustained. It is further demonstrated how the plasma densities and temperatures affect the type of electric field profile in the transition, with monopolar electric fields appearing primarily when the temperature contrast is large. These findings strongly support the observed association of monopolar fields with the plasma sheet boundary. The role of shear flow tangent to the interface is also examined.


Many abstract value domains such as intervals, bitwise, constants, and value-sets have been developed to support dataflow analysis. Different domains offer alternative tradeoffs between analysis speed and precision. Furthermore, some domains are a better match for certain kinds of code than others. This paper presents the design and implementation of cXprop, an analysis and transformation tool for C that implements "conditional X propagation," a generalization of the well-known conditional constant propagation algorithm where X is an abstract value domain supplied by the user. cXprop is interprocedural, context-insensitive, and achieves reasonable precision on pointer-rich codes. We have applied cXprop to sensor network programs running on TinyOS, in order to reduce code size through interprocedural dead code elimination, and to find limited-bitwidth global variables. Our analysis of global variables is supported by a novel concurrency model for interrupt-driven software. cXprop reduces TinyOS application code size by an average of 9.2% and predicts an average data size reduction of 8.2% through RAM compression.


Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan; which makes about 44% of the total geographical area of the country. The livestock sector is very important with the province housing about 20% of the national stock. At present national camel herd comprises about one million heads of camels, and 13% growth rate has been observed since 1996 to 2006. Out of the total national camel population 41% found in Balochistan province alone. The country produced 38.69 billion liters milk in year 2006-2007 and made its place as one of the higher milk producing country in international ranking but per capita milk availability (170. liter) is still very low. The share of different species has been reported as buffalo 25.04 billion liters, cow 13.33 billion liters and goats 0.32 billion liters. In spite of 0.92 million camel populations, camel milk has not been documented in the grey record and has never been appreciated, valued and estimated properly.

No doubt the automobile and machine transportation decreased its draught role, but it is still an important food animal and indigenous animal genetic resource. Camel is a hardy animal and has proved his worth in the long prevailing droughts in Balochistan, remained almost for 10 years (1994-2004). According to camel herders, the only cause was the hardiness of camel and long traveling ability enabling him to access to feed sources and water points. It was revealed that camel still play important role, provide cash earning, transportation, food and wool, etc. The camel herds in the northeastern Districts of Balochistan are mostly practice semi-nomadic livestock keeping system, therefore, they follow a regular pattern of seasonal migration according to the season, foliage availability and agricultural operations. Women perform all management practices at home, and take care of young and sick animals. Camel is the major player and the food and livelihood earning source in the existence of pastorals people of Suleiman mountainous region. Mangrota camel fair (Mela) is one of the largest socioeconomic activities of camel herders of the said region, which is held every year in the month of October, in Mangrota town. Mangrota is a town of tehsil Thonsa, District Dera Ghazi Khan in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It was found that the camels are brought mainly by the people of vi i Suleiman mountainous region, bought mostly by the people of NWFP (North West Frontier Province) and Western and Central Balochistan. The herders avail a good opportunity for the sale of their animals on one hand and exchange their expertise, vision and social chit chat on the other hand. Camels are a potential milch animal and produce more and quality milk than any indigenous cattle breed in Pakistan, but their potential have never been realized and couldn't be harvested as a prospective milk producing animal.

 A study on milk production ability was conducted on 40 lactating camels in northeastern Balochistan and samplings were done at the end of each second week (level) for a whole lactation in 2006. The daily milk yield ranged from 6.045-11.732 kg/day with a mean daily yield as 10.22±0.43 kg/day (mean±SE). The lactation length ranged from 231-275 days with a mean of 259±7.02 days. Many factors found affecting daily and lactation yield i.e. affect of age and parity, stage of lactation, season of production, type/breed of camel and calving season on milk production. Among parities, 5th parity (13.50 year) of age had the highest lactation yield (3168 kg) of milk followed by 3rd parity (8.75 year) of age with (3051 kg) of milk and 4th parity (11.45 year) of age with (3010 kg) of milk and lowest milk was produced in the 1st parity (4.5 year of age ) with (1566 kg) (p>0.05).

Six multiparious camels regularly milking were selected for the study of milk composition, and the milk was analyzed for two stages of lactation (2nd and 7th month of lactation). The study revealed that the Kohi camel milk contains average of fat, protein, lactose and ash contents as 2.63, 5.05, 4.01 and 0.70%, respectively. The parity affected the milk fat, protein, lactose and ash contents. The fat and protein contents increased with the advancement of the parity but to a certain level (parity 5). Stage of lactation also affected the milk composition and fat percentage was higher (2.70%) in the second stage of lactation than (2.57%) those of first stage. protein was higher in the first stage of lactation (5.56% and 4.15% respectively) than second stage of lactation (4.54% and 3.87% respectively). Lactose was higher in the first stage of lactation (3.67%) than second stage of lactation (2.55%), while the ash was higher in the second stage of lactation (0.73%) than first stage of lactation (0.68%). Average mineral profile of the milk samples was observed as Na (49.42 mg/100g), Mg (15.04 mg/100g), Fe (0.55 mg/100g), Mn (0.066 mg/100g), Cu (0.22 mg/100g) and Zn (1.42 mg/100g). All minerals vi ii except Na had showed a very minute variation among parities. An irregularity was found in the chemical composition of the camel milk based on the parity and stage of lactation. Not only the parity and stage of lactation but also the age of the animal, continuous herd's movement, nutritional management and the seasonal difference might have contributed in the cause of all irregularities.

Keeping in view the important roles camel play and its future importance as a valuable animal genetic resource, authorities are stressed upon to reconsider this animal specie in the research and development plans of the country. The potential of camels as a dairy animal was demonstrated under traditional management, to further elucidate factors affecting the milk yield capacity, studies under different management and controlled environment were recommended.


Three-dimensional finite element calculations are employed to study interactions in space and time between the creeping segment of the San Andreas fault in central California and the adjacent currently locked zones of the 1857 and 1906 great earthquakes. Vertically, the model consists of an elastic upper crust over a Maxwell viscoelastic region, representing the entire lower crust or a narrower horizontal detachment layer, and a stiffer and more viscous upper mantle. The crust has a single vertical fault extending to the top of the mantle at 25 km depth. In zones along strike corresponding to the 1857 and 1906 events, the top 12.5 km of the fault is locked against slip, except in great earthquakes. Below the locked zones and everywhere along the creeping region between them, the fault is freely slipping. The model parameters are compatible with seismological and geological observations, and with a ratio of Maxwell relaxation time to the relaxing layer thickness in the range 1 to 2 yr/km, as established by Li and Rice (1987) and Fares and Rice (1988) based on fits to geodetic data along the San Andreas fault. An imposed constant far field shear motion and periodic 1857- and 1906 - type earthquakes generate slip rates along the creeping fault segment that evolve in time throughout the entire earthquake cycle. Shortly after an adjacent great earthquake, slip rates in the creeping zone are higher than the far field velocity, while later in the cycle they are lower. Hence, time dependency should be accounted for when measurements of fault slip are used to estimate the plate motion. If Parkfield earthquakes are a response to a time dependent loading of the type simulated here, their recurrence interval would tend to lengthen with time since the 1857 event. Thus, the hypothesis of characteristic periodic earthquakes at Parkfield may not provide the best estimate of the occurrence time of the next event. Using, for example, the statistics of past events and assuming that Parkfield earthquakes are a response to a slip deficit near Middle Mountain, and that the elastic crustal layer is 17.5 km thick, we find that the next event is predicted for about 1992 ± 9 years if the lower crust is a 7.5 km thick layer having a material relaxation time of 15 years, and 1995 ± 11 years if the 7.5 km thick lower crust is characterized by a relaxation time of 7.5 years. These values may be compared to the 1988 ± 7 years estimate based on periodicity in time. The modeling results also indicate that the interaction between the 1857 and 1906 rupture zones is small.


In a recent paper a procedure to design globally asymptotically stable linear proportional plus integral controllers for switched power converters was proposed. The construction requires the measurement of the full state of the system, which is often unavailable in practice. In this note we identify a class of converters for which an asymptotically convergent reduced order observer, preserving the aforementioned stability property of the closed-loop, can be designed. The class is characterized by a simple linear matrix inequality. The new controller is illustrated with the widely-popular, and difficult to control, single-ended primary inductor converter, for which experimental results are presented.


One of the basic necessities in combat operations is the planning of paths for the traversal ofmilitary hardware and vehicles through adversarial environments. Typically, while still meetingmission objectives, the vehicle is required to arrive at a pre-described target while minimizingits risk exposure to enemy defence systems. As well as the technological constraints of thevehicle, such as fuel capacity, additional restrictions that can be imposed on the path includelimits on travelling time and route length. We specifically look at the problem of determining anoptimal submarine transit path for a submarine through a field of sonar sensors, subject to a totaltime and final position constraint. The path should be designed so as to minimize the overallprobability of detection. The strategy we propose involves a two stage approach. The first stageinvolves a discretized approximation of the problem by first constructing a grid like networkover the region. Possible paths are then restricted to the movement between the knots points (i.e.nodes) of this grid. In other words, the approximate problems involve finding the most costeffective paths through a network, subject to a total time constraint. What we have therefore is aConstrained Shortest Path Problem (CSPP). To solve the resulting CSPP we develop anefficient network heuristic method that uses a parameterization of the edge weights of thenetwork and the application of Dijkstra's Algorithm. The second stage involves thedevelopment of an optimal control model, by introducing a very simple dynamical model for thevessel's movements, and a solution procedure that utilizes the solution obtained in the first stageas a starting point. The optimal control model for our submarine transit path problem is in fact adiscrete valued control problem where the precise times between speed and heading switchesneed to be determined. We show that this optimal control problem can be readily solved withthe use of a technique known as the Control Parameterization Enhancing Transform (CPET),which, via a simple transformation, puts the problem into readily solvable standard canonicalform by standard optimal control software. Various aspects of our proposed method arediscussed. These include, among other things, the effects of different degrees of coarseness ofdiscretization used in the problem. A solution of the CSPP will only provide a good initial pointfor the optimal control problem if a sufficiently refined network grid model is used. We alsoshow how the subsequent number of switching points used within the optimal control phase canmake a significant difference on the final solution obtained. Computational results are presented supporting the use of our methodology.


Abstract The continental deposits of the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation of the Bakony Mountains in Hungary yielded abundant remains of a bothremydid side-necked turtle, which are attributed to a new species of the genus Foxemys, Foxemys trabanti. F. trabanti shows strong affinities with the European monophyletic group Foxemydina owing to the absence of pits in the upper and lower triturating surfaces, the exclusion of the jugal from the triturating surface, the separation of the Eustachian tube and the stapes by a narrow fissure, the presence of deep and narrow fossa pterygoidei, the partially closed foramen jugulare posterius and the pentagonal shape of the basisphenoid in ventral view. Among the Foxemydina the bothremydid from Iharkút is more closely related to F. mechinorum than to Polysternon provinciale from the Early Campanian of France, mainly because of the position of the occipital condyle relative to the mandibular condyles of the quadrate. The new remains represent the only record of the Foxemydina outside of Western Europe and provide the earliest known occurrence of this endemic, freshwater group in the former Mediterranean Basin. The historical biogeography of the tribe Bothremydini is investigated and a hypothesis of migration from Africa to North America via the high-latitude Thulean route is put forward.


This discussion paper aims to stimulate debate, and maybe research, into the pivotal role of managers in securing high quality teacher development within the Further Education System. The quality of teacher education, initial and continuing, has an obvious impact on the confidence and competence of teachers and therefore on the quality of teaching & learning. Teacher education, however, needs to be more embedded or 'situated', focusing on real issues in real-time and often with the support of colleagues. This cannot be the sole responsibility of teacher educators and will require the commitment and active engagement of the whole organisation that employs the teacher/trainee. Teachers and their managers will need to embrace models of professional development that are practice-led rather than syllabus or programme-led, actively seeking out and promoting such opportunities. This would constitute a fairly radical change in both the thinking and practice of managers within the Further Education System. Without such a change, however, real improvements in teaching and learning will be slow and hard-won.


A rich collection of primary materials, the multivolume Archives of Empire provides a documentary history of nineteenth-century British imperialism from the Indian subcontinent to the Suez Canal to southernmost Africa. Barbara Harlow and Mia Carter have carefully selected a diverse range of texts that track the debates over imperialism in the ranks of the military, the corridors of political power, the lobbies of missionary organizations, the halls of royal geographic and ethnographic societies, the boardrooms of trading companies, the editorial offices of major newspapers, and far-flung parts of the empire itself. Focusing on a particular region and historical period, each volume in Archives of Empire is organized into sections preceded by brief introductions. Documents including mercantile company charters, parliamentary records, explorers' accounts, and political cartoons are complemented by timelines, maps, and bibligraphies. Unique resources for teachers and students, these volumes reveal the complexities of nineteenth-century colonialism and emphasize its enduring relevance to the "global markets" of the twenty-first century.

While focusing on the expansion of the British Empire, The Scramble for Africa illuminates the intense nineteenth-century contest among European nations over Africa's land, people, and resources. Highlighting the 1885 Berlin Conference in which Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy partitioned Africa among themselves, this collection follows British conflicts with other nations over different regions as well as its eventual challenge to Leopold of Belgium's rule of the Congo. The reports, speeches, treatises, proclamations, letters, and cartoons assembled here include works by Henry M. Stanley, David Livingstone, Joseph Conrad, G. W. F. Hegel, Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin, and Arthur Conan Doyle. A number of pieces highlight the proliferation of companies chartered to pursue Africa's gold, diamonds, and oil—particularly Cecil J. Rhodes's British South Africa Company and Frederick Lugard's Royal Niger Company. Other documents describe debacles on the continent—such as the defeat of General Gordon in Khartoum and the Anglo-Boer War—and the criticism of imperial maneuvers by proto-human rights activists including George Washington Williams, Mark Twain, Olive Schreiner, and E.D. Morel.


The feasibility of a microwave direct demodulation receiver has been demonstrated for radio link equipments in hybrid technology [1]. In that case there is no intermediate frequency, so this structure is easier to integrate on GaAs substrate. Having all the elementary functions on the same chip can even lead to a new topology for the MMIC receiver. Integration interest are a better demodulation performance because of the symmetry of the MMIC circuits and a large useful frequency range which covers several telecommunication bands between 6.4 GHz and 8.5 GHz. The monolithic designs and realizations of a C-Band direct demodulation MMIC receiver for digital communications systems will be described here. Results are presented for the different circuits which have been independently designed (figure n° 1).


Siderophores are high-affinity iron-chelating compounds produced by bacteria for iron uptake that can act as important virulence determinants for both plant and animal pathogens. Genome sequencing of the plant pathogen Streptomyces scabies 87-22 revealed the presence of a putative pyochelin biosynthetic gene cluster (PBGC). Liquid chromatography (LC)-MS analyses of culture supernatants of S. scabies mutants, in which expression of the cluster is upregulated and which lack a key biosynthetic gene from the cluster, indicated that pyochelin is a product of the PBGC. LC-MS comparisons with authentic standards on a homochiral stationary phase confirmed that pyochelin and not enantio-pyochelin (ent-pyochelin) is produced by S. scabies. Transcription of the S. scabies PBGC occurs via ~19 kb and ~3 kb operons and transcription of the ~19 kb operon is regulated by TetR- and AfsR-family proteins encoded by the cluster. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of pyochelin production by a Gram-positive bacterium; interestingly regulation of pyochelin production is distinct from characterized PBGCs in Gram-negative bacteria. Though pyochelin-mediated iron acquisition by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is important for virulence, in planta bioassays failed to demonstrate that pyochelin production by S. scabies is required for development of disease symptoms on excised potato tuber tissue or radish seedlings.


The quantum phase and the related fields have attracted considerable attention. The geometric phase of spin-1/2 particle in the magnetic field has been discussed comprehensively, but few of spin-1. In this paper, the exact solution of spin-1 was obtained by using rotational frame method. The problems of the Rabi oscillation, dynamical phase, and geometric phase were solved.


Many thin cylindrical shells are used in structural applications in which the dominant loading condition is global bending. Key examples include chimneys, tubular piles, wind generation towers and tall silos. Their thickness lies in a tricky range which is extremely thin for the structural tube community and very thick for the shell buckling community. The buckling strength of these structures is dominated by extensive plasticity, but the fully plastic state is usually far from being attained. This paper explores the buckling strength of imperfect thin cylindrical shells under global bending in the elastic-plastic range. The capacity curves of the new Eurocode EN 1993-1-6 (2007) are used to match the final results. The results show that the capacity curves can capture this buckling behavior accurately and safely for different types of material models. It is assumed that the shell is held circular by rings or boundaries at reasonable intervals, effectively restraining ovalisation. It is hoped that these results will make a useful contribution towards resolving the misunderstandings and controversy that has been evident in this field in recent years.


This paper describes a new method for improving the azimuth accuracy of range information using conventional (Polaroid) low-resolution ultrasonic sensors mounted in a circular array on a mobile robot. Although ultrasonic sensors are fairly accurate in measuring distance in depth, they commonly have significant uncertainty in azimuth. We model this uncertainty with a uniform distribution along an arc. This means that the echo has an equal likelihood of originating from any point along the arc. We then introduce a new method to fuse sonar data to better approximate the actual obstacle location. This new method is termed the arc transversal median method because the robot determines the location of an object 1) by intersecting one arc with other arcs, 2) then by considering only "transversal" intersections, those which exceed a threshold in angle, and 3) by taking the median of the intersections. The median is a robust estimator that is insensitive to noise; a few stray readings will not affect its value. We show, via some simple geometric relationships, that this method can improve the azimuth accuracy of the sonar sensor by a specified amount under well-defined conditions. Experimental results on an ultrasonic sensor array situated on a mobile robot verify this approach.


Abstract : This research was performed to expand AFIT's Radio Frequency Distinct Native Attribute (RF-DNA) fingerprinting process to support IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee communication network applications. Current ZigBee bit-level security measures include use of network keys and MAC lists which can be subverted through interception and spoofing using open-source hacking tools. This work addresses device discrimination using Physical (PHY) waveform alternatives to augment existing bit-level security mechanisms. ZigBee network vulnerability to outsider threats was assessed using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves to characterize both Authorized Device ID Verification performance (granting network access to authorized users presenting true bit-level credentials) and Rogue Device Rejection performance (denying network access to unauthorized rogue devices presenting false bit-level credentials). Radio Frequency Distinct Native Attribute (RF-DNA) features are extracted from time-domain waveform responses of 2.4 GHz CC2420 ZigBee transceivers to enable humanlike device discrimination. The fingerprints were constructed using a hybrid pool of emissions collected under a range of conditions, including anechoic chamber and an indoor office environment where dynamic multi-path and signal degradation factors were present. The RF-DNA fingerprints were input to a Multiple Discriminant Analysis, Maximum Likelihood (MDA/ML) discrimination process and a 1 vs. many Looks most like? classification assessment made. The hybrid MDA model was also used for 1 vs. 1 Looks how much like? verification assessment. ZigBee Device Classification performance was assessed using both full and reduced dimensional fingerprint sets. Reduced dimensional subsets were selected using Dimensional Reduction Analysis (DRA) by rank ordering 1) pre-classification KS-Test p-values and 2) post-classification GRLVQI feature relevance values. Assessment of Zigbee device ID verification capability.


Summary.
 Conservation opportunities in Spanish juniper Juniperus thurifera woodlands: the case of migratory thrushes Turdus spp. Spanish juniper Juniperus thurifera woodlands are the core habitat of several sites included in the Nature 2000 Network and the wintering ground of many European thrushes Turdus spp. These birds have a major ecological role as seed dispersers and are increasingly taken into account in the design of strategies aimed to conserve or restore plant communities. Socio-economic changes in rural Spain have reduced traditional sheep grazing in juniper woodlands, which are now increasingly used for wood production. This has brought the opportunity to improve their carrying capacity for migratory thrushes. Here we explore the spatio-temporal patterning of fleshy cone production and the way birds track this resource. We also investigate whether fleshy cone availability constrains bird numbers. The results show sharp losses of cones during the ripening period, inter-site and inter-winter changes in cone production and the tracking of ripe cones by birds. Mean availability of ripe cones in poorly productive patches was insufficient to maintain thrushes in mid January and highly productive patches offered resources to maintain birds for around 12 days. This suggests an insufficiency of food in the woodlands to permit thrushes to complete the winter and to begin their return northward migration in March. These results are used to suggest some guidelines for improving the carrying capacity of these woodlands for migratory thrushes.


Abstract. Removal of the glint effects from satellite imagery for accurate retrieval of water-leaving radiances is a complicated problem since its contribution in the measured signal is dependent on many factors such as viewing geometry, sun elevation and azimuth, illumination conditions, wind speed and direction, and the water refractive index. To simplify the situation, existing glint correction models describe the extent of the glint-contaminated region and its contribution to the radiance essentially as a function of the wind speed and sea surface slope that often lead to a tremendous loss of information with a considerable scientific and financial impact. Even with the glint-tilting capability of modern sensors, glint contamination is severe on the satellite-derived ocean colour products in the equatorial and sub-tropical regions. To rescue a significant portion of data presently discarded as "glint contaminated" and improving the accuracy of water-leaving radiances in the glint contaminated regions, we developed a glint correction algorithm which is dependent only on the satellite derived Rayleigh Corrected Radiance and absorption by clear waters. The new algorithm is capable of achieving meaningful retrievals of ocean radiances from the glint-contaminated pixels unless saturated by strong glint in any of the wavebands. It takes into consideration the combination of the background absorption of radiance by water and the spectral glint function, to accurately minimize the glint contamination effects and produce robust ocean colour products. The new algorithm is implemented along with an aerosol correction method and its performance is demonstrated for many MODIS-Aqua images over the Arabian Sea, one of the regions that are heavily affected by sunglint due to their geographical location. The results with and without sunglint correction are compared indicating major improvements in the derived products with sunglint correction. When compared to the results of an existing model in the SeaDAS processing system, the new algorithm has the best performance in terms of yielding physically realistic water-leaving radiance spectra and improving the accuracy of the ocean colour products. Validation of MODIS-Aqua derived water-leaving radiances with in-situ data also corroborates the above results. Unlike the standard models, the new algorithm performs well in variable illumination and wind conditions and does not require any auxiliary data besides the Rayleigh-corrected radiance itself. Exploitation of signals observed by sensors looking within regions affected by bright white sunglint is possible with the present algorithm when the requirement of a stable response over a wide dynamical range for these sensors is fulfilled.


A review concerning organosilicon compds. in the environment is given. Topics discussed include: polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS); volatile methylsiloxanes (VMS); silanols; anal. procedures and methods (PDMS, VMS, and silanols analyses in environmental samples by gas chromatog., environmental sample anal. by HPLC, biol. sample anal.); environmental concns. and processes (PDMS in soil, sediment, and waste; VMS in air, soil, sediment, and waste; silicone persistence in the environment: PDMS, VMS, silanols; transfer of alkyl groups to other species); interactions with organisms (colonization, degrdn., and transport of silicones in organisms, toxicol. and immunol. of silicones, silicone breast implants, Si and silicones in body fluids and tissues); and summary and outlook.


The research of a generation of ecologists was catalysed by the recognition that the number and identity of species in communities influences the functioning of ecosystems. The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) is most often examined by controlling species richness and randomising community composition. In natural systems, biodiversity changes are often part of a bigger community assembly dynamic. Therefore, focusing on community assembly and the functioning of ecosystems (CAFE), by integrating both species richness and composition through species gains, losses and changes in abundance, will better reveal how community changes affect ecosystem function. We synthesise the BEF and CAFE perspectives using an ecological application of the Price equation, which partitions the contributions of richness and composition to function. Using empirical examples, we show how the CAFE approach reveals important contributions of composition to function. These examples show how changes in species richness and composition driven by environmental perturbations can work in concert or antagonistically to influence ecosystem function. Considering how communities change in an integrative fashion, rather than focusing on one axis of community structure at a time, will improve our ability to anticipate and predict changes in ecosystem function.


Despite many professed benefits of collaboration, some computer science educators feel students need to master work individually, particularly in the courses early in the curriculum that feed into software engineering courses. In the natural sciences, however, students almost always work with one or more partners in the laboratory. What can computer science educators learn about collaborative lab settings from our natural science counterparts? We conducted a survey of science and computer science educators to compare views and use of collaboration in their classes. The positive and negative aspects of collaboration, as reported by the natural science educators, are strikingly similar to those of computer science educators. These results suggest that computer science educators should be more open to the use of collaborative labs, as is done in the natural sciences, for the overall benefit to students.


Cisco IOS XR Fundamentals is a systematic, authoritative guide to configuring routers with Cisco IOS XR, the next-generation flagship Cisco Internet operating system.In this book, a team of Cisco experts brings together quick, authoritative, and example-rich reference information for all the commands most frequently used to configure and troubleshoot Cisco IOS XR-based routers in both service provider and enterprise environments. The authors walk you through the details of the Cisco IOS XR architecture and explain commands in the new Cisco IOS XR CLI wherever required. They present concise explanations of service provider requirements and internetwork theory, backed by proven sample configurations for IOS XR services, MPLS, multicast, system management, system security, routing, and interfaces. Cisco IOS XR Fundamentals is an indispensable resource for designing, implementing, troubleshooting, administering, or selling networks containing Cisco IOS XRsupported routers. This is the only Cisco IOS XR book that: Clearly explains how Cisco IOS XR meets the emerging requirements of both current and future networks Gives network professionals extensive information for simplifying migration and taking full advantage of Cisco IOS XRs new power Presents detailed, tested configuration examples that network professionals can apply in their own networks Walks through using new Cisco IOS XR features and the In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) process to minimize downtime and cost Mobeen Tahir, CCIE No. 12643 (RS feature integration; release processes; and other software quality initiatives. Use Cisco IOS XR to deliver superior scalability, availability, security, and service flexibility Understand the Cisco IOS XR distributed, modular architecture Design, implement, and troubleshoot networks containing Cisco IOS XRsupported routers Configure Cisco IOS XR routing, including RIP, IS-IS, OSPF, and EIGRP Learn BGP implementation details specific to Cisco IOS XR and using RPL to influence policies Manage IP addresses and Cisco IOS XR services Secure Cisco IOS XR using standard and extended ACLs, prefix lists, and uRPF Master all facets of MPLS configuration, including LDP, L3VPN, and TE Configure PIM, IGMP, and static RP multicast Optimize networks using advanced Cisco IOS XR features, including secure domain routers Learn building blocks of Multishelf, and understand configurations and migration techniques This book is part of the Cisco Press Fundamentals Series. Books in this series introduce networking professionals to new networking technologies, covering network topologies, sample deployment concepts, protocols, and management techniques. Category: Networking: Routing and Switching Covers: Cisco IOS XR


Abstract. Sixteen-year (1998–2013) climatology of cirrus clouds and their macrophysical (base height, top height and geometrical thickness) and optical properties (cloud optical thickness) observed using a ground-based lidar over Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E), India, is presented. The climatology obtained from the ground-based lidar is compared with the climatology obtained from 7 and a half years (June 2006–December 2013) of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observations. A very good agreement is found between the two climatologies in spite of their opposite viewing geometries and the differences in sampling frequencies. Nearly 50–55 % of cirrus clouds were found to possess geometrical thickness less than 2 km. Ground-based lidar is found to detect a higher number of sub-visible clouds than CALIOP which has implications for global warming studies as sub-visible cirrus clouds have significant positive radiative forcing. Cirrus clouds with mid-cloud temperatures between −50 to −70 °C have a mean geometrical thickness greater than 2 km in contrast to the earlier reported value of 1.7 km. Trend analyses reveal a statistically significant increase in the altitude of sub-visible cirrus clouds which is consistent with the recent climate model simulations. The mid-cloud altitude of sub-visible cirrus clouds is found to be increasing at the rate of 41 ± 21 m year−1. Statistically significant decrease in optical thickness of sub-visible and thick cirrus clouds is observed. Also, the fraction of sub-visible cirrus cloud is found to have increased by 9 % in the last 16 years (1998 to 2013). This increase is mainly compensated by a 7 % decrease in thin cirrus cloud fraction. This has implications for the temperature and water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer.


Masterfully blending narrative and interpretation, and R.F. Foster's "Modern Ireland: 1600-1972" looks at how key events in Irish history contributed to the creation of the 'Irish Nation'. "The most brilliant and courageous Irish historian of his generation". (Colm Toibin, "London Review of Books"). "Remarkable...Foster gives a wise and balanced account of both forces of unity and forces of diversity...a master work of scholarship". (Bernard Crick, "New Statesman"). "A tour de force...Anyone who really wants to make sense of Ireland and the Irish must read Roy Foster's magnificent and accessible Modern Ireland". (Anthony Clare). "A magnificent book. It supersedes all other accounts of modern Irish history". (Conor Cruise O'Brien, "Sunday Times"). "Dazzling...a masterly survey not so much of the events of Irish history over the past four centuries as of the way in which those events acted upon the peoples living in Ireland to produce in our own time an "Irish Nation"...a gigantic and distinguished undertaking". (Robert Kee, "Observer"). "A work of gigantic importance. It is everything that a history book should be. It is beautifully and clearly written; it seeps wisdom through its every pore; it is full of the most elegant and scholarly insights; it is magnificently authoritative and confident...Modern Ireland is quite simply the single most important book on Irish history written in this generation...A masterpiece". (Kevin Myers, "Irish Times"). R. F. Foster is Carroll Professor of Irish History at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. His books include "Modern Ireland: 1600-1972", "Luck and the Irish" and "W. B. Yeats: A Life".


Privacy is the most often cited criticism of context awareness in pervasive environments. Context aware pervasive applications have the vulnerabilities of capturing extensive portions of users' activities. Whether such data capture is an actual threat or not, users' perceptions of such possibilities may discourage them from using many useful pervasive applications. So far, in context aware pervasive applications, location data has been the main focus to make users anonymous. However in reality, user anonymity depends on all the privacy sensitive data collected by a particular application. Preserving user privacy or in other words, protecting user anonymity with the help of an anonymizer has the susceptibility of a single point of failure. In this paper, we propose a Formal Collaborative Model (FCM) that preserves users' anonymity without an anonymizer. This model can also quantify the amount of privacy at stake at the time of asking for services from untrustworthy service providers. Since our model can quantify service requester's achieved privacy when a request is going to be placed, it allows the users to be aware of their overall privacy preference situation in a pervasive environment.


INTRODUCTION EVELYNE MICOLLIER Plural discourses on sex, components and methods of workings of sexual cultures in Asia need to be explored in more depth, and this book should be taken as one brick added to the edifice of this specific body of knowledge. The main focus of our book is the study of sexual cultures and commercial sex work in East Asian societies. Most chapters have been revised from papers presented at the IIAS Conference 'Health, Sexuality, and Civil Society in East Asia', which took place in Amsterdam on July 6–7 2000, while a few contributors have joined us in the publication process (Henriot, Kelly, Walters). The book is organized in two parts: (1) 'Sexual cultures: caught between traditions and transitions' and (2) 'The social construction of sexuality and sexual risk in the light of STDs/AIDS control'. Topics discussed may, of course, overlap in the two parts. The first part deals with issues related to sexual cultures such as the role of commercial sex work, the kinship system, matrimonial strategies, gender roles in the family, gendered power relations in society and in the building of these cultures in transition. A dialectical relation between traditional and new elements in the ideological and behavioural configuration of sexual cultures is underlined throughout the papers. The second part examines specific issues related to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the social construction of sexual risk. As Parker (1995:362) put it, 'The social construction of sexual excitement and desire, ways in which sexual identities are formed and transformed, the relations of power and domination that may shape and structure sexual interactions, and the social/sexual networks that channel and condition the selections of potential sexual partners may all be salient issues that must be taken into account in developing more effective strategies for AIDS prevention.' As many scholars have shown since Foucault (1976), sexuality is a dense nodal point for competing power relations and discourses of sexuality play a crucial role in efforts both to regulate and reform the political, economic, and social orders (Bristow 1997; Di Leonardo and Lancaster 1997). The complexity of the subject and the multi-layered social phenomena to be examined suggested that the perspective of the book should be multidisciplinary. EVELYNE MICOLLIER xiv historian (Henriot), communication specialists (Hsu, Lin, Wu), a development expert (Kelly), medical doctors and/or medical anthropologists (Wolffers, Van der Kwaak). East Asian societies are usually labelled family-oriented 'Confucianized societies' and are, …


Train and track interactions during services normally generate substantial forces on railway tracks. Such forces are transient by nature and of relatively large magnitude and are referred to as impact loading. There has been no comprehensive review of the typical characteristics of the loading conditions for railway track structures, in particular, impact loads due to the wheel/rail interaction, published in the literature. This paper presents a review of basic design concepts for railway tracks, abnormalities on tracks, and a variety of typical dynamic impact loadings imparted by wheel/rail interaction and irregularities. The characteristics of typical impact loads due to wheel and rail irregularities, e.g. rail corrugation, wheel flats and shells, worn wheel and rail profiles, bad welds or joints, and track imperfections, are presented with particular emphasis on the typical shapes of the impact load waveforms generally found on railway tracks. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Abstract Plecopteran species (Leuctridae) were collected from the Qinling Mountains in southern Shaanxi Province, China. This mountain range is home to nine species of Leuctridae belonging to two genera, and the species identified in this work include one new species and three new records for the Qinling Mountains, all belonging to the genus Rhopalopsole. The new species is named R. tricuspis Qian and Du, sp. nov. A redescription of R. basinigra Yang and Yang 1995 is supplemented. A key is provided for the adult males of Leuctridae from the Qinling Mountains.


Nowadays, there is a serious anxiety on the existence of dangerous intelligent systems and it is not just a science-fiction idea of evil machines like the ones in well-known Terminator movie or any other movies including intelligent robots – machines threatening the existence of humankind. So, there is a great interest in some alternative research works under the topics of Machine Ethics, Artificial Intelligence Safety and the associated research topics like Future of Artificial Intelligence and Existential Risks. The objective of this study is to provide a general discussion about the expressed research topics and try to find some answers to the question of 'Are we safe enough in the future of Artificial Intelligence?'. In detail, the discussion includes a comprehensive focus on 'dystopic' scenarios, enables interested researchers to think about some 'moral dilemmas' and finally have some ethical outputs that are considerable for developing good intelligent systems. From a general perspective, the discussion taken here is a good opportunity to improve awareness on the mentioned, remarkable research topics associated with not only Artificial Intelligence but also many other natural and social sciences taking role in the humankind.


CONTEXT
The American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists proposed several recommendations for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) test standardization. One suggestion was that image analysis (IA) could be useful for scoring of HER2/neu immunohistochemistry. The utilization of IA in a real-world practice in a large cohort of cases has not been previously reported.

OBJECTIVES
To compare HER2/neu quantification by IA with gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); to determine sensitivity, specificity, and concordance rates with the FISH assay; and to determine association between HER2 status with estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and Ki-67 expression.

DESIGN
We evaluated HER2 results performed by immunohistochemistry and FISH in conjunction with ER, PR, and Ki-67 in 3093 invasive breast cancer cases from 2002 to 2011.

RESULTS
The overall concordance between immunohistochemistry and FISH was 87.3% (1768 of 2026). When analyzed by year, there was an improvement in the positive concordance rate from 49.4% (44 of 89) to 95.0% (57 of 60) (P < .001). The negative concordance rate was at least 95% with a median false-negative rate of 1.5%. In the FISH+ group, amplification ratio showed significant correlation with IA scores (P < .001). Positive versus negative HER2 status was associated with lower ER and PR levels (P < .001) and higher Ki-67 expression (P < .001).

CONCLUSION
Scoring of HER2/neu by IA was associated with high false-positive rates before 2008. Improvement in concordance rate after 2008 may be due to proper tissue handling, improved HER2/neu scoring by IA, and assay standardization.


Since the early 1970s, researchers have proposed several models to estimate software-reliability as testing progresses. Among these, the time-domain models are the most common. We present empirical evidence to show that the testing method does affect the reliability estimates using one of these models, viz, the Musa basic execution-time model. The evidence suggests that: (1) reliability models need to consider additional data, generated during testing, such as some form of code coverage, to obtain accurate reliability estimates; and (2) further research is necessary to determine which testing method, or combination thereof, leads to higher reliability. >


The reason for the decline of Orson Welles's career is a hotly debated issue, but decline it certainly did. When Citizen Kane, his first film, opened in 1941, Welles was universally acclaimed as the most audacious filmmaker alive. But instead of marking the beginning of a triumphant career in Hollywood, the film still regularly voted the greatest ever made proved to be an exception in Welles's life and work. In 1947 Welles left America for Europe and lived for the best part of twenty years in self-imposed exile. Welles himself famously quipped 'I started at the top and worked my way down' - the second volume of Simon Callow's compelling biography tells the story of that complex and protracted descent from grace.


We present a system for the annotation and augmentation of mountain photographs. The key issue resides in the registration of a given photograph with a 3D geo-referenced terrain model. Typical outdoor images contain little structural information, particularly mountain scenes whose aspect changes drastically across seasons and varying weather conditions. Existing approaches usually fail on such difficult scenarios. To avoid the burden of manual registration, we propose a novel automatic technique. Given only a viewpoint and FOV estimates, the technique is able to automatically derive the pose of the camera relative to the geometric terrain model. We make use of silhouette edges, which are among most reliable features that can be detected in the targeted situations. Using an edge detection algorithm, our technique then searches for the best match with silhouette edges rendered using the synthetic model. We develop a robust matching metric allowing us to cope with the inevitable noise affecting detected edges (e.g. due to clouds, snow, rocks, forests, or any phenomenon not encoded in the digital model). Once registered against the model, photographs can easily be augmented with annotations (e.g. topographic data, peak names, paths), which would otherwise imply a tedious fusion process. We further illustrate various other applications, such as 3D model-assisted image enhancement, or, inversely, texturing of digital models.


Objective To explore pregnant women's preferences for birth setting in England. Design Labelled discrete choice experiment (DCE). Setting Online survey. Sample Pregnant women recruited through social media and an online panel. Methods We developed a DCE to assess women's preferences for four hypothetical birth settings based on seven attributes: reputation, continuity of care, distance from home, time to see a doctor, partner able to stay overnight, chance of straightforward birth and safety for baby. We used a mixed logit model, with setting modelled as an alternative-specific constant, and conducted a scenario analysis to evaluate the impact of changes in attribute levels on uptake of birth settings. Main outcome measures Women's preferences for birth setting. Results 257 pregnant women completed the DCE. All birth setting attributes, except 'time to see doctor', were significant in women's choice (p<0.05). There was significant heterogeneity in preferences for some attributes. Changes to levels for 'safety for the baby' and 'partner able to stay overnight' were associated with larger changes from baseline uptake of birth setting. If the preferences identified were translated into the real-world context up to a third of those who reported planning birth in an obstetric unit might choose a midwifery unit assuming universal access to all settings, and knowledge of the differences between settings. Conclusions We found that 'safety for the baby', 'chance of a straightforward birth' and 'can the woman's partner stay overnight following birth' were particularly important in women's preferences for hypothetical birth setting. If all birth settings were available to women and they were aware of the differences between them, it is likely that more low risk women who currently plan birth in OUs might choose a midwifery unit.


Transduction of mechanical forces and chemical signals affect every cell in the human body. Fluid flow in systems such as the lymphatic or circulatory systems modulates not only cell morphology, but also gene expression patterns, extracellular matrix protein secretion and cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions. Similar to the role of mechanical forces in adaptation of tissues, shear fluid flow orchestrates collective behaviours of adherent cells found at the interface between tissues and their fluidic environments. These behaviours range from alignment of endothelial cells in the direction of flow to stem cell lineage commitment. Therefore, it is important to characterize quantitatively fluid interface-dependent cell activity. Common macro-scale techniques, such as the parallel plate flow chamber and vertical-step flow methods that apply fluid-induced stress on adherent cells, offer standardization, repeatability and ease of operation. However, in order to achieve improved control over a cell's microenvironment, additional microscale-based techniques are needed. The use of microfluidics for this has been recognized, but its true potential has emerged only recently with the advent of hybrid systems, offering increased throughput, multicellular interactions, substrate functionalization on 3D geometries, and simultaneous control over chemical and mechanical stimulation. In this review, we discuss recent advances in microfluidic flow systems for adherent cells and elaborate on their suitability to mimic physiologic micromechanical environments subjected to fluid flow. We describe device design considerations in light of ongoing discoveries in mechanobiology and point to future trends of this promising technology.


Although the impact of conflicting interests is of constant concern to those in legal education and other fields, a recent scholarly article and an extensive analysis in the New York Times suggest the problem is more pressing than ever. In the context of legal scholarship the problem arises when a professor is, in effect, employed by two entities. Disclosure of possible conflicts is the most commonly proposed response. The article argues that disclosure is merely a risk shifting devise that does not fully address the issue of bias. It draws on comparisons with products liability and legal ethics to suggest that many conflicts should simply be avoided.


Recently, several wireless body sensor-based systems have been proposed for continuous, long-term physiological monitoring. A major challenge in such systems is that a large amount of data is collected, and transmission of this data incurs significant energy consumption at the sensor. In this work, we demonstrate a data reporting method that significantly reduces energy consumption while maintaining a high diagnostic accuracy of the reported physiological signal. This is achieved by using a generative model of the physiological signal of interest at the sensor, and suppressing data transmission when sensed data matches the model. In this demonstration, we implement the proposed technique for electrocardiogram (ECG) signal and illustrate its performance in terms of energy savings and accuracy of reported data.


Azole resistance among Aspergillus fumigatus isolates, which is mainly related to mutations in the cyp51A gene, is a concern because it is rising, worldwide disseminated, and associated with treatment failure and death. Data on azole resistance of aspergillus from Latin American countries is very scarce and do not exist for Peru. Two hundred and seven Aspergillus clinical isolates collected prospectively underwent mycology and molecular testing for specie identification, and 143 isolates were confirmed as A. fumigatus sensu stricto (AFSS). All AFSS were tested for in vitro azole susceptibility, and resistant isolates underwent PCR amplification and sequencing of the whole cyp51A gene and its promoter. The in vitro susceptibility showed a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) range, MIC50 and MIC90 of 0.125 to >16, 0.25, and 0.5 μg/ml for itraconazole; 0.25 to 2, 0.5, and 0.5 μg/ml for voriconazole; and 0.003 to 1, 0.06, and 0.125 μg/ml for posaconazole. Three isolates (2%) showed resistance to itraconazole and exhibited different mutations of the cyp51A gene. One isolate harbored the mutation M220K, while a second one exhibited the G54 mutation plus a modification in the cyp51A gene promoter. The third isolate, from an azole naive patient, presented an integration of a 34-bp tandem repeat (TR34) in the promoter region of the gene and a substitution of leucine 98 by histidine (L98H). The three source patients had a diagnosis or suspicion of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.


Creativity is likened to a driver in the progress of civilization. Creativity can be a driver of civilization to determine the direction of technological progress and its broad impact. From the 1.0 to 4.0 furniture industry, creativity plays a role in displaying products that are influenced by socio-cultural conditions and technological progress. This paper is intended as a historical reflection of the progress of the furniture industry revolution and the impact it produces. The method used is the library method and synchronous-diachronic method to describe historical events in the development of the furniture industry. Then examined using Kirton's theory of creativity, namely simultaneous creativity and gradual creativity. The aim is to discover the creative process that occurred in the development of the industrial revolution 1.0 to 4.0. The result was that in the 1.0 industrial revolution dominant creativity developed gradually. Whereas in the industrial revolution 2.0 to 4.0, both creativity developed simultaneously as a form of response to each other.


We consider the problem of optimizing a linear function over the intersection of an affine space and a special class of closed, convex cones, namely the symmetric cones over the reals. This problem subsumes linear programming, convex quadratically constrained quadratic programming, and semidefinite programming as special cases. First, we derive some perturbation results for this problem class. Then, we discuss two solution methods: an interior– point method capable of delivering highly accurate solutions to problems of modest size, and a first order bundle method which provides solutions of low accuracy, but can handle much larger problems. Finally, we describe an application of semidefinite programming in electronic structure calculations, and give some numerical results on sample problems.


Discussions of professional ethics tend to emphasize what not to do. Why, Michael Pritchard asks, should they not also consider the ethical heights to which professionals should aspire? Pritchard, who has taught professional ethics for more than twenty-five years, here explores the interplay of virtues, ideals, and moral rules in everyday life and the professions. In elegant prose, he emphasizes the positive dimension of professional ethics-actions that thoughtful, conscientious people ought to perceive and pursue in their careers. As Pritchard observes, problems of professional ethics originate in an increasingly specialized society where few people are able to evaluate, let alone discredit, the actions of any given expert; all too often, we trust experts because it's all we can do. Pritchard addresses this concern by focusing on different conceptions of the responsibilities of individual professionals, illustrating the best of what professional ethics might offer through true stories of people from various professions engineering, business, architecture, the health sciences who have felt ethically impelled to go beyond the call of duty. Integrating moral theory with a wide range of practical concerns good works, cooperation, trustworthiness Pritchard shows how professionals might make conscious decisions for good, such as performing socially meaningful work for lower compensation or persevering to see a project through to a proper outcome. Extending the work of developmental psychologists to the realm of professional ethics, he shows how to foster character in responsible professionals through postsecondary education and professional guilds-and urges that even children should be encouraged to envision the greater good. "Professional Integrity" offers valuable insights not only for philosophers interested in professional responsibility but also for general readers in a variety of settings, demonstrating that practical ethics and professional responsibility are rich and complex notions that require skills and character traits that ideally need to be cultivated at an early age. In an era of insider trading, kickbacks, and cooked books, it speaks to a long-felt need with a refreshingly positive approach."


For the first time in 15 years, comes a comprehensive, definitive collection of the lyrics of music legend and poet, Bob Dylan. From his early days of protest songs, like "Blowing in the Wind", "The Times They Are A Changing", to his revolutionary Subterranean "Homesick Blues", and "Like a Rolling Stone", "Lay Lady Lay", his songs have spoken to generations, had a huge influence on such artists as John Lennon, Lou Reed and Mark Knopfler. This book also contains all of his most recent writing in addition to the beloved songs of the early Dylan canon.


McNeil, E., Inthawong, Y., & Assanangkornchai, S. (2015). Access to alcohol and binge drinking among vocational college students: A multilevel study in a tourist destination province of Thailand.  The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5 (2), 47-55. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i2.214 A key issue in alcohol-related harm reduction is the impact of commercial and social availability on alcohol-related problems and harm among young people. The increasing density of alcohol outlets has been shown to be associated with harmful youth drinking behavior, although studies have produced mixed results, underlying the complexity of the situation. Aims: The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between density of alcohol outlets and drinking behaviors among vocational college students. Methods: A cross-sectional school-based survey was conducted among full-time students studying in vocational colleges in Phuket, Thailand. Multilevel regression models were used to assess the relationship between alcohol-outlet density and current and binge drinking, controlling for student and school characteristics. Results: A total of 3,363 students completed the self-reported questionnaire (response rate 66.7%). A significant association was found between alcohol-outlet density and binge drinking but not current drinking. Both current and binge drinking were associated with a positive attitude toward drinking, perception of peer and family drinking norms, and social availability of alcohol. For every increase in 10 on-premise alcohol outlets per square kilometer the risk of binge drinking increased by an average of 5%. Empirical evidence regarding this relationship is important to support law and policy movements towards further restriction of alcohol outlets and zoning of entertainment venues.


The following article is a part of a larger research project, which sought to expose the discursive construction of the Turkish nation through an analysis of selected case studies from the mainstream Turkish press. These case studies all shared a common aspect – not only were they all news stories about women, but they also sparked up heated debates on the meanings of modernity and national identity through women in Turkey. Among these, however, the media coverage of unprecedented rate of suicides among women in Batman in Turkey remains aside as the saddest and darkest case study. Leaving aside its distressing content, what adds to the bleakness of the stories is undeniably the plot: journalists working in the big cities for mainstream newspapers sketch a region for the readers which, at best, can be considered as the peripheries of Turkey. Through the analysis of the data, this case study not only offers us the perfect chance to glimpse at the tension between the centre and the periphery in the construction of national boundaries, but also highlights the role of women in that construction process.


Bradford's Law states that articles on a given subject are distributed over journals according to specific mathematical function, where a large number of articles are scattered in fewer highly productive journals. The purpose of this study was to apply the accepted formulations of Bradford's Law to citations used by the authors of the Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research to find out the list of core journals cited. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research has been published since 1986 by National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. This study examined 251 articles published in the Journal from 1986 to 2012. The data consisted of 6890 citations used by the authors. A ranked list of the cited journals was formed for the application of Egghe's formulation of Bradford's Law of scattering. Findings showed that journals were the most preferred source for citations in this study. Most of the cited journals were published in the United States. The rate of authors' and journals' self-citations was very low. A ranked list of the journals was prepared and Journal of Applied Psychology was found to be the most cited journal. The study identified 24 core journals after the application of Bradford's Law. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research is the only journal of Pakistan found in the list of core journals. This law was found fit to the citations of the Journal.


Arctic and boreal ecosystems are experiencing pronounced warming that is accelerating decomposition of soil organic matter and releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Future carbon storage in these ecosystems depends on the balance between microbial decomposition and primary production, both of which can be regulated by nutrients such as phosphorus. Phosphorus cycling in tundra and boreal regions is often assumed to occur through biological pathways with little interaction with soil minerals; that is, phosphate released from organic molecules is rapidly assimilated by plants or microorganisms. In contrast to this prevailing conceptual model, we use sequential extractions and spectroscopic techniques to demonstrate that iron (oxyhydr)oxides sequester approximately half of soil phosphate in organic soils from four arctic and boreal sites. Iron (III) (oxyhydr)oxides accumulated in shallow soils of low‐lying, saturated areas where circumneutral pH and the presence of a redox interface promoted iron oxidation and hydrolysis. Soils enriched in short‐range ordered iron oxyhydroxides, which are susceptible to dissolution under anoxic conditions, had high phosphate sorption capacities and maintained low concentrations of soluble phosphate relative to soils containing mostly organic‐bound iron or crystalline iron oxides. Thus, substantial quantities of phosphorus in these organic soils were associated with minerals that could reduce bioavailability but potentially also serve as phosphorus sources under anoxic conditions. The implication of this finding is that mineral surfaces effectively compete with biological processes for phosphate and must be considered as a nutrient regulator in these sensitive ecosystems.


CN09-04 Although infection contributes to over 20% of human cancers worldwide, the list of confirmed carcinogenic infectious agents is surprisingly short[1]. Epidemiologic studies strongly suggest that novel infectious agents remain to be discovered and contribute to a broad range of diseases, including cancers, autoimmune disorders, and degenerative diseases. Although current methods have been successful in identifying human viruses, most pathogen discovery approaches suffer from several shortcomings. None are quantitative, so if no candidate sequence is found, it is not possible to estimate how likely it is that an agent is present but missed in the search. There are no simple ways to scale up pathogen discovery with these methods short of analyzing additional samples and it is unlikely that any technique can universally identify all human tumor viruses. But with the near completion of the human genome project, high-throughput sequencing can be exploited to overcome many of these problems. We developed digital transcript subtraction (DTS) to subtract in silico known human sequences from expression library data sets, leaving candidate nonhuman sequences for further analysis [2]. This approach requires precise discrimination between human and nonhuman cDNA sequences. Database comparisons show high likelihood that small viral cDNA sequences can be successfully distinguished from human sequences. We pilot tested DTS on 9,026 20-bp cDNA tags from an expression library of BCBL-1 cells infected with Kaposi9s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). In this initial test, we succeeded in complete in silico cDNA subtraction. Only three candidate sequences were identified as being of nonhuman origin: two of these sequences belonged to highly-expressed KSHV transcripts, and the third belonged to an unannotated human expression sequence tag. Overall, 0.24% of transcripts from this cell line were of viral origin. DTS was then applied to 241,122 expression tags from three squamous cell conjunctival carcinomas (SCCC), a cancer strongly associated with immunosuppression. Only 21 of these sequences did not align to human databases and all 21 candidates were ruled out as viral sequences by experimental isolation. This analysis shows that it is unlikely that distinguishable viral transcripts are present in conjunctival carcinomas at 20 transcripts per million or higher, which is the equivalent of approximately 4 transcripts per cell. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a malignant skin tumor arising from mechanoreceptor Merkel cells. MCC also occurs more frequently than expected among immunosuppressed transplant and AIDS patients. To search for viral sequences in MCC, we performed DTS on cDNA from 4 MCC cases, analyzing 395,734 cDNA sequences [3]. One transcript was similar to but distinct from African green monkey (AGM) lymphotropic polyomavirus (LPV) and human BK polyomavirus T antigen sequences, defining a new human polyomavirus, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV or McPyV). We sequenced the complete close circular genome of MCV (5387 bp), which encodes a T antigen locus, VP1, VP2/3, and replication origin sequences. MCV has highest homology to LPV belonging to MuPyV subgroup, the first human member of this subgroup, The MCV transcript was present at 10 transcript per million or abut 5 transcripts per cell. MCV sequences were detected in 8 of 10 (80%) MCC tumors but only 5 of 59 (8%) control tissues from various body sites and 4 of 25 (16%) control skin tissues. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (3'-RACE) revealed a T antigen fusion transcript with intron 1 of the human receptor tyrosine phosphatase type G gene (PTPRG), suggesting viral integration in the tumor. In six of eight MCV-positive MCCs, viral DNA was also found integrated within the tumor genome in a clonal pattern, suggesting that MCV infection and integration preceded clonal expansion of the tumor cells. 5'-RACE and northern analysis defined large (LT), small (ST) and variably spliced MCV T transcripts that retain polyomaviral CR1 (LXXLL), DnaJ (HPDKGG), PP2A binding (CXCXXC), Rb binding (LXCXE) motifs as well as origin-binding and helicase/ATPase domains. We further sequenced nine MCC tumor-derived LT genomic region and all were found to harbor mutations prematurely truncating the MCV LT helicase [4]. In contrast, four presumed episomal viruses from nontumor sources did not process this T antigen signature mutation. MCV-positive MCC tumor cells undergo selection for LT mutations to prevent autoactivation of integrated virus replication detrimental to cell survival. Because these mutations render the virus replication-incompetent, MCV cannot be a "passenger virus" that secondarily infects MCC tumors. Overall, DTS is a simple screening method to discover novel viral nucleic acids. It provides, for the first time, quantitative evidence against some classes of viral etiology when no viral transcripts are found, thereby reducing the uncertainty involved in new pathogen discovery. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):CN09-04.


ABSTRACT Surveys continue to be a popular way of collecting data in the social sciences. But, despite their popularity they have a number of limitations including the possibility of changing the behaviour of respondents. Such mere-measure or question-behaviour effects can compromise the external validity of social data. In this article, we use digital trace data collected from PCs and mobile devices to investigate the effects of surveys on news and politics consumption. Using a non-probability panel of respondents in Germany we combine the digital trace data with that from three online surveys regarding the federal election. In contrast to our expectation, the participation in the survey does not influence online news and politics media consumption. Furthermore, we find weak evidence that respondents with previous high media consumption are less likely to be influenced by doing the survey compared to those with low media consumption.


This article uses a historical approach to identify and analyze the factors leading to the instability of political and administrative institutions of the Democratic Republic of Congo from independence to the year 2017. There are multiple factors related to institutional instability in the DRC. Key among them includes the inadequate constitutional provisions, the difficulties caused by the non-application of democratic principles, the heterogeneity of the populace and frequent conflicts. Other contributors to the institutional instability experienced in the DRC include the politicization of the administration, the prevailing social-economic situation, poor governance, the non-observance of the laws, the poor distribution of the national wealth, foreign pressures and macroeconomic influences. The challenges due to institutional and political instability in the DRC provide opportunities for the Congolese state and its populace to re-invent itself to be a truly democratic space where the ambitions to develop and improve the living conditions of the people can be improved through stabilized and functional institutions.


A very useful handbook describing the California adult education program. It contains a resume of the historical development of that program with very succinct and useful helps on curriculum planning, selection and training of teachers, methods, and the administration of a program. California has an enviable adult program and this kind of material prepared by its Bureau of Adult Education helps to explain why.


The new VLSI architecture for video object (VO) motion tracking uses a novel hierarchical adaptive structured mesh topology. The structured mesh offers a significant reduction in the number of bits that describe the mesh topology. The motion of the mesh nodes represents the deformation of the VO. Motion compensation is performed using a multiplication-free algorithm for affine transformation, significantly reducing the decoder architecture complexity. Pipelining the affine unit contributes a considerable power saving. The VO motion-tracking architecture is based on a new algorithm. It consists of two main parts: a video object motion-estimation unit (VOME) and a video object motion-compensation unit (VOMC). The VOME processes two consequent frames to generate a hierarchical adaptive structured mesh and the motion vectors of the mesh nodes. It implements parallel block matching motion-estimation units to optimize the latency. The VOMC processes a reference frame, mesh nodes and motion vectors to predict a video frame. It implements parallel threads in which each thread implements a pipelined chain of scalable affine units. This motion-compensation algorithm allows the use of one simple warping unit to map a hierarchical structure. The affine unit warps the texture of a patch at any level of hierarchical mesh independently. The processor uses a memory serialization unit, which interfaces the memory to the parallel units. The architecture has been prototyped using top-down low-power design methodology. Performance analysis shows that this processor can be used in online object-based video applications such as MPEG-4 and VRML.


Structural problems, such as institutional racism and bias, require structural solutions. White people in the legal academy are only now reckoning with the reality of systemic racism within our hallowed halls, an insidiousness that many People of Color in the legal academy have always known. Yes, racism and bias are pervasive in our teaching, learning, service, and leadership environments.

This article is one of three interdependent articles authored by Penn State Dickinson Law faculty and staff. These articles are meant to be read together to chart the vision and implementation for building an Antiracist law school and providing a template for an Antiracist legal academy and legal profession. The other two articles in the trilogy are: Amy Gaudion, "Exploring Race and Racism in the Law School Curriculum: an Administrator's View on Adopting an Antiracist Curriculum;" and Dermot Groome, "Exploring Race and Racism in the Law School Curriculum: Educating Antiracist Lawyers."

This reckoning is the result of the intersecting crises of a global pandemic, which is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown people; a full-throated social movement demanding racial equality following 2020's cascade of murders of, among others, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd; and a presidential election in which voter suppression was on full display, and a then sitting president's apocryphal untruths regarding the election process sped up the need to address systemic inequities hampering the legal academy's ability to transform legal education to truly deliver on its vision to promote the rule of law and equal justice for all.

During these cataclysmic events, the faculty and staff of Penn State Dickinson Law exercised leadership by leaning into the hydra-headed economic, social, and political storm of 2020 to declare unanimously their intention to act and implement Antiracist teaching and learning methods at the law school. Faculty and Staff did not anticipate the resonance that these actions would have on colleagues—including students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni—in the legal academy.

Our positions as faculty and staff in the legal academy and as attorneys in the legal profession are inherently ones requiring us to exercise leadership. In the legal profession, the defining aspects of leadership are heightened by duty, accountability, and a sworn obligation to act equitably, transparently, and with integrity. It was integrity that motivated Penn State Dickinson Law faculty and staff to take such an unprecedented, yet necessary position against systemic racism and bias, not just for the institution but for the academy and for the profession.

Penn State Dickinson Law acknowledged its obligation to embrace leadership that promotes equality and justice for all as well as the special obligation to train the next generation of leaders to do more and to do better. In service to the ongoing commitment to eradicate racism and bias, Penn State Dickinson Law is immersed in the work of constructing an Antiracist law school.


AIM
Sulfadiazine (SD) is a classic antibiotic for intracranial infection. Due to the medical market policy, SD has not been chosen as an essential drug in all the hospitals in China. However, its therapeutic effect is definite and cannot be substituted. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic and economic value of SD compared to other popular antibiotics in patients with refractory intracranial infection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A retrospective single-center study was performed from January 2011 until December 2012. Thirteen patients diagnosed with refractory intracranial infection were treated with SD. The clinical effects were reviewed.

RESULTS
Treatment was successful for 12 of the patients (cure rate=92.3%). One patient died of secondary epilepsy, respiratory complications, and multiple organ failure. Only one patient was allergic to SD, and there were no drug-related liver or kidney side effects.

CONCLUSION
SD is a safe, effective, and economical antibiotic, and is used by our neurosurgical department. It should be offered as an option for the patients with refractory intracranial infection, especially for patients with lower ability to pay.


PURPOSE
We assessed bladder growth and dynamics following complete primary repair of bladder exstrophy (CPRE) compared to the staged approach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed the records of 16 boys and 7 girls who underwent CPRE within 3 days of life from 1996 to 2004 and compared them to the records of 8 boys and 6 girls treated with a staged repair from 1979 to 1996. Screening methods included voiding cystourethrogram, radionuclide cystogram and urodynamic study. We estimated growth curves for bladder capacity following repair in each group, and compared percent predicted bladder capacity (PPBC), compliance and detrusor overactivity between the CPRE and staged repair groups following bladder neck reconstruction.

RESULTS
Bladder capacity in the staged repair group was 69.8 ml (95% CI 46.7-104.4) immediately after bladder neck reconstruction and increased by 15.0% per year thereafter (95% CI 6.2-24.5, p = 0.002). In the CPRE group bladder capacity was 29.0 ml (95% CI 21.3-39.5) initially and increased by 28.9% per year thereafter (95% CI 17.4-41.5, p <0.001). PPBC started at 45.6% (95% CI 35.7-55.5) and increased 1.2% per year (95% CI -1.1-3.5, p = 0.29) following repair for all genders and surgery groups. Compliance was 124.4% (95% CI 22.6-310.7, p = 0.01) greater in the CPRE group at all times following repair. Detrusor overactivity was present in 0 of 19 patients in the CPRE group and 6 of 13 (46%) in the staged group (exact p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS
Within the CPRE group bladder stability was universal, and sphincter electromyography was normal suggesting no neuromuscular compromise of the pelvic floor. At early followup, our results suggest that PPBC is equivalent irrespective of gender or management. Further objective evaluation is needed in both groups.


Treatment of newly eclosed adult milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) females with precocene 2 prevents secretion of juvenile hormone by inhibition of postimaginal development of the corpus allatum. Ovarian development which is dependent upon juvenile hormone is prevented or reversed, depending upon the timing of precocene treatment. Juvenile hormone secretion is shown to be related to the development of the corpus allatum.


Optimizing reaction conditions is an essential routine in synthetic chemistry. However, selecting appropriate experiments remains tightly connected to expert chemistry knowledge. Here, to streamline the reaction yield optimization process and disconnect it from chemical intuition, we developed an adaptive machine intelligence to navigate multidimensional reaction conditions' spaces. Our approach (LabMate.AI) employs an interpretable algorithm and requires only <0.05% of all search space as input data. LabMate.AI optimizes many reaction parameters simultaneously, and uses minimal computational resources and time. We demonstrate how LabMate.AI can identify optimal conditions for a Ugi and a C–N cross-coupling reaction in a more efficient and faster manner than human experts, while affording reactivity insights. Our approach formalizes chemical intuition, and acquires expert chemistry knowledge autonomously, thereby providing an innovative framework towards informed and automated experiment selection. The results support machine learning for hastening experimental design, democratizing synthetic chemistry, and freeing chemists for non-routine tasks.


Many substances from different sources have been used by men for decades to control insects. After the 2nd World War, the use of inorganic compounds have declined drastically and natural products, as well as synthetic derivatives, have been widely used instead. The search for natural alternatives have improved the development of bench top bioassays and an array of synthetic approaches for known and novel natural products that shows relevant activities as feeding supressors and deterrents. The studies concerning mode of action and environmental impact of these substances, that may be biodegradable and selective for undesired insects, had led to the evaluation and discovery of a number of molecules, mostly terpenoids and alkaloids, that are well reported as candidates for inseticidal compounds that could be an effective alternative for insects control with a lower impact on human health, household animals and the environment.


over the last decade, The Ukrainian Biochemical Journal (UBJ) has taken a number of measures that have allowed it to leave its narrowly domestic past behind and come a step closer to the international community of scientific publications. In the first phase of the UBJ transformation the journal was made Englishlingual only, its manuscript handling process was somewhat streamlined, and a brand-new website for the journal was developed. The range of international databases, in which the UBJ was listed, was also significantly extended. The second phase of the UBJ upgrade began in October 2018, when the journal received a grant from the Regional Cooperation for Health, Science and Technology (RECOOP) to implement the project "Scientific communication of RECOOP partners using the UBJ platform". The project's objectives include raising the journal's quality level to international standards, globalizing it, and making it a reliable platform for the reCooP publishing activity in eastern europe by promoting articles within the scope of reCooP research strategy.


This paper examines the entrepreneurial activities of female migrants in the informal artisanal fishing sector along the coastal line of Congo-Brazzaville. It shows the extent to which these women have achieved an insertion into a market niche, fish smoking, which builds on the livelihoods of co-ethnic migrant fishermen. Women rely on the fish supplied by male migrants including their husbands to run their fish smoking activities. In return, they re-invest part of the proceeds in their husbands' fishing business. This interdependency of livelihoods reflects a reconstruction of gender-relations within the household which links matrimony to migration as an asset-accumulation strategy. The observed patterns in enterprising amply support the view that vulnerable households are capable of mobilising additional labour – in this case women's labour – in order to diversify their sources of income. The paper also demonstrates how inter-spouses partnering generate cohesion within the household and provides a mechanism for pooling income and other resources and for sharing business risks. In this regard, the household can be perceived as safety net and migration is indeed a strategy through which assets are accumulated in the host society. Little evidence has however come from the paper to suggest an effective emancipation and social autonomy on the side of the entrepreneurial woman. The relations of subordination seem to prevail, although less intense than before.


Background: Women who initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy are reported to have lower risk of preterm birth compared with those who enter pregnancy care already receiving ART. We hypothesize this association can be largely attributed to selection bias. Methods: We simulated a cohort of 1000 preconceptional, HIV-infected women, where half were randomly allocated to receive immediate ART and half to delay ART until their presentation for pregnancy care. Gestational age at delivery was drawn from population data unrelated to randomization group (i.e., the true effect of delayed ART was null). Outcomes of interest were preterm birth (<37 weeks), very preterm birth (<32 weeks), and extreme preterm birth (<28 weeks). We analyzed outcomes in 2 ways: (1) a prospectively enrolled clinical trial, where all women were considered (the intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis); and (2) an observational study, where women who deliver before initiating ART were excluded (the naïve analysis). We explored the impact of later ART initiation and gestational age measurement error on our findings. Results: Preconception ART initiation was not associated with preterm birth in ITT analyses. Risk ratios (RRs) for the effect of preconception ART initiation were RR = 1.10 (preterm), RR = 1.41 (very preterm), and RR = 5.01 (extreme preterm) in naïve analyses. Selection bias increased in the naïve analysis with advancing gestational age at ART initiation and with introduction of gestational age measurement error. Conclusions: Analyses of preterm birth that compare a preconception exposure to one that occurs in pregnancy are at risk of selection bias. See video abstract at, http://links.lww.com/EDE/B313.


Background Infantile haemangioma (IH) is the most commonly observed tumour in children. Off-label pharmacological treatment of IH with the beta-blocker propranolol induces regression of IH. Based on the fact that IH are more frequently observed in premature babies than in mature babies and the evidence that beta-blocker therapy leads to regression of IH, the authors generated the hypothesis that the use of β-2-sympathomimetics during pregnancy for inhibiting premature labour might increase occurrence of IH in preterm infants. Methods For group comparison t test, Mann–Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test were used. Logistic regression was carried out by the forward stepwise method with Wald statistics. Results Data of 328 preterm infants (<32 gestational weeks) or with a birth weight of less than 1500 g (<36 gestational weeks) born between January 2006 and December 2008 were analysed. A total of 15 were excluded due do death within the 1st month of life, 38 because of lost to follow-up and six due to incomplete data. Complete data of 269 preterm infants were retrospectively analysed. During the follow-up period of median 1.6 years, 50 infants developed one or more IH within their first 6 months of life. IH occurred in 40/181 patients with intrauterine exposure to the β-2-sympathomimetic hexoprenaline and in 10/88 without exposure (OR=4.3; 95% CI 1.4 to 13.8). Furthermore, the influence of antenatal exposure to glucocorticosteroids for induction of lung development was analysed. Prenatally exposed subjects showed reduced occurrence of IH (OR=0.2; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.8). Conclusion Intrauterine exposure to the β-2-sympathomimetic hexoprenaline might increase the occurrence of IH in preterm infants.


Noam Chomsky, more than any other researcher, has radically restructured the study of human language over the past several decades. While the study of government and binding is an outgrowth of Chomsky's earlier work in transformational grammar, it represents a significant shift in focus and a new direction of investigation into the fundamentals of linguistic theory.This monograph consolidates and extends this new approach. It serves as a concise introduction to government-binding theory, applies it to several new domains of empirical data, and proposes some revisions to the principles of the theory that lead to greater unification, descriptive scope, and explanatory depth.Earlier work in the theory of grammar was concerned primarily with rule systems. The accent in government-binding theory, however, is on systems of principles of universal grammar. In the course of this book, Chomsky proposes and evaluates various general principles that limit and constrain the types of rules that are possible, and the ways they interact and function. In particular, he proposes that rule systems are in fact highly restricted in variety: only a finite number of grammars are attainable in principle, and these fall into a limited set of types.Another consequence of this shift in focus is the change of emphasis from derivations to representations. The major topic in the study of syntactic representations is the analysis of empty categories, which is a central theme of the book. After his introductory comments and a chapter on the variety of rule system, Chomsky takes up, in turn, the general properties of empty categories, the functional determination of empty categories, parasitic gaps, and binding theory and the typology of empty categories.Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor at MIT. The book is the sixth in the series Linguistic Inquiry Monographs, edited by Samuel Jay Keyser.


Intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT) as a treatment for breast cancer is a relatively new technique that is designed to be a replacement for whole breast external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in selected women suitable for breast-conserving therapy. This article reviews twelve reasons for the use of the technique, with a particular emphasis on targeted intra-operative radiotherapy (TARGIT) which uses X-rays generated from a portable device within the operating theatre immediately after the breast tumour (and surrounding margin of healthy tissue) has been removed. The delivery of a single fraction of radiotherapy directly to the tumour bed at the time of surgery, with the capability of adding EBRT at a later date if required (risk-adaptive technique) is discussed in light of recent results from a large multinational randomised controlled trial comparing TARGIT with EBRT. The technique avoids irradiation of normal tissues such as skin, heart, lungs, ribs and spine, and has been shown to improve cosmetic outcome when compared with EBRT. Beneficial aspects to both institutional and societal economics are discussed, together with evidence demonstrating excellent patient satisfaction and quality of life. There is a discussion of the published evidence regarding the use of IORT twice in the same breast (for new primary cancers) and in patients who would never be considered for EBRT because of their special circumstances (such as the frail, the elderly, or those with collagen vascular disease). Finally, there is a discussion of the role of the TARGIT Academy in developing and sustaining high standards in the use of the technique.


The rates of morbidity and mortality due to stroke among people of working age have been growing in recent years and have increased by more than 30% over the past 10 years. An important place among the complications of ischemic stroke is motor disorders, accompanied by persistent muscle hypertension and disorders of peripheral microcirculation. The purpose of the study: to reveal the features of microcirculatory disorders in patients in the early recovery period of ischemic stroke. Violations of peripheral hemodynamics are very typical for patients in the early recovery period of ischemic stroke. They are more pronounced on the side of the paresis. In the early recovery period, more severe forms of microcirculation disorder were observed more often on the paretic limb, accompanied by signs of a sharp decrease in blood flow, increased vascular tone with the phenomena of blood stagnation. The revealed disorders of the microcirculatory link allow the use of disaggregants, peripheral vasodilators, venotonicks, massage, physiotherapy, reflexotherapy, and physical therapy with the involvement of the patient and healthy limbs to be recommended to patients in the early recovery period after ischemic stroke. All this should contribute to improving the effectiveness of rehabilitation of this category of patients during the early recovery phase.


Background: Implantable cardiac devices including pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators have important therapeutic implications for the patients who have rhythm problems or the risk of sudden cardiac death. Despite the survival benefit and increase in quality of life, inappropriate shock therapies, macro or micro lead fractures or device infections are some of the devastating problems that can be encountered in such patients.
Methods: In this retrospective study, we reevaluated 153 patients who had undergone transvenous lead extraction using TightRail™ Mechanical Dilator Sheath (Spectranetics Corporation) between September 2014 and October 2017 in Hacettepe University Cardiology Clinic.
Results: 97 extracted devices were implantable cardiac defibrillator and 56 devices were pacemaker. Most common lead extraction causes were lead and/or pocket infection and lead dysfunction. Both causes were present in 69 patients. The total number of extracted leads were 275 (1.85 leads per patient). In the entire population 15 of 153 patients were died during the follow-up unrelated to extraction procedure.
Conclusion: Although cardiac devices can be implanted in many centers, lead extraction procedures can be performed in a very limited number of clinics. Our single center report is one of the largest series regarding lead extraction procedures. Our study showed that lead extraction procedure has its own serious morbidity and mortality risks.
Key Words: Cardiac devices, pacemaker Infection, pacemaker disfunction, percutaneous cardiac device extraction, lead extraction, infective endocarditis