Effective utilization of biofuels is believed as one of the vital potential sustainable energy resources in current years. Over the last two decades, it has lured the attention of many researchers in the automotive sector to find the solution to problems of global warming, depletion of fossil and fluctuation of fuel prices, and growing reliance on imported energy sources. This experimental investigation aims to assess the impact of graphene nanoparticles (GNP) on the performance and emissions of a compression ignition engine fuel with Jatropha (J20), and Karanja (K20) blends contrasted with that of neat diesel. This research work used a single-cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled, naturally-aspirated direct injection diesel engine. It was coupled to an eddy current dynamometer with a rated output of 3.5 kW at a speed of 1500 rpm. Samples of GNP in mass fractions of 50 and 100 mg/L were prepared, and their physicochemical properties were evaluated. Measurements were collected to examine the performance and exhaust releases. In addition, the combustion indicators, including in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate, and mean gas temperature, have been studied and analyzed. The experimental result has shown that by adding 50 mg/L GNPs in K20 and J20, the brake thermal efficiency improved by about 4.77%–7.17%, respectively, compared to their base blends. The maximum smoke level was detected to be about 43% at full-load for both biodiesels at 50 mg/L GNP proportion. NOx concentration has also considerably decreased to about 8%–14% for GNP added blends compared to J20 and K20 biodiesel operations. However, a higher proportion of GNP added blends affects the combustion rate and substantial drop in the engine's performance at maximum load.


Chemical genetics represents an expanding collection of techniques applied to a variety of signaling processes. These techniques use a combination of chemical reporters and protein engineering to identify targets of a signaling enzyme in a global and non-directed manner without resorting to hypothesis-driven candidate approaches. In the last year, chemical genetics has been applied to a variety of kinases, revealing a much broader spectrum of substrates than had been appreciated. Here, we discuss recent developments in chemical genetics, including insights from our own proteomic screen for substrates of the kinase ERK2. These studies have revealed that many kinases have overlapping substrate specificity, and they often target several proteins in any particular downstream pathway. It remains to be determined whether this configuration exists to provide redundant control, or whether each target contributes a fraction of the total regulatory effect. From a general perspective, chemical genetics is applicable in principle to a broad range of posttranslational modifications (PTMs), most notably methylation and acetylation, although many challenges remain in implementing this approach. Recent developments in chemical reporters and protein engineering suggest that chemical genetics will soon be a powerful tool for mapping signal transduction through these and other PTMs.


Towards a Sustainable and Efficient State: The Development Agenda of Belize represents a tangible expression of the Inter-American Development Bank's commitment to generating knowledge as part of its assistance to its borrowing member countries and illustrates the Bank's willingness to accompany Belize in its efforts to overcome its development challenges. This intellectual contribution to some of the most important issues regarding Belize's economic and social development is directed primarily at two audiences. First, it is directed at Belizean policymakers, offering a technical and internationally comparative perspective. Second, it is aimed at the wider public who are interested in Belize's economic and social development but who find little material available on the subject.


The destruction of toxic organic molecules using a dvanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is a potent tool for pollution con trol and environmental protection. Ultrasound is a convenient and effective method of generating hydroxyl radicals which is the key oxidant in AOPs. This review desc ribes the use of ultrasound and associated chemical reactions, with and without add itives, as a powerful means of remediating water contaminated with organic pollutants. After a brief introduction to ultrasound and sonochemistry, their application for the oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenol and substituted pheno ls is considered. Next is the decomposition of chlorinated phenols, and other chl orinated organics, then removal of recalcitrant smaller organic molecules. A discussi on follows of recent work that has investigated the effects of initial concentration o f substrates; the use of different ultrasonic frequencies; the inclusion of oxidising species, inorganic particles, or salts and their contribution to enhanced degradation. Fi ally, brief comments are made on the status of ultrasound as an AOP treatment.


SAMPLE is a method of seismic interpretation that extracts shear wave velocities or Poisson's ratios from the seldom used amplitude variations within a common-depth-point (CDP) gather. From a crossplot of pressure wave velocity and Poisson's ratio, lithologies and pore fluids are then estimated. The SAMPLE method works because reflection and transmission of elastic waves (seismic waves) at the boundary between two media are a function of 6 parameters. Three elastic parameters in each media are P-wave velocity, Poisson's ratio or S-wave velocity, and density. Given these 6 parameters and the angle of incidence of a plane elastic wave, the reflection and transmission amplitudes (coefficients) can be calculated using Zoeppritz's equations. SAMPLE is an inversion of this calculation. P-wave velocity is determined in a conventional manner (i.e., Dix interval velocities). Density is assumed to be a function of P-wave velocity. The unknown Poisson's ratios can be determined from the reflection amplitude variation with angle of incidence (offset versus amplitude variations within a CDP gather.) Having solved for P-wave velocities and Poisson's ratios, lithologies and fluids are estimated.


The UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs held in April 2016 has been organized by the international drug control entities, but has confirmed the inclusion of other UN agencies in the global debates on drugs. Out of these, WHO and UNDP have played a major role in linking drug policy with the priorities of protecting human rights and promoting sustainable development. In May 2017, the leadership of both agencies will change. This letter reviews the aspiring leaders of these agencies' positions on drug policies through existing literature, providing more clarity on their past or current commitment to the issue of drug policy and harm reduction stakeholders.


Public universities and research facilities in Germany are very much transforming due to political, legal and organizational changes. Additionally, the number of students will increase in the next eight years by 35 percent. The requirements of users in terms of rooms and services are changing very fast too. A lack of necessary maintenance and intended building projects are already obviously.These future challenges are just solvable by appropriate actions and new concepts in public real estate management. It is stated in this paper, that addressing life cycle issues in project development helps to satisfy the present and future needs of the academies. As a step along the road Public Private Partnerships (PPP) function as a new procurement route in order to deliver public buildings in an efficient manner under life cycle aspects. The aim of this paper is to investigate factors which are important for the application of PPP in the university sector. A set of 51 questions was developed based on literature review and experts opinion. The questionnaire is used in semi-structured interviews with real estate professionals at different types of German academies such as universities, colleges, research institutions and student facilities. The data collected during the interviews is analysed concerning life cycle optimisations and risk transfer potential within a PPP procurement route. The results of the investigation show that PPP as a procurement route is equally applicable for university and research facilities. Furthermore, the application of the life cycle concept affords focusing on real estate related benchmarking data.


Loose abrasive lapping is widely used to prepare optical glass before its final polishing. We carried out a comparison of 20 different slurries from four different vendors. Slurry particle sizes and morphologies were measured. Fused silica samples were lapped with these different slurries on a single side polishing machine and characterized in terms of surface roughness and depth of subsurface damage (SSD). Effects of load, rotation speed, and slurry concentration during lapping on roughness, material removal rate, and SSD were investigated.


The introduction and establishment of the predatory seastar Asterias amurensis in southern Australia is considered a major threat to benthic marine communities and commercial bivalves. The impact of A. amurensis on a soft sediment assemblage in SE Tasmania was quantified, with particular attention to effects of seastar predation on the survivorship of recently settled juve- niles of the commercial bivalve Fulvia tenuicostata. In a manipulative experiment, densities of F. tenuicostata juveniles were reduced by ca. 15 fold (from 580 to 35 m -2 ) in the presence of seastars at background densities relative to the treatment without seastars. In a feeding survey, A. amurensis exhibited preference for F. tenuicostata following settlement of the bivalve over the period from December 1997 to January 1998, which comprised 80 and 50% of the seastar's stomach items in Feb- ruary 1998 and April 1998, respectively. However, A. amurensis preferred a variety of other prey taxa when the abundance of F. tenuicostata was low, particularly other bivalves, gastropods and the echi- noid Echinocardium cordatum. This indicates that the seastar may potentially affect the abundance of other prey taxa. The results provide further support to the hypothesis that predation by A. amuren- sis is largely responsible for the recent decline and subsequent rarity of large bivalves in its current distribution in Tasmania. The potential of seastar predation to have wider ecosystem level effects than the short-term direct effects reported here is a major concern.


The ability of hemagglutinating and poorly hemagglutinating strains of the gastroduodenal pathogen Helicobacter pylori to bind 125I-radiolabelled laminin was quantitated in a liquid phase assay. Although all strains bound laminin, some hemagglutinating strains were good binders of laminin (maximum of 31% binding), whereas poorly hemagglutinating strains bound intermediate to small amounts of laminin (minimum of 6% binding). Since a hydrophobic component of the bacterium has been reported to be involved in binding of laminin (T. J. Trust, P. Doig, L. Emödy, Z. Kienle, T. Wadström, and P. O'Toole, Infect. Immun. 59:4398-4404, 1991), we investigated the role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the interaction of both types of strains with laminin. Although the extent of inhibition varied among strains, laminin binding to hemagglutinating and poorly hemagglutinating strains was inhibited with homologous and heterologous smooth-form LPS. The ability of heterologous rough-form LPS to produce inhibition comparable to that shown by smooth-form LPS indicated that the O side chain of H. pylori LPS was not involved in the interaction. Further inhibition experiments with dephosphorylated LPS, isolated core oligosaccharide, and free lipid A suggested that a phosphorylated structure in the core oligosaccharide mediates the interaction of a hemagglutinating strain of H. pylori with laminin, whereas a conserved nonphosphorylated structure in the core oligosaccharide mediates the interaction of a poorly hemagglutinating strain. Furthermore, we showed that the interaction of H. pylori LPS with 125I-radiolabelled laminin in a solid phase assay was saturable, specific, and inhibitable with unlabelled laminin. It was postulated that the initial recognition and binding of laminin by H. pylori may occur through LPS and that subsequently a more specific interaction with a lectin-like adhesin on the bacterial surface occurs.


: The present research investigates the impact of organizational change on improving Bank Shahr financial and economic performance. For this purpose, the impact of organizational change components on Bank Shahr financial and economic performance have been studied based on Weisbord Six-Box Model. Research method is descriptive-correlation. Population includes 150 staff managers and experts of Bank Shahr central office. 108 of them were selected as sample based on Cochran formula. Data collection tool is a questionnaire including 38 items in two organizational change and financial-economic performance sectors. After measuring its validity and reliability, the questionnaires were distributed among managers and experts with simple random sampling method. Collected data were analyzed based on structural equation analysis. The results indicated that 1. The model has a good fitness. 2. Organizational change has a significant impact on financial-economic performance of Bank Shahr. 3. The components of organizational change i.e. goals, structure, leadership, communication, reward, and ways to help have significant impact on financial-economic performance of Bank Shahr. 4. The prioritization of organizational change components are ranked in terms of degree of impact on financial-economic performance of Bank Shahr, leadership, ways to help, goals, communication, structure, and reward respectively.


Olin Brass Alloy C42200 (Tradename: Lubronze) is a copper-zinc-tin alloy (tin brass). The mechanical properties and performance of C42200 are very similar to those of high-zinc brass alloys with the added benefit of improved resistance to stress relaxation. It is also a cost-effective alternative to phosphor bronze. This datasheet provides information on composition and physical properties. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming. Filing Code: Cu-904. Producer or source: Olin Brass GBC Metals, LLC.


The photorefractive effect is theoretically studied at the interface between a thin photoconducting layer and an oxidic electro-optic crystal. A grating charge distribution in the photoconducting layer creates an electric field that penetrates the electro-optic crystal, giving a refractive-index modulation near the interface. The photorefractive gratings of different crystal geometries are discussed.


Most literature pertaining to organisational learning and performance remains conceptual. On the basis of theoretical findings reported in the previous strategic and knowledge management literature, the proposed model offers an empirical means to study the links among organisational learning, innovation and company performance. The derived constructs, applied to a sample of 110 high-tech small firms and used to test the model, indicate a positive relationship among the three factors; moreover, company age moderates these results. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding how to capture and share knowledge for small firm managers.


This is a groundbreaking re reading of the literary response to a decade of trauma and transformation. This study focuses on the thematic preoccupations that emerged from writers' immersion in and resistance to the Second World War. Through 7 chapters - Documenting, Desiring, Killing, Escaping, Grieving, Adjusting and Atomizing - the book sets middlebrow and popular writers alongside residual modernists and new voices to reconstruct the literary landscape of the period, arguing that the postwar is a concept that emerges almost simultaneously with the war itself, and that 'peace' is significant only by its absence in an emergent post Atomic cold war era. It includes a detailed and theoretically informed case studies of canonical writers such as Bowen, Orwell, Greene and Waugh. It offers case studies and critical re evaluations of popular genre writers and forgotten writers.


After receiving at least US$20 billion in aid for reconstruction and development over the past 60 years, Haiti has been and remains a fragile state, one of the worse globally. The reasons for aid failure are legion but mostly relate to highly dysfunctional Haitian regimes, sometimes destructive US foreign policy and aid policy, and ongoing issues about how to deliver aid, all in the context of devastating natural disasters. The over-riding cause of aid failure has been the social, cultural and historical context which has led to domination by economic and political elites who have little interest in advancing Haiti, and who are totally self-interested–Haiti´s fatal flaw. Donors can go far to improve aid effectiveness, but Haiti will languish until its leaders and people find common ground and compromise in managing their country.


In District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court made seemingly irreconcilable demands on lower courts: evaluate Second Amendment claims through history, avoid balancing, and retain as much regulation as possible. To date, lower courts have been unable to devise a test that satisfies all three of these conditions. Worse, the emerging default candidate, intermediate scrutiny, is a test that many jurists and scholars consider exceedingly manipulable. This Article argues that courts could look to the Supreme Court's Seventh Amendment jurisprudence, and in particular the Seventh Amendment's "historical test," to help them devise a test for the Second. The historical test relies primarily on analogical reasoning from text, history, and tradition to determine the constitutionality of any given practice or regulation. Yet the historical test is supple enough to respond to the demands of a twenty-first-century judicial system. As such, it provides valuable insights, but also its own set of problems, for those judges and scholars struggling to implement the right to keep and bear arms.


We are witnessing an increased use of conceptual visualizations and information graphics on the Web. Addressing this rising interest in the interactive visual display of information, this study proposes to evaluate the effects of visual mapping on human communication. We acknowledge the emergence of new forms of communication deploying interactive visualization, empowered by ICT tools that augment abilities in creating visualizations. Yet their implications are still largely understudied. Beyond evaluating usability, this study focuses on assessing the new visual digital form of communication, in particular in the context of strategic communication in organizations, by analyzing the relationship between the emotional and cognitive response. We propose a model, building on theories from psychology, in which visualization has a positive effect on the emotional response toward the content, which in turn has a positive impact on the cognitive response. We test the mediation model proposed with an experiment, comparing a textual control condition to two visual representations, and find confirmation of our hypotheses. The study provides a contribution by showing that communication can be shaped and enhanced by using interactive visual mapping tools, which empower users to swiftly craft clear and convincing messages.


In this work, we consider assessing wavelength availability using partial management information for dynamically setting up a light-path across administrative domains. We cast the light-path assessment as a decision problem, define and analyze the performance as the probability of an erroneous decision. We show that the performance is related to the blocking probability, and a good performance may be achieved using local and aggregated information.


The research is financed by Chief Favour O. Izoukumor (The Fieye-Owie of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom, the immediate past commissioner representing Ijaw Ethnic Nationality on the board of DESOPADEC) Abstract Oil pollution is a big challenge to the Nigerian government. The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency claimed that from January 2010 to August 2015, about 294,352 barrels of oil spilled into the Niger Delta environment of Nigeria. The truth is that the Nigerian government initiated several policies, laws, regulations and standards to curb crude oil pollution in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, still, pollution is on the increase. This article seeks to critically assess the weaknesses of the pollution prevention laws and regulations set up by the Nigerian government to protect and prevent oil pollution in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The analyses of this article show that the penalties imposed on the Oil Corporation to clean up oil spill are too low, enforcement of the laws is exclusively placed on the Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while excluding public litigation, inspection of oil pipelines is imposed on the operators while allowing the regulators to sleep. To surmount these challenges, this article concludes that the regulators in the oil sector should take responsibility of investigating and monitoring the activities of the operators, there should be stringent sanction compelling the operators to clean-up oil spill whenever it occurs. Keywords: Environment, Laws, Regulations, Pollution, Oil Spill, Nigeria DOI : 10.7176/JLPG/87-06 Publication date :July 31 st 2019


Nonlinear processes can be exploited to gain access to more information than is possible in the linear regime. Nonlinearity modifies the spectra of the excitation signals through harmonic generation, frequency mixing, and spectral shifting, so that features originally outside the detector range can be detected. Here, we present an experimental study of resolution enhancement for photoacoustic imaging of thin metal layers immersed in water. In this case, there is a threshold in the excitation below which no acoustic signal is detected. Above threshold, the nonlinearity reduces the width of the active area of the excitation beam, resulting in a narrower absorption region and thus improved spatial resolution. This gain is limited only by noise, as the active area of the excitation can be arbitrarily reduced when the fluence becomes closer to the threshold. Here, we demonstrate a two-fold improvement in resolution and quantify the image quality as the excitation fluence goes through threshold.


McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) has developed a graphical user interface (GUI) for use in digital, interactive and manned simulation to initialize a mission, monitor performance and provide debriefing of the simulation. Portions of the GUI have been adapted as tools for use with the Joint Modeling and Simulation System(J-MASS). The GUI will allow users to have graphical tools available to aid in configuring a simulation, viewing the results during execution and providing additional tools for post processing. At MDA, analysts and developers prefer a similar "look and feel" to their tools With the maximum amount of graphics for use in their analysis and to simplify the set-up and monitoring of the results. Since MDA has used graphical tools for several years in their aircraft and missile simulations, it seemed quite natural to apply them to new modeling and simulation environments like J-MASS.


In this work we explore the trade-offs between established algorithms for symmetric matrix inversion for fixed-point hardware implementation. Inversion of symmetric positive definite matrices finds applications in many areas, e.g. in MIMO detection and adaptive filtering. We explore computational complexity and show simulation results where numerical properties are analyzed. We show that LDLT decomposition combined with equation system solving are the most promising algorithm for fixed-point hardware implementation. We further show that simply counting the number of operations does not establish a valid comparison between the algorithms as the required word lengths differ significantly.


1. In order to determine if a sustained increase in cardiac output can lead to hypertension, seven conscious dogs were given a continuous infusion of dobutamine, a powerful stimulant of cardiac inotropism, into the left coronary artery for a 7 day period while arterial pressure, cardiac output (electromagnetic flowmeter) and heart rate were measured. 2. The infusion technique (1·5 × 10−8 mol min−1 kg−1, intracoronary) was selected after short-term experiments showed that it increased cardiac output more effectively than intravenous infusion at the same rate. 3. The rise in cardiac output elicited by intracoronary infusion of dobutamine was largest during the first 6 h of the 7 days administration, at which time calculated peripheral resistance was decreased. Subsequently, cardiac output returned progressively toward its control value whereas mean arterial pressure remained elevated (by an average of 20–25 mmHg) and peripheral resistance increased significantly. 4. Measurements of blood and extracellular fluid volumes as well as plasma renin activity indicated that these factors were not involved in the blood pressure increase. 5. When the infusion was ended, arterial pressure fell rapidly but peripheral resistance remained elevated during the first 6 h. Cardiac output fell after 2 and 6 h to a value below that of the pre-infusion control. After 1 day and subsequently, blood pressure became normal, as did the peripheral resistance and cardiac output. 6. Both at the onset and offset transients of this model of hypertension, changes in cardiac output preceded changes in peripheral resistance. These experiments may give experimental support to the concept of cardiogenic hypertension.


Ausonius was a latin poet, born in Burdigala (Bordeaux), who, inter alios , composed the poetic work entitled "Caesares" between 379-383 A.D. This  collection is an exposition of the lives of Roman emperors in verse (in hexameter and elegiac couplets). The collection is  not complete. The work stops suddenly at the incomplete quatrain of Elagabalus. In this paper the author deals  with the literary genre of the collection, the style of  the poem, while he also attempts to trace the texts the poet used (Suetonius, Tacitus, the so called Kaisergeschichte , Marius Maximus etc.). Finally he refers to the proposals concerning the missing part of the collection as put forth by various scholars in recent years.


Within the framework of the piecewise homogeneous body model the influence of the shear-spring type imperfect contact conditions on the dispersion relation of the generalized Rayleigh waves in the system consisting of the initially stressed covering layer and initially stressed half plane is investigated. The second version of the small initial deformation theory of the three-dimensional linearized theory of elastic waves in initially stressed bodies is applied and the elasticity relations of the materials of the constituents are described by the Murnaghan potential. The magnitude of the imperfectness of the contact conditions is estimated through the shear-spring type parameter. Consequently, the influence of the imperfectness of the contact conditions on the generalized Rayleigh wave propagation velocity is studied through the influence of the values of this parameter. Numerical results on the action of the imperfectness of the contact conditions and the influence of the initial stresses in the constituents on the wave dispersion curves are presented and discussed. In particular, it is established that the magnitude of action of the imperfectness of the contact conditions under the influence of the initial stresses on the wave propagation velocity cannot be limited with corresponding ones obtained in the case where the contact between the constituents is complete and in the case where this contact is full slipping one. The possible application of the obtained results on the geophysical and geotechnical engineering is also discussed.


Scene understanding represents one of the most primary problems in computer vision. It implies the full knowledge of all the elements of the environment and the comprehension of the relationships between them. One of the major tasks in this process is the scene recognition, on which we focus in this work. Scene recognition is a relevant and helpful task in many robotic fields such as navigation, localization, manipulation, among others. The knowledge of the place (e.g. "office", "classroom" or "kitchen") can improve the performance of robots in indoor environments. This task can be difficult because of the variability, ambiguity, illumination changes, occlusions and scale variability present in this type of spaces. Commonly, this problem has been approached through the development of models based on local and global characteristics, incorporating context information and, more recently, using deep learning techniques. In this paper, we propose a multi-classifier model for scene recognition considering as priors the outcomes of independent base classifiers. We implement a weighted voting scheme based on genetic algorithms for the combination of different classifiers in order to improve the recognition performance. The results have proved the validity of our approach and how the proper combination of independent classifier models makes it possible to find a better and more efficient solution for the scene recognition problem.


This paper analyzes the role of Israel Hiebner's Mysterium Sigillorum (1651) in the astrological reform program of late seventeenth-century English astrologers. Hiebner was a professor of astronomy and mathematics at Erfurt, and the translation of his tract into English in 1698 was considered to be a landmark event among reforming and scientific astrologers such as Henry Coley and John Gadbury. In the face of astrology's declining reputation among learned elites, Coley and Gadbury wished to cleanse their discipline of superstitious dross and illustrate it was 'experimentally true' via Baconian induction as well as by incorporation of discoveries in astronomy and natural philosophy. Hiebner's insistence on accurate planetary observations in making astrological sigils, his use of maps in Hevelius' Selenographia as guides in stamping his medical amulets, as well as his detailed and precise lists of ascendant planetary aspects thus was appealing to these astrological reformers. This paper also analyzes the role of the Mysterium Sigillorum in the 'English Sigil War,' a larger debate that existed among astrological physicians and natural philosophy about the role of these medals in medical healing.


Consider the following fact situation: A, an artist, designs art work and registers the copyright in that art work. A then licenses P to publish note cards using the art work. The note cards are published by P and distributed to retail card stores. T purchases several hundred cards and then takes each card, glues it carefully to a ceramic tile, and sells the tiles for a profit as "tile art" that purchasers can use to decorate walls, counters, even floors. If A now sues T for copyright infringement, how should the court rule? Has T infringed A's copyright? In addressing cases involving facts much like these, the courts have split. In Mirage Editions v. Albuquerque A.R T. Co., the Ninth Circuit ruled that the creator of the tile art had infringed the artist's exclusive right to prepare derivative works based upon her copyrighted art work. That decision has been followed by two district courts in the Ninth Circuit in Munoz v. Albuquerque A.R T. Co. and Greenwich Workshop v. Timber Creations. On the other hand, in Lee v. A.RT. Co., the Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of the tile art creator, concluding that the tile art was not an infringing derivative work and that the defendant was entitled to make and sell the tile art without incurring liability to the artist in accordance with the first sale doctrine reflected in section 109(a) of the Copyright Act of 1976 ("1976 Copyright Act" or "1976 Act"). These differing outcomes have implications for copyright law that go far beyond the simple fact pattern involved. In fact, many of the policy assumptions that underlie copyright law are at stake in deciding which of these outcomes is proper. At its core, this fact pattern forces the courts to address the question of just what it means to provide an artist with copyright protection. Is the artist thereby ensured that any meaningful economic exploitation of the copyrighted work is subject to her control, or is copyright protection to be defined more narrowly, and if so, subject to what limitations? What are the limits of the personal property rights of those who purchase material objects that contain works protected by copyright? This Article addresses these questions, using the tile art scenario as the focal point. Part I describes generally the goals of copyright law and the historical development of the copyright owner's right to control the creation of so-called "derivative works." Part II focuses on the Mirage and Lee decisions and the reasoning used by these courts to reach their different outcomes. Part III critiques both of these decisions and places them in the context of other pertinent case law and commentary. Part IV provides an alternative approach to analyzing these issues.


This thesis considers alternative statistical methods for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) that use cluster randomised trials (CRTs). The thesis has four objectives: firstly to develop criteria for identifying appropriate methods for CEA that use CRTs; secondly to critically appraise the methods used in applied CEAs that use CRTs; thirdly to assess the performance of alternative methods for CEA that use CRTs in settings where baseline covariates are balanced; fourthly to compare statistical methods that adjust for systematic covariate imbalance in CEA that use CRTs.
The thesis developed a checklist to assess the methodological quality of published CEAs that use CRTs. This checklist was informed by a conceptual review of statistical methods, and applied in a systematic literature review of published CEAs that use CRTs. The review found that most studies adopted statistical methods that ignored clustering or correlation between costs and health outcomes.
A simulation study was conducted to assess the performance of alternative methods for CEA that use CRTs across different circumstances where baseline covariates are balanced. This study considered: seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) and generalised estimating equations (GEEs), both with a robust standard error; multilevel models (MLMs) and a non-parametric 'two-stage' bootstrap (TS8). Performance was reported as, for example, bias and confidence interval (Cl) coverage of the incremental net benefit. The MLMs and the TSB performed well across all settings; SUR and GEEs reported poor Cl coverage in CRTs with few clusters.
The thesis compared methods for CEA that use CRTs when there are systematic differences in baseline covariates between the treatment groups. In a case study and further simulations, the thesis considered SUR, MLMs, and TSB combined with SUR to adjust for covariate imbalance. The case-study showed that cost-effectiveness results can differ according to adjustment method. The simulations reported that MLMs performed well across all settings, and unlike the other methods, provided Cl coverage close to nominal levels, even with few clusters and unequal cluster sizes.
The thesis concludes that MLMs are the most appropriate method across the circumstances considered. This thesis presents methods for improving the quality ofCEA that use CRTs, to help future studies provide a sound basis for policy making.


Purpose of reviewSummary highlighting the evidence that bone health may affect forearm fracture risk in children. Recent findingsAlthough the incidence of other fractures and injuries are decreasing, the incidence of forearm fractures is increasing in otherwise healthy children. There is a growing volume of research that forearm fracture risk in children may be related to deficiencies in parameters of bone health. Available evidence of this relationship was summarized and included direct links to bone health (measurement of bone properties), indirect links to bone health (diet, vitamin D status, BMI), and genetic analyses. SummaryThere is consistent and convincing evidence of an association between bone mineral density and forearm fracture risk in children. Studies of calcium intake and supplementation are less extensive in scope but suggest that effects of calcium deficiency on the radius may contribute to childhood forearm fracture risk. Forearm fracture risk in obese children is likely to reflect a combination of suboptimal bone health status and behavioral characteristics. Published data on the role of vitamin D status and genetic factors are limited but merit further consideration. Further investigation is needed to better understand the factors contributing to forearm fracture risk in children and translate this knowledge into effective clinical prevention and practice.


With China's dynamic economic growth, its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states have expanded rapidly in recent years, culminating in the conclusion of the landmark China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2002. Beyond trade and economic activities, China-ASEAN cooperation has broadened to cover the environment, science and technology, non-traditional security areas and related legal issues. China's relations with ASEAN have reached a new era where the two sides have established an economic, legal and political framework for their comprehensive cooperation.This book provides a comprehensive overview of China-ASEAN relations from economic, legal and political perspectives and examines various important topics related to non-traditional security issues, free trade zone and regional economic integration, border trade and environmental issues, and maritime security.


Economists argue that such market-based policy instruments as environmental taxes and emission trading systems are the best way to target the negative effects of pollution. Yet there is no agreement about whether the use of these instruments is sufficient, whether they are deployed efficiently, and which factors influence their effectiveness. Nor is it clear if such policies have had any significant effect on the urgent matter of climate change mitigation. This volume offers conceptual, empirical, and theoretical analyses of the effectiveness of these policy instruments in achieving environmental goals. Taken together, the chapters not only identify shortcomings of existing policy making, but also point to ways in which more effective policy design can help solve one of the most pressing problems of our time. The contributors consider such topics as theoretical approaches to address the failure of the free market to protect the environment, the influence of people's trust in their government on their willingness to accept higher environmental taxes, political determinants of fossil fuel pricing, a game theoretic approach to understanding domestic political constraints on international environmental agreements, and intergenerational equity and carbon taxation. Contributors Elisa Belfiori, Frank J. Convery, Peter Egger, Denny Ellerman, Dominic Hauck, Philipp Hieronymi, Andrea Kollmann, Sonja Koke, Andreas Lange, Antony Millner, Francesco Nicolli, Sergey Nigai, Johannes Reichl, David Schuller, Jon Strand, Cees van Beers, Francesco Vona


The rapid expansion of the U.S. biofuel industry has driven the Kansas agricultural transportation market into a new era. Nationally, fuel alcohol production rose from 1,630 million gallons in 2000 to 9,239 million in 2008, a 467% increase. The number of ethanol production plants increased from 54 in January 2000 to 170 in January 2009, a 215% increase. Many factors have contributed to the growth of the U.S. ethanol industry. Energy security and energy independence from unstable foreign countries has increased U.S. ethanol output. Global warming caused in part by combustion of fossil fuels has encouraged consumption of ethanol. Rural economic development related to corn and ethanol production has contributed to biofuel expansion. Federal energy policies have also played a role. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes the Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS) which mandates the minimum amount of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline. The RFS doubles the use of ethanol by 2012. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 further expands the RFS by requiring that 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels be blended into gasoline and diesel by 2022. The record high prices of oil in the first half of 2008 contributed to ethanol production growth. However, the substantial decline in oil prices which began in the Fall of 2008 has contributed to a slowdown in ethanol demand. These national trends have occurred in Kansas as well. At the end of 2009, there were 10 operational ethanol plants in Kansas with a combined annual capacity of 438 million gallons. Of the 438 million gallons of capacity, 81% became operational between 2004 and 2008. The growth of ethanol production in Kansas has affected the Kansas corn and sorghum markets in unknown ways with resulting implications for Kansas agricultural transportation. 2 Traditionally, Kansas corn was delivered by motor carrier at harvest to the nearest country grain elevators. Prior to the expansion of ethanol production in Kansas, the primary destination corn markets of Kansas country elevators were Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas livestock feedlots with motor carriers accounting for all of these shipments. In Kansas, most of these corn shipments went to the western one-third of the state which accounts for 77% of the feedlots in Kansas. Some corn was shipped from country elevators by truck to alcohol plants in Kansas and Nebraska. About 15-20% of the Kansas corn was shipped from country elevators by truck to large terminal elevators in Hutchinson, Wichita, Salina, Topeka, and Kansas City, Kansas and then subsequently shipped by railroad to Texas Gulf of Mexico ports for export or to livestock feed locations in other states. While a large number of studies have been written on the economics of ethanol, very few studies have examined the impacts of increased ethanol production on regional agricultural transportation markets. The main objective and motivation of this paper is to contribute to this small but growing literature and in the process to indicate a useful methodology that can be used by researchers in other states. The specific objectives of the paper are: A. Investigate the transportation impact of Kansas ethanol production from the point of view of the Kansas ethanol production industry, the grain elevator industry, and the railroads serving Kansas. B. Investigate the impact of incremental truck traffic on state and county road conditions in the vicinity of Kansas ethanol plants.


Cybium 2016, 40(1): 31-41. (1) usR 3278 cnRs-ePhe-uPVD, labex corail, cRioBe, BP 1013 Papetoai, 98729 moorea, French Polynesia. [firstname.lastname@example.com] [firstname.lastname@example.com] [email@example.com] [firstname.lastname@example.com] [firstname.lastname@example.com] * corresponding author [email@example.com] Abstract. – coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth and sustain millions of people worldwide. however, coral reefs are temporally dynamic and fragile systems subject to ever increasing disturbances of anthoropogenic and natural origins. understanding the patterns and trajectories of changes through time is urgently needed to estimate the resilience of coral reefs. To ascertain these patterns, we depend on the availability of long-term datasets, which are seldom available. in this study, we present the data set which allowed us to analyse the long-term trends of coral and fish assemblages for the island of Moorea (French Polynesia) from 1983 to 2014, a dataset spanning 32 years, comprising two Acanthaster planci outbreaks (1987 and 2006) and several hurricanes (1982, 1983, 1991 and 2010), on three permanent monitoring sites (quadrats of 50 × 2 m2) located on both fringing and barrier reefs as well as on the outer slope. Coral cover oscillated significantly over time, particularly on the outer slope where it suffered greatly from the effects of A. planci outbreaks and hurricanes. Total fish and commercial fish abundances varied significantly across the three habitats. Prior to 2000, both total fish and herbivorous fish abundances increased on the barrier reef while after this time, numbers began to drop significantly along the outer slope. Species richness for total, commercialized and herbivorous fish increased over the sampling period for all three habitats. There were varied responses amongst species to disturbances on the outer slope over the sampling period: while some tended to disappear for a while before reappearing, others showed a peak in abundance in the middle of the sampling period, and still others increased or decreased continuously or were stable over time. our results support the view that coral reefs are highly dynamic systems and that different functional groups show different temporal trajectories. While disturbance is probably the major driver for coral cover dynamics, its impact is less obvious for fish, possibly due to their mobility and population dynamics which may mask the effect of disturbance.


In developing regions with high levels of poverty and a dependence on climate sensitive agriculture, studies focusing on climate change adaptation, planning, and policy processes, have gained relative importance over the years. This study assesses the impact of farmer perceptions regarding climate change on the use of sustainable agricultural practices as an adaptation strategy in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa. In this empirical approach, we adopt methods that account for the plausibility that unmeasured characteristics exist, which are correlated with perceptions and the adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices. We use a unique and representative dataset collected in December 2012 and June 2013, from smallholder farmers in the Chinyanja Triangle. The results indicate that farmer's perceptions significantly influence the use of sustainable agricultural practices. Specifically, we established that farmer perceptions considerably impact the use of grain legume rotations, inorganic fertilizers, compost, and farmyard manure. Our results highlight the need for a serious and perhaps equal consideration of farmer perceptions regarding climate change, as important inputs to climate change adaptation policies targeted at enhancing climatic resilience in smallholder farming communities. This is plausible as the adaptation and pliability of farmers to the effects of climate change should be a social process involving the collective efforts from various stakeholders.


Resource allocation and scheduling on clouds are required to harness the power of the underlying resource pool such that the service provider can meet the quality of service requirements of users, which are often captured in service level agreements (SLAs). This paper focuses on resource allocation and scheduling on clouds and clusters that process MapReduce jobs with SLAs. The resource allocation and scheduling problem is modelled as an optimization problem using constraint programming, and a novel MapReduce Constraint Programming based Resource Management algorithm (MRCP-RM) is devised that can effectively process an open stream of MapReduce jobs where each job is characterized by an SLA comprising an earliest start time, a required execution time, and an end-to-end deadline. A detailed performance evaluation of MRCP-RM is conducted for an open system subjected to a stream of job arrivals using both simulation and experimentation on a real system. The experiments on a real system are performed on a Hadoop cluster (deployed on Amazon EC2) that runs our new Hadoop Constraint Programming based Resource Management algorithm (HCP-RM) that incorporates a technique for handling data locality. The results of the performance evaluation demonstrate the effectiveness of MRCP-RM/HCP-RM in generating a schedule that leads to a low proportion of jobs missing their deadlines (P) and also provide insights into system behaviour and performance. In the simulation experiments, it is observed that MRCP-RM achieves on average an 82 percent lower P compared to a technique from the existing literature when processing a synthetic workload from Facebook. Furthermore, in the experiments performed on a Hadoop cluster deployed on Amazon EC2, it is observed that HCP-RM achieved on average a 63 percent lower P compared to an EDF-Scheduler for a wide variety of workload and system parameters experimented with.


Understanding differences in male and female care in biparental care systems can help interpret the selective pressures that shape parental strategies. We examined Little Auk Alle alle parental care at a breeding colony during the chick-rearing and fledging periods by conducting observations on marked, known-sex pairs, and by examining the sex ratio of birds carrying food to the colony. Little Auks transitioned from biparental to mostly paternal-only care during late chick-rearing. Males delivered more meals and spent more time at the colony than females during late chick-rearing. Very few females were present at the colony by the end of chick-rearing and through the fledging period, and all marked parents observed accompanying their chick to sea were male. Chick mass loss prior to fledging was associated with the lack of provisioning by the female parent, rather than a reduction in feeding frequency by both parents. The occurrence of paternal-only care during and after fledging is discussed in relation to physiological, ecological and phylogenetic constraints.


Stromatolitic domes having apparent growth reliefs up to 100 m or more characterize the lower member of the Noonday Dolomite, late Proterozoic, Death Valley region, eastern California. Long to short, subparallel, initially subvertical tubes penetrate the bedding of these structures at angles that range from 90° where stratification was initially horizontal to downslope angles up to 110° (and acute upslope angles) as initial dips increase. Tubes generally are missing where initial dips exceed 20°. They are common in the larger buildups and most abundant in the upper and central parts of these. They may be open or filled with coarsely sparry secondary dolomite, medium-gray ultra microgranular dolomite, silty brown dolomite, or drusy quartz. They pinch and swell irregularly along their length from a mean diameter of 1.5 cm and are subcircular to irregular in horizontal cross section. Secondary crystalline growths similar to those in many tubes are common along lamination surfaces and as irregular vug fillings. Weathering along intersecting fracture sets locally produces a subvertical lineation in the same orientation as associated tubes. Possible origins considered for the tubes and found improbable are: (1) metazoan burrows, (2) interspaces of columnar stromatolites, (3) columnar stromatolites, (4) solution pipes, and (5) root casts. Instead the spaces now represented by filled vugs, sparry lamination surfaces, and tubes are interpreted as having, in general, a common origin caused by the upward movement of fluids through the stromatolite mounds.


Delegation refers to the allocation of duties, authority and responsibilities to sub-ordinates with the purpose of easing the managers task and making more meaningful decisions and more efficient performance of word possible. Delegation creates accountability for the satisfactory achievement of objections. Communication keep workers informed. It is important to discuss policies and providing accurate feedback. Mis-communication and unintentional communication are to be expected. Successful communication can be very difficult. Managers are encouraged to rely on redundance of communication to reduce this unintentionally. The following article deals with one of the seven additional tasks of a manager, namely communication.


Using a randomized control trial, we examine whether offering adolescent girls non-material resources - specifically, negotiation skills -can improve educational outcomes in a low-income country. In so doing, we provide the first evidence on the effects of an intervention that increased non-cognitive, interpersonal skills during adolescence. Long-run administrative data shows that negotiation training significantly improved educational outcomes over the next three years. The training had greater effects than two alternative treatments (offering girls a safe physical space with female mentors and offering girls information about the returns to education), suggesting that negotiation skills themselves drive the effect. Further evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment, which simulates parents' educational investment decisions, and a midline survey suggests that negotiation skills improved girls' outcomes by moving households' human capital investments closer to the efficient frontier. This is consistent with an incomplete contracting model, where negotiation allows daughters to strategically cooperate with parents.


Infrared (IR) probes based on terminally blocked β-isocyanoalanine (AlaNC) and p-isocyanophenylalanine (PheNC) amino acids were synthesized. These isonitrile (NC)-derivatized compounds were extensively characterized by FTIR and femtosecond IR pump-probe spectroscopies, and a direct comparison was made with popularly used nitrile (CN)- and azide (N3)-derivatized analogs. It is shown that the isonitrile stretch frequency exhibits extremely high sensitivity to hydrogen-bonding interactions. In addition, the IR intensity of the isonitrile group is much higher than that of the nitrile group and almost as intense as that of the azido group. Furthermore, its vibrational lifetime is much longer than that of the nitrile and azido groups. To elucidate the origin of such a high H-bond sensitivity and IR intensity observed for isonitrile, extensive quantum chemical calculations were performed. It is shown that the Coulombic contributions to the vibrational frequency shifts of the isonitrile and nitrile stretch modes have opposite signs but similar magnitudes, whereas the contributions of exchange repulsion and charge delocalization to their frequency shifts are comparable. Therefore, the isonitrile stretch frequency is much more sensitive to H-bonding interactions because the blue-shifting exchange-repulsion effects are additionally enforced by such electrostatic effects. It is also shown that the much higher IR intensity of the isonitrile group compared to that of the nitrile group is due to the configuration reversal of the atomic electronegativity between the NC and CN groups. Owing to these features, we believe that isonitrile is a much better IR reporter of H-bonding structure and dynamics than the widely used nitrile and azide.


This article discusses the confluence of the Vygotskian cultural-historical psychology with the Brazilian school of critical pedagogy and the experiences of alternative schooling in Brazil. It examines the present reform of the public school system in the city of Belo Horizonte and the role of some of Vygotsky's ideas in complementing and expanding the theoretical basis of critical pedagogy and illuminating the historical praxis of the struggle for equity in education. The Brazilian experience of alternative schooling, which already has a long tradition and a wealth of accumulated experience in the 20th century, challenges the traditional notions of school and the narrow views of literacy and learning that lead to the instrumentalization of schooling. Building upon that experience, critical pedagogy developed a comprehensive view of the educational process as one of development and liberation of the total human being and of education for social participation and democratic development. Vygotsky's notions on human development and education bring a new theoretical contribution to the Brazilian experience, which in turn can provide a new perspective for the reading of some of the key concepts of cultural-historical psychology. CRITICAL PEDAGOGY,


Using high resolution chemical impurity and dielectric profiling data annual layers have been counted on the
EPICA ice core from Dronning Maud Land (EDML), Antarctica spanning the past 16700 years. The methodology
used for counting Greenland ice cores and creating the Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05)
[Rasmussen et al., 2006] has also been implemented for the EDML counting. The estimated maximum counting
error for the EDML counting is approx. 5%, but a preliminary volcanic matching with Greenland ice core records
suggest differences of 1% or less during the Holocene between the EDML counting and GICC05. A comparison
of cosmogenic isotope records from EDML and Greenland also suggests differences of less than 1% between the
two annual layer counted chronologies.
Reference:
Rasmussen, S.O., Andersen, K.K., Svensson, A., Steffensen, J.P., Vinther, B.M., Clausen, H.B., Andersen, M.L.S.,
Johnsen, S.J., Larsen, L.B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Bigler, M., Rothlisberger R., Fischer H., Goto-Azuma K., Hansson
M.E., Ruth U, A new Greenland ice core chronology for the last glacial termination, Journal of Geophysical
Research Vol. 111, D06102, doi:10.1029/2005JD006079. 2006.


BACKGROUND: While most of the attention regarding skin pigmentation has focused on the effects on ultraviolet radiation, the cutaneous effects of visible light (400 to 700nm) are rarely reported. In this report, we describe a case of painful erythema and induration that resulted from direct irradiation of UV-naïve skin with visible LED light in a patient with Fitzpatrick type II skin. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 24-year-old healthy woman with Fitzpatrick type II skin presented to our department to participate in a clinical study. As part of the study, the subject underwent visible light irradiation with an LED and halogen incandescent visible light source. After 5 minutes of exposure, the patient complained of appreciable pain at the LED exposed site. Evaluation demonstrated erythema and mild induration. There were no subjective or objective findings at the halogen incandescent irradiated site, which received equivalent fluence (0.55 Watts / cm2). The study was halted as the subject was unable to tolerate the full duration of visible light irradiation. CONCLUSION: This case illustrates the importance of recognizing the effects of visible light on skin. While the vast majority of investigational research has focused on ultraviolet light, the effects of visible light have been largely overlooked and must be taken into consideration, in all Fitzpatrick skin types. J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(4):388-392..


This work presents the dynamic modeling of ball bearing which uses multibody dynamic for- malism. Such formalism allows immediate integration of the model in dynamic simulations of helicopter main gear boxes. Ball bearing is considered non-lubricated in order to predict its behavior in case of lubri- cation system failure. Rolling contacts are treated with the method proposed by Kalker. This approach is based on polynomial approximation of relative displacement on the contact ellipse. For low computational cost and without any spatial discretization, it gives a good estimation of tangential traction and creep. Also, a regularization of the Kalker linear creep theory is proposed. It is used here to facilitate the global convergence of the Newton iterative process. It is well suited for multibody dynamic simulations which do not need a very fine treatment of rolling contact. A numerical example of a ball bearing under thrust load is presented.


Due to the extensive use of xenobiotic azo dyes in the colour industry and their proven mutagenic and cytotoxic nature, their treatment prior to discharge is essential and is legally enforced. However, currently used wastewater treatment technologies such as activated sludge systems, anaerobic digestion, electrochemical destruction, adsorption and membrane filtration are ineffective in removing azo dyes due to reasons such as inefficient dye degradation, slow degradation kinetics, toxic metabolite formation, inhibitory costs and generation of secondary waste streams. Therefore, in this study, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were studied as possible systems that could effectively degrade azo dyes with an additional benefit of concomitant biogenic electricity generation.
The co-metabolic degradation of the model azo dye Acid Orange-7 (AO-7) using Shewanella oneidensis and mixed anaerobic cultures in MFC was carried out with particular emphasis on AO-7 degradation kinetics in the initial study. The effect of using various carbon sources including cheaper complex ones such as molasses and corn steep liquor as electron donors for azo dye degradation in MFCs was also investigated. The outcomes of this study demonstrated that fast AO-7 reductive degradation kinetics using cheap, sustainable co-substrate types can be achieved with concomitant bioelectricity generation in two-chamber MFCs. Power densities up-to 37 mWm-2 were observed in the two-chamber MFC system during AO-7 decolourisation.
Co-metabolic reductive degradation of azo dye mixtures using dye acclimated mixed microbial populations under industrially relevant conditions (high temperatures and salinities) and changes in microbial community structure in the MFCs in presence of complex azo dye mixtures in two-chamber MFCs was investigated. The outcomes of this work demonstrated that efficient colour and organic content removal can be achieved under high temperatures and moderate salinities using azo dye adapted mixed microbial populations in two-chamber MFCs. Microbial community analysis of the original anaerobic consortium and the azo dye adapted microbial culture following MFC operation indicated that both cultures were dominated by bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes. However, bacteria belonging to phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes also became selected following MFC operation. Peak power densities up-to 27 mWm-2 were observed in this study during decolourisation of complex azo dye mixtures.
The complete degradation of the azo dye AO-7 using a sequential reductive – oxidative bioprocess in a combined MFC-aerobic bioreactor system operating at ambient temperature in continuous mode was studied. The outcomes of this study demonstrated that the azo dye AO-7 can be fully decolourised and degraded into non-toxic and simpler metabolites. Maximum power densities up-to 52 mWm-2 were observed during azo dye degradation. A modular scale-up version (with a volumetric scale-up factor of 6) of the two stage integrated bioreactor system demonstrated the capability to efficiently treat two types of real wastewater originating from colour industry without any apparent deterioration of reactor performance in terms of dye decolourisation and COD removal.
The use of applied external resistance (Rext) and redox mediators as tools for enhancing azo dye degradation kinetics in dual chamber MFCs was studied. The outcomes of this work suggest that azo dye reductive degradation kinetics in MFC anodes can be influenced by varying Rext. Furthermore, AO-7 reductive degradation kinetics was improved in a concentration-dependent manner by exogenous addition of two electron shuttling compounds anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid and anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid in MFC anodes.
The overall outcomes of this study implies that MFCs could be successfully applied for achieving enhanced azo dye reductive biodegradation kinetics in MFC anodes coupled with concomitant bioelectricity generation. It further demonstrated that MFC systems can be successfully integrated with existing wastewater treatment technologies such as activated sludge systems for complete degradation and toxicity removal of azo dyes and their biotransformation metabolites.


Abstract. The relationship between nucleation events and numerous physical and meteorological parameters was analysed using data collected at the Station for Measuring Forest Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations (SMEAR II) in Hyytiala, Finland. To do this, measurements of solar radiation (ultraviolet [UV], global, photosynthetically active radiation [PAR], net, reflected global radiation and reflected PAR), gas concentrations, temperature, humidity, wind direction, horizontal and vertical wind speed, horizontal and vertical wind variances and particle concentrations were collected over a 4 year period. For the year 1999 a detailed analysis of data were completed by examining parameters in order to determine the physical and meteorological conditions favourable to the formation of new particles. A comparison of different wavelength bands during the bursts of new particles led to the suggestion, that UV-A solar radiation seems to be the most probable radiation band concerning the photochemical reactions involved in the production of condensable vapours. Furthermore a high correlation between the daily curves of UV-A irradiance and the concentration of 3 - 5 nm particles was found throughout the year and examples will be given for two days. During the whole year the concentration of H2O is very low at times nucleation occurs compared to the average of the corresponding month. Especially in June and July many non-event days with high solar irradiance show high amounts of water molecules. To combine these results a "nucleation parameter" was calculated for the year 1999, by dividing UV-A solar radiation by the concentration of H2O and temperature. Throughout the year nearly all nucleation event days reach a value of the "nucleation parameter" of at least 5.4 x 10-25 W m molecules-1 K-1.  Non-event days with high values (> 2.7 x 10-25 W m molecules-1 K-1) are mostly accompanied by high concentrations of existing particles.


The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has increase trade between Canada, the United States (US) and Mexico by reducing tariffs on imports and exports, in which influences foreign direct investment, economic growth and reduced trade barriers in these regions. This trilateral trade agreement has influence the flow commercial traffic through these countries continental transportation corridors, which is providing cross-border trading and international commerce for this geographical market. These continental gateways are seaports, roadways and railways that transport products and goods to these marketplaces. However, trading partners are relying on each country's transportation and distribution services that are operating independently and lacking interconnectivity among each others logistical channels. As a result, the transportation channel participants are not able to prevent congestions and delays along their routes, which may be caused by NAFTAs' poor logistics system. This research paper will address the NAFTA's transportation challenges between the U.S. and Mexico when transporting products and goods across their friendly borders.


Background In the era of information explosion, the use of the internet to assist with clinical practice and diagnosis has become a cutting-edge area of research. The application of medical informatics allows patients to be aware of their clinical conditions, which may contribute toward the prevention of several chronic diseases and disorders. Objective In this study, we applied machine learning techniques to construct a medical database system from electronic medical records (EMRs) of subjects who have undergone health examination. This system aims to provide online self-health evaluation to clinicians and patients worldwide, enabling personalized health and preventive health. Methods We built a medical database system based on the literature, and data preprocessing and cleaning were performed for the database. We utilized both supervised and unsupervised machine learning technology to analyze the EMR data to establish prediction models. The models with EMR databases were then applied to the internet platform. Results The validation data were used to validate the online diagnosis prediction system. The accuracy of the prediction model for metabolic syndrome reached 91%, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.904 in this system. For chronic kidney disease, the prediction accuracy of the model reached 94.7%, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.982. In addition, the system also provided disease diagnosis visualization via clustering, allowing users to check their outcome compared with those in the medical database, enabling increased awareness for a healthier lifestyle. Conclusions Our web-based health care machine learning system allowed users to access online diagnosis predictions and provided a health examination report. Users could understand and review their health status accordingly. In the future, we aim to connect hospitals worldwide with our platform, so that health care practitioners can make diagnoses or provide patient education to remote patients. This platform can increase the value of preventive medicine and telemedicine.


Civil projects executors are constantly dealing with the challenge of increasing productivity through resources optimization and their interaction; this has been addressed from different points of view using computational tools and manual tools. This challenge demands also, the implementation of new information technologies and digital tools as an effective strategy to capture reliable data that could contribute to improve the productivity, quality and security indicators. This work presents a value generation in construction projects, through the use of new technologies to capture digital information that allows a construction process re-engineering using Lean Construction philosophy and digital simulation. At first, the design and development of an autonomous and programmable module is presented, powered with solar energy, used to capture digital images of construction processes. This system includes hardware and electronic components such as cameras, video cameras, electronic cards, computers, solar panels, web platform and communication systems; all controlled by a specially designed software which simplifies the control of the equipment and its components. This system simplifies the decision-making process regarding the construction methods and the resources involved, in order to minimize the costs and to increase the performance. The results obtained in the implementation of the module in a construction project in Bogota, Colombia, are presented in the second part of this paper. The analysis of the results, the constructive process characterization using Time-Lapse videos and a digital simulation model of the construction process are presented. These results allow reducing cycle times and using better the resources, which is translated into resources savings for the project.


Chopped fibers reinforced polymer composites are considered for use in many automotive applications. Commonly used structural design software have difficulties predicting manufacturing parameters and constituent properties of short or long fiber reinforced polymer composites to meet mandated design requirements. A computational method is introduced for the virtual simulation of performance of chopped fibers in polymer composites. This new approach did lead to the development of a specialized Multi-Scale Material Characterization of composite system comprising of: a) chopped fiber based on Eshelby and Mori Tanaka failure theory, b) micro-macro mechanics, and damage failure theory, c) tensor stiffness averaging technique; and d) optimizer as part of the durability analysis software GENOA. The material model established in MCQ-Chopped is used in FEA interface with GENOA Multi Scale Progressive Failure Analysis (MS-PFA). The crush modeling of composite crushed tube was test validated using GENOA software in 3 distinct integrated steps, such as follows: a) Characterizing Material Properties of composite materials composed of chopped fibers using MCQ-Chopped and validating against Toyota coupon test data; b) Mapping and Transformation - of statistical average tensor orientation from unstructured Moldex3D detailed model to LS-DYNA FE solver. In this regard GENOA platform software algorithm was used to perform 3D models data management and visualize the mapping error between two dissimilar meshes; and c) De-Homogenized Multi-Scale Progressive Failure Dynamic Analysis (MS-PFDA) - of Toyota provided 3D model of tube structure. MS-PFDA-LS-DYNA Crush worthiness analysis was performed to predict the damage and fracture evolution process. The simulation results were compared with Toyota test provided load vs. displacement and acceleration vs. time curve. In addition the software prediction provided the damage and fracture evolution and the contributing failure mechanism.


Since the 1970s Ramsey pricing has been acknowledged as an optimal departure from marginal cost pricing in a defined case. That case is where a supplier needs to incur high fixed costs to produce a resource necessary for supply and the marginal costs of supplying each customer are negligible. Marginal cost pricing in such a case will generate a loss, so that if that form of pricing was all that a supplier could use it would generate insufficient incentives for that supply to be undertaken by the private sector. Ramsey pricing is commonly thought to apply in regulated markets where infrastructure of a common carrier nature is supplied by private capital such as telecommunication networks, railways and toll roads. But Ramsey optimal price differentials may also arise in the absence of a regulator where certain intellectual property subject matter is produced privately such as major motion pictures or pioneer pharmaceuticals. Ramsey price differentiation is price discrimination between those segments of market demand with low elasticity (high value users) and those segments with high elasticity (low value users), discrimination which can only be undertaken successfully where arbitrage is inhibited. Its desirability was one of the reasons why the prohibition on price discrimination was repealed from Australian competition law. However when undertaken by a copyright owner across borders, Ramsey price differentiation usually involves price discrimination as between nations and this raises more complex issues than when price discrimination is entirely internal to a national market. In this essay I explore some of context to the recommendations made in The Australia Tax Report which substantively were for Australian reforms to restrict the ability to prevent arbitrage when price discrimination is engaged in by copyright owners internationally. In particular, I observe the paradox in the report's failure to clearly express principled policy reasons for opposing international price discrimination of copyright when such discrimination might approximate in at least some cases Ramsey optimal differentials. I conclude with the suggestion that only by making that policy opposition clear can all the costs and benefits of any reform be properly comprehended.


Due to the spread of antimicrobial drug resistance, typhoid fever has become
increasingly difficult to treat. In Vietnam, more than 50% of S. Typhi isolates are
multidrug resistant and 90% are quinolone resistant.
This thesis examines three aspects of typhoid fever; treatment, genotyping of
bacteria and the clinical development of an oral vaccine.
We enrolled 358 children and adults with suspected typhoid fever into a randomised
controlled trial to compare the efficacy and safety of gatifloxacin (10 mg/kglday)
versus azithromycin (20 mg/kglday) for 7 days. In the blood culture confinned
group, 145 patients received gatifloxacin and 142 patients received azithromycin.
Overall treatment failure occurred in 13/145 (9%) patients in the gatitloxacin group
and 13/140 (9.3%) patients in the azithromycin group (HR = 0.93; 95% CI 0.43 -
2.0; p = 0.854).
We found a statistically significant relationship between drug exposure to
gatifloxacin and clinical response. In patients with AUCo-24: MIC ratios of greater
than 92.7, 93.5% of patients had a favourable response; whilst in patients with AUC
0-24: MIC ratios equal or less than 92.7, only 75% had a favorable response (OR =
4.81; 95% CI 1.23-18.9; P = 0.02).
We investigated the genetic variability and relationship between the S. Typhi trial
isolates by using a novel SNP genotyping array. The majority of isolates (98%)
belonged to the H58 haplotype, a quinolone resistant haplotype that has expanded
globally. Within this group three main subgroups could be distinguished.
We conducted a randomised placebo controlled trial to detennine the safety and
immunogenicity of a novel oral typhoid vaccine (MO IZH09) with two
independently-attenuating deletions (Ty2 aroC- ssa V -) in healthy 5 to 14 year old
children in Vietnam. One hundred and fifty-one children were enrolled and followed
up for 28 days. Twenty-six percent of MOIZH09 subjects and 22% of placebo
subjects experienced an adverse event. There were no serious adverse events and no
bacteraemia.
Ninety-seven percent of the subjects showed a positive immune response. MOIZH09
was immunogenic and had an appropriate safety and reactogenicity profile in
children in an area with endemic typhoid fever.


Anyone awed by towering redwoods should offer thanks to stomata, the tiny pores on the leaves of all trees and other vascular plants. These microscopic mouths allow plants to grow tall and to regulate carbon dioxide intake and water loss. Stomata, in short, helped plants colonize the landscape and transform the planet. Now, molecular studies are giving scientists glimpses of the early days of stomata and how they have changed since then. They suggest complex stomata evolved to help early plants control moisture in their spore capsules and that other plants later exploited these pores to breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale water vapor. And hundreds of millions of years later, more sophisticated stomata evolved in grasses, enabling them to tightly control water loss—a feature that helped them dominate dry landscapes around the world.


Human-Object Interaction (HOI) consists of human, object and implicit interaction/verb. Different from previous methods that directly map pixels to HOI semantics, we propose a novel perspective for HOI learning in an analytical manner. In analogy to Harmonic Analysis, whose goal is to study how to represent the signals with the superposition of basic waves, we propose the HOI Analysis. We argue that coherent HOI can be decomposed into isolated human and object. Meanwhile, isolated human and object can also be integrated into coherent HOI again. Moreover, transformations between human-object pairs with the same HOI can also be easier approached with integration and decomposition. As a result, the implicit verb will be represented in the transformation function space. In light of this, we propose an Integration-Decomposition Network (IDN) to implement the above transformations and achieve state-of-the-art performance on widely-used HOI detection benchmarks. Code is available at this https URL.


This working paper examines the question of whether inflation targeting monetary policy is an appropriate framework for sub-Saharan African countries. The paper presents an overview of inflation targeting, reviews the justification for the regime, and summarizes some major critiques. Monetary policy responses to inflation depend on the source of inflationary pressures. Therefore, the determinants of inflation in African countries areinvestigated, using dynamic panel data, and the implications for inflation targeting are discussed. These issues are examined in greater detail for the two African countries which have formally adopted inflation targeting, South Africa and Ghana. The analysis is placed in the context of the global economic crisis. The paper concludes with a discussion of alternative approaches to monetary policies and the institutional constraints that would need to be addressed to allow central banks to play a stronger developmental role in sub-Saharan African countries.


Routing protocols are an essential part of the efficient design of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Existing routing protocols such as DSR, AODV, and TORA are based on a best effort strategy [21,22]. However, in order for MANETs to be practical for more demanding real time applications such as multimedia, providing a certain needed level of quality of service becomes an essential component in the communication protocol design [2, 11–14, 24, 25]. QoS routing protocols provide the capability of finding a path between two nodes which satisfies the application layer's minimum bandwidth requirements. Previous papers addressed this issue for different communication environments such as TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) [7,8,15,16] and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)-over-TDMA [3,17,18]. While most of these models are generally more practical and less expensive, they impose on the designer the constraint of the hidden terminal and exposed terminal problems. The paper by Liao and Tseng [15] addressed these issues and provided a TDMA-based bandwidth reservation protocol for QoS routing in MANETs. However, this protocol does not account for the race condition which can become more significant with increased node mobility, network density and higher traffic loads. This race condition is also a limitation of other QoS routing protocols [7, 8]. This paper addresses this issue and provides a protocol which enables the network to cope with this and other related problems such as parallel reservation. We also provide increased optimizations which significantly enhance the throughput and efficiency of the QoS routing protocol.


As an alternative to the construction of new infrastructure, repurposing existing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transportation has been identified as a low-cost strategy for substituting natural gas with hydrogen in the wake of the energy transition. In line with that, a 342 km, 36″ natural gas pipeline was used in this study to simulate some technical implications of delivering the same amount of energy with different blends of natural gas and hydrogen, and with 100% hydrogen. Preliminary findings from the study confirmed that a three-fold increase in volumetric flow rate would be required of hydrogen to deliver an equivalent amount of energy as natural gas. The effects of flowing hydrogen at this rate in an existing natural gas pipeline on two flow parameters (the compressibility factor and the velocity gradient) which are crucial to the safety of the pipeline were investigated. The compressibility factor behaviour revealed the presence of a wide range of values as the proportions of hydrogen and natural gas in the blends changed, signifying disparate flow behaviours and consequent varying flow challenges. The velocity profiles showed that hydrogen can be transported in natural gas pipelines via blending with natural gas by up to 40% of hydrogen in the blend without exceeding the erosional velocity limits of the pipeline. However, when the proportion of hydrogen reached 60%, the erosional velocity limit was reached at 290 km, so that beyond this distance, the pipeline would be subject to internal erosion. The use of compressor stations was shown to be effective in remedying this challenge. This study provides more insights into the volumetric and safety considerations of adopting existing natural gas pipelines for the transportation of hydrogen and blends of hydrogen and natural gas.


On Particle Interaction Models Sayan Banerjee Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Krzysztof Burdzy UW Mathematics This dissertation deals with three problems in Stochastic Analysis which broadly involve interactions, either between particles (Chapters 1 and 2), or between particles and the boundary of a C2 domain (Chapter 3). • In Chapter 1, we introduce a new model called the Brownian Conga Line. It is a random curve evolving in time, generated when a particle performing a two dimensional Gaussian random walk leads a long chain of particles connected to each other by cohesive forces. We approximate the discrete Conga line in some sense by a smooth random curve and subsequently study the properties of this smooth curve. • In Chapter 2 (joint work with Chris Hoffman), we investigate a Random Mass Splitting Model and the closely related random walk in a random environment (RWRE) whose heat kernel at time t turns out to be the mass splitting distribution at t. We prove a quenched invariance principle (QIP) and consequently a quenched central limit theorem for this RWRE using techniques from Rassoul-Agha and Seppäläinen [12] which in turn was based on the work of Kipnis and Varadhan [7] and others. • In Chapter 3, we deal with a particle performing a Brownian motion inside a bounded C2 domain with reflection and diffusion at the boundary. We call this model Brownian Motion with Boundary diffusion following [1], and study its properties.


Background: Sulfur mustard was the most widely applied chemical warfare agent by the Iraqi army in Iran–Iraq war (1983-1988). Considering the role of sulfur mustard toxicity in hematopoietic neoplasms and also new role of JAK2 mutation in these neoplasms, we assessed this mutation and delayed hematologic complications in veterans exposed to sulfur mustard. Methods: This case control study was performed in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran in collaboration with Janbasan Foundation of Khorasan Razavi, Iran in 2012. The case group consists of 42 patients who exposed to sulfur mustard about 30 yr ago and the control group includes 30 healthy persons. For all subjects complete blood counts and ARMSpolymerase chain reaction for JAK2 (V617F) mutation was carried out. Data were analyzed by statistical software using independent sample t-testand MannWhitney U test. Results: JAK2 (V617F) mutation was detected, neither in the sulfur mustardveterans nor in the control group. Moreover no significant difference was detected in hematologic parameters between the two groups. Conclusion: Despite sulfur mustard can increase risk of tumor genesis especially hematologic neoplasms but this is probablyas result of other genetic mechanism apart from JAK2 mutation. Considering the health and importance of preventive measure for the sulfur mustard victims, we suggest other genetic aspects of tumor genesis to be assessed in these patients.


ABSTRACT This paper argues that ambivalence can serve as a proxy for consensus-based debates in public discourse as it allows for individuals to maintain flexible and analytic perspectives on matters that otherwise appear contradictory. In particular, an affirmative understanding of ambivalence will be presented to supplement the highly influential Habermasian approach by drawing from sociological theories of ambivalence found in the work of Simmel, Bauman and Kołakowski. While the theme of ambivalence is not completely absent from Habermas's work on the public sphere, it is typically described as a structural consequence of contradiction rather than a form of action that is capable of working with and around inconsistencies in ethics, knowledge and social values. This allows for participation to be sustained through contradiction, rather than being withdrawn in frustration, while also encouraging open-minded judgements capable of avoiding forms of fanaticism.


This paper deals with the anatomy of devaluation in Latin America. In an effort to understand the economics surrounding the causes and consequences of exchange rate crises, eighteen devaluation episodes that took place between 1962 and 1982 are investigated in detail. The paper focuses on: (1) the relation between (inconsistent) macroeconomics policies and exchange rate crises; (2) the role of real exchange rate overvaluation in the precipitation of balance of payment crises under pre-determined nominal exchange rates; (3) the role of exchange controls, multiple exchange rates and black markets in the period preceding devaluations; and (4) the effectiveness of nominal devaluations as a way to restore real exchange rate equilibrium. A distinction is made between stepwise devaluations and crawling peg regime. It was found that historically most stepwise devaluations have had difficulty in sustaining a real devaluation over the medium term. Countries that adopted a crawling peg have generally been able to maintain a higher real exchange rate. In many cases, however, this has been achieved at the cost of substantial inflation.


Large-scale hypoxia regularly develops during the summer on the Louisiana continental shelf. Traditionally, hypoxia has been linked to the vast winter and spring nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River and its distributary, the Atchafalaya River. However, recent studies indicate that much of the shelf ecosystem is heterotrophic. We used data from five late July shelfwide cruises from 2006 to 2010 to examine carbon and oxygen production and identify net autotrophic areas of phytoplankton growth on the Louisiana shelf. During these summer times of moderate river flows, shelfwide pH and particulate organic carbon (POC) consistently showed strong signals for net autotrophy in low salinity (<25) waters near the river mouths. There was substantial POC removal via grazing and sedimentation in near-river regions, with 66 – 85 % of POC lost from surface waters in the low and mid-salinity ranges without producing strong respiration signals in surface waters. This POC removal in nearshore environments indicates highly efficient algal retention by the shelf ecosystem. Updated carbon export calculations for local estuaries and a preliminary shelfwide carbon budget agree with older con-cepts that offshore hypoxia is linked strongly to nutrient loading from the Mississippi River, but a new emphasis on cross-shelf dynamics emerged in this research. Cross-shelf transects indicated that river-influenced nearshore waters <15 m deep are strong sources of net carbon production, with currents and wave-induced resuspension likely transporting this POC offshore to fuel hypoxia in adjacent mid-shelf bottom waters.


PASTORAL THEOLOGY: CREATING NEW SPACES. The social sciences, in particular sociology and psychology, have played an important role in the development of practical theology as a discrete discipline. They have also provided the organisational tools which practical theology has relied upon to maintain credibility within academia. Those who deploy the methods of the social sciences believe that they provide us with a reliable account of reality, justified by their scientific and empirical standards. The use of such methods does, however, carry with it very specific conceptions of the nature of human action and what it is to be human. In practice, practical theology has (in some areas) been compromised by such methods. Within the discipline, there has been a reduced emphasis on the Divine and the Spirit. Many practical theologians express discomfort at the use of theological and religious terminology. Some practical theologians have sought to justify their presence in secular academia by becoming purveyors of moral science or practical wisdom, which leads to an inevitable narrowing of the remit of the discipline. Excluding the spirit leaves practical theology as just another subsidiary of sociological and cultural studies - offering similar explanations of the human condition. In this thesis, with reference to contemporary practical theologians, it is shown how the spirit is largely excluded from the discipline. Thereafter, it is argued that a new consideration of the work of theorists such as Schleiermacher and Deleuze can overcome this exclusion. Schleiermacher's conception of the historical and finite spirit and his theology of absolute dependency are used to develop an aesthetic approach to practical theology. This provides an understanding of the human condition that is not just phenomenological but includes the spirit. This approach is illustrated using examples from the works of three artists (Barbara Hepworth, Tacita Dean and Zoe Leonard) plus a reflective Midrash from feminist theologian Heather Walton. Each of these provides a unique aesthetic approach to the human condition that makes it possible to expand the realm of the pastoral and create new spaces in which individual lives can transcend their particular circumstances.


The PTPN22 gene plays vital role in T1D onset by encoding Lymphoid-specific phosphatase (LYP) that lead to T-cell receptor-associated CsK kinase inactivation and preventing T-cell spontaneous activation by dephosphorylation. VDR gene encoded for VDR receptor is involved indirectly in prevention of T1D onset by promoting insulin production. The present study was conducted to determine the mutations on rs2476601 and rs1544410 polymorphic sites on the PTPN22 and VDR genes respectively. We genotyped 50 patients and 50 control subjects from Lahore by using sequencing and Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. It was observed that the allelic frequency of r and b were higher in patients as compared to controls and significantly associated with the onset of T1D. The genotype distribution frequencies varied significantly among patients and controls (p < 0.01). The mutation on the rs2476601 polymorphic site led to the change of Isoleucine to tryptophan in patients. In conclusion, compelling evidence was found of T1D onset association with the polymorphism at RsaI on rs2476601 and BsmI on rs1544410 on PTPN22 and VDR genes.


IZA DP No. 13859 NOVEMBER 2020 Sterilization Policy with Incomplete Information: Peru 1995-2000* In this research I investigate what percentage of female sterilizations performed in Peru from 1993 to 2000 were done providing adequate information to their users for a free decision about their adoption. I use data from ENDES/DHS 2000, which contains detailed information about contraceptive methods adopted in those years, with especial emphasis on sterilizations. I make a descriptive analysis, a projection of total sterilizations, and an estimation of the probability that a woman be sterilized. I find a large use of sterilizations as a contraceptive method between 1995 and 1997: more than 36% of women that used a contraceptive method were sterilized. I also find that a large percentage of women were not adequately informed about sterilizations: only 35% of sterilized women was given complete information, that is, that they will have no more children, about side effects, what to do about them, and that there were alternative contraceptive methods. With additional data from MINSA I calculate that 211,000 sterilized women did not receive complete information from 1993 to 2000, of which 25,000 sterilized women did not receive information that the sterilization implied not being able to have more children. I also estimated that not receiving complete information increased the probability that a women is sterilized in 10 percentage points. JEL Classification: J13, I15, J16


The present study examines functional contributions of microglia in host defense, demyelination, and remyelination following infection of susceptible mice with a neurotropic coronavirus. Treatment with PLX5622, an inhibitor of colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) that efficiently depletes microglia, prior to infection of the central nervous system (CNS) with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (JHMV) resulted in increased mortality compared with control mice that correlated with impaired control of viral replication. Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNASeq) of CD45+ cells isolated from the CNS revealed that PLX5622 treatment resulted in muted CD4+ T cell activation profile that was associated with decreased expression of transcripts encoding MHC class II and CD86 in macrophages but not dendritic cells. Evaluation of spinal cord demyelination revealed a marked increase in white matter damage in PLX5622‐treated mice that corresponded with elevated expression of transcripts encoding disease‐associated proteins Osteopontin (Spp1), Apolipoprotein E (Apoe), and Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (Trem2) that were enriched within macrophages. In addition, PLX5622 treatment dampened expression of Cystatin F (Cst7), Insulin growth factor 1 (Igf1), and lipoprotein lipase (Lpl) within macrophage populations which have been implicated in promoting repair of damaged nerve tissue and this was associated with impaired remyelination. Collectively, these findings argue that microglia tailor the CNS microenvironment to enhance control of coronavirus replication as well as dampen the severity of demyelination and influence repair.


Background: Nigella sativa Linn. which has many acclaimed medicinal properties is an indigenous herbaceous plant and belongs to the Ranunculaceae family, which grows in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Pakistan and India. Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of N. sativa seed extracts of different germination phases on the central nervous system (CNS) responses in experimental animals. Materials and Methods: Anxiolytic, locomotor activity of extracts (1 g/kg of body weight) was evaluated in both stressed and unstressed animal models and antiepileptic effect was evaluated by maximal electroshock seizure model keeping diazepam (20 mg/kg) as a positive control. Antidepressant effect was evaluated by forced swim test and tail suspension test keeping imipramine (15 mg/kg) as a positive control. Results: All tested extracts of N. sativa during different phases of germination (especially 5th day germination phase) showed significant (P < 0.001) anxiolytic effect in comparison to control. Diazepam reduced locomotor activity in control (unstressed) rats but did not show affect in stressed rats while N. sativa extracts from germination phases significantly (P < 0.001) reduced locomotor activity in unstressed as well as stressed animals. All the extracts of N. sativa from different germination phases exhibited significant (P < 0.001) reduction in various phases of epileptic seizure on comparison with the reference standard (diazepam). During antidepressant test, N. sativa extracts exhibited a slight reduction in the immobility of rats. Conclusion: During germination, especially in 5th day germination extract, N. sativa showed significant CNS depressant activity as compared to whole seeds that possibly may be due higher content of secondary metabolites produced during germination.