New medicines are launched, and for several years are protected by patent laws. Once the patent has expired,
any pharmaceutical manufacturer may develop, register and sell a copy or 'generic' of the product. The generic medicine is manufactured without incurring the expenses of clinical research and development of the original product. Generic companies are required only to demonstrate that their product has the same bioavailability as the original product and is therefore 'bioequivalent'. Once a generic medicine is
registered, the usually lower price may drive down the price of similar products. The availability of generic products, therefore, should allow for more cost-effective management of disease conditions.
A number of generic medicines were launched in 2009, some of which were the first generics for the original product. The South African Medicines Control Council policy on generic substitution requires the pharmacist to inform the patient of the availability of a generic alternative and where the originator product has been prescribed, pharmacists should discuss the availability of these generics with their patients. Pharmacists, in turn, need to keep up to date with generic product launches to the market. This article discusses the first- or second-generic product launches in South Africa in 2009. Prices used as those from Mims November/December 2009 and are single exit price inclusive of VAT.


A modal identification algorithm is developed, combining techniques from Second Order Blind Source Separation (SOBSS) and State Space Realization (SSR) theory. In this hybrid algorithm, a set of correlation matrices is generated using time-shifted, analytic data and assembled into several Hankel matrices. Dissimilar left and right matrices are found, which diagonalize the set of nonhermetian Hankel matrices. The complex-valued modal matrix is obtained from this decomposition. The modal responses, modal auto-correlation functions and discrete-time plant matrix (in state space modal form) are subsequently identified. System eigenvalues are computed from the plant matrix to obtain the natural frequencies and modal fractions of critical damping. Joint Approximate Diagonalization (JAD) of the Hankel matrices enables the under determined (more modes than sensors) problem to be effectively treated without restrictions on the number of sensors required. Because the analytic signal is used, the redundant complex conjugate pairs are eliminated, reducing the system order (number of modes) to be identified half. This enables smaller Hankel matrix sizes and reduced computational effort. The modal auto-correlation functions provide an expedient means of screening out spurious computational modes or modes corresponding to noise sources, eliminating the need for a consistency diagram. In addition, the reduction in the number of modes enables the modal responses to be identified when there are at least as many sensors as independent (not including conjugate pairs) modes. A further benefit of the algorithm is that identification of dissimilar left and right diagonalizers preclude the need for windowing of the analytic data. The effectiveness of the new modal identification method is demonstrated using vibration data from a 6 DOF simulation, 4-story building simulation and the Heritage court tower building.


Biological rhythms in core body temperature (CBT) provide informative markers of adolescent development under controlled laboratory conditions. However, it is unknown whether these markers are preserved under more variable, semi-naturalistic conditions, and whether CBT may therefore prove useful in a real-world setting. To evaluate this possibility, we examined fecal steroid concentrations and CBT rhythms from pre-adolescence (p26) through early adulthood (p76) in intact male and female Wistar rats under natural light and climate at the Stephen Glickman Field Station for the Study of Behavior, Ecology and Reproduction. Despite greater environmental variability, CBT markers of pubertal onset and its rhythmic progression were comparable with those previously reported in laboratory conditions in female rats and extend actigraphy-based findings in males. Specifically, sex differences emerged in CBT circadian rhythm (CR) power and amplitude prior to pubertal onset and persisted into early adulthood, with females exhibiting elevated CBT and decreased CR power compared with males. Within-day (ultradian rhythm [UR]) patterns also exhibited a pronounced sex difference associated with estrous cyclicity. Pubertal onset, defined by vaginal opening, preputial separation, and sex steroid concentrations, occurred later than previously reported under lab conditions for both sexes. Vaginal opening and increased fecal estradiol concentrations were closely tied to the commencement of 4-day oscillations in CBT and UR power. By contrast, preputial separation and the first rise in testosterone concentration were not associated with adolescent changes to CBT rhythms in male rats. Together, males and females exhibited unique temporal patterning of CBT and sex steroids across pubertal development, with tractable associations between hormonal concentrations, external development, and temporal structure in females. The preservation of these features outside the laboratory supports CBT as a strong candidate for translational pubertal monitoring under semi-naturalistic conditions in females.


The automotive industry uses physical seating bucks, which are minimal mockups of a car interior, to assess various aspects of the planned interior early in the development process. In a virtual seating buck, users wear a head-mounted display (HMD) which overlays a virtual car interior on a physical seating buck. We have developed a two-user virtual seating buck system, which allows two users to take the role of the driver and co-driver respectively. Both users wear tracked head-mounted displays and see the virtual car interior from the respective view points enabling them to properly interact with the interface elements of a car. We use this system for the development, test and evaluation of novel human-machine interface concepts for future car models. We provide each user with an avatar, since the two co-located users need to see each others' actions. Our evaluation of different head and hand models for representing the two users indicate that the user representations and motions should be as realistic as possible even though the focus is on testing interface elements operated by the users' fingers. The participants of our study also expressed that they clearly prefer the two-user seating buck over a single-user system since it directly supports the face-to-face discussions of features and problems of a newly developed interface.


To oppose the phenomenon of waves of Turks threatening the most exposed areas of the Kingdom of Naples, the viceregal government ordered from 1535 the construction of a continuous and articulated chain of defensive coastal towers. In Calabria, on behalf of the Viceroy Pedro di Toledo, the Marquis Francesco Pignatelli developed a project to identify the most suitable and strategic sites where to build the towers along the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts. This network included 69 towers in Calabria Ultra and 33 in Calabria Citra, clearly visible from each other at a maximum distance of six thousand steps. Most of these towers have lost their original function over time, and after the taking of Algiers in 1830, some were used as customs posts or torri semaforiche, and then be permanently abandoned. Today almost all of them are ruins. The cartographic sources and above all the iconographic ones, testify the importance of this defensive system of towers suspended between the land and the sea and arranged one after the other, real sentinels of the Mediterranean. On this occasion, the focus is on the Tower of San Francesco, was probably built in 1565, in Capo Barbi in Palmi, along the Tyrrhenian side between Reggio Calabria and Capo Vaticano. The bulwark was destroyed in 1956. The Tower of San Francesco, as evidenced by historical cartography and the views of Antonio Minasi in 1779 and Richard Keppel Craven in 1821, was portrayed in three drawings made by Edward Cheney during his travel to Calabria in May 1823. These views identify the characteristics of the architectural typology of the tower and the relationships with the town of Palmi; to relate it to the coastal towers of Pietre Nere (Taureana) and Capo Rocchi (Bagnara); and finally to the landscape of the Costa Viola up to the Strait of Messina.


Creating and strengthening supportive networks is a cornerstone of social work practice with communities. Whilst there has been some exciting literature on network approaches to community development, there is little research about the application of such approaches, particularly from a critical social work perspective. This study explores the processes and outcomes of a community project based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. An overt network focus (integrating social network analysis) was applied to a strengths-based neighbourhood project in a culturally divided location. The "Ludmilla Neighbourhood Connections" project involved a diverse network of people and organisations working together to "create community" and increase connections across cultures. A variety of methods were embedded within a case study framework to provide an in-depth exploration of what happens when a focus on social networks is applied to strengths-based community work. Using social network analysis within the case study framework proved to be a particularly effective way of understanding project outcomes. Combined with qualitative narrative methods, and descriptive statistical data, this case study provides a rich exploration of critical social work practice with communities. This study demonstrates that a network focus with communities is useful in a range of ways including: thinking about what a "community" is, linking up already existing resources, mobilising to create new resources, and creating flexible, nonhierarchical networks within which community work can occur. It is argued that that focus on networks provides a useful framework for critical social work practice with communities. A social networks focus can shed light upon the way in which relationships between individuals, groups and communities form and are formed by broader social structures. This thesis provides an exploration of how a social networks focus can contribute to both social work practice with communities, and the researching of that community practice.


A sequence stratigraphic framework of the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Hanifa Formation at its exposure in Central Arabia is presented for the first time. This study offers the first high-resolution stratigraphic framework of the Hanifa along the Tuwaiq Escarpment by measuring 15 sections (~770 m total thickness) over an oblique-to-dip distance of 260 km and collecting 295 samples for petrographic analysis. On the basis of these data, the Hanifa Formation can be subdivided into eight facies; 1) tabular cross-bedded quartz-peloidal-skeletal grainstone, 2) crossbedded skeletal-peloidal grainstone, 3) bioturbated foraminiferal wackestone/mud-dominated packstone, 4) oncolitic rudstone, 5) stromatoporoid-coral biostrome/bioherm, 6) peloidal/composite-grain grain-dominated packstone/grainstone, 7) bioturbated spiculitic wackestone/mud-dominated packstone, and 8) thinly-bedded argillaceous mudstone/wackestone. The vertical and lateral distributions of these facies along the exposure define their sequence setting using the principals of sequence stratigraphy. By recognizing erosional surfaces, facies offset, and changes in facies proportions, five composite sequences, with an average duration of 1.1 my, are interpreted for the Hanifa Formation. The correlation of the sequences across the study area shows that only four sequences are preserved in the north where shallowwater deposits are well-developed. Facies trends within these sequences are further illustrated in a depositional model, which depicts the presence of an offshore structurally controlled skeletal-peloidal shoal body described here for the first time at the Hanifa exposure in the Hozwa area. A ramp depositional model is proposed having normal open-marine conditions and characterized by a high-energy inner-ramp shoreline, which is documented herein for the first time. This work provides a predictive framework and outcrop analog for applications in hydrocarbon exploration and development. Furthermore, a basinal setting predicted to the south of the study area is a potential site for unconventional plays.


This article employed a case study to explore the theme of defilement as experienced in a Kenyan village. To provide a basis for the theological reflection on this case study, the article investigated two motifs in Matthew 15:10–11. 'Hearing and understanding' and 'contrast' [[Refer to PDF], 'not…but'] was examined in respect of Leviticus 11:1–8 to determine the extent to which Matthew 15:10–11 depicts Jesus as 'relativising' the Mosaic law (Lv 11:1–8). This approach provided a basis to argue that defilement in Matthew 15:10–11 is not only a matter of external or ritual perspective, but of moral disposition. A methodology that combines both socio-rhetorical (Socio-rhetorical criticism is a methodology that derives value and meaning as an outcome of an active reading process that occurs within specific cultural contexts. In this case, the examiner produced the meaning of given texts by participating in a complex of socially constructed practices' [Growler n.d., http://userwww.Service.emory. edu/~dgowler/chapter.htm]) and narratological (Narratological criticism is the study of narratives that involves a kind of 'structure and practice that illuminates temporality and human beings as temporal beings'. Using classifications such as plot, narrator and narratee, narratology becomes a useful instrument for the description, classification and interpretation of literary narratives [see http://www.hum.aau.dk/~yding/storytelling/narratology%20rerevisited. pdf]) approaches were engaged as the most appropriate to address the concerns of this article. These two methodologies greatly helped this article to explain the meaning and significance of defilement in Leviticus 11 with respect to the theological understanding of the Leviticus code of purity. This code presents a temporal view of defilement intended to reflect on the holiness and sovereignty of Yahweh, over and against idols of the surrounding nations. In addition, this kind of methodology facilitated an interpretation of the motif of 'contrast' [[Refer to PDF], 'not but'] in Matthew 15:11 as the evangelist's intentional attempt to depict Jesus intensifying the Leviticus code of ritual purity within an ethical frame work. The village case study was surveyed, exegesis done on Matthew 15:10–11 with respect to Leviticus 11:1–8, the perception of defilement for 1st century Jews assessed and a brief comparative study of the findings from Matthew 15:10–11 engaged with a Kenyan village-case study for ethical reflections. This case study pointed out that cultural difference prompted a major tribe (Wataita) to consider a minor tribe (Wasanye) to be defiled, albeit the minor tribe did not describe the major tribe in the same derogatory term.


Objectives: With health apps and medical apps gaining popularity, assessing their quality still remains an open question. Users are often unaware of potential pitfalls and unsure whether an app can be trusted.
Methods: Following an overview over the current situa- tion (including inherent risks and limits) that also covers existing measures and regulatory questions, additional methods for aiding those preforming app assessments are proposed.
Results: Two methods that may aid various stakeholders in their evaluations are outlined.
Conclusions: The presented tools are currently being eval- uated and open for discussion; we believe them to be easy to use.


This paper examines the changes that were made in the literary telling and retelling of the story of the Pied Piper during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, comparing the folktale "Die Kinder zu Hameln" (1816) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"(1842) poem by Robert Browning, and the book What Happened in Hamelin (1979), by Gloria Skurzynski. A combination of New Historicism (a method based on the parallel reading of literary and non-literary texts from specific time periods, and comparative methodologies will be used to consider the impact of historical context, different authorial intentions via-a-vis child and adult audiences, and the intertextual relationships between these three texts.


The coupled regional climate model HIRHAM‐NAOSIM is used to investigate feedbacks between September sea ice anomalies in the Arctic and atmospheric conditions in autumn and the subsequent winter. A six‐member ensemble of simulations spanning the period 1949–2008 is analyzed. The results show that negative Arctic sea ice anomalies are associated with increased heat and moisture fluxes, decreased static stability, increased lower tropospheric moisture, and modified baroclinicity, synoptic activity, and atmospheric large‐scale circulation. The circulation changes in the following winter display meridionalized flow but are not fully characteristic of a negative Arctic Oscillation pattern, though they do support cold winter temperatures in northern Eurasia. Internally generated climate variability causes significant uncertainty in the simulated circulation changes due to sea ice‐atmosphere interactions. The simulated atmospheric feedback patterns depend strongly on the position and strength of the regional sea ice anomalies and on the analyzed time period. The strongest atmospheric feedbacks are related to sea ice anomalies in the Beaufort Sea. This work suggests that there are complex feedback mechanisms that support a statistical link between reduced September sea ice and Arctic winter circulation. However, the feedbacks depend on regional and decadal variations in the coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐sea ice system.


Donald Trump's The Apprentice, is an entertaining and educational tool for teaching business and management principles. While, few studies have been conducted on The Apprentice, there have been no prior empirical studies assessing the program as a study for analyzing management decisions. This research attempts to fill that gap. The purpose of this study is to research management decision behavior on The Apprentice. This research was conducted on management students in undergraduate and graduate courses over a two-year period. A sample of (N = 173) participants were used for the study. The participants viewed various episodes of The Apprentice and then answered a questionnaire based on their observations and decisions. The data was collected following the observations and analyzed. The objectives of the analyses were to: (a) measure the participants' termination decisions; and (b) compare their termination decisions with Trump's boardroom termination decisions. Three statistical analyses were used: (a) independent sample t-Test, (b) ANOVA, and (c) Pearson correlation. The results indicated that management students agreed with Trump's termination decisions nearly 47.4% of the


Objective To determine the effectiveness of intensive structured care to optimise blood pressure control based on individual absolute risk targets in primary care. Design Pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled trial. Setting General practices throughout Australia, except Northern Territory, 2009-11. Participants Of 2185 patients from 119 general practices who were eligible for drug treatment for hypertension according to national guidelines 416 (19.0%) achieved their individual blood pressure target during a 28 day run-in period of monotherapy. After exclusions, 1562 participants not at target blood pressure (systolic 150 (SD 17) mm Hg, diastolic 88 (SD 11) mm Hg) were randomised (1:2 ratio) to usual care (n=524) or the intervention (n=1038). Intervention Computer assisted clinical profiling and risk target setting (all participants) with intensified follow-up and stepwise drug titration (initial angiotensin receptor blocker monotherapy or two forms of combination therapy using angiotensin receptor blockers) for those randomised to the intervention. The control group received usual care. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was individual blood pressure target achieved at 26 weeks. Secondary outcomes were change in mean sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, absolute risk for cardiovascular disease within five years based on the Framingham risk score, and proportion and rate of adverse events. Results On an intention to treat basis, there was an 8.8% absolute difference in individual blood pressure target achieved at 26 weeks in favour of the intervention group compared with usual care group (358/988 (36.2%) v 138/504 (27.4%)): adjusted relative risk 1.28 (95% confidence interval 1.10 to 1.49, P=0.0013). There was also a 9.5% absolute difference in favour of the intervention group for achieving the classic blood pressure target of ≤140/90 mm Hg (627/988 (63.5%) v 272/504 (54.0%)): adjusted relative risk 1.18 (1.07 to 1.29, P<0.001). The intervention group achieved a mean adjusted reduction in systolic blood pressure of 13.2 mm Hg (95% confidence interval −12.3 to −14.2 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure of 7.7 mm Hg (−7.1 to −8.3 mm Hg) v 10.1 mm Hg (−8.8 to 11.3 mm Hg) and 5.5 mm Hg (−4.7 to −6.2 mm Hg) in the usual care group (P<0.001). Among 1141 participants in whom five year absolute cardiovascular risk scores were calculated from baseline to the 26 week follow-up, the reduction in risk scores was greater in the intervention group than usual care group (14.7% (SD 9.3%) to 10.9% (SD 8.0%); difference −3.7% (SD 4.5%) and 15.0% (SD 10.1%) to 12.4% (SD 9.4%); −2.6% (SD 4.5%): adjusted mean difference −1.13% (95% confidence interval −0.69% to −1.63%; P<0.001). Owing to adverse events 82 (7.9%) participants in the intervention group and 10 (1.9%) in the usual care group had their drug treatment modified. Conclusions In a primary care setting intensive structured care resulted in higher levels of blood pressure control, with clinically lower blood pressure and absolute risk of future cardiovascular events overall and with more people achieving their target blood pressure. An important gap in treatment remains though and applying intensive management and achieving currently advocated risk based blood pressure targets is challenging.


During the process of skin tumor promotion, expression of the cutaneous cancer stem cell (CSC) marker CD34(+) is required for stem cell activation and tumor formation. A previous study has shown that activation of protein kinase D1 (PKD1) is involved in epidermal tumor promotion; however, the signals that regulate CSCs in skin carcinogenesis have not been characterized. This study was designed to investigate the chemopreventive potential of peracetylated (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (AcEGCG) on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]-anthracene (DMBA)-initiated and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-promoted skin tumorigenesis in ICR mice and to elucidate the possible mechanisms involved in the inhibitory action of PKD1 on CSCs. We demonstrated that topical application of AcEGCG before TPA treatment can be more effective than EGCG in reducing DMBA/TPA-induced tumor incidence and multiplicity. Notably, AcEGCG not only inhibited the expression of p53, p21, c-Myc, cyclin B, p-CDK1 and Cdc25A but also restored the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), which decreased DMBA/TPA-induced increases in tumor proliferation and mitotic index. To clarify the role of PKD1 in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis, we studied the expression and activation of PKD1 in CD34(+) skin stem cells and skin tumors. We found that PKD1 was strongly expressed in CD34(+) cells and that pretreatment with AcEGCG markedly inhibited PKD1 activation and CD34(+) expression. More importantly, pretreatment with AcEGCG remarkably suppressed nuclear factor-kappaB, cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) and CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein (C/EBPs) activation by inhibiting the phosphorylation of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase 1/2, p38 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and by attenuating downstream target gene expression, including inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, ornithine decarboxylase and vascular endothelial growth factor. Moreover, this is the first study to demonstrate that AcEGCG is a CD34(+) and PKD1 inhibitor in the multistage mouse skin carcinogenesis model. Overall, our results powerfully suggest that AcEGCG could be developed into a novel chemopreventive agent and that PKD1 may be a preventive and therapeutic target for skin cancer in clinical settings.


The Great Financial Crisis and the Great Recession began in the United States in 2007 and quickly spread across the globe, marking what appears to be a turning point in world history. Although this was followed within two years by a recovery phase, the world economy five years after the onset of the crisis is still in the doldrums…. The one bright spot in the world economy, from a growth standpoint, has been the seemingly unstoppable expansion of a handful of emerging economies, particularly China. Yet, the continuing stability of China is now also in question. Hence, the general consensus among informed economic observers is that the world capitalist economy is facing the threat of long-run economic stagnation (complicated by the prospect of further financial deleveraging)…. It is this issue of the stagnation of the capitalist economy, even more than that of financial crisis or recession that has now emerged as the big question worldwide.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


Real multiprocessors do not provide the sequentially consistent memory that is assumed by most work on semantics and verification. Instead, they have relaxed memory models, typically described in ambiguous prose, which lead to widespread confusion. These are prime targets for mechanized formalization. In previous work we produced a rigorous x86-CC model, formalizing the Intel and AMD architecture specifications of the time, but those turned out to be unsound with respect to actual hardware, as well as arguably too weak to program above. We discuss these issues and present a new x86-TSO model that suffers from neither problem, formalized in HOL4. We believe it is sound with respect to real processors, reflects better the vendor's intentions, and is also better suited for programming. We give two equivalent definitions of x86-TSO: an intuitive operational model based on local write buffers, and an axiomatic total store ordering model, similar to that of the SPARCv8. Both are adapted to handle x86-specific features. We have implemented the axiomatic model in our memevents tool, which calculates the set of all valid executions of test programs, and, for greater confidence, verify the witnesses of such executions directly, with code extracted from a third, more algorithmic, equivalent version of the definition.


The retinoblastoma (RB) tumor suppressor is mutated or functionally inactivated in the majority of human malignancies, and p16(INK4a)-cyclin D1-cyclin-dependent kinase 4-RB pathway aberrations are present in nearly all cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, the distinct role of RB loss in tumorigenic proliferation and sensitivity to chemotherapeutics was determined in NSCLC cells. Attenuation of RB led to a proliferative advantage in vitro and aggressive tumorigenic growth in xenograft models. Clinically, such aggressive disease is treated with genotoxic and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. In vitro analysis showed that RB deficiency resulted in bypass of the checkpoint response to multiple chemotherapeutic challenges concomitant with an elevated apoptotic response. Correspondingly, RB deficiency in xenograft models led to increased chemosensitivity. However, this response was transient, and a durable response was dependent on prolonged chemotherapeutic administration. Together, these findings show that although RB deficiency enhances sensitivity to chemotherapeutic challenge, efficient and sustainable response is highly dependent on the specific therapeutic regimen, in addition to the molecular environment.


A linearly/circularly polarized heterodyne light beam coming from a heterodyne light source with an electro-optic modulator in turn enters a modified Twyman-Green interferometer to measure the surface plane of a GRIN lens. Two groups of periodic sinusoidal segments recorded by a fast complementary metal-oxide semiconductor camera are modified, and their associated phases are derived with the unique technique. The data are substituted into the special equations derived from the Fresnel equations, and the refractive index can be obtained. When the processes are applied to other pixels, the full-field refractive-index distribution can be obtained similarly. Its validity is demonstrated.


Increasingly, cities in Latin America recognize the importance of drinking water quality on public health. A water assessment of Guanajuato, Mexico, and surrounding areas found arsenic in wells above the Mexican drinking water standard (251lg/1). A collaborative effort was initiated to develop and field test a new arsenic removal method using high surface area sorbents. Nanoscale magnetite, previously shown to effectively adsorb arsenic in batch systems, was packed in sand columns to create a continuous treatment process. Design and operating conditions were assessed in bench-scale columns, and subsequently, a pilot column with 456 g ($2.50 US) of commercially available, food-grade magnetite demonstrated removal of the equivalent arsenic contained in 1,360 liters of Guanajuato groundwater. However, strong interferences were present in natural waters as breakthrough of arsenic in laboratory columns was delayed> 1 Ox with a synthetic feed solution as compared to groundwater at the same pH. Adsorption isotherms conducted with pretreated Guanajuato groundwater helped deduce the species of utmost interference: silica. By the removal or addition of silica, adsorption isotherms confirmed silica's strong effect. Low-level geothermal waters with high silica concentrations are common throughout central Mexico and other parts of the world presenting a major challenge for arsenic adsorbents. Arsenic adsorption improved through pH reduction in batch; however, pilot-scale column experiments showed no improvement with the same treatment. Silica preloading, deep-bed redox processes, and influent water impurities provided plausible explanation for the column observations. Breakthrough was monitored closely in columns sampled from 4 locations along their length. Synthetic solution with silica, in contrast to a baseline without silica, showed decreasing arsenic adsorption with distance through the column, characteristic of pre1oading, and a regression in breakthrough suggested oxidation at the magnetite surface. Calcium has been shown in batch systems to improve arsenic adsorption kinetics but not equilibrium partitioning in the presence of silica. In column experiments, the addition of calcium substantially increased arsenic adsorption in the presence of silica beyond batch model predictions confirming column-specific enhancements. The column-specific effects of silica, calcium, and redox would not be observable from adsorption isotherms but have critical importance to arsenic treatment by nanomagnetite columns.


It is believed that energy efficiency is an important constraint in brain evolution. As synaptic transmission dominates energy consumption, energy can be saved by ensuring that only a few synapses are active. It is therefore likely that the formation of sparse codes and sparse connectivity are fundamental objectives of synaptic plasticity. In this work we study how sparse connectivity can result from a synaptic learning rule of excitatory synapses. Information is maximised when potentiation and depression are balanced according to the mean presynaptic activity level and the resulting fraction of zero-weight synapses is around 50%. However, an imbalance towards depression increases the fraction of zero-weight synapses without significantly affecting performance. We show that imbalanced plasticity corresponds to imposing a regularising constraint on the L 1-norm of the synaptic weight vector, a procedure that is well-known to induce sparseness. Imbalanced plasticity is biophysically plausible and leads to more efficient synaptic configurations than a previously suggested approach that prunes synapses after learning. Our framework gives a novel interpretation to the high fraction of silent synapses found in brain regions like the cerebellum.


Concerns about anthropogenic climate change have resulted in promotion of renewable energy sources, especially wind energy. A concern raised against widespread windfarm development is that it may negatively impact bird populations as a result of bird collision with turbines, habitat loss and disturbance. Using systematic review methodology bird abundance data were synthesized from 19 globally-distributed windfarms using meta-analysis. The effects of bird taxon, turbine number, power, location, latitude, habitat type, size of area, time since operation, migratory status of the species and quality of evidence were analysed using meta-regression. Although the synthesized data suggest a significant negative impact of windfarms on bird abundance, there is considerable variation in the impact of individual windfarm sites on individual bird species, and it is unclear if the negative impact is a decline in population abundance or a decline in use owing to avoidance. Anseriformes experienced greater declines in abundance than other taxa, followed by Charadriiformes, Falconiformes and Accipitriformes, and Passeriformes. Time since windfarms commenced operation also had a significant impact on bird abundance, with longer operating times resulting in greater declines in abundance than short operating times. Other variables, including turbine number and turbine power either had very weak but statistically significant effects or did not have a significant effect on bird abundance. Windfarms may have significant biological impacts, especially over longer time scales, but the evidence-base is poor, with many studies being methodologically weak, and more long-term impact assessments are required. There is clear evidence that Anseriformes (wildfowl) and Charadriiformes (waders) experience declines in abundance, suggesting that a precautionary approach should be adopted to windfarm development near aggregations of these taxa in offshore and coastal locations. The impact of windfarm developments on bird populations must also be viewed in the context of the possible impact of climate change in the absence of windfarms.


Intelligence on three levels as core requirement for the pastor In this article the requirement that a pastor should act and behave in an intellectually, emotionally and socially intelligent way is focused on. At the outset of the article intellectual intelligence is discussed metatheoretically. The functioning of the brain, especially of the neocortex, the sub-cortex and the amygdala is outlined as far as intellectual intelligence is concerned. Basistheoretically relevant requirements for being intellectually intelligent are then investigated, in particular relevant requirements for the sound equipment of the pastor as stated in the pastoral epistles. In this respect the following aspects are scrutinised: the requirement that the pastor should have the competence to instruct the congregation from God's Word, and the requirement that the pastor should have the ability to equip his congregation in an intellectually sound way. In the ensuing part of the article metatheoretical viewpoints on emotional intelligence are outlined. Aspects like the following are indicated and mentioned as these should form part of the pastor's equipment: the value of a sound self-awareness, a clear perspective on own competencies, a founded self-confidence, self-control, the ability to minister with certain aims in mind, to handle own emotional wounds, and in the last instance, the requirement of insight and how to cope with own emotions. The requirement that the pastor should exercise self-control and the conviction of being called by and cared for by his Sender, God, are included as basistheoretical material. As far as social intelligence is concerned, the following elements are taken into consideration on metatheoretical level: the ability to have an understanding for the situation of someone else and the competence to tune into the feelings of another person. Aspects of the requirement to create relationships, and issues of empathy are investigated and described basis-theoretically. In conclusion practice-theoretical guidelines are formulated for a possible implementation of intellectual, emotional and social intelligence in the ministry of a servant of God.


Vincular or dashed patterns resemble classical patterns except that some of the letters within an occurrence are required to be adjacent. We prove several infinite families of Wilf-equivalences for k-ary words involving vincular patterns containing a single dash, which explain the majority of the equivalences witnessed for such patterns of length four. When combined with previous results, numerical evidence, and some arguments in specific cases, we obtain the complete Wilf-classification for all vincular patterns of length four containing a single dash. In some cases, our proof shows further that the equivalence holds for multiset permutations since it is seen to respect the number of occurrences of each letter within a word. Some related enumerative results are provided for patterns {\sigma} of length four, among them generating function formulas for the number of members of [k]^n avoiding any {\sigma} of the form 11a-b.


Model-based prognostics has become a popular approach to solving the prognostics problem. However, almost all work has focused on prognostics of systems with continuous dynamics. In this paper, we extend the model-based prognostics framework to hybrid systems models that combine both continuous and discrete dynamics. In general, most systems are hybrid in nature, including those that combine physical processes with software. We generalize the model-based prognostics formulation to hybrid systems, and describe the challenges involved. We present a general approach for modeling hybrid systems, and overview methods for solving estimation and prediction in hybrid systems. As a case study, we consider the problem of conflict (i.e., loss of separation) prediction in the National Airspace System, in which the aircraft models are hybrid dynamical systems.


Surface folding is common in lava flows of all compositions and is believed to be due to changes in viscosity and flow velocity between the cooling crust and the more fluid flow interior. However, our understanding of the relationship between surface folding and flow rheology is incomplete. In this study we analyze digital terrain models of eight lava flows ranging in composition from basaltic andesite to rhyolite using a discrete Fourier transform analysis to quantitatively determine dominant surface fold wavelengths. Our discrete Fourier transform analyses show that each lava flow has multiple fold generations and that dominant wavelengths are more closely related to calculated effective viscosity than to lava composition. At our Oregon sites, average dominant wavelengths generally increase with viscosity (r2=0.68), and the correlation improves (r2=0.87) when expanded by including previously measured fold wavelengths and viscosities from the global database. However, there are a few exceptions to this positive trend where a few lava flows have lower or higher than expected dominant fold wavelengths, which we infer are due to secondary factors such as differences in eruption conditions (eruption rate, temperature, etc.). Additionally, over a 5 order of magnitude range in viscosity, there is significant overlap between the ranges of fold wavelengths, particularly from 10 to 20m, for lavas from basaltic andesite to rhyolite, making it difficult to determine a numeric correlation between surface folds and lava rheology that would allow remote characterization of lava.


We present new results obtained by the Radio and Plasma Wave Science Langmuir probe on board Cassini during the Grand Finale. The total direct current sampled by the Langmuir probe at negative bias voltage is used to study the effect of the ring shadows on the structure of the Kronian topside ionosphere. The D and C rings and the Cassini Division are confirmed to be optically thin to extreme ultraviolet solar radiation. However, different responses from the opaque A and B rings are observed. The edges of the A ring shadow are shown to match the A ring boundaries, unlike the B ring, which indicates variable responses to the B ring shadow. We show that the variable responses are due to the ionospheric plasma, more precisely to the longer chemical lifetime of H+ compared to H2+ and H3+ , suggesting that the plasma is transported from the sunlit region to the shadowed one in the ionosphere.


Tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) has proven to be a suitable optical sensing system for the measurement of methane and water vapour concentrations in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). The unique advantages of TDLS include the ability to measure gases, including water vapour, in-situ and in real time, providing an ideal measurement system for large-scale fuel cell research and process control on an industrial scale. In this paper we present a technique similar to TDLS, known as photo-acoustic spectroscopy (PAS), which is capable of achieving much higher concentration measurement sensitivities with reduced sensor dimensions, enabling the possible integration of remotely controllable sensors within the SOFC enclosure. In order to achieve even greater sensor sensitivities, mid-infrared optical sources are required due to the higher probability of optical absorption. Here we present our recent work on miniaturised 3D printed PAS trace gas sensors (see figure), which includes the use of a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser as optical source. The 3D printed sensors have outside dimensions of approximately 25x15x10mm, with the optical interrogation coupled to the sensor through optical glass fibres or direct free-space coupling. The potential for PAS as a process control strategy for measuring SO2 concentration during the desulphurisation of a natural gas SOFC fuel source is presented. Results are also shown for PAS measurements of CH4 and CO2 concentrations in the mid-infrared and the near-infrared respectively, showing the capability of using PAS as a replacement for a GC in fuel cell research and process control.


BACKGROUND
Recent clinical guidelines on the health risks of obesity use body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) and waist circumference, but the waist-hip ratio may provide independent information.

METHODS
To assess the joint and relative associations of BMI, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio with multiple disease end points, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 31,702 Iowa women, aged 55 to 69 years and free of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, assembled by random sampling and mail survey in 1986. Study end points were total and cause-specific mortality and incidence of site-specific cancers and self-reported diabetes, hypertension, and hip fracture over 11 to 12 years.

RESULTS
The waist-hip ratio was the best anthropometric predictor of total mortality, with the multivariable-adjusted relative risk for quintile 5 vs 1 of 1.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.4), compared with 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.8-1.0) for BMI and 1.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.0-1. 3) for waist circumference. The waist-hip ratio was also associated positively with mortality from coronary heart disease, other cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other causes. The waist-hip ratio was associated less consistently than BMI or waist circumference with cancer incidence. All anthropometric indexes were associated with incidence of diabetes and hypertension. For example, women simultaneously in the highest quintiles of BMI and waist-hip ratio had a relative risk of diabetes of 29 (95% confidence interval, 18-46) vs. women in the lowest combined quintiles.

CONCLUSION
The waist-hip ratio offers additional prognostic information beyond BMI and waist circumference.


We investigate the size-dependent bistability of a FeII[HB(3,5-(Me)2Pz)3]2 spin-transition compound in the form of thin films, the thickness of which varies from 130 to 8500 nm. From combined structural, magnetic and optical measurements, we demonstrate that the materials prepared by sublimation consist of crystalline grains of the triclinic phase exhibiting the first-order spin transition coexisting with those of a new high-spin metastable tetragonal polymorph in quite a large proportion (ca. 42%). Accordingly, we show that the as-sublimed thin-film of 130 nm thickness retains a remarkable 17 K width hysteresis (T1/2 = 152 K) while the spin transition becomes quantitative by the thermal annealing of the metastable phase at 373 K. The structural analysis based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements provides evidence for a thermal hysteresis resulting from successive crystallographic phase transitions that is consistent with the calorimetric data. This accounts for the asymmetric shape of the hysteresis and the variation of cooperativity observed in the magnetic and optical data whatever the material dimension is.


Superfluid Helium-3: Universal Concepts for Condensed Matter and the Big Bang Dieter Vollhardt Center for Electronic Correlations and Magnetism, University of Augsburg Since their discovery in 1971 the superfluid phases of Helium-3 have proved to be the ideal testing ground for many fundamental concepts of modern physics. Phenomena such as triplet Cooper pairing, macroscopic quantum coherence, spontaneous breaking of high symmetries, and the formation of exotic topological defects are not only an important enrichment of the physics of condensed matter, but also provide important links to particle physics, the structure of the early universe and, most recently, quantum turbulence. In my lecture I will present a simple introduction into the physics of superfluid Helium-3, and describe the progress made in this fascinating field of basic research.


Regions of the world have developed an increasing number of financial arrangements to underpin the stability of capital markets and combat crises. But these arrangements vie for influence over international finance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as has been dramatically illustrated during the euro crisis, and threatens to fragment global financial governance. This article reviews the regional financial arrangements (RFAs) and their relationships to the IMF, examines the sources of conflict between these institutions, draws lessons from the euro crisis for institutional cooperation, and proposes a set of guidelines and principles to avoid fragmentation of financial governance in the future.


For the past forty years the content of comic books has been governed by an industry self-regulatory code adopted by publishers in 1954 in response to public and governmental pressure. This book examines why comic books were the subject of controversy, beginning with objections that surfaced shortly after the introduction of modern comic books in the mid-1930s, when parents and teachers accused comic books of contaminating children's culture and luring children away from more appropriate reading material. It traces how, in the years following World War II, the criticism of comic books shifted to their content, and the reading of comic books became linked with the rise of juvenile delinquency. This resulted in attempts at the local, state, and national level to ban or license comic book sales. A major figure in the crusade against comic books was the psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham. While he played a significant role in the postwar attack on comics, his accusations against the comic book industry have been misunderstood by comic book fans and media scholars alike. They have accused him of being a naive social scientist who saw direct causal links between the reading of comic books and delinquency. In fact, Seal of Approval shows that Wertham's work is much better understood in the intellectual tradition of media criticism of the Frankfurt school and their critique of mass culture. The negative publicity aroused by the controversy, coupled with fears that the government would pass censorship legislation, led publishers to adopt the self-regulatory code. It has been changed only twice, once in 1971 and again in 1989. The legacy of the comics code is that it continues to define the comic book medium as essentially juvenile literature. While the code offers protection against those who attack the media (and not just comic books), it also reaffirms the public perception of comic books as children's fare. As a result, the comic book has yet to achieve legitimation as a unique form of expression that blends words and pictures in a way that no other medium can duplicate. In tracing the evolution of the controversy and the resulting code Seal of Approval examines important issues about children, media effects, and censorship. It is the first book-length scholarly study of this period of comic book history.


Land drainage to support agricultural production can be traced back thousands of years to the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia along the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris. A ubiquitous drainage need in the Great Lakes region and parts of the Mississippi Basin is subsurface drainage (generally called tile drainage) to remove excess water from fields and improve trafficability. However, it has long been recognized that tile drainage is a main contributor of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) to water resources in these regions (Kladivko et al. 2004), and more recently studies have shown that tile drainage exports large amounts of phosphorus (P) (King et al. 2015). Nitrogen discharges from subsurface drainage systems are a common contributor to hypoxic zones in saltwater bodies, and dissolved P discharges are the primary cause of harmful algal blooms in freshwater bodies. Here we review in-field best management practices (BMPs) to reduce nutrient losses from fields with subsurface drainage (USDA NRCS 2016). These USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) practice standards can vary from state to state to account for specific conditions that occur in a state. CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD CODE 322: VEGETATED FIELD DITCHES Agricultural drainage ditches (figure 1) can mitigate N and P losses (Moore et…


The study of multi-agent systems (MASs) is focused on systems in which many autonomous agents interact and operate within a limited communication environment. The general goal of the MAS research is to design interconnection control laws such that all the dynamic agents in the group are synchronized to a desired common trajectory by exchanging information with adjacent agents over certain constrained communication networks. Based on the review and modification of existing results concerning the consensus control of linear heterogeneous MASs in Moreau (2004) [21], Scardovi and Sepulchre (2009) [25], Wieland et al (2011) [30], and Alvergue et al. (2013) [1], this thesis investigates the distributed stabilization of the heterogeneous MAS, consisting of N different continuous-time nonlinear dynamic systems, under connected communication graphs. The conditions for a nonlinear dynamic agent to be feedback equivalent to a strictly passive system are derived along with the feedback law. A distributed stabilization control protocol using state feedback is then proposed under the idea of feedback connection of two passive systems. It proves to be sufficient for only one or a few agents to have access to the reference signal for the MAS to achieve stability, which lowers the communication overhead from the reference to different agents. The result can be interpreted as an extension of the stabilizing law for linear MASs introduced in [1], and considered as a fundamental preliminary for the consensus research for nonlinear MASs in the future.


Context: The Rosetta magnetometer RPC-MAG has been exploring the plasma environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since August 2014. The first months were dominated by low-frequency waves which evolved into more complex features. However, at the end of July 2015, close to perihelion, the magnetometer detected a region that did not contain any magnetic field at all.
Aims: These signatures match the appearance of a diamagnetic cavity as was observed at comet 1P/Halley in 1986. The cavity here is more extended than previously predicted by models and features unusual magnetic field configurations, which need to be explained
Methods: The onboard magnetometer data were analyzed in detail and used to estimate the outgassing rate. A minimum variance analysis was used to determine boundary normals.
Results. Our analysis of the data acquired by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium instrumentation confirms the existence of a diamagnetic cavity. The size is larger than predicted by simulations, however. One possible explanation are instabilities that are propagating along the cavity boundary and possibly a low magnetic pressure in the solar wind. This conclusion is supported by a change in sign of the Sun-pointing component of the magnetic field. Evidence also indicates that the cavity boundary is moving with variable velocities ranging from 230−500 m/s.


In recent years, great attention has been paid to many Podarcis species for which the observed intra-specific variability often revealed species complexes still characterized by an unresolved relationship. When compared to other species, P. siculus underwent fewer revisions and the number of species hidden within this taxon may have been, therefore, underestimated. However, recent studies based on genetic and morphological data highlighted a marked differentiation of the populations inhabiting the Western Pontine Archipelago. In the present work we used published genetic data (three mitochondrial and three nuclear gene fragments) from 25 Podarcis species to provide a multilocus phylogeny of the genus in order to understand the degree of differentiation of the Western Pontine populations. In addition, we analyzed new morphometric traits (scale counts) of 151 specimens from the main islands of the Pontine Archipelago. The phylogenetic analysis revealed five principal Podarcis groups with biogeographic consistency. The genetic distinctiveness of the Podarcis populations of the Western Pontine Islands is similar or even more ancient than those observed in numerous other pairs of Podarcis sister species. In the light of these evidences we raise the Western Pontine lizards to specific rank; thus they should be referred to as Podarcis latastei.


Miguel Jose Sanz and Jose Domingo Diaz's El Semanario de Caracas (1810–1811) lived and died with the ill-fated first Venezuelan republic. An attorney and a member of the colonial elite, Sanz (1756–1814) tended to characterize the Venezuelan public as political beginners in need of extra instruction and to posit the Semanario as their textbook. Reading Sanz in the context of the tumultuous events and swirling opinions in Venezuela, I analyse the advantages and limitations of the student as a conceptual frame for the newly independent republic. I argue that the teacher–student gap that twentieth-century critics identified as an essential trope for the rhetoric of educational reform is embedded in the discourse of Sanz and his contemporaries. Positing himself as a political teacher who wishes to make the public see recent events from his, very different, perspective, Sanz becomes a political version of the educational reformer.


Write software that draws directly on services offered by the Linux kernel and core system libraries. With this comprehensive book, Linux kernel contributor Robert Love provides you with a tutorial on Linux system programming, a reference manual on Linux system calls, and an insider's guide to writing smarter, faster code. Love clearly distinguishes between POSIX standard functions and special services offered only by Linux. With a new chapter on multithreading, this updated and expanded edition provides an in-depth look at Linux from both a theoretical and applied perspective over a wide range of programming topics, including: A Linux kernel, C library, and C compiler overview Basic I/O operations, such as reading from and writing to files Advanced I/O interfaces, memory mappings, and optimization techniques The family of system calls for basic process management Advanced process management, including real-time processes Thread concepts, multithreaded programming, and Pthreads File and directory management Interfaces for allocating memory and optimizing memory access Basic and advanced signal interfaces, and their role on the system Clock management, including POSIX clocks and high-resolution timers


When discussing wound healing, it needs to be emphasised that wound care expertise consists of both evidence-based wound care knowledge and expert knowledge gained from clinical experience. The attitude and values that we as individuals bring to the practice are also invaluable. 1 The main focus of wound care should always be on holistic wound management, incorporating products proven to facilitate wound healing. In this article, we will be aiming to shed some light on wound bed preparation and implications for the occurrence of infections in chronic wounds.


Background: As we aim to embark on a world free of preventable deaths in maternal health, the importance of regulating fertility claims more attention. In India, a country with low resources, this approach is crucial in facing the challenge amid population burst. Chasing the same aim, the country is yet to register targeted total fertility rate of 2.1 at some of its pockets. Aim: This study, analyzing data from District-Level Household Survey 4, tried to assess the association between high birth order (HBO, defined as birth order three or more among women aged between 15 and 49 years) and major sociodemographic factors in South India. Materials and Methods: District was the unit for analysis. From South India, 98 districts were considered. Correlation coefficient was determined to know the association between HBO and six variables: marriage <18 years, married illiterate women, use of modern contraceptives, pregnant women who had three or more antenatal care visits, consumption of 100 or more iron tablets/syrup equivalent, and institutional delivery (ID). Scatter plot was used to show the effect of demographic variables on HBO. Results: Proportion of marriage <18 years (r = 0.671) and proportion of illiterate married women (r = 0.400) were two the factors positively associated with HBO, whereas use of modern contraceptives, consumption of 100 or more iron tablets/syrup equivalent, and percentage of ID had a significant negative association. Conclusion: As evident, HBO is not only related to illiteracy and use of contraceptives but also related with consumption of iron folic acids, age at marriage, and ID. For effective control of population burden, the target for policymakers should be on education, antenatal services, and ID.


Introduction – Diagnosis of abnormal cilia function is based on ultrastructural analysis of axoneme defects, especialy the features of inner and outer dynein arms which are the motors of ciliar motility. Sub-optimal biopsy material, methodical, and intrinsic electron microscopy factors pose difficulty in ciliary defects evaluation. We present a computer-assisted approach based on state-of-the-art image analysis and object recognition methods yielding a time-saving and efficient diagnosis of cilia dysfunction. Method – The presented approach is based on a pipeline of basal image processing methods like smoothing, thresholding and ellipse fitting. However, integration of application specific knowledge results in robust segmentations even in cases of image artifacts. The method is build hierarchically starting with the detection of cilia within the image, followed by the detection of nine doublets within each analyzable cilium, and ending with the detection of dynein arms of each doublet. The process is concluded by a rough classification of the dynein arms as basis for a computer-assisted diagnosis. Additionally, the interaction possibilities are designed in a way, that the results are still reproducible given the completion report. Results – A qualitative evaluation showed reasonable detection results for cilia, doublets and dynein arms. However, since a ground truth is missing, the variation of the computer-assisted diagnosis should be within the subjective bias of human diagnosticians. The results of a first quantitative evaluation with five human experts and six images with 12 analyzable cilia showed, that with default parameterization 91.6% of the cilia and 98% of the doublets were found. The computer-assisted approach rated 66% of those inner and outer dynein arms correct, where all human experts agree. However, especially the quality of the dynein arm classification may be improved in future work.


In State Succession and Commercial Obligations (2006), Tai-Heng Cheng applies the New Haven School methodology to an opaque and unsettled body of international law: that governing the commercial rights and duties of states, creditors, and other participants in the unruly process of state succession. Rather than work within inherited conceptual and doctrinal frameworks, which have seldom proved either helpful or descriptively accurate, Cheng provides a fresh perspective on the issues. He argues that a policy-oriented perspective on state succession ameliorates the "descriptive inaccuracy" and "normative deficit" of inherited theories. Part I of this review considers the former claim; Part II the latter. I find Cheng's analysis of state succession relative to commercial obligations sophisticated, pragmatic, descriptively comprehensive, and for the most part, normatively compelling. But it may be too ambitious. Defining disruptions to global commerce as the indicia of state succession tends to inflect, and at times to bias, the general analysis of the diverse phenomena that fall within the rubric of state succession. This commercial focus can obscure or normatively predispose our understanding and appraisal of equally vital, but non-economic, dimensions of state succession, including the core policy goals - self-determination and global order - that Cheng identifies and recommends. To a certain extent, this compromises the work's descriptive accuracy and normative appeal. But far from "failing to provide the very guidance that real-life decision makers expect from their lawyers," as critics of the New Haven School often charge, Cheng's policy-oriented analysis strikes me as more helpful to practicing lawyers and decision makers than anything that has preceded it.


The main purpose of the work described in this thesis was to develop techniques for producing boules of ZnSe and ZnS(_x)Se(_1-x) suitable for research purposes. This was accomplished by extending the method that Clark and Woods((^1)) used for CdS to the higher temperatures needed to grow ZnS and ZnS(_x)Se(_1-x) in the range x = 0-0.6. In this system the capsule is connected to a reservoir of one of the components via a narrow orifice to maintain constant growth conditions. The system has been examined theoretically in an attempt to learn more about the actual conditions of growth within the capsule. It was concluded that growth occurs close to stoichiometry with(the ratio of P(_se2)/P(_zn) at the growth face) approximately 0.194 or 1.12 according to the element in the reservoir. Particular emphasis was placed upon the incorporation of manganese into the zinc selenide lattice. Concentrations of the order 300 p.p.m. were obtained when the element was added to the charge and MnCl(_2) was placed in the reservoir. Higher levels of manganese (~1%) were obtained using chemical vapour transport with iodine as the transport agent. Boules of solid solutions, within the range of compositions from ZnSe to ZnSe(_0.4)S(_0.6) were examined using a transmission electron microscope. The dominant crystallographic defects were found to change from thin twins to stacking faults as the amount of ZnS was increased. The origin of the defects was probably post growth stress. Finally, the anomalous photovoltaic effect was discovered in ZnSe needle crystals, and was explained qualitatively in terms of asymmetrical barriers along the polar axis of the crystal.


This Article undertakes the first systematic investigation of trademark dilution in registration practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The Article consists of three distinct descriptive empirical analyses. In the first, I present a new hand-coded dataset of all 453 Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) dispositions of dilution claims through June 30, 2014, and report that dilution has been necessary to the PTO's refusal of exactly three registrations in over a decade. In the second part, I apply algorithmic coding of the recently released PTO Casefiles Dataset to demonstrate that concurrent registration of identical marks to different registrants in different product classes is a long-standing feature of the registration system that does not appear to have changed with the advent of anti-dilution rights. In the third part, I examine third-party applications to register famous marks, and find some suggestion that anti-dilution rights coincide with a modest decrease in the success of such applications — more likely due to an increased rate of abandonment by applicants than to increased opposition by prior registrants. But this change, even if it is not illusory, would correspond to at most an additional 5 to 30 rejected applications per year, against an annual volume of as many as 200,000 applications for word marks in general. While additional research may help buttress the case that anti-dilution rights have had a modest effect on registration for a very narrow class of marks, I conclude that their primary effect appears to be imposing increased costs on those who have business with the trademark system, with little if any apparent benefit to justify those costs.


The aim of this study was to determine certain basic properties of soils in the Batumi delta, to determine the relationships of studied properties, and to identify differences with regards to these properties between different sampling sites in the delta that were selected based on the delta morphology. In this context, a total of 125 soil samples were collected from five different sampling sites, and the clay, silt and sand content of the samples were determined along with their mean weight diameter (MWD) 10 values, aggregate stability (AS) values, amount of water retained under -33 kPa (FC) and -1500 kPa (WP) pressure and organic matter (OM) content. Correlation analysis indicated that clay content and OM were positively correlated with MWD, and OM was positively correlated with AS. However, the sand content was found to be negatively correlated with MWD. In addition, clay, silt and OM content were positive correlated with FC and WP. Variance analysis results determined statistically significant 15 differences between the sampling sites with respect to all of the evaluated properties. The active delta section of the study area was characterized by high sand content, while the lower delta plain was characterized by high OM and AS values, and the upper delta plain was characterized by high WMD values, high FC and WP moisture content levels and high clay and silt content. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the examined properties were significantly affected by the different morphological 20 positions and usages of these different areas. These results may help with the management of agricultural lands in the Batumi delta, which has never been studied before.


This study aimed to compare the effects of different sets of ballistic stretching protocol on repeated sprint ability (RSA) performance among football players. Fourteen male university football players [age (mean ±SD) 23.4 ± 1.3 years, body mass 70.0 ± 4.8 kg, height 171.6 ± 5.8 cm, body mass index (BMI) 23.4 ± 2.1 kg.m] underwent 4 sessions in the counterbalance design. All sessions included a general warm-up, followed by a ballistic stretching protocol (one set –DSS1; two sets –DSS2; three sets – DSS3) consists of 5 ballistic exercises (gastrocnemius, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, quadriceps femoris and hip extensions). A standardized specific warm-up was then undertaken followed by 5 x 20m with interspersed 30-s active recovery. The finding of study shown a values of total time sprint (TST), mean time sprint (MST) and best time sprint (BST) were significant faster for BSS1 compared to BSS2 and BSS3 (P < 0.05). Fatigue index (FI) was significantly lower in BSS1 compared to BSS2 and BSS3 (P < 0.05). Heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) also were showed significantly lower value for BSS1 compared to BSS2 and BSS3 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the performed a single set of ballistic stretching may induce a significant improvement in 20-m RSA performance.


In this paper, a monitoring system of agricultural production is modeled as a Data Fusion System (data from local fairs and meteorological data). The proposal considers the particular information of sales in agricultural markets for knowledge extraction about the associations among them. This association knowledge is employed to improve predictions of sales using a spatial prediction technique, as shown with data collected from local markets of the Andean region of Ecuador. The commercial activity in these markets uses Alternative Marketing Circuits (CIALCO). This market platform establishes a direct relationship between producer and consumer prices and promotes direct commercial interaction among family groups. The problem is presented first as a general fusion problem with a network of spatially distributed heterogeneous data sources, and is then applied to the prediction of products sales based on association rules mined in available sales data. First, transactional data is used as the base to extract the best association rules between products sold in different local markets, knowledge that allows the system to gain a significant improvement in prediction accuracy in the spatial region considered.


Most workers have one employment contract that is explicit and another one that is implicit. The explicit employment contract specifies working hours, compensation, and job tasks. The implicit contract involves expectations about the extent to which the employment relationship is likely to continue over time. Will the firms will seek to avoid mass layoffs unless or until absolutely necessary? Will firms cushion the wages and compensation of employees to some extent from broad swings in the economy? Will employees show some degree of loyalty to the firm? This paper will argue that, along a number of dimensions, the nature of the worker-firm employment relationship may have changed substantially in recent years -- a group of changes that as a whole have negatively affected the lives of workers and produced modest, if any, benefits for firms. If employers have become less involved with cushioning the blow of unemployment and avoiding layoffs where possible, then public policy might have a role to play in spreading the burden of a down labor market so that the burden is not borne so heavily by those who lose their jobs entirely.


Word completion interfaces are ubiquitously available in mobile virtual keyboards; however, there is no prior research on how to design these interfaces for screen reader users. In addressing this, we propose a design space for nonvisual representation of word completions. The design space covers seven categories aiming to identify challenges and opportunities for interaction design in an unexplored research topic. It is intended to guide the design of novel interaction techniques, serving as a framework for researchers and practitioners working on nonvisual word completion. To demonstrate its potential, we engaged blind users in an exploration of the design space, to create their own bespoke word completion solutions. Through this study we found that users create alternative interfaces that extended current screen readers' capabilities. Resulting interfaces are less conservative than mainstream solutions on notification frequency and cardinality. Customization decisions were based on perceived benefits/costs and varied depending on multiple factors such as users' perceived prediction accuracy, potential keystroke gains, and situational restrictions.


Aureliana and Athenaea (Withaniinae, Solanaceae) are two genera of shrubs or small trees with centres of diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. They are difficult to distinguish using gross morphology, and are traditionally segregated based on differences in fruiting calyx size. Pollen grains of all taxa were acetolysed, treated and examined with light and scanning electron microscopy, with the aim of identifying diagnostic characters. Microphotographs and illustrations of pollen grains are presented. The species analysed present small- to medium-sized monad pollen grains of varying morphology with long to extremely long colpi, and lalongate endoapertures. The analysis showed that the pollen grains of both genera are very similar, differing in size-related characters. These data contributed to the synonymisation of Athenaea within Aureliana.


ABSTRACT The importance of viruses in marine microbial ecology has been established over the past decade. Specifically, viruses influence bacterial abundance and community composition through lysis and alter bacterial genetic diversity through transduction and lysogenic conversion. By contrast, the abundance and distribution of viruses in soils are almost completely unknown. This study describes the abundance and diversity of autochthonous viruses in six Delaware soils: two agricultural soils, two coastal plain forest soils, and two piedmont forest soils. Viral abundance was measured using epifluorescence microscopy, while viral diversity was assessed from morphological data obtained through transmission electron microscopy. Extracted soil virus communities were dominated by bacteriophages that demonstrated a wide range of capsid diameters (20 nm to 160 nm) and morphologies, including filamentous forms and phages with elongated capsids. The reciprocal Simpson's index suggests that forest soils harbor more diverse assemblages of viruses, particularly in terms of morphological distribution. Repeated extractions of virus-like particles (VLPs) from soils indicated that the initial round of extraction removes approximately 70% of extractable viruses. Higher VLP abundances were observed in forest soils (1.31 × 109 to 4.17 × 109 g−1 dry weight) than in agricultural soils (8.7 × 108 to 1.1 × 109 g−1 dry weight). Soil VLP abundance was significantly correlated to moisture content (r = 0.988) but not to soil texture. Land use (agricultural or forested) was significantly correlated to both bacterial (r = 0.885) and viral (r = 0.812) abundances, as were soil organic matter and water content. Thus, land use is a significant factor influencing viral abundance and diversity in soils.


The sheer scale and speed of the shift of payment system from time-based salaries to performancerelated pay, PRP, in the British public services provides a unique opportunity to test the effects of incentive pay schemes. This study is based on the first large scale survey designed to measure the effects of performance related pay on a) employee motivation and work behaviour across the British public services; and b) workplace performance. The latter uses an index of organisational performance based on line-manager judgements. While there is evidence of a clear incentive effect for those gaining above average PRP, it is likely that it is offset by a more widespread de-motivating effect arising from difficulties of measuring and evaluating performance fairly. These motivational outcomes are found to affect workplace performance. Organisational commitment appears to offset some of the negative effects of PRP. In contrast to the many studies of top executives, sales and sports personnel, our study examines PRP for large numbers of ordinary employees.


This paper presents a new classification scheme for power transformer which effectively discriminates between internal faults (phase to ground, phase to phase & phase to phase to ground) and non-internal faults (magnetising inrush, external fault & normal condition). The proposed scheme utilizes CT secondary current signals from both sides (LV and HV) of transformer windings as an input. Various signals during internal and external faults, different types of inrush (initial inrush, residual inrush, recovery inrush and sympathetic inrush) and normal/healthy operating states have been generated by modeling the existing 315 MVA power transformer using PSCAD / EMTDC software package. The simulated data set of more than 4600 operating states of transformer has been used in MATLAB for implementation and validation of the proposed scheme. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of classification accuracy, two types of kernel functions of Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier have been used by the authors. Using optimum kernel function of SVM, the overall fault classification accuracy has been obtained in which only 33% of total data (4650) has been used for training, whereas the remaining data (67%) has been applied for testing.


Glioblastoma (GBM) is a lethal brain tumor containing a subpopulation of glioma stem cells (GSCs). Pan-cancer analyses have revealed that stemness of cancer cells correlates positively with immunosuppressive pathways in many solid tumors, including GBM, prompting us to conduct a gain-of-function screen of epigenetic regulators that may influence GSC self-renewal and tumor immunity. The circadian regulator CLOCK emerged as a top hit in enhancing stem cell self-renewal, which was amplified in about 5% of human GBM cases. CLOCK and its heterodimeric partner BMAL1 enhanced GSC self-renewal and triggered pro-tumor immunity via transcriptional up-regulation of OLFML3, a novel chemokine recruiting immune-suppressive microglia into the tumor microenvironment. In GBM models, CLOCK or OLFML3 depletion reduced intratumoral microglia density and extended overall survival. We conclude that the CLOCK:BMAL1 complex contributes to key GBM hallmarks of GSC maintenance and immunosuppression and, together with its downstream target OLFML3, represents new therapeutic targets for this disease.


Podosomes are adhesion structures formed at the ventral side of cells whose physiological functions require an efficient cell migration across tissues. In addition to their adhesive properties, podosomes display a protrusive activity responsible for the local degradation of matrix components that helps cells to migrate across basement membranes. Because of their ability to degrade matrix components, podosome formation, activity and turnover need to be tightly regulated to avoid an uncontrolled protrusive activity that could damage tissues.

The kinesin-3 KIF1C was shown to contribute to the regulation of podosome dynamics in macrophages and here, we used depletion-rescue and dominant negative approaches to show that KIF1C activity is required for podosome formation in A7r5 cells. Little is known about the mechanism regulating KIF1C activity. To better understand the molecular mechanism underlying the KIF1Ccontrol of podosome formation in A7r5 cells, we generated different truncations of the KIF1C tail, tested the ability of each construct to mediate podosome formation in these cells and identified a ~150 amino acid long region between KIF1C third and fourth coiled-coil domains that is required for podosome formation in A7r5 cells, suggesting that this ~150 amino acid long region of KIF1C tail participates in the regulation of KIF1C activity during the podosome formation process. This region of KIF1C tail is known to interact with two proteins that were both described for their involvement in the regulation of cellular adhesion: the non-muscle Myosin IIA and the Protein Tyrosine
Phosphatase PTPD1.

We addressed the involvement of the non-muscle Myosin IIA in podosome formation in A7r5 cells using two Myosin inhibitor: Blebbistatin and the Y27632 ROCK inhibitor. The treatment of A7r5 cells with one or the other Myosin IIA inhibitor had no effect on the ability of these cells to form podosomes, suggesting that the non-muscle Myosin IIA is not required for the formation of podosomes in A7r5 cells. We therefore ruled out its involvement in the regulation of KIF1C activity during the podosome formation process to focus our work on PTPD1.

PTPD1 is a scaffolding tyrosine phosphatase known to regulate focal adhesion and stress fibre stability. Using a depletion-rescue approach, we showed that PTPD1 expression is absolutely required for podosome formation in A7r5 cells. As PTPD1 displays both a scaffolding and a phosphatase activity, we used the catalytic inactive mutant of the phosphatase PTPD1-C1108S to discriminate between these two activities and show that PTPD1 ability to mediate podosome formation in A7r5 cells does not require its catalytic activity.

Because PTPD1 and KIF1C depletions performed independently of each other both led to a decrease of the ability of A7r5 cells to form podosomes and because these two proteins interact with each other, we tested the ability of PTPD1 and KIF1C to cooperate with each other to mediate podosome formation and showed that PTPD1-C1108S over-expression in KIF1C-depleted cells restored the ability of A7r5 cells to efficiently form podosomes. Taken together, results obtained suggested that the interaction of PTPD1 with KIF1C could stimulate the activity of the remaining pool of KIF1C motors.

To test this hypothesis, we used a pre-established α5-integrin transport assay, as KIF1C is a known α5-integrin transporter and its motor activity can therefore be assessed by following its ability to transport GFP-tagged α5-integrin cargoes to the tail of migratory RPE-1 cells. Using this assay in KIF1C-depleted RPE-1 cells stably expressing GFP-α5-integrin, we showed that PTPD1 overexpression restores the transport of α5-integrin to the tail of RPE-1 cells, therefore stimulating the activity of the remaining pool of KIF1C motors.

Results obtained in this study and in vitro data generated during the course of this work allowed us to establish the following model for KIF1C activation: in the absence of PTPD1, KIF1C is in its auto-inhibitory state and can't ensure its cellular function. In presence of PTPD1, the phosphatase binds to KIF1C tail, inducing the activation of the motor that can thus mediate podosome formation and transport α5-integrins to the tail of RPE-1 cells.


Significance The current study quantified the degree to which group data are able to describe individual participants. We utilized intensive repeated-measures data—data that have been collected many times, across many individuals—to compare the distributions of bivariate correlations calculated within subjects vs. those calculated between subjects. Because the vast majority of social and medical science research aggregates across subjects, we aimed to assess how closely such aggregations reflect their constituent individuals. We provide evidence that conclusions drawn from aggregated data may be worryingly imprecise. Specifically, the variance in individuals is up to four times larger than in groups. These data call for a focus on idiography and open science that may substantially alter best-practice guidelines in the medical and behavioral sciences. Only for ergodic processes will inferences based on group-level data generalize to individual experience or behavior. Because human social and psychological processes typically have an individually variable and time-varying nature, they are unlikely to be ergodic. In this paper, six studies with a repeated-measure design were used for symmetric comparisons of interindividual and intraindividual variation. Our results delineate the potential scope and impact of nonergodic data in human subjects research. Analyses across six samples (with 87–94 participants and an equal number of assessments per participant) showed some degree of agreement in central tendency estimates (mean) between groups and individuals across constructs and data collection paradigms. However, the variance around the expected value was two to four times larger within individuals than within groups. This suggests that literatures in social and medical sciences may overestimate the accuracy of aggregated statistical estimates. This observation could have serious consequences for how we understand the consistency between group and individual correlations, and the generalizability of conclusions between domains. Researchers should explicitly test for equivalence of processes at the individual and group level across the social and medical sciences.


This cross sectional research aimed to identify the pregnant women's preventive behaviors in iodine deficiency; Namsom District, Udonthani Province. The 108 of pregnant women as the respondents were selected by systematic random sampling to interview with the questionnaire constructed by the researcher which the validity and the reliability were accepted (coefficient alpha of Cronbach = 0.86). Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic characteristics, knowledge, health belief, perception of information and the preventive behaviors in iodine consuming. The results were shown that: average age was 25.34 years old (S.D. = 6.76), 61.10 % were farmers and 38.90% finished secondary school. Their average income was 11,976.85 baths/month (S.D. = 8,526.31). The average gestational age at the first prenatal care was 10.03 weeks (S.D. = 4.59) and average numbers of prenatal care of 5.83 times (S.D. = 2.98). Moreover, 81.40 % of them have been pregnant less than 2 times. Additionally, it was found that the percentage of knowledge and preventive behaviors at high level were 58.30 and 56.48. More than three/fourth had moderate level of overall health belief in the issues. Furthermore; the percentage perceived at high levels; benefits of prevention, severity of the disease and risks of getting the disease were 91.67, 54.63 and 51.85 respectively. However, the percentage at the low level of perception; obstacles of preventive behaviors and received information on iodine deficiency were 74.07 and 55.56. From results, revealed the pregnant women's practices and beliefs in order to prevent iodine deficiency at Namsom District, Udonthani Province. Additionally, it can be promoted the pregnant women to receive the required iodine suitably by giving the knowledge through main Medias; televisions, newspapers, village health volunteers and broadcasting towers in each village, additionally to promote their good understandings and to decrease false beliefs so as to decrease iodine deficiency in the pregnant women well. Keywords: Prevention, Iodine deficiency, Pregnant


The entry to a work zone is critical for traffic smoothness and safety because of the discontinuation of one or more lanes. The Indiana Lane Merge System (ILMS) was designed to implement dynamic lane change control at work zone entries by encouraging drivers to switch lanes well upstream of the discontinuous lane taper, thereby reducing the number of aggressive lane changes at the taper. At the time of this research, the ILMS had not been implemented on a large scale at rural freeway work zones. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) wanted to do a complete safety and capacity evaluation of the system before implementing it statewide. The safety of a system is usually evaluated by close examination prior to and following the installation of the system, i.e., before and after studies. Since crashes are rare and random occurrences, it would take a long time (usually 5-10 years) before the safety study can be completed. Another safety indicator that is used by a number of safety researchers is traffic conflicts. Unfortunately, safety benefits expressed in traffic conflicts (unlike crashes) cannot be converted to a monetary value. In this study, a new method combining crashes and conflicts is proposed. The relative change in the number of conflicts with and without the system is first established, which is then assumed to be equivalent to the relative change in the number of crashes. This value is then multiplied by the expected number of crashes without the system to obtain the expected crash reduction using the new system. Crash prediction models without ILMS and conflict models with and without ILMS were developed. In addition, a capacity evaluation was conducted to estimate the capacity impacts of ILMS. All the models were integrated and a detailed sensitivity analysis was performed by using a spreadsheet-based application that was developed using Visual Basic. The software program also serves as a tool for INDOT personnel to estimate the expected safety and monetary benefits for a given work zone. Sensitivity analysis results are summarized in the ILMS guidelines, which are based on daily vehicle profiles, directional distributions, and heavy vehicle profiles from rural freeways in Indiana. The estimated total benefits showed minimal variation in this study with respect to changes in vehicle profiles and directional distributions of traffic flow.


Many important physical applications are governed by the wave equation. The formulation as time domain boundary integral equations involves retarded potentials. For the numerical solution of this problem, we employ the convolution quadrature method for the discretization in time and the Galerkin boundary element method for the space discretization. We introduce a simple a priori cut-off strategy where small entries of the system matrices are replaced by zero. The threshold for the cut-off is determined by an a priori analysis which will be developed in this paper. This analysis will also allow to estimate the effect of additional perturbations such as panel clustering and numerical integration on the overall discretization error. This method reduces the storage complexity for time domain integral equations from O(M 2 N) to O(M 2 N 1/2 log M), where N denotes the number of time steps and M is the dimension of the boundary element space.


Step adjustment for humanoid robots has been shown to improve robustness in gaits. However, step duration adaptation is often neglected in control strategies. In this paper, we propose an approach that combines both step location and timing adjustment for generating robust gaits. In this approach, step location and step timing are decided, based on feedback from the current state of the robot. The proposed approach is comprised of two stages. In the first stage, the nominal step location and step duration for the next step or a previewed number of steps are specified. In this stage which is done at the start of each step, the main goal is to specify the best step length and step duration for a desired walking speed. The second stage deals with finding the best landing point and landing time of the swing foot at each control cycle. In this stage, stability of the gaits is preserved by specifying a desired offset between the swing foot landing point and the Divergent Component of Motion (DCM) at the end of current step. After specifying the landing point of the swing foot at a desired time, the swing foot trajectory is regenerated at each control cycle to realize desired landing properties. Simulation on different scenarios shows the robustness of the generated gaits from our proposed approach compared to the case where no timing adjustment is employed.


Intellectual property law in the United States, though shaped by key statutes, has long been a common-law field to a great degree. Many decades of decisional law flesh out the meaning of broad-textured, sparely worded statutes. Given the key roles of patent law and copyright law, both federal, the Supreme Court of the United States is i.p. law's leading apex court. What are the major topical currents in the Supreme Court's i.p. cases, both now and over the course of the Court's work? This study uses network-analysis tools to measure and map the entirety of the Court's i.p. jurisprudence. It goes deeper than existing studies of judicial citation networks by focusing on a topically defined subnetwork. It goes further than existing studies by analyzing, in addition to basic citation networks, a time series of co-citation networks — using techniques developed within bibliometrics, for mapping a scholarly field's conceptual terrain, to track and describe doctrinal change. Emerging bottom up from the Court's citations, the co-citation map charted here reveals, surprisingly, a core of antitrust and patent-misuse cases from the 1920s-1940s exerting significant influence on i.p. doctrine.


Low Power Laser Irradiation therapy raises the levels of proliferation for the variety of cells. Although despite very little is recognized about its effect on the proliferation levels and possible nuclear morphological changes of mice mesenchymal stem cells, which derived from bone marrow and adipose tissue. This study examined the effects of the different fluence of 1, 2, 3 and 4 j/cm2 with different dose durations on promoting proliferation, viability and possible nuclear morphological changes of mice mesenchymal stem cells. The growth curves have been used to analyse the proliferation of all the applications. Fluorescent stain (DAPI) (4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining used to check the nuclear alterations at 72 hours, while the trypan blue assay used to test the cell viability. Mesenchymal stem cells that derived from bone marrow responded to LPLI in a dose-dependent manner. The higher cell growth determined once the cells irradiated with a fluence of 4 j/cm2, especially after 24 hours (P<0. 01). Whereas adipose tissue-derived stem cells responded better to a fluence of 2 j/cm2 after 48 hours (P<0. 05). There was no significant change in nuclear alterations and in cell viability detected in the studied groups. LPLI permits a significant increase in the proliferation of stem cells, without causing nuclear alterations, therefore, increasing the number of differentiating cells for tissue engineering, regenerative, and healing processes.


The subject of the article is political participation of rural female leaders involved in the work of local action groups. Previous analyses (disregarding the sex category) proved that the members of those organisations are politically active, but did not show whether women involved in their work were active (and if so, to what extent) – especially in the context of the low level of political participation of women living in villages. The aim was to provide the answer to the question whether the political activity of female members of local action groups can influence the form of local political relations. The article presents the results of sociological research involving a direct survey in Wielkopolskie and Podkarpackie voivodeships carried out in 2012 on the sample of 125 female members of local action groups. The majority of them displayed an average level of political participation. What distinguished the respondents against the background of women living in the country was their critical attitude to the local authorities. Many of them declared the will to stand for the next self-governmental election, among others to change the commune management.


We
are reporting a case of a patient found to be pregnant
in the setting of panhypopituitarism. There are an only
few reports of spontaneous pregnancy in patients with panhypopituitarism.
This is a 26-year-old female who was admitted due to symptomatic hypoglycemia.
Past medical history is significant for uncomplicated pregnancy with C-section
delivery 1 year before admission. She was not able to breastfeed the baby in postpartum
period. Her menses have been irregular since then. She also noticed
increasing fatigue, muscle weakness, episodic diarrhea and 70 pounds weight
loss. Physical exam was remarkable for hypotension. Work up showed elevated
levels of beta-HCG, hyponatremia, normal anion gap metabolic acidosis,
normochromic anemia, and low cortisol levels, appropriate low levels of
insulin and C-peptide. Hypoglycemia panel revealed undetectable levels of sulphonylureas. Serum levels for pituitary hormones showed low levels of ACTH, prolactin and IGF-1, normal levels
of FSH, and inappropriate normal levels of TSH in the setting of decreased T4.
Stress doses of hydrocortisone were initiated along with thyroid hormone replacement. Brain MRI was found to be unremarkable. Sheehan's syndrome is a very rare
complication of pregnancy when necrosis of the pituitary gland occurs after
severe hemorrhage and hypotension upon delivery. Small sella size, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, stress of the delivery and autoimmunity are also implicated as
possible causes of Sheehan's syndrome. We should be very attentive for symptoms
as failure to lactate and failure to resume regular menses after delivery as
they can be the first manifestation of the disease. Infertility is common in these
patients, but in very few of them gonadotropin response will be present due
to residual pituitary function and spontaneous pregnancy can occur. Proper
management of these patients during pregnancy will also be very important
since a high risk of miscarriages can be expected.