The aim of the study is to determine the influence of socioeconomic factors on age at menarche in Polish girls. Questionnaire data of 2016 girls were collected during the cross-sectional research. Within the socioeconomic variables parents' education, urbanization, number of children in the family and date of menarche were considered. To examine the effects of the analyzed socioeconomic factors on age at menarche, the analysis of variance and the Kaplan-Meier method were used. To estimate the mutual relations between the analyzed variables, the method of classification and regression trees (CART) was applied. The socioeconomic factors significantly affect age at menarche. The latest crossed threshold of puberty is observed in girls whose parents inhabit rural areas. Family size also affects age at menarche: girls from large families are the latest who have crossed the pubertal threshold. The method of classification and regression trees indicates that the most important predictive factor is the number of children in the family. The obtained results confirmed the complex effect of the analyzed variables. A factor that conditions occurrence of menarche most of all is the number of children in the family and then the urbanization degree of mother's place of residence. Further research is clearly required--especially research including analyses of mutual relations between variables and their complex effect.


The selectivity of the introduced north Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, for different sizes of prey was investigated with the aim of
predicting the impact this species will have on the age structure ofnative prey species and, thus, on their survival. The energy maximisation
capabilities ofA. amurensis were assessed. The time small A. amurensis (r= 56-77 mm) spent handling the mussel Mytilus edulis increased
exponentially with increases in mussel size; handling time by large seastars (r= 78-86 mm) only increased when eating the largest mussels
offered. Mussels ofthe size class 20-29 mmwere preferred. The energy content ofsix mussel size classes was divided by the handling time
ofeach to give a prey value. The optimal mussel size class was calculated to be 30-39 mm. Thus, A. amurensis was not shown to maximise
its energy by consuming mussels of a size that would give the greatest energy return for the energy expended. Smaller seastars consumed
a greater percentage of their body weights per day (4.970/0) than did larger seastars (2.570/0).


The clinical management of brain tumors is very sensitive; thus, their non-invasive characterization is often preferred. Non-negative Matrix Factorization techniques have been successfully applied in the context of neuro-oncology to extract the underlying source signals that explain different tissue tumor types, for which knowing the number of sources to calculate was always required. In the current study we estimate the number of relevant sources for a set of discrimination problems involving brain tumors and normal brain. For this, we propose to start by calculating a high number of sources using Bayesian NMF and automatically discarding the irrelevant ones during the iterative process of matrices decomposition, hence obtaining a reduced range of interpretable solutions. The real data used in this study come from a widely tested human brain tumor database. Simulated data that resembled the real data was also generated to validate the hypothesis against ground truth. The results obtained suggest that the proposed approach is able to provide a small range of meaningful solutions to the problem of source extraction in human brain tumors.


The research on photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar systems has been on the rise. In 2005, the International Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC) programme launched the 1st Task 35 experts meeting to initiate international collaboration on PV/T solar systems. Following the end of the Task 35 research activities, SHC and the Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems (ECBCS) formed a Task 40/Annex 52 joint programme and commenced collaboration on net zero energy solar buildings. Their studies encompass the scrutiny of exemplary net zero energy solar building projects selected from each participating country. Canada's first net zero energy home, called Ecoterra house, built in 2007 through the federal government's sustainable housing initiative, and the United Kingdom's Z-en house are currently amongst them. Both projects have been aimed at demonstrating PV/T systems for space heating in addition to power generation. This feasibility study was initiated in order to lead Scottish Z-en house builder, ROBERTRYAN Homes, to thorough understanding of basic features and potential performance of a PV/T HR system under Scottish climatic conditions and further explore how the system can effectively be integrated with the Z-en house to be constructed in 2012/13. The house is being designed to circulate PV heated air throughout the interior via a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system—i.e. implementation of a PV/T MVHR system. In this study, the heat generating capacity of low efficient PV cells (amorphous silicon) and the high efficient counterparts (poly-crystalline) was analysed using the energy and environment simulation tool called EESLISM which was invented in 1989 by Prof. Mitsuhiro Udagawa, Kogakuin University, Japan. The air flow assisted by the MVHR system was assumed to be 300m3/h, 432m3/h or 864m3/h and the velocity of 0.45m/s, 0.5m/s or 1m/s, respectively. The fresh air is drawn under a 7% or 14% efficient PV roof whose module coverage is set according to the nominal power output of either 4kWp or 8kWp. This study confirmed that PV generates heat which makes the fresh air running under the PV roof 10-15˚C warmer than the outside temperature even during the Scottish winter. Low efficient amorphous silicon PV generates more heat than high efficient PV of the same nominal power output due to the necessarily larger area of amorphous PV roof coverage as well as the less sensitivity to temperature rise as opposed to the mono/polycrystalline counterparts. In short, the ventilated PV/T integrated roof helps raise the temperature of the fresh air running under the PV panels and being extracted by an MVHR system, if both the roof and the extractor are connected physically via a duct; thus, it contributes to supplementing the indoor space heating. The architectural integration was considered as important and was visualised in the course of this study. Moreover, the air flow of the PV/T HR system was also considered as one of the key cost-effective design factors that help improve the PV/T heat collecting performance while maintaining electricity generation properties as the PV modules are cooled by the ventilation. In the 7% efficient 4kWp PV/T roof with an angle of 30˚, the EESLISM simulation indicated that the annual rate of PV/T heat collection could be increased by 77% when the ventilation air velocity is changed from 0.5m/s to 1.0m/s. The mere manipulation of the air flow is more economic and about 13 times more efficient than the increase of the PV size from 4kWp to 8kWp. Similar tendency was observed in the 14% efficient PV/T roof. However, the simulation did not extend to analysing the effect of the ventilated PV/T air velocity any more than 1m/s; thus, it may be worth continuing to investigate the extended scope in order to clarify the relationship between PV/T heat collecting capacity and the further increased ventilation rate under the Scottish climate condition in depth.


Semaphorins are secreted and transmembrane proteins that bind plexin/ neuropilin or integrin receptors, providing paracrine axonal guidance signals and ultimately leading to a functional and developed neuronal network. Following semaphorin's initial discovery, their relevance in the central nervous system (CNS) soon intrigued researchers about the possible links between semaphorins, their receptors and signaling mechanisms and different neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we explore the current knowledge of semaphorin's function and signaling in Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). We focus on the effects of the most known semaphorin subclasses 3A and 4D, yet extending our discussion to other semaphorins that have been found involved in specific neuropathologies and the potential effect of semaphorins modulating the immune system in disorders with inflammatory components. Molecular, cellular, and genetic evidences are reviewed, highlighting the relevance of semaphorins on each disease etiology, pathophysiology, and progression. The newly discovered semaphorin functions in neurological disorders even suggest alternative therapies that may be highly valuable in diseases that have no current cure.


This paper considers the basis vector selection issue invloved in forward selection algorithms to sparse Gaussian Process Regression (GPR). Firstly, we re-examine a previous basis vector selection criterion proposed by Smola and Bartlett [20], referred as loss-smola and give some new formulae to implement this criterion for the full-greedy strategy more efficiently in O(n2kmax) time instead of the original O(n2k2 max), where n is the number of training examples and kmax Lt n is the maximally allowed number of selected basis vectors. Secondly, in order to make the algorithm linearly scaling in n, which is quite preferable for large datasets, we present an approximate version loss-sun to loss-smola criterion. We compare the full greedy algorithms induced by the loss-sun and loss-smola criteria, respectively, on several medium-scale datasets. In contrast to loss-smola, the advantage associated with loss-sun criterion is that it could lead to an algorithm which scales as O(n2kmax) time and O(nkmax) memory if coupled with the sub-greedy scheme. Our criterion is similar to a matching pursuit approach, referred as loss-keert proposed very recently by Keerthi and Chu but with different motivations. Numerical experiments on a number of large-scale datasets have demonstrated that our proposed method is always better than loss-keert in both generalization performance and running time. Finally, we discuss the drawbacks of the sub-greedy strategy and present two approximate full-greedy strategies, which can be applied to all three basis vector selection criteria discussed in this paper.


This study analyzes the potential impact of climate change and the uncertainty of CO2 fertilization on China's corn, wheat and rice domestic agricultural markets and the international markets out to the year 2050. The study provides a brief background and reviews research literature of climate change effects on China's crop yields. The paper presents the potential impact of climate change on China's yields and attempts to quantify the domestic and global market impacts. The analysis has four scenarios, which assumes two future levels of greenhouse gas emissions with the effects of CO2 fertilization and no CO2 fertilization. A 27 country commodity partial equilibrium simulation mathematical programming model (PEATSim) is used for this analysis. Results indicate under CO2 fertilization, which increases yields, China's grain imports may decrease leading to a decrease in international prices. Under no CO2 fertilization, yields decrease, China's grain imports may increase leading to increased international prices.


While blogging as a form of computer-mediated communication has attracted a growing amount of academic investigation in recent years, the majority of such research has so far focused on the North American experience. 120 UK and US bloggers (equal numbers of men and women) were surveyed about their approaches to blogging, including blogging techniques, habits, motivations and rewards. At the same time, data was collected directly from respondents blogs and by means of online tools (Technorati, Surfwax and The Truth Laid Bear). In addition, a blog related to the research was established, which gave the researcher first-hand experience of the challenges of blogging and also offered the opportunity for further data collection since the surveyed bloggers were invited to comment on the research as it was ongoing. While there was much that was similar in blogging on both sides of the pond, certain differences between UK and US bloggers were established, in particular relating to their aims in blogging; how the bloggers perceived blogging (for example, whether it was an IT-related product or more related to creative writing); and satisfactions gained from blogging. In addition, this research has highlighted the growth of a financial motivation for blogging. Research into the motivations of journal bloggers has so far focused on more indirect rewards such as influencing public opinion, sharing information with friends and family, and exercising creative skills. However, a large number of respondents, from both countries, indicated that one of their reasons for keeping a blog is the hope that it will generate income. Such financial recompense might come in the form of attracting new clients to an already established small business or new work or publishing opportunities. Bloggers might also be hoping to make money through the sale of advertising on their blogs. A few respondents could even be called ˜professional bloggers, supporting themselves entirely by their blogging. Such a financial motivation was particularly strong amongst women respondents, who may be looking for ways in which to generate income as an alternative to full-time employment outside the home. This paper is based on research conducted between September 2006 and May 2007 and supported by a research leave award from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).


Currently, defense of the cyber space is mostly based on detection and/or blocking of attacks (Intrusion Detection and Prevention System — IDPS). But, a significant improvement for IDPS is the employment of forecasting techniques in a Distributed Intrusion Forecasting System (DIFS), which enables the capability for predicting attacks. Notwithstanding, during our earlier works, one of the issues we have faced was the huge amount of alerts produced by IDPS, several of them were false positives. Checking the veracity of alerts through other sources (multi-correlation), e.g. logs taken from the operating system (OS), is a way of reducing the number of false alerts, and, therefore, improving data (historical series) to be used by the DIFS. The goal of this paper is to propose a two stage system which allows: (1) employment of an Event Analysis System (EAS) for making multi-correlation between alerts from an IDPS with the OS' logs; and (2) applying forecasting techniques on data generated by the EAS. Tests applied on laboratory by the use of the two stage system allow concluding about the improvement of the historical series reliability, and the consequent improvement of the forecasts accuracy.


26 Case Presentation A 28 year-old Caucasian female, 3.5 months postpartum, presented to the TJUH ED with facial and neck swelling. She was in her usual state of health until approximately 1 month prior to admission when she noted the gradual onset of neck swelling. The neck swelling progressed to her face 4 days prior to admission; swelling in both areas was progressive and increasingly uncomfortable. Two months prior, the patient was treated for sinusitis with a course of antibiotics by an allergist; this treatment was unsuccessful, and she was referred her to an otolaryngologist, who performed a neck ultrasound and lab work. The patient reported that several enlarged lymph nodes were found in her neck. The patient was then sent for a CT of the neck and chest, which showed a mass in her mediastinum. She was planning to follow up with a cardiothoracic surgeon, however she developed symptomatic swelling and intermittent dysphagia. The patient described a sensation of choking and strangulation; these sensations came and went at random times. She also reported tolerating only small amounts of soft foods, such as apple sauce, Jell-O, and yogurt. The dysphagia was present only with solid foods, not with liquids.


CNS activity It is patently obvious that CNS activity (and trans-cellular permeability in general) is a complex function of physical/chemical properties of molecules such as size, lipophilicity, hydrogen-bonding potential, charge, and conformation. For any given molecule, one of these factors may dominate others. Drugs with the brain as the site of action should, in general, be able to cross the BBB. Drug delivery to the brain can be enhanced by increasing the lipophilicity of the molecule, by using prodrugs that dissociate after crossing the BBB, or by using passive or active drug targeting that utilizes transport systems at the BBB in the normal or disease states. In general, the transendothelial transport of compounds can depend on binding to constituents of the plasma, ionization state, timedependent plasma concentration, and cerebral flow. It is possible to modify many of these properties with changes in chemical structure. Previous attempts at understanding CNS activity have resulted in certain rules-of-thumb. For example, Andrews et al. have shown that an aromatic ring-tertiary nitrogen pharmacophore is important for CNS activity. Levin has successfully correlated octanol/water partition coefficient (LogP) and brain capillary permeability for compounds with molecular weight less than 400. However other, more recent attempts conclude that the octanol/water partition coefficient does not correlate well with blood-brain transport. Other criteria, like a limit of 8-10 hydrogen bonding groups per molecule, have also been proposed.


This article is related to one of the main branches of mathematical logic, model theory, and more precisely to what is called eastern model theory. This part of model theory is concerned with the study of incomplete inductive theories and more precisely Jonsson theories and some of their positive generalizations. It examines the model-theoretical properties of positive Jonsson theories. In particular, the lattice of special formulae is considered. In the study of complete theories one of the main methods is to use the properties of a topological space Sn(T ). In the case of positive Jonsson theory, we can consider the lattice E n (T ) of existential formulae, which is a sublattice of the Boolean algebra F n (T ). The main aim of this article is to develop the basic concepts and methods of that part of model theory which will provide an opportunity for fruitful studies of Jonsson theories and some of its positive generalizations. Our technique is standard in the study of incomplete theories. The method consists of the translation of the elementary properties of the centre of a Jonsson theory into the theory itself.


Accommodation providers worldwide are readily observed to adopt a variety of pricing
strategies. However there has not previously been an academic study of pricing in the
Tasmanian industry. This thesis aims to provide a systematic study of the decisions made by
short-stay accommodation providers in Tasmania, and the implications of these decisions on
their profitability. Information on the Tasmanian short-stay accommodation industry was
obtained from a survey of firms in this industry using a questionnaire designed by the
researcher. The use of this method generates a novel data set, one that provides a broad
overview of the practices in the industry. Data that would otherwise not be observable were
obtained. Notably, innovations in the design of the questionnaire allowed the investigator to
directly identify the elasticity of demand in sub-markets. Cost variables are likewise
identified.
Data generated by the survey allow the following three analyses to be conducted:
1. The survey data reveal that firms in the short-stay accommodation industry use
direct price discrimination by assessing the price sensitivity of groups of customers.
These groups are identifiable by the firm and are based on the booking process chosen
by the customer, whether they are a corporate or leisure customer and whether they
are a repeat or first-visit customer. This result provides evidence that firms use third
degree price discrimination in practice.
2. An analysis of the determinants of the firm's elasticity of demand is conducted. It is
found that increases in the star rating (quality) of the firm reduces the elasticity of
demand and an increase in the competitiveness of the environment in which the firm
operates increases the elasticity of demand.
3. An analysis of the determinants of firm profitability is conducted. The analysis
reveals that the use of the website Wotif.com by the firms is an important determinant
of profitability in this industry. However the star rating of the firm, whether or not it is the winter season, and the proportion of customers who make their bookings at the
door are also found to be key determinants of profitability.
The conclusions from this study are of practical as well as academic interest. As with many
regional areas, the short-stay accommodation industry in Tasmania is an important
component of the local economy. Firms' pricing decisions will be an important determinant
of their profitability. The success of these firms is of interest to their local communities and
policy makers. The findings of this thesis are thus useful in informing policy discussion and
analysis.


Cross-sectional studies show that older people with better cognition tend to walk faster. Whether this association reflects an influence of fluid cognition upon walking speed, vice versa, a bidirectional relationship or the effect of common causes is unclear. We used linear mixed effects models to examine the dynamic relationship between usual walking speed and fluid cognition, as measured by executive function, verbal memory and processing speed, in 2,654 men and women aged 60 to over 90 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. There was a bidirectional relationship between walking speed and fluid cognition. After adjusting for age and sex, better performance on executive function, memory and processing speed was associated with less yearly decline in walking speed over the 6-year follow-up period; faster walking speed was associated with less yearly decline in each cognitive domain; and less yearly decline in each cognitive domain was associated with less yearly decline in walking speed. Effect sizes were small. After further adjustment for other covariates, effect sizes were attenuated but most remained statistically significant. We found some evidence that walking speed and the fluid cognitive domains of executive function and processing speed may change in parallel with increasing age. Investigation of the association between walking speed and cognition earlier in life is needed to better understand the origins of this relation and inform the development and timing of interventions.


This paper introduces the PFTijah system, a text search system that is integrated with an XML/XQuery database management system. We present examples of its use, we explain some of the system internals, and discuss plans for future work. PFTijah is part of the open source release of MonetDB/XQuery.


Conjugate eye deviation seen on clinical examination helps to localize pathology in acute ischemic stroke. Eye deviation can also be assessed on a CT head scan. The authors found that CT eye deviation reliably lateralizes to the ischemic hemisphere (positive predictive value 93%) without reference to clinical examination. In an era of thrombolysis and rapid decision making in acute ischemic stroke, eye deviation on CT can help quickly direct attention to the affected


INTRODUCTION
Erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp (EPDS) is frequently misdiagnosed as epithelial tumor or trauma. To the authors' knowledge, no international guidelines or consistent recommendations for treatment of EPDS exist, and histological findings often are labeled as nonspecific.

OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to identify clinical and histological characteristics unique to EPDS to aid diagnosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The biopsies of 21 patients (age range, 73-90 years) with EPDS and who were diagnosed and treated at the Department of Dermatology at University of Leipzig Medical Center and the Asklepios Medical Center, Weißenfels, Germany, were reevaluated by dermatopathologists. Results were correlated with the clinical findings and course.

RESULTS
Erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp was observed in elderly patients with androgenetic alopecia and field cancerization of the capillitium; most patients had multiple comorbidities. Therapy used to treat actinic keratosis lesions (eg, imiquimod, ingenol mebutate), photodynamic therapy, cryotherapy, trauma, and surgery all were found to have predisposed for or led to EPDS. Erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp presented clinically as exophytic crusts and pus overlying shiny granulation tissue. Histopathological findings demonstrated an ulcerated epidermis and dermal infiltrates dominated by lymphocytes together with a multitude of plasma cells. Plasma cells were found in all 21 biopsies and represented a common criterion for the correct diagnosis. The erosive lesions healed well within weeks after therapy with topical steroids.

CONCLUSIONS
Chronic, poorly healing lesions with crusts and pus over shiny granulation tissue on the scalp are suggestive of EPDS, which should be confirmed by biopsy. Histological clues to a diagnosis of EPDS include dermal infiltrates of plasma cells and lymphocytes. The topical application of high-potency steroids showed great effectiveness in the present study.


A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for detecting 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in serum at concentrations as low as 10 ng/ml was used to determine to what extent 5-FU was present in the serum of patients taking oral 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC). Preliminary studies in two patients and two healthy volunteers given an initial 2-g oral dose of 5-FC demonstrated sustained serum 5-FU levels (>100 ng/ml) during the 5 h after ingestion of drug. Pharmaceutical preparations of 5-FC used in these studies were shown to be insignificantly contaminated with 5-FU (<0.03%), suggesting in vivo conversion of 5-FC to 5-FU had occurred. Serum samples from seven patients with cryptococcal meningitis treated with amphotericin B and 5-FC were examined for 5-FU. Five of these patients had experienced hematological or other toxicity attributed to 5-FC at some time during the course of therapy. Of 41 serum samples, 20 were observed to have 5-FU levels greater than 1,000 ng/ml in the range observed with cancer chemotherapeutic doses of 5-FU known to be associated with hematological toxicity. It is concluded that conversion of 5-FC to 5-FU occurs in humans and furthermore that 5-FU may account for some of the toxicity observed with 5-FC.


Background: Currently, health literacy (HL) worldwide is measured primarily among adults from a medical perspective. A children's HL test from a health promotion perspective is needed. This study develops the Taiwan Children's Health Literacy Test (TCHL) targeted at Taiwanese sixth-graders. Methods: HL indicators were identified through interviews of sixth-grade teachers, primary caregivers, and sixth-graders. They were used to develop a 25-item online test, which was finalized after pretesting and administered to a stratified random sample of 671 students across 29 sixth-grade classes. Results: The response rate was 87.2% (585 participants). Cronbach's α was 0.60–0.78 for the HL subtests and 0.79 for the overall HL test. Correlation coefficients among subtests ranged from 0.49 to 0.87. The average proportion correct was 0.80 for overall HL. In item response theory analysis, the difficulty level ranged from −2.77 to −0.40, while the degree of discrimination was 0.44–2.65. Item information peaked when the ability value was approximately −1.8. Furthermore, HL scores had a significant positive correlation with health behaviors. Conclusions: Overall, the test was found to be reliable and valid, with a low level of difficulty for basic HL ability. The present results can be used as a reference by government health education units to investigate national HL in children.


We study several matrix diffusion processes constructed from a unitary Brownian motion. In particular, we use the Stiefel fibration to lift the Brownian motion of the complex Grassmannian to the complex Stiefel manifold and deduce a skew-product decomposition of the Stiefel Brownian motion. As an application, we prove asymptotic laws for the determinants of the block entries of the unitary Brownian motion.


Basal stem rot (BSR) is a major threat to the oil palm industry. The disease is caused by
Ganoderma boninense, which rots the internal tissues at the trunk base resulting in stem
fracture and death of palm. The present study investigated the efficacy of two isolates of
Trichoderma harzianum (BIO T32 and BIO T66) as potential biological control agents
against BSR based on in vitro and in vivo trials.
The study revealed that treatment applied as a soil drench using conidial suspension
(mean of 1.61 x lo8 sporeslml) of BIO T32 in addition to a Trichoderma-incorporated
palm press fibre (ppf) surface mulch, performed better with a significant difference
compared to the use of BIO T66. The disease severity index (DSI) of the former was
28.35 compared to 76.67 of the latter. BIO T32 was also a competent biological control
agent in the delayed treatment given to pre-infected seedlings at 6 weeks before treatment
with BIO T32, giving a DSI of 45, which was statistically significant compared to the
infected and untreated control seedlings with a DSI of 86.67. In testing the synergistic
effect by combining the 2 isolates, a poorer performance was observed based on the DSI
and plant biomass compared to single application of BIO T32. Isolate BIO T66 which
showed good antagonistic properties in the in vitro assessment was not found to display
similar results in the in vivo trials.
A series of treatments were evaluated for their potential as a BIO T32 carrier. Out of the
3 studies, only ppf and compost exhibited promising results in their capacity as surface
4
mulches, where treatments with either one gave a DSI of 30. Both are food base carriers
for they increased the growth of oil palm seedlings significantly, with compost displaying
better results. Treatment with compost in terms of vegetative growth gave the highest
plant biomass, leaf area measurement, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK)
content in the seedlings compared to the other 2 treatments of ppf and the untreated
control seedlings.
1
In total, the experiment revealed that the application of BIO T32 as a single inoculum
was the best treatment, giving a DSI of 28.35. Trials using a single application of BIO
T66 and BIO T66 mixed with BIO T32 performed poorly, giving a DSI of 76.67 each and
were not significantly different from the infected non-treated control plants. An
appropriate interval of conidial suspension's application played a pertinent role in the
inhibition of disease as demonstrated in the delayed treatment. The application of
compost was found to be an interesting alternative to ppf as surface mulch, which
functions also as a Trichoderma carrier. Finally, in terms of vegetative growth both ppf
and compost as food base carriers significantly increased plant biomass, total leaf area
measurement and N uptake compared to the untreated control.


Description of the Problem and Objectives: Rabies risk assessment and follow up in Central Zone, Alberta, Canada can be time consuming and, given that Environmental Public Health (EPH) receives an average of 615 animal exposure reports every year, this program is resource-intensive. Evaluation of this program requires accurate information, and it was believed that the EPH database that reports animal exposures was incomplete. The aim of this project was to improve the quality and efficiency of the animal bite and rabies post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) reporting process in Central Zone, Alberta, Canada by investigating the sources of the present errors in the current EPH database, facilitating discussion on how to mitigate those errors for future reporting processes, and identifying indicators for the EPH program to evaluate the efficiency of the animal bite response process. This project was carried out in two stages. Method(s) Used: The first stage aimed to understand why the EPH database was incomplete. The Communicable Disease Control (CDC) database was used as a "gold standard" for all cases who had been offered PEP from January 2011 through May 30, 2015. The EPH database and Animal Exposure Investigation Report files were searched for these cases, and reports missing from the EPH database were identified. Errors in the reporting process were listed and categorized using a fishbone analysis diagram. The second stage was data analysis and query development. First, any CDC PEP referrals missing from the EPH database were entered into the EPH database to create a single source with a complete list of the cases of interest. Descriptive statistics were generated for parameters of interest for all of the PEP referrals and for a domestic animal subset using Microsoft Excel and pivot tables. Results: There were 198 PEP referrals in the CDC database for the time period in question of which, only 141 were recorded by the EPH database. It was identified that 30% of the PEP referrals were missing from the EPH database of which, 14% were due to in-zone exposures and 15% were due to out of zone exposures. The fishbone analysis diagram showed that the most prevalent category of error that led to an incomplete EPH database was data entry such as illegible handwriting on the original form. The evaluation process in stage two showed that 60% of the PEP referrals were due to provoked animal exposures. In 84% of the victims who were offered PEP, the mechanism of exposure was a bite, 47% of which were bites to the hand. It was also found that approximately 40% of the PEP referrals were due to domestic animal exposures of which, 71% were to domestic dogs. Furthermore, 60% of the domestic animal exposures for which PEP was offered was due to a provoked exposure, 70% of which were from domestic dogs. It was further identified that only 12% of the domestic animals involved in an incident roamed unsupervised, but approximately 60% of the domestic animals involved in an incident were not available for quarantine. Discussion: The fishbone analysis demonstrates that there are many errors that contribute to the current incomplete EPH database, most notably, data entry. Data evaluation identified that PEP recommendations include many apparently low risk exposures, based on the summary statistics, however the incomplete and inconsistent nature of many of the reports does not permit a robust conclusion. This is public health relevant because although rabies infection leads to fatal encephalitis once clinical symptoms manifest, rabies PEP may not be cost-effective in a low rabies risk country. These results were discussed with the Central Zone public health team responsible for animal bite risk assessment and follow up, who identified that more work is required to understand how practitioners decide how to code different exposures, and how this would inform the interpretation of the summary statistics from this project. They plan to organize an EPH committee who will oversee improvement in the collection, storage and use of animal bite data; as well as to ensure that resources are utilized effectively.


The San are Southern Africa's first indigenous peoples. They can be found in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The San peoples in Botswana still face discrimination, especially in the education sector, as their indigenous literacy and way of life are largely ignored. Their languages are not part of the school curriculum in Botswana and it is English (the official language) and Setswana (the national language) that are taught in schools. In theory, this should not be the case. This highly disadvantages San children as they underperform and drop out of school. Hence, very few have made it to the University of Botswana and the Colleges of Education. In order for Botswana to reach its aim of an educated and informed nation by 2016, San peoples need to be catered for in the education system of Botswana. This article is an integrative review about the San of Botswana and (1) explains what has been studied about the San with regard to their indigenous ways of knowing and reading the world; (2) gives a clear picture of their formal schooling experiences; and, (3) provides an overview of their English and Setswana language acquisition.


PURPOSE
This article describes a study on the scaffolding of learning to read in a primary-level, continuous-progress, inclusion classroom that stressed a critical thinking curriculum and employed a collaborative teaching model. Two emergent reading groups were the focus of study-one group that was taught by a general educator and the other by a special educator. The primary purposes were to discern the teachers' discourse patterns in order to define whether scaffolding sequences were more directive or more supportive and the degree to which these sequences represented differentiated instruction for children with a language learning disability (LLD).

METHOD
Two students with an LLD and two younger, typically developing peers were videotaped in their emergent reading groups during an 8-week period. The distribution, types, and functions of teacher scaffolding sequences were examined.

RESULTS
Both team members primarily used directive scaffolding sequences, suggesting that the assistance provided to children emphasized only direct instruction (skill learning) and not analytical thinking concerning phonemegrapheme relationships (strategy learning). Distribution of scaffolding sequence types directed to the four students indicated that the two children with an LLD were receiving reading instruction that was undifferentiated from the two typically developing, younger children.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
In order for children with an LLD to benefit from inclusion, explicit, systematic, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and spelling-sound relationships should be implemented within the context of multilevel instruction that balances skill- and strategy-based learning.


In this work, wave type of interfacial instabilities occurring during the coextrusion process have been investigated by using different feedblock geometries and polymers. It has been found that the onset of interfacial instabilities can be captured by the quantification of the stretching discontinuity occurring on the interface between different polymers. Introduction Interfacial instabilities represent internal distortions occurring on the interface during coextrusion processes which can negatively influence optical and mechanical properties of the final product [1]. It has been found that the onset of interfacial instabilities can be captured through evaluation of the layer stretching at the interface by using so called Total Normal Stress Difference (TNSD), Principle Stress Difference (PSD) or Flow Direction Normal Stress (FDNS) [2-12]. In this work, specific attention will be paid to wave type of interfacial instabilities (having high amplitude and low frequency) which occurs during coextrusion process by using feedblock dies. Two feedblock geometries (with different merging areas) and polymers with different level of extensional strain hardening were considered to evaluate the role of polymer melt rheology on the flow stability. Experimental Materials In this work, three different polyolefin blends (FCC, FCS1 and FCS2) have been used during coextrusion experiments. Rheological measurements Uniaxial extensional viscosity at low extensional rates was measured using ARES equipped by the SER Universal Testing Platform (SER-HV-A01 model) from Xpansion Instruments [13-14] whereas twin bore Rosand RH7-2 control speed capillary rheometer has been used to determine shear and uniaxial extensional viscosity at high deformation rates by using Cogswell model. The measured rheological data for corresponding samples are provided in Figures 1-4. Coextrusion experiment Experimental work has been done on two different feedblock geometries (see Figures 5-6) at different processing conditions which are summarized in Table 1. Mathematical Modeling Non-isothermal viscoelastic steady state two dimensional Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations were performed by solving the well-known mass, momentum and energy equations using the commercially available Compuplast software VEL 6.3. In this study, the modified Leonov constitutive equation is employed. The constitutive equation is based on the original Leonov model [15] with modified dissipation term, b, proposed by Zatloukal [16]. The relation between stress and elastic strain is given by Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Interfacial Instabil... http://extrusionwiki.com/wiki/Print.aspx?Page=POTM-Jan-2011 1 of 8 6/12/18, 11:14 AM where τ is the stress tensor and W denotes elastic potential depends on the invariant I1 and I2 of the recoverable Finger tensor. Elastic potential is defined by where G is the linear elastic modulus, β and n are nonlinear parameters. In this work, both non-linear parameters β and n were adjusted to be zero. Dissipation term, b, is included in irreversible rate of strain equation, ep where δ stands for the unit tensor. The Elastic strain is related to the deformation history as Here, D denotes the rate of deformation tensor. Modified dissipation term, b is defined by where ξ(λ) and ν(λ) are adjustable parameters which it is possible to change with the relaxation time, λ. Modified Leonov model has been used to fit all rheological data by using relaxation spectrum, flow activation energy and particular non-linear model parameters which are summarized in Tables 2-4. As it can been seen in Figures 1-3, modified Leonov model has excellent capability to describe rheological data for all tested polymer samples which fully justify the use this model in the theoretical flow analysis. The Figure 4 compares the differences between FCS1 and FCS2 sample. Clearly, even if the flow behavior in the shear flow is very similar, the extensional viscosity of both samples differs significantly. In more detail, the sample FCS2 is more extensional strain hardening than the FCS1 sample. Results and discussion Theoretical coextrusion flow analysis has been performed for two different feedblock geometries which are depicted in Figures 5-6 for processing conditions, which are summarized in Table 1. It should be mentioned that in this work, the finite element mesh with increased element density along the interfaces was used with the aim to reduce possible interpolation errors in the stress field along the interfaces (see Figures 7-8). Theoretical calculations have been performed for all processing conditions provided in Table 1 and the results are depicted in Figures 9-12. Interfacial stability analysis has been performed by quantifying the level of the stretching along the interfaces which has been found in past to be critical parameter for determining the onset of wave type of interfacial instabilities in multi manifold/film blowing dies [2-12]. In more detail, the quantification of the stretching (flow direction normal stress) discontinuity at the interface has been performed here by using Flow Direction Normal Stress Difference FDNSD variable, which is defined as following: Where τtt,1 is the flow direction normal stress locally on the interface from one side and τtt,2 is the flow Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Interfacial Instabil... http://extrusionwiki.com/wiki/Print.aspx?Page=POTM-Jan-2011 2 of 8 6/12/18, 11:14 AM direction normal stress locally on the interface from another side. Note that FDNSD is calculated in one interface point and thus it quantifies the level and character of the stretching discontinuity just on the interface. The time dependent FDNSD has been calculated for all considered processing conditions and the results are depicted for each particular case in Figures 10 and 12 (for the FCS1/FCC and FCS2/FCC interfaces). As it can be seen, in some cases, the FDNSD takes positive sign only (Runs #1, #4 and #5 – Figures 10c, 12b and 12c), whereas in another cases the FDNSD change the sign significantly with the time (Runs #8, #2 – Figures 10b, 12a) or FDNSD change the sign just very slightly within extremely short time (Run #9 – Figure 10a). Note that FDNSD is very similar to Total Normal Stress Difference (TNSD) variable which was found to be sensitive enough to predict the onset of the interfacial instabilities for coextrusion of the same/different materials in multimanifold/film blowing dies [2-12] through the quantification of the sign changes in TNSD along the interface (unstable onset was related to the case when TNSD was changing the sign along the interface). If it is assumed here, that the mechanism for the wave type of interfacial instabilities is similar as described in [2-12], we can consider that flow become unstable also in the feedblock coextrusion flow domain when FDNSD change the sign on the interface. Based on this, it is possible to theoretically predict, whether the particular coextrusion flow condition is stable, unstable or stable/unstable. The comparison between experimentally and theoretically determined stability statuses is provided in Table 5. As it can be seen, the agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental data is very good. Based on Table 5, it can also be concluded that the use of the FCS2 in the multilayer flow leads to much more unstable flow from the interfacial instabilities point of view than the use of the FCS1. This can be explained by the significantly higher extensional viscosity of FCS2 sample in contrary to FCS1 sample as shown in Figure 4. Conclusion It has been found that the onset of the interfacial instabilities can be captured by the quantification of the stretching discontinuity occurring at the interface between different polymers through the sign change of the FDNSD. It has been revealed that the FCS2/FCC interface is much more sensitive to the interfacial instability onset than FCS1/FCC interface because the much higher FCS2 extensional viscosity in comparison to FCS1. Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, Grant No. 103/09/2066. References 1. J. Dooley in S.G. Hatzikiriakos and K.B. Migler (Eds.), Polymer Processing Instabilities – Control and Understanding, Marcel Deeker, New York, 2005. 2. M. Zatloukal, C. Tzoganakis, J. Vlcek, P. Saha, International Polymer Processing, 16: (2), 198 (2001). 3. M. Zatloukal, J. Vlcek, C. Tzoganakis, P. Saha, Polymer Engineering and Science, 42: (7), 1520 (2002). 4. M. Zatloukal, W. Kopytko, A. Lengalova, J. Vlcek, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 98, 153 (2005). 5. M. Martyn, R. Spares, P. Coates, M. Zatloukal, Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, 156(3), 150 (2009). 6. M.T. Martyn, R. Spares, P.D Coates and M. Zatloukal, Plast. Rubber Comp., 33(1), 27 (2004). 7. M. Zatloukal., J. De Witte, Plastics Rubber and Composites 35(4), 149 (2006). 8. M. Zatloukal, W. Kopytko, P. Saha, M. Martyn., Plastics Rubber and Composites 34(9), 403 (2005). 9. M. Zatloukal, M.T. Martyn, P.D. Coates, J. Vlcek, Plastics Rubber and Composites 33(7), 305, (2004). 10. M. Zatloukal, J. Vlček, C. Tzoganakis, P.Sáha, SPE Antec papers, 44, (2001). 11. M. Zatloukal, J. Vlček, C. Tzoganakis, P.Sáha., TAPPI, San Diego, Canada (2001). 12. M. Zatloukal, M.T. Martyn, P.D. Coates, J. Vlcek, Plastics Rubber and Composites 33 (7): 305-309, (2004). 13. Sentmanat M.L., Rheol. Acta 43, 657 (2004). 14. Sentmanat M.L., Wang B.N., MCKinley G.H., J. Rheol. 49, 585 (2005). 15. Leonov A.I., Rheol. Acta 15, 85 (1976). 16. Zatloukal M., J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 113, 209 (2003).


OBJECTIVE—Three independent studies have shown that variation in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene associates with BMI and obesity. In the present study, the effect of FTO variation on metabolic traits including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related quantitative phenotypes was examined. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The FTO rs9939609 polymorphism was genotyped in a total of 17,508 Danes from five different study groups. RESULTS—In studies of 3,856 type 2 diabetic case subjects and 4,861 normal glucose-tolerant control subjects, the minor A-allele of rs9939609 associated with type 2 diabetes (odds ratio 1.13 [95% CI 1.06–1.20], P = 9 × 10−5). This association was abolished when adjusting for BMI (1.06 [0.97–1.16], P = 0.2). Among 17,162 middle-aged Danes, the A-allele associated with overweight (1.19 [1.13–1.24], P = 1 × 10−12) and obesity (1.27 [1.20–1.34], P = 2 × 10−16). Furthermore, obesity-related quantitative traits such as body weight, waist circumference, fat mass, and fasting serum leptin levels were significantly elevated in A-allele carriers. An interaction between the FTO rs9939609 genotype and physical activity (P = 0.007) was found, where physically inactive homozygous risk A-allele carriers had a 1.95 ± 0.3 kg/m2 increase in BMI compared with homozygous T-allele carriers. CONCLUSIONS—We validate that variation in FTO is associated with type 2 diabetes when not adjusted for BMI and with an overall increase in body fat mass. Furthermore, low physical activity seems to accentuate the effect of FTO rs9939609 on body fat accumulation.


Brian H. Jacobsen1 Jens Abildtrup Jens Erik Ørum aBstract An analysis for the implementation of the Nitrate Directive in the EU indicates that probably only three of 15 countries have implemented the directive satisfactorily. These countries are Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Austria, however other countries are in the process of getting their implementation accepted. As an example, the Netherlands has been forced to abandon the MINAS system in order to get its implementation accepted by the EU. The continues by describing the costs related to implementation of the Aquatic Plan II in Denmark. The costs have been calculated to 70 million € or 2,0 € per kg N in reduced leaching. The farmers have paid 60% of the costs. The paper then describes the measures taken in Denmark and the associated costs for the state and the farmers. The next challenge for European farmers is the Water Framework Directive (WFD) with high environmental goals where only a slight deviation from the natural state is accepted. This might have a great affect on farming especially in livestock intensive countries and regions in Europe. The paper describes an example of a regional analysis covering the River Basin of Ringkøbing Fjord in Denmark, which indicates the calculations needed to find the measures and costs in order to comply with parts of the WFD. The analysis show that the geographical position of the measures are very important in order to achieve the expected nutrient reduction. The current income varies a lot in the River basin and this might also influence where to find the most cost effective location of measures. The WFD covers all water and the task of finding the most cost efficient combinations of measures to achieve the goals for streams, lakes, fjords and groundwater will clearly be a challenge. The paper concludes that exceptions from the WFD will have to be based on well founded cost-benefit analyses.


We study which standard operators of probabilistic process calculi allow for
compositional reasoning with respect to bisimulation metric semantics. We argue
that uniform continuity (generalizing the earlier proposed property of
non-expansiveness) captures the essential nature of compositional reasoning and
allows now also to reason compositionally about recursive processes. We
characterize the distance between probabilistic processes composed by standard
process algebra operators. Combining these results, we demonstrate how
compositional reasoning about systems specified by continuous process algebra
operators allows for metric assume-guarantee like performance validation.


This paper describes the implementation of the MPEG AVC CABAC entropy decoder using the RVC-CAL dataflow programming language. CABAC is the Context based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding entropy decoder that is used by the MPEG AVC/H.264 main and high profile video standard. CABAC algorithm provides increased compression efficiency, however presents a higher complexity compared to other entropy coding algorithms. This implementation of the CABAC entropy decoder using RVC-CAL proofs that complex algorithms can be implemented using a high level design language. This paper analyzes in detail two possible methods of implementing the CABAC entropy decoder in the dataflow paradigm.


Network embedding, aiming to learn the low-dimensional representations of nodes in networks, is of paramount importance in many real applications. One basic requirement of network embedding is to preserve the structure and inherent properties of the networks. While previous network embedding methods primarily preserve the microscopic structure, such as the first- and second-order proximities of nodes, the mesoscopic community structure, which is one of the most prominent feature of networks, is largely ignored. In this paper, we propose a novel Modularized Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (M-NMF) model to incorporate the community structure into network embedding. We exploit the consensus relationship between the representations of nodes and community structure, and then jointly optimize NMF based representation learning model and modularity based community detection model in a unified framework, which enables the learned representations of nodes to preserve both of the microscopic and community structures. We also provide efficient updating rules to infer the parameters of our model, together with the correctness and convergence guarantees. Extensive experimental results on a variety of real-world networks show the superior performance of the proposed method over the state-of-the-arts.


Why there is a tendency not to build the objects, which are in great demand?Mostly people prefer not very big single- or two-room flats, having decent 50-70 square meters area. But the apartments in newly-erected buildings generally consist of four, five and more rooms and have two levels of 100, 200 and more square meters.Why the construction is so erratic? Why and what for the tight «planting» of cast-in-place wireframe high-rise buildings adjoins vast abandoned lots?Who needs absurd and uncomfortable design to dominate in the newly-built flats? Incongruous corridors through the whole flat, huge halls, staircases as big as a tennis ground, and at that much tightness, the size of lavatories that used to be in Khruschev's time, low ceilings, poor sound isolation and so on…Unfortunately, the old good formula «to find who makes a profit on it» does not work in this case. Nobody considers it profitable to let the houses be expensive, scarce and uncomfortable at the same time. None of the alignments forces the problem of dwelling regardless of the interests of the majority of citizens. And it is hardly in power of any alignment.One may suspect «them all» of collusion, but this can quickly lead to paranoia. Then follow the interviews with an interior designer, a head of a big construction company, a culture researcher, an architect and a tenant of a newly erected building.


This book represents a thorough and extensive treatment of the software build process including the choices, benefits, and challenges of a well designed build process.I recommend it not only to all software build engineers but to all software developers since a well designed build process is key to an effective software development process. Kevin Bodie, Director Software Development, Pitney Bowes Inc. An excellent and detailed explanation of build systems, an important but often overlooked part of software development projects. The discussion of productivity as related to build systems is, alone, well worth the time spent reading this book. John M. Pantone, Objectech Corporation, VP, IT Educator and Course Developer Peter Smith provides an interesting and accessible look into the world of software build systems, distilling years of experience and covering virtually every type of tool in the build engineers toolbox. Well organized, well written, and very thorough; I would recommend this book to anyone with a build system under their responsibility. Jeff Overbey, Project Co-Lead, Photran Software Build Systems teaches how to think about building software. It surveys the tools and techniques for building software products and the ways things go wrong. This book will appeal to those new to build systems as well as experienced build system engineers. Monte Davidoff, Software Development Consultant, Alluvial Software, Inc. Inadequate build systems can dramatically impact developer productivity. Bad dependencies, false compile errors, failed software images, slow compilation, and time-wasting manual processes are just some of the byproducts of a subpar build system. In Software Build Systems, software productivity expert Peter Smith shows you how to implement build systems that overcome all these problems, so you can deliver reliable software more rapidly, at lower cost. Smith explains the core principles underlying highly efficient build systems, surveying both system features and usage scenarios. Next, he encapsulates years of experience in creating and maintaining diverse build systemshelping you make well-informed choices about tools and practices, and avoid common traps and pitfalls. Throughout, he shares a wide range of practical examples and lessons from multiple environments, including Java, C++, C, and C#. Coverage includes Mastering build system concepts, including source trees, build tools, and compilation tools Comparing five leading build tools: GNU Make, Ant, SCons, CMake, and the Eclipse IDEs integrated build features Ensuring accurate dependency checking and efficient incremental compilation Using metadata to assist debugging, profiling, and source code documentation Packaging software for installation on your target machine Best practices for managing complex version-control systems, build machines, and compilation tools If youre a developer, this book will illuminate the issues involved in building and maintaining the build system thats best for your team. If youre a manager, youll discover how to evaluate your teams build system and improve its effectiveness. And if youre a build guru, youll learn how to optimize the performance and scalability of your build system, no matter how demanding your requirements are.


Information System (IS) implementations are a risky business with studies showing only a 16% - 29% success rate. This research explores the use of social capital to support technology implementations. This research brings together two distinct bodies of knowledge: social network analysis (SNA) and technology acceptance models, in order to better understand the relationship between social capital and technology acceptance. The first aspect of the research looks at social network centrality and influence measures as an alternative means to measure social influence in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The social influence construct has proven to be inconsistent in past research. An individual"s decision to adopt a new technology is influenced by their social context or the informal social network within which they work. The social capital of others influences their attitudes and decision to adopt a new technology. Social Capital, as measured through social network analysis, could be substituted for the social influence construct of the UTAUT model. Two revised UTAUT models are developed and tested. The second aspect of this research uses social capital to inform membership of a Community of Practice (CoP) to support a Finance Management System implementation in a higher education organization. SNA can be used to gain an understanding of the social network and identify individuals with high social capital. There is growing evidence that CoP support successful organizational change initiatives but it is less clear how CoP membership might be determined. SNA provides an evidence-based approach to CoP formation. The IS implementation cases described in the paper demonstrate an innovative approach to IS implementation grounded in social capital and technology acceptance research that add to the body of knowledge in both theory and practice.


The primary aim of the present study was to determine whether impairment on neuropsychological measures of decision making predicts increased alcohol use among college students. It was hypothesized that poorer performance on measures of decision making would predict linear increase on indicators of alcohol consumption across the first year of college. An additional aim was to assess whether established risk factors for college student drinking would moderate the association between decision making abilities and increased alcohol consumption, with the expectation that decision making would be more strongly associated with escalation in alcohol use for participants that are male, have a family history of alcohol abuse, report a longer history of pre-college alcohol use, hold more positive alcohol expectancies, and are more impulsive. Aims were pursued in a relatively homogeneous sample of first year college students (N = 136), using a prospective, longitudinal design in which decision making and drinking were assessed at three time-points during the first year of college. Participants additionally provided sociodemographic information and completed self-report impulsivity and alcohol expectancy questionnaires at each assessment. Results showed that drinking and associated negative consequences increased over time during the participants first year in college. However, there was generally little support for the hypotheses that poor decision making abilities are a risk factor for increased alcohol consumption, and that the association is moderated by established risk factors for drinking. Results suggest the need to consider whether drinking is indeed indicative of impaired decision making and underscore the importance of including other factors, especially perceived benefits and


A Guide to MATLAB Object-Oriented Programming is the first book to deliver broad coverage of the documented and undocumented object-oriented features of MATLAB. Unlike the typical approach of other resources, this guide explains why each feature is important, demonstrates how each feature is used, and promotes an understanding of the interactions between features. Assuming an intermediate level of MATLAB programming knowledge, the book not only concentrates on MATLAB coding techniques but also discusses topics critical to general software development. It introduces fundamentals first before integrating these concepts into example applications. In the first section, the book discusses eight basic functions: constructor, subsref, subsasgn, display, struct, fieldnames, get, and set. Building on the previous section, it explores inheritance topics and presents the Class Wizard, a powerful MATLAB class generation tool. The final section delves into advanced strategies, including containers, static variables, and function fronts. With more than 20 years of experience designing and implementing object-oriented software, the expert author has developed an accessible and comprehensive book that aids readers in creating effective object-oriented software using MATLAB.


The potentiality to exert optical control, over the migration of electronic excitation energy between particles with suitably disposed electronic levels, affords a basis for all optical switching. Implemented in a configuration with nanoparticles arrayed in thin films, the process can offer an ultrafast parallel-processing capability. The mechanism is a near-field transfer of energy from donor nanoparticles in one layer (written into an electronically excited state by the absorption of light) to counterpart acceptors; the transfer effect proves amenable to activation by non-resonant laser radiation. The possibility of optical control arises under conditions where the donor-acceptor energy transfer is rigorously forbidden in the absence of laser light, either on the grounds of symmetry or energetics. Under such conditions, optical switching can be produced by the throughput of a single off resonant beam or, with more control options, by two coincident beams. In model electrodynamical calculations the transfer fidelity, signifying the accuracy of mapping an input to its designated output, can be identified and cast in terms of key optical and geometric characteristics. The results show that, at reasonable levels of laser intensity, cross talk drops to insignificant levels. Potential applications extend beyond simple switching into all-optical elements for logic gates and optical buffers.


This is the second volume of the SiBil series to present results from the European Science Foundation's project 'Second language acquisition by adult immigrants'. It deals specifically with the acquisition of temporality in five European languages: Dutch, English, French, German and Swedish, providing a detailed account of how adult learners who have little or no exposure to classroom teaching, express temporality at any given stage of the acquisition process, how they proceed from one stage to the next, and what factors determine both their progress and their final levels of proficiency. The guiding hypotheses, methodology, and theoretical framework for analysing temporality from a cross-linguistic perspective are given in Chapters 1 and 2. The detailed longitudinal analyses of Chapters 3-7 form the backbone of the book. Chapter 8 contains the cross-linguistic generalizations, the factors which account for them, and the wider theoretical implications of the study.


In the ongoing litigation of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, Harvard faces allegations that its once-heralded admissions process discriminates against Asian Americans. Public discourse has revealed a dominant narrative: affirmative action is viewed as the presumptive cause of Harvard's alleged "Asian penalty." Yet this narrative misrepresents the plaintiff's own theory of discrimination. Rather than implicating affirmative action, the underlying allegations portray the phenomenon of "negative action" — that is, an admissions regime in which White applicants take the seats of their more qualified Asian-American counterparts. Nonetheless, we are witnessing a broad failure to see this case for what it is. This misperception invites an unnecessary and misplaced referendum on race-conscious admissions at Harvard and beyond.


The study was aimed to assess the prevalence and examine determinant factors of children's nutritional status in non-administrative two small towns (Awash Bello and Boneya) located Sebeta Hawas district, Oromia region. Cross-sectional design was employed in the existing two small towns selected randomly. The sample size was determined by using single population proportion formula then adjusted by finite population correction factor to draw the final 230 sample children and then allocated proportionally to each small town. Then the households were selected using systematic random sampling. If there is more than one child in the selected household only one child was considered randomly. Structured questionnaire was used to gather information on the demographic, socio-economic, and maternal and child caring practice, as well as environmental factors. While anthropometric measurement was used to collect height, weight and MUAC following the standard measurement tools and procedures. Information was entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and anthropometric measurements were converted into Z-scores by WHO Anthro version 3.2.2., 2011 software. Then exported to STATA 13 and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The result revealed that the prevalence of overall malnutrition was 46%. Specifically, stunting was (22.6%), underweight (16.1%) and wasting (7.4%), respectively. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model was employed to analyze determinants child malnutrition. Multivariate model revealed that age of child, number of under-five children in the household, no formal fathers and no formal maternal education, less than1500ETB monthly income, Antenatal care visit less than four times during pregnancy, not exclusive breast feeding and no fully vaccination were found positive and significant determinants for child malnutrition. And, child birth order was negative and significant determinant for child malnutrition. Thus, need continues training, awareness creation activities, special attention for child and maternal healthcare services by Sebeta Hawas district Health Office and other practitioners.


In this article we describe and evaluate optimized compact data structures for watching literals. Experiments with our SAT solver PicoSAT show that this low-level optimization not only saves memory, but also turns out to speed up the SAT solver considerably. We also discuss how to store proof traces compactly in memory and further unique features of PicoSAT including an aggressive restart schedule.


Article Reviewed: Bonta, J., Wallace-Capretta, S., & Rooney, J. (2000). Can electronic monitoring make a difference? An evaluation of three Canadian programs. Crime & Delinquency, 46(1), 61-75. Electronic monitoring (EM) was implemented in the United States during the 1980s in order to enforce house arrest. This sanction consists of an electronic device, worn by the offender that emits a signal indicating the offender's location to authorities when the offender leaves his or her residence. Although probationers were originally sentenced to EM, the expectations of this cost-effective, community-based alternative to incarceration lead to its substantial use with the inmate population. The popularity of EM programs has continued to flourish, especially in the United States. Currently, four Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Ontario) employ EM programs. According to Bonta, Wallace-Capretta and Rooney (2000), evaluation studies of EM have raised two significant questions. First, the authors query whether EM is a "true alternative to incarceration" or whether it simply has a "net-widening effect?" Specifically, they suggest that most EM programs utilize highly stringent selection processes to screen out offenders with a history of violence, ensuring that only low risk candidates are placed on the sanction. Bonta et al. report that the low-risk nature of many electronically monitored offenders appears to represent a group who could be managed in the community in a less intrusive manner. Thus, in accordance with other researchers, the authors suggest that EM serves to widen the correctional net. The second question posed by the Bonta et al. is whether EM ensures public safety in an improved manner than more traditional criminal justice sanctions such as probation? In order for this to occur, the authors suggest that EM will not only have to prevent supervised offenders from committing crime but also successfully reintegrate them into the community. Unfortunately, the value of EM in reducing recidivism has been faced with methodological limitations (i.e. inappropriate comparison groups and uncontrolled offender risk level). As such, the authors note that it is difficult to determine whether low recidivism rates are attributed to the program or the risk level of the offenders. Accordingly, in order to analyze the impact of EM, the present study employed two control groups (offender and probationers), matched on offender risk score. Three provinces with EM programs (British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland) participated in the evaluation. The EM programs differed in setting (Saskatchewan is court based while British Columbia and Newfoundland are corrections based) and in the type of supervision (in British Columbia supervision is provided by correctional officers while in the other two provinces supervision is provided by probation officers). Additional program variations included the following: in Saskatchewan EM offenders are part of the Intensive Supervision Probation program and; in Newfoundland EM offenders were required to attend an intensive treatment program. In order to compare important offender risk factors, 262 EM participants (125 from British Columbia, 56 from Newfoundland and 81 from Saskatchewan) were matched with 240 incarcerated offenders (75 from British Columbia, 100 from Newfoundland and 81 from Saskatchewan) and 30 probationers (17 from Newfoundland and 13 from Saskatchewan). Participants completed a number of questionnaires, as well as, permitted research staff to review their correctional files. The Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ), asked questions about a wide-range of criminal history and personal-social information. Information from the SRQ was used to score the Level of Service Inventory (LSI-R) and produce a risk-need classification. The second questionnaire (which was not completed by the inmate population) asked participants to describe their views of program. …


This article discusses the origin of what has become known as the Gettier Problem. It examines the claim put forward, though not expounded or defended, by J. Angelo Corlett in Analyzing Social Knowledge that the basis for Edmund Gettier's article "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" was originally argued for in Plato's Theaetetus. In his article, Gettier argues that the Justified True Belief condition is not sufficient for knowledge. However, Corlett questions the originality of this argument. This article examines Gettier's article followed by the Theatetus. After which, the two articles are compared, and the claim is shown to be correct in accusing Gettier of failing consider the full work of the Theaetetus. Socrates also argued that the Justified True Belief condition was not sufficient for knowledge. However, this article concludes by arguing that Socrates went further with his examination than Gettier did. Socrates not only put forward the claim that this condition was insufficient for knowledge, he also tried to supply answers to the problem.


The exogenous shock of the financial crisis made shareholders and regulators particularly attuned to financial firm performance. We thus use the financial crisis as a natural experiment to study labor market consequences for outside directors at banks and other financial companies. Examining 6,507 director years at bank and financial companies over the period from 2006 to 2010 we find that outside director turnover at financial firms is negatively correlated to lagged variables for stock returns. However, the increased chance of being replaced for poor performance is only 0.99% for a one standard deviation change in performance compared to 0.59% at non-financial firms, in either case an arguably trivial amount. We also find limited evidence of salience with respect to the financial crisis. We draw on these empirical findings to assess current board-centered responses to the financial crisis and their failings.


On July 14, 2011, in Nunez-Reyes v. Holder, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit filed an en banc opinion overruling LujanArmendariz v. INS in holding that, for immigration purposes, constitutional equal protection did not require treating state drug crime convictions that are expunged under state law the same as federal convictions expunged under the Federal First Offender Act. The court also overruled Rice v. Holder, holding that being under the influence of a drug is not a lesser offense than simple possession. In so doing, the Ninth Circuit frustrated Congress's intent in enacting the Federal First Offender Act, and hindered courts' ability to ensure equal protection of similarly situated aliens.


Given the classical theological distinction between the Christian Church as a matter of faith and the visible church as an empirical phenomenon, the article develops an ecclesiology fitting to current global social challenges in times of pronounced global waves of migration.Inspired by the "spatial turn" in contemporary sociology, and guided by a phenomenological methodology, the authors reconstruct a caring praxis in two different cases. The theological in-terpretation of these cases gives way to a refreshed ecclesiology, leaving behind a static approach and focusing on the church as "Ereignis".


This article introduces a tool to help students learn to better manage their energy. The tool asks students to assess their energy levels for each waking hour over at least 2 days in order to identify patterns of activities associated with high energy and with depleted energy. The article describes how to use the tool in the classroom by articulating the learning objectives, providing background research on energy regulation, and debriefing student reactions. The findings from two classes of students suggest that the tool is effective in achieving its learning goals and has a longer term impact on student behavior. The article closes by discussing the challenges of energy management for students.


EMANI, SIRISHA. MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF T REGULATORY CELLS IN FIV-INFECTION (Under the direction of Dr. Wayne Tompkins) Naturally occurring CD4CD25 T regulatory cells (Treg) play important roles in maintaining immunologic self-tolerance in addition to controlling the magnitude of antimicrobial immune responses. However, the capacity of these CD4CD25 Treg cells to control immune responses both in vivo and in vitro is not well established. CD4CD25 Treg cell-mediated suppression can control autoimmune diseases; transplantation tolerance and graft verses host disease and, in contrast hinder tumor immunity and immunity to infectious agents. As Treg cells have been reported to be involved in several diseases, this study focused on molecular characteristics that enables them to maintain anergy and also resistance to programmed cell death along with the effect of FIV-infection on regulation of the above phenotypic characteristics. Our results show that feline CD4CD25 Treg cells are phenotypically and functionally anergic as indicated by elevated levels of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors, CdkI's, (p21,p16, and p27) , and resistance to mitogeninduced proliferation compared to their counter parts CD4CD25 T cells. Importantly, CdkI's are constitutively over-expressed only in FIV-infected cats. As expected Treg cells from FIV-infected cats that over-expressed CdkI's expressed low levels of the cyclins (mainly cyclins D) and phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein (pRb) that are responsible for cell cycle progression. We investigated the role of TGFβ signaling and found that TGFβ1 plus ConA stimulation was able to convert CD4CD25 T cells to CD4CD25 T cells with functional and phenotypic characteristics including upregulation of CdkI's and bcl-2. The differential expression of CdkI's and bcl-2 between the two CD4 T cell subsets may be linked to TGFβ-Smad pathway. Consistent with upregulation of CdkI's and bcl-2, we found that although natural and TGFβ1 converted CD4CD25 Treg cells are anergic, they are more resistant to activation induced cell death compared to CD4CD25 T cells functionally which correlated with increased bcl-2 to bax ratio in Treg cells. Thus, the molecular characterization of this unique population of Treg cells may be essential for understanding their role and function for developing effective therapeutics and vaccination especially against chronic infections such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF T REGULATORY CELLS IN FIV-INFECTION BY SIRISHA EMANI A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy


The electrical properties of Ce-doped bismuth titanate, Bi4-xCexTi3O12 (BCT) ceramics prepared by a conventional electroceramic technique were investigated. XRD analyses revealed Bi-layered perovskite structure in all samples. SEM micrographs showed randomly oriented and plate-like morphology. For the samples with x=0.4 and 1.0 the current-voltage characteristics exhibited negative differential resistance behaviors and their P-E hysteresis loops were characterized by large leakage current, whereas for the samples with x=0.6 and 0.8 the current-voltage characteristics showed simple ohmic behaviors and their P-E hysteresis loops were the saturated and undistorted hysteresis loops. The remanent polarization ( Pr ) and coercive field (Ec) of the BCT ceramic with x=0.8 were above 20μC/cm2 and 60KV/cm , respectively.


Community Based Tourism (CBT) emerged during the 1980s as a result of the increasing need to define and implement ways of addressing the challenges of tourism development in the destination through a 'community approach'. It has since become a popular approach to tourism development that seeks to address the negative environmental and social impacts derived from such development whilst adopting the principles of sustainable development. Unsurprisingly, given its focus on benefiting and engaging local destination communities within tourism development, CBT has also attracted a significant degree of academic attention. However, such attention has been concerned primarily with the planning and management of CBT from a 'supply' perspective; conversely, a gap in the literature exists in regards to considering CBT as a tourism product in general, and from the perspectives and experiences of tourists in particular. In other words, limited attention has been paid to the demand for CBT as a tourism 'product'. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to address this gap by developing an understanding of CBT from not only the perspective of the supply side but also from the perspective of the consumer, more specifically, both international and domestic tourists.

Consequently, Pai, a well-known destination in Thailand for both international and domestic tourists was selected as a case study. Given the focus of this study on seeking to identify and appraise the perceptions and experiences of tourists consuming the CBT product, in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain rich and detailed data, the samples comprising 25 domestic and 25 international tourists. In addition, interviews were undertaken with the supply-side stakeholders, including three representatives of the local public sector administration and eight private sector respondents, including entrepreneurs and members of the local community, in order to understand the current situation with regards to CBT development in Pai. Brochure contents analysis was also undertaken in order to identify the contemporary 'induced' destination image of Pai as one influence on the destination choice and decision making process made by tourists. The outcomes of the interviews and contents analysis, along with a cross-cultural analysis of the responses of international and domestic tourists, revealed that the destination images held by both groups of tourists matched those portrayed by tour operators in the brochures. However, tourist knowledge and recognition of CBT in general, and Pai as a CBT destination in particular, were found to be limited. Nevertheless, international visitors in particular perceived the authenticity of the destination more so than domestic tourists, reflecting the differing characteristics and motivations based on their own cultures. Furthermore the community itself lacked the participation and unity required for CBT to be effective. Hence, this study concludes that not only does a destination such as Pai, that originally developed within a community based development policy framework, face significant challenges in developing tourism according to the principles of CBT, but also that tourist themselves have difficulty in understanding the concept of CBT. Nevertheless, the study reveals that, despite the differing perceptions and demands of international and domestic tourists, the potential exists to develop tourism in Pai to bring greater benefit to the local community. Therefore, the thesis proposes collaborative plans that are necessary to allow CBT managers to better design and develop strategies that enhance the community's benefits from tourism, whilst meeting the needs of both international and domestic tourists.


This thesis aims to contribute to Senegal's progress towards sustainable development planning. It presents how Senegalese planning system is structured as well as its potential and its limits to change. Senegal is a West African country classified as a least developed country. Senegalese decision-makers seek to provide economic and social well-being to their population, while ensuring a rational and sustainable use of ecological resources. They have demonstrated their commitment to sustainable development in official planning documents and several development programs. However, the process towards sustainability faces several constraints. The structure of the development planning system is complex and rigid; involving a plurality of state agencies, local entities, advisory bodies, citizens, and parliamentarians whose work is uncoordinated and inefficient. Furthermore, a tension exists because the political organization is based on a social vision, while development actions are derived from a liberal policy. In addition, planners and decisions-makers do not share the same understanding of sustainable development. The situation is made more complex by international influences on the concept of sustainability that call for the integration of principles such as gender equality and universal education, making it difficult to establish a clear and commonly understood approach to sustainability . While Senegal seeks human, technical, and financial resources from international donors, the conditions of financial foreign partners further complicates the development planning system.


The Metropolitan Museum's annual Costume Institute exhibition is the most prestigious event of its kind--a remarkable, must-see spectacle. With subjects that both reflect the zeitgeist and contribute to its creation, each exhibition--from 2005's "Chanel," to 2011's "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty"--creates a provocative and engaging narrative drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors. The show's opening-night gala, produced in collaboration with Vogue magazine, is regularly referred to as the Party of the Year and draws a glamorous A-list crowd. Vouge and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute begins its exploration of the event in 1971 and spans four decades, bringing us to the present. The book will offer a level of elevated, insider access only Vogue is capable of providing. Through photographs from the exhibitions themselves, as well as the fashion shoots they inspired in the pages of the magazine, catalogues, invitations and party photos from the opening-night galas, every chapter will offer a visually arresting, in-depth survey of that year's theme. Drawing from extensive Vogue archives, the fashion shoots featured will be anchored by photographs from icons such as Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino and Craig McDean, while also showcasing the editorial vision of legendary Vogue editors like Grace Coddington and Tonne Goodman and the immense knowledge and wit of writers such as Hamish Bowles and Jonathan Van Meter.


The ability to replicate a plane wave represents an essential element of spatial sound field reproduction. In sound field synthesis, the desired field is often formulated as a plane wave and the error minimized; for other sound field control methods, the energy density or energy ratio is maximized. In all cases and further to the reproduction error, it is informative to characterize how planar the resultant sound field is. This paper presents a method for quantifying a region's acoustic planarity by superdirective beamforming with an array of microphones, which analyzes the azimuthal distribution of impinging waves and hence derives the planarity. Estimates are obtained for a variety of simulated sound field types, tested with respect to array orientation, wavenumber, and number of microphones. A range of microphone configurations is examined. Results are compared with delay-and-sum beamforming, which is equivalent to spatial Fourier decomposition. The superdirective beamformer provides better characterization of sound fields, and is effective with a moderate number of omni-directional microphones over a broad frequency range. Practical investigation of planarity estimation in real sound fields is needed to demonstrate its validity as a physical sound field evaluation measure.


Juan Antonio Bardem (1922-2002) is a key cineaste if one wants to understand the evolution of Spanish cinema and its place in the history of European and World cinemas today. Since the 1950s, Bardem contested official nationalist cinema with often hermetic and symbolic narratives that spoke about Francoism's cultural backwardness, its rigid religious and moral values, and its strict repression against those who lost the Civil War. With major critical and commercial successes as Muerte de un ciclista/Death of a cyclist (1955), Calle Mayor/Main Street (1956), Bardem achieved world recognition as an auteur, and started a career characterised by a clear fetish, hybridised transnational aestheticism. His cinema's promiscuous relationship with Italian Neorealim and the conventions of the Hollywood genre film would eventually favour a hybrid cinema, which influenced the representation and the expression of identity within the national environment of Francoism. Due in part to the implications of European co-productions and in part to Bardem's prolific use of intertextuality and obsessive focus on the "other cinemas" as an aesthetic and cultural starting point that both suited his political vision of nationhood and his vision of cinema as an industry, the national character or Spanishness of his films was gradually compromised.  Using Mark Betz research on European co-productions during the 1950s and 1960s, this article also explores how the use of foreign actors and intra-national dubbing bespoke a political and aesthetic detachment, and how commercial and marketing strategies might have ended up suffocating identity and political detachment. I argue that while the Francoist's enforced policy of dubbing foreign films into neutral Castilian Spanish helped nationalise foreign cinema and avoid international cultural and political intoxications, the use of foreign actors to represent Spanish roles in the films of Bardem contributed to a cancellation of the nationalistic purposes of such policies. Bardem's cinema, although maintaining a detached position vis-a-vis Francoist official national narratives and aesthetics, was able to communicate Spanishness from the perspective of dissidence as long as his films were read as art cinema that contested other national cinema. On the other hand, the increasing tendency of co-productions with the purpose of counteracting or levelling up with the hegemony of Hollywood in Europe proved that the imbricate hybridised internalisation not only cancelled national discourses but also the identity of films, and as a consequence, of the director.


Chapter 1 Management Today Chapter 2 Management History and Theories Chapter 3 Values, Attitudes, Goals, and Motivation Chapter 4 Resources Chapter 5 Decision Making and Problem Solving Chapter 6 Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Chapter 7 Communication Chapter 8 Managing Human Needs Chapter 9 Managing Time Chapter 10 Managing Work and Family Chapter 11 Managing Stress and Fatigue Chapter 12 Managing Environmental Resources Chapter 13 Managing Finances Chapter 14 Managing Tomorrow


In citrus, the occurrence of a sink effect on photosynthesis (A) is controversial. Leaf carbohydrates and photosynthetic rates in field-grown trees of Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu [Mak.] Marc.) cv. Okitsu, were measured to elucidate whether or not the demand for photoassimilates regulates A. The data indicated that the source-sink imbalances induced by different treatments altered both soluble (sucrose, glucose and fructose) and insoluble carbohydrates in leaves, as well as photosynthetic rates. In general, girdling and defruiting increased starch and reduced photosynthesis, whereas source-limiting conditions imposed through partial defoliations had the opposite effect. These results are compatible with the assumption that a lack of sink activity leads to carbohydrate accumulation and feedback inhibition of A, and vice versa. Further evidence supporting a source-sink effect on A was provided by measurements of the dry matter:leaf area ratio, since defoliations, for example, increased this ratio The in vivo sucrose supplementation to plants with different source:sink ratios (control, defoliated, girdled and defruited plants) increased carbohydrates and reduced photosynthesis. This suggests that sugars may have, per se, the potential to repress photosynthetic rates in intact plants with active sinks. Based on these results we propose that sugar accumulation in citrus leaves causes a feedback inhibition of A.


China's Social Credit System (SCS) has captured the imagination and power of big data technology. Launched at the national level in 2014, the system's aim is to assess the trustworthiness of Chinese citizens in keeping their promises and complying with legal rules, moral norms, and professional and ethical standards. It is essentially a collaborative project between the authorities and the business sectors to rate both individuals and other entities. In certain contexts, each individual will be given a social credit score or rank. Despite the claimed good will to curb escalating dishonesty across societal sectors in China, the worry is that the totality of individuals' lives will be captured, that citizens will be monitored and that the Orwellian state will become a reality. Individuals risk being reduced to transparent selves before the state in this uneven battle. They are uncertain about what contributes to their social credit scores, how those scores are combined with the state system, and how their data is interpreted and used. In short, the big data-driven SCS is confronting Chinese citizens with major challenges to their privacy and personal data, amongst other interests critical to them.
This article first maps out the background to the construction of China's big data social laboratory and the SCS, and then summarises the legislative history and evolving concept of social credit. It stresses that apart from the conspicuous SCS policy document introduced by the Chinese central government, pilot legislation has already been implemented at the local levels to regulate the collection and processing of social credit data. The third part critically reviews such local legislation (which often uses the term 'public credit information') with reference to personal data protection principles. It also highlights the restrictions on the data subjects' rights that are placed by the uncoordinated legal framework of personal data and the extra-legal regime of personal archive. It argues that existing legislation and proposed regulations require substantial revisions to mitigate the impacts of the SCS on data privacy. This article hopes to lay the groundwork for further legal study related to social credit and big data in China.


Introduction: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive treatment that requires a light-activated drug, known as a photosensitiser (PS), light of a specific wavelength and oxygen. 5,10,15,20-meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (m-THPC) is one of the most potent PS's currently available for use in PDT, however, its undesirable accumulation in healthy tissues has prompted research to improve its uptake and selectivity into tumour tissue for the treatment of certain malignant diseases, whilst reducing adverse skin photosensitivity. In this investigation, a range of nanocarriers, eliciting a host of different properties, were developed to achieve more efficient delivery of m-THPC in vivo. These included liposomes, organically modified silica (ORMOSIL) nanoparticles (NPs) and polymeric NPs, which were additionally surface modified with a biocompatible polymer (PEG) coating to improve blood circulation times and the bioavailability of m-THPC. Further to this, studies investigating the conjugation of ligands, over-expressed on many cancers, to the NP surface aimed to increase active m-THPC-delivery via targeted nanocarriers. The overall objective of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics of m-THPC delivery between the nanocarrier formulations and standard Foscan®, in normal rat and tumour-bearing animal models, to ultimately improve the efficacy of PDT. Materials & Methods: The biodistribution of m-THPC in its standard formulation (Foscan) compared to its incorporation in untargeted and targeted pegylated NPs was assessed through quantitative chemical extraction methods and pharmacokinetic analysis. A range of tissue samples were collected over different time periods following i.v. administration of NPs (m-THPC dose equivalent) in both healthy and tumour-bearing murine models. Confocal and fluorescence microscopy techniques were employed for in vitro uptake studies and to examine ex vivo tissue localisation of encapsulated m-THPC. Finally PDT and skin photosensitivity studies were carried out in vivo to assess the efficacy of treatment to tumours and skin through histological analysis. Results & Conclusion: Pharmacokinetic data typically indicated an increase in blood plasma t1/2 of pegylated NPs in comparison to non-pegylated NPs or Foscan alone, indicative of the stealth properties conferred by the PEG corona. Peak accumulation of m-THPC in tumour tissue occurred between 6-24 h via passive uptake with untargeted NPs, attributed to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. A significant improvement in tumour uptake, by a factor of three, was observed using pegylated liposomes compared to Foscan alone. Active targeting of NPs demonstrated a positive uptake into cells, unfortunately this did not translate to an improvement in m-THPC biodistribution or PDT results using in vivo models. Encouragingly anti-tumour PDT effects were observed with all NPs compared to Foscan, but treatment was most effective with untargeted pegylated liposomes.