This review recounts recent advances in the understanding and treatment of the processes that cause pulmonary hypertension in infancy and childhood. New discoveries have begun to unveil connections between the basic physiological mechanisms responsible for the regulation of pulmonary vascular tone and the abnormal responses of the pulmonary vasculature in a variety of disease conditions. These discoveries raise hope for new therapeutic interventions that may improve the high mortality and morbidity of both children and adults with pulmonary vascular disease. In the meantime, treatment efforts continue to be focused on the relief of pulmonary vasoconstriction with inhaled nitric oxide and intravenous prostacyclin in the short term and oral calcium channel blockers as the mainstay of long-term therapy. Lung transplantation often remains as the only viable option for continued survival when the pulmonary vascular disease is progressive.


This paper reports on a study carried out to try out subject specialisation by teachers in the primary school, as a possible alternative to the conventional approach where one teacher teaches all subjects to a class. The study resulted from the observation that, in spite of mounting evidence suggesting the need for primary school teachers to specialise in one or two subjects only, little is being done along these lines, in Zimbabwe and in most countries the world over. Nine teams in two rural schools, three urban former Group B (formerly for blacks before independence) and three urban former Group A schools (formerly for ' whites before independence) in Zimbabwe, practised subject specialisation (by the teachers) for three school terms and an evaluation was carried out at the end of the three terms: The study sought to find out whether the main stakeholders i.e. pupils, teachers, school heads, and parents would prefer the approach, whether better learning and teaching would result, and the problems and advantages to be met. The findings suggested that the majority of the stakeholders prefer the approach, and that better learning achievement appeared to accrue. Some problems and advantages of the approach were also identified


The most common type of birth defects are congenital heart defects (or CHDs). Though a few cases of CHDs have been attributed to genetic defects specific to the heart, substance exposure, or to maternal disease, the cause of most CHDs is unknown. Thus, further research is needed to determine how CHDs form. Very few studies have investigated how physiological factors like perturbations of blood flow can affect normal heart development. For instance, increasing or decreasing the resistance to blood flow can alter development of the heart in both zebrafish and chicken embryos. This could be one mechanism to explain CHD formation, but further investigation in a mammalian system is needed. To examine this idea, I experimentally manipulated cultured mouse embryos, testing the effects of decreased blood viscosity (to create low hemodynamic force [cardiovascular system] or low hemodynamic loading [heart-specific]). To determine the effects on heart development, I prepared the embryos for 3D imaging by optical projection tomography (OPT), and assessed heart volume and myocardial thickness. There was no detectable change in the volume of hearts under low hemodynamic force compared to hearts with normal hemodynamic force. However, I did observe a decrease of myocardial thickness in hearts with low hemodynamic force compared to control hearts. Thus, this study demonstrates that even at very early stages of embryonic development, alterations in blood flow can influence heart development. This indicates CHD formation can be exacerbated upon initial exposure to a primary cause (genetic defects, substance exposure or maternal disease) due to changes in hemodynamic forces.


The case of Hong Kong, a former British colony which since 1997 has become a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, provides an interesting case study of the interaction of international human rights law and domestic constitutional law and the internationalisation of constitutional law. Hong Kong has, since 1991, introduced constitutional and legislative arrangements to enable the human rights norms in International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to have constitutional force in Hong Kong, to be justiciable before the Hong Kong courts and to be used as yardsticks for constitutional judicial review of legislative and governmental actions. This system has continued to operate effectively after the handover in 1997 under the new constitutional regime established by the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region enacted by the PRC. Part II of this article provides an overview of the application of the norms of international human rights in the domestic law of the HKSAR. Part III consists of several case studies of major court cases in recent years that illustrate the internationalisation of constitutional law in Hong Kong. Part IV seeks to locate the case of Hong Kong in the international and global context, and to develop a conceptual framework for the study of the internationalisation of constitutional law. It seeks an understanding or explanation of the internationalisation of constitutional law in the HKSAR in terms of the lack of an indigenous constitutional tradition in Hong Kong and the peculiar mentality of the people of Hong Kong living under "one country, two systems", particularly their anxiety regarding the "mainlandization" of Hong Kong and their aspirations for the preservation of civil liberties and the maintenance of their cherished way of life.


White light emitting diodes (LEDs) are appearing in general illumination applications. Clusters of such LEDs can replace an incandescent light bulb of equal luminosity on the merit of considerably low power consumption. However the optical performance and working life of these LED packages are strongly dependent on the temperature of the p-n junction of the LED. Hence it is very critical to determine the temperature of the junction. Three methods - forward voltage change, peak wavelength shift and infrared thermal imaging are employed to determine the junction temperature. Forward voltage change method is found to be the most accurate method (± 3 °C) for an optimized set of parameters. Analytical model is proposed for the thermal transient behavior of the LED junction and the predictions are compared with experimental results. A good agreement is observed between that of two experimental methods. Thermal resistance of the LED package is estimated analytically and experimentally. Experimental values show a larger variation than expected through material property variation.


Abstract: Background : Low-molecular components of colostrum (LMWCC) have a pronounced biological activity. We investigated the effect of different doses of LMWCC (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 5 g/100 g of body weight) on the behavior, dynamics of growth, acute and chronic toxicity, as well as the relative weight of the liver, spleen and kidneys of the experimental animals. Methods : We used 100 3-month male rats in the experiment. All animals were divided into 5 groups of 20 animals in each group, LMWCC was administered per os , and the control group received sterile water. Results : LMWCC revealed no pirogenic effect in a wide diapason of doses (0,01-5 g/100 g of animal mass). Immediately after the LMWCC administration the short-time decrease in the motion activity was observed. The low doses of LMWCC induced diarrhea in 10-20 % of of animals, the super-large dose – in 75% of animals. The acute toxicity of LMWCC (death of 15 % of animals) was detected only in super-large dose of LMWCC and it was accompanied by pronounced diarrhea. LMWCC influenced the mass of liver, spleen and kidney. 60 days after LMWCC administration the mass of liver was restored to control weight, but the mass of spleen and kidney was not restored. Conclusion : LMWCCdo not have chronic toxicity and can be attributed to non-toxic compounds with a possible side effect - a violation of the digestive system.


In Slovenia, attorneys as part of the justice system represent an autonomous and independent service that is regulated by law. As set out in the decision of the Constitutional Court of RS, there is no doubt that the legislature has to adopt the law to regulate the attorneys' profession, but in its attempt of such regulation, the legislature always collides with the constitutional requirement that the attorneys are autonomous and independent. Therefore, when regulating the attorneys' profession, the legislature has to address the issues of autonomy and independence, and thus also the question of determining attorney tariffs, while certain issues must be left to be autonomously regulated within the attorneys' profession. The attorney tariff does not determine a mandatory price of legal services because an attorney and his client may always reach an agreement that is different from the attorney tariff. However, the tariff is binding when the court decides on the obligation to reimburse the party who has succeeded in a dispute for their attorney costs. With our research, we have empirically demonstrated that the existing attorney tariff in Slovenia unjustifiably drains smaller law firms, which guarantee an efficient coverage of population and smaller undertakings with a network of legal services. As a result, the economic autonomy and independence of law firms are compromised and the right to effective judicial protection is unjustifiably restricted for the parties who succeed in a dispute.


We develop a model to explain a puzzling trend in cash demand in recent years: the value of bank notes in circulation as a percentage of GDP has remained stable despite decreasing cash usage at points of sale owing to competition from alternative means of payment such as credit cards. The main feature of the model is that cash circulates between economic activities where the substitutability between cash and other means of payment is uneven. Our model predicts that, once credit expands beyond a certain level, agents adjust their cash management practices in response to further credit expansions, causing the velocity of cash to slow down, so that the demand for cash can remain flat despite diminishing cash transactions.


This article interrogates the relationship between constitutionalism and poverty eradication. Motivating this inquiry is the fact that in South African constitutional scholarship poverty eradication is not articulated as a benchmark or even a measure to determine the ultimate success or failure of social transformation. By this the article makes the claim that within constitutional discourse engagement with poverty seems to be mainly confined to, and mediated through, rights discourses rather than being seen as forming an integral part of the raison d'etre of post-apartheid constitutionalism.
The main argument of this article is that whilst transformative constitutionalism is rightly regarded as the preferred approach to reading and understanding the Constitution, it suffers from certain pitfalls that render it ill-suited to delivering a project of poverty eradication. In particular, I shall be arguing here that one major pitfall is that transformative constitutionalism, whilst claiming to be post-liberal, is deeply imbedded in and comfortably co-exists with liberal discourses. In essence I shall be arguing here that (i) transformative constitutionalism finds a clear textual basis in the Constitution; (ii) academic commentators have gone to great lengths to articulate its vision and goals; and (iii) the courts have sought to enforce its principles and aspirations in adjudication, however the prevalence of a liberal democratic constitutional paradigm, has had the effect of defining the goods of constitutionalism in narrower terms than is in fact necessary or desirable.
In making this argument the article shall critically engage with transformative constitutionalism, in particular its limits and pitfalls. In so doing, it shall draw upon a Fanonian critique to illustrate the pitfalls of elite dominated transformations. In addition to this the article engages the crisis of constitutionalism in post-independence Africa. It is against this background that the article makes calls for a constitutional conversation that more directly connects between constitutionalism and poverty eradication.


Technology skills are assumed to be a necessity for college and career success, but technology is constantly evolving. Thus, development of students' technology skills is an on-going and persistent issue. Standards from the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills and the International Society for Technology in Education encourage educators to teach skills that help students adapt to changing working environments. These skills resemble the National Association for Gifted Children's program and teacher preparation standards. Descriptive research about what is already occurring in classrooms has been done, but the information is frequently limited to a list of activities. A qualitative multi-case phenomenological study of six Alabama teachers of the gifted examined how they use and shape technology experiences with students, and promote student learning of 21 st century skills. The teachers were chosen for the case study due to their reputation as teachers skilled in using technology with students. Lesson plans, interviews, and observations were used to discover themes between the teachers. Findings from the research indicate that educational technology use with students is shaped by factors such as teacher attitudes and expertise, available equipment and support, pedagogical decisions related to working with technology, and the particular student group participating in the technology use.


Diane alfano Chairman and CEO Dave BliDe Publisher We open the summer issue of the journal with a proposal by Aune, Krellenstein, O'Hara, and Slama to use a cryptographic approach for solving information leakage problems in distributed ledgers that relies on using a hash (or "fingerprint") to secure time priority, followed by a second communication revealing more features of the underlying market transaction—in effect using a transaction's f ingerprint to hide its footprint. Solving the information leakage problem greatly expands the potential applications of private distributed ledger technology to include trading. Aharon, Gershgoren, Sharabi, and Zelekha present research that tests the impact of the nomination of designated market makers in various market conditions. Their findings suggest that, despite the positive contribution that these announcements make to a stock's liquidity and regardless of the market conditions or the preliquidity levels, these announcements may increase the volatility that accompanies market trends in extreme market conditions. Next, Jain and Jain provide detailed analysis of hidden order trading on U.S. exchanges and present findings that are useful in understanding the level and determinants of hidden liquidity. Glikstein and Kryzanowski use the volume synchronized probability of informed trading (VPIN) to evaluate the performance of different trading strategies in an order-driven simulated market. Their findings show that an informed trader can accumulate a larger position while a pooling equilibrium holds by exploiting the VPIN structure, that the VPIN has a high rate of false positives, and that it may detect informed trading under certain conditions. Griffith, Van Ness, and Van Ness examine high-frequency trading patterns around intense episodic spikes in firm volatility. They provide evidence that high-frequency traders participate in more transactions as liquidity suppliers and in fewer transactions as liquidity demanders during extreme short-term firm volatility events than in the minutes leading up to these events. To conclude this issue, Domowitz and Giritharan study the effect of social media sentiment on pricing and trading fundamentals in the foreign exchange market and focus on examining the predictability of prices, the cost and depth of liquidity, and the topography of the global limit order book for a currency pair. As always, we welcome your submissions. We value your comments and suggestions, so please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


Research in the area of advanced materials for various applications is the demand of time. Discovery of nano technology, high Tc superconductivity and multi functional materials are just few of them. For proper understanding of the underlying physics, Low temperature investigations on these materials are very much needed. If magnetic field is added to low temperature, sometimes new insights are witnessed e.g., superconductivity, quantum Hall effect etc. Intense efforts are going on around the world to make simple and inexpensive superconducting magnet systems for performing variable temperature experiments on the above materials under high magnetic fields. Keeping in view of these facts, a lab scale mobile superconducting magnet
system is designed and developed in house using Nb- Ti wire (0.43 mm nominal diameter, Cu: SC Ratio of 2:1) and tested for production of 6 Tesla field and repeated quenching of the coil. The thesis describes the step-by-step procedure involved in winding and testing of the superconducting magnet. Further, a simple commercially available Liquid Helium transport dewar is suitably modified for magnet insertion with necessary instrumentation for liquid helium
transfer port, hall field-probe, LHe level indicator, temperature and field sensors, power supply and vapor cooled current leads etc. The magnet is tested in a commercially available cryostat, available at VECC Kolkata.
In a parallel effort, the present thesis also describes the setting up of Liquid Helium production and magnet testing facility along with necessary vacuum and electrical instrumentation. The out come of the present thesis is expected to accelerate the growth of Cryogenic/Vacuum/Applied Superconductivity research at NIT Rourkela.


The Ras-like Rab GTPases regulate vesicle transport in endocytosis and exocytosis. We found that cardiac Rabs1, 4, and 6 are upregulated in a dilated cardiomyopathy model overexpressing 2-adrenergic receptors. To determine if increased Rab GTPase expression can contribute to cardiomyopathy, we transgenically overexpressed in mouse hearts prototypical Rab1a, the small G protein that regulates vesicle transport from endoplasmic reticulum to and through Golgi. In multiple independent mouse lines, Rab1a overexpression caused cardiac hypertrophy that progressed in a timeand transgene dose–dependent manner to heart failure. Isolated cardiac myocytes were hypertrophied and exhibited contractile depression with impaired calcium reuptake. Ultrastructural analysis revealed enlarged Golgi stacks and increased transitional vesicles in ventricular myocytes, with increased secretory atrial natriuretic peptide granules and degenerative myelin figures in atrial myocytes; immunogold studies localized Rab1a to these abnormal vesicular structures. A survey of hypertrophy signaling molecules revealed increased protein kinase C (PKC) and , and confocal microscopy showed abnormal subcellular distribution of PKC in Rab1a transgenics. These results indicate that increased expression of Rab1 GTPase in myocardium distorts subcellular localization of proteins and is sufficient to cause cardiac hypertrophy and failure. (Circ Res. 2001;89:1130-1137.)


The alignment of business and knowledge strategies necessarily includes the individual and the organizational perspectives. A major problem in this context is to reconcile these perspectives into a common framework for alignment. To this end, an intermediate level is introduced – the activity domain. The activity domain is a canonical structure comprising all kinds of organizational units, irrespective of size and organizational level. The organization is regarded as a constellation of activity domains, each having a capability to produce an outcome that the organization needs in order to fulfill its goals. Alignment is defined as the management of dependencies between capabilities so that these capabilities fit the business's strategic intentions. As a consequence, business and knowledge strategies can be linked to the same target – the activity domain. Practical guidelines and alignment targets for these strategies are suggested.


Background The prevalence rate of behaviour problems and maternal mental disturbance was estimated using a sample of 1047 families with a 3-year-old child from a mixed urban/rural area. Method Parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist, EAS Temperament Questionnaire, Weiss–Werry–Peters Activity Scale and the GHQ–30. Results The rate of behaviour problems (13.2%) was similar to that obtained in studies of urban children. The rate of maternal disturbance (27.6%) was lower than in other population samples. Few differences were found in the prevalence rates in the urban and rural areas. Conclusions Preschool children and their parents living in non-urban areas had the same rates of problems as those in conurbations. The service needs of such families are similar regardless of locality.


Adler et al. (Reports, 23 September 2011, p. 1750) analyzed the standardized sampling data from 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities and concluded that "Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness" at fine-scale. However, their method was biased toward site-number–dominated plant communities. They also failed to provide enough data for regional analysis and detailed information for within-site analysis.


The thermal stability of Alkaline phosphatase enzyme (ALP) adsorbed on paper was measured using a colorimetric technique quantifying the intensity of the product complex. ALP adsorbed on paper retains its functionality and selectivity. Adsorption of ALP on paper increased the enzyme thermal stability by 2 to 4 orders of magnitude compared to the same enzyme in solution. Complex patterns of enzyme were also printed using a thermal inkjet printer on paper. Microfluidic channels were printed on paper to demonstrate the concept of paper-based bioassays as diagnostic devices. Paper is an ideal material for functional materials for functional bioactive surfaces.


We study the effect of stochasticity in on-policy policy optimization, and make the following four contributions. First, we show that the preferability of optimization methods depends critically on whether stochastic versus exact gradients are used. In particular, unlike the true gradient setting, geometric information cannot be easily exploited in the stochastic case for accelerating policy optimization without detrimental consequences or impractical assumptions. Second, to explain these findings we introduce the concept of committal rate for stochastic policy optimization, and show that this can serve as a criterion for determining almost sure convergence to global optimality. Third, we show that in the absence of external oracle information, which allows an algorithm to determine the difference between optimal and sub-optimal actions given only on-policy samples, there is an inherent trade-off between exploiting geometry to accelerate convergence versus achieving optimality almost surely. That is, an uninformed algorithm either converges to a globally optimal policy with probability $1$ but at a rate no better than $O(1/t)$, or it achieves faster than $O(1/t)$ convergence but then must fail to converge to the globally optimal policy with some positive probability. Finally, we use the committal rate theory to explain why practical policy optimization methods are sensitive to random initialization, then develop an ensemble method that can be guaranteed to achieve near-optimal solutions with high probability.


The late Caledonian Loch Loyal syenites comprise three related, but geographically separate, composite intrusions: the Ben Loyal, Ben Stumanadh and Cnoc nan Cuilean bodies. They were emplaced (c. 426 Ma) into Moine and Lewisian rocks of the Moine and Naver thrust sheets previously deformed by Caledonian NW-directed folding and thrusting at amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions. The intrusions lie mainly within a zone of large-scale cross-folds in which the regional foliation trends NW-SE at high angles to regional orogenic strike (NNE-SSW). The cross folds are underlain by a broad, ESE-dipping zone of high strain known as the Ben Blandy shear zone. The NW basal contact of the Ben Loyal body dips generally SE and strikes sub-parallel to the foliation in the underlying Ben Blandy shear zone. The higher parts of this syenite, together with those of the Ben Stumanadh and Cnoc nan Cuilean intrusions, form a series of variably coalesced dykes trending NW-SE sub-parallel to the foliation in the pre-existing zone of cross-folds. There is little evidence for significant country-rock deformation during emplacement of the syenites. Minor components of top-to-the-SE extension occurred along the NW boundary of the Ben Loyal body, whilst minor dextral shearing is associated with the emplacement of the NW-SE, vertical sheet-like units that are thought to form the SE part of this intrusion and the other Loch Loyal syenites. Generally contact-parallel magma tic-state deformation fabrics are dominant in most of the intrusions and are thought to reflect limited magma pressure-driven, internal deformation of the igneous bodies during and immediately after emplacement. The geometry of these fabrics and the Loch Loyal syenites as a whole has been directly controlled by the pre-existing structural architecture of the surrounding country rocks. This appears to be a previously overlooked feature of many plutons emplaced at mid- to upper crustal depths below the region influenced by the free surface. The siting and emplacement of the Loch Loyal syenites may have been initially facilitated by late Caledonian gravity-driven extension of the Moine Thrust sheets. Following the initial phase of intrusion, it is also possible that the presence of magma actually promoted further nappe collapse in the adjacent country rocks. There is no compelling reason to link the upper crustal extension observed during emplacement to the genesis of the alkaline magmas in the underlying mantle. The siting and ascent of the syenites at depth may be linked to the presence of steeply-dipping structures in the Lewisian autochthon buried beneath the Moine Nappe.


This paper discusses a framework for analyzing robust institutions for water markets drawn on the new institutional economics school of thoughts which is based on Williamson, North, Coase and Ostrom theories on transaction cost economics, property rights and collective actions. Based on these theories, we review the evolution and development of water reforms and markets in countries such as Australia, USA (California and Colorado), Chile and in Spain. Based on the lessons learned from the Spanish and international experience on water markets, a list of robust recommendations for the improvement of water markets in Spain is proposed. These include among others, not only the definition of secure water rights, through the registration of rights or recognition of environment as a legitimate user, but also the monitoring of water trading activities, including the collection of information for prices and quantities or cost-benefit analysis for quantifying benefits and externalities. Finally, based on Sharma's approach (2012) a new robust water governance model for Spain is proposed in which the highest priority is given to the role of legal and political institutions and second priority to environmental, economic and social needs. We hope that the framework presented in this paper will function as a tool for researchers and policy makers in Spain and other European countries to understand how water markets can be further developed to be economically and environmentally efficient, and socially accepted.


This article was an attempt to (re-)read Psalms in the context of fractured cities, marked by socio-economic inequalities, woundedness, migration and exclusion. It explored urban motifs in selected psalms and considered their possible meanings in relation to both the socio-cultural contexts in which they were written but also how they could be read and understood today. It proposed the Psalms as urban poetry, and considered poems of praise, lament and resistance. It brought the Psalms into conversation both with 'remixed' psalms and also with other urban poems. A 'remix' is a technical term usually associated with altering, adding or changing songs or music into a new version more appropriate or suitable for a new context. It is essentially a genre that emerged from within urban popular culture. Finally, I suggested that an understanding of the Psalms as urban poetry of praise, lament and resistance, in conversation with other urban poems, can serve as a resource to unshackle our faith from the temple, from one city, or from human institutions, evoking a daring new imagination for a new people, new city and new creation. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article explores contextual readings of the Psalms as urban poetry, and retrieves other urban poems from different genres, both in order to inform urban theological discourse and contextual theological reflections on the fractured city.


While most acoustic material properties are standardized today, the way of digitally storing such data is not. Commercial applications, internal developments and open-source solutions usually use their own proprietary file formats that make a data exchange practically impossible. This circumstance led to the foundation of openMat. This cooperative project aims at defining a standard for the storage of both standardized acoustic material properties and supplemental meta-information. In the current conceptual design, openMat supports the following material properties: absorption-, scattering- and diffusion coefficients as well as bidirectional transfer functions and complex impedances. In addition, meta properties are assignable to each material, e.g., multilingual material description, information on pricing and data acquisition, and additional files such as textures and 3D models. Using such meta-information makes the database already applicable during the early and graphical design stage of a room. The project proposes an Extensible Markup Language (XML) database format since XML is human- readable, machine-processable, and a de-facto standard today. However, the openMat project provides not only the database specification, but also a huge example library, plug-ins and an open source, platform- independent database editor with convenient graphical user interface and comprehensive manual. All content is freely available on the project site www.openMat.info.


In this work we present a region-based particle filter for generic object tracking and segmentation. The representation of the object in terms of regions homogeneous in color allows the proposed algorithm to robustly track the object and accurately segment its shape along the sequence. Moreover, this segmentation provides a mechanism to update the target model and allows the tracker to deal with color and shape variations of the object. The performance of the algorithm has been tested using the LabelMe Video public database. The experiments show satisfactory results in both tracking and segmentation of the object without an important increase of the computational time due to an efficient computation of the image partition.


In this research I question the cultural oppression that works to suppress women's creativity and play and investigate ways of assisting the rebirth of women's culture. Dominant discourse and language are masculinist and exclude women from defining our own reality. This is evident in social policies and social work practice which both adopt and perpetuate masculinist encoding of, and inscription on, women's experiences and expressions. The purpose of this research was to learn from the perspectives of women who are single mothers, if they were able to express their experiences more authentically in their own ways, outside and tangential to dominant (masculinist) language and discourse.

In Australia women have resisted and challenged masculinist narratives on their lives through the arts. Creativity and play remain vital to women's health and well-being, however, they are often precluded from single mothers' lives due to the primacy of women's caring responsibilities. These women's access to opportunities for timeout, community participation and play, particularly in rural and regional Australia, has so far received a paucity of research.

Two thematic research questions guided this study: Can women express ourselves more authentically through art? And can social work assist the expression of a women's community culture?

The qualitative methodology I played with drew from my radical feminist perspective. I used participatory observation in the first part of the research, which involved my experiential participation in community groups and more formal classes that drew from a range of artforms. This first part of this research informed the second part of the research which involved the participation of single mothers in a series of creative Playspaces (workshops) I facilitated. This emergent Feminist Community Cultural Research strategy I designed was based on participative strategies and a grounded theory approach drawing from a range of artforms. This methodology was inspired by a search for women's dances, songs, music, play and creativity as individual and collective self-expressions. The data collected through the Playspaces was journalled, video- and tape-recorded and the women who participated reviewed my initial drafts.

In the first part of the research I found women's (cultural) expressions were often inhibited by masculinist structures and processes and this appeared to undermine women's community at times. The politics of the groups were rarely informed by social justice values, feminist values or groupwork skills, and served to actively dissuade and suppress women's community culture, although glimpses of women's community culture persisted, affirming its existence outside dominant culture. In the second part of the research I found that community and women's centre co-ordinators often acted as gatekeepers to single mothers' opportunities for women's community culture.

My analysis of my own groupwork in the Playspace revealed issues of politics and ethics, particularly accountability, recurred. Facilitation is a balancing act between support for individuals and the group, as well as support for an ideal of women's community culture with the reality of differences between women. Women's leadership surfaced as a mother theme.

Two themes embedded in the core of three concentric layers of meaning emerged. The themes are co-creation and embodied expressions, and individual pursuit and collective connectedness. The layers are women's play and (p)leisure, rekin(dl)ing women's kinship and an essence of spirituality, soulspace. The Playspaces were a portal to an/other experience, a soul space for women's expressions, where new understandings of old cultural ways open possibilities within social work.

My research demonstrates that there are more liberating and authentic ways through which social workers can communicate with women and assist women in communicating with each other. Implications for social work, groupwork, social policy and feminism are raised. Practice recommendations are made to address masculinist obstructions to the facilitation of women's community cultural expressions.


Objective To describe the results of the evaluation of the PAILD active surveillance system and lessons learned for similar surveillance efforts in a resource-limited setting. Introduction A liver disease of unknown etiology, called unknown liver disease (ULD) by the community, was first identified in 2002 in Tigray; a rugged, semi-arid, mountainous region that is considered one of the most drought-prone and food insecure regions of Ethiopia. ULD is a chronic condition characterized by epigastric pain, abdominal distention, ascites, emaciation, and hepato/splenomegaly. In 2005, the Ethiopian Health and Nutritional Research Institute was assigned by the Ethiopia Ministry of Health to assist the Tigray Regional Health Bureau and oversee the disease investigation. In 2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assisted the Ethiopian team and jointly developed the surveillance tools. The surveillance system was implemented in 2009 with the objectives to determine the magnitude and distribution of the disease; identify disease trends; detect cases to provide them with clinical care; and inform health officials and funding bodies for resource allocation. After several investigations, a local plant containing a particular type of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) toxin that contaminated local foodstuffs was identified as the etiologic agent, and ULD was renamed PAILD in 2011. Methods From 20 September to 1 October 2011, we conducted site visits, held semi-structured interviews with 20 staff members, reviewed reporting materials, and summarized the information flow including data collection, reporting, analysis, and dissemination. Results This surveillance system was implemented in 13 rural, resource-limited districts in the NW, Central and Western Zones. The system identified a total of 1033 cases, including 314 deaths, as of September 2011; guided medication distribution to the health facilities; served as a registry for patient follow up; and provided decision-makers with information needed to allocate resources. A large-scale training was conducted in 2010; however, high staff turnover and a lack of backup surveillance staff at each site suggested that additional training may be needed. Due to the absence of a diagnostic test, the case definition was very simple to enable frontline staff in the communities and at the health posts/centers to identify disease cases. These individuals travelled long distances by foot to deliver paper surveillance forms to the district health offices. A surveillance team placed in the NW Zonal office collected missing reports from the health facilities given limited transportation; however they have left since this evaluation. Information from the surveillance system was shared with partner agencies at the national level every 3 to 6 months; however, this information was not shared with frontline staff. Conclusions The PAILD Active Surveillance System met its objectives as originally defined. Evaluation of this unique surveillance system for a chronic disease with unknown cause in a resource-limited setting provides several lessons that can inform similar surveillance efforts. Ongoing logistical challenges (e.g., shortage of paper forms, lack of transportation, and long distances between locations) complicated data collection and reporting. While electronic reporting may have helped overcome some of these difficulties, it was not feasible in this setting. Frontline staff identified cases in the community so that they could receive treatment; these key staff can be further incentivized by receiving regular training and surveillance reports. Ongoing support will be critical to overcome these unique challenges to ensure continual disease monitoring as interventions to disrupt PA exposure are implemented in the community.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects and possible mechanisms of puerarin on the vascular active factors correlated to cerebral vasospasm (CVS) after aneurysm subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

METHODS
Fifty-four patients with aSAH were randomly assigned to the puerarin group (30 cases) and the control group (24 cases) by lot. On the basis of routine treatment, the patients in the puerarin group were intravenously dripped with 0.5 g puerarin by adding in 250 mL glucose injection once daily. The injection was given starting from the 3rd day of the disease course, for 14 successive days. The plasma levels of nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), thromboxane B, (TXB2), 6-Keto-prostaglandin F1alpha (6-K-PGF1alpha) were compared between the two groups pre- and post-therapy. The incidence of cerebral vasospasm (CVS) was observed using transcranial Doppler (TCD). The Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) were compared at discharge between the two groups.

RESULTS
Compared with the control group, the plasma levels of NO, ET-1, and 6-K-PGF1alpha increased in the puerarin group (P < 0. 05), the TXB2 level decreased (P < 0.05), the incidence of CVS decreased (P < 0.05), the mean MCA velocity increased (P < 0.05), and the GOS at discharge increased (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Puerarin is an effective agent for the prophylaxis and treatment of the CVS in patients after aSAH. Moreover, it can improve the prognosis. The mechanism might be correlated with improving the levels of the vascular active factors, i.e., increasing the plasma levels of NO and PGl2, decreasing TXA, in plasma, increasing the cerebral blood flow, and improving cerebral perfusion.


This paper describes some of the indigenous fruit species of Papua New Guinea (PNG), that is, species which were grown and eaten prior to settlement by other Pacific islanders, Europeans and Asians from about 1870 AD onwards. A list of 40 species that are eaten as fruit in PNG is presented, but the list is by no means complete. Information is given on ten of the most commonly eaten indigenous fruits grown by the rural population, and six other indigenous fruit species. The following attributes are covered for each species: how the fruit is consumed; global distribution; distribution within PNG; altitudinal range in PNG; the number of rural people who live in locations where the species is common; production pattern (crop seasonality); marketing; and potential for further development. The species discussed are bukabuk (Burckella obovata), coastal pandanus (Pandanus tectorius), golden apple (Spondias cytherea), kumu musong (Ficus copiosa), Ficus dammaropsis, Ficus tinctoria, Ficus wassa, Malay apple (Syzygium malaccense), marita (Pandanus conoideus), mon (Dracontomelon dao), parartocarpus (Parartocarpus venenosa), pouteria (Pouteria maclayana), rukam (Flacourtia rukam), ton (Pometia pinnata), watery rose apple (Syzygium aqueum) and traditional mango (Mangifera minor).


It has been suggested that the use of active learning instructional strategies, both in traditional face-to-face classrooms as well as online courses, enhances learning and results in better learning outcomes. Recently, an asynchronous online Principles of Marketing course offered by a large, public Midwestern university was revised to include the use of a publisher's individual online interactive activities including multiple choice, "drag and drop" matching exercises, and video and traditional case discussions, as active learning strategies to reinforce course concepts. This study examines whether the inclusion of these activities significantly improved learning outcomes as measured by performance scores on two required exams.


BACKGROUND WHO expert groups recommended mortality trials in hospitalized COVID-19 of four re-purposed antiviral drugs. METHODS Study drugs were Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir (fixed-dose combination with Ritonavir) and Interferon-{beta}1a (mainly subcutaneous; initially with Lopinavir, later not). COVID-19 inpatients were randomized equally between whichever study drugs were locally available and open control (up to 5 options: 4 active and local standard-of-care). The intent-to-treat primary analyses are of in-hospital mortality in the 4 pairwise comparisons of each study drug vs its controls (concurrently allocated the same management without that drug, despite availability). Kaplan-Meier 28-day risks are unstratified; log-rank death rate ratios (RRs) are stratified for age and ventilation at entry. RESULTS In 405 hospitals in 30 countries 11,266 adults were randomized, with 2750 allocated Remdesivir, 954 Hydroxychloroquine, 1411 Lopinavir, 651 Interferon plus Lopinavir, 1412 only Interferon, and 4088 no study drug. Compliance was 94-96% midway through treatment, with 2-6% crossover. 1253 deaths were reported (at median day 8, IQR 4-14). Kaplan-Meier 28-day mortality was 12% (39% if already ventilated at randomization, 10% otherwise). Death rate ratios (with 95% CIs and numbers dead/randomized, each drug vs its control) were: Remdesivir RR=0.95 (0.81-1.11, p=0.50; 301/2743 active vs 303/2708 control), Hydroxychloroquine RR=1.19 (0.89-1.59, p=0.23; 104/947 vs 84/906), Lopinavir RR=1.00 (0.79-1.25, p=0.97; 148/1399 vs 146/1372) and Interferon RR=1.16 (0.96-1.39, p=0.11; 243/2050 vs 216/2050). No study drug definitely reduced mortality (in unventilated patients or any other subgroup of entry characteristics), initiation of ventilation or hospitalisation duration. CONCLUSIONS These Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir and Interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalized COVID-19, as indicated by overall mortality, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay. The mortality findings contain most of the randomized evidence on Remdesivir and Interferon, and are consistent with meta-analyses of mortality in all major trials. (Funding: WHO. Registration: ISRCTN83971151, NCT04315948)


The recent emphasis on global change has intensified research in the carbon sequestration potential of seagrass ecosystems (Nellemann et al. 2009). Most estimates on seagrass carbon storage are, however, derived from studies of a few species and habitats. Lavery et al. (2013) showed an 18-fold difference in carbon stores among Australian seagrasses highlighting the importance of inter-habitat variability in carbon stocks. One implication from this is that the factor of seagrass species may play a key role in the variation in carbon stores beneath those studied meadows. Different seagrass species have inherently dissimilar traits, well summarised by the seagrass functional-form model in Carruthers et al. (2007). This functional-form model differentiates seagrasses based on morphological plasticity, rhizome persistence and occurrences in varying depositional environments, among other traits. A further extension of this model is suggested such that the seagrass species may shift from low to high transitions of standing crop biomass between extreme ends of the model. Of interest, the two seagrass genera Halophila and Posidonia are placed at opposite ends of the functional-form model. Halophila has a small biomass with less persistent rhizomes while Posidonia has the opposite traits.We hypothesise that meadows of smaller, ephemeral seagrasses with low standing crop will have less accumulated carbon compared to the larger and more persisting forms with higher productivity and biomass. Estuarine seagrass habitats dominated by Halophila ovalis and Posidonia australis were studied to compare the total carbon stocks and origin of the preserved carbon.


Performance statistics in the construction industry show that project and company failures have become widespread in the industry. Studies have recognized the need for new planning approaches, since existing approaches seem incapable to cope with increasing complexity, dynamism, uncertainties and uniqueness of construction projects. This doctoral study investigates a suitable complementary approach as a tool for construction project planning to achieve success in terms of time, cost, quality and client satisfaction. The paper discusses how a preliminary document analysis is used to seek a suitable pathway for subsequent phases of the doctoral programme. The preliminary study sought information on different strategies used by construction managers on past successful projects in the UK. The results are compared with past suggestions for successful project delivery. Different strategic approaches are reviewed for the feasibility of adopting a human-centered approach to for strategy in the construction industry. The latter part of the paper describes the limitation of the current study and presents a future research plan for a comprehensive understanding of strategy-led approaches in construction projects.


Antimicrobial stewardship interventions are targeted efforts by healthcare organizations to optimize antimicrobial use in clinical practice. The study aimed to explore effective interventions in improving antimicrobial use in hospitals. Literature was systemically searched for interventional studies through PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus databases that were published in the period between January 2010 to April 2022. A random-effects model was used to pool and evaluate data from eligible studies that reported antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions in outpatient and inpatient settings. Pooled estimates presented as proportions and standardized mean differences. Forty-eight articles were included in this review: 32 in inpatient and 16 in outpatient settings. Seventeen interventions have been identified, and eight outcomes have been targeted. AMS interventions improved clinical, microbiological, and cost outcomes in most studies. When comparing nonintervention with intervention groups using meta-analysis, there was an insignificant reduction in length of stay (MD: −0.99; 95% CI: −2.38, 0.39) and a significant reduction in antibiotics' days of therapy (MD: −2.73; 95% CI: −3.92, −1.54). There were noticeable reductions in readmissions, mortality rates, and antibiotic prescriptions post antimicrobial stewardship multi-disciplinary team (AMS-MDT) interventions. Studies that involved a pharmacist as part of the AMS-MDT showed more significant improvement in measured outcomes than the studies that did not involve a phar-


Nowadays the proliferation of small unmanned aerial systems or vehicles (UAS/ Vs), formerly known as drones, coupled with an increasing interest in tools for environmental monitoring, have led to an exponential use of these unmanned aerial platforms for many applications in the most diverse fields of science. In particular, ecologists require data collected at appropriate spatial and temporal resolutions to describe ecological processes. For these reasons, we are witnessing the proliferation of UAV-based remote sensing techniques because they provide new perspectives on ecological phenomena that would otherwise be difficult to study. Therefore, we propose a brief review regarding the emerging applications of low-cost aerial platforms in the field of environmental sciences such as assessment of vegetation dynamics and forests biodiversity, wildlife research and management, map changes in freshwater marshes, river habitat mapping, and conservation and monitoring programs. In addition, we describe two applications of habitat mapping from UAS-based imagery, along the Central Mediterranean coasts, as study cases: (1) The upper limit of a Posidonia oceanica meadow was mapped to detect impacted areas, (2) high-resolution orthomosaic was used for supporting underwater visual census data in order to visualize juvenile fish densities and microhabitat use in four shallow coastal nurseries.


itqquad Then to the Heav'n itself I cried,qquad Asking, `What Lamp had destiny to guideqquad Her little Children stumbling in the Dark?'qquad And - `A blind understandingMissing data. Heav'n replied. qquadqquadqquad Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam It seems that not everybody in Persia in the eleventh century was as convinced as the astrologers that the movements of the heavens controlled the destiny of Man. Nevertheless, for many centuries before and since, kings and emperors rewarded handsomely those astronomer/astrologers who could give them advice based on the movements of the planets and other celestial bodies. (There may be some astronomers today who would wish for similar generous patronage). Since the advent of modern celestial mechanics with the work of Isaac Newton, orbital motion has been studied for its own sake, and in the last thirty years, for the purposes of sending artificial satellites and manned craft into space. Yet for 300 years, one of the most important questions posed by celestial mechanics remains unanswered: are the motions of the planets in the Solar System stable? Could planets collide or even escape? Countless workers since Newton's time have sought Lamps to the destiny of the Solar System, but our Understanding is still obscured by many blind-spots. This thesis does not claim to give any definitive answers to these questions. It does indicate how to obtain quantitative estimates of the likelihood of certain events occurring. Simple statistical methods are applied to the results of numerical experiments and give probabilities of planetary orbits crossing or bodies escaping dynamical systems altogether. In Chapter 1 a general review of the problem of the Solar System's stability is given along with brief descriptions of methods and definitions of stability which have been used in the past. This thesis studies the stability of real and fictitious dynamical systems not necessarily associated with the Solar System. It investigates one particular definition of stability, namely hierarchical stability, using special perturbation methods. The definitions of hierarchical systems, hierarchical stability and empirical stability parameters are reviewed in Chapter 2. These will form the basis for subsequent numerical experiments. One further definition of stability - Hill stability is an important condition for hierarchical stability. It has been studied in a mathematically rigorous way in the problem of three massive bodies in mutually perturbed orbits. This analysis as well as some new numerical results are given in Chapter 3. Numerical integration experiments were carried out, with the aid of a mainframe computer, to study the period of time for which various three-body systems remain stable. Several hundred fictitious systems with different masses and starting conditions were studied. In each case, all three bodies' orbits lay in the same plane. In some systems, all the bodies orbited in the same direction (direct); for other systems, one body orbited in the opposite direction from the other two (retrograde). The results of these experiments are presented in Chapter 4 (for retrograde systems) and Chapter 5 (for direct systems). The results are grouped in such a way that analytical curves may be fitted to the data. This allows predictions of stability lifetimes for similar systems without the need for lengthy numerical integration experiments. Systems whose masses, initial positions and initial velocities fall into certain ranges are always stable. These regions of hierarchical stability are mapped out and compared with corresponding regions of Hill stability. In the case of direct systems, commensurabilities give rise to large fluctuations in stability lifetimes, if the initial conditions are varied slightly. Additional statistical methods are described in Chapter 5 to cope with this effect. In Chapter 6, the results of Chapters 4 and 5 are compared with real three-body systems within the Solar System. Possible origins of the Solar System are discussed in the light of the results.


This collection of papers presents a series of in-depth examinations of a variety of advanced topics related to Boolean functions and expressions. The chapters are written by some of the most prominent experts in their respective fields and cover topics ranging from algebra and propositional logic to learning theory, cryptography, computational complexity, electrical engineering, and reliability theory. Beyond the diversity of the questions raised and investigated in different chapters, a remarkable feature of the collection is the common thread created by the fundamental language, concepts, models, and tools provided by Boolean theory. Many readers will be surprised to discover the countless links between seemingly remote topics discussed in various chapters of the book. This text will help them draw on such connections to further their understanding of their own scientific discipline and to explore new avenues for research.


As laser light propagates through a resonant vapor, laser phase noise (PM) is converted to laser intensity noise (AM) because of the sensitivity of atomic coherence to laser phase fluctuations. In experiments reported here it is shown that this PM-to-AM conversion process is highly efficient and can cause the relative intensity noise of transmitted diode laser light to be 1 to 2 orders of magnitude larger than the laser's intrinsic relative intensity noise. By use of a semiclassical description of the phenomenon, including the effect of optical pumping, reasonably good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained. The PM-to-AM conversion process discussed here has important consequences for atomic clock development, in which diode-laser optical pumping in thick alkali vapors holds the promise for orders-of-magnitude improvement in atomic clock performance.


This article investigates how much investment held by insurers may be eligible to the EU sustainable finance taxonomy. To this aim, Solvency II item-by-item investment data is employed. As part of the Green Deal, the Commission presented the European Green Deal Investment Plan, which will mobilize at least €1 trillion of sustainable investments over the next decade. Our results suggest that currently only a small portion of the insurer's investments are made in economic activities which might be eligible to the EU sustainable finance taxonomy as the insurer's exposures are mainly concentrating toward financial activities. On one hand, this can be interpreted as an indicator of limited exposure to transition risk for the insurance sector but on the other hand also indicates that insurers have the possibility to contribute more significantly to transitioning to a lower carbon society in the future. As major long-term investors, insurers could play a key role in the transition towards more sustainable society. In this respect, the taxonomy can help insurers by providing clarity in identifying sustainable economic activities and avoiding reputational risks.


Background: Adherence is the ability to take the prescribed treatment within the period of persistence with the treatment. In the context of medical treatment, one may not be able to predict treatment non adherence in chronic conditions like hypertension. The researcher realized that a vast number of hypertensive patient in Kanye, Botswana live with poorly controlled blood pressure; Adherence was identified as one of the factors that impact on treatment outcome. Aim of the study was to determine the factors that affect adherence to treatment in adults with hypertension.

Method: The study was a cross-sectional study; of 200 adult persons with hypertension who attended the clinics in Kanye. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data.

Results: The result showed that there was a significant association between the outcome (adherence level) and the counseling on the risks of uncontrolled hypertension (p-value= < 0.0001. Chi2=116.667), patients' experience with pill burden (p-value= < 0.0001, Chi2= 40.9091), patients understanding of treatment regimen (p-value= < 0.0001, Chi2 = 150.0000), patients perception of treatment benefits (p-value = < 0.0001, Chi2 = 150.0000), emotional wellbeing (p-value = < 0.0001, Chi2 = 141.1765), patients' perception of drug adverse effects (p-value = < 0.0001, Chi2 = 108.1434) and cost of medication (p-value = 0.0108, Chi2 = 4.1455).

Conclusion: The study showed that patients who were counseled on the risk of hypertension and understood the treatment regimen adhered better to treatment. The perception of treatment benefits, reduced number of pills taken in a day, good family support and availability of medications are the other factors that affected adherence.


Each level of government has its own peculiar responsibilities to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The states are responsible for licensing physicians who can treat the affected people. Each year, a large number of American and foreign medical school graduates do not find a residency position in the United States. Medical school graduates who have passed the qualifying examination have acquired a considerable amount of education and training during their medical studies, far more than physician assistants, nurses, military corpsmen and medics, and civilian paramedics or emergency medical technicians. They comprise a pool of talent that could be immensely useful in ameliorating the shortage of physician care throughout the country during the pandemic. State lawmakers should allow those graduates to receive a provisional license so that they can provide emergency medical care under the supervision of a licensed physician to help treat the ever-increasing number of COVID-19 patients we will see throughout the near future, or those patients who suffer from more common illnesses and injuries.


In this paper, the sensitivity of the LiNbO3 surface acoustic wave (SAW) based humidity sensors has been enhanced with various nanostructured Ag materials, including thermally evaporated or chemically synthesized, and then thermally annealed ones. The results showed that the humidity sensitivity of the SAW devices increases with the surface roughness (porosity) of the sensing film, and can be further improved when Ag NPs are used. Smooth Ag film deposited by evaporation onto the SAW devices did not change the humidity sensitivity noticeably, but those with chemically deposited high porosity Ag films have a good sensitivity of 80 kHz/75%RH. The SAW sensors with the Ag NPs have the highest sensitivity up to about 800 kHz/75%RH, at least one order of magnitude higher than those reported before. The SAW sensors with Ag nano-particles showed a strong non-linearity, and explained by the different chemisorption capabilities of Ag and LiNbO3 surface.


(Fe,Mg)2SiO4 occurs in the polymorphic forms of olivine (orthorhombic), wadsleyite (orthorhombic) and ringwoodite (cubic). These are some of the most common minerals in the inner solar system. Olivine occurs in the mantles of the Earth, the Moon and Mars, in meteorites, in plutonic and volcanic igneous rocks as well as in some metamorphic rocks. The high pressure polymorphs wadsleyite and ringwoodite have been reported from shocked meteorites. Diffusion coefficients of different elements in these phases have been widely used in several areas of the Earth, planetary and materials-sciences (see below for examples). The relative simplicity of structure and chemistry combined with its wide range of stability (in P - T space) uninterrupted by phase transitions also makes olivine one of the easier materials to study. As a result, olivine has served as a model material for the study of defects and diffusion in silicates. In this chapter we will focus on diffusion data in olivine, wadsleyite and ringwoodite belonging to the Fe-Mg solid solution series, (Fe,Mg)2SiO4.

### Structure of olivine and types of diffusion coefficients

Olivine, with the general formula A2SiO4, is an orthosilicate made up of isolated SiO4 tetrahedra linked to each other by two different kinds of octahedral polyhedra. The octahedral polyhedra are described as M1 and M2 and are usually occupied by divalent cations such as Fe2+, Mg2+, Ni2+, Mn2+ and Ca2+. One aspect of the structure that is relevant for discussion of diffusion data is that the M1 polyhedra form a continuous chain along the [001] direction (space group: Pbnm ) whereas the M2 polyhedra are not interlinked with each other in any direction in the structure. In this chapter reference to the [001] direction or the c-axis will always be made with reference to …


Background/Objectives: Educational Data mining is an emerging interdisciplinary research area that deals with the development of methods to explore data originating in an educational context. The objective of this work is to identify relevant attributes from socio-demographic, academic and institutional data from undergraduate students at the university located in India and develop an improved decision tree algorithm based on ID3 which can able to predict whether the students continue or drop their studies. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The traditional ID3 algorithm is improved by using Renyi entropy, Information gain and Association Function and the model generated by improved decision tree algorithm may be beneficial for university administrators to create guidelines and policies related to raise the enrollment rate in university and to take precautionary and advisory measures and thereby reduce student dropout. It can also used to find the reasons and relevant factors that affect the dropout students. Findings: Experimental results proved that improved decision tree algorithm provides better prediction accuracy in educational data than that of traditional classification algorithms in the literature. Improvements/Applications: Improved decision algorithm was proposed that enhances the ability to form decision trees and thereby to prove that the classification accuracy of improved decision algorithm on educational dataset is greater.


This paper proposes a kinematics system to stabilize and end effectors of a manipulator connected on a wheeled mobile platform. The idea to connect hybridlly two different robotics systems, serial and parallel kinematics robotics systems. The inverse and forward kinematics is modeled for the wheeled platform on the velocity level, while for the manipulator the kinematics are modeled with respect to the position. For connecting both kinematics configuration, the end-effector and the robot co-ordinates were transformed to the floor co-ordinates. Simulation system was created to check the feasibility of the solution. Four simulation examples were used to test the performance of the Kinematics control based solution. The simulation result showed the feasibility and acceptable responses of the system. In addition to, a workspace on the end-effector degrees of freedom was defined and the simulation results showed the effect of violating its limits. The practical results show performance of the hardware setup to stabilize the end effector with acceptable results.


Roma migration from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has increased significantly over the last
decade as a result of EU expansion. There are now sizable Roma communities in many parts of
England – including London, the Midlands and Northern England.
Roma are one of the most persecuted groups in history and they can be extremely suspicious
of the intentions and actions of non-Roma. Self-help is thus a key feature of Roma culture and
many Roma migrants are extremely reluctant to engage with support agencies when they arrive in
England. Legislation continues to restrict the type of work nationals from A2 accession states can
do and many Roma thus exist at the margins of mainstream society. This has direct implications
for the education of Roma children, who are often required to help their families earn an income
rather than attend school. Multi-agency partnership work is recognized as a valuable tool for
overcoming these problems and supporting Roma children into school.
The research on which this report is based, set out to examine the impact of multi-agency
partnership work engaging Roma migrants from CEE in more detail. It explored the challenges
faced by agencies working with Roma and the impact of multi-agency work on the attendance levels
and educational success of Roma children in secondary schools in England. It also assessed the
potential impact of proposed changes to the school funding system on multi-agency work with Roma.


The Transformer and its variants have been proven to be efficient sequence learners in many different domains. Despite their staggering success, a critical issue has been the enormous number of parameters that must be trained (ranging from $10^7$ to $10^{11}$) along with the quadratic complexity of dot-product attention. In this work, we investigate the problem of approximating the two central components of the Transformer -- multi-head self-attention and point-wise feed-forward transformation, with reduced parameter space and computational complexity. We build upon recent developments in analyzing deep neural networks as numerical solvers of ordinary differential equations. Taking advantage of an analogy between Transformer stages and the evolution of a dynamical system of multiple interacting particles, we formulate a temporal evolution scheme, TransEvolve, to bypass costly dot-product attention over multiple stacked layers. We perform exhaustive experiments with TransEvolve on well-known encoder-decoder as well as encoder-only tasks. We observe that the degree of approximation (or inversely, the degree of parameter reduction) has different effects on the performance, depending on the task. While in the encoder-decoder regime, TransEvolve delivers performances comparable to the original Transformer, in encoder-only tasks it consistently outperforms Transformer along with several subsequent variants.


We present qualitative and quantitative component analyses on compound explosives via Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) based on a combination of wavelet thresholding and wavelength selection. Despite its importance, the field of signal processing of THz signals of compound plastic explosives is relatively unexplored. In this paper, experiment results from explosives Composition B-3 and Pentolite are newly presented, suggesting a novel signal processing procedure for in situ compound explosives detection. The proposed signal processing method demonstrates effective component analysis even in noisy and humid environments, showing significant decrease in component concentration percentage error of approximately 22.7% for Composition B-3 and 48.8% for Pentolite.


This paper identifies the major failings of mainstream economics and the rational choice theory it relies upon. These failures were identified by the four figures mentioned in the title: economics treats agents as rational fools; by the time the long run equilibrium arrives, we are all dead; the social, political and economic institutions that meet most urgent human needs most effectively could not have been the result of rational choice, but their 'spontaneous order' needs to be explained; human uncertainty and reflexivity prohibit a predictively useful rational choice approach to human affairs, and even limit its role in institution design. What unifies the perspectives of all four of these critics of neoclassical economics, however, is their implicit reliance or on need for a Darwinian perspective on human affairs.


In this paper I read Quentin Meillassoux's critique of correlationism as truly a critique of transcendentalism and the transcendental method. I do so by considering the two correlationist rejoinders that occur in the English edition of Meillassoux's After Finitude . The first rejoinder is from an idealist and relies on adumbrations for its defence. This reliance on adumbrations will be shown to be itself transcendentally implicated through Edmund Husserl's Crisis of the European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology . I then turn to the explicit engagement with the transcendental method that arises from the transcendentalist's rejoinder. Considered together I hope to convince the reader that the core of correlationism is transcendentalism.


This cross-cultural study of Chinese and English business request letters, and of English letters written by native English speakers and Chinese non-native speakers is aimed at examining the rhetorical differences between them. By using Swales'move structure analysis and Mann and Thompson's rhetorical structure theory, the comparison between Chinese and English business request letters reveals that they have a rather different rhetorical structure although they share the same communicative purpose of expressing a wish for something. This is probably due to two factors: first, the inherently different discoursal patterns of the two languages, and second, the different readers' and writers' expectations regarding making a request in the two cultures. In the Chinese letters, a deference face system is predominant, including features such as the inductive introduction of requests (justification + request), an absence of face-threatening moves, and a greater proportion of and flexibility in the use of rapport-building strategies throughout the whole text. On the other hand, in the English letters, a solidarity face system is employed in making business requests, with features such as the deductive introduction of the request, greater emphasis on the ideational content, and frequent occurrence of face-threatening moves. The English request letters by Chinese writers show patterns similar to those found in the Chinese request letters, such as the preferred pattern of justification followed by request, greater emphasis on interpersonal or rapport-building strategies, and an absence of face-threatening moves. Certain possible areas of discoursal transfer in English business request letters by Chinese writers have been identified for further investigation. Lastly, move structure analysis and rhetorical structure theory are compared for their relative strengths and weaknesses for textual analysis


Background: Research from across the world has shown that rates of seasonal mood disturbances may vary according to such factors as geographical location, age and gender. Little is known of the nature of these problems within representative community samples in UK and Ireland. Aims: In two studies we examined the extent to which winter disrupts mood and behaviour among random samples of British and Irish adults. Methods: In the first study, 533 adults randomly chosen from electoral data from four towns spread across 50-58°N completed the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). In the second study, 498 adults from two towns in Northern Ireland (54°N) completed the SPAQ. Results: Although the combined response rate across the two studies was low (20.5%), the prevalence rates were similar to several other western European sites. The rate of SAD and S-SAD averaged across the six centres as determined from strict SPAQ criteria, was 6.7% and 10.5% respectively. There was some variability in rates from town to town, with one Northern Irish town presenting rates more associated with areas at much lower latitudes, although most differences between towns were not significant. As in most other studies, females of reproductive age tended to supply the higher number of incidences. Conclusion: This report from community samples across six sites confirms earlier suggestions that rates of seasonal disturbance in mood and behaviour deserve serious consideration by mental health practitioners throughout the region.


Abstract. Methyl chloroform (1,1,1-trichloroethane, CH3CCl3) was found to decompose heterogeneously on seven types of standard clay minerals (23 materials) in dry air at 313 K in the laboratory. All reactions proceeded through the elimination of HCl; CH3CCl3 was converted quantitatively to CH2=CCl2. The activities of the clay minerals were compared via their pseudo-first-order reaction rate constants (k1). A positive correlation was observed between the k1 value and the specific surface area (S) of clay minerals, where the S value was determined by means of the general Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The k1 value was anti-correlated with the value of n, which was a parameter of the general BET equation and related to the average pore size of the clay minerals, and correlated with the water content that can be removed easily from the clay minerals. The reaction required no special pretreatment of clay minerals, such as heating at high temperatures; hence, the reaction can be expected to occur in the environment. Photoillumination by wavelengths present in the troposphere did not accelerate the decomposition of CH3CCl3, but it induced heterogeneous photodecomposition of CH2=CCl2. The temperature dependence of k1, the adsorption equilibrium coefficient of CH3CCl3 and CH2=CCl2, and the surface reaction rate constant of CH3CCl3 were determined for an illite sample. The k1 value increased with increasing temperature. The amount of CH3CCl3 adsorbed on the illite during the reaction was proportional to the partial pressure of CH3CCl3. The reaction was sensitive to relative humidity and the k1 value decreased with increasing relative humidity. However, the reaction was found to proceed at a relative humidity of 22% at 313 K, although the k1 value was about one-twentieth of the value in non-humidified air. The conditions required for the reaction may be present in major desert regions of the world. A simple estimation indicates that the possible heterogeneous decomposition of CH3CCl3 on the ground surface in arid regions is worth taking into consideration when inferring the tropospheric lifetime of CH3CCl3 and global OH concentration from the global budget concentration of CH3CCl3.


The nature of the study described in this report was essentially that of an exploratory exercise, intended to contribute to the transport and Road Research Laboratory'S wider understanding of the sources, scale and spread of benefits from urban road improvements. To this end, a state-of-the-art four-stage transport model of belfast, created using 1985 data, was used. An early step in the research was to establish a cost-effective strategy for achieving adequate convergence of the saturn road traffic assignment submodel. A serial of tests was carried out of several road network improvement schemes in order to investigate the relationship between the degree of highway network improvement and the scale of the consequent effects produced by each of the model components, for each of two levels of demand. For one scheme, a series of analyses were undertaken to display the spatial effects of the various model components. Finally, again for one scheme only, the effects of increasing demands in response to decreased travel times was investigated. This report summarises the background to the study and the methodology used, and gives the main findings and some suggestions for further research. (TRRL)


We investigate numerically multiple light-scattering phenomena for two-dimensional randomly rough metallic surfaces, where surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) mediate several surface scattering effects. The scattering problem is solved by numerical solution of the reduced Rayleigh equation for reflection. The multiple scattering phenomena of enhanced backscattering and enhanced forward scattering are observed in the same system, and their presence is due to the excitation of SPPs. The numerical results discussed are qualitatively different from previous results for one-dimensionally rough surfaces, as one-dimensional surfaces have a limited influence on the polarization of light.


This article serves as a guide for conducting statistical analyses in a reasoned action context. Using structural equation modeling concepts, the authors identify two elements of reasoned action data: the structural component relating theoretical variables to one another and a measurement component defining the theoretical constructs. The authors then describe a three-step analytic approach: analyzing the proximal determinants of intention to perform a behavior, analyzing the underlying beliefs, and performing a segmentation analysis for intervention design purposes. In each step, when appropriate, the authors discuss the role of background/precursor variables. The authors conclude by addressing several common analytic issues that may arise when conducting a reasoned action analysis, such as the role of past behavior and testing for moderation.


Taking an approach different from (hat of earlier biographers, A. Owen Aldridge examines Voltaire's literary and intellectual career chronologically, using the methods both of comparative literature and of the history of ideas. The resulting biography portrays a fascinating personality as well as a great writer and thinker. Voltaire is revealed not only through his correspondence, here extensively quoted, but through the statements others made about him in anecdotes, memoirs, and other contemporary documents. New information is introduced regarding Voltaire's sojourn in England, his later relations with English men of letters, his domestic turmoils at the court of Frederick the Great, and his contact with French contemporaries such as Montesquieu and Diderot. For the first time in any biography, attention is given to Voltaire's extensive knowledge of Spanish literature and its influence on his own work, particularly Candide. Voltaire is portrayed as a conscious participant in the Enlightenment. In his early years he was interested primarily in aesthetics and abstract philosophy; later, he passionately dedicated himself to humanitarian causes with ideological implications. Professor Aldridge brings forward evidence pointing to the contrast between these two periods in Voltaire's life.Originally published in 1975.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


On the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, U.S., the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness is bordered by a buffer zone. To successfully improve forest health within that buffer zone and restore fire in the wilderness, the managing agency and the public need to work together to find solutions to increasingly threatening fuel buildups. A combination of qualitative, culturally sensitive research and a web-based mapping exercise have been used to develop understanding of the tradeoffs Reservation residents describe in relation to potential buffer zone actions. The primary meanings Tribal members associate with the Buffer Zone are protection of the wilderness, wildlife and water quality, access and functional attachments, recreation and scenic values, and personal and cultural meanings. To build trust among both tribal and non-tribal residents, fire planners must understand how proposed actions interact with values at risk assigned by the local community and describe a prioritization process that addresses publicly perceived threats


Although IELTS is coordinated under a framework for test development and validation, there is some controversy about exam results' correlation with students' post-admission intellectual, academic and professional performance. The theoretical part of the research aims to investigate the extent to which the IELTS reading component relates meaningfully to interpretations of validity. The empirical part addresses questions about perceptions of the impact of the IELTS reading preparation on adjustment to the challenges of academia and further academic performance and variances in these perceptions depending on the area of study and the level of language mastery. While having quite different views on assessing IELTS validity, the researchers agree that academic success is enhanced through and based on extensive substantive reading. The methodology relied on both qualitative and quantitative data derived from an anonymous online questionnaire: 133 international students with Russian citizenship, Global Education Programme (GEP) finalists, participated in the survey in summer 2017. Five different result interpretations were taken into account: overall results, those for sciences and humanities, higher and lower achievers' results. The discussion is built around test-takers' opinions on the IELTS exam, the reading component and scores. The issues discussed include, but are not limited to: reading strategies, information sources required at university, tasks effectiveness, exam preparation usefulness to academic adjustment and its influence on academic achievement, its resourcefulness for the formation of linguistic capabilities, and respondents' perception of extra factors for exam success. Potentially increasing jeopardy of negative washback is shown as an emerging problem. Although test-taking ability is not depicted as a crucially important factor affecting exam success, it is increasingly significant and its harmful effects may be expressed in illusionary higher levels of validity due to visually improved results. Quality preparation for the reading test can train a number of essential skills required in academia; however, preparation itself does not appear to be a significant factor for smoother adjustment to academic challenges, as it is highly dependent on preliminary linguistic background. There is a necessity to communicate broader information to learners through the IELTS handbook, website and other communication channels. EAP tutors should encourage their students to make efforts to cover the subject without framing it within boundaries of measurement, but with a clear understanding of future academic and professional challenges.
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


Experiences of awe and wonder are vital to science and innovation. In this practice insight we explore how these emotions shape the culture of science communication. In doing so, we examine how exclusively nature- and place-based experiences for awe and wonder are often features of resource-limited settings. We then describe strategies for awe- and wonder-centred science communication beyond reliance on nature or the power of place by detailing a successful hybrid resourcing model in a rural Australian science centre. We finish by describing the role of science communicators in engaging potential collaborators to enable science communication in resource-limited settings.


Since its inception around 1970, the study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) has gradually evolved into an established multidisciplinary area of study. In this volume, a group of senior NRM scholars who have been instrumental in the development of the field offer essays that present the basics of NRM scholarship along with guidance for teachers on classroom use. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the volume provides comprehensive, accessible information and perspectives on NRMs. It is an invaluable guide for instructors navigating this scholarly minefield.


more than a century fingerprints ware considered to be the identifying mark for the human beings. Fingerprint is a protected human organ and an effective biometric approach to human or personal identification. It acts like living passwords for humans as its texture is stable throughout the human life. Fingerprints are an impression left by the friction ridges of human finger. This paper contains a very useful image segmentation method for fingerprints segmentation by taking the idea from friction ridges of human finger and also with an effective storage capacity for the segmented images. Watershed algorithm depends on ridges to perform a proper segmentation, a property that is often fulfilled in contour detection where the boundaries of the objects are expressed as ridges. The tool we have used is MAT LAB, typically using the MAT LAB editor.


Title: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING OF CHILDREN WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS Efrat Altshul Schorr, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Directed By: Professor Nathan A. Fox Department of Human Development Studies of infants and children have demonstrated the importance of sensory processing in facilitating social and emotional development. Children who are deaf are deprived of the information typically provided by the auditory modality that is necessary to the development of basic social and emotional skills, which serve as the foundation upon which complex social and emotional constructs are built. Children with cochlear implants experience extended periods of total auditory deprivation during early childhood, followed by the introduction of auditory stimulation. Thirty-nine children with cochlear implants, aged five through fourteen, as well as an age and sex matched group of normal hearing peers, participated in assessment of the integrated perception of multimodal stimuli, processing of facial and vocal expressions of emotion, and emotion understanding skills. These dimensions of basic social and emotional functioning are vulnerable to the effects of atypical early experience. The age at which children received their cochlear implant and the length of time that they have used the cochlear implant were hypothesized to predict performance on the assessments. Results showed that the age at implant predicted performance on the McGurk fusion task, which requires the integration of multimodal sensory stimuli. Specifically, children who received their cochlear implant prior to age 30 months accurately identified the incongruent auditory-visual stimuli, whereas children who received their cochlear implant after 30 months of age did not. Age at implant and duration of implant use did not predict performance on the other experimental tasks. Comparison of groups revealed that performance of children with cochlear implants did not differ from children with normal hearing in a facial emotion identification task and in 2 components of emotion understanding: receptive identification of facial expressions and affective-perspective taking. Children with cochlear implants demonstrated poorer performance than children with normal hearing in tasks requiring free labeling of facial expressions of emotion, and vocal emotion identification. This research suggests sensitive periods in multimodal sensory integration. The present study provides understanding of the social and emotional influences of early experience with the auditory system on children with cochlear implants. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING OF CHILDREN WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS


Sleep difficulties are common in multiple sclerosis (MS), with prevalence rates ranging from 36% to 62%. Sleep problems have been shown to have a grave impact on individuals in the general population and to contribute to reports of fatigue and reduced quality of life in MS. However, despite these high rates and overall impact, sleep problems in MS frequently go unrecognized. The present investigation sought to examine sleep changes among a sample of 97 individuals with MS and to gain a better appreciation as to what individuals with MS report as contributing to their change in sleep. Approximately 58% of participants complained of changes in their sleep. Among these 56 participants, bladder incontinence, muscle stiffness and leg spasms were most often endorsed as a contributor, with rates ranging from 57% to 63%. When asked about the primary attribution of their sleep change, the majority of individuals (43%) described problems with bladder incontinence. Following this, 17% and 15% reported worry and problems with leg spasms as the primary contributors, respectively. Furthermore, those who rated worry as their primary reason for change in their sleep also endorsed greater symptomatology of depression and anxiety. These findings suggest that sleep difficulties in MS may be a result of many physical and/or psychological symptoms. Proper identification of the etiology of sleep changes in MS is warranted in order to treat these problems and hopefully ameliorate individuals' difficulty with sleep and fatigue.


The results of a new experimental study reveal highly systematic violations of expected utility theory. The pattern of these violations is exactly the opposite of the classical common ratio effect discovered by Allais (1953). Two recent decision theories—stochastic expected utility theory (Blavatskyy 2007) and perceived relative argument model (Loomes 2008)—predicted the existence of a reverse common ratio effect. However, these theories can rationalize only one part of the new experimental data reported in this paper. The other part appears to be neither predicted by existing theories nor documented in the existing empirical studies.


IDPC was set up in 2007 as a response to the need for a global communication and advocacy structure in the area of drug policy. Since then, IDPC has become a dynamic collaborative initiative which has gradually expanded both its membership and activities to influence national and international drug policies and programmes. This is the first IDPC progress report, which aims to highlight IDPC's key activities and successes since its creation four years ago.


In this paper, early work on how to implement flexible safety zones is presented. In the case study an industrial robot cell emulates the environment at a wall construction site, with a robot performing nailing routines. Tests are performed with humans entering the safety zones of a SafetyEye system. The zone violation is detected, and new warning zones initiated. The robot retracts but continues its work tasks with reduced speed and within a safe distance of the human operator. Interaction is achieved through simultaneous work on the same work piece and the warning zones can be initiated and adjusted in a flexible way.


A study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Equine Infectious Anemia
Virus (EIAV) among horses of various clubs in the state of Selangor. A total of 94
serum samples was obtained from horses of various breeds, sex and age and tested
for the presence of antibodies against EIAV using; (i) competitive enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (CELISA) and (ii) agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test, to
demonstrate the presence of antibodies against p26 recombinant gag protein. All
horses sampled in this study were kept in stables and have access to paddock grazing.
Horses have no history of contact with imported stocks. In this study none of the
sera had antibodies against EIA virus. It is possible that the strict import policies
imposed, and the almost non-existent importation of horses for the purpose of
breeding has prevented the introduction of the disease into Malaysia.


Aging is a biological process characterized by a progressive accumulation of damage that finally leads to disrupted metabolic homeostasis leading to cell damage. One of the hallmarks of aging is the presence of mitochondrial dysfunction translated in a decline in mitochondrial respiration and oxidative capacity, reduced mitochondrial mass, morphological alterations of mitochondria, and increase in oxidative stress. Therefore, preservation of mitochondrial health is crucial for maintaining tissue homeostasis during aging. Several mitochondrial quality control mechanisms have been identified, such as pathways related to protein folding and degradation, also known as mitochondrial unfolding protein response (mtUPR), as well as pathways involved in the turnover of mitochondria (mitophagy). However the direct link between quality control mechanisms and loss of mitochondrial health observed during aging and age-related alterations is still unknown. In this special issue, different research articles, performed by independent groups, address the role of mitochondrial function in the frame of aging or age-related pathologies using different experimental approaches and models. Although mitochondrial fitness is declined due to different pathological alterations, most of them converge in two critical hotspots: increase of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative damage and metabolic maladaptation as leading causes of unhealthy aging.

H. Yamamoto et al. investigated the effects of a traditional Indian medicinal plant, Amla, on mitochondrial function. Amla has been shown to improve age-related pathology by decreasing oxidative stress. In their article, H. Yamamoto et al. show that Amla increases mitochondrial function and biogenesis, together with an activation of Nrf2, which together explain the antioxidant actions of Amla.

In their research article, A. V. Lokhmatikov et al. study the capacity of several natural antioxidants in the maintenance of mitochondrial health. Mitochondrial cardiolipin (CL) oxidation is increased in aging and age-related pathologies and is considered one of the first signaling elements of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. By using a chemical model resembling the mitochondrial membrane, they show that amphiphilic antioxidants can prevent oxidation of CL trapped within the respiratory supercomplexes and then preserve mitochondrial function.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been also associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes. O. M. Duicu et al. have found a more severe mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with CHD and diabetes than in patients with only CHD, characterized by a lower mitochondrial respiration. Importantly, this mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with increase in oxidative stress which was reduced when monoamine oxidase (MAO) was inhibited, pointing out to MAO as an important contributor to oxidative stress in CHD.

Neurodegeneration is also associated with aging and mitochondrial dysfunction. In this special issue, two research articles address the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases. F. Zhao et al. study the role of AP39, a new hydrogen sulphide donor with beneficial effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD). They found that AP39 sustains mitochondrial bioenergetics in neurons coming from an AD mouse model, leading to a decrease in ROS and an increase in cell viability. Moreover, administration of this compound to a mouse model of AD inhibited brain atrophy and ameliorated the alterations seen in AD. K. Peng et al. address the protective effect of resveratrol on a rotenone-induced model of Parkinson's disease (PD). They demonstrate that resveratrol increases mitochondrial mass and fusion and decreases ROS levels, leading to neurotoxicity protection, increased survival rate, and motor ability.

Finally, R. Paasuke et al. evaluate the alterations in energy metabolism in muscle satellite cells during aging. By using myoblasts isolated from biopsies from young and old subjects, they show that both aging in vitro (increase in passages) and aging in vivo (myoblasts from young and old subjects) are associated with a reduced mitochondrial respiration and increased glycolysis.

Taken altogether, the data presented in the different research articles of this special issue suggest that manipulations aimed at preserving mitochondrial function and health, mainly targeting oxidative damage and metabolic adaptations, could contribute to the amelioration of aging and age-related pathologies and could help in the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

David Sebastian

Rebeca Acin-Perez

Katsutaro Morino