This issue of the IDS Bulletin focuses on the role of foresight in policy-oriented international development research and seeks to draw attention to the opportunities and challenges associated with the wide range of foresight approaches and methods that help individuals and groups to think about and prepare for different possible futures. From its systematic origins in the private sector – where the interest was in developing strategy, understanding implications of present and future trends and events, facilitating better decision-making and improving risk management – so governments and public sector bodies subsequently embraced foresight with similar objectives. Looking to the future is – or certainly should be – at the core of development studies. While the benefit of 'looking back to look forward' is well recognised, foresight is more akin to 'looking forward to look forward'. It is striking that foresight approaches and methods do not figure prominently in policy-oriented development research. Why might this be so? This IDS Bulletin suggests two possible explanations. First, most social science disciplines are more comfortable with the analysis of the past and the present than the future. Second, the model of the large, well-funded public sector foresight programme simply does not reflect the realities of much policy-oriented development research. A principle concern of this issue is whether foresight approaches and methods can be usefully integrated into small-scale, exploratory research of relevance to the international development community.


Self-efficacy beliefs are evaluations people make about their capability to handle specific, future challenges. Self-efficacy belief levels predict actual success. Public school principals face ever-changing challenges. Understanding school principal self-efficacy beliefs and supporting the development of these beliefs is one way supervisors can help the future effectiveness of school principals. There are four main sources of information used to develop self-efficacy beliefs. These four sources of information are: mastery learning, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. This multiple case study research examined the factors that influenced self-efficacy beliefs of elementary school principals prior to facing a personally meaningful challenge. The overall research question was: What Factors Attend to the Domains of Self-Efficacy Belief Formation in School Principals? The purpose of the research was to understand what information influenced the mindsets of principals as they formed their initial self-efficacy beliefs prior to facing a personally meaningful challenge. Principal Self-Efficacy Beliefs: What Factors Matter?


This PhD thesis deals with the design of a CMOS integrated circuit as a readout electronic for the THz bolometric detectors, either semiconductor or high-Tc superconductor. We study a chain of the analog signal processing composed of the differential fixed-gain amplifier for the temperature range of 40 to 400K, as well as of the high dynamic range low-pass active frequency filter. As the optimal amplifier configuration, a feedback-free architecture was selected in order to reach high frequency bandwidth (17MHz for gain 40dB), low quiescent current (Iq=2mA) and high input impedance. In this amplifier, the gain is set in the CMOS structure via two different methods and the accuracy is verified by wide-temperature measurements of the fabricated integrated circuit. Consequently, the behaviour of the frequency filters is examined namely in the stopband, aiming to increase the maximal cut-off frequency. As an outcome, two structures with low influence of real active elements' parameters are designed: improved type-II Sallen-Key and the structure based on the CCII- current conveyor. In the last part, the integrated CCII- with very low output impedance is presented.


Esperienze di filiera corta nell'agro-alimentare: un'indagine esplorativa in provincia di Trento - Experiences of short food supply chain: an explorative research in the province of Trento In the recent years there has been an increasing interest in the scientific literature for the so-called "Alternative Food Networks" which try to redefine the relationship between producers and consumers. Particularly interesting is the short food supply chain which allows both producers to get back some added value and consumers to have better food "with the farmers' face on it". Moreover, some part of the literature stressed that a shorter food supply chain promotes the rise of a new and more territorially based rural development. The investigation approach has been mainly sociological or geographical and mostly based on case studies. Little attention has been devoted to quantify the involved farmers' population. Since shorter food supply chains are becoming increasingly present in the Italian market, the aim of the paper is to contribute to deepen the knowledge about these experiences, starting from the specific context of the Autonomous Province of Trento. First of all, a census of the empirical variety of short food supply chains has been made. In addition to three farmer's markets, one box scheme (Biocesta) and other similar initiatives, farmers open their farms to consumers and visitors. The integration of three different databases allowed us to estimate the number of farms involved in the short supply chain. It represents the 12,8% of the full time farms. In order to shed light on structural conditions, economic performance and farmers' perceptions, we surveyed a convenience sample of 36 farms involved in the most innovative forms of short food supply chain. The surveyed farms are of small dimensions; the farmers are well educated and they are fully involved in the short food supply chain. Most part of the farms is highly diversified: the average number of products is 4.4 and the diversification is strengthened trough some processing. Only 28% of the sample sells the whole production through the short supply chain: this confirms that the major part of farms does not abandon the conventional system when opting for a shorter supply chain. Investigating the motivations that draw farmers to move towards a shorter supply chain shows that a better valorisation of their products represents the most important one. Nevertheless, other non-monetary reasons enter into the decision and gain top ranking positions such the direct contact with consumers and the enhancement of professional competences. The option for a shorter supply chain seems to have very interesting consequences. Actually, it pushed the 72% of farms to increase product diversification; it induced some farms to switch to organic production, to recover unusual vegetables and antique fruit cultivars, to pay greater attention to the landscape, to offer new services inside the farm and to strength the relations with other farms and the territory. These results support the idea that the short food supply chain enhances the multifunctional role of farms. JEL Codes: Q12, Q13 Key words: short food supply chain, farmers' survey, structural and economic characteristics, Trentino


Tinnitus is a sound perceived without external stimulus, and results from the dynamic interaction of the centers in the central nervous system, including non-auditory and auditory ways. The result of this interaction, especially with the limbic system and autonomic nervous system, would be responsible for triggering negative emotional associations and distress in patients with tinnitus. Anxiety, a physiological condition inherent to human beings, when exacerbated, generates a mood disorder, affecting thinking, behavior and physiological activity. If an inner or outer stimulus is interpreted as dangerous or threatening, it may trigger an emotional reaction characterized as a state of anxiety. This work aims to review the relationship between tinnitus and anxiety. The tinnitus sound is perceived can be altered by anxiety, thereby, sharpening the sensitivity in detecting sounds that seem a potential threat, because for many people, tinnitus is synonymous with a serious illness. The etiology for the development of depression and anxiety may be related to tinnitus. Many people acquire this symptom by physical problems and hence develop depression and anxiety. Others with different degrees of distress due to tinnitus acquire emotional problems. Thus, there is a probable link between tinnitus and emotional problems, but it is not always easy to identify which one occurs first. Studies show that patients affected by tinnitus have a greater trend for suicide, depression and anxiety. They also refer to the additive cumulative effects of anxiety and depression on the quality of life of tinnitus sufferers.


A discrete time, multi-gear, and age structured bio-economic model is developed for the East Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries, a paradigmatic example of the difficulties faced in managing highly migratory fish stocks. The model is used to analyse alternative management strategies for the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) managing this fishery, and to investigate some of the policy implications. For the various scenarios, the optimal stock level varies between 500-800,000 tonnes, which compares with a stock level of 150,000 tonnes in 1995. In other words, there is a very strong case for rebuilding the stock. Moreover, the sustainability of the stock is threatened unless a recovery programme is implemented; indeed, the alternative may be stock collapse. Second, to rebuild the stock, Draconian measures are called for: either outright moratoria over fairly lengthy periods, or possibly a more gradual approach to steady state given by a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) at a low level for an extended period of time. Third, the cost of inefficient gear structure is very high indeed.


Features of posttraumatic distress have been associated with treatment noncompliance and delayed surgical recovery among general medical and trauma populations. Although cognitive-affective and behavioral features of posttraumatic distress have been demonstrated among adult and adolescent athletes with injuries, physiological responses associated with posttraumatic distress have not yet been examined in this population. The objective of this study was to examine psychophysiological stress reactivity to orthopedic trauma among male athletes who sustained a severe sport injury. Athletes with injuries (n = 7) and non-injured athlete controls (n = 5) completed self-report measures of psychological distress and were then shown injury video footage while heart rate and skin conductance measures were recorded. After exposure to orthopedic trauma-related video footage, athletes with injuries demonstrated significantly greater skin conductance reactivity and subjective distress compared to controls. As demonstrated among other medical and trauma populations, athletes with injuries exhibit exaggerated stress reactivity profiles when primed with orthopedic trauma stimuli.


OBJECTIVE
We carried out a phase II trial with BEMP [bleomycin, vindesine (Eldisine(R)), mitomycin C and cisplatin] in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix with the specific aim to assess whether BEMP was of particular interest when certain disease sites were involved.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Eligible patients received four cycles of E 3 mg/m(2), day 1 + 8; P 50 mg/m(2), day 1; B 15 mg/day (continuous infusion), day 2-4 and M 8 mg/m(2), day 5 (on alternate cycles), every 3 weeks during an induction phase. Thereafter, those without progression continued with MEP every 4 weeks in a maintenance phase. MEP consisted of E 3 mg/m(2), day 1 + 8, M 6 mg/m(2) (on alternate cycles) and P 50 mg/m(2), both on day 1. All drugs were given i.v. Both response evaluation and toxicity grading were assessed according to World Health Organization criteria.

RESULTS
Of the 161 eligible patients, 143 were assessable for survival, 148 for toxicity and 131 for response. Overall response rate was 45% [complete (CR) 14.5%, partial response (PR) 30.5%]. Most responsive disease sites were lung, lymph nodes and skin metastases (>60% response, CR rate >25%). Median duration of response was 7.6 months. Survival was significantly better in patients with only distant metastases: 12.9 months versus 8.6 months in those with other disease sites involved (P = 0.002). In a multivariate analysis, patients with a good performance status yielded a better prognosis (P = 0.0017), as did the patients with only metastatic disease compared with those who had pelvic disease also or solely (P = 0.045). There were two toxic deaths and 21% of patients stopped treatment because of excessive toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with a good performance status and only distant metastases seem optimal candidates to receive the BEMP regimen. This benefit should be balanced against the expected serious toxic effects.


We introduce quasiquotes for the Scala programming language, which solve the problem of manual tree construction and deconstruction. Included case studies show that quasiquotes indeed are easier to work with than existing tools for tree construction. When limitations of current implementation are lifted quasiquotes will become the ultimate tool for the tree manipulation.


Alpinia galanga (L) is a tradisional medicine is also known as lengkuas in Indonesia. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that almost 80% of world population relies mainly on traditional medicines, mostly plant drugs in their health care. Alpinia galanga L..) /Lengkuas found all over the world. Chemical components which give the distinctive aroma is asetokskhavikol acetate. The active compounds are galangin, eugenol, kaempherol, and quercetin. These compounds can lower the blood lipid level.The objective of the study was to investigate the Profile blood glucose and triglyseride level using Alpinia galanga (L) /lengkuas Research has done at Biochemistry Laboratories, Animal Husbandry Faculty, Universitas Padjadjaran, and Biofarma Laboratory in Bandung, from October until December 2012. This research used an experimental method with a Completely Randomized Design. There were five treatments (R0 = control ration , R1= control ration + 0.01% Alpinia galanga (L), R2 = control ration + 0.02% Alpinia galanga (L) , R3= control ration + 0.03% Alpinia galanga (L), and four replications. From the statistical analysis indicated that effects of using Alpinia galanga (L) /lengkuas, has potencial effect to.decline trigliseride level i.e: R1= 21,15% , R2= 8.65%, R3= 6.73%, although the blood glucose and triglyseride level showed not significant effect


Interactive visualization of large particle sets is required to analyze the complicated structures and formation
processes in astrophysical particle simulations. While some research has been done on the development of
visualization techniques for steady particle fields, only very few approaches have been proposed to interactively
visualize large time-varying fields and their dynamics. Particle trajectories are known to visualize dynamic
processes over time, but due to occlusion and visual cluttering such techniques have only been reported for very
small particle sets so far. In this paper we present a novel technique to solve these problems, and we demonstrate
the potential of our approach for the visual exploration of large astrophysical particle sequences. We present a
new hierarchical space-time data structure for particle sets which allows for a scale-space analysis of trajectories
in the simulated fields. In combination with visualization techniques that adapt to the respective scales, clusters
of particles with homogeneous motion as well as separation and merging regions can be identified effectively. The
additional use of mapping functions to modulate the color and size of trajectories allows emphasizing various
particle properties like direction, speed, or particle-specific attributes like temperature. Furthermore, tracking
of interactively selected particle subsets permits the user to focus on structures of interest.


The blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of central nervous system function in health and disease. Thus, in almost all neurodegenerative, traumatic or metabolic insults BBB breakdown occurs, allowing entry of serum proteins into the brain fluid microenvironment with subsequent edema formation and cellular injury. Accordingly, pharmacological restoration of BBB function will lead to neurorepair. However, brain injury which occurs following blast, bullet wounds, or knife injury appears to initiate different sets of pathophysiological responses. Moreover, other local factors at the time of injury such as cold or elevated ambient temperatures could also impact the final outcome. Obviously, drug therapy applied to different kinds of brain trauma occurring at either cold or hot environments may respond differently. This is largely due to the fact that internal defense mechanisms of the brain, gene expression, release of neurochemicals and binding of drugs to specific receptors are affected by external ambient temperature changes. These factors may also affect BBB function and development of edema formation after brain injury. In this review, the effects of seasonal exposure to heat and cold on traumatic brain injury using different models i.e., concussive brain injury and cerebral cortical lesion, on BBB dysfunction in relation to drug therapy are discussed. Our observations clearly suggest that closed head injury and open brain injury are two different entities and the external hot or cold environments affect both of them remarkably. Thus, effective pharmacological therapeutic strategies should be designed with these views in mind, as military personnel often experience blunt or penetrating head injuries in either cold or hot environments.


Management is that tool of the manager who helps seek and find the path to progress toward development of the organization.An effective organizational management must lead to finding those levers to motivate all stakeholders in the development of the activity of entities, managers, employees and shareholders. Today, more than ever, CEOs and financial ones are facing complex issues that are basis for achieving their business objectives and strategic vision. An organization cannot conduct business without resorting to its management coordination function, coordination that takes place throughout the activity. Profit and loss control represents means to exercise overall control of the output of the organization activity. Management functions exist in a mutual inter-conditioning, they should not be viewed separately and none of them should be neglected or ignored. This paper tries to develop an understanding on the important functions of management and the relationship it has with fiscality.


The article presents the results of two succeeding Norwegian studies on the environmental impacts of leisure consumption. The first study presents data on the total consumption of leisure products and services by Norwegians, showing that leisure consumption increases more than everyday consumption, the most energy-intensive leisure activities increase the most, leisure activities have become more dependent on transportation and that leisure activities are to an increasing extent based on more material consumption. The second study consists of case studies from four leisure activities in Norway that have experienced the greatest increases in consumption over the last two decades: outdoor recreation clothing, cabins, leisure boating and leisure transportation. The case studies show that the problems connected with reducing the environmental impacts of leisure consumption are numerous and complex, and cannot be solved alone by technological improvements in leisure products and services. We conclude that new policies have to be developed which can on a short-term basis promote changes of leisure consumer habits in a more environmentally friendly direction, and on a long-term basis alter the existing strong links between economic growth and leisure consumption.


Species richness is the most widely used measure of biodiversity. It is considered crucial for testing numerous ecological theories. While local species richness is easily determined by sampling, the quantification of regional richness relies on more or less complete species inventories, expert estimation, or mathematical extrapolation from a number of replicated local samplings. However the accuracy of such extrapolations is rarely known. In this study, we compare the common estimators MM (Michaelis‐Menten), Chao1, Chao2, ACE (Abundance‐based Coverage Estimator), and the first and second order Jackknifes against the asymptote of the species accumulation curve, which we use as an estimate of true regional richness. Subsequently, we quantified the role of sample size, i.e., number of replicates, for precision, accuracy, and bias of the estimation. These replicates were sub‐sets of three large data sets of benthic assemblages from the NE Atlantic: (i) soft‐bottom sediment communities in the Western Baltic (n = 70); (ii) hard‐bottom communities from emergent rock on the Island of Helgoland, North Sea (n = 52), and (iii) hard‐bottom assemblages grown on artificial substrata in Madeira Island, Portugal (n = 56). For all community types, Jack2 showed a better performance in terms of bias and accuracy while MM exhibited the highest precision. However, in virtually all cases and across all sampling efforts, the estimators underestimated the regional species richness, regardless of habitat type, or selected estimator. Generally, the amount of underestimation decreased with sampling effort. A logarithmic function was applied to quantify the bias caused by low replication using the best estimator, Jack2. The bias was more obvious in the soft‐bottom environment, followed by the natural hard‐bottom and the artificial hard‐bottom habitats, respectively. If a weaker estimator in terms of performance is chosen for this quantification, more replicates are required to obtain a reliable estimation of regional richness.


Abstract Background: Despite the widespread production and dissemination of clinical practice guidelines, both worldwide and in South Africa, they have not resulted in the expected improvements in quality of care and patient outcomes. There are limited studies concerning the impact of South African-developed guidelines on local physician behaviour and knowledge. Awareness of a guideline is a necessary prerequisite for its successful implementation. This study aimed to survey primary care practitioners in Cape Town employed in both the private and state sectors on their awareness and perceptions of the Osteoporosis Clinical Guidelines, published in the South African Medical Journal in September 2000. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was used. A telephonic survey of 150 randomised Cape Town primary care practitioners was conducted (100 private general practitioners and 50 public sector primary care practitioners). A survey instrument developed for the study was applied in a standardised manner. The respondents' levels of awareness and perceptions of the published guideline on osteoporosis were evaluated. Results: A total of 18.7% (95% confidence interval 12.5–24.9%) of the respondents reported being aware of the clinical guidelines. Of the primary care practitioners who were surveyed, 12.7% (95% confidence interval 7.4–18%) reported having read the guidelines. There was no difference in reported awareness of the guidelines between doctors working in the private and public sectors. The respondents who had read the guidelines were generally well disposed towards them. Significantly fewer public sector primary care practitioners felt able to implement the guidelines than private general practitioners—organisational barriers were most commonly cited as barriers to implementation. Conclusion: Passive dissemination of the Osteoporosis Clinical Guidelines resulted in low levels of awareness among the surveyed group. This result has implications regarding future clinical guideline dissemination and implementation in South Africa. Further attention needs to be focused on developing implementation and dissemination strategies of evidence-based guidelines in South Africa.


Acetylcholine (ACh) is an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, but when pulmonary artery endothelium is damaged it causes vasoconstriction through a direct action on smooth muscle muscarinic receptors (Dinh-Xuan et al., 1989). In rabbit main pulmonary artery this action involves M2 and M3 receptors The muscarinic agonist, oxotremorine sesquifumarate (Oxo-S), also contracts this preparation, but the effects appear to be mediated solely through M2 receptors This study characterised responses to ACh and Oxo-S in isolated pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) by monitoring changes in the fluorescence of the Ca2+ indicator, fluo-4. Arteries were obtained from male New Zealand rabbits (2-2.5 kg) killed by lethal injection of sodium pentobarbitone (140 mg kg-' i.v.). PASMC were isolated by enzymatic digestion, loaded with 1 jM fluo-4 at 221C for 45 min, washed and bathed in physiological salt solution (PSS). Fluorescence was excited at 488 nm and measured between 503 and 553 nm using a confocal microscope. Calcium signals were quantified as the change in fluorescence (AF) relative to the background fluorescence (F0). Ca2+-free solution was prepared by replacing CaCl2 in the PSS with equimolar MgC12 and adding 5mM EGTA. To study Gi involvement, PASMC were incubated with pertussis toxin (PTX; 5gig ml-') for 3-4 hr at 22°C and compared with control cells treated in the same way, but without exposure to PTX. Experiments were performed 22°C. Results are expressed as mean ± s.e.m.


Binding operations carried out in working memory enable the integration of information from different sources during online performance. While available evidence suggests that working memory may involve distinct binding functions, whether or not they all involve the episodic buffer as a cognitive substrate remains unclear. Similarly, knowledge about the neural underpinnings of working memory buffers is limited, more specifically regarding the involvement of medial temporal lobe structures. In the present study, we report on the case of patient KA, with developmental amnesia and selective damage to the whole hippocampal system. We found that KA was unable to hold shape-colours associations (relational binding) in working memory. In contrast, he could hold integrated coloured shapes (conjunctive binding) in two different tasks. Otherwise, and as expected, KA was impaired on three relational memory tasks thought to depend on the hippocampus that are widely used in the early detection of Alzheimer ' s disease. Our results emphasize a dissociation between two binding processes within working memory, suggesting that the visuo-spatial sketchpad could support conjunctive binding, and may rely upon a large cortical network including sub-hippocampal structures. By contrast, we found evidence for a selective impairment of relational binding in working memory when the hippocampal system is compromised, suggesting that the long-term memory deficit observed in amnesic patients may be related to impaired short-term relational binding at encoding. Finally, these findings may inform research on the early detection of Alzheimer ' s disease as the preservation of conjunctive binding in KA is in sharp contrast with the impaired performance demonstrated very early in this disease.


The structure of global intellectual property law as incorporated in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is implicated in the current lack of COVID-19 vaccines, medical equipment, medicines and diagnostics (hereafter, 'health-technologies'), which are needed to combat the pandemic. Although equitable access to vaccines is in the moral, political and economic interests of the global public and requires global solidarity, the phenomenon of COVID-19 'vaccine nationalism' has brought into sharp relief the misalignment of current legal and financial incentives to produce and distribute vaccines equitably. The crisis further demonstrates the failure of high-income countries (HICs) to realise the promise they made at the time of the TRIPS negotiations in 1994, that by agreeing to the terms of TRIPS, lower and middle-income countries (LMICs) would benefit from technology transfer and the building of productive capacity. As such, the current crisis is revealing not only of inadequacies of how to deal with global emergencies, but also of deficiencies within the international 'patent bargain' itself.

This paper elucidates the legal issues surrounding the 'TRIPS waiver' proposal initially put forward by India and South Africa in October 2020, which, as of May 2021, is supported by more than 60 states, and which has received statements of support from the World Health Organisation (WHO). We analyse the different intellectual property rights relevant to the proposal – focusing primarily on patent rights and trade secrets – which are most relevant to the present COVID-19 vaccine context. We explain why the existing TRIPS flexibilities around compulsory licensing are incapable of addressing the present pandemic context adequately, both in terms of procedure and legal substance.

The extent of the current health crisis posed by COVID-19 is as undeniable as the current global response is untenable. Given the ongoing absence of sufficient engagement by the pharmaceutical industry with proposed global mechanisms to share intellectual property rights, data and know-how to address the pandemic, we argue that mandatory mechanisms are needed. The TRIPS waiver is an essential legal instrument in this context for enabling a radical increase in manufacturing capacity, and hence supply, of COVID-19 vaccines, creating a pathway to achieve global equitable access.

We make two arguments to this effect: first, the TRIPS waiver is a necessary and proportionate legal measure for clearing intellectual property (IP) barriers in a direct, consistent and efficient fashion, enabling the freedom to operate for more companies to produce COVID-19 vaccines and other health technologies without the fear of infringing another party's IP rights and the attendant threat of litigation; and second, the TRIPS waiver acts as an important political, moral and economic lever towards encouraging solutions aimed at global equitable access to vaccines, which is in the wider interest of the global public.


Background: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of dysphagia in patients with chronic cough and its relationship with the long-term persistence of these symptoms. Methods: Thirty consecutive patients. All patients underwent physical examination, ENT assessment, videolaryngoscopy, functional phoniatric assessment at rest and speech, Water-Swallow Test, and Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing disorders with Reflux Finding Score. Reflux Symptom Index questionnaire was performed. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee Review Board (KB/39/A/2016). Results: The results of the RFS and the RSI questionnaire showed the risk of reflux in participating patients. The patients presented episodes of spillage, double swallows, penetration, aspiration and residue of food at the hypopharynx. The results of functional assessment correlated with the Water-Swallow Test. The correlation between Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing disorders and Water-Swallow Test results was found for aspiration risk, spillage, and retention of saliva. Conclusion: The results of the study showed prevalence of dysphagia in most patients with chronic chough. It seems that phoniatric assessment in those cases should be expanded and the following tests should be performed: assessment of the laryngeal elevation, Water-Swallow Test, and Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing disorders.


The chronic myeloid disorders are collectively characterized by a stem cell origin of the clonal process and a variable tendency to undergo indigenous disease transformation and leukemic conversion. Classification of the chronic myeloid processes is based primarily on the presence or absence of the Philadelphia chromosome (bcr-abl translocation) and secondarily on the morphologic picture of the bone marrow in conjunction with the clinical manifestation. Essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (AMM) constitute the classical group of bcr-abl negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders. PV is characterized by a clonal increase in red blood cell mass, AMM by bone marrow fibrosis, and ET by thrombocytosis. Most of these features, however, are not diagnostically specific, and secondary causes of erythrocytosis, thrombocytosis, and bone marrow fibrosis must be excluded. Treatment may be deferred or limited to phlebotomy alone in some patients with ET or PV, respectively. In contrast, thrombosisprone patients with PV or ET require drug therapy, and new platelet-lowering agents are increasingly being used. In this article, current diagnostic and therapeutic issues of ET, PV, and AMM are discussed.


During a recent cruise of the German R/V Polarstern, detailed investigations of the Haakon Mosby Mud Volcano (HMMV) have been carried out. In addition to bathymetric measurements and biological, geophysical and geochemical data acquisition, gravity survey lines were placed across HMMV.HMMV is located at the continental slope of the western Barents Sea between Norway and Svalbard in a water depth of 1270m. The central volcano structure has a diameter of almost 1km.The mean ship speed during the survey was 11knots. The weather was calm and is not expected to degrade the quality of the gravity measurements (wind speed 1-3Bft).Altogether gravity along approx. 400km survey lines were recorded around HMMV. Nine parallel survey lines (90km) have been placed in N-S direction in order to reduce the Eotvos effect. They cover an area of about 2.5km by 10km in E-W and N-S direction respectively. The dense line spacing is used to identify also small scale gravity variations. Additional long lines of various directions, parallel and perpendicular to the continental slope, were recorded to adjust the local gravity data to global data. However global data sets such as Sandwell and Smith predicted gravimetry or EGM96 turned out to be not adequate for comparison in detail.For data processing we extracted straight line segments from the whole data set in order to exclude data recordings during ship turns. Existing outliers were eliminated manually. The data processing included Eotvos correction, Bouguer and topographical correction. The density of the crust was determined to 2.2g/cm3 using Nettleton Method based on the recorded gravity data. Cross over differences adjustment (COD) based on 35 points resulting in a RMS of 0.56mgal.Despite the effort to extract small scale gravity variations at the center of HMMV, no significant variation of gravity anomalies have been found. However, a lower gravity value was determined around HMMV with respect to the wider surroundings.Gravity data of HMMV are presented and linked to the bathymetry.


Insufficient attention towards the topic of public service motivation among Lithuanian scholars encouraged the author to choose the object for the paper. The paper starts with the analysis of various theories of motivation (starting with A.Maslow theory of needs hierarchy and analyzing more complex theories of F.Herzberg, K.Alderfer, D.McCleland, V.Vroom, J.Adams, E.Lawler, W.Porter ). Similar theories can serve as the basis for future research in Lithuanian public sphere. Author states, that universal theory on motivation does not exist. This fact complicates applicability of various theories in practice as raises the question, which theory is the best one (qualitative dimension). After choosing the theory, another question is what we have to measure. Attitudes (satisfaction), behavior (involvement) or both these elements should be used trying to measure motivation. A wish to participate in public policy implementation, serving public, loyalty to government; commitment and benevolence are several specific motivators, which influence public servant's activity. It is shown that working conditions, work content, salary, work safety, challenges, and possibilities for a career in private and public sector lead to distinguish certain similarities and differences.


The focus of this paper lies on the factors affecting service encounters first impressions because it can play an important role and influence outcome.The study is guided by a number of sub-questions: How important is the first impression to the customer, are customers remember it or not? What non-verbal aspects are important for the first impression? What treatment styles are most prevalent during the first moment?The overall aim of this thesis was to contribute that there are the eye contact and the smile that first and foremost appreciated by customers during service encounter.Results suggest that the customer cares about the treatment they receive in service encounter from the first moment. The first feeling does not go unnoticed for customers.Key words: service encounter, non-verbal communication, service encounters first impressions, face-to-face interaction, intercultural influence


The origin of the Afrocentric philosophy cannot be established with certainty. The most influential book advocating it was published in 1954. Marcus Garvey was one of the most influential propagators of the ideology. Afrocentricity as an idea and a philosophy gained momentum during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America. It was in the Temple University School of Scholars, frequently referred to as the Temple Circle, where the philosophy was institutionalised. The abstract noun "Afrocentricity" dates to the 1970s and was popularised by Asante during the 1980s, when he developed epistemological and methodological foundations for an Afrocentric curriculum based on an African perspective but aiming at global understanding.1 The approach proposes that blacks (at home and abroad) must look at knowledge from an African perspective. It suggests looking at matters at hand from an African viewpoint; that we misunderstand Africa when we use viewpoints and terms other than that of the African to study Africa. When Africans view themselves as centred and central in their own history, they see themselves as agents, actors, and participants rather than as marginal and on the periphery of political or economic experience. Although not the antithesis of Eurocentrism, Afrocentrism has become the most explosive and controversial subject, with both black and white scholars squaring off on its viability and non-viability. Mary Lefkowitz, Stanley Crouch, and Anthony Appiah are some of the main opponents of the Afrocentric idea. The Western dogma which contends that Greeks gave the world rationalism effectively marginalises those who are not European and becomes the leading cause of the disbelief about African achievements. This paper traces the origin of Afrocentricity and describes the nature and propositions put forward by Afrocentrists that challenge the traditional Eurocentric perspective. This paper provides answers to the questions of why, when, where, and who were the main people behind its emergence. The paper also aims at outlining the main arguments why the approach should become part of academic debates. Afrocentricity, however, like other approaches, is not without pitfalls; for this reason the paper examines criticism levelled against it and responses thereto. 1 CC Verharen, "Molefi Asante and an Afrocentric curriculum", The Western Journal of Black Studies, 24(4), 2000, pp. 223-238. Development of Afrocentricity... historical survey


This research explores and identifies factors that may influence the effective use of the
Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) environment in the Saudi higher education context.
Within this setting, the current OCL is in its early stages of adoption. Therefore, this study is
a platform to assess how this environment can be used more effectively to improve teaching
and learning, as well as identifying any underlying factors that may affect the students'
overall learning experience when using the OCL environment. In doing so, the study provides
an important contribution for educational institutes and policy makers, by drawing attention
to factors that could be addressed to improve pedagogy and the effectiveness of the learning
environment. In order to gain a clear insight into both the potential and the challenges that
ensue when using OCL setting in Saudi higher education, the study investigates the
experience of students: the participants (n=729) are Saudi male undergraduate distance
students in their preparatory year, attending King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The
participants have been exposed to the OCL environment and therefore are in a position to
provide incisive information pertaining to its overall use, including underlying factors and
challenges. The research methodology for this study adopts a sequential mixed-methods
approach. The data reveals certain factors that are significantly influencing how effectively
the OCL setting can be used within this context. Among those factors identified, the
technology related aspects (i.e. Internet speed and technical support), the student
characteristics (i.e. their awareness and willingness) and the tutors' roles (i.e. their attitudes towards a collaborative learning environment as well as their ICT skills) were viewed as
significant. It is envisaged that the findings from this study may be used to assist in the
development and implementation of OCL environments, not only in this context, but also
within diverse contexts and environments found in developing countries.


One problem when storing sequential data using recurrent neural networks is that it is hard to preserve long term dependencies. Only the most recently stored data tend to be accurately recalled. One approach for reducing this recency effect has been to divide the data into segments and store the segments separately. This approach has provided promising results in prediction and classification domains. This paper analyzes in what way recall of the stored data is affected by segmentation. It is concluded that segmentation enables the control of which data that can be recalled. The problem of preserving long term dependencies in recurrent neural networks can therefore be reduced.


Published in 1890, William James' manual, The principles of psychology, followed by Psychology (lectures) in 1892, form the foundation of behaviorism. The same year, Animal life and intelligence by C. Lloyd Morgan correlates with James' view, extending it to wildlife. The next step was taken by Lloyd Morgan, with the publication of An introduction to comparative psychology (1894), in which the issue of trial and error learning in animals receives a systematic approach, thus pointing research to a specific area and interpretive apparatus that will ultimately lead to the full crystallization of behaviorism's ideas in the past century. The most prestigious version of behaviorism, that of psychological behaviorism, has strong historical roots; in this way, one can invoke the works of Aristotle (On Nature). Another version of behaviorism, like that suggested by Gilbert Ryle, is logical behaviorism. Long before that, however, classical British empiricists, led by John Locke (1632-1704) and David Hume (1711-1776), used associationist prescriptions to reveal cause-effect coupling in mental phenomena.


A simple analog circuit is presented which can play a neuron role in static-model-based neural networks implemented in the form of an integrated circuit. Operating in a transresistance mode it is suited to cooperate with transconductance synapses. As a result, its input signal is a current which is a sum of currents coming from the synapses. Summation of the currents is realized in a node at the neuron input. The circuit has two outputs and provides a step function signal at one output and a linear function one at the other. Activation threshold of the step output can be conveniently controlled by means of a voltage. Having two outputs, the neuron is attractive to be used in networks taking advantage of fuzzy logic. It is built of only five MOS transistors, can operate with very low supply voltages, consumes a very low power when processing the input signals, and no power in the absence of input signals. Simulation as well as experimental results are shown to be in a good agreement with theoretical predictions. The presented results concern a 0.35 μm CMOS process and a prototype fabricated in the framework of Europractice.


On this earth very irrespective irrigate. Water have big enough role in supporting human life in so many area for example: agriculture area, industrial, fishery, electric power, tourism etcetera.
Requirement of mortal especially human being to easy water to be fulfilled [by] because source of water earn is easily found, almost three per four from wide of this earth is fulfilled by water even ground water content also very still big so that difficulty human being don't to fulfill
requirement of his life. However do not all water can be exploited by society in order to fulfilling requirement of their base like to eat and drink. There's] certain region which easily fulfill clean amount of water required it and there are some other region which not yet earned to fulfill clean amount of water required better. To Understanding obyek which have been elaborated in background, hence researcher earn formulationj objects of his problem of, that is how cooperation between countryside in Management of Clean Water in Countryside of Lamongrejo Sub-Province.
Theory which is used in this research is cooperation between Countryside and management of Clean water. This Research represent descriptive research with approach qualitative with data collecting method in the form of interview, documentation, and observasi. Method analyse data the used analysis of kualitatif, presentation of data and withdrawal of conclusion.
This research indicate that cooperation form Clean Water in Countryside of Lamongrejo Sub-Province of Lamongan represent result of awareness of x'self woke up by society between countryside. that good is same activity arise if people realize that they have it's same importances and at the (time) of which at the same time have enough operation and knowledge to ownself to fulfill the importances pass cooperation, awareness there will be same importances
and existence of organization represent important facts in assumed cooperation have benefit / good for individual or group of people. just Taking example in organization or arrangement payment of PDAM to four countryside is including society participation storey;level in management of clean water of itself they will got mixed up with levying of clean drain-pipe to be made by countryside. woke up cooperation not merely speaking about problem of just technique but also as one of the way of to be is powered of society environment aspect in order to managing requirement of themselves life. With cooperation between society and with government expected problems to faced by society can overcome better. Other side, this cooperation content discuss also about determination of water tariff, management of water where its technical them assisted by PDAM. Result of from this cooperation comprise decision with namely water tariff agreed on equal to Rp 250 / Tariff m3 of I Rp 1.900 per meter cubic. Tariff of II Rp 3.000 per elementary meter cubic of consideration of that decision content is constituted of consideration of
From result of research, there are several things which is researcher suggest, that is: Countryside cooperation which have constructive at society abouth countryside of Lamongrejo the have to remain to be defended and is as possible developed toward better again period to come;
Cooperation process between countryside around countryside of Lamongrejo this have to continue to be studied and evaluated routinely and is continual; Government as pengayom of society shall be more pay attention and more assisting really to cooperation form between this
countryside; Utilize to take care of and preserve cooperation form between this countryside to be
remain to awake better, government can assist to take care of cooperation form of this sub government.


A much-revised Quaternary stratigraphy is presented for ignimbrites and pumice fall deposits of the Bandas del Sur, in southern Tenerife. New 40Ar/39Ar data obtained for the Arico, Granadilla, Fasnia, Poris, La Caleta and Abrigo formations are presented, allowing correlation with previously dated offshore marine ashfall layers and volcaniclastic sediments. We also provide a minimum age of 287±7 ka for a major sector collapse event at the Güimar valley. The Bandas del Sur succession includes more than seven widespread ignimbrite sheets that have similar characteristics, including widespread basal Plinian layers, predominantly phonolite composition, ignimbrites with similar extensive geographic distributions, thin condensed veneers with abundant diffuse bedding and complex lateral and vertical grading patterns, lateral gradations into localized massive facies within palaeo-wadis, and widespread lithic breccia layers that probably record caldera-forming eruptions. Each ignimbrite sheet records substantial bypassing of pyroclastic material into the ocean. The succession indicates that Las Cañadas volcano underwent a series of major explosive eruptions, each starting with a Plinian phase followed by emplacement of ignimbrites and thin ash layers, some of co-ignimbrite origin. Several of the ignimbrite sheets are compositionally zoned and contain subordinate mafic pumices and banded pumices indicative of magma mingling immediately prior to eruption. Because passage of each pyroclastic density current was characterized by phases of non-deposition and erosion, the entire course of each eruption is incompletely recorded at any one location, accounting for some previously perceived differences between the units. Because each current passed into the ocean, estimating eruption volumes is virtually impossible. Nevertheless, the consistent widespread distributions and the presence of lithic breccias within most of the ignimbrite sheets suggest that at least seven caldera collapse eruptions are recorded in the Bandas del Sur succession and probably formed a complex, nested collapse structure. Detailed field relationships show that extensive ignimbrite sheets (e.g. the Arico, Poris and La Caleta formations) relate to previously unrecognized caldera collapse events. We envisage that the evolution of the nested Las Cañadas caldera is more complex than previously thought and involved a protracted history of successive ignimbrite-related caldera collapse events, and large sector collapse events, interspersed with edifice-building phases.


In this paper, we develop three interrelated arguments about the nature of GMO regulation and the challenges that it poses to the European Union (EU). First, we highlight the inherently multi-sectoral nature of GMO regulation, which links together the internal market with industrial policy, research and technological development, environmental policy, food safety, agriculture, and international trade. As a multi-sectoral issue, the regulation of GMOs raises the challenge of coordinating policymaking horizontally among a large number of public and private actors with diverse perspectives about the aims and the content of EU regulation.Second, we emphasize the multi-level nature of the process, which involves overlapping and sometimes conflicting regulations promulgated at the national, supranational/EU, and international levels. As such, EU policy has faced sharp political and legal challenges both from below (in the form of national revolts against the licensing of individual GM foods and crops) and from above (in the form of challenges from other countries within the World Trade Organization, or WTO). Third, the regulation of GM foods and crops is an instance of a broader category of risk regulation, in which government actors are called upon to adopt regulations about the acceptable degree of risk posed to society by products or industrial processes. Such decisions about risk regulation – including the regulation of GMOs – not only mobilize diverse interest groups, they also raise fundamental normative questions about the degree of risk judged to be acceptable to society, as well as about the roles of science and politics in the regulation of risk under uncertainty. As such, risk regulation raises fundamental questions of the legitimacy of decision-making at different levels of government, and, in particular, for our case, at the supranational level of EU institutions.


From 1986 to 1996 we examined the reproductive rates, calving rates, and reproductive histories of mature females as part of photo-identification studies of humpback whales that feed off California, Oregon, and Washington during summer and fall. Annual reproductive rates were measured by two methods: proportion of all whales that were calves based on sightings (0.6%-5.9% per year, mean = 3.6%, SD = 1.6) and based on individually identified animals (1.1%-8.0% per year, mean = 4.1%, SD = 1.8). The reproductive rate based on sightings varied significantly by year (G test, P < 0.001), region (G test, P < 0.001), and by month (G test, P < 0.05). Seventy-nine sexually mature females were identified with 97 calves out of a total of 844 known individuals over the 11 -yr study. Mother-calf separation on the feeding grounds was recorded in several instances. The apparent reproductive rates of this population are considerably lower than rates of 4%-15% reported from other feeding areas for this species. Out estimates are likely biased downward because this population has been increasing at about 5% per year. Calves may have been missed due to early weaning and because of out sampling from small boats late in the season. We also found evidence of geographic segregation of mother-calf pairs within out large study area. Despite these factors, we conclude the reproductive rate of this population appears to be lower than has been reported in other areas.


Abstract. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) are the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases. CH4 is furthermore one of the most potent present and future contributors to global warming because of its large global warming potential (GWP). Our knowledge of CH4 and CO2 source strengths is based primarily on bottom-up scaling of sparse in-situ local point measurements of emissions and up-scaling of emission factor estimates or top-down modeling incorporating data from surface networks and more recently also by incorporating data from low spatial resolution satellite observations for CH4. There is a need to measure and retrieve the dry columns of CO2 and CH4 having high spatial resolution and spatial coverage. In order to fill this gap a new passive airborne 2-channel grating spectrometer instrument for remote sensing of small scale and mesoscale column-averaged CH4 and CO2 observations has been developed. This Methane Airborne MAPper (MAMAP) instrument measures reflected and scattered solar radiation in the short wave infrared (SWIR) and near-infrared (NIR) parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum at moderate spectral resolution. The SWIR channel yields measurements of atmospheric absorption bands of CH4 and CO2 in the spectral range between 1.59 and 1.69 μm at a spectral resolution of 0.82 nm. The NIR channel around 0.76 μm measures the atmospheric O2-A-band absorption with a resolution of 0.46 nm. MAMAP has been designed for flexible operation aboard a variety of airborne platforms. The instrument design and the performance of the SWIR channel, together with some results from on-ground and in-flight engineering tests are presented. The SWIR channel performance has been analyzed using a retrieval algorithm applied to the nadir measured spectra. Dry air column-averaged mole fractions are obtained from SWIR data only by dividing the retrieved CH4 columns by the simultaneously retrieved CO2 columns for dry air column CH4 (XCH4) and vice versa for dry air column CO2 (XCO2). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the SWIR channel is approximately 1000 for integration times (tint) in the range of 0.6–0.8 s for scenes with surface spectral reflectances (SSR)/albedo of around 0.18. At these integration times the ground scene size is about 23 × 33 m2 for an aircraft altitude of 1 km and a ground speed of 200 km/h. For these scenes the actual XCH4 or XCO2 dry air column retrieval precisions are typically about 1% (1 σ). Elevated levels of CH4 have been retrieved above a CH4 emitting landfill. Similarly the plume of CO2 from coal-fired power plants can be well detected and tracked. The measurements by the MAMAP sensor could enable estimates of anthropogenic, biogenic and geological emissions of localized intense CH4 and CO2 sources such as anthropogenic fugitive CH4 emissions from oil and gas industry, coal mining, disposal of organic waste, CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants, steel production or geologic CH4 and CO2 emissions from seepage and volcanoes. Appropriate analysis of the measurements of MAMAP potentially also yields natural CH4 emissions from less intense but extensive sources such as wetlands.


More bling for the buck! The number 1 guide to American slang is now bigger, more up-to-date, and easier to use. This new edition of "McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions" offers complete definitions of more than 12,000 slang and informal expressions from various sources, ranging from golden oldies such as ...golden oldie, to recent coinages like shizzle (gangsta), jonx (Wall Street), and ping (the Internet). Each entry is followed by examples illustrating how an expression is used in everyday conversation and, where necessary, International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciations are given, as well as cautionary notes for crude, inflammatory, or taboo expressions.This edition also features a fascinating introduction on "What is Slang?," a Thematic Index that cross-references expressions by standard terms - such as Angry, Drunk, Food, Good-bye, Mess-up, Money, and Stupidity - and a Hidden Word Index that lets you identify and locate even partially remembered expressions and phrases.


Two uterine adenomyomas with unusual features are presented. Case 1 was a 43-year-old woman who had a 1-year history of menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea. The uterus showed a 3-cm-sized mass attached to the posterior wall of the lower uterine segment. On section, there was a well-circumscribed, submucosal cystic mass with a thick muscular wall. Histologically, the cavities were lined by well-developed secretory-phase endometrium and surrounded by smooth muscle, likeya small uterus. Case 2 was a 52-year-old woman who visited the hospital because of itching sensation on the vulva. On physical examination, the mass was found on the left side of the pelvis. The enlarged uterus had an 8-cm-sized protruding mass from the left side of the lower uterine segment. On section, the mass was cystic and solid. Histologically, the cysts were lined by thin basalis-type endometrial glands and stroma, and the solid portion was composed of smooth muscle and fat cells.


Citizen participation, in simple terms, is understood to mean taking part in the government decision-making process. The development of social networking seems to afford a new way for the youth to engage in government decision and policy making. This study aims to determine whether social media is an effective policy-making tool and means of community political participation by examining the way teenagers use social media to participate in politics. The study involves a survey of 120 teenagers drawn from the 13-19 year-old age group in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and the observation of the teenagers'status inputs on Facebook and Twitter The findings show that there has been a shift in the way teenagers participate in communication. It is evident that social networking has the potential of becoming a major means of teenager participation in politics owing to its practicality, flexibility and ability to enable them to express their political and social concerns in personal ways. The findings also highlight the importance of social networking as space which the government can use to engage teenagers' voice in policy formulation. This article ends by describing the contextual issues teenagers encounter in their lives, and reviews the literature on adolescents' participation in politics.


If you're ever up for a challenge, try forcing your sixteen-month-old son to swallow two, eight-ounce containers of fruit-punch laced with the contrast he needs for his CT scan. That's what I'm doing. Well, not really. What I am doing is sitting on a hospital radiator, my back pressed against the window. From here, I watch two nurses, the first a short nurse, her belly peeking out from underneath her blue scrubs, press my son's legs down onto the gurney, while the second, taller nurse, wearing yellow scrubs, presses her palm against his forehead. Yellow steadies him so she can insert a tube, thin as Cappellini, into his left nostril. Before they started this procedure, they introduced themselves in a sugary voice, which in a pediatric oncology ward means they're about to do the worst possible thing to your child. I can't remember their names. They've done this before. Anyway, it's as if he's being manhandled by a pair of Mylar balloons.


Our principal concern in this paper is with the accusation that hate crime legislation violates the principle of proportionality and related principles of just sentencing, such as parity, fair notice, and representative labelling. We argue that most attempts to reconcile enhanced punishment for hate crimes with the principle of proportionality fail. More specifically, it seems that any argument that tries to justify hate crime legislation on the grounds that such crimes are more serious because their consequential harms are worse or their perpetrators are more culpable than their nonhateful counterparts will fail, and thus enhanced punishment will violate the principle of proportionality. Given the seeming irreconcilable tension between proportionality and hate crime legislation, we turn to consideration of hybrid theories of punishment that permit deviations from strict proportionality when needed to serve other important and legitimate purposes of sentencing. We argue that even if such hybrid theories can justify the enhanced punishments for hate crimes, existing theories cannot provide any principled limit on the extent from which proportionality can be deviated. We suggest such a limit and provide a principled justification for it.


The competitive, post-recessionary business environment is increasing pressures on the design industry to accelerate the cycle of product development. This has clear repercussions for product design practice. Design practitioners are under pressure to quickly develop products which will have immediate success in fiercely competitive markets. The ability to creatively innovate alongside other
NPD (new product development) stakeholders has become a priority. Whilst collaboration has always been a cornerstone of design, the new contexts require a greater degree of transparency, sharing and communication amongst crossdisciplinary stakeholders. In order to be fit for purpose the available ICT tools need to evolve if they are to meet these challenges.

An interdisciplinary research project entitled 'COnCEPT' (Collaborative Creative Design Platform) has been established, and is funded under the European Commission Framework 7 programme. The project examines how technology can be used to support collaborative and creative design practice. This paper reports on the literature surrounding collaboration in creative practices. The current context of professional design practice is described and qualitative research exploring shortcomings in the ICT set-up in design studios is examined. The paper sets out a case study to illustrate how the COnCEPT platform will address designers' requirements for a collaborative software environment. Key features of the software are described – for example, real-time collaborative sketching spaces, 'smart' search tools, and the automatic generation of mood boards – which aim to facilitate creativity and streamline collaboration. The paper explores the potential of the platform, delineating its value in the design process.


An abstract of the dissertation of Kathleen Hickam Farber for the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Administration and Supervision presented May 18, 1994. Title: An Experimental Study of Scotopic sensitivity/lrlen Syndrome in Learning Disabled Students This study examined the effect on reading performance of a controversial treatment for a dysfunction of visual perception known as Scotopic sensitivity/lrlen Syndrome. The treatment, referred to as spectral modification, involved the use of colored transparent overlays for reading by four elementary school children in their actual school environments. The diagnostic, prescriptive and remediation procedures used in this study were originally developed by Helen Irlen, a California psychologist and researcher. Irlen conceptualized Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome as a difficulty in visual processing of the printed page when perceived through full spectrum light. Spectral modification techniques were considered controversial in that they were employed prior to scientific validation of the syndrome. Previous research used pre-test/post-test experimental designs to test the effect of spectral modification on reading performance. The 2 research problem addressed here was that the technique had not been systematically examined over time in the school setting, and from the practitioner's point of view. Sample selection involved pre-screening and screening phases. The pre-screening procedures of teacher recommendation and file review resulted in a pool of 26 children who were screened with the Irlen Differential Perceptual Interview Survey. Four subjects were selected who were in separate school settings, who demonstrated Irlen Syndrome to a significant extent, and whose profiles did not present variables which would compromise their participation. These four underwent comprehensive vision evaluations as a preliminary assessment procedure. A four-strand single-subject experimental design was used to generate data on subjects' rate and accuracy of oral reading, and comprehension of silent reading. Performance changes during experimental reading trials varied between the four, although three subjects exhibited positive performance change on one indicator. A supporting procedure was that sUbjects were pre and post-tested on the three performance indicators. Post-test results corroborated the changes demonstrated by three sUbjects. Interview formats were employed to obtain qualitative data from teachers, parents, and the subjects themselves. Recommendations for practitioners intending to implement spectral modification techniques were generated from this data.


Due to the ageing population, there is a steadily increasing incidence of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures. As conventional pharmacological therapy options for osteoporosis are often associated with severe side effects, bone grafts are still considered the clinical gold standard. However, the availability of viable, autologous bone grafts is limited making alternative cell-based strategies a promising therapeutic alternative. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are a readily available population of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) that can be isolated within minimally invasive surgery. This ease of availability and their ability to undergo osteogenic differentiation makes ASCs promising candidates for cell-based therapies for bone fractures. Recent studies have suggested that both exposure to electrical fields and cultivation in 3D can positively affect osteogenic potential of MSCs. To elucidate the osteoinductive potential of a combination of these biophysical cues on ASCs, cells were embedded within anionic nanofibrillar cellulose (aNFC) hydrogels and exposed to electrical stimulation (ES) for up to 21 days. ES was applied to ASCs in 2D and 3D at a voltage of 0.1 V/cm with a duration of 0.04 ms, and a frequency of 10 Hz for 30 min per day. Exposure of ASCs to ES in 3D resulted in high alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and in an increased mineralisation evidenced by Alizarin Red S staining. Moreover, ES in 3D aNFC led to an increased expression of the osteogenic markers osteopontin and osteocalcin and a rearrangement and alignment of the actin cytoskeleton. Taken together, our data suggest that a combination of ES with 3D cell culture can increase the osteogenic potential of ASCs. Thus, exposure of ASCs to these biophysical cues might improve the clinical outcomes of regenerative therapies in treatment of osteoporotic fractures.


Personal mobility data can nowadays be easily collected by personal mobile phones and used for analytical modeling. To assist in such an analysis, a variety of computational approaches have been developed. The goal is to extract mobility patterns in order to provide traveling assistance, information, recommendations or on‐demand services. While various computational techniques are being developed, research literature on destination and route prediction lacks consistency in evaluation methods for such approaches. This study presents a review and categorization of evaluation criteria and terminology used in assessing the performance of such methods. The review is complemented by experimental analysis of selected evaluation criteria, to highlight the nuances existing between the evaluation measures. The experimental study uses previously unpublished mobility data of 15 users collected over a period of 6 months in Helsinki metropolitan area in Finland. The article is primarily intended for researchers developing approaches for personalized mobility analysis, as well as a guideline for practitioners to select criteria when assessing and selecting between computational approaches. Our main recommendation is to consider user‐specific accuracy measures in addition to averaged aggregates, as well as to take into consideration that for many users accuracy does not saturate fast and the performance keeps evolving over time. Therefore, we recommend using time‐weighted measures. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2018, 8:e1237. doi: 10.1002/widm.1237


Objective. RA is associated with a 50–60% increase in risk of cardiovascular (CV) death. This study aimed to compare management of CV risk factors in RA and matched non-RA patients. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using UK clinical practice data. Patients presenting with an incident RA diagnosis were matched 1:4 to non-RA patients based on a propensity score for RA, entry year, CV risk category and treatment received at index date (date of RA diagnosis). Patients tested and treated for CV risk factors as well as those attaining CV risk factor management goals were evaluated in both groups. Results. Between 1987 and 2010, 24 859 RA patients were identified and matched to 87 304 non-RA patients. At index date, groups had similar baseline characteristics. Annual blood pressure, lipids and diabetes-related testing were similar in both groups, although CRP and ESR were higher in RA patients at diagnosis and decreased over time. RA patients prescribed antihypertensives increased from 38.2% at diagnosis to 45.7% at 5 years, from 14.0 to 20.6% for lipid-lowering treatments and from 5.1 to 6.4% for antidiabetics. Similar treatment percentages were observed in non-RA patients, although slightly lower for antihypertensives. Modest (2%) but significantly lower attainment of lipid and diabetes goals at 1 year was observed in RA patients. Conclusion. There were no differences between groups in the frequency of testing and treatment of CV risk factors. Higher CV risk in RA patients seems unlikely to be driven by differences in traditional CV risk factor management.


The Laboratoire d'Electronique Industrielle has realized an active noise controller. The system is designed to efficiently attenuate low frequency transformer noise where passive methods are either ineffective or tend to be very expensive. This paper describes an acoustic mapping experiment: two loudspeakers simulate a transformer, the noise is measured by a 15 microphones antenna and the DSP calculates an acoustic map with the beamforming method. Simulation and experimental results are presented.


This conceptual paper examines how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can affect business behaviour, produce financial gains and its potential to be a game changer in future international business. By analysing the findings of academic and practitioner research publications on CSR, this paper explores whether it has a significant impact on organisational environments and financial performance, or is simply a tool employed for companies to appear ethically conformist. Comparing past and present CSR trends, whilst examining the practises of contemporary organisations, this study demonstrates how companies adapt to the norms and procedures required by CSR. Set within the framework of institutional theory, in particular New Institutional Sociology (DiMaggio and Powell, 1991 & Scott, 2001), the reasoning behind CSR investments and policies are investigated. The paper will explore how organisations, through mimetic, coercive and normative isomorphism, have changed their implementation of CSR. The conclusion of this study is in order for a company to reap the benefits of CSR; they must adopt structures and procedures advocated by similar organisations, taking account of the preferences of their stakeholders and adapting these to the business's overall strategy. CSR has significantly changed over time and now provides a realistic opportunity for companies to benefit from their investments in this area, but to say that it will be a definite game changer in future business is an assumption rather than inevitability. Key Words: Corporate Social Responsibility, Research, Organisations, Impact, Change, Isomorphism


General Principles of Oncology. Cancer Growth, Progression, and Metastasis. Principles of Clinical Cancer Staging. Principles of Surgical Cancer Care. Principles of Chemotherapy. Endocrine Evaluation and Management of the Perioperative Cancer Patient. Principles of Bioimmunotherapy: Interferon, Interleukins, Growth Factors, Monoclonal Antibodies, Antisense. Bone Marrow Transplantation Complications Requiring Therapy in the Intensive Care Unit. Principles of Radiation Oncology. Clinical Trials in Oncology 1: Organization and Oversight. Clinical Trials in Oncology 2: Study Design. Clinical Trials in Oncology 3: Ethical Issues. Perioperative Medicine in the Oncology Patient. General Principles of Perioperative Medicine: Surgical and Medical Perspectives. Perioperative Care of the Immunocompromised Patient. Anesthesia for the Chronic Pain Patient. Perioperative Anesthesia Evaluation. Perioperative Management 1: Brain Tumors. Perioperative Care for Breast and Gynecological Neoplasms. Postanesthesia Care for Reconstructive Microcascular Surgery. Musculoskeletal Neoplasms. Perioperative Care of Intraoperative Chemotherapy and Radiation. Critical Care in Medical Oncology. Principles of ICU Oncology. Delirium and Substance Withdrawl. Neutropenia and Sepsis in Cancer Patients. Acute Coronary Syndrome in Cancer Patients. Critical Care of the Patient with Pulmonary Infiltrates. Cardiovascular Support. Respiratory Failure and Mechanical Ventilation in Cancer Patients. Interventional Radiology in the Oncologic Critical Care Setting. Care at the End of Life. Legal Considerations. Perioperative Care of Children with Cancer. Perioperative Care of Children with Cancer: Overview. Perioperative Care of Children with Cancer. Perioperative Care of Children with Cancer: Intensive Care Perspectives. Pediatric Surgical Oncology. Pain Management. Symptom Assessment. Pathophysiology of Cancer Pain. Epidemiology of Pain and Cancer-Related Symptoms. Perioperative Pain in Cancer Patients. Cancer Pain. Palliative Care.


Spurred by converging trends facilitated by the interactive web, government agencies are moving to digitize and make more transparent the public record request (PRR) process via dual-facing online portals. Such portals, often provided by third-party vendors as SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions, are built on the premise and promise of helping agencies streamline their internal workflows while aiding requesters through the sometimes labyrinthine process of accessing public records. This research aims to study the effects and efficacy of such portals from the agency perspective, both at the process level and in a broader sense of reshaping the relationship between citizen and government. Set within a contextual framework of the trends from which these portals have emerged, a survey of 54 U.S. public jurisdictions suggests that online portals are significantly improving agencies' internal and external processes of receiving, tracking, and responding to requests for public records, but do not necessarily bring correlative improvement in their overall relationship with citizens for a number of possible reasons.


Tolerant food sharing among human foragers can largely be explained by reciprocity. In contrast, food sharing among chimpanzees and bonobos may not always reflect reciprocity, which could be explained by different dominance styles: in egalitarian societies reciprocity is expressed freely, while in more despotic groups dominants may hinder reciprocity. We tested the degree of reciprocity and the influence of dominance on food sharing among chimpanzees and bonobos in two captive groups. First, we found that chimpanzees shared more frequently, more tolerantly, and more actively than bonobos. Second, among chimpanzees, food received was the best predictor of food shared, indicating reciprocal exchange, whereas among bonobos transfers were mostly unidirectional. Third, chimpanzees had a shallower and less linear dominance hierarchy, indicating that they were less despotic than bonobos. This suggests that the tolerant and reciprocal sharing found in chimpanzees, but not bonobos, was made possible by the absence of despotism. To investigate this further, we tested the relationship between despotism and reciprocity in grooming using data from an additional five groups and five different study periods on the main groups. The results showed that i) all chimpanzee groups were less despotic and groomed more reciprocally than bonobo groups, and ii) there was a general negative correlation between despotism and grooming reciprocity across species. This indicates that an egalitarian hierarchy may be more common in chimpanzees, at least in captivity, thus fostering reciprocal exchange. We conclude that a shallow dominance hierarchy was a necessary precondition for the evolution of human-like reciprocal food sharing.


We studied the impact of human disturbances on the feeding activities of Common Eiders Somateria mollissima wintering in Southwest Greenland. Eider activity and human disturbances (fast moving, open boats) were recorded during 9 days of observations in mid and late winter 2002. When most heavily disturbed, the feeding activity in the study area was reduced up to 60% on a daily basis. At the same time locomotion activity tripled. Logistic regression analyses showed that eiders attempted to compensate for lost feeding opportunities by rescheduling more feeding to periods where feeding conditions were relatively less profitable with respect to other variables. When undisturbed, eiders avoided feeding during high tide and intensified feeding at the start and at the end of the day, but these tendencies were levelled out if eiders were disturbed. When disturbed, the time interval and the distance to the last disturbance were both significant explanatory variables for the feeding activity. There was a cumulative effect of repeated disturbances on the feeding activity if disturbances were close in time and space (<1 h, <1 km). The day with the highest number of disturbances coincided with observations of nocturnal feeding the following night and may indicate that a critical threshold of disturbances was reached where eiders could not rely on a diurnal feeding strategy.


In Markman claim term disputes, the paramount interest of the public in patents and in the public domain is unrepresented, even though "patent rights are 'issues of great moment to the public.'" What delineates the outer bounds of the patent claim interpretation inquiry are the "private interests of the litigants." The public interest is set aside. Neither the courts nor the litigants are well positioned to address the "underlying policy of the patent system" or to ask pointedly whether the patent claims, unless properly construed, have enough "worth to the public" to "outweigh the restrictive effect of the limited patent monopoly." The public interest in how inventions are described in issued patents is a precise but flexible construct that confines the granted rights within legal limits, disagrees with claims being read so expansively that information is taken back from the public domain, and urges objective interpretations that favor neither litigants' infringement nor invalidity strategies. Amicus groups could define zones of interest when certain patent claims are interpreted and move to represent the public interest in the Markman proceedings. A public interest advocacy group consisting of law students who have completed a patent law course could be formed to identify cases that involve patent claims that affect segments of commerce important to the public. Through an admitted attorney and local counsel, such a group would enter an appearance for the limited purpose of participating as amicus in the claim interpretation proceedings. This article argues first that amici could protect the public domain and enforce the public notice function of patent claims. Then it argues in Section Three that having the litigants restrict the range of interpretations a court may consider leaves the public interest aspects out of the decisionmaking process. Next, Section Four of the article further contrasts the litigation-driven interpretations and the objective rules of construction. The final section examines whether an amicus group representing the public interest might be excluded from claim interpretation proceedings.


This article examines Basotho indigenous knowledge systems particularly in the way that they are embedded in proverbs, as containing a philosophy of their development. It seeks to analyse the pre-colonial Basotho's perspective with regard to the question of development as expressed in their arts and beliefs. There has always been an artistic relationship between Basotho art and their life and this article is mainly based on the assumption that Basotho oral art is used to formulate models of their development. Particular references will be given to the socio-economic aspects of Basotho development and how this is outlined in their proverbs. The article will also argue that the philosophy of Botho/Ubuntu and Basotho communalism that is outlined in their proverbs contributed very much to their development. Finally the article will argue that there is much to draw on from Basotho proverbs that can be used to solve the Basotho's numerous problems, especially the socio-economic problems.


This paper looks at how various project- and client-related factors determine the non-financial success of EBRD investments. Non-financial project success is defined as the extent to which transition objectives, such as the demonstration of new financing methods or the expansion of competitive markets, have been realised once the project is finished. For our data we use 1,600 EBRD projects completed between 2003 and 2016. The results suggest that the probability of success is higher for larger projects and for projects that are part of a framework. Projects with state clients are less likely to be successful, mainly because state ownership tends to significantly slow down project delivery.


Phosphate, copper, iron, and nitrate are common contaminants found in water and can cause severe illnesses. These pollutants arise from the use of fertilizers to increase crop production. Obtaining adequate water purification is a continuing and growing problem, especially in Africa. The aloe vera gel from the aloe vera cactus, which is indigenous to Africa, may be used to purify water. The aloe vera gel reduced copper, iron, and phosphate concentrations by 100%, 93%, and 40%, respectively. However, the aloe vera gel was not effective for removing nitrate. The interaction between the aloe vera gel and the pollutants is important because it can provide a simpler way to purify water with natural material that is abundant in African countries.


Soft X-ray absorption in excess of Galactic is observed in the afterglows of most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), but the correct solution to its origin has not been arrived at after more than a decade of work, preventing its use as a powerful diagnostic tool. We resolve this long-standing problem and find that absorption by He in the GRB's host H ii region is responsible for most of the absorption. We show that the X-ray absorbing column density () is correlated with both the neutral gas column density and with the optical afterglow's dust extinction (AV). This correlation explains the connection between dark bursts and bursts with high values. From these correlations, we exclude an origin of the X-ray absorption which is not related to the host galaxy, i.e., the intergalactic medium or intervening absorbers are not responsible. We find that the correlation with the dust column has a strong redshift evolution, whereas the correlation with the neutral gas does not. From this, we conclude that the column density of the X-ray absorption is correlated with the total gas column density in the host galaxy rather than the metal column density, in spite of the fact that X-ray absorption is typically dominated by metals. The strong redshift evolution of is thus a reflection of the cosmic metallicity evolution of star-forming galaxies and we find it to be consistent with measurements of the redshift evolution of metallicities for GRB host galaxies. We conclude that the absorption of X-rays in GRB afterglows is caused by He in the H ii region hosting the GRB. While dust is destroyed and metals are stripped of all of their electrons by the GRB to great distances, the abundance of He saturates the He-ionizing UV continuum much closer to the GRB, allowing it to remain in the neutral or singly-ionized state. Helium X-ray absorption explains the correlation with total gas, the lack of strong evolution with redshift, as well as the absence of dust, metal or hydrogen absorption features in the optical–UV spectra.


More than two million people are facing severe food insecurity in South Sudan. Famine has been narrowly avoided in 2014. As the dry season begins, the brutal conflict that provoked this disaster is about to get worse. Without an end to the fighting – and unless more aid can be delivered to those who need it – famine remains a serious threat in 2015. By committing to more vigorous diplomacy and swift action, the world has the chance to prevent that. This joint briefing note published by Oxfam and 35 other agencies sets out the steps humanitarian agencies, parties to the conflict, the Government of South Sudan, the UN Security Council, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the international community must take to prevent a worse situation in 2015.


The study was done in Ethiopia three cities. The success of any business is highly dependent on getting and maintaining customers. Many firms try to sphere their operations aiming customers through measuring customers' satisfaction. Recent research findings indicated that satisfaction alone did not guaranty the long term survival. Loyalty is a better indicator in this aspect since it incorporates satisfaction as an antecedent factor. This study was conducted to investigate influential factors of brand loyalty, and different loyalty level of beer consumers in Ethiopian context that would shed light on other developing countries too. The research approach was quantitative wherein the two best known brand loyalty measurement models have been used.  Data was collected via questionnaires from 400 respondents consuming two dominant brands in the selected three cities. The software used for analysis was statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) statistics version 20. Principal components analysis was used to analyze the data determine, and the main components that are statistically and practically significant. The findings indicated that among 13 brand loyalty influences identified in the model, brand trust, breweries marketing activity, culture, repeat purchase and the combination of brand relevance and brand performance had the highest influences on consumer loyalty. The study concluded that the level of brand loyalty of beer consumers were not in one loyalty stage and almost 1/3 consumers were not totally loyal for their respective beer choice. The result of the research clearly indicated that breweries must focus on the ten most significant brand loyalty factors, and adjust their overall marketing strategy according to the beer consumers' loyalty level. Due to brand proliferation of beers in Ethiopian context, the level of brand loyalty has to be taken as segmenting criteria to develop marketing strategies and decisions. The research is done in two brands, and the geographic coverage consists of three major cities, thus this research could be done at large scale by taking into account geographic and demographic difference of beer consumers

 Key words: Beverage, brand, customer, loyalty, model, satisfaction.


For many years, toxicologists have detected the presence of drugs of abuse in biological materials using blood or urine. In recent years, remarkable advances in sensitive analytical techniques have enabled the analysis of drugs in unconventional samples such as sweat. In a study conducted in a detoxification center, sweat patches were applied to 20 known heroin abusers. Subjects wore the patch with minimal discomfort for five days. During the same period, two urine specimens were also collected. Target drugs analyzed either by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) included opiates (heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, codeine), cocaine (cocaine, benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester), delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, benzodiazepines (nordiazepam, oxazepam), amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxyamphetamine [MDA], methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA], methylenedioxyethylamphetamine [MDEA]), and buprenorphine. Patches were positive for opiates in 12 cases. Heroin (37-175 ng/patch) and/or 6-acetylmorphine (60-2386 ng/patch) were identified in eight cases, and codeine exposure (67-4018 ng/patch) was determined in four cases. When detected, heroin was always present in lower concentrations than 6-acetylmorphine, which was the major analyte found in sweat. Cocaine (324 ng/patch) and metabolites were found in only one case. delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (4-38 ng/patch) was identified in nine cases. Benzodiazepine concentrations were very low, ranging from 2 to 44 and from 2 to 15 ng/patch for nordiazepam and oxazepam, respectively. MDEA (121 ng/patch) and its metabolite, MDA (22 ng/patch), were detected in one case. Buprenorphine, which was administered as therapy under close medical supervision, was detected in the range 1.3-153.2 ng/patch with no apparent relationship between the daily dose and amount excreted in sweat. All the urine tests were consistent with the sweat findings, but to identify the same drugs it was necessary to test two urine specimens along with only one sweat specimen. It was concluded that sweat testing appears to offer the advantage of being a relatively noninvasive means of obtaining a cumulative estimate of drug exposure over the period of a week. This new technology may find useful applications in the treatment and monitoring of substance abusers, as the patch provides a long-term continuous monitor of drug exposure or noncompliance.


Background. There is little evidence to support possible structural changes in the amygdala and hippocampus of patients with severe depression. Methods. Quantitative MRI of the amygdala and hippocampus, as well as proton spectroscopy (MRS) of mesial temporal structures were studied in 34 drug-resistant in-patients with major depression and compared with 17 age-matched controls. Volumetric MRI data were normalized for brain size. Results. The volume of the left hippocampus was significantly smaller in the patients compared with the controls. Both groups exhibited similar significant hippocampal asymmetry (left smaller than right). The patients, but not the controls, had significant asymmetry of the amygdalar volumes (right smaller than left). No differences were observed between the patients and controls in the T2 relaxation times for the hippocampus and amygdala. Mesial temporal lobe MRS revealed a significantly elevated choline/creatine ratio in the patients compared with the controls. Conclusions. This quantitative MRI study provides support for a possible association between structural and biochemical substrates and severe drug-resistant major depression.


A novel Multiple-Valued Field-Programmable VLSI (MV-FPVLSI) architecture using the Multiple-Valued Source-Coupled Logic (MVSCL) is proposed to implement special-purpose processors. An MV-FPVLSI consists of identical cells, which are connected to 8-neighborhood ones. To reduce the complexity of the interconnection block between two cells in an MV-FPVLSI, a bit-serial fine-grain pipeline architecture is introduced which allows single-wire data transmission and as a result, the data-transmission delay becomes very small in comparison with that of a conventional FPGA. To reduce the number of switches in the interconnection block further, a cell, using multiple-valued source-coupled logic circuits, is proposed, where the input currents can be linearly summed just by wiring without using any active devices. Not only the data, but also the control signal can be superposed by linear summation. As a result, no input switch is required which contributes to smaller data transmission delay. Moreover, an arbitrary 2-input logic function can be generated by linear summation of the input currents and threshold operations using these reconfigurable MVSCL circuits. As the MVSCL circuit has high driving capability in comparison with that of an equivalent CMOS circuit, high-speed logic operation is also possible while maintaining low power.


Tomato is often used as a convenient feed alternative because of its high protein, mineral and vitamin content and also because of its relative low cost. With a steady increase in the demand for poultry products in Nigeria due to increase in population, urbanization, export drive and improved standard of living, it is important that serious attention with regard to the quality of chicken meat available to the Nigeria population be paid. The higher demand for poultry meat has necessitated the need for higher production, and with tomato as a more financially viable alternative in feedstuff for chickens with no adverse effect, there is need to test the general acceptability of broiler chicken meat produced through the replacement in diets of tomato as feed ingredients. This study aims to assess the effect of the use of alternate feeding material (tomato) on the sensory attribute of poultry meat. The experiment was carried out in Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo Ogun State, Nigeria using nine (9) different varieties of tomatoes: dried and blended together to make dried tomato powder. One hundred and fifty (150) broiler chickens were allocated into five (5) feeding groups of 30 birds each. Tomato powder was used as a replacement for premix in the following variations Diet A (40%tomato, 60% premix), Diet B (60% tomato, 40% premix), Diet C (80% tomato, 20% premix) and Diet D (100% tomato, 0% premix). There were significant (p>0.05) differences in colour, texture, taste and odour of broiler meat. -----------------------------------------------------------------------* Corresponding author. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) (2018) Volume 47, No 1, pp 145-150 146 The overall acceptability showed significant (p<0.05) differences, with diet C having the highest value which might be attributed to the lycopene and other bioactive components in the tomato powder. Findings revealed that the texture of the meat was the most significantly affected followed by taste and colour, indicating that tomato as alternate feedstuff material may produce more palatable poultry meat with increased texture, richer colour and improved taste.