Build a complete tower defense game from scratch using the Unreal Development Kit Overview Learn how to greybox your level by building basic shapes and reshaping the environment Use the visual scripting tool Kismet to create all of the gameplay for your project, from spawning waves of enemies to building placeable towers Develop a thorough understanding of how to use the industry standard Scaleform to create a custom HUD and Main Menu screen to make a game your own In Detail UDK, the free version of the popular and award-winning Unreal 3 Engine, is an amazing and powerful tool to use for projects of any kind. You can use it to create high-quality games and make your dream games a reality. UDK can be a little intimidating based on the level of games it has contributed to the ever growing and ever exciting world of gaming. Overcome all your apprehensions with this step-by-step guide and build a complete project within the Unreal Development Kit with unique gameplay, custom menus, and a triple A rated finish This book will help you create a custom tower defense game within UDK, even if you have absolutely no prior knowledge of UDK game development. In next to no time, you will learn how to create any kind of environment within UDK. With your basic environment created, you will make use of simple visual scripting to create a tower defense game complete with enemies attacking in waves. We then finish off the game with custom menus and a Heads Up Display. The final step is to release your game into the wild and give others the excitement of playing it. What you will learn from this book Learn tips and tricks to achieve what every gamer dreams about their very own gaming environment Create gameplay functionality such as enemy wave spawning and placeable towers using Kismet Use Geometry Mode to greybox environments Build multiple towers making use of Prefabs Design visually stunning environments making use of materials and static meshes. Place power-ups in your environment, such as weapons and health Communicate between Flash to UDK and vice-versa through Kismet Approach This book is written by someone who is passionate about games for those who are equally passionate about games. The step-by-step instructions contained within this guide will make creating your first game simple. Who this book is written for If you have ever had the urge to know more about how all those amazing games you played for countless hours are created, then this book is definitely for you! This step-by-step tutorial will teach you how to create a complete game within UDK. Even if you have no prior experience of UDK, you can still start building the games you want today.


Making Medicines in Early Colonial Lima examines how apothecaries in Lima were trained, ran their businesses, traded medicinal products and prepared medicines; thereby throwing light on the relationship between medicine and empire, and the development of early modern science.


Background: Over the years, there has been a growing interest in organisational research in the absorptive capacity (AC) construct, but only a few theoretical and empirical studies on this topic have been carried out over the last decade. However, a number of scholars and practitioners have continued to cite AC as a significant factor in determining the success or failure of organisations. With the dramatic changes in business environments, there has been a growing rise in the use of knowledge by organisations to help improve and maintain their competitiveness and consequently their survival. AC is a fundamental element that helps organisations to gain competitive advantage by producing commercial products or services through the transformation of knowledge. Objective: The purpose of this article is thus to provide a review of the literature on this subject with the aim of finding out how both large and small enterprises stand to benefit from AC. We intend to affirm that, by successfully carrying out a learning process that is characterised by the exploration and exploitation of external knowledge and the organisation's current knowledge base, organisations can realise competitive advantage irrespective of their size. Method: In the literature search, three approaches were employed, namely academic databases, online search engines and a review of references of related studies which led to more relevant articles and works whose references were further reviewed and analysed. Content analysis was done on all collected articles for quality appraisal and synthesis, the results of which we present as discussions on various sections of this paper leading to answering of our study objective. Only peer-reviewed articles were used. Results: Our findings reveal that, irrespective of the organisation's size, it can benefit significantly from AC. The study further reveal that AC is a strong predictor of an organisation's performance and hence a strategic asset for the organisation. Organisations with high AC are able to learn how to utilise new knowledge within their processes and come up with changes that improve their competitive advantage. Conclusion: We submit that, because AC is a strong predictor of an organisation's performance, it is imperative that the necessary measures are taken to improve the levels of AC for all firms, irrespective of their size.


The heat shock response was originally described as a phenomenon of inducible gene
expression in Drosophila in response to hyperthermia, but has rapidly become
recognised as a ubiquitous response by virtually all cell types to a wide variety of
environmental stresses. Much of the early work on heat shock protein (hsp) structure
and function concentrated on the analysis of heat shock gene expression in Drosophila,
but it soon became clear from studies involving higher eukaryotes and prokaryotes that
the heat shock response is highly conserved and a high degree of homology in the nucleic
acid sequence of related heat shock genes is evident in all species from bacteria to man.
Over the past decade, the study of heat shock protein expression has diversified into
broad areas of biological research. The importance of heat shock proteins as molecular
chaperones which mediate the folding and assembly of polypeptide chains has led to a reexamination
and broadening of our understanding of the principles of protein folding and
transport. In immunology, heat shock proteins have been shown to act as major antigens
involved in the immune response to pathogens, and mechanisms involving heat shock
proteins have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of autoimmune diseases,
including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
At the conception of this research, evidence existed that expression of heat shock
proteins was related to the differentiation of cells, including haemopoietic cells, and
abnormal expression in some tumour cells had been reported, although not in leukaemic
cells. It was against this background that the ideas for this research project were
conceived. Based in the Department of Haematology at Warwick Hospital, I had access
to samples from leukaemic patients, providing an opportunity to examine heat shock
protein expression in malignant cells from these patients. As the project evolved, the significance of lisp expression was addressed by studying the relationship between heat
shock protein expression and apoptosis. This mode of cell death has recently been shown
to be crucial in carcinogenesis. A tumour is known to develop if the balance between cell
division and cell death by apoptosis is disturbed, permitting a potentially malignant clone
of cells to escape elimination. In addition, most, if not all, the cytotoxic drugs used to
target malignant cells are known to exert their effects via the induction of apoptosis. The
expression of genes which influence the susceptibility of cells to chemotherapy-induced
apoptosis may therefore have a bearing upon the efficacy of chemotherapeutic regimens.
Since heat shock proteins have been shown to protect cells against apoptosis induced by
a variety of stresses, their expression in leukaemic cells is particularly worthy of
investigation, both in terms of leukaemogenesis and the response of leukaemic cells to
chemotherapy.
This research project has therefore evolved to question the role of heat shock proteins in
the biology and treatment of leukaemia and to establish their role in the control of
apoptosis, with particular reference to the stress response of cells exposed to the
chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment and clinical management of these
malignancies.


Virtual reality based surgical simulators offer an elegant approach to enhancing traditional training in surgery. For interactive surgery simulation to be useful, however, there are several requirements needed to be fulfilled. A good visualisation is needed. The physical behavior of an organ must be modeled realistically. Finally there is a need of a device capable of force feedback to realize the possibility of ``feeling'' a virtual object. In this thesis a basic prototype was developed to demonstrate all necessary concepts needed in a surgical simulator. The study was aimed at finding a suitable architecture and design for development of a surgical simulation application which is conceptually clear and easy to comprehend. Moreover, it was considered important that the prototype can provide a good basis for further experimentation. The main focus was on finding a satisfactory method that demonstrates the main concepts, while keeping the complexity as low as possible. In the developed prototype, the visual impression of 3D is present, the haptic feedback works satisfactory, and the physical modelling proved to be feasible for simulating a virtual object. The object oriented design resulted in a compact and clear application, where changes in the implementation can be applied locally without unwanted implications elsewhere in the code. Due to these qualities, implementing multi resolution and cutting was an easy task. Only minor changes to limited parts of the application was needed. This shows its suitability as a starting point for future experimenting and demonstration of consepts, in the field of surgical simulation.


This paper proposes an evaluation of contemporary art works in light of some of the concepts embedded in Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's symbolic stage. My belief is that an analysis of Hegel's conditions for the affirmation of art opens the door to a discussion of contemporary artistic trends, a discussion that also takes distance from the (perhaps) abused question of what defines art. Art does more than question itself; art questions, and challenges, the nature of our perception.


Altered intracellular Cl– underlies changes in salt-sensitive neuronal signaling to produce high blood pressure. Increased sodium in the circulation stimulates neurons in the hypothalamus to release vasopressin, a hormone that causes vasoconstriction and increased blood pressure. Blood pressure is normalized through a negative feedback circuit between mechanosensing baroreceptors in arteries and GABAA receptors in the hypothalamic neurons. Choe et al. found that a chronic high-salt diet in rats impairs this negative feedback, leading to hypertension. Rats given a 2% NaCl drinking solution for one week had increased mean arterial blood pressure compared with rats that received normal drinking water. The basal firing rate of hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) that were isolated from rats that drank salt water was increased. GABAA receptors are part of ligand-gated Cl– channel complexes that control neuronal activity: Chloride influx is hyperpolarizing and inhibitory, whereas chloride efflux is depolarizing and excitatory. The chloride exporter KCC2 (K+/Cl– cotransporter 2) maintains a low intracellular chloride concentration that enables inhibitory GABAergic signaling. Antagonizing GABAA receptors with bicuculline showed that GABAergic signaling was inhibitory in MNCs from rats that drank normal water but stimulatory in MNCs from rats that drank salt water, indicating a shift in GABAergic output in high-salt conditions. Application of a KCC2 antagonist had no effect on MNCs from rats that drank salt water. Activation of the neurotrophin receptor TrkB, which is activated by BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) decreases KCC2 abundance in neurons. The abundance of KCC2 was decreased and the phosphorylation of TrkB was increased in hypothalamic tissue from rats that drank salt water. MNCs isolated from rats that drank salt water and received hypothalamic application of a soluble TrkB extracellular domain to scavenge endogenous TrkB agonists were hyperpolarized, which would reduce their activity. Injection of short-hairpin RNA against BDNF into the hypothalamus hyperpolarized MNCs in salt water-drinking rats after electrical stimulation of the region that relays arterial baroreceptor-activated GABAergic feedback. The findings suggest that chronic salt intake switches GABAergic output in MNCs, impairing the negative feedback circuitry that maintains normal blood pressure. K. Y. Choe, S. Y. Han, P. Gaub, B. Shell, D. L. Voisin, B. A. Knapp, P. A. Barker, C. H. Brown, J. T. Cunningham, C. W. Bourque, High salt intake increases blood pressure via BDNF-mediated downregulation of KCC2 and impaired baroreflex inhibition of vasopressin neurons. Neuron 85, 549–560 (2015). [PubMed]


The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) on board the ENVISAT satellite is used to study aerosol properties. The retrieval of aerosol properties from satellite data is based on the optimized fit of simulated and measured reflectances at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). The simulations are made using a radiative transfer model with a variety of representative aerosol properties. The retrieval process utilizes a combination of four aerosol components, each of which is defined by their (lognormal) size distribution and a complex refractive index: a weakly and a strongly absorbing fine-mode component, coarse mode sea salt aerosol and coarse mode desert dust aerosol). These components are externally mixed to provide the aerosol model which in turn is used to calculate the aerosol optical depth (AOD). In the AATSR aerosol retrieval algorithm, the mixing of these components is decided by minimizing the error function given by the sum of the differences between measured and calculated path radiances at 3–4 wavelengths, where the path radiances are varied by varying the aerosol component mixing ratios. The continuous variation of the fine-mode components allows for the continuous variation of the fine-mode aerosol absorption. Assuming that the correct aerosol model (i.e. the correct mixing fractions of the four components) is selected during the retrieval process, also other aerosol properties could be computed such as the single scattering albedo (SSA). Implications of this assumption regarding the ratio of the weakly/strongly absorbing fine-mode fraction are investigated in this paper by evaluating the validity of the SSA thus obtained. The SSA is indirectly estimated for aerosol plumes with moderate-to-high AOD resulting from wildfires in Russia in the summer of 2010. Together with the AOD, the SSA provides the aerosol absorbing optical depth (AAOD). The results are compared with AERONET data, i.e. AOD level 2.0 and SSA and AAOD inversion products. The RMSE (root mean square error) is 0.03 for SSA and 0.02 for AAOD lower than 0.05. The SSA is further evaluated by comparison with the SSA retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The SSA retrieved from both instruments show similar features, with generally lower AATSR-estimated SSA values over areas affected by wildfires.


Abstract Novel uses of automated flow cytometry technology for measuring levels of protein markers on thousands to millions of cells are promoting increasing need for relevant, customized Bayesian mixture modelling approaches in many areas of biomedical research and application. In studies of immune profiling in many biological areas, traditional flow cytometry measures relative levels of abundance of marker proteins using fluorescently labeled tags that identify specific markers by a single-color. One specific and important recent development in this area is the use of combinatorial marker assays in which each marker is targeted with a probe that is labeled with two or more fluorescent tags. The use of several colors enables the identification of, in principle, combinatorially increasingly numbers of subtypes of cells, each identified by a subset of colors. This represents a major advance in the ability to characterize variation in immune responses involving larger numbers of functionally differentiated cell subtypes. We describe novel classes of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods for model fitting that exploit distributed GPU (graphics processing unit) implementation. We discuss issues of cellular subtype identification in this novel, general model framework, and provide a detailed example using simulated data. We then describe application to a data set from an experimental study of antigen-specific T-cell subtyping using combinatorially encoded assays in human blood samples. Summary comments discuss broader questions in applications in immunology, and aspects of statistical computation.


Background GM1 gangliosidosis, a rare metabolic disease, is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of beta-galactosidase, and characterised by the generalised accumulation of GM1 ganglioside. The most severe form, called type I or early infantile, progressively destroys the neurons and the cells of the spinal cord. No pharmacological treatment is available at present and children affected by GM1 type I usually do not survive past the age of three. Miglustat (N-butyldeoxynojirimycin) is an iminosugar and functions as a competitive and reversible inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase, the initial enzyme in reactions resulting in the synthesis of most glycosphingolipids. It is indicated in lysosomal storage diseases and it had positive results in GM2 gangliosidosis. Purpose To describe our experience in the 12-month treatment with an individual formulation of miglustat, for a patient affected by GM1 gangliosidosis. Materials and Methods In July 2011 Regione-Marche Centre for Rare Diseases involved our Hospital Pharmacy (authorization, galenic compounding) in supplying miglustat for an 18-month-old child with type I GM1 gangliosidosis, who was clearly showing severe signs of the pathology, lacking any other therapy. Miglustat is off-label for this indication, so the approval of the Ethics Committee was necessary with the duty to report results every three months. Personalized capsules were prepared for the hospital and home administration, with different doses (from 30 mg/d to 210 mg/d in 3 doses). The capsules were prepared from Zavesca, exclusively using mannitol as excipient: lactose is to be avoided in GM1 gangliosidosis Results Miglustat provided surprising results, but only in the first four weeks of treatment. Frequent infections and seizures, typical of the disease, occurred later. Conclusions The treatment is still being used, but after 12 months, we are considering stopping it. It would be important to compare other experiences in order to better evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. No conflict of interest.


Objective: This study aims to review group learning method effect compared to individual learning method on dyslexic students of second grade in elementary school and it evaluates whether their problem will be solved in group and by other`s help? Thus, two methods of learning- Jigsaw I and Jigsaw II methods -were used to review their effects on improving learning and reading of children. Methods: Pretest-posttest design was selected due to semi-experimental method topic. Kessler and mental scale was used to gather data and a test for recognizing reading called Shirazie test was used to determine disorder amount of students reading, also data resulted from pretest, posttest, follow up and delayed tests were used to gather information. Validity coefficient was estimated .87 and reliability coefficient was .96 for total scale, .94 for class scale, and .91 for practical scale during one month that reliability coefficients' median was reported .75. 30 students were delivered learning services in learning disorders center by one mentor, and in two shifts, preferentially 60 students were under learning services, in this study, 30 students of first shift was selected randomly as experimental group and 30 students of second shift was selected as control group. Gathered information was used for statistical tasks with the use of independent groups` t-test and SPSS software in order to compare performance of two independent groups of experimental and control.  Results: Study findings indicate that group learning method effect compared to individual learning method on reducing the problems of dyslexic students of second grade in elementary students of Qazvin city. It is deduced from hypotheses that group learning compared with individual learning is effective in no addition and/or removing words in text, group learning compared with individual learning method is effective in no addition and removing letter or syllable, group learning compared with individual learning method is effective in no substitution of words in text, thus it can be concluded that students that are learned by group method are enjoyed better performance in reading skill.


The paper presents a study based on two views, i.e. innovation in teams of non-designers and live case interactions. This means that a diverse set of roles are involved in the innovation activities that originate from real regional situations. The application area relates to design and development of destinations, e.g. regions, tourism and attractive places. This study focuses on two main issues, namely (a) is it possible to make non-designers momentarily become design thinkers, and (b) is it possible to produce ideas and 'out-of-the-box' views in groups consisting of non-designers within a short timeframe? The purpose of this paper is thus to illustrate and explain these issues in order to contribute to a live case platform for collaborative innovation among society, trade and industry, and universities. The empirical data from four workshops, in total engaging 179 participants, shows that there are several challenges related to the efforts to transfer techniques and methods for design thinking and innovation into the heads and hands of non-designers. For example, trade and business can rarely allocate regular working hours for participatory design thinking, so they act based on traditional professional roles. Also, sessions turn into (unproductive) discussions if the participants are not firmly facilitated and encouraged. Bringing in live cases through the participation of mixed teams places additional requirements on innovation research in respect of implementation and packaging for practical uses.


This book explores the relationship between law and corporate finance. Corporate finance theory seeks to understand how incorporated firms address the financial constraints that affect their investment decisions by using varied financial instruments that give holders different claims on the firm's assets. Recent scholarship in this area explores precisely how legal mechanisms affect corporate finance and the development of financial markets. The legal environment is crucially important in explaining the choices that companies make about their capital structure. The book examines the key elements of the legal environment relating to corporate finance in the UK. This evolving environment has just undergone a remarkable period of far-reaching change. This was driven in part by the desire of the UK government to modernise its domestic company law, and in part by policy choices at the EU level which rely heavily on the adoption of new regulation to promote closer integration of European financial markets. In this book, Eilis Ferran provides a detailed analysis of the technical issues arising from the new UK and European law on corporate finance, and combines this with exploration of the broader policy framework and with cutting edge research.


ABSTRACT Peacekeeping operations, mandated through the United Nations and regional bodies, play an increasingly diverse role in the economic development of post-conflict countries. A key way that missions can use their administrative capacity to support economic recovery is developing effective technology use and acquisition strategies in host countries, which is a peacekeeping-wide policy goal outlined in the high-level Performance Peacekeeping report. Our paper introduces the theoretical channels through which missions' use of information communication technologies (ICTs) can support local economic development in post-conflict settings, making a theoretical argument that draws on both the literature on ICTs in peacekeeping and in economic development. We specify a Cobb–Douglas model that describes the potential impact of peacekeeping mission-led ICT investment on longer term economic development in combination with statistics on mission technology spending and internet use in host countries, providing a formal scaffold for our theoretical argument. Using this model and data in combination with a case study of the Central African Republic-based United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic mission, we argue that peacekeeping missions should use their purchasing power and stabilizing influence to attract value-added technology investment to support economic development.


In this paper we present the mathematical and topographic analysis of
 orientation of the most significant churches (11) of Morava school, the last
 style in architecture of medieval Serbia whose executors were chief
 architects. The deviation from equinox East of the main axis of each church
 and the dates when the Sun rises on the physical horizon, in the extension of
 the main axis, have been calculated. These were the dates when the church
 could have been oriented towards the rising Sun. This possibility has been
 ruled out for four churches. As for the other churches, the matching of the
 mentioned dates with the patron's days wasn't established. The churches in
 monasteries Ljubostinja and Kalenic are oriented with astronomical precision
 towards equinox East, an admirable fact considering the tools available to
 the builders. Rade Borovic, the only chief architect who put his signature on
 his work, was the chief architect of Ljubostinja.


To the Editor: Recent well-meaning global and South African (SA) reforms in medical education primarily consider an agenda of social accountability. We are concerned that this approach may be the result of an excessive focus on the purpose of education to meet community needs (communitarianism) at the expense of the purpose of education to meet individual learner's needs (individualism). If communitarianism and individualism are viewed as being at the opposite ends of a pendulum swing, we believe the pendulum is currently swinging too far away from individualism towards communitarianism, and that there should be a balance between these two.


Spectrofluorometric and FACS (Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting) analyses were employed to determine 1) the maximal fluorescence excitation and emission peaks characteristic of BPD, benzoporphyrin derivative, 2) which structural analogue of BPD, BPD-monoacid ring A (BPD-MA), BPD-monoacid ring B (BPD-MB), BPD-diacid ring A (BPD-DA) or BPD-diacid ring B (BPD-DB) fluoresced to the greatest extent in the presence of leukemic cells and 3) to determine whether substantive differences existed in the uptake of BPD by human or murine leukemic versus normal human or murine mononuclear cells. Spectrofluorometric analysis revealed that the maximal fluorescence excitation peak of BPD (BPD-diacid ring A) was situated at 420 nm with a less prominent peak at 356 nm. Fluorescence emission scans, in which 420 nm was used as the excitation wavelength, revealed a single prominent fluorescence peak at 690 nm. FACS analysis revealed that negligible differences in fluorescence existed between leukemic cells incubated with BPD-MA, BPD-MB, BPD-DA, or BPD-DB upon excitation with visible light (488nm). However, subsequent to uv excitation cells incubated with BPD-MA fluoresced to the greatest extent followed by BPD-MB, BPD-DA, and BPD-DB respectively. Pronounced differences in red fluorescence were consistently observed between leukemic cells (HL60, K562, and L1210) and normal human or murine bone marrow cells incubated with BPD-MA. These observed differences in BPD-mediated fluorescence provide the rationale for sorting leukemic from normal cells via FACS and may constitute a novel method for extra-corporeal purging of remission marrow in autologous bone marrow transplantation.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify barriers for people with psychotic spectrum disorders accessing CBTp in NHS Lothian. Despite national guidelines recommending CBT for the treatment of schizophrenia (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidelines 2014) and (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Guidelines 2013), levels of access to CBTp remain low. The overall goal of the study is to uncover emergent themes regarding barriers to access to CBT for patients with psychosis. In addition, the influence of psychosocial skills intervention (PSI) training for psychosis (Brooker and Brabban, 2006) will be explored and if completion of this training effects referral behaviours and attitudes to CBTp.

Design/methodology/approach
This study is a quantitative service evaluation project which uses a questionnaire design to explore the factors that influence a clinician's decision to refer a patient for CBTp. Three qualitative questions are included for thematic analysis to allow the respondents to elaborate on their views on potential barriers. All appropriate Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) staff in adult mental health in NHS Lothian were invited to participate in the study.

Findings
CMHT staff in NHS Lothian hold favourable views of CBTp and would support an increase in access for patients with psychosis. Key barriers to access for CBTp identified in this study comprise of, little or no access to CBTp, lack of integration of services and unclear referral pathways. Further themes emerging from the study also included, improving multi-disciplinary communication and increasing CMHT staff knowledge and confidence in CBTp. PSI training was shown to have a significant effect on referral rates. Further research would be warranted to explore the influence of PSI training on CMHT staff confidence and knowledge in CBTp.

Originality/value
This is the first paper of its kind to investigate the potential barriers to access to CBTp in Scotland. The paper has highlighted some key barriers and potential strategies to overcome the barriers identified will be discussed.


This document describes a Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespace for
ucode, an identifier system for objects and places. ucode technology
is used in many applications, and this document provides a URN
namespace for ucode to enable its use in Internet-related devices and
software. This document is not an Internet Standards Track
specification; it is published for informational purposes.


Conventional reflector antennas are typically designed for up to S O beamwidths scan. In this paper we try to stretch this scan range to some +300 beamwidths. We compare six single and dual reflector antennas. It is found that a symmetrical parabolic reflector with f/D=2 and a single circular waveguide feed has the minimum scan loss (only 0.6 dB at 80=8", or a 114 beamwidths scan). The scan is achieved by tilting the parabolic refletor by an angle equal to the half-scan angle. The f/D may be shortened if a cluster 7 to 19 elements instead of one element is used for the feed. The cluster excitation is adjusted for each new beam scan direction to compensate for the imperfect field distribution over the reflector aperture. The antenna can be folded into a Cassegrain configuration except that, due to spillover and blockage considerations, the amount of folding achievable is small. *Portions of this material were presented at the NASA Technology Workshop for Earth Science Geostationary Platforms, September 2 1-22, 1988 at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia.


In this article, we use topic modeling to systematically explore topics discussed in contemporary art criticism. Analyzing 6965 articles published between 1991 and 2015 in Frieze, a leading art magazine, we find a plurality of topics characterizing professional discourse on contemporary art. Not surprisingly, media- or genre-specific topics such as film/cinema, photography, sculpture/installations, etc. emerge. Interestingly, extra-artistic topics also characterize contemporary art criticism: there is room for articles on new digital technology and on art and philosophy; there is also growing interest in the relationship between art and society. Our analysis shows that despite evolutions in the field of contemporary art – such as the 'social turn', in which contemporary art starts paying more attention to social forms and content – the prevalence of certain topics in contemporary art criticism has barely changed over the past 25 years. With this article, we demonstrate the unique value of topic modeling for cultural sociology: it is both a powerful computational technique to generate a bird's-eye view of a huge text corpus and a heuristic device that locates key texts for further close reading.


This is the second in a series of four articles developed for the readers of Coronary Artery Disease. Without language ideas cannot be articulated. What may not be so immediately obvious is that they cannot be formulated either. One of the essential languages of cardiology is mathematics. Unfortunately, medical education does not emphasize, and in fact, often neglects empowering physicians to think mathematically. Reference to statistics, conditional probability, multicompartmental modeling, algebra, calculus and transforms is common but often without provision of genuine conceptual understanding. At the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Professor Bates developed a course designed to address these deficiencies. The course covered mathematical principles pertinent to clinical cardiovascular and pulmonary medicine and research. It focused on fundamental concepts to facilitate formulation and grasp of ideas. This series of four articles was developed to make the material available for a wider audience. The articles will be published sequentially in Coronary Artery Disease. Beginning with fundamental axioms and basic algebraic manipulations they address algebra, function and graph theory, real and complex numbers, calculus and differential equations, mathematical modeling, linear system theory and integral transforms and statistical theory. The principles and concepts they address provide the foundation needed for in-depth study of any of these topics. Perhaps of even more importance, they should empower cardiologists and cardiovascular researchers to utilize the language of mathematics in assessing the phenomena of immediate pertinence to diagnosis, pathophysiology and therapeutics. The presentations are interposed with queries (by Coronary Artery Disease abbreviated as CAD) simulating the nature of interactions that occurred during the course itself. Each article concludes with one or more examples illustrating application of the concepts covered to cardiovascular medicine and biology.


As far as the relative autonomy and power of the African post-colonial state to decide the whys and wherefores of economic development is concerned, what colonialism/neocolonialism started, contemporary globalisation has seemingly fi nished off. But because capitalist globalisation is not an immutable Leviathan, its power, reach and import can be limited by African countries that put their political house in order and do their policy homework properly. An effective historical way of doing this (as the Asian 'Tigers' or 'Dragons' have shown) is through the developmental state (DS). This brief interrogates the instrumentalities of the DS against the backdrop of Africa's socio-economic challenges. It argues that, in order for the DS to begin to have social resonance and relevance on the continent, a democratic DS needs to be constituted to tame and domesticate globalisation, as well as genuinely democratise politics and development.


We describe a real world case study that involves the monthly planning and scheduling of the sand-casting department in a metal foundry. The problem can be characterised as a single-level multi-item capacitated lot-sizing model with a variety of additional process-specific constraints. The main objective is to smooth production. We present a hierarchical approach, in which we use a combination of mixed integer linear programming, shortest path algorithms, and iterative local improvement. The quality of the production schedules obtained in this way is by far superior to the quality of the schedules constructed by a very expert production planner with no other tool than a plan board. Furthermore, the planning effort is significantly reduced: the manual method requires about 2–3 days, whereas a typical planning session with a prototype decision support system takes no more than half an hour.


Introduction: Tobacco use is considered to be a chief preventable premature cause of death all
over the world. Tobacco use kill million of people worldwide, causes immense suffering and also
has economic and social cause, those effects that have been linked to global epidemic. Tobacco
control experts and Global Health Professional Survey on youth reports have emphasized the
importance of training medical students about tobacco smoking. This study examined cigarette
smoking among a sample of newly intake medical students of famous medical university in
Myanmar. The perception of students on smoking and preventive measure was discussed.
Objective: To study the perception of youth on smoking among first year medical students.
Method: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was done among first year medical
students of the University of Medicine-1, Yangon, during August 2007. Data were collected
using a pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. Questionnaire included sections
about socio-demographic information, knowledge, practice and their perception on smoking.
Result: The prevalence of current smoking among them was 5.8%. There was also statistical
significant association between perception and gender, perception and knowledge level and
perception and smoking habit. Majority of the students did not smoke since they were aware of
the health risk of smoking. Regarding perception of smoking and environmental peers like
present of smokers in environment, the students with no smokers in their environment have
positive perception than there was a smoker in their environment but it is not statistically significant. Regarding correlation between knowledge score on smoking and perception on
smoking, significant correlation between was found between knowledge score and attitude
towards susceptibility, seriousness, threat, benefit, barrier and control.
Regarding relation between perception on smoking and smoking habit, significant association
was found and the nonsmokers and smokers had positive attitude than current smokers.
Conclusion: In this study, their perceptions on tobacco smoking were related with practice of
smoking. Their perception would be change by health education methods using individual interview, group discussion and form anti-smoking campaign at University. The student's
perception upon legislative measure of smoking was still weak.


We have constructed a synchronously pumped parametric oscillator that uses temperature-tuned, noncritically phase-matched LiB3O5 as the nonlinear medium. We have synchronously pumped this LiB3O5 parametric oscillator with two different pump sources. The first is a cw mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser that produces 2 W of 100-fs pulses near 800 nm. Using this pump source, we have generated pulses as short as 40 fs, or as much as 550 mW of average power. We demonstrate the synchronization between the pump and the signal pulses by generating a 100-fs cross correlation. Our second pump source is a novel frequency-doubled diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser that produces 2 W of 6-ps pulses at 532 nm. We have generated pulses as short as 270 fs with extracavity dispersion compensation from this all-solid-state system.


Many commentators have questioned whether the interpretation of the term "ex post facto law" in Calder v. Bull, which restricted that term to retroactive criminal laws, is historically accurate. Most prominently, over seventy years ago Professor William Winslow Crosskey argued not only that this "criminal-only" reading of "ex post facto law" departed from the original understanding of the Constitution, but also that Justices Chase, Iredell, and Paterson adopted that erroneous interpretation in order to assist James Wilson, who by 1798 had fled from his creditors and needed retroactive bankruptcy protection. Drawing on new evidence related to legal disputes involving three land companies with which Wilson was associated, which eventually gave rise to Hollingsworth v. Virginia, Fletcher v. Peck, and Johnson v. M'Intosh, this Article contends that Crosskey was likely correct about the original meaning of "ex post facto law," but likely mistaken about the Justices' motivations in Calder. In fact, Wilson's land speculation, conflicts of interest, and aggressive pursuit of his companies' interests were probably a source of embarrassment to his fellow Justices. Nonetheless, there is a clear discrepancy between the construal of "ex post facto law" in Calder and how that term was widely used in the founding era, which merits further investigation. A better historical understanding of these land disputes also raises new doubts about the reliability of the discussion of ex post facto laws in James Madison's Notes of the Debates in the Federal Convention.

The Article is my contribution to a symposium on James Wilson that was hosted by the Georgetown Center for the Constitution in December, 2017.


Dr N. M. S. Rock writes: the importance of modern analogues is asserted by Leggett (1986) as support for his interpretation of the Southern Uplands as an accretionary prism and he cites Sumatra as a good analogue (see also Leggett et al. 1983, p. 201). Three similarities are inferred: (1) both accretionary complexes have become emergent; (2) both accretionary/upper slope terrane boundaries are fundamental reverse faults; (3) both fore-arc basins may be underlain by a thin prong of continental crust. I fear that these similarities may be accepted more by default than by consensus, since few geologists have worked extensively in both areas. As one who has, I suggest the similarities are misleading, for they take account only of data (e.g. seismic) which are largely intangible and subjective. Kieckhefer (1980) presented various other interpretations of (3) for Sumatra, while (2) for Southern Scotland is equally questionable since the Southern Uplands Fault (SUF) may show major normal or transcurrent movement. I suggest that better evidence is the nature of the respective rock successions, and this presents a very different picture. The Mentawai islands forming the non-volcanic Sumatran fore-arc are mapped either exclusively (e.g. Pulau Siberut) or dominantly (e.g. Oyo Complex of Pulau Nias) as polymict melange (Hamilton 1979). Clasts in this melange include amphibolites, basalts and spilites, cherts, greenschists, limestones, siltstone/sandstone interbeds, mica-schists, scaly clays, gabbros, serpentinites and peridotites (Hamilton 1979, pp. 20-1; Moore & Karig 1980). Neither melange itself nor any of these particular lithologies is a significant component of


Screening patients with chronic hepatitis B infection (HBsAg+) for hepatocellular carcinoma by alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) or by AFP plus ultrasound (AFP/US) detects hepatocellular carcinoma tumors at earlier stages and increases resection rates (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, based on a systematic review of fair-quality randomized controlled trials). It is unclear whether screening with AFP or AFP/US improves disease-specific or all-cause mortality (SOR: B).


Abstract : In the acquisition of a software-intensive system, the relationship between the software architecture and the acquisition strategy is typically not specifically examined. The first phase of our research discovered an initial set of failure patterns that result when these two entities become misaligned. Programs with these failure patterns experienced reduced operational capabilities and effectiveness, cost overruns, and significant schedule slips. In other words these programs resulted in systems failing to satisfy stakeholder needs. This paper briefly describes the conceptual foundations for our project and summarizes the first phase as context for the second phase, which is the major thrust of this paper. The current research has centered on demonstrating the existence and utility of acquisition-related quality attributes, embodied in a program's business goals, which then drive the shape of the acquisition strategy. This is comparable to the relationship between mission goals, software-related quality attributes, and the software architecture. This paper describes the approach used to generate 75 acquisition-related quality attribute scenarios based on data derived from more than 23 large government programs spanning business, logistics command and control, and satellite domains.


To investigate the effects of mechanical loading on the rat and mouse forelimb, male Sprague Dawley rats and male C57/BL-6 mice forelimbs were cyclically loaded in axial compression. Two studies were performed, one to examine woven bone formation in both the rat and mouse forelimb, and one to examine lamellar bone formation in the rat forelimb. Both types of bone formation were induced through an acute loading event. Repeatable levels of fatigue damage were induced in both the rat and mouse ulna, yielding a consistent woven bone response. Rats formed more woven bone than mice. Woven bone formed by the rats was evenly distributed along the medial cortex versus woven bone formed by the mice was more abundant towards the posterior side of the medial surface. 150 cycles of rest inserted loading to a peak load of 30 N was found to induce lamellar bone formation with the greatest apposition rate. Apposition rate was more strongly influenced by peak loading rather than number of loading cycles. At the 30 N loading level, 300 loading cycles induced woven bone formation in two of the five animals. Finite element models were created to examine the mechanical environment of both the rat and mouse ulna during compressive forelimb loading. Stress distribution in the rat ulna was found to be distributed along the medial surface of the rat ulna. Stress distribution was biased to the posterior side of the medial surface on the mouse ulna. These stress distributions supported the bone formation observed. Maximal stress occurred in both the rat and mouse ulna at the same location failure occurred during monotonic and fatigue to failure tests conducted on both rat and mouse ulnas.


Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene on chromosome 6p21.3 have been associated with many autoimmune diseases; however, results have been conflicting and accurate allele frequencies have never been established in a UK Caucasian population. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of 22 known TNF-alpha SNPs in a UK Caucasian control population and investigate association of all polymorphisms with >5% minor allele frequency in a large case-control data set of patients with Graves' disease (GD). Eight of the 22 SNPs had minor allele frequencies >5% and were investigated further. The other 14 SNPs were present in the UK population at frequencies ranging from 0 to 4.7%. A significant increase of the A allele of the -238 SNP was seen in GD patients when compared with control subjects (9.6 vs 6.8%, respectively; P=0.003) and mirrored in the genotype distribution (P=0.009). Furthermore, association of the -238 SNP appears not to be due to linkage disequilibrium of the known HLA-DRB1(*)03 associations with GD. This study has established accurate allele frequencies of TNF-alpha SNPs in a UK population and provides preliminary evidence for association of the TNF-alpha gene with GD.


Although the use of antioxidants for the treatment of cancer and HIV/AIDS has been proposed for decades, new insights gained from redox research have suggested a very different scenario. These new data show that the major cellular antioxidant systems, the thioredoxin (Trx) and glutathione (GSH) systems, actually promote cancer growth and HIV infection, while suppressing an effective immune response. Mechanistically, these systems control both the redox- and NO-based pathways (nitroso-redox homeostasis), which subserve innate and cellular immune defenses. Dual inhibition of the Trx and GSH systems synergistically kills neoplastic cells in vitro and in mice and decreases resistance to anticancer therapy. Similarly, the population of HIV reservoir cells that constitutes the major barrier to a cure for AIDS is exquisitely redox sensitive and could be selectively targeted by Trx and GSH inhibitors. Trx and GSH inhibition may lead to a reprogramming of the immune response, tilting the balance between the immune system and cancer or HIV in favor of the former, allowing elimination of diseased cells. Thus, therapies based on silencing of the Trx and GSH pathways represent a promising approach for the cure of both cancer and AIDS and warrant further investigation.


The culturally and ecologically diverse region of the Eastern Himalayas is the target of ambitious hydropower development plans. Policy discourses at national and international levels position this development as synergistically positive: it combines the production of clean energy to fuel economic growth at regional and national levels with initiatives to lift poor mountain communities out of poverty. Different from hydropower development in the 20th century in which development agencies and banks were important players, contemporary initiatives importantly rely on the involvement of private actors, with a prominent role of the private finance sector. This implies that hydropower development is not only financially viable but also understood as highly profitable. This paper examines the new development of hydropower in the Eastern Himalayas of Nepal and India. It questions its framing as green energy, interrogates its links with climate change, and examines its potential for investment and capital accumulation. To do this, we also review the evidence on the extent to which its construction and operation may modify existing hydrogeological processes and ecosystems, as well as its impacts on the livelihoods of diverse groups of people that depend on these. The paper concludes that hydropower development in the region is characterized by inherent contentions and uncertainties, refuting the idea that dams constitute development projects whose impacts can be simply predicted, controlled and mitigated. Indeed, in a highly complex geological, ecological, cultural and political context that is widely regarded to be especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, hydropower as a development strategy makes for a toxic cocktail.


BACKGROUND
The mechanisms underlying cardiac contractile dysfunction after transplantation remain poorly defined. Previous work has revealed that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is expressed in the rat heterotopic cardiac allograft during rejection; resultant overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) might cause cardiac contractile dysfunction via the negative inotropic and cytotoxic actions of NO. In this investigation, we tested the hypothesis that induction of iNOS may occur and be associated with cardiac allograft contractile dysfunction in humans.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We prospectively studied 16 patients in the first year after cardiac transplantation at the time of serial surveillance endomyocardial biopsy. Clinical data, the results of biopsy histology, and echocardiographic and Doppler evaluation of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function were recorded. Total RNA was extracted from biopsy specimens, and mRNA for beta-actin, detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using human specific primers, was used as a constitutive gene control; iNOS mRNA was similarly detected by RT-PCR using human specific primers. iNOS protein was detected in biopsy frozen sections by immunofluorescence. Myocardial cGMP was measured by radioimmunoassay, and serum nitrogen oxide levels (NOx = NO2 + NO3) were measured by chemiluminescence. iNOS mRNA was detected in allograft myocardium at some point in each patient and in 59 of 123 biopsies (48%) overall. In individual patients, iNOS mRNA expression was episodic and time dependent; the frequency of expression was highest during the first 180 days after transplant (P = .0006). iNOS protein associated with iNOS mRNA was detected by immunofluorescence in cardiac myocytes. iNOS mRNA expression was not related to the ISHLT histological grade of rejection or to serum levels of NOx but was associated with increased levels of myocardial cGMP (P = .01) and with both systolic (P = .024) and diastolic (P = .006) left ventricular contractile dysfunction measured by echocardiography and Doppler.

CONCLUSIONS
These data support a relation between iNOS mRNA expression and contractile dysfunction in the human cardiac allograft.


OBJECTIVE--To test the hypothesis that farmers are at high risk of hip osteoarthritis and to investigate possible causes for such a hazard. DESIGN--Cross sectional survey. SETTING--Five rural general practices. SUBJECTS--167 male farmers aged 60-76 and 83 controls from mainly sedentary jobs. All those without previous hip replacement underwent radiography of the hip. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Hip replacement for osteoarthritis or radiological evidence of hip osteoarthritis. RESULTS--Prevalence of hip osteoarthritis was higher in farmers than controls and especially in those who had farmed for over 10 years (odds ratio 9.3, 95% confidence interval 1.9 to 44.5). The excess could not be attributed to any one type of farming, and heavy lifting seems the likely explanation. CONCLUSIONS--Manual handling in agriculture should be limited where possible. Consideration should be given to making hip osteoarthritis a prescribed industrial disease in farmers. There may be wider implications for the prevention of hip osteoarthritis in the general population.


The work in this thesis aims to use MEMS and microfabrication technologies to develop two types of parylene membrane devices for biomedical applications. The first device is the parylene membrane filter for cancer detection. The presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in patient blood is an important sign of cancer metastasis. However, currently there are two big challenges for CTC detection. First, CTCs are extremely rare, especially at the early stage of cancer metastasis. Secondly, CTCs are very fragile, and are very likely to be damaged during the capturing process. By using size-based membrane filtration through the specially designed parylene filters, together with a constant-pressure filtration system, we are able to capture the CTCs from patient blood with high capture efficiency, high viability, moderate enrichment, and high throughput. Both immunofluorescence enumeration and telomerase activity detection have been used to detect and differentiate the captured CTCs. The feasibility of further cell culture of the captured CTCs has also been demonstrated, which could be a useful way to increase the number of CTCs for future studies. Models of the time-dependent cell membrane damage are developed to predict and prevent CTC damage during this detection process. The results of clinical trials further demonstrate that the parylene membrane filter is a promising device for cancer detection. The second device is the parylene artificial Bruch's membrane for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is usually characterized by an impaired Bruch's membrane with much lowered permeability, which impedes the transportation of nutrients from choroid vessels to nourish the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors. Parylene is selected as a substitute material because of its good mechanical properties, transparency, biocompatibility, and machinability. More importantly, it is found that the permeability of submicron parylene is very similar to that of healthy human Bruch's membrane. A mesh-supported submicron parylene membrane structure has been designed and its feasibility as an artificial Bruch's membrane has been demonstrated by diffusion experiments, cell perfusion culture, and pressure deflection tests. RPE cells are able to adhere, proliferate and develop into normal in vivo-like morphology and functions. Currently this artificial membrane is under clinical trials.


Developing rural vocational education is of great significance to urban-rural integration: developing rural vocational education is helpful to cultivating new farmers for construction of new socialist countryside, favorable to improving farmers' ability of finding jobs and starting undertaking, and beneficial to transfer of rural surplus labor and acceleration of urbanization. Restrictions on development rural vocational education mainly include: low value cognition of society and social assessment of rural vocational education; out of balance of cost and expected return of rural vocational education; the quality of supply of rural vocational education failure to satisfy demand of socio-economic development; imperfect rural vocational education system. In view of these, following countermeasures and suggestions are put forward: strengthen propaganda and guidance to build environment of public opinion for rural vocational education; push forward rural vocational compulsory education system to lay social foundation for rural vocational education; reinforce policy support to assist in building rural vocational education system; improve education system to build overall framework of rural vocational education; perfect laws and regulations to establish system and norm for development of rural vocational education.


Abstract Study Objectives To examine the association between sleep duration trajectories over 28 years and measures of cognition, gray matter volume, and white matter microstructure. We hypothesize that consistently meeting sleep guidelines that recommend at least 7 hours of sleep per night will be associated with better cognition, greater gray matter volumes, higher fractional anisotropy, and lower radial diffusivity values. Methods We studied 613 participants (age 42.3 ± 5.03 years at baseline) who self-reported sleep duration at five time points between 1985 and 2013, and who had cognitive testing and magnetic resonance imaging administered at a single timepoint between 2012 and 2016. We applied latent class growth analysis to estimate membership into trajectory groups based on self-reported sleep duration over time. Analysis of gray matter volumes was carried out using FSL Voxel-Based-Morphometry and white matter microstructure using Tract Based Spatial Statistics. We assessed group differences in cognitive and MRI outcomes using nonparametric permutation testing. Results Latent class growth analysis identified four trajectory groups, with an average sleep duration of 5.4 ± 0.2 hours (5%, N = 29), 6.2 ± 0.3 hours (37%, N = 228), 7.0 ± 0.2 hours (45%, N = 278), and 7.9 ± 0.3 hours (13%, N = 78). No differences in cognition, gray matter, and white matter measures were detected between groups. Conclusions Our null findings suggest that current sleep guidelines that recommend at least 7 hours of sleep per night may not be supported in relation to an association between sleep patterns and cognitive function or brain structure.


Journal: In recent years, the international community has increasingly been called upon to intervene in situations of intrastate conflict, often without the consent of the parties involved. To what extent do you feel that this intervention threatens the traditional concept of sovereignty? Eliasson: I think we are going through a change in international relations that goes back to two main factors: The first is the end of the Cold War, and the second is the fact that conflicts (perhaps also as a result of the end of the Cold War) are now concentrated in the realm of civil wars and internal conflicts. This change is increasingly recognized within the international community. The process of adapting to this changing international environment has made it possible for the Security Council to make decisions to enter these internal conflicts to a degree that was not the case in the past. It started with a very important resolution, U.N. Security Council Resolution 688, which came about after the Iraqi attack on Kuwait and the subsequent dramatic events in the north and south of Iraq. The flow of refugees across the borders to Turkey and Iran was in a way seen as a threat to international peace and security, and the resolution was passed to deal with conditions which basically prevailed inside a country. There were some abstentions (an important one from China), but there were no vetoes of this resolution. Since 1992, the United Nations Security Council has been more involved with internal conflicts than with international conflicts. So there has already been some type of conceptual breakthrough for the international community, enabling the United Nations to deal with civil wars. This is reflected in the fact that there have been no vetoes in the Security Council concerning such situations. This, in turn, reflects the diminishing tensions between the major powers in the Security Council. It is not clear to what extent this development is welcomed by all the members of the General Assembly. There may be some nations, especially developing countries, who fear its potential consequences. It may infringe upon their sovereignty, and young nations' independence may be put into question. Finally, there is a fear that humanitarian intervention will be used as a political Trojan Horse. These concerns have to be taken seriously, because it is very important that this trend, as well as the changing responsibility for internal conflicts, be accepted not only within the Security Council, but within the international community as a whole. Journal: Do you feel, then, that the intervention in Iraq was perhaps a watershed event? Eliasson: Yes, and not only because the U.N. later had to deal with the internal situation in the Kurdish area, where, as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, I led an operation of humanitarian support. There is also the fact that the Iraq-Kuwait war opened up a new, innovative solution for the implementation of Security Council resolutions in this type of conflict - the setting up of a coalition which received the blessing of the United Nations. But this part of the Iraq-Kuwait situation was truly international. It was a case of aggression which was dealt with in a relatively normal way, i.e., in the context of an international conflict. The other part, which engendered Resolution 688 and the humanitarian programs, dealt with the subject that we are talking about here: activity in internal conflicts. Journal: If we can, for a moment, narrow it down a bit to humanitarian areas, do you feel that there is a moral obligation for the international community to respond to humanitarian crises that cannot be addressed by a host government alone? Specifically, in the case of what have become known as failed states," such as Somalia, how do you think the international community should respond? Eliasson: Certainly there is a moral obligation, and now also an obligation that is accepted by the member states. …


In the aquatic ecosystems, microorganisms are exposed to seasonal and circadian cycles. Abiotic factors (e.g. low temperature, nutrient deprivation) can cause morphological and physiological changes in bacteria, thereby facilitating cell survival. While repre- senting the interface between the cells and external environment, the cell envelope plays a major role in bacterial response to stress and characterization of the changes it undergoes can help to understand the adaptation process. In this study, analysis of the morphological and physiological changes as well as variations in protein composition of the Escherichia coli cell envelope was carried out for populations maintained for 21 days under nutrient deprivation and suboptimal temperatures (4°C and 20°C). It was found that the absence of nutrients led to a temperature-dependent reduction of cell culturability but had no effect on cell viability and integrity. The concentration of mem - brane proteins playing the key roles in cellular transport, maintenance of cell structure or bioenergetics processes remained mainly unchanged. In contrast, the level of several proteins such as the elongation factor EFTu 1, components of Bam complex or proteins implicated in chemotaxis was altered, thus indicating that cells were readily responding and adapting to stress.


Drawing upon the experience of adoption of an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)' based model by Portuguese non-financial unlisted companies in 2010, designated Sistema de Normalização Contabilística (SNC), this research sheds light on the potential of the IFRS model to conform to countries and jurisdictions whose accounting system is remarkably disparate as it was Portugal's. From a vantage point in 2017, seven years after the formal implementation of the IFRS-based model, sixteen detailed interviews with statutory auditors were carried out to explore their perceptions regarding dimensions of relevance and suitability of the new accounting model to the Portuguese setting, major difficulties and benefits brought about. Evidence were gathered suggesting a significant level of legitimation and institutionalisation of the IFRS-based model: (i) the perceived motivations for SNC adoption are a good fit with the theoretically acknowledged motivations underlying accounting convergence; (ii) two major innovations introduced in the Portuguese accounting system by the IFRS modelthe principle-based standards and the fair value, were largely perceived favourably; and (iii) in spite of criticisms concerning a set of in-country adaptations, SNC resembles the IFRS model at least close enough to have brought about a number of benefits that according to relevant literature would result from the application of such an accounting model: contextual benefits at the country and business levels, operational benefits, and benefits at the level of statutory auditors' profession. Despite all these encouraging evidence towards the success of the adoption process of the IFRS model in Portugal, this was not exempt from its early difficulties or problems, with some of them still ongoing such as those related to fair value implementation and Notes preparation.


RNA polymerase IV and V are principal players in the RdDM pathway, where their current study has shown interaction of several factors that control DNA silencing of intergenic regions and siRNA production. DNA silencing is an important process during cell differentiation, nuclear structure and viral control. However, RNA pol IV and V are yet to be study in model monocot systems like Oryza sativa that can provide further information on genetic silence mechanism in plats. We show the expression pattern of these polymerases in tissues extracts of Oryza sativa . Detectable amounts of these polymerases are found in specific adult plant tissues and particularly expressed during somatic embryogenesis but not during early stages of normal embryo development. The use of synthetic auxin leads to an induction of both RNA pol IV and V in scutellum tissue where nuclear localization may be required for genome reorganization and gene silencing.


A Sm-Nd mineral isochron obtained from an olivine gabbro yields an age of 375 +/- 34 Ma (M.S.W.D. = 0.006) and represents the formation age of the Lizard Igneous Complex. Two magmatic suites are recorded in the complex, an early trace element enriched (ENd 375 = + 8.9 - + 10.1) and a late MORB-like( ENd 375 = + 9.2 - + 11.7). The early magmatic suite records a decoupling between low Sm/Nd and high ( 143 Nd/ 144 Nd) 375 ratios and indicates that the low SW/Nd ratios were generated immediately prior to the petrogenesis of the early magmatic suite, due to either i) L.REE enrichment of the source or ii) enrichment processes during magma genesis. The marked L.REE depletion of the spinel lherzolites, which comprise the majority of the Lizard peridotite, reflects multiple, small percentage ( Two suites of metabasaltic rocks occur in the Mona Complex (Anglesey), the Gwna Group ((Ce/Yb) N = 0.6 - 2.1) and New Harbour Group ((Ce/Yb) N = 0.3 - 0.5). The Gwna Group yield a whole-rock Sm-Nd isochron of 595 +/- 86 Ma (M.S.W.D. = 1.5) with an initial ratio equivalent to ENd of 7.1 +/- 1.0. This isochronous relationship and large variation in the degree of L.REE enrichment indicates, as in the case of the early magmatic suite of the Lizard Complex, that the low Sm/Nd ratios were generated immediately prior to the petrogenesis of the metabasalts. Nd model ages of the Mona gneisses, a sediment and the Coedana Granite, in conjunction with the age of the Gwna Group, argue for an origin of the entire Mona Complex during the late Precambrian. The Lower Palaeozoic subduction related volcanism of southeast Ireland occurs in 2 distinct suites, north and south of the Leinster Granite. The southern suite has trace element, Sr and Nd isotope systematics equivalent to the present day calc alkaline volcanism of Java. It is estimated that 80% of the Sr and 50% of the Nd in these rocks are slab derived. The northern tholeiitic suite is markedly trace element enriched, and the rocks show a correlation between their Sm/Nd and ( 143 Nd/ 144 Nd) I ratios, and the % of slab derived Nd. The calculated Sr/Nd ratio of the slab component is 19, such that mixing lines between slab and mantle wedge components are straight lines on an ESr vs ENd diagram. It is not possible to distinguish between an ancient LILE and L.REE enrichment event, circa 1100 Ma, or sediment subduction to account for the isotopic systematics of the slab component. The dioritic primary magma to the Leinster Granite is predominantly derived from juvenile lower crust. The maximum mantle component involved in the diorites' petrogenesis is 30% and the maximum T CHUR age of the lower crust is 720 Ma. The primary dioritic magma assimilated Lower Palaeozoic sediments and fractionated a plagioclase, K feldspar and biotite assemblage, resulting in the production of granitic rocks with more and less radiogenic Sr and Nd isotope ratios respectively. Lower curstal xenoliths from central Ireland and the Midland Valley of Scotland indicate that crustal accretion occurred during both Grenvillian and Late Precambrian ti~es. The N.E. Ox Mount, lins inlier also provides evidence of a Late Precambrian crust forming event (605 +/- 39 Ma). (No evidence of Archaean crust is found in these regions.) The lower crustal garnet granulite xenoliths from Ireland and the Midland Valley represent possible crustal components involved in the petrogenesis of both the pre and post-tectonic Caledonian granites of Central Scotland. The majority of basement rocks of southern Britain formed during the Late Precambrian with only the Rushton Schists and Rosslare Complex having Nd and Sr isotope systematics characteristics of old, >1300 Ma, crust. Late Precambrian and Cambro-Ordovician sediments have Nd isotope systematics equivalent to the majority of the Late Precambrian basement rocks. Subsequent to the closure of the Iapetus Ocean the sedimentary pile within southern Britain records the gradual introduction of an "ancient" crustal component, presumably from the mixed Archean/Proterozoic terrains of northern Europe. A steady state is reached by Jurassic times such that present day coastal sediments have equivalent Nd isotope systematics to those of Jurassic sediments.


A set of five observations of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) coronal dimming associated with coronal mass ejection (CME) activity is examined. Using spectroscopic data, plasma characteristics across a broad range of temperatures from 20 000 K to 2 million K are determined. The dimming events are found to coincide in time, and to coincide spatially, with the projected onset times and locations of the associated CMEs. The spectral data confirm that the dimming is due to mass- loss, and not temperature variations. The actual mass-loss calculated from the degree of dimming, using two dierent methods, shows that the extracted mass in each case, is of the same order as the mass of the associated CME. In some cases, the EUV observations are limited to relatively small regions under the CME events and it is expected that we do not witness the mass- loss associated with the entire event, for these. However, we believe that this analysis has provided a method for locating the source region of the trigger for a CME eruption, and that the dimming characteristics can be used to distinguish between onset processes of the CME. In particular, the gradual nature of the dimming process, which takes place over several hours, suggests that either the CME has a continuous driver rather than a sudden impulsive onset, or the low coronal response to a CME extends over a long period.


continued on page 12 a historic drought gripped the Southeast region in 2007. It was the second driest year on record for the region, and rainfall in some areas including Alabama and North Carolina was the lowest on record for the last century. By the end of 2007, over a third of the region was classified in "exceptional" drought (the worst drought designation used by the U.S. Drought Monitor. See the drought map on the back cover for a more detailed distribution of national drought conditions in 2007. Water levels all over the South fell. The city of Atlanta declared a water emergency because Lake Lanier, which supplies Atlanta's drinking water, was 10 feet below average. Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida was dramatically lower as well. Also during the 2007 drought, Georgia experienced its largest wildfire on record when the Georgia Bay Complex burned 441,705 acres. When added to the other 9,500 fires that year, the total burned was more than 504,000 acres.


Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy has been tried in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients without evaluation of molecular and clinical predictors in several randomized clinical studies. Only fewer than 20% of metastatic TNBCs showed response to anti-EGFR therapy. In order to increase the overall response rate, first step would be to classify TNBC into good or poor responders according to oncogenic mutation profiles. This study provides the molecular characteristics of TNBCs including EGFR gene copy number changes and mutation status of EGFR and KRAS gene in Korean TNBC patients. Mutation analysis for EGFR, KRAS, BRAF and TP53 from a total of 105 TNBC tissue samples was performed by direct sequencing, peptide nucleic acid-mediated PCR clamping method and real-time PCR. Copy number changes of EGFR gene were evaluated using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Out of all 105 TNBCs, 15.2% (16/105) showed EGFR copy number changes. Among them, increased or decreased EGFR copy number was detected in 13 (5 single copy gain, 2 amplification and 4 high-copy number amplification) and 3 cases (3 hemizygous deletion), respectively. The mutation frequencies of KRAS, EGFR and TP53 gene were 1.9% (G12V and G12D), 1.0% (exon 19 del) and 31.4%, respectively. There was no BRAF V600E mutation found. Future studies are needed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of TNBC patients who undergo anti-EGFR therapy according to the genetic status of EGFR.


Background: Every summer, young people flock to nightlife-focused holiday resorts around the world to find casual work. Despite being exposed to hedonistic environments, often for several months, little is known about their substance use, sexual activity and health service needs over this extended amount of time abroad. Methods: A short anonymous questionnaire examining alcohol and drug use, sexual behaviour and use of health services was administered to young British casual workers aged 16–35 in San Antonio, Ibiza (n = 171). Results: 97.7% of casual workers used alcohol in Ibiza, and the majority (85.3%) used drugs. Almost half (43.5%) of all participants used a drug in Ibiza that they had never used in the UK. Most casual workers arrived in Ibiza without a partner or spouse (86.5%). Of these, 86.9% had sex during their stay and 50.0% had unprotected sex; often while under the influence of alcohol. Only 14.3% of those having unprotected sex with a new partner sought a sexual health check-up in Ibiza, although 84.1% intended to do this on their return to the UK. Conclusion: Substance use and sexual risk taking is widespread among young British casual workers in Ibiza. Such international nightlife resorts represent key settings for substance-related health and social problems, and for the international spread of sexually transmitted infections. Addressing the health needs of casual workers and the environments that permit and promote their excessive behaviour requires collaboration between authorities in home and destination countries and the tourism industry.


The performance of a compact axial compressor is limited by increased viscous losses and reduced flow turning caused by operation at low Reynolds number (Re). This paper aims to develop improved understanding of the loss variation with Re in such a compressor. Experiments of a scaled-up single stage axial compressor have been conducted across a range of Re of 104 - 105. The flow field has been measured at the rotor inlet, rotor exit and stator exit using detailed area traverses with a miniaturised five-hole probe. In addition, three-dimensional computations of the same compressor stage have been conducted to investigate how effective steady fully turbulent RANS CFD, with the Spalart Allmaras turbulence model, is for this low Re regime. As expected, the measured loss decreased with increasing Re for both the stator and rotor. This variation in loss was found to be dominated by changes in three-dimensional flow features. In the rotor, there is high tip loss and a hub separation that grows at low Re, which CFD does not predict. The stator has high hub loss, which the CFD over-predicts, particularly at low flow coefficients. The results demonstrate that the fully turbulent solver used can be used to guide the design but cannot predict the detailed aerodynamic loss sources or the impact of Reynolds number variations.


Yielding stress of matrix and interface is chosen to represent the influence of the chemical, mechanical, and thermodynamical nature of the bonding process between matrix and fiber materials. The shear stress-strain behavior of interface and matrix material is modeled as elastic-perfectly plastic. A local stress analysis model is used to represent the influence of interface and matrix yielding on stress distribution resulting from fiber fractures. The model is combined with the concept of multiple fiber fractures in the development of a mechanistic representation of tensile strength. In this strength formulation, fibers are assumed to be a statistical quantity, and as the material is loaded, fibers fracture randomly throughout the body causing localized stress concentration. The accumulation of these breaks results in overall failure. The resulting analysis is applied to numerical studies of the influence of interface/matrix yielding on stress and damage characteristics of unidirectional composites under quasistatic uniaxial loading. A discussion of optimal design parameters for composites is also presented. The predicted tensile strength clearly shows that there exists an optimum of composite strength at a certain level of interface and matrix yielding stress. A value of yielding stress larger than optimum causes a loss of composite strength as a result of the dominant increase in local stress concentration, and a value smaller than optimum causes a loss of composite strength as a result of the dominant increase of the region of influence of the local disturbance (increased bundle length). This phenomenon has also been observed by other researchers in their experimental studies of the effect of surface treatment on the tensile strength of composites. Furthermore, by comparison with experimental data, it is shown that the influence of interfacial bond on tensile strength of composites may be secondary to other effects such as change of fiber strength as a result of surface treatments or friction effects engendered by resin shrinkage or residual thermal stress.


Aims. A key function of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles in cardiovascular protection is cholesterol efflux, the removal of cholesterol from macrophage foam cells and first step in reverse cholesterol transport. This study prospectively investigated whether HDL cholesterol efflux capacity is associated with cardiovascular mortality, all-cause mortality, and graft failure in renal transplant recipients, patients with accelerated atherosclerosis formation. Methods and Results. In renal transplant recipients (n=495, median follow-up 7.0 years) cholesterol efflux capacity at baseline was quantified using incubation of human macrophage foam cells with apolipoprotein B-depleted plasma. Baseline efflux capacity was not different in deceased patients compared to survivors (P=0.60 or P=0.50 for cardiovascular or all-cause mortality, respectively), whereas recipients developing graft failure had lower efflux capacity than those with functioning grafts (P<0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated a lower risk for graft failure (P=0.004), but not cardiovascular (P=0.30) or all-cause mortality (P=0.31), with increasing gender-stratified tertiles of efflux capacity. Cox regression analyses adjusted for age and gender showed that efflux capacity was not associated with cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR]=0.891 [0.668-1.188], P=0.43); the association between efflux capacity and all-cause mortality (HR=0.786 [0.631-0.978], P=0.031) disappeared after further adjustment for potential confounders. However, efflux capacity at baseline significantly predicted graft failure (HR=0.433 [0.291-0.644], P<0.001), independent of apolipoprotein A-I, HDL cholesterol, or creatinine clearance. Conclusion. This prospective study demonstrates that cholesterol efflux capacity from macrophage foam cells is not associated with cardiovascular or all-cause mortality, but is a strong predictor of graft failure independent of plasma HDL cholesterol levels in renal transplant recipients.


A growing experimental literature studies the determinants of cooperation in infinitely repeated games, tests different predictions of the theory, and suggests an empirical solution to the problem of multiple equilibria. To provide a robust description of the literature's findings, we gather and analyze a metadata set of experiments on infinitely repeated prisoner's dilemma games. The experimental data show that cooperation is affected by infinite repetition and is more likely to arise when it can be supported in equilibrium. However, the fact that cooperation can be supported in equilibrium does not imply that most subjects will cooperate. High cooperation rates will emerge only when the parameters of the repeated game are such that cooperation is very robust to strategic uncertainty. We also review the results regarding the effect of imperfect monitoring, changing partners, and personal characteristics on cooperation and the strategies used to support it.


The latest edition of this highly successful and popular textbook has been completely revised and updated to include the latest developments in biogeography. It offers excellent insight into the multi-disciplinary nature of biogeography, providing the student with a sound historical base, up-to-date factual content and a clear explanation of current controversies.n
 New chapter on molecular evidence for the interpretation of patterns of biogeography
 New section on the biogeography of parasitic diseases
 Strong use of references providing a platform for advanced students to follow further debate in the current literature
 Balanced treatment of continental biogeography, island biogeography and marine biogeography


Abstract. The study assesses the extent and trends of forest cover in Southeast Asia for the periods 1990–2000 and 2000–2010 and provides an overview on the main causes of forest cover change. A systematic sample of 418 sites (10 km × 10 km size) located at the one-degree geographical confluence points and covered with satellite imagery of 30 m resolution is used for the assessment. Techniques of image segmentation and automated classification are combined with visual satellite image interpretation and quality control, involving forestry experts from Southeast Asian countries. The accuracy of our results is assessed through an independent consistency assessment, performed from a subsample of 1572 mapping units and resulting in an overall agreement of >85% for the general differentiation of forest cover versus non-forest cover. The total forest cover of Southeast Asia is estimated at 268 Mha in 1990, dropping to 236 Mha in 2010, with annual change rates of 1.75 Mha (∼0.67%) and 1.45 Mha (∼0.59%) for the periods 1990–2000 and 2000–2010, respectively. The vast majority of forest cover loss (∼2 / 3 for 2000–2010) occurred in insular Southeast Asia. Complementing our quantitative results by indicative information on patterns and on processes of forest change, obtained from the screening of satellite imagery and through expert consultation, respectively, confirms the conversion of forest to cash crops plantations (including oil palm) as the main cause of forest loss in Southeast Asia. Logging and the replacement of natural forests by forest plantations are two further important change processes in the region.


Aims: Tests were carried out to assess the effects of early defoliation, cluster thinning and cluster cutting on the basic and nutritional composition of musts and wines of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Montepulciano.Methods and results: Both production and quality variables of the musts were evaluated. Antioxidant activity was determined on berries and on wines, as were the phenol and anthocyanin concentrations. The wines were compared by sensory evaluation. The results attested to a positive effect of the treatments on grape composition and on antioxidant activity in the berries.Conclusions: The tested treatments (DP = early defoliation; D3 = cluster thinning 30 %; D5 = cluster thinning 50 %; T3 = cluster cutting 30 %; T5 = cluster cutting 50%) increased both the soluble solids and the pH of the musts and enhanced the nutritional quality (based on antioxidant concentration) of both the grapes and the wine.Significance and impact of the study: The adopted techniques may be useful in cases in which yield control is required and/or the composition of the musts and wines needs to be modified based on the concentration of sugars in the berries. However, the variable response of the vines to the various techniques suggests that each cultural practice be evaluated in relation to specific oenological objectives.


This book examines the personal and political factors behind soldiers' choices to stay in their unit or abandon their cause. The book explores what might spur widespread desertion in a given group, how some armed groups manage to keep their soldiers fighting over long periods, and how committed soldiers are to their causes and their comrades. To answer these questions, the book focuses on combatants in military units during the Spanish Civil War. The book pushes against the preconception that individual soldiers' motivations are either personal or political, either selfish or ideological. Instead, it draws together the personal and the political, showing how soldiers come to trust each other — or not. In doing so, it demonstrates how the armed groups that hold together and survive are those that foster interpersonal connections, allowing soldiers the opportunity to prove their commitment to the fight. It argues that trust keeps soldiers in the fray, mistrust pushes them to leave, and political beliefs and military practices shape both. The book brings the reader into the world of soldiers and rigorously tests the factors underlying desertion. It asks, honestly and without judgment, what would you do in an army in a civil war? Would you stand and fight? Would you try to run away? And what if you found yourself fighting for a cause you no longer believe in or never did in the first place?


Prolonged exposure to glucocorticoid stress hormones precipitates mood and cognitive disorders. We identified arginine and glutamate rich 1 (ARGLU1) in a screen for new modulators of glucocorticoid signaling in the CNS. Biochemical studies found that the glutamate rich C-terminus coactivates the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the arginine rich N-terminus interacts with splicing factors and RNA. RNA-seq of neuronal cells ±siARGLU1found significant changes in the expression and alternative splicing of distinct genes involved in neurogenesis. Loss of ARGLU1 was embryonic lethal in mice, and knockdown in zebrafish caused neurodevelopmental and heart defects. Treatment with dexamethasone, a GR activator, also induced changes in the pattern of alternatively spliced genes, highlighting an underappreciated global mechanism of glucocorticoid action in neuronal cells. Thus, in addition to its basal role, ARGLU1 links glucocorticoid-mediated transcription and alternative splicing in neural cells, providing new avenues from which to investigate the molecular underpinnings of cognitive stress disorders.


On coastal areas, recent increase in production of open-access high-quality data over large areas reflects high interests in modeling and geovisualization, especially for applications of sea level rise prediction, ship traffic security and ecological protection. Research interests are due to tricky challenges from the intrinsic nature of the coastal area, which is composed of complex geographical objects of which spatial extents vary in time, especially in the intertidal zone (tides, sands, etc.). Another interest is the complex modeling of this area based on imprecise cartographic objects (coastline, highest/lowest water level, etc.). The challenge of visualizing such specific area comes thus from 3D+t information, i.e. spatio-temporal data, and their visual integration. In this paper, we present a methodology for geovisualization issues over coastal areas. The first challenge consists in integrating multi-source heterogeneous data, i.e. raster and vector, terrestrial and hydrographic data often coming from various 'paradigms', while providing a homogeneous geovisualization of the coastal area and in particular the phenomenon of the water depth. The second challenge consists in finding various possibilities to geovisualize this dynamic geographical phenomenon in controlling the level of photorealism in hybrid visualizations. Our approach is based on the use of a high-resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM) coming from high resolution LiDAR data point cloud, tidal and topographic data. We present and discuss homogeneous hybrid visualizations, based on LiDAR and map, and on, LiDAR and orthoimagery, in order to enhance the realism while considering the water depth.


If the objective of the Romantic movement was nothing less than to redefine the meaning of life itself, what role did experiments play in this movement? While earlier scholarship has established both the importance of science generally and vitalism specifically, with regard to Romanticism no study has investigated what it meant for artists to experiment and how those experiments related to their interest in the concept of life. Experimental Life draws on approaches and ideas from contemporary science studies, proposing the concept of experimental vitalism to show both how Romantic authors appropriated the concept of experimentation from the sciences and the impact of their appropriation on post-Romantic concepts of literature and art. Robert Mitchell navigates complex conceptual arenas such as network theory, gift exchange, paranoia, and biomedia and introduces new concepts, such as cryptogamia, chylopoietic discourse, trance-plantation, and the poetics of suspension. As a result, Experimental Life is a wide-ranging summation and extension of the current state of literary studies, the history of science, cultural critique, and theory.


A train station becomes a police station; lands held sacred by Apaches and Mexicanos are turned into commercial and residential zones; freeway construction hollows out a community; a rancho becomes a retirement community—these are the kinds of spatial transformations that concern Mary Pat Brady in Extinct Lands, Temporal Geographies , a book bringing together Chicana feminism, cultural geography, and literary theory to analyze an unusual mix of Chicana texts through the concept of space. Beginning with nineteenth-century short stories and essays and concluding with contemporary fiction, this book reveals how Chicana literature offers a valuable theoretics of space.

The history of the American Southwest in large part entails the transformation of lived, embodied space into zones of police surveillance, warehouse districts, highway interchanges, and shopping malls—a movement that Chicana writers have contested from its inception. Brady examines this long-standing engagement with space, first in the work of early newspaper essayists and fiction writers who opposed Anglo characterizations of Northern Sonora that were highly detrimental to Mexican Americans, and then in the work of authors who explore border crossing. Through the writing of Sandra Cisneros, Cherrie Moraga, Terri de la Pena, Norma Cantu, Monserrat Fontes, Gloria Anzaldua, and others, Brady shows how categories such as race, gender, and sexuality are spatially enacted and created—and made to appear natural and unyielding. In a spatial critique of the war on drugs, she reveals how scale—the process by which space is divided, organized, and categorized—has become a crucial tool in the management and policing of the narcotics economy.


Background: Physiological responses related to manual therapy (MT) treatment have been investigated over decades using various animal models. However, these studies have not been compiled and their collective findings appraised. The purpose of this scoping review was to assess current scientific knowledge on the physiological responses related to MT and/or simulated MT procedures in animal models so as to act as a resource to better inform future mechanistic and clinical research incorporating these therapeutic interventions. Methods: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane, Embase, and Index of Chiropractic Literature (ICL) were searched from database inception to August 2019. Eligible studies were: (a) published in English; (b) non-cadaveric animal-based; (c) original data studies; (d) included a form of MT or simulated MT as treatment; (e) included quantification of at least one delivery parameter of MT treatment; (f) quantification of at least one physiological measure that could potentially contribute to therapeutic mechanisms of action of the MT. MT studies were categorized according to three main intervention types: (1) mobilization; (2) manipulation; and (3) massage. Two-phase screening procedures were conducted by a pair of independent reviewers, data were extracted from eligible studies and qualitatively reported. Results: The literature search resulted in 231 articles of which 78 met inclusion criteria and were sorted by intervention type. Joint mobilization induced changes in nociceptive response and inflammatory profile, gene expression, receptor activation, neurotransmitter release and enzymatic activity. Spinal manipulation produced changes in muscle spindle response, nocifensive reflex response and neuronal activity, electromyography, and immunologic response. Physiological changes associated with massage therapy included autonomic, circulatory, lymphatic and immunologic functions, visceral response, gene expression, neuroanatomy, function and pathology, and cellular response to in vitro simulated massage. Conclusion: Pre-clinical research supports an association between MT physiological response and multiple potential short-term MT therapeutic mechanisms. Optimization of MT delivery and/or treatment efficacy will require additional preclinical investigation in which MT delivery parameters are controlled and reported using pathological and/or chronic pain models that mimic neuromusculoskeletal conditions for which MT has demonstrated clinical benefit.


An existing water treatment plant, which was built in 1921 have been upgraded in 2001. The plant has been upgraded by increasing its capacity and efficiency. The capacity of the plant was 100 l/s. The plant comprises plain sedimentation tanks, rapid sand filters and ground tank. The existing units were not functioning properly. The plant capacity has been increased to 300 l/s after upgrading. The plant has been enhanced by employing new available technologies on the existing units. The sedimentation tanks were upgraded by dividing each tank into two compartments: the first one is assigned for flocculation by using contact flocculation media and the second, is assigned for sedimentation by using inclined plate settlers. In addition to rehabilitation of the existing sedimentation tanks, new rapid sand filters have been constructed. The results showed that the effluent turbidity was 0.4 NTU on average. The study revealed that the performance of the plant has been improved significantly. The total cost of the upgrading was in the vicinity of 9 million Egyptian pounds while a newly constructed plant with the same capacity, cost around 70 to 80 million Egyptian pounds at that time.