AIM
Surgical approaches to the pituitary have undergone numerous refinements over the last 100 years. The fully endoscopic transsphenoidal approach has gained widespread use all around the world. We report the results of a consecutive series of patients who underwent pituitary surgery using a pure endoscopic endonasal approach and the results of the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this procedure.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the hospital database of 80 consecutive pituitary adenomas that were resected with the purely endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal technique.

RESULTS
The preoperative clinical condition of the patients, hormone profile, visual field, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings, and the Hardy-Vezina and Knosp scores were evaluated and revealed the importance of the parameters for surgery. Surgical technique, postoperative clinical condition of the patients, hormone profile, complications and follow-up period were reviewed.

CONCUSION
Endonasal endoscopic pituitary surgery is a safe and effective surgical technique.


Impacts of screen net on water consumption and physiological status of navel orange, Citrus Sinensis, was studied, in order to assess the economic benefits of shaded navel orange trees, reach water use efficiency and gain highest yield quality and quantity. The single span greenhouse was covered by screen net (25% initial shading) as compared to open field. Three irrigation levels (60, 80 and 100%) were adjusted as actual water (ETc) according to lysimeter tank, whereas the crop coefficient (Kc) was determined from the relationship between ETc and reference evapotranspiration (ETo). Water applied at 80% water consumption enhanced fruit growth and quality, but it was not affected in the peak flowering period, creating significant positive effects for other yield parameters as well as water use efficiency (production per unit of water). The interaction, water applied at 80% water consumption under screen net trees save water during the two seasons were 34.4% (1614.4 m3/acre) less than the open field (2458.0 m3/acre). Meanwhile, water use efficiency was higher 29.2% and 26.6% for screen net than the open field 15.1 and 15.3% for both seasons, respectively. The economic assessment of costs and returns from different treatments are calculated. It was found that the average yield were higher under screen net compared to the open field. Gross margin per 720 m2 were analysed using yield data, fruit price structures and production costs. Screen net with 80% with 80% with 80% with 80% with 80% irrigation level irrigation levelirrigation level irrigation levelirrigation levelirrigation level irrigation levelirrigation levelirrigation level irrigation levelirrigation levelirrigation level had the highest gross margin US$ 228.5 and US$ 249.38 (1 US$= 16 Egyptian pound) in the first and second seasons, respectively. The benefit cost analysis (BCA) per 720 m2 were analysed, the screen net with 80% irrigation level with 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation level with 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation level with 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation level with 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation level with 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation levelwith 80% irrigation level had the highest BCA with 3.4 in the first season and 3.6 in the second season.


The estimation of the impulse response of a transfer system by the cross‐spectral technique is very popular and most FFT analyzers are equipped with that function. However, the deformation of the impulse response in the process of estimation is not yet known. The deformation of the impulse response is caused by the use of the time window in the FFT as the DFT of a windowed waveform is the convolution of the spectrum of the waveform and the spectrum of the time window. This paper first describes the theoretical analysis on the deformation. Next, the result is verified by the computer simulation. The estimation errors are also investigated for various types of time windows. According to the investigation, the deformation is significant if the duration of the impulse response (the reverberation time) is longer than 1/4 of the window length. Finally, the use of the rectangular window in order to not deform the impulse response by shortening the length of window for the source signal is described.


"The Spirit of the Common Law" is one of Roscoe Pound's most notable works. It contains the brilliant lectures he delivered at Dartmouth College in the summer of 1921. It is a seminal book embodying the spiritual essence of sociological jurisprudence by its leading prophet. This work is both a celebration of the common law and a warning for common law judges and lawyers to return to and embrace the pragmatism and judicial empiricism that define and energize the common law. The two fundamental doctrines of the common law, Pound writes, are the doctrine of precedents and the doctrine of supremacy of law. In an earlier preface, Justice Arthur J. Goldberg writes that "The Spirit of the Common Law" will always be treasured by judges and lawyers for its philosophy and history, but more importantly for Roscoe Pound's optimism and faith in the capacity of law to keep up with the times without sacrificing fundamental values. It is a faith built upon the conviction that the present is not to be divorced from the past, but rather that the past and the present are to be built upon to make a better future. Neil Hamilton and Mathias Alfred Jaren provide a biographical introduction to the book. They discuss the various influences upon Pound's scholarly pursuits and they analyze many of his writings that led up to "The Spirit of the Common Law." This volume is a necessary addition to the libraries of legal scholars and professionals, sociologists, and philosophers.


The ability of Plasmodium falciparum parasitized RBC (pRBC) to form rosettes with normal RBC is linked to the virulence of the parasite and RBC polymorphisms that weaken rosetting confer protection against severe malaria. The adhesin PfEMP1 mediates the binding and specific antibodies prevent sequestration in the micro-vasculature, as seen in animal models. Here we demonstrate that epitopes targeted by rosette disrupting antibodies converge in the loop of subdomain 3 (SD3) which connects the h6 and h7 α-helices of PfEMP1-DBL1α. Both monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal IgG, that bound to epitopes in the SD3-loop, stained the surface of pRBC, disrupted rosettes and blocked direct binding of recombinant NTS-DBL1α to RBC. Depletion of polyclonal IgG raised to NTS-DBL1α on a SD3 loop-peptide removed the anti-rosetting activity. Immunizations with recombinant subdomain 1 (SD1), subdomain 2 (SD2) or SD3 all generated antibodies reacting with the pRBC-surface but only the sera of animals immunized with SD3 disrupted rosettes. SD3-sequences were found to segregate phylogenetically into two groups (A/B). Group A included rosetting sequences that were associated with two cysteine-residues present in the SD2-domain while group B included those with three or more cysteines. Our results suggest that the SD3 loop of PfEMP1-DBL1α is an important target of anti-rosetting activity, clarifying the molecular basis of the development of variant-specific rosette disrupting antibodies.


Abstract The palynology of the Upper Cretaceous to Neogene non-marine succession in the Melut Basin, southeast Sudan was investigated. The palynomorphs are overwhelmingly of terrestrial origin, but rare brackish water dinoflagellate cysts and scolecodonts were encountered from the Lower Miocene and Oligocene-Miocene. Mangrove pollen, which is common in coeval West African coastal basins, is rare and inconsistent. Examples are Spinizonocolpites (Nypa) from the Campanian-Maastrichtian to Eocene and Rhizophoraceae (Zonocostites ramonae) from the Neogene. Based on the stratigraphic distribution of selected pollen and spores from four exploration wells, eight informal palynozones from the Campanian to the Neogene are proposed. The zones, in stratigraphically ascending order, are as follows: Assemblage Zone I, Campanian (lower Melut Formation); Assemblage Zone II, Campanian-Maastrichtian (middle Melut Formation); Assemblage Zone III, Maastrichtian (upper Melut Formation); Assemblage Zone IV, Paleocene (Yale Formation); Assemblage Zone V, Eocene (upper Yale and Adar formations); Assemblage Zone VI, Oligocene-Early Miocene (Jimidi and lower Miadol formations); Assemblage Zone VII, Early Miocene (uppermost Miadol and lowermost Daga formations); and Assemblage Zone VIII, Late Miocene-Pliocene (Daga Formation). The ages are based on stratigraphic positions and a series of first downhole appearances of key species such as Foveotricolpites cf. giganteus (Zone I), Auriculiidites reticulatus (Zone II), Ariadnaesporites spinosus (Zone III), Periretisyncolpites giganteus (Zone IV), Retistephanocolpites williamsii (Zone V), Cricotriporites camerounensis (Zone VI), Perfotricolpites digitatus (Zone VII), and Peregrinipollis nigericus (Zone VIII). Palynofacies investigations indicated differences between the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene-Neogene paleoenvironments of the sections studied. The coexistence of structured organic palynodebris with pteridophyte spores, including those of water ferns (Ariadnaesporites), in the Upper Cretaceous strata suggests swampy conditions within a predominantly fluvial setting. The frequent occurrence of Palmae pollen indicates warm, humid conditions during the Late Cretaceous, although seasonal or hinterland aridity is suggested because of the occurrence of ephedroid pollen. Late Paleogene and Neogene assemblages are characterized by amorphous organic matter, fern spores, freshwater algae, and Gramineae pollen. Deposition in lacustrine habitats under warm, humid conditions is inferred. The occurrence of Gramineae pollen, mainly in the Neogene, indicates the development of grassy areas in a seasonally dry climate. A short marine incursion may have taken place during the Oligocene-Miocene, due to the rare occurrence of brackish water dinoflagellate cysts and scolecodonts.


Materials and Methods: In an attempt to find a suitable in vitro storage method for roosters' semen, an experiment was conducted to study the influence of inclusion pomegranate juice (PJ) into semen diluent on semen quality during liquid storage for up to 36 h. A total of 60 White Leghorn roosters, 40 weeks of age, randomly divided into 6 treatment groups (10 males each) were used in this study. Treatment groups were as follows: T1 = fresh semen, T2 = semen diluted 1:2 with Al-Daraji 2 diluent (AD2D) alone, T3 – T6 = semen diluted 1:2 with AD2D supplemented with 2 ml, 4 ml, 6 ml or 8 ml of PJ / 100 ml of diluent, respectively. Semen samples were assessed after in vitro storage at 4 – 6˚C for 12 h, 24 h or 36 h as regards mass motility, individual motility and percentages of dead spermatozoa, abnormal spermatozoa and acrosomal abnormalities. Results: Results revealed that supplementing the diluent of roosters semen with PJ (T3, T4, T5 and T6) and then storing it for different storage periods (12 h, 24 h or 36 h) resulted in significant (p < 0.05) improvement in spermatozoa motility, viability, morphology and acrosomal integrity in comparison with the control group (T1). Moreover, T5 and T6 surpassed other treatments with respect to these semen characteristics, while there were no significant differences between T2, T3 and T4 concerning all semen traits included in this study. Conclusion: In conclusion, the substitution of AD2D diluent composition with PJ significantly improves the quality of roosters semen that is in vitro stored for up to 36 h. Furthermore, the positive effect of PJ observed in this study may be due to enhanced sperm resistance to lipid peroxidation that naturally occurred during in vitro storage of avian semen.


If you're not a tree lover now, this pocket-sized gem -- dedicated to the idea that every species of tree has a story and every individual tree has a history -- will make you one. Produced in consultation with the City's Parks and Recreation department and the New York Tree Trust, this book is a reference to the stories of New York City's trees, complete with photographs, tree silhouettes, leaf and fruit morphologies, and charming and informative explanatory texts. It is divided into four sections: "The Best Places to See Trees," full of insider's tips and helpful maps; "New York City's Great Trees," a directory of the oldest, strangest, most beautiful trees; "The Tree Guide," arranged for ease of identification by leaf shape and size; and, finally, "Sources and Resources" for future investigation.With over 700 beautiful color photographs, drawings, and detailed maps, this is the ultimate field guide to the trees of the Big Apple and the metropolitan region.


Identifying the true type of an arbitrary file is very important in information security. Methods based on file extensions or magic numbers can be easily spoofed, while a more reliable way is based on analyzing the file's binary content. We propose an algorithm to generate models for each file type based on analyzing the binary contents of a set of known input files by using n-gram analysis and design a novel feature selection evaluation function for extracting signatures from the models, then using the signatures to recognize the true type of unknown files. Our aim is not to use the structure and key words of any specific file types as this allows the approach to be applied to general file types. Experiments show that the proposed approach is promising especially when the feature selection evaluation function is applied.


Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a human epithelial tumour with a high
prevalence in Southern Chinese population. In Malaysia, NPC has become the
second most frequent cancers among males and fifth most frequent cancers in
females. Genetics, immunologic factors, preserved foods, excessive salts, smoking,
various infecting factors are relevant with NPC. A unique feature of NPC is its
strong association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Previous studies have shown that
EBV-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) gene was considered to be
associated with the tumourigenesis of NPC. The presence of EBV LMP1 gene
variants were shown to be more oncogenic than the LMP1 gene from the prototype
virus, B95-8. Free EBV DNA can be detected in serum or plasma from NPC
patients and it has been shown to be derived from tumours. This raises the
possibility that an easy and non-invasive method may be developed for diagnostic and disease monitoring purposes in NPC. Thus, the aim of the study is to determine
the prevalence of these variants, based mainly on the XhoI restriction site
polymorphism and the 30bp deletion of LMP1 gene, and to evaluate the potential
role of circulating EBV LMP1 as a molecular marker for diagnosis and disease
monitoring in NPC patients.
By employing Polymerase Chain Reaction method (PCR), the presence of 30bp
deletion and the loss of XhoI restriction site of LMP1 gene in 42 and 10 archival
formalin fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of NPC and non-malignant
nasopharyngeal biopsy specimens, respectively, and 35 plasma samples from
nasopharyngeal carcinoma were studied. The wild type EBV strain from B95.8 was
used as negative control and DNA from 2 NPC tissues as confirmed by DNA
sequencing for the presence of 30-bp deletion was used as the positive control in
this study. In the quantification of circulating EBV DNA load analysis, 41 plasma
samples from NPC patients were used. Standard curve generated by using
quantitative Real-Time PCR method against EBV LMP1 was used to quantify the
circulating EBV DNA in 18 NPC subjects at the time of the initial diagnosis, 14 in
the middle of treatment and 9 after radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The EBV DNA
copy number in 19 apparently healthy adults was also evaluated.
The results showed that: 1) The presence of 30-bp deletion and loss of XhoI
restriction site can be found in both nasopharyngeal biopsy tissues and also in
plasma samples. However, the frequency detected in plasma was lower compared to primary tumour site. The 30-bp deletion was detected in 55.9% of NPC tissues and
24.1% NPC plasma. Interestingly, 17.2% of plasma samples harboured both the
deleted and non-deleted variants, thus, suggestive of dual infections in these
patients. The loss of XhoI restriction site in LMP1 gene was found in 87.2 % of the NPC
tissues and 36.7% of plasma samples. There was no 30-bp deletion and XhoI-loss in
non-malignant nasopharyngeal tissues. Majority of our samples (59.4% of NPC
tissues and 26.9% of plasma samples) showed the presence of both of the 30-bp
deletion and the loss of XhoI restriction site, which resembles the CAO, C1510,
China 1 and DV2 isolated from high endemic area for NPC. 2) The 30-bp deletion
and loss of XhoI restriction site have been found to be more prevalent in Chinese
compared to Malay (30bp-deletion, p=0.000; XhoI-loss, p=0.046), and its
percentage were higher in type III (undifferentiated carcinoma) than in type I
(squamous cell carcinoma) NPC biopsy tissues (30bp-deletion, p=0.011; XhoI-loss,
p=0.006). 3) The EBV DNA detection rate in the plasma of NPC patients (94.4%)
was significantly higher than in apparently healthy adults (AHAs) (15.8%).
According to the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, plasma
EBV DNA levels at the cut-off of 0 copy/ml combined a sensitivity of 94.4%
(C.I.95%=72.6-99.1) with a specificity of 84.2% (C.I.95%=60.4-96.4) for detection
of NPC, and a ROC AUC of 0.904 (C.I.95%: from 0.760-0.975). The mean
circulating EBV DNA load in the plasma of untreated NPC patients (median=2471
copies/ml copies/ml) was higher than AHAs (median=0 copy/ml). A significant
decrease in EBV load was observed in patients who had undergone radiotherapy
(median=0 copy/ml) while three patients had remaining EBV load. The mean of the post-treatment EBV DNA levels were not statistically different with the AHAs
samples. 4) None of the clinicopathological features were associated with the pretreatment
plasma EBV DNA load including tumour histological type and clinical
stage.
The important findings in this study are: 1) High frequency of 30-bp deletion and
XhoI-loss in the LMP1 gene is present in Malaysian NPC population. The
distribution of higher level of 30-bp deletion and XhoI-loss in Chinese and Type III
NPC may be associated with geographical/ethnic and clinical background. It
suggested that these variants may have unique functional properties, which
determine disease association or development. 2) The circulating EBV LMP1 was
detectable in NPC patients and it was shown to be proportionally related to the
presence of malignant disease, suggested that the LMP1 may serve as a molecular
marker for diagnosis and disease monitoring in NPC.
In conclusion, a high prevalence of 30-bp deletion and XhoI-loss in LMP1 were
present in Malaysian NPC. By using the sensitive, accurate and robust real-time
PCR technique, we have showed the clinical significance of detecting the EBV
LMP1 in the plasma where the quantification of EBV LMP1 may be a useful
indicator for screening, diagnosis and disease monitoring in NPC.


Detailed structural studies in the Wenlock age Southern Belt of the Southern Uplands have identified major controls on tectonic development. Original thickness and composition of sediment control the style of faulting: thin, poorly consolidated, interbedded sandstone/mudstone sequences form broad sheared zones, while thicker, well consolidated sandstone-dominated sequences fail along thin, bedding-parallel brittle fractures with vein infill. The structural evolution of the sheared zones provides an insight into melange development. Depth of burial within the accretionary pile governs the development of cleavage and intensity of post Fl deformational phases. The intensity of imbrication within accreted material probably relates to subduction rate with early Wenlock sequences being highly imbricated and mid Wenlock sediments preserved in internally coherent fault-bounded packets. Sinistral strike-slip movement controls the development of steeply plunging folds, sub-horizontal stretching directions and sideways facing bedding cleavage relationships, and strongly influences fabric development in sheared zones. Determination of the relative importance of these factors permits a fuller understanding of the deformational history.


In Contemporary South Korean Economy, Chiang provides a critical analysis of the Republic of Korea's economic development in the two most recent decades. Chiang highlights that most of the literature on the Republic of Korea's economy focuses on the country's substantial economic growth periods between the 1960s and 1980s; yet, there is little literature that discusses Republic of Korea's postindustrialization period. Examining the recent economic performance of the country is important because policymakers can observe whether the Republic of Korea's exportoriented policies were sustainable in the longrun. This book aims to investigate the core economic structures of the country and issues after attaining its post-war industrialization. Contemporary South Korean Economy is a necessary addition to literature on the country's miraculous growth.


The surface tension of an interface separating two bulk phases is one of the most widely studied properties in surface science research. The importance of surface or interfacial tension is reflected in the diverse number of applications which are influenced by surface tension related effects. This thesis represents a comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigation on molecular adsorption and surface tension from a class of organic compounds in aqueous solutions. The research illustrates the effect of both liquid and vapor phase adsorption on the interfacial properties. Adsorption from both sides of the vapor/liquid interface is considered simultaneously rather than exclusive of one another, which has been the conventional practice. In the experimental study, the surface tension of a number of different volatile organic compounds is measured using the Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis-Profile (ADSA-P) method. The experiments were performed in a controlled environment under conditions where the surface tension can be affected by both vapor and liquid phase adsorption. The vapor phase was exerted by the presence of an environment solution containing the same organic component as in the drop solution. The results show that initially the surface tension is influenced by the organic concentration in both the liquid and the vapor phase. At the final steady-state the liquid phase becomes less important and the primary factor influencing the surface tension is the vapor phase concentration. The ADSA-P technique is verified by reproducing a select number of cases using the Wilhelmy plate method. A possible consequence of the surface tension phenomenon is illustrated through time-dependent contact iii angle experiments. The behavior of the interface at steady-state conditions is investigated by measuring the surface tension response to a change in drop volume. It is concluded that the organic compounds considered in the current study may represent a rather general group of molecules whose surface behavior is unique to that of many conventional surfactants. In the theoretical study an empirical model is proposed to describe the relation between the steady-state surface tension and the concentration of the environment and drop solutions. The results confirm the experimental observation that the final steady-state surface tension is determined primarily by the organic concentration in the vapor phase. In addition, a modified adsorption isotherm is developed to account for simultaneous adsorption from both sides of the vapor/liquid interface at steady-state conditions. The derivation is based upon the classic Langmuir analysis, and the new equation is consistent with the Langmuir isotherm under traditional conditions where adsorption occurs from one side of the interface. The modified isotherm is shown to be consistent with the experimental data and is used to generate the equilibrium parameters for three of the systems studied in this research. The adsorption isotherm is then extended to model the dynamic adsorption process through the creation of a new kinetic transfer equation. As with the adsorption isotherm, the transfer equation is based on Langmuir kinetics and is capable of simulating adsorption from both sides of the interface during surface equilibration. The kinetic transfer equation is validated against experimental data from two systems which exhibit a transfer-controlled adsorption mechanism. The theoretical predictions from the transfer equation fit well with the experimental data for both systems. However, significant variability is observed in the least squares estimates of the kinetic rate constants. The variability is attributed to the limitations of empirical models that


Globally, few programs consider the needs of first-time young parents (FTYPs), who face disproportionate negative health consequences during pregnancy and childbirth. Scant evidence exists on FTYPs' broader health needs. Formative research in two regions of Madagascar used a socio-ecological lens to explore, via 44 interviews and 32 focus group discussions, the influences on FTYPs at the individual, couple, family, community, and system levels. We spoke with FTYPs who had, and who had not, used sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, their parents/kin and influential adults, and community health workers and facility health providers. Data analysis, guided by a codebook, used Atlas.ti. Age, social position, and implicit power dynamics operating within and across socio-ecological levels affected FTYPs' service-seeking behaviors. The nature and extent of influence varied by health service type. Cross-cutting social factors affecting service use/non-use included gender dynamics, pressures from mothers, in-laws, and family tradition, and adolescent stigmatization for too-early pregnancy. Structural and economic factors included limited awareness of and lack of trust in available services, unfriendliness of services, and FTYPs' limited financial resources. A socio-ecological program perspective can inform tailoring of activities to address broader SRH issues, including how relationships, gender, power, and intergenerational dynamics influence service use.


The 2010 appointment of Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court meant that, for the first time, three female justices would serve together on that court. Less clear is whether Justice Kagan's gender will really matter in how she votes as a justice. This question is an especially visible aspect of a larger issue: do female judges display gendered voting patterns in the cases that come before them? This article makes a novel contribution to the growing literature on female voting patterns. We investigated whether female justices on the United States Supreme Court voted differently than, or otherwise influenced, male justices on securities law issues decided by that court over the four decades spanning the years 1971-2010. To our knowledge, no prior empirical study has examined gender and judging in the securities area on any court, and only one study has assessed that topic in the related field of corporate law. Working with an admittedly small set of cases, our study's findings revealed no discernible gender impact on the outcome of securities cases in the Supreme Court. Neither female Justices on an individual basis, nor panels including female Justices, showed any significant difference in the resolution of securities law issues. Nevertheless, our data do suggest several interesting and meaningful trends in securities cases involving female Justices. For example, a comparison between all-male panels and female-included panels showed that a female-included panel was marginally more likely to leave open the possibility of sanctions for securities violations, as opposed to declining to impose sanctions altogether, which an all-male panel most often held. Moreover, all-male panels were more likely than female-included panels to demonstrate a pro-corporate bias, measured by whether the Court held for the corporate party and whether that corporate party was the defendant in the lower court action. In addition, our data revealed that unanimous verdicts were reached more often with female-included panels. These are some of the findings we report, which also serve as a baseline for further study as to whether the presence of a third female justice will alter voting patterns.


Following the development of the Indonesia National Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), there was a call for the development of a Regional PRSP through an inclusive process of Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA). This study has pilot tested an effort to develop the capacity of district (kabupaten) governments in conducting PPA and using its results as one of the inputs for the preparation of the regional development plan, including the Regional PRSP. This nine-month study was commenced in April 2005 and completed in December 2005. It was carried out in two districts, Kabupaten Bima in the Province of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and Kabupaten Tapanuli Tengah in the Province of North Sumatera. The progress and the results of this study is reported in the Phase I and Phase II Reports, and the Final Report. The results of this study include an analysis of the poverty condition in the two pilot districts, an assessment on the capacity of the district government in analyzing poverty and designing policy and programs for reducing poverty, and an assessment on the potential integration of PPA into the regional development planning process. Based on these results, several recommendations have been drawn with regard to alternative policies for reducing poverty in the two pilot districts, efforts to develop the capacity of district governments in poverty reduction, and the integration of PPA into the existing regional planning process.


Background and Aims
Polyamines are small metabolites present in all living cells and play fundamental roles in numerous physiological events in plants. The aminopropyltransferases (APTs), spermidine synthase (SPDS), spermine synthase (SPMS) and thermospermine synthase (ACL5), are essential enzymes in the polyamine biosynthesis pathway. In angiosperms, SPMS has evolved from SPDS via gene duplication, whereas in gymnosperms APTs are mostly unexplored and no SPMS gene has been reported. The present study aimed to investigate the functional properties of the SPDS and ACL5 proteins of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in order to elucidate the role and evolution of APTs in higher plants.

Methods
Germinating Scots pine seeds and seedlings were analysed for polyamines by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the expression of PsSPDS and PsACL5 genes by in situ hybridization. Recombinant proteins of PsSPDS and PsACL5 were produced and investigated for functional properties. Also gene structures, promoter regions and phylogenetic relationships of PsSPDS and PsACL5 genes were analysed.

Key Results
Scots pine tissues were found to contain spermidine, spermine and thermospermine. PsSPDS enzyme catalysed synthesis of both spermidine and spermine. PsACL5 was found to produce thermospermine, and PsACL5 gene expression was localized in the developing procambium in embryos and tracheary elements in seedlings.

Conclusions
Contrary to previous views, our results demonstrate that SPMS activity is not a novel feature developed solely in the angiosperm lineage of seed plants but also exists as a secondary property in the Scots pine SPDS enzyme. The discovery of bifunctional SPDS from an evolutionarily old conifer reveals the missing link in the evolution of the polyamine biosynthesis pathway. The finding emphasizes the importance of pre-existing secondary functions in the evolution of new enzyme activities via gene duplication. Our results also associate PsACL5 with the development of vascular structures in Scots pine.


The possibility of evaluation of the quality of psychological papers on the basis of in-text citation was examined. In addition to traditional indices of this kind the measures of degree of overlapping, based on co-citations in various parts of the articles, were also used. The rationale for their use was found in author's obligation to cite the same sources in different parts of the article, so as to demonstrate consistency of the study. By using the series of one-way ANOVA-s and the discriminant analysis it was tested to what degree citation measures differentiate among three groups of articles of various quality. One of the groups involved papers published in distinguished international journals, while the other two articles from Yugoslav journals, classified according to the academic status of heir authors. The results showed that citation-based measures successfully differentiate among three groups, especially the group of papers of international quality. Accordingly, the results open the possibility of using these indicators as measures of face validity in preliminary automatic positive selection of papers submitted to publication.


Research into cognition has indicated cultural differences between Western and East Asian subjects in the perception of two-dimensional screen based images. East Asian subjects are able to process complex changes in visual information across a screen space better than Western subjects, who deal best with centralised changes. This paper discusses how these cultural cognitive differences transfer to the design and interpretation of three-dimensional virtual space, as represented on a two-dimensional screen. Space syntax measures where used to analyse East Asian and Western game environments. Initial results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between the spatial parameters of the two cultural groups of chosen game environments. The analysis of three-dimensional game space also indicates spatial design differences between original Western game environments and their adapted form for the East Asian games market. These adapted game environments are spatially comparable to game environments from other East Asian games, indicating a considered design approach to the design of three-dimensional environments for a different cultural market. The question of whether cultural influence on the design of each game space is tacit or explicit is also considered. Local spatial characteristics that a designer may visually manipulate, where correlated with global spatial characteristics a designer cannot visually determine. The findings indicate cognitive differences in the design of three-dimensional space are present between the groups of Western and East Asian game environments. Results also indicate that these can be discussed in terms of known cultural cognitive differences in the interpretation of twodimensional imagery.


The ANDRILL (Antarctic Drilling Project) McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) project drilled 1285 m of sediment in Hole AND-1B, representing the past 12 m.y. of glacial history. Downhole geophysical logs were acquired to a depth of 1018 mbsf (meters below seafloor), and are complementary to data acquired from the core. The natural gamma radiation (NGR) and magnetic susceptibility logs are particularly useful for understanding lithological and paleoenvironmental change at ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Hole AND-1B. NGR logs cover the entire interval from the seafloor to 1018 mbsf, and magnetic susceptibility and other logs covered the open hole intervals between 692 and 1018 and 237–342 mbsf. In the upper part of AND-1B, clear alternations between low and high NGR values distinguish between diatomite (lacking minerals containing naturally radioactive K, U, and Th) and diamictite (containing K-bearing clays, K-feldspar, mica, and heavy minerals). In the lower open hole logged section, NGR and magnetic susceptibility can also distinguish claystones (rich in K-bearing clay minerals, relatively low in magnetite) and diamictites (relatively high in magnetite). Sandstones can be distinguished by their high resistivity values in AND-1B. On the basis of these three downhole logs, diamictite, claystones, and sandstones can be predicted correctly for 74% of the 692–1018 mbsf interval. The logs were then used to predict facies for the 6% of this interval that was unrecovered by coring. Given the understanding of the physical property characteristics of different facies, it is also possible to identify subtle changes in lithology from the physical properties and help refine parts of the lithostratigraphy, for example, the varying terrigenous content of diatomites and the transitions from subice diamictite to open-water diatomite.


A sample melt technique has been developed for the rapid identification by infrared spectra of polymorphs and solvates. Excellent spectra are obtained; no decomposition or rearrangements have been detected in studies with 35 compounds, which included 25 steroids Resolidified melt spectra of known polymorphs have been identical. The problems of low solubility and unusable regions of the spectra encountered in solution studies are avoided. In the case of solvates, the solvent may be identified by its spectrum in the gaseous or liquid state, and the spectrum of the solvent-free compound may be determined on the resolidified melt.


This study examines the changes in physical and mechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) when manufactured using fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing across multiple recycling phases. Tests were carried out initially using virgin ABS, which subsequently underwent two successive closed-loop filament extrusion and 3D printing phases. For each endpoint manufacturing phase, samples were examined to monitor the changes in thermal characteristics, mechanical properties, and polymer degradation. It was found that there was a series of physical changes of the polymer, which resulted in reduced melt flow, increased glass transition temperature, and the generation of carbonyl groups, which may be attributed to the thermal oxidative breakdown of both styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) and butadiene components of ABS. The recycled polymer also showed a reduction in both tensile and compressive strengths compared to the virgin material. However, compared to one-time recycled ABS, two-times recycled ABS showed increased strength, implying that increased recycle state of the polymer may be advantageous with respect to mechanical properties and potential manufacturing applications. This study ultimately demonstrates the potential to leverage additive manufacturing (AM) toward a closed-loop manufacturing paradigm by using waste ABS across several life cycles.


Historically, improving EOL care has been hampered by a lack of validated tools to measure quality EOL care. Recently, we developed a novel measurement tool, the CANadian Health care EvaLuation Project (CANHELP) questionnaire, which can be used to assess both patient and family satisfaction with EOL care. Whilst this instrument is reliable, valid, and comprehensively measures the patient (and families) experience with EOL, it takes 40-60 minutes to complete. The length of the interview may preclude its uptake; a shorter version would be more desirable. The purpose of this study is to develop and begin to validate a shorter version of the CANHELP questionnaire. Data were collected by a cross-sectional survey of patients (n=361) with advanced illnesses and their family members (n=255), who completed the long version of CANHELP, a global rating of satisfaction (GRS), FAMCARE (family members only), and a quality of life (QOL) questionnaire. We reduced the items on the long version of CANHELP based on derived importance of individual items and their relationship to global ratings of overall satisfaction, the frequency of missing data, the distribution of responses and focus groups with front line users. With the remaining items, we evaluated construct validity by describing the correlation of the new CANHELP Lite with full version of CANHELP, GRS, FAMCARE, and the QOL questionnaire scores and found it to be satisfactory. The CANHELP Lite questionnaire is a shorter version of the full CANHELP instrument and is a valid instrument to measure satisfaction with EOL care.


In the current paper we mathematically try to support the medical operation decision made for the sake of patients suffering from gastric cancer. We involve the linear model of the simple neural perceptron to distinguish between two decision states determined as "operate" contra "do not operate". The perceptron input signals are proposed to be given as codes of levels of the most decisive biological markers, considered in surgery decision making. To find the level intervals, tied to the codes, we introduce a procedure of level fuzzification by a family of parametric membership functions.


Applying a difference-in-differences framework to a census of residential property transactions in New York City 2003–17, we estimate the price effects of three flood risk signals: (1) the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which increased premiums; (2) Hurricane Sandy; and (3) new floodplain maps reflecting three decades of climate change. Estimates are negative for all three signals, and some are large: properties included in the new floodplain after escaping flooding by Sandy experienced 11% price reductions. We investigate possible mechanisms, including selection of properties into the market and residential sorting. Finding no evidence for these, we develop a parsimonious theoretical model that allows decomposition of our reduced-form estimates into the effects of insurance premium changes and belief updating. Results suggest the new maps induced belief changes comparable to those from insurance reform.


CONTEXT
This study was conducted with senior citizens in the 2 rural communities of Ada and Lindsay, Oklahoma. These communities are both predominantly white, with the largest minority population being American Indian. Both communities are more than 60 miles from a metropolitan area and have a history of farming and ranching.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to explore contextual factors related to physical activity among senior citizens living in rural communities.

METHODS
Two focus groups were conducted. The groups were conducted in mixed-sex sessions and were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim for the purpose of analysis.

FINDINGS
Themes from the focus groups included the following: (1) the types of daily activities engaged in by seniors; (2) the meaning and connotation of the words exercise and physical activity, with physical activity connotating for some the negative imagery of physical labor; and (3) the availability and suitability of settings for physical activity. For seniors living in rural settings in Oklahoma, the lack of indoor facilities and the sometimes extreme climatic conditions serve as significant barriers to physical activity.

CONCLUSION
This study suggests that programs seeking to encourage physical activity among seniors in rural areas could benefit from an assessment of resources and settings for physical activity and the avoidance of language that may have negative connotations for this population.


Britain's Place in the World examines the establishment and effectiveness of import controls, particularly quotas. Placing quotas back in the centre of British history, Milward and Brennan make some radical claims for Britain's economic performance in a global context. Looking into a wide variety of industries from motorcars to typewriters, raw chemicals to food produce, they examine the intended and actual obstruction to imported goods represented by quotas, and the political and financial ramifications beyond the statistics. This is the fourth book to be published in the Routledge Explorations in Economic History series.


Background and purpose: The unique characteristics and potency of stem cells have attracted interest for their use in cell therapy. However, the use of these cells has some limitations and problems such as ethical issues. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review on the use of embryonic stem cell for clinical therapy targets and investigating its advantages and limitations. Materials and methods: Data was collected from electronic databases including PubMed, Science direct, Medline, Clinical trial.gov, SID, etc. The search keywords included pluripotent stem cell, Embryonic stem cell (eSC), and stem cell therapy. Results: Study of published articles and ongoing studies showed that pluripotency, cell viability and low immunogenicity of eSC are amongst the major reasons for their use. Conclusion: Recent developments in clinical application of eSC make them a major candidate in using stem cells alongside MSC and iPS. But, further studies are needed due to its importance in many


Learn methods of data analysis and their application to real-world data sets This updated second edition serves as an introduction to data mining methods and models, including association rules, clustering, neural networks, logistic regression, and multivariate analysis. The authors apply a unified white box approach to data mining methods and models. This approach is designed to walk readers through the operations and nuances of the various methods, using small data sets, so readers can gain an insight into the inner workings of the method under review. Chapters provide readers with hands-on analysis problems, representing an opportunity for readers to apply their newly-acquired data mining expertise to solving real problems using large, real-world data sets. Data Mining and Predictive Analytics, Second Edition: * Offers comprehensive coverage of association rules, clustering, neural networks, logistic regression, multivariate analysis, and R statistical programming language * Features over 750 chapter exercises, allowing readers to assess their understanding of the new material * Provides a detailed case study that brings together the lessons learned in the book * Includes access to the companion website, www.dataminingconsultant, with exclusive password-protected instructor content Data Mining and Predictive Analytics, Second Edition will appeal to computer science and statistic students, as well as students in MBA programs, and chief executives.


Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions are central to the development of skin and skin appendages in vertebrates. These interactions continue throughout adult life and underpin the cyclic growth and loss of hair in mammals. While the molecular basis of such interactions are being gradually uncovered, at the cellular level many questions remain unanswered. For example, the localisation and role of hair follicle epithelial stem cells remains a subject of debate, as does the function of the dermal sheath component. In embryonic appendage development there is strong evidence for common signalling mechanisms, but the degree to which epithelial-mesenchymal communication diverges in different adult appendages remains as yet undiscovered. I have studied the replicative abilities of germinative epidermal (GE) cells of the rat vibrissa follicle by single and repeated plucking of fibres from individual follicles. In both cases, the cellular events following fibre removal were scrutinised at intervals up to 9 days using histology, and cell proliferation and cell death markers. Follicles that were repeatedly plucked had their growing hairs measured at regular intervals. By analysing cell proliferation patterns I found that the new regenerated epidermal matrix came from residual GE cells left in the follicle base - after both single and repeated depilations. Indeed plucking appeared to cause an initial inhibition of proliferative activity in the follicle upper outer root sheath, the other candidate region for supplying a new matrix. Length measurements of the regenerated hairs demonstrated that the repeatedly plucked follicles produced total cumulative lengths of fibre between 60 and 265% longer than expected, as determined by measuring the original club fibre lengths. In vivo amputation of plucked follicles demonstrated that the residual GE cells have the ability to regenerate a new matrix and new fibre without any contribution from cells from the upper region of the follicle. These studies, along with in vitro observations of prolonged replicative abilities of bulb cells suggest that the GE cells have a proliferative capacity which is beyond that of one cycle. This raises the possibility that GE cells are not transient amplifying cells with limited proliferative potential and strongly suggests that the duration of anagen cannot be attributed to the replicative limitations of the GE cells. The behaviour and interactive abilities of dermal cells isolated from three different skin appendages (rat vibrissa follicle, rat claw unit, and pigeon feather follicle) were characterised by cell culture, immunohistochemistry and dermal-epidermal recombinations. Dermal cells from all the above appendages demonstrated common aggregation properties in culture and all expressed a-smooth muscle actin. When recombined with epidermal cells and implanted onto host rats, dermal sheath cells from the lower part of vibrissa follicles produced a robust skin-like structure with a normal


The article analyses the role of the institutional dimension's in the conception of the sustainable development. It reflects in the identification of the equivalence of the institutional dimension towards social, economical and ecological dimensions; it manifests the significance of the New Governance in the sustainable development's policy and it's modeling and implementing processes. During the research the idea was substantiated, that the state governance and the public administration organizations should be actively involved in processes of the structuring and the permanent enhancing of the appropriate provisions for the sustainable development, because the objective of the sustainability is making the impact on the states' policy increasingly through the global organizations' information channels and its institutional nets. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.11.3.2503


The main purpose of this study is to explore linguistic synaesthesia in Latin poetic language. Through the analysis of a poetic corpus, which consists of works of Catullus, Horace, Lucretius, Ovid, Vergil, all occurrences of twenty Latin synaesthetic adjectives (previously extracted by Aeneid and De Rerum Natura ) were retrieved; all lemmas co-occurring with these adjectives in nominal phrases were then classified into the following categories according to their meaning in context: monoaesthetic, synaesthetic (touch, temperature perception, taste, smell, sight, motion perception, hearing), pseudo-synaesthetic (i.e. psycho-moral), abstract. The research not only shows how much linguistic synaesthesia is present in Latin poetry, but also demonstrates that Latin synaesthesias comply with cross-linguistic tendencies, especially with regard to the hypothesis of directional hierarchy.


There is a growing body of evidence that many entrepreneurs seem to enter and persist in entrepreneurship despite earning low risk-adjusted returns. This has lead to attempts to provide explanations—using both standard economic theory and behavioral economics—for why certain individuals may be attracted to such an apparently unprofitable activity. Drawing on research in behavioral economics, in the sections that follow, we review three sets of possible interpretations for understanding the empirical facts related to the entry into, and persistence in, entrepreneurship. Differences in risk aversion provide a plausible and intuitive interpretation of entrepreneurial activity. In addition, a growing literature has begun to highlight the potential importance of overconfidence in driving entrepreneurial outcomes. Such a mechanism may appear at face value to work like a lower level of risk aversion, but there are clear conceptual differences—in particular, overconfidence likely arises from behavioral biases and misperceptions of probability distributions. Finally, nonpecuniary taste-based factors may be important in motivating both the decisions to enter into and to persist in entrepreneurship.


The purpose of this integrative research paper was to explore and critique the state of knowledge derived from qualitative and quantitative research conducted in the area of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and refugees and immigrants from South Sudan. In the paper, I discuss the extent of knowledge about this population and associated PTSD. Crucial interventions that appeared in this literature review were evaluated and analyzed. Ethical practice and considerations when working with South Sudanese refugees and immigrants are discussed. The paper is concluded with some recommendations for individual and group practice, further research, and policy development.


This study investigated the effects of iPads on second grade students' understanding of math concepts and the students' attitudes toward using iPads in math class. For five units, one second grade class alternated by unit between iPad and non-iPad activities to practice math skills. During the final unit of the study each student chose whether or not to use the iPad. To understand the iPad's effect on student learning, the following data was gathered: scores of unit pretests and posttests, student confidence surveys, tracking of on task/off task behavior, teacher field notes, and student interviews. To understand students' attitudes toward iPads, the following data was gathered: preand post-treatment attitude surveys, teacher field notes, and student interviews. Results from the study indicated that iPads did not have a greater effect on posttest scores than more traditional methods of practicing math skills. Results also indicate that iPads do not have a stronger effect on students' confidence levels in math. However the data indicated that students were more engaged in math activities when using iPads than when not using iPads. Additionally, when given the choice between using the iPad and non-iPad activities, students more frequently chose the iPad to practice math skills. Students reported positive attitudes toward using the iPad in math class at the conclusion of the study.


This paper draws on both elicited and conversational data to present the range of grammatical devices for marking agency and verb valence in Lachixio Zapotec, a West Zapotec language. In addition to syntactic valence related to the number of arguments taken by a verb as part of its argument structure, and the intransitive/transitive pairing of predicates related to causation, morphophonological and pronominal alternations in the language are shown to mark agency, defined as how active a subject is in producing an event or its outcome. This marking appeared invariant when elicited, but is shown to be varied creatively in conversational interaction.


Based on detailed Monte Carlo calculations, we present 'Y-ray energy deposition functions, 'Y-ray light curves, and 'Y-ray spectra for a large set of theoretical models ofType la supernovae including "classical" detonation and deflagration, delayed detonation, explosions of low mass white dwarfs, and tamped detonation scenarios. Our computations show that models for Type la supernovae can be discriminated and the absolute amount of 56 Ni synthesized in the event can be determined on the basis of the 'Y-ray light curves and spectra if 'Y-ray measurements are combined with observations at other wavelengths, e.g., in the optical band. We discuss at which times 'Y-ray observations are most suitable and needed from the theoretical point of view. The implication of the upper limit in the 'Y-ray flux by CGRO experiment for our understanding of SN 1991 Tis discussed. We find that this limit is consistent with both the optical light curve and the implied distance ( 12.5 Mpc), i.e., several models can be ruled out by the 'Y-ray observations.


Nonlinear control of mechanical systems is a challenging discipline that lies at the intersection between control theory and geometric mechanics. This thesis sheds new light on this interplay while investigating motion control problems for Lagrangian systems. Both stability and motion planning aspects are treated within a unified framework that accounts for a large class of devices such as robotic manipulators, autonomous vehicles and locomotion systems.

One distinguishing feature of mechanical systems is the number of control forces. For systems with as many input forces as degrees of freedom, many control problems are tractable. One contribution of this thesis is a set of trajectory tracking controllers designed via the notions of configuration and velocity error. The proposed approach includes as special cases a variety of results on joint and workspace control of manipulators as well as on attitude and position control of vehicles.

Whenever fewer input forces are available than degrees of freedom, various control questions arise. The main contribution of this thesis is the design of motion algorithms for vehicles, i.e., rigid bodies moving in Euclidean space. First, an algebraic controllability analysis characterizes the set of reachable configurations and velocities for a system starting at rest. Then, provided a certain controllability condition is satisfied, various motion algorithms are proposed to perform tasks such as short range reconfiguration and hovering.

Finally, stabilization techniques for underactuated systems are investigated. The emphasis is on relative equilibria, i.e., steady motions for systems that have a conserved momentum. Local exponential stabilization is achieved via an appropriate splitting of the control authority.


The key issue in efficient electrochemical detection of trace heavy metal ions (HMIs) is to design hierarchical nanostructure electrodes with high sensitivity and low detection limit. In this study, bimetallic PtAu alloy nanoparticles (PtAuNPs) with uniform size and distribution were constructed in electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs) by combining an electrospinning procedure and an in situ thermal reduction process. The PtAu/CNF membrane can be directly used as a sensor electrode for simultaneous detection of trace Cd2+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The prepared PtAu/CNF membrane is capable of simultaneously detecting Cd2+, Pb2+, and Cu2+ with a sensitivity of 0.10 μM and correlation coefficients of 0.976, 0.993, and 0.976, respectively, indicating high sensitivity and good linear relation. The excellent sensitivity and low detection limit for HMI detection were ascribed to the high conductivity of CNFs, fast response of PtAu alloy NPs, and high specific surface area of the hybrid structure. The present research provides a convenient and efficient way to construct new sensors for simultaneous trace detection of HMIs.


INTRODUCTION
Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) can result in anatomic and functional changes that are associated with pulmonary impairment after tuberculosis that occurs frequently and varies in severity. We completed the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), a health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) instrument validated for several types of lung disease, for patients in whom PTB or latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) has been diagnosed. We measured HRQoL pattern changes and the usefulness of the SGRQ in their ascertainment.

METHODS
Participants with known pulmonary function and a history of PTB or LTBI completed HRQoL questionnaires. The SGRQ was validated for content and construct using pulmonary function tests and the Medical Outcomes Study questionnaire. Internal consistency and test-retest methods assessed reliability. Significance of findings was determined with one-way analysis of variance with between-group comparisons.

RESULTS
Over 15 months, 313 subjects completed the SGRQ. The SGRQ was valid and reliable in the study population (intraclass correlation, 0.927; p<0.01; Cronbach alpha, 0.93). The mean total score for posttuberculosis patients was significantly higher than for that for LTBI score (23.5 [SE, 2.2] vs 10.3 [SE, 1.0], respectively; p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
We validated the SGRQ in a diverse population microbiologically cured of tuberculosis and found a mean 13.5-U difference in SGRQ score between these patients and a comparison group with similar risk factors (p<0.001). This difference indicates impairment after PTB has a substantial impact on human health worldwide. The microbiological cure of tuberculosis is not sufficient to avert chronic health loss. More aggressive treatment of LTBI and other case-preventing strategies is warranted worldwide.


Abstract The investigation of in-plane vibration of a noisy disc brake is problematic because it is difficult both to measure and to verify. Because of the disc structure and the inability to visualize disc in-plane vibration, there has been reluctance by researchers to accept the contribution of a displacement parallel to the surface of the object, or in-plane displacement, to noise generation. In addition to measuring absolute displacement, it has been difficult to isolate the in-plane and out-of-plane components of displacement using either non-contact or conventional displacement measurement techniques. This paper investigates absolute displacement of a brake disc during noise generation. Double-pulsed holographic interferometry is used to record a series of time-related images of the brake head from three different angles of observation. Because each image views the brake head from a different perspective, each of them records a different degree of in-plane and out-of-plane displacement. By careful analysis of the three images, it is possible to isolate the in-plane displacement from the out-of-plane displacement. The time-related series allows the displacement to be investigated over a full cycle of excitation and so create an animation of the mode of vibration. It is seen that the in-plane displacement is complex and that its amplitude may be about twice that of the out-of-plane displacement.


Experiments on evaporation from freely drained soils are described. Under isothermal conditions characteristic winter field behaviour is obtained, even when the air drying power is greater than its normal English midsummer value. Characteristic summer field behaviour is obtained when the rapid drying of a thin surface layer is achieved, either by using an extremely high air temperature under 'isothermal' conditions, or by raising the surface temperature by means of radiation—the normal method in nature. The effect of a high salt concentration in the soil water is shown to lead to greater evaporation losses and to a tendency for the salt to concentrate in the more salty patches. It is suggested that mulching will only be beneficial during the isothermal part of the year, i.e. when soil surface and air temperature are approximately equal, and that it will have little effect on water conservation where the soil will be self mulched by the action of summer sunshine. The cause of this self-mulching action is briefly considered in the light of our limited knowledge of soil water dynamics; it appears to depend on the existence of a dual mechanism of water movement in soils—as liquid and as vapour—the rates of movement being very different functions of moisture content and moisture gradient.


EDITOR'S NOTE: The following represents the acceptance speech for the Watson Brown Prize for the best book published on the Civil War era in the calendar year 2014. Tad Brown, president of the Watson-Brown Foundation, awarded the prize to Shauna Devine for her book Learning from the Wounded, published by the University of North Carolina Press. These remarks were given at the annual banquet of the Society of Civil War Historians (SCWH), held during the Southern Historian Association annual meeting on November 13, 2015, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The SCWH judges and administers the book prize. Dr. Devine's address employs a variety of medical terms; these are explained in a glossary at the end of this article. On July 10, 1863, Pvt. Charles McElroy of Connecticut was transferred from the Eleventh Army Corps Hospital to the Jarvis USA General Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He was suffering from a wound to the left leg, received during the Battle of Gettysburg. The case report noted that the whole belly of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles had been carried away by the fragment of a shell and that the limb presented a "frightful appearance," its vitality having been destroyed far beyond the seat of the injury, "terminating in extensive suppurative inflammation and sloughing." For the next few weeks, the doctors at the Jarvis General Hospital monitored the patient daily and treated the inflammation in the hope that the wound would granulate. But on September 3, the case file noted that the patient was suddenly seized with violent constitutional disturbance, a high grade of fever; pains in his head, back, and limbs; and frequent chills. The doctors studied the abnormal inflammation, diagnosed gangrene, and quickly got to work. They opened the entire wound, moving the skin back, which revealed a pulpous slough, described as dark ash in color, which seemed to liquefy the flesh every hour as it progressed. The discharge worried the doctors; it was described as a thin saneous liquid with an odor so pungent and offensive that the nurses and others in attendance could scarcely remain a moment without experiencing sickness of the stomach. The patient sank rapidly as the disease progressed, and he was monitored every hour, night and day. Hoping to stimulate the patient's tissues and help counter the poisons, the doctor prescribed cold-water dressings, poultices, stimulants, tonics, and a nutritious diet. In deciding how to proceed, the doctor had some resources to consult. A year earlier, U.S. Surgeon General William Hammond had sponsored a series of investigations in which physicians at field and general hospitals were ordered to study the causes, transmission, pathology and treatment of hospital gangrene. (1) In these investigations, physicians were asked to submit their case histories to the new Army Medical Museum. Some case reports were also submitted for debate and discussion to local medical societies and medical schools, and a number of findings were published in medical journals. The approaches to the study of gangrene were highly individualistic, and the directive to study the diseases produced an epistemological innovation. Some physicians advocated studying bodily fluids and the products of disease with a microscope; others engaged in clinical trials that tested new methods and remedies; still others suggested studying the chemical processes of these diseases; and yet more engaged in new experimental methods trying to prove contagion. Many doctors concentrated on active prevention-using disinfectants to avoid the disease erupting in the first place, which added a new element to the practitioners' clinical responsibility. There was a developing consensus that bromine appeared the most promising prophylactic and therapeutic remedy. (2) The findings of these investigations were widely disseminated during the war. They were not only reported through the medical schools, societies and journals but also to medical inspectors and medical directors who then passed along the findings and recommendations, sometimes in the form of direct orders, to doctors in the general hospitals. …


In 2004 Uganda's Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development created the National OVC Policy aimed at improving the quality of life for poor and vulnerable children. However despite many efforts to improve the circumstances of vulnerable children in Uganda policymakers donors and program managers still lack comprehensive and up-to-date information about their numbers geographic distribution characteristics and needs. Furthermore documentation of existing programs addressing the circumstances of vulnerable children is limited. This analysis describes the scope of the problem and the response to it in order to facilitate country-wide planning and to inform current and future programming efforts.


Acheilognathus nguyenvanhaoi Nguyen H. D., Tran D. H. & Ta T. T. sp. n. Holotype: MB-HNUE VI.1-F01; female, 51.4 mm SL; Vietnam: Quang Ninh Prov., Tien Yen River at Binh Lieu town; Nguyen Huu Duc et al., 14 March 2011. Paratype: 1 MB-HNUE VI.1-F02, male, 60.5 mm SL. Same data as holotype. Diagnosis: When Acheilognathus nguyenvanhaoi sp. n. is compared with closely related species of Acheilognathus , it is characteristic in the five following traits: a broad and dark longitudinal stripe on body (both sides) running from tip of snout to tip of middle caudal fin rays, not tapering anteriorly vs. a narrower and lighter one running most anteriorly behind operculum to caudal base, tapering anteriorly; pharyngeal teeth (5.1-0.5, vs. 5-5); spiny rays of dorsal and anal fins (III-IV, vs. III) and scales above lateral line (7, vs less than 6). The new species differed from A. meridianus and A. barbatus in number of predorsal scales; from A. meridianus , A. barbatulus and A. melanogaster in number of vertebrae; from A. melanogaster in lenght of barbel; from A. brevicaudatus and A. melanogaster in number of gill rackers on the outer side of the first gill arch and from A. barbatulus and A. melanogaster in proportion between anterior and posterior length of gas-bladder. Description: SL = 3.09-3.13 BD = 4.48-4.62 HL = 1.97-2.02 PDL = 4.05-4.84 LCP = 7.76-8.48 CPD; HL = 2.76-3.05 OD = 2.70-2.76 IOW. Body compressed. Mouth sub-inferior. Barbels present. Dorsal fin with 3-4 non-segmented spiny soft rays and 9 branched rays. Anal fin with 3-4 non-segmented spiny soft rays and 10-11 branched rays. Pectoral fin with one segmented spiny soft ray and 11 branched rays. Pelvic fin with one segmented spiny soft ray and 7 branched rays. Lateral line complete with 36-37 pored scales. Predorsal scales 13-14; Scales around caudal peduncle 14-15; Gill rakers on external side of first gill arch 9; Pharyngeal teeth 5.1-0.5. Vertebrae 37-38. Inserted position of first proximal pterygiophores in the dorsal and anal fins as 10 th -11 th and 18 th , respectively. Colour in preservative: Body yellowish. A board longitudinal dark stripe on body running from the tip of snout to the tip of the middle caudal fin rays, not tapering anteriorly. Distribution: Presently known only from the Tien Yen river, Quang Ninh province, Northern Vietnam at Binh Lieu town. Etymology: Named for Nguyen Van Hao, a Vietnamese ichthyologist.


SUMO (Simulation of Urban Mobility) is a microscopic traffic simulator. It has been developed by the German Aerospace Center since 2003 and published as Open Source (see http://sumo.dlr.de). In this talk, SUMO and its capabilities for the realistic simulation of cars, busses, bikes, pedestrians, trains and even ships in cities, such as Berlin, are presented in an overview. A short and hands-on tutorial for the live creation of a simulation scenario is provided. This scenario is a starting point to shed a light on the various application areas of SUMO, such as simulating and testing autonomous vehicles, traffic modeling, traffic light optimization, intermodal trip planning, ... Each application area is illustrated with concrete project references in which SUMO was successfully applied. Finally, the power and the advantages of coupling SUMO with other simulators to simulate car-to-car communication or virtual testing with Car Maker is presented.

In Januar 2017, the German Aerospace Center joined the Eclipse Foundation and plans to make this simulator available under EPL. This is part of a joint initiative between German Aerospace Center, Fraunhofer FOKUS, University of Paderborn and IPG Automotive to create a "Collaborative Working Group" within the Eclipse Foundation to coordinate the development of the first Open Simulation Platform for Autonomous Mobility. We believe, that understanding the effects of autonomous mobility and having an open test platform for autonomous vehicles are both essential to solve the urgent problems in traffic in the next years.


This article addresses two aspects of social network influence on voters' electoral choices that are not well understood: the role of party systems as institutional contexts and the relationship between social pressure and information sharing as mechanisms of influence. It argues that in the cleavage-based multiparty systems of Western Europe, discussant influence at elections occurs in two stages. First, discussants place social pressure on voters to opt for parties from the same ideological camp. Secondly, by providing information, discussants influence which parties voters eventually choose out of these restricted 'consideration sets'. The study tests these assumptions using a panel survey conducted at the 2009 German federal election. The first proposition is clearly confirmed, and the evidence supports the second proposition, although less unequivocally.


most important practices for producing smooth putting surfaces and diluting thatch and organic matter. Despite this fact, some courses only apply sand during aeration or infrequently during the golf season to avoid disrupting golfers and dulling mower blades and bedknives. The consequences of an inadequate topdressing program may not be observed immediately, but eventually there will be significant negative impacts on playability and turf health. This article will provide recommendations on sand selection, topdressing rates, and application frequency to help ensure that your topdressing program delivers the best results.


Extracted from text ... CLINICAL CASE
The South African Gastroenterology Review - August 2003 22
A case of nausea and vomiting
bowel gas. A diagnosis of a partial proximal small bowel obstruction
was made.
The most likely diagnosis was an obstruction in the area of
A 70 year-old Scotsman visited his family in South Africa and
presented with a history that 6 weeks ago he had become mildly
anorexic and 2 weeks later suddenly experienced severe nausea
and vomiting. His previous history of chronic constipation
was now replaced by the passage of a daily soft stool. He was
on Warfarin for chronic atrial ..


In line with Thomas Hodgkin's assertion, the search for Africa's struggle for liberation, equality, self-determination and the dignity of the African is traceable to the result of the centuries of relationship between Africa and Europe dating at least since the 15th century. That association left Africa at the lowest ebb of the racial pyramid which Europeans had formed. As Africans at home and diaspora began to gain Western education, they began to question the racial and discriminatory ideas of whites against black people. They initiated the campaign for African equality with other races drawing inspiration from Africa's culture and history to argue that Africa had contributed to world development just like any other race. At home in Africa, this new class of elites launched the struggle for the end of colonial domination in the continent. This movement to lift Africa out of the pit of subordination became known as Pan-Africanism. The movement has recorded tremendous successes, an outstanding example being the decolonization of the continent and the improved position of Africans in diaspora. Scholars have done a great deal of work on these movements and successes. Nevertheless, there is urgent need for a critical appraisal of 21st-century Pan-Africanism.


The first time I fell in love with history was on a fifth grade field trip. Our teacher had taken us to a historic house. The stoop of the house had a handprint image, and the curator explained to my class that this print was made by the builder's daughter way back in the 1800s. I put my hand inside that handprint made so long ago and felt a connection; I had one of those mystical moments when I felt time stand still; I felt connected to those who came before. I suddenly "got" history as something that could belong to me, as something that was about true stories of people just like me. Now, as a social studies teacher, I emphasize the story of history (sticking to the facts as much as they are known) and the human qualities of the players. Middle school kids are in the throes of exploring self-identity and attempting to define their worlds. They love drama, and history provides plenty of it. I find that teaching history as dramatic stories of human weaknesses, strengths, failures, and triumphs inspires them. In historical events, students have a chance to explore how those in the past constructed their worlds and self-identity; they get to see how people fit in and what that might mean for them. It's so beautiful to me to hear kids' exclamations about historical figures like Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Dona Marina, Thomas Jefferson, etc. When they say, "Snap, he was whacked," or, "She was cool, I like her," I am able to see past the slang to understand what they mean: Here's a historical figure that I'm beginning to understand. I am curious about this person. I want to learn more. Our Town Paterson is located in a corner of northeast New Jersey, nestling at the bottom of the Watchung Mountains and hugging the Passaic River. We are within view of the New York City skyline. Paterson was founded in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton and his "Society for Useful Manufactures" or SUM. Our city is home to the third largest waterfall on the east coast of North America. The Great Falls inspired Hamilton to create an industrial city, with the rushing water providing power for turbine engines. He arranged for Pierre L'Enfant, who designed the nation's capital city, to design a system of waterways and other constructions, including a dam across the Passaic River, in Paterson. The city flourished during the Industrial Revolution, becoming the capital of silk manufacturing in America, and earning the nickname Silk City. Paterson has played a vital role in American and labor history. It was here that the first steam locomotive, submarine, and Colt revolver were built. Industries grew and with them the stories of immigrants and laborers one usually associates with Chicago and New York City. Factories and beautiful architecture shared the landscape with towering spires, smoke stacks, and an elegant yet sturdy bridge over the falls. The falls themselves still provide more than 90 percent of the electricity for the city of Paterson, and they are still gorgeous. But it is sad to see what has happened to Paterson over the last two decades. Gradually factories closed and jobs became scarce, leading to widespread poverty. The factory buildings are abandoned and much of the city is in disrepair. A few years ago it was ranked the second poorest city in the state. The city government has been rocked with corruption. My students are so used to hearing Paterson talked about in negative terms on the news, they are shocked when I tell them the importance this city had in earlier times. One student said, "If Paterson is so great, why do people hate us so much?" I love this city and hope to see it revitalized one day. The beautiful buildings and falls are still here. The people are resilient and full of energy. Paterson has the potential to be a leading museum area for labor history (as Williamsburg is for colonial history) but it would take a lot of money that just isn't here. About Our School Many poor districts in New Jersey are called Abbot districts, after a late 1980s court case. …


My thesis attempts two things: firstly, it tests how useful the Anthropocene concept is for considering literature, by reading it as an umbrella term for different socio-eco-political issues in the specific context of Australia (in terms of broad themes including colonisation, farming, mining, bioethics, technology, and environmental justice) and by applying this to readings of selected contemporary Australian literary texts. Secondly, it challenges the Anthropocene's decline-narrative (as in 'humans have destroyed nature') by proposing an alternative concept of 'cosmological readings' that foregrounds radical interconnectedness, wholeness, and reciprocity between humans and the environment. From a wider perspective, my project seeks to contribute to the new field of the Environmental Humanities in Australia and beyond by exploring the crucial role of literature in times of unprecedented ecological crisis.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Endometrial stromal sarcomas (ESS) are rare uterine neoplasms. surgery remains the cornerstone of treatment for early stages and consists of an abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy. Despite appropriate surgical treatment, relapse rates are high (18% to 45%) and the value of adjuvant therapies is not clear. We evaluated prognostic factors and the impact of adjuvant treatment on localized ESS (stages I and II).

DESIGN AND SETTING
Retrospective, case-control study conducted at the National Institute Of Oncology in Rabat, Morocco over 10 years from 2000 to 2009.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
twenty-one cases of localized ESS were included in the analysis.

RESULTS
standard surgery was performed in 71.4% of our patients. Myometrial invasion was noted in 57.1% of cases. Mitotic activity was considered high in five patients. Adjuvant treatment was given to 52.3% of patients: endocrine therapy in five patients and radiotherapy in six. Survival was significantly longer in the group of patients who underwent standard surgical treatment (P=.0007), in the absence of deep myometrial invasion (P=.0248) in cases with a low mitotic index (P<.0001) and in patients who received adjuvant therapy (hormone or radiotherapy) (P=.0048). In a multivariate analysis independent risk factors for monitoring were inadequate surgical treatment and absence of adjuvant treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
Myometrial invasion and mitotic index appear to be important prognostic factors. the reference surgery is hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy. Lymph node dissection does not appear to provide a benefit. finally adjuvant treatment may carry a significant survival benefit.


Background: The teaching of reading strategies that enhance comprehension is a priority for many practising lecturers involved in academic literacy programmes. However, due to the unprepared nature of a large section of students entering the Higher Education system, a number of students have been found to lack basic literacy skills such as reading for comprehension. A plethora of studies has been conducted locally and internationally with the aim of finding solutions to help students who struggle with text comprehension, especially at university level.Objectives: The purpose of this research is to show how paraphrasing as a strategy can be combined with a translingual approach to instruct students explicitly on how to read and comprehend textsMethod: Using a group of first-year multilingual medical students, this research included translanguaging as an additional component to the use of paraphrasing as a reading comprehension strategy.Results: The paper provides insight into how translanguaging can be used to assist multilingual students to understand texts through paraphrasing. Drawing empirical data from classroom activities, this paper shows how lecturers can help students to use translanguaging and paraphrasing as metacognitive strategies to help improve their comprehension of texts.Conclusion: Finally, the importance of allowing students to utilise their multilingual repertoires is emphasised and reiterated, through translanguaging, in order to enhance learning.


As corporate social responsibility becomes increasingly important within organizations, it is imperative that professionals define their role in setting the CSR agenda. Through a descriptive survey, this study investigated National Agri-Marketing Association members' perceptions of their roles in CSR and acceptable practices for releasing data about an organization. Respondents were neutral that the agricultural communications industry has a clear code of ethics and standards of performance. NAMA members agreed that developing programs that are good for society is both good for business and good citizenship, and that public relations professionals should be deeply involved in helping management define an organization's social role. A majority of respondents reported working for an organization that recruited and hired employees who had an agricultural communications major, and had worked with someone who had an agricultural communications major, but were unsure of their preparation, management skills, and strategic thinking skills. Agricultural communications programs should take this perception into account and incorporate these three issues into their curriculum. No research was found that discussed CSR and public relations in the agriculture industry. With this study, agricultural public relations practitioners might see their role in CSR and the need for a clear code of ethics to unify the industry. This study creates a foundation for additional studies of agricultural public relations professionals, delving deeper into more specific roles related to CSR.


The one condition that is bottom line for the survival of humanity is socio-ecological integrity. Youth mentoring helps to build capacities in youth to preserve and promote social integrity. This thesis looks at youth mentoring programs in general and Mentor Sweden specifically, and analyzes how youth mentoring programs can contribute strategically towards a sustainable development through the lens of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. The final outcome is a proposed set of suggestions which any mentoring organization can use in order to help move society strategically towards sustainable development through its mentoring programs.


The work presented in this thesis describes the results of Molecular Dynamics (MD)
simulations applied to the interaction of silver clusters with graphite surfaces and
some numerical and theoretical methods concerning the extension of MD simulations
to longer time scales (hyper-MD).
The first part of this thesis studies the implantation of clusters at normal incidence
onto a graphite surface in order to determine the scaling of the penetration depth (PD) against the impact energy. A comparison with experimental results is made with good agreement. The main physical observations of the impact process are described and analysed. It is shown that there is a threshold impact velocity above which the linear dependence on PD on impact energy changes to a linear dependence on velocity. Implantation of silver clusters at oblique incidence is also considered.
The second part of this work analyses the validity and feasibility of the three
minimisation methods for the hyper-MD simulation method whereby time scales of
an MD simulation can be extended. A correct mathematical basis for the iterative
method is derived. It is found that one of the iterative methods, upon which hyper-
NID is based, is very likely to fail in high-dimensional situations because it requires
a too expensive convergence. Two new approximations to the hyper-MD approach
are proposed, which reduce the computational effort considerably. Both approaches,
although not exact, can help to search for some of the most likely transitions in the
system. Some examples are given to illustrate this.


Zymomonas mobilis is a natural ethanologen with many desirable industrial biocatalyst characteristics. In this review, we will discuss work to develop Z. mobilis as a model system for biofuel production from the perspectives of substrate utilization, development for industrial robustness, potential product spectrum, strain evaluation and fermentation strategies. This review also encompasses perspectives related to classical genetic tools and emerging technologies in this context.


ABSTRACT A Vibrio cholerae tolC mutant showed increased toxT expression in M9 medium, but not in the presence of four amino acids that induce cholera toxin production, and in LB with high osmolarity but not high pH or temperature. TolC did not affect expression of other regulatory genes in the ToxR regulon.


The Spanish Civil War (1936-39), a national conflict with international significance, inspired strong responses from artists and writers on both sides of the Atlantic. The bombing of the Basque town Guernica, the assassination of the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, and the defense of Madrid are just some of the events represented in painting, film, fiction, memoir, and history produced during the war years and since.Courses dealing with the Spanish Civil War are given regularly in literature, foreign language, and history departments, in English and in Spanish. This volume in the MLA series Options for Teaching helps instructors plan courses that exploit the interdisciplinary, multigeneric opportunities present in the period's aesthetic output. In thirty-five essays, contributors negotiate the complex relation between art and history in depictions of the war and its aftermath, exploring how memory is shaped. Key representations of the war, like Picasso's Guernica, Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, Rodoreda's La placa del Diamant, Sender's Requiem por un campesino espanol, and Capa's Falling Militiaman, find a place in this wide-ranging volume. In addition, coverage extends to less frequently taught works by Catalan, German, Irish, and Latin American novelists, poets, and visual artists. The volume concludes with a section of resources for further study and classroom use, including films, music, photography, Web sites, and course syllabi and commentaries."


The Second World War stands as the most devastating and destructive global conflict in human history. More than 60 nations representing 1.7 billion people or three quarters of the world's population were consumed by its horror. Not surprisingly, therefore, World War II stands as a landmark episode in history education throughout the world and its prominent place in school history textbooks is almost guaranteed. As this book demonstrates, however, the stories that nations choose to tell their young about World War II do not represent a universally accepted "truth" about events during the war. Rather, wartime narratives contained in school textbooks typically are selected to instil in the young a sense of national pride, common identify, and shared collective memory. To understand this process War, Nation, Memory describes and evaluates school history textbooks from many nations deeply affected by World War II including China, France, Germany, Japan, USA, and the United Kingdom. It critically examines the very different and complex perspectives offered in many nations and analyses the ways in which textbooks commonly serve as instruments of socialisation and, in some cases, propaganda. Above all, War, Nation, Memory demonstrates that far from containing "neutral" knowledge, history textbooks prove fascinating cultural artefacts consciously shaped and legitimated by powerful ideological, cultural, and sociopolitical forces dominant in the present.


Similarity plays a fundamental role in theories of knowledge and behavior. It serves as an organizing principle by which individuals classify objects, form concepts, and make generalizations. Indeed, the concept of similarity is ubiquitous in psychological theory. It underlies the accounts of stimulus and response generalization in learning, it is employed to explain errors in memory and pattern recognition, and it is central to the analysis of connotative meaning. Similarity or dissimilarity data appear in di¤erent forms: ratings of pairs, sorting of objects, communality between associations, errors of substitution, and correlation between occurrences. Analyses of these data attempt to explain the observed similarity relations and to capture the underlying structure of the objects under study. The theoretical analysis of similarity relations has been dominated by geometric models. These models represent objects as points in some coordinate space such that the observed dissimilarities between objects correspond to the metric distances between the respective points. Practically all analyses of proximity data have been metric in nature, although some (e.g., hierarchical clustering) yield tree-like structures rather than dimensionally organized spaces. However, most theoretical and empirical analyses of similarity assume that objects can be adequately represented as points in some coordinate space and that dissimilarity behaves like a metric distance function. Both dimensional and metric assumptions are open to question. It has been argued by many authors that dimensional representations are appropriate for certain stimuli (e.g., colors, tones) but not for others. It seems more appropriate to represent faces, countries, or personalities in terms of many qualitative features than in terms of a few quantitative dimensions. The assessment of similarity between such stimuli, therefore, may be better described as a comparison of features rather than as the computation of metric distance between points. A metric distance function, d, is a scale that assigns to every pair of points a non-negative number, called their distance, in accord with the following three axioms: To evaluate the adequacy of the geometric approach, let us examine the validity of the metric axioms when d is regarded as a measure of dissimilarity. The minimality axiom implies that the similarity between an object and itself is the same for all


Through 73Ge-NMR measurements and ab initio calculations, we have studied electronic properties of a type-III clathrate compound Ba24Ge100. At ambient pressure, the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1T has a peak around 200K followed by an activation type decrease with decreasing temperature and it becomes constant at very low temperatures. Near the peak temperature, the successive structural transformations have been observed at TS1 = 215K and TS2 = 180K. The constant value of 1/T1T at low temperatures is considerably smaller than the value at temperatures higher than TS1, which implies that the density of states at the Fermi level D(EF) significantly decreases from the high temperature value at ambient pressure. From ab initio calculations on Ba24Ge100 as well as Ba24Si100, we speculate the phase changes of Ba24Ge100 in the relevant region of the T-P plane. Our results of NMR measurements and D(EF) calculations for the P4132 and an R3 structures imply that, at high pressures ∼ 2.8 GPa, there should be increase of D(EF) from the value at ambient pressure and low temperatures. We conclude that this result is predominantly related with the large enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature Tc from 0.24 K (at P = 0) to 3.8 K (at P = 2.7 GPa) observed in Ba24Ge100


Stoichiometric network analysis (SNA) is a method for studying the stability of steady states of stoichiometric systems by decomposing the corresponding network into elementary subnetworks (also known as extreme currents) and identifying those that may cause loss of a network's stability via interplay of positive and negative feedback. Experimentally studied complex (bio)chemical reactions often display dynamical instabilities leading to oscillations or bistable switches. When modelling such systems, a frequently met case is that an assumed detailed mechanism in terms of power law kinetics is available, but some of the rate coefficients are unknown and obtaining them by traditional kinetic methods based on a least-square fit is cumbersome or unfeasible. We propose a method combining the SNA and experimental data at the point of instability, which provides an estimate of the unknown rate coefficients along with unknown steady state concentrations. The core of the method rests in using constrained linear optimization to find a combination of the elementary subnetworks such that the dominant instability-causing subnetwork is just counter-balanced by stabilizing effects of all other subnetworks to obtain the instability threshold, and at the same time, the experimentally available data (inflow constraints, measured steady state concentrations of some species, frequency of emerging oscillations, etc.) are exactly matched. We illustrate this approach by examining two classical chemical oscillators: the Brusselator chosen as the simplest model for illustration of our methods and the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction and its mechanism represented by the Oregonator model as a more advanced example.

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The pharmaceutical form and preparation method, initially proposed by Dr. Pol Henry, was adopted and improved. The improved method was officialized in 1965 in the French Pharmacopoeia, under the denomination of glycerol macerates. This denomination means an extract obtained with glycerol and ethanol, by cold extraction – maceration. The improvement of the Dr. Pol Henry's initial method regards the cut of the vegetal raw material before the extraction. In initial method the buds were not cut, the extraction being conducted on entire buds. The pharmaceutical technology practice demonstrated and it is part of official pharmacopoeia method, that the extraction is more efficient on the cut vegetal raw material. Neither today exist a unitary method used by all producers for obtaining glycerol macerates, some of them uses also purified water at extraction. The method from French Pharmacopoeia was later adopted also by the the European Pharmacopoeia. Today are used also the concentrated glycerol macerates, due to the fact that the ethanol content of one administration is much more less than in diluted glycerol macerates and appears also complex formula, containing more unitary glycerol macerates, in that the individual components act synergically and enhancer one to the other.