Purpose: To assess quality of life in keratoconus patients using the Keratoconus Outcomes Research Questionnaire (KORQ) translated and validated to Portuguese language. KORQ is the only validated keratoconus specific questionnaire and has high rating for psychometric properties.Methods: In this cross-sectional study enrolled 100 patients with keratoconus from a tertiary referral eye hospital, from April 2018 to June 2019. Associations between age, gender, allergic conjunctivitis, keratoconus stage, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), maximum simulated keratometry (Kmax), steep keratometry (K2), pachymetry, treatments performed, hydrops and KORQ scores were evaluated with univariate (Wilcoxon test and the Kruskal Wallis test) and multivariate linear regression with stepwise backward modeling. Lower scores of KORQ are associated with better quality of life, as well as higher scores are associated with greater impairment of functional activities and symptoms.Results: Out of the 100 patients, mild, moderate and severe keratoconus, was observed in 15%, 46% and 39% of participants, respectively. Univariate analysis showed lower values for function scores with male gender (p<0.05) and both functional and symptoms scores statistically associated with BCVA<0.3 (LogMAR) (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated significantly lower functional scores in individuals with BCVA<0.3 (p<0.001) and those with history of crosslinking treatment (p=0.022), while symptom scores were only statistically associated with BCVA<0.3 (p<0.001).Conclusions: In patients with keratoconus, BCVA in the better eye and history of crosslinkig are factors were associated with better quality of life scores using KORQ.


The correlation between English speech activity and psycholinguistic standpoints of foreign language learning has been shown as well as the empirical analysis of their connection has been conducted. The purpose of the article is to identify the correlation between English speech activity and psycholinguistic standpoints. The theoretical, empirical, statistical methods have been used to reach the purpose. To check the effectiveness of applying psycholinguistic principles to English speech activity the empirical (diagnostic) methods such as testing (oral and written), observation, and discussion were used. The pedagogical experiment with the students of H.S.Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University and Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University was also conducted. The pedagogical experiment showed the effectiveness of developing English speech activity based on the psycholinguistic standpoints. The statistical methods helped to evaluate the results of the pedagogical experiment. Apprehending the correlation between psycholinguistic standpoints and English speech activity (Speaking, Reading, Listening, and Writing) training is really topical since it helps to define the most effective methods of the foreign language teaching and learning. The psycholinguistic components (motivational and cognitive, analytical and technological, reflexive, emotional and evaluation ones) have been described from the standpoint of psycholinguistics. All types of English speech activity have been researched as for their correlation with psycholinguistic components.


ABSTRACT Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) require gaskets and seals in each cell to keep the reactant gas and liquid within their respective regions. The durability of sealing materials is crucial to the operating life as well as the electrochemical performance of fuel cell stacks. In this study, the aging process of silicone rubbers, often used as gasket materials for fuel cells, with hardnesses of 30, 40, and 50 (Shore A) in a solution collected from the cathode of PEMFC is investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer are used to study the chemical composition of the samples before and after exposure to the test environment over time. It is suggested that the degradation of silicone rubbers is attributed to the chemical decomposition of silicon-based backbone and the leaching of fillers. Although the silicone rubber with higher hardness loses more weight due to its larger amount of fillers, it seems more stable and d...


Aza-peptide epoxides, a new class of irreversible protease inhibitors, are specific for the clan CD cysteine proteases. The inhibitors have second-order rate constants up to 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), with the most potent epoxides having the S,S stereochemistry. The aza-Asn derivatives are effective legumain inhibitors, while the aza-Asp epoxides were specific for caspases. The inhibitors have little or no inhibition with other proteases such as chymotrypsin, papain, or cathepsin B.


Until 1919, it was customary at the University of California Hospital to give a dose of castor oil the night before operation, and enemas in the morning. At that time, Dr. Terry discontinued the routine purgation, but left the order for enemas. The general impression about the hospital since then has been that the postoperative recoveries are on the average more satisfactory, and that there is less vomiting, abdominal distention and pain. Several of the operators are enthusiastic over the change, and no one has expressed any desire to return to the old routine. In 1918, Alvarez 1 suggested that it would be wise also to abolish the routine purge usually given on the second or third day after operation. Some of the nurses had remarked upon the fact that not infrequently everything went well until that purge was given, and then everything went wrong. It seemed often to give


Increased susceptibility to infection has long been observed among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and still represents a chief cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. This is due in part to the severity of infection and to the difficulty of early diagnosis owing to the similarity between SLE flares and infection. Epidural infection is an uncommon condition, and a most rare condition caused by salmonella, which accounts for a broad spectrum of human illnesses from gastroenteritis and typhoid fever to the asymptomatic carrier state. We report the first case of epidural abscess caused by Salmonella enteritidis in a female with SLE with protean manifestations treated by intravenous antibiotics and surgery with full recovery of neurological symptoms, illustrating the importance of performing an early diagnosis and prompt treatment.


Time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction has been employed to determine precise occupancies of the M1 and M2 metal cation sites in synthetic olivines of compositions (Fe0.3Mn0.7)2SiO4, (Fe0.5Mn0.5)2SiO4, and (Fe0.7Mn0.3)2SiO4. The distribution coefficient for Fe-Mn exchange in these samples has values of 4.864, 3.976, and 4.078, reflecting the preference of Mn for the M2 site, over Fe. These results, and the behaviour of the difference in mean bond lengths of the two sites, indicate that, while showing a tendency towards ordering, the composition-dependence of the solid solution is near ideal.


The input buffer is widely used in the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to isolate input signal from the internal sample-and-hold network and package. In this work, we propose a wide-band and high-linearity input buffer which is based on cascade complementary source follower (CCSF) structure. It is consisted of two-stage PMOS source follower (SF) and NMOS SF with improved linearity. Designed in 65-nm CMOS under 2.5-V supply, the post-layout simulation result shows that the differential input buffer achieves a Nyquist SFDR of 78.3 dB at 4 GS/s sampling rate and consumes 21.14 mW.


Educational administration is the study of how to organize educational resources by utilizing existing facilities to achieve predetermined educational goals. So that it can achieve optimal, effective and efficient education. There is an educational administration process that includes planning, organizing, and controlling. Shortened to POAC.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that act as posttranscriptional repressors of gene expression by binding the 3' untranslated region of target genes. There is emerging evidence showing that miRNAs regulate diverse biologic processes including multidrug resistance (MDR). Our previous profiling study revealed that certain miRNAs are differentially expressed in multidrug resistant human T-cell leukemia cell line CEM/VM-1-5 compared to drug-sensitive parental cell line CCRF-CEM. To investigate whether these expression-altered miRNAs have a role in MDR, we ectopically expressed three miRNAs that are highly upregulated in CEM/VM-1-5 cells (hsa-miR-135b, −146b, and −196b) in CCRF-CEM cells with the use of lentiviral vectors. We found that overexpression of these miRNAs, individually or in combination, resulted in only slight increases in resistance of CCRF-CEM cells to teniposide, the agent used to select CEM/VM-1-5 cells. Moreover, we were unable to sensitize CEM/VM-1-5 cells to etoposide by suppression of hsa-miR-135b expression using LNA antisense oligonucleotide. Our data implied that these miRNAs do not confer drug resistance directly. However, it is still not clear whether these miRNAs play any role in the development of MDR. Therefore, we asked whether the expression of these miRNAs changed in CCRF-CEM cells after short exposure (3 to 48 hours) to various chemotherapeutic drugs at concentrations below their IC50-values. We observed substantial increases in hsa-miR-135b and −196b expression in cells treated with etoposide, doxorubicin and topotecan, but not in cells treated with vinblastine. These results suggested that the upregulation of these two miRNAs might be the consequence of DNA damage. Time-course and dose-response studies showed that the elevation of hsa-miR-135b and −196b correlated positively with the drug exposure time and drug concentration. Furthermore, the levels of miRNAs gradually decreased after the withdrawal of etoposide from the media following 48 h exposure to etoposide. Strikingly, the elevated expression of the miRNAs accompanied increased drug resistance. CCRF-CEM cells exposed to etoposide for 48 h were over 50-fold more resistant than control cells. The acquired drug resistance, like elevated expression of miRNAs, did not appear to be stable and became attenuated with increasing duration of the drug-free incubation. Together, our results suggest that miRNAs might play a significant role in cellular response to genotoxic agents and could be involved in the development of cancer drug resistance, but their roles in conferring resistance remain to be determined. That said, targeting miRNA expression could be a potential approach to prevent multidrug resistance. (Supported in part by 5RO1CA040570 from NCI to WTB, and in part by UIC) Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2073.


The landuse change from paddy field to non-rice field in Java is increasing every year and this has an impact on the decreasing of national food security. Likewise the occurrence of land conversion of around 2,000 ha for the construction of Jatigede reservoir in Sumedang Regency, West Java Province has an impact on the decrease of rice production about 24 thousand tons of GKG (assuming rice productivity 6 ton/ha). The development of new sustainable rice fields is one of the solutions to improve food security and sustainability in the future both in Sumedang and Indonesia. The objectives of this research are: 1) to analyze the availability and suitability of land for the development of new paddy fields; 2) to analyze environmental feasibility and cost (environmental cost) in new rice field development activities; 3) analyze farmer institutional support in new rice field development activities; 4) to formulate the direction of new rice field development plan; and 5) to formulate a new rice field development strategy in Jatigede sub-district. The results are expected to be input for future planning for the development of new rice fields in Jatigede Subdistrict, Sumedang Regency. The study was conducted from December 2016 to May 2017. The type of data used consists of primary data and secondary data. Primary data is obtained from direct surveys to the field by conducting ground checks or through interviews. The results showed that the potential land available for the development of new paddy fields in Jatigede sub-district was 3,419 ha and from the potential land area will be developed into new paddy fields of 346 ha (4.18%) spread over 4 (four) villages, ie Cipicung 54 ha, Ciranggem Village covering 94 ha, Cisampih Village covering 107 ha and Karedok Village area of 91 ha. The result of feasibility test on new paddy field development activity in Jatigede subdistrict shows Net Present Value (NPV) is Rp. 92,893,000,000 and Benefit Cost Ratio (B/C) 3.32. Development strategies are: Respectively development strategies comprise (1) Optimize government financing assistance to accelerate the implementation of new paddy field target, (2) Together with the head of the farmer group association assist the paddy field construction process, (3) Conduct a survey of water resources and other supporting infrastructure around paddy field area, (4) Ensuring the new paddy field is not overlapping with other area, (5) Socialize the long-term benefits of the development of new paddy field by getting subsidy for three year since the first year development. (6) Encourage local governments to established immediately as LP2B areas and included in the RTRW of Jatigede District.


Abstract The sixth edition of the Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America (Crother, 2008, SSAR Herpetological Circular 37:1–84) is the "Official Names List" for the three major North American herpetological societies. Although this publication is intended to aid users of scientific and common names, we argue that current practices for authoring, reviewing, and using this list, in some cases, generate taxonomic chaos. By this we mean that users are uncertain of which name to use and/or the rationale for using a particular name, and efficient communication is hindered by this confusion. Most importantly, through inadequate and inconsistent review of this list, the societies have endorsed unnecessary and arbitrary name changes and are uncritically promoting individual taxonomic viewpoints when a clear choice on the most appropriate name has not been reached by the community. This problem is exemplified by North American anurans for which 57 of the 100 species have scientific names (i.e., genus-species combinations) different from the previous version of the list. Forty-eight of these new combinations result from changes to the genus name, and there is controversy over the proposed genus names for at least 43 of these. Despite this controversy and that a stated goal of the list is to report on such controversies, the alternative names are not discussed. As a result, for these taxa, the list fails to provide adequate information for users to make informed decisions on name usage. Here, we examine the role of such lists in taxonomy. Although we specifically focus on the arbitrary changes to the names of North American Bufo and Rana, the continuation of current practices for generating the list will promote instability and taxonomic confusion on a broader scale. We conclude with recommendations for improving the utility of such lists and for avoiding unnecessary taxonomic chaos.


Crébillon's tragedies can apparently damage one's health. A frequently reported anecdote tells of Boileau on his deathbed complaining that listening to just two scenes of Rhadamiste et Zénobie would be enough to kill him off. Crébillon's reputation has suffered in part owing to a deterministic view of literary history, according to which sclerosis, decadence, and decline are inevitable after Corneille's and Racine's triumphs in the narrow categories of classicism. Since Crébillon's works are usually assessed according to the classical norm, he risks being denigrated as, in Voltaire's words, a 'Racine ivre' (p. 25). It is not just his critics who marginalized him, however; the playwright himself stated in 1709 that 'Racine avait pris le Ciel, Corneille la Terre, il ne me restait que l'Enfer' (p. 159). This is undoubtedly a claim for originality on Crébillon's part, but it does position him as an aberrant playwright (albeit a rather glamorous one). Crébillon's creativity and legacy are now being reassessed — see, for instance, Nicholas Dion's study Entre les larmes et l'effroi: la tragédie classique française, 1677–1726 (Classiques Garnier, 2012) — and the present, very welcome scholarly edition of five of his nine tragedies gives us the opportunity to consider his original contribution to French drama. The plays in this volume were written between 1705 and 1715, the year of Xercès's failure; that period also saw the great successes of Rhadamiste et Zénobie and Électre. In addition, the volume includes the preface to the 1750 edition of Crébillon's complete works, in which he defends his depiction of violent love. Magali Soulatges's presentation of the plays is of a very high standard. Particularly effective are the footnotes in which she identifies the echoes of, and allusions to, other tragedies; in so doing she demonstrates his close proximity to the dramatic tradition that he simultaneously disrupts through an emphasis on excess, complexity, and horror (infanticide is a recurrent theme). Indeed the Crébillon presented here is a playwright who both submits to a dominant aesthetic model and attempts to create drama free from those references. His virtuoso command of the alexandrine is counterbalanced, for instance, by the dismantling of the classical conception of the hero, pushed to the limits of mimesis, which serves to limit the drama's cathartic potential. In the preface to Atrée et Thyeste Crébillon acknowledges his tendency to present the spectator with violence and 'images intéressantes' (p. 164). Soulatges argues that, by privileging affect and empathy over taste and reason, Crébillon not only evacuates his plays of any moral purpose but implies that man's tragic condition can never be elucidated. This excellent volume will be of interest to all those studying or working on early modern French theatre.


The oncofetal protein, 5T4, is a tumor-associated protein displayed on the cell membrane of various carcinomas. This molecule is a promising target for anti-tumor vaccine development and for targeted therapy with staphylococcus exotoxin. The potential use of 5T4 as a target for antibody-guided chemotherapy has not been demonstrated. We report oncolytic efficacy and selectivity in vitro and in vivo with immuno-conjugates of calicheamicin (CM) and the anti-5T4 antibody, H8. CM is a potent cytotoxic drug that causes double strand breaks in DNA. Conjugates of CM and H8 were constructed with acid-labile as well as acid-stabile linkers. In vitro, when applied to monolayers of 5T4(+) cells, CM-conjugates targeting 5T4 were consistently more toxic than either free drug or a non-binding control CM-conjugate. This difference was less pronounced on 5T4-deficient cells. In vivo, four 5T4-positive subcutaneous tumor models were treated with conjugates. Efficacy was demonstrated by reduction of tumor growth relative to controls treated with drug vehicle. To evidence selectivity, the efficacy of the anti-5T4 conjugates was compared to the efficacy of H8, a mixture of H8 and calicheamicin, calicheamicin alone or calicheamicin conjugated to the anti-CD33 antibody, hP67.6. In addition, the efficacy and selectivity of an acid-labile conjugate of H8 was evaluated in an orthotopic model for 5T4(+) lung cancer. Increased survival following treatment was used as a parameter of efficacy. Calicheamicin conjugates of H8 were effective and selective in all the examined tumor models. Differences in efficacy between the acid-labile and acid-stabile conjugates depended on the investigated tumor model.


A point mutation in the factor V gene (FV Q506) renders factor V resistant to inactivation by activated protein C. The frequency of this mutation is known to be significantly increased in patients with thrombophilia. There are conflicting reports on the significance of the polymorphism in patients with ischaemic heart disease. We determined the frequency of FV Q506 in a control Caucasian population, and compared it with 192 Caucasian patients admitted to coronary care and assessed as having myocardial infarction (MI) or unstable angina plus previous MI. There was no significant difference between the two groups. A cohort of 105 asymptomatic Afro-Caribbeans showed a much reduced frequency of the polymorphism.


A unique catapult has been developed at the University of Cape Town for launching parafoils from a hilltop or into a quarry. The initial objective to determine optimum glide slope of a parafoil using Design of Experiments via flight testing presented challenges. The flight tests and supporting simulations were carefully planned, and were to be conducted by making use of Design of Experiments to investigate the influence of factor effects on glide slope. The two factors to be investigated were the trim settings; plumb line length and trim angle. Each of these factors was to be tested at three discrete levels and it was decided that a 3 factorial will be used with the aid of Taguchi's methods. Due to serious flight test damages to the parafoil canopy, lines and payload, it was deemed necessary to revise the project objectives. The required repairs implied that testing could not continue within an acceptable period of time. The revised objective of this project was to ascertain if unsettled trajectory measurements could be extended by means of simulation to infer the steady glide slope. In order to conduct the simulations required, a rudimentary theoretical model of the unsteady parafoil motion was developed to investigate the influence of line length and trim angle on glide slope. The aerodynamic model focused only on the longitudinal motion of the parafoil-payload system, however the effects of wind and atmospheric turbulence were also investigated. The experimental flight tests in the quarry were unsuccessful due to flight test damages sustained and the focus of this investigation shifted to simulated results rather than experimental results. The simulated results suggest that increasing the plumb line length or the trim angle results in an increase in the settled glide angle of the system. On average, trim angle had a 2-3 times greater effect on glide angle than plumb line length. In addition, due to the lack of sufficient height in the quarry, simulations were run to extend the unsettled trajectory to a steady state in an attempt to estimate the glide angle. These simulations were capable of estimating a settled glide angle with reasonable accuracy in certain atmospheric conditions.


Amlodipine is a calcium channel antagonist of the dihydropyridine group. It is effective for treating hypertension, chronic stable angina, and vasospastic angina. However, it is difficult clinically to pinpoint the maximum dosage for antihypertensive activity of the drug without having parallel data on the plasma drug concentrations. The methods for assaying amlodipine are either gas chromatography with electron capture detector or liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (or with an electrochemical detector), which needs tedious derivatization, and is expensive and time consuming. Therefore, in this study we developed an enzyme immunoassay for determining amlodipine in plasma. Anti‐amlodipine antibodies were produced following immunization of bovine serum albumin‐amlodipine conjugate. These specific antibodies were used in a competitive biotin–avidin‐based enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay to measure amlodipine in plasma. Biotin was linked to the antibodies in order to enhance the sensitivity of the assay. The assay was specific for the free form of amlodipine with a detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml and the intra‐ and interassay coefficient of variation ranged from 1.6–10.2%. This immunoassay provides a sensitive, reliable, rapid, and accurate method for determination of amlodipine in plasma, which can be used in therapeutic drug monitoring pharmacokinetic studies and pharmaceutical analysis. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 15:47–53, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Considering the potential emergency accident in the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project (MRP), previous studies required upstream pools of accident pool where accident occurs to maintain constant downstream level in the final state of emergency operation, which could cause large amount of abandoned water. In order to save water resources, an emergency operation model in upstream pools of the accident pool of the MRP was built, which allows downstream levels to rise by a certain amount in the final state, and can minimize the total abandoned water through allocating volumes in the upstream pools. This model could play an important role to determine reasonable emergency operation measures in the upstream pools.


Emphasis was placed on the vibration of a horizontally installed two-stage condensate pump. The vibration was caused by resonance, which was confirmed through a vibration test, and the resonance frequency was acquired. The source of vibration was sought from both flow and structural aspects. Computational fluid dynamics technique was used to calculate typical frequencies excited by flows in the pump. Finite element analysis was executed to locate the structural factors that might contribute to the resonance and to enable a modal analysis of the pump base. The test results demonstrate that the resonance frequencies are slightly less than 100 Hz. Nevertheless, the flow-induced dominant frequencies deviate considerably from the resonance frequencies. Regarding the motor, it is featured by a dominant frequency of 100 Hz under the no-load condition; therefore, the primary reason of the pump unit resonance is manifested. Two strategies of reconstructing the pump base were attempted to eliminate resonance. Through adding reinforcing ribs to the supporting frame under the motor, the natural frequencies of the pump base associated with the secondand third-order modes increase relative to their counterparts of the original scheme. The effect of such a strategy was validated by test results. The other strategy is secondary grouting, with which the resonance frequency was avoided and the stiffness of the pump base was elevated remarkably.


In this paper, direct water quality modelling and the associated unsteady sensitivity equations, are solved in Water Distribution Systems (WDS). A new solution algorithm is proposed, based on a time splitting method to separate and solve efficiently each phenomenon such as advection and chemical reaction. This numerical approach allows a simultaneous solution of both the direct problem and the sensitivity equations. Special attention is given to the treatment of advection, which is handled with a Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) scheme. \\ The general model presented in this study permits a global sensitivity analysis of the system and its efficiency is illustrated on two pipe networks. The importance of the sensitivity analysis is shown as part of a fitting process on a real network.


Monoterpenes have an established use in the food and cosmetic industries and have recently also found application as advanced biofuels. Although metabolic engineering efforts have so far achieved significant yields of larger terpenes, monoterpene productivity is lagging behind. Here, we set out to establish a monoterpene-specific production platform in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identified the sequential reaction mechanism of the yeast farnesyl diphosphate synthase Erg20p to be an important factor limiting monoterpene yield. To overcome this hurdle, we engineered Erg20p into a geranyl diphosphate synthase and achieved a significant increase in monoterpene titers. To further improve production, we converted the engineered geranyl diphosphate synthase into a dominant negative form, so as to decrease the ability of the endogenous Erg20p to function as a farnesyl diphosphate synthase, without entirely abolishing sterol biosynthesis. Fusion of the synthetic dominant negative Erg20p variant with the terpene synthase, combined with yeast strain engineering, further improved monoterpene yields and achieved an overall 340-fold increase in sabinene yield over the starting strain. The design described here can be readily incorporated to any dedicated yeast strain, while the developed plasmid vectors and heterozygous ERG20 deletion yeast strain can also be used as a plug-and-play system for enzyme characterization and monoterpene pathway elucidation.


Considerable uncertainty surrounds the timing of glacier advance and retreat during the Younger Dryas or Loch Lomond Stade (LLS) in the Scottish Highlands. Some studies favour ice advance until near the end of the stade (c. 11.7 ka), whereas others support the culmination of glacier advance in mid‐stade (c. 12.6–12.4 ka). Most published 10 Be exposure ages reported for boulders on moraines or deglacial sites post‐date the end of the LLS, and thus appear to favour the former view, but recalibration of 33 10 Be ages using a locally derived 10 Be production rate and assuming rock surface erosion rates of zero to 1 mm ka−1 produces exposure ages 130–980 years older than those originally reported. The recalibrated ages are filtered to exclude anomalous data, and then employed to generate aggregate probability density distributions for the timing of moraine deposition and deglaciation. The results suggest that the most probable age for the timing of the deposition of the sampled outermost moraines lies in the interval 12.4–12.1 ka or earlier. Deglacial ages obtained for sites inside Loch Lomond Stadial glacier limits imply that glaciers at some or all of the sampled sites were retreating prior to 12.1 ka. Use of aggregated data does not exclude the possibility of asynchronous glacier behaviour at different sites, but confirms that some glaciers reached their maximum limits and began to retreat several centuries before the rapid warming that terminated the LLS at 11.7–11.6 ka, consistent with the retrodictions of recent numerical modelling experiments and with geomorphological evidence for gradual oscillatory ice‐margin retreat under stadial conditions.


A unique dipeptide was isolated from bovine brain using five steps of ion-exchange chromatography. Its acid hydrolysate contained equimolar amounts of beta-alanine and hypusine. The structure of the peptide was elucidated as alpha-(beta-alanyl)hypusine using dansylation technique. About 1 mumol of the compound was isolated from 1090 g of bovine brain.


More than ever, French public transport financing is the core issue of intense negotiation within urban transport authorities (UTA) and local authorities. In light of the widening gap between revenue and expenditure, these authorities seek ways to maintain economic and financial stability for the adequate functioning of public transport networks. The French financing tool, called "versement transport" (transportation tax), is a means of increasing revenue. The "versement transport" (TT) is a tax paid by firms employing more than nine employees (regardless of the nature of the activity or the legal form of the firm) in a territory where such payment is established, in this case within the Urban Transport Perimeter (UTP), which corresponds to the UTAs jurisdiction. Because of difficulties in public transport financing, TT revenue is understandably coveted by local authorities, but leads to inequalities due to territorial disparities. However, the transportation tax has reached its limits. Transport authorities and local authorities have exploited this public transport financial leverage to its maximum. They could seek to raise new revenues by introducing subtle changes to the current law (while being consistent with the development of urban public transport networks) or by extending UTPs. However, this is pointless if few or no taxable firms are within the target territory. The payroll of firms with more than nine employees is linked to territorial dynamics rather than to urban and non-urban boundaries, institutional boundaries or UTP. However, this payroll is the basis for calculating the total amount of transportation tax owed. Thus, it is important to analyse the relationship between a territory's economy and transportation tax. The location of firms - and therefore their payroll - highlights territorial disparities and diversified economic dynamics. There are many features that make transportation tax a specific tool to each UTA or a tool that could potentially combine different levels of transport authorities (Regions, Departments, UTA). Thus, should we continue a vain quest for additional revenue through transport tax? Or, should we examine coordination between different local authorities in order to articulate regional economic dynamics and mobility needs? This paper examines the suitability of potential beneficiaries of transportation tax implementation at regional, departmental or UTA level, while identifying its limitations in view of firms economic dynamics. The authors analysed firms locations and payroll (and its evolution over several years) at different territorial levels (Regions, Departments or Municipalities). This payroll indicator, which is the basis for calculating a firm's transportation tax contribution, is available in the Automated Social Data Declarations (ADSD), provided by the National Statistics Institute (INSEE). The authors combined this information with data from the yearly "urban public transport" database that provides information about the evolution of UTP and transportation tax. Three levels of analysis were made: (1) Analysis of payroll dynamics, whilst identifying the share of payrolls located within or outside UTP. This analysis was made at a regional and departmental level in order to highlight territorial disparities. The analysis shows territorial leeway to obtain transportation tax beyond current UTA perimeters and reflects the diversity of payrolls according to different territorial scales. The analysis highlights the potential transportation funding that the payroll represents according to the jurisdictional area of each TA; (2) Analysis of the evolution of urban transport schemes and associated indicators in terms of transportation tax, in line with changes in the forms of territorial governance of UTA. This study was made according to conurbation sizes. It highlights how the transportation financing tool has begun to run out of steam; (3) Analysis of the dynamics of firms and their payroll at a municipal scale. Beyond the phenomena of the concentration or decrease in economic activities around conurbations, we highlight the gradual disintegration of urban and non-urban areas and how this impacts the transportation tax (an initially urban-oriented tax). This tool cannot follow the logic for which it was implemented without taking into account changes in firms' locations (rural, periurban or suburban). Changes in firms' locations are mainly linked to territorial development and more specifically to the development of roads and non-collective transportation. Without questioning the relevance of the existing tool for financing public transport, the results of the overall analysis open the debate on the governance and forms of cooperation between the different TA in line with territorial mobility needs.


This study aims to determine the effect of the combination of beeswax and oleum cacao on the characteristics and stability of nanostructured lipid carrier-aleurites moluccana seed oil (NLC-AMs oil). The combination ratio of beeswax-oleum cacao and AMs oil is 3:1 which total lipid 20%, while the ratio of beeswax-oleum cacao used were F1(100:0); F2 (50:50); F3 (25:75); and F4 (0:100). These preparations are made by the high shear homogenization method because the processing technique is relatively easier, faster and it is possible to get nanoparticle size. Then characterization and physical stability test (real time, thermal cycling test, and centrifugation) were carried out. The results of this study can be concluded that: 1) NLC-AMs oil with combinations of beeswax and oleum cacao has smaller particle size than those using only single solid lipids (oleum cacao or beeswax). 2) Increased concentration of oleum cacao in the NLC-AMs oil system increases its viscosity. 3) The ratio of beeswax and oleum cacao affects the recrystallization index of the NLC-AMs oil. The lowest recrystallization index is in the NLC-AMs oil with a combination of beeswax-oleum cacao in F2 (50:50). 4) The results of the real time stability test for 8 weeks of storage revealed the NLC-AMs oil system with a combination of solid fat beeswax and oleum cacao on F3 (25:75) had the best stability. 5) All formulas are not stable against extreme temperature changes (thermal cycling test) and shocks (centrifugation) indicated by system separation.


The Arabic calligraphy, in the early days of Islam, was used for the purpose of decorating the walls of mosques from inside and outside. Hence, this decorative art must be actively involved in enriching the designs of Islamic fabrics and costumes because it has a highly qualified and aesthetically pleasing look and expresses the originality of the Arab spirit. The research is divided into two section: the first section included the following topics: First "A historical overview of the art of decoration in Islamic Arab thought". Second "linear formations of decorative designs, and the subject of intellectual aesthetic taste of the art of decorating. This section tackles two subsections: first "the beauty of thought between the function and abstraction", second " The calligraphic decorative designs and their relationship to the human body". The research procedures included presenting a design proposal for the latest robes containing vocabulary chosen from the aesthetics of the Arabic and Islamic Calligraphy. Then, the most important results were included as follows: The decorative diversity is adding vitality and aesthetics in a thoughtful way, especially when accompanied by the formal unit of the costume that it produces an innovative design. The research ends with a list of sources and references


Stroke is a major cause of disability in worldwide and also one of the causes of death after coronary heart disease. Many devices had been designed for hand motor function rehabilitation that a stroke survivor can use for bilateral movement practice. This paper deals with the rehabilitation of upper arm by an Arm exoskeleton. This can be used for physical therapy and to assist the user with routine activities. Ultimately, the user should feel as if they are in control of their arm without too much effort while providing smooth movements depending on the direction that is desired.


The article deals with the personal main features and mechanisms for psychological health development. Personal psychological health is regarded as a cumulative phenomenon and a part of two categoric concepts, such as Personality Psychology and Health Psychology. They are two fundamental notions viewed for the development prospects of Psychology as a scientific and practical subject. A student age is a shift in focus on addressing towards psychological health issues. It is taken into consideration that various factors influence student health. They are a way/standard of living, hereditary background, the environment (natural and social), health care quality provided, etc. The reality that a psychologist has to face at university is an adaptive health level of student psychological health. The characteristics of this level are individual features of social maladjustment. The authors define the main indicators of young people"s psychological health via an anthropological approach. The anthropological approach serves as a fundamental and research basis of the process of supporting student psychological health. The basis of psychological health is considered to be the healthy development of human personality as an essential human power. The essential strength of each person appears while solving and implementing important vital challenges. The purpose of the studies is a fundamental and empirical survey of student alexithymia and coping strategies, which can be treated as the most important factors of their psychological well-being. The survey sample consisted of 198 students at Sholom-Aleichem Priamursky State University (the town of Birobidzhan). The representativeness of the research sample acknowledges that understanding and describing feelings and emotions in adolescence have a direct say in social interaction distance with other people. Eventually, it determines the quality of behavior strategies and their psychological health condition. The scholars use the following techniques to review the anthropological instruments for measuring student psychological health. They are The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Psychological coping mechanisms to protect oneself in stressful events methodology (an adapted version of N. Endler and J. Parker"s technique [Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) (N. Endler, J. Parker)]). The researchers observe the relevance of correlation between psychological well-being indicators in this case it is the alexithymia level and key coping strategies. They also monitor the correlation ratio between them. This mechanism can be applied through a variety of ways. A student peculiar feature is to avoid traumatic incidents, and in some cases, to deny them completely, to distance themselves mentally or behaviorally. During the reflection on the study results, it was found out that the testees" dominant use of the escape coping can provoke their negative one"s self-concept and negative Proceedings of ADVED 20184th International Conference on Advances in Education and Social Sciences, 15-17 October 2018Istanbul, Turkey ISBN: 978-605-82433-4-7 317 self-esteem. The more proper the alexithymia level presented in the sample, the more reflected the action strategy, focused on overcoming obstacles and difficulties. As a result of researching university students" psychological health, there have been identified the main directions to keep and promote psychological health.


Generative adversarial networks (GANs) have become increasingly popular in recent years owing to its ability to synthesize and transfer. The image enhancement task can also be modeled as an image-to-image translation problem. In this paper, we propose GANmera, a deep adversarial network which is capable of performing aesthetically-driven enhancement of photographs. The network adopts a 2-way GAN architecture and is semi-supervised with aesthetic-based binary labels (good and bad). The network is trained with unpaired image sets, hence eliminating the need for strongly supervised before-after pairs. Using CycleGAN as the base architecture, several fine-grained modifications are made to the loss functions, activation functions and resizing schemes, to achieve improved stability in the generator. Two training strategies are devised to produce results with varying aesthetic output. Quantitative evaluation on the recent benchmark MIT-Adobe-5K dataset demonstrate the capability of our method in achieving state-of-the-art PSNR results. We also show qualitatively that the proposed approach produces aesthetically-pleasing images. This work is a shortlisted submission to the CVPR 2019 NTIRE Image Enhancement Challenge.


In this volume Norman Rich shows how Hitler's policies followed his blueprint of expansion, outlined in Mein Kampf and based mainly on racial ideology, until political and military necessities, real and imagined, drove him to war against nations that played no part in his ideological programme. After an introduction that places Hitler and the Nazi regime in the perspective of German history, Professor Rich relates Hitler's actual theories to the rise of the Nazi state and the development of a system of men and institutions dedicated to carrying out the Fuhrer's orders. This system was to provide the machinery of expansion that becomes the focus of this study, as the spread of the Nazis is traced in detail from the annexation of Austria to Hitler's attack on Russia and declaration of war against the United States.


A common first step in the terrain processing pipeline of large Triangulated Irregular Networks (TINs) is simplifying the TIN to make it manageable for further processing. The major problem with TIN simplification algorithms is that they create or remove critical points in an uncontrolled way. Topology-aware operators have been defined to solve this issue by coarsening a TIN without affecting the topology of its underlying terrain, i.e., without modifying critical simplices describing pits, saddles, peaks, and their connectivity. While effective, existing algorithms are sequential in nature and are not scalable enough to perform well with large terrains on multicore systems. Here, we consider the problem of topology-aware simplification of very large meshes. We define a topology-aware simplification algorithm on a compact and distributed data structure for triangle meshes, namely the Terrain trees. Terrain trees reduce both the memory and time requirements of the simplification procedure by adopting a batched processing strategy of the mesh elements. Furthermore, we define a new parallel topology-aware simplification algorithm that takes advantage of the spatial domain decomposition at the basis of Terrain trees. Scalability and efficiency are experimentally demonstrated on real-world TINs originated from topographic and bathymetric LiDAR data. Our experiments show that topology-aware simplification on Terrain trees uses 40% less memory and half the time than the same approach implemented on the most compact and efficient connectivity-based data structure for TINs. Beyond that, our parallel algorithm on the Terrain trees reaches a 12x speedup when using 20 threads.


The history of rest, early motion, and CPM is described. The success of CPM stems from two main factors: basic research has validated the concept, and the clinical applications of CPM for various joints of the extremities have produced very satisfactory results.


Heterobimetallic complexes with varying amines have been synthesized by the reaction of [Pt(C2H8N2)2]Cl2 with group four or fourteen organometallic dichlorides, viz., R2MCl2 and Cp2M'Cl2 in a 1:2 molar ratio in MeOH (where M=Si or Sn, M'= Ti or Zr and R=Ph or Me). These complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, molecular weight determinations, magnetic measurements, conductance, IR, 1H NMR and electronic spectra. The spectral data suggest a square planar geometry for all the complexes. Conductivity data suggest that they behave as electrolytes. These monometallic precursors along with their complexes have been screened in vitro against a number of pathogenic fungi and bacteria to assess their growth inhibiting potential.


The omnipresent signals of opportunity (SOOP) enable an effective way for passive target tracking using multiple agents. However, cooperative target tracking via non-cooperative SOOP is challenging since the positions of agents are not precisely known. In this paper, we determine the performance bounds of cooperative tracking using SOOP by multiple asynchronous agents equipped with antenna arrays. The Fisher information matrix of joint target and agent positions can be decomposed as the sum of the information from SOOP and self-localization networks, where the correlation of signals introduces an additional Fisher information component and the multipath effect is characterized by path-overlap coefficients. We demonstrate how the location information coupling between the target and agents affects localization accuracy and how the cooperation among agents improves tracking performance. Moreover, the angular information is shown to mitigate multipath and asynchronous effects by spatiotemporal separation and time-independent measurements, respectively. Then we propose a distributed hybrid belief propagation based algorithm for cooperative tracking and network synchronization via likelihood consensus. Finally, numerical results validate our theoretical analysis and the performance of the proposed algorithm.


Immediate results of D-2 surgery for stomach cancer are presented. No significanty was reported during combination therapy including preoperative gammatherapy 2) a rise in complication incidence or lethality. Hence, D-2 surgery is a safe antitumor procedure.


Despite the fact that procedural justice in an organization has been considered one of the major factors influencing several important outcomes associated with organization success, few empirical studies have been conducted that examine the effect of leadership on procedural justice. In addition, although organizational theorists have approached the styles and theories of perceived leadership from diverse perspectives, servant-leadership theory has rarely been investigated compared to other leadership theories. Thus, in this study, the effect of servant leadership and procedural justice on job satisfaction was examined. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized model for full-time U.S. National Park Service (NPS) employees. Four latent variables including trust in leader, leader support, procedural justice, and job satisfaction were in the hypothesized model, and drawn from previous literature review, four hypotheses were formulated in relation to the four variables. The analyses revealed that two dimensions of servant leadership (i.e., trust in leader and leader support) significantly influenced job satisfaction, and was partially mediated by procedural justice. There were also significant differences in the perceived leadership and job satisfaction between supervisors and nonsupervisors. In sum, the current findings offer practical implications for how public managers or executive officers can create a just and fair organizational culture for increasing job satisfaction. For instance, public agencies need to invest more resources in areas that enhance leadership for non-supervisors rather than supervisors, which enable the subordinates to have more trust in their leaders and feel more leader support. Subsequently, non-supervisors will perceive a higher level of procedural justice and be more satisfied with their jobs. Also, when rewards and incentives to employees in an organization are planned, the process setting the compensation should be transparent and fair, because it significantly influences employees' job satisfaction level.


In decentralized discrete-event system (DES) architectures, agents fuse their local decisions to arrive at the global decision. The contribution of each agent to the final decision is never assessed; however, it may be the case that only a subset of agents, i.e., a (static) coalition, perpetually contribute towards the correct final decisions. In casting the decentralized DES control (with and without communication) problem as a cooperative game, it is possible to quantify the average contribution that each agent makes towards synthesizing the overall correct control strategy. Specifically, we explore allocations that assess contributions of non-communicating and communicating controllers for this class of problems. This allows a quantification of the contribution that each agent makes to the coalition with respect to decisions made solely based on its partial observations and decisions made based on messages sent to another agent(s) to facilitate a correct control decision.


Purpose of review This review provides a concise update of the most recent literature related to the diagnosis and care of patients with congenital nephrotic syndrome. This topic is of particular interest in light of the rapidly growing body of literature regarding mutations of proteins such as nephrin and podocin that are expressed at or near the podocyte slit diaphragm. Recent findings The phenotypic variance of patients with congenital nephrotic syndrome with nephrin and podocin mutations resulting from triallelic mutations represents an important advance in our understanding of the effect of multiple genetic mutations on clinical disease expression. Clinically, the management of patients with unilateral nephrectomy, rather than the classic bilateral nephrectomy, represents an efficacious alternative management strategy and may impart better chances of graft survival by allowing later transplantation. Identification of a subset of patients with congenital nephrotic syndrome at increased risk of recurrence who also have antinephrin antibodies may enhance our understanding of recurrent disease in congenital nephrotic syndrome after transplantation. Summary Exciting recent findings in the genotypic/phenotypic correlations of patients with congenital nephrotic syndrome may not only modify our understanding of this disease but may also help to revolutionize our understanding of human genetics. Promising outcomes with unilateral nephrectomy in patients with congenital nephrotic syndrome have permitted transplantation to be delayed and may potentially decrease the risk of complications. New findings regarding recurrence of nephrotic syndrome in patients with congenital nephrotic syndrome after transplantation may lead to improved survival in future renal transplantations.


Instrumented nanoindentation and STEM have been combined ex situ to study the adhesion of 450 nm thick InP membranes to Si substrates. Three distinct regimes are identified in the deformation of the InP/Si stacks during these experiments: the first is plastic flow of InP at low loads; the second is elastic debonding of the InP membrane, far from the indented zone at medium loads; lastly, the local amorphisation of the underlying Si substrate at high loads. The regime of intermediate loads is shown to be particularly useful in the evaluation of the surface bonding energy of InP to Si.


With Einstein's interpretation, "everything is relative", the so-called twin experiment discloses what is called a paradox, when the travelling twin returns and they compare watches (and aging). Some assign the solution to acceleration, which they claim should be taken into account so that the paradox evaporates. However, it's easy to construct an experiment in which any acceleration lays outside the considered part of the experiment, so that within the measured part we have only constant velocities. We can then have one observer at rest, and two travelers who run through the travelling twin's route, but without acceleration. Within a hypothetical absolute underlying medium, particles oscillate slower for an observer who moves through the Aether than they do for an observer at rest. An acceleration free experiment can be made in which all three agree on that. The conflict appears if the traveling 'twins' measure how fast the first observers clock runs, based on their respective lines of simultaneity, because then the travelling 'twins' then insist that A's particles oscillate slower than their own. Even without the physical experiment, the thought experiment itself discloses that the twin-paradox is a product of the "everything is relative" interpretation.


2317 Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering & Sciences Publication Retrieval Number F8614088619/2019©BEIESP DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.F8614.088619  Abstract: Optical character recognition (OCR) is a strategy to perceive character from optically checked and digitized pages. OCR plays an important role for Indian script research. The official language of the state Odisha is Odia. OCR face an incredible difficulties to recognize Odia language due to similar shape characters, their complex nature, the complicated way in which they combine form to compound character, use of Matra etc. Each character and numbers are passed through several modules like binarization, noise removal, segmentation, line segmentation, word segmentation, skeletonization, deskewing, thinning, thickening. The input picture is standardized to a size of 50 x 50 2D pictures. HMM is a stochastic process which has utilized in various applications for example speech recognition, Handwriting recognition, Gesture recognition. In this paper we utilized HMM to recognize the Odia character and numbers. Hidden Markov Model have many advantages such as resistant to noise, handle contrast recorded as a hard copy and the HMM devices are effectively accessible. In our proposed method we have developed an efficient recognition algorithm using Hidden Markov model based on moment based and structural feature to recognize Odia characters and numerals.


Collective mobilisation and memory of
work at the local and regional level : Northern France and its
industrial heritage.
 The initiatives of conservation and valorisation of industrial heritage are particularly
significant in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France, where key sectors of
industry have developed and many disappeared : mines, steelmills, textiles, food and
agricultural industries, chemistry, metal works and many others. The authors show how
these initiatives represent different types of collective mobilisation, and how they put a
light, at the local and regional level, on the relationships between industrial identities
and local and regional policies of conservation. After a period of local initiatives, the
1990's mark a turn : first there is a new trend in regional politics which intends to associate, inside Northern Europe, sustainable development with the valorisation of industrial
heritage and collective memory; and second one notes a series of initiatives due to industrial firms which are still in full activity.


OBJECTIVE
The present study was planned to evaluate the effect of light on the development of light-sensitive retinal ganglion cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were segregated into 3 groups (n=18) which included routine feeding 10-day group 1, routine feeding 14-day group 2 and light-deprivation feeding 14-day group 3. The group 1 animals were routinely fed for 10 days in normal light conditions and were sacrificed for analyses on day 10. Similarly, group 2 animals were routinely fed for 14 days in normal light conditions and were sacrificed for analyses on day 14. The group 3 animals were kept were routinely fed for 7 days which was followed by their feeding in a light-deprived conditions and were sacrificed on day 14.

RESULTS
The expression of the opsin gene determined by real-time PCR in retinal tissues showed a significant decline in the light-deprived group 3 when compared to other two groups. Furthermore, the melanopsin protein also showed a significant decline in its protein expression in light-deprived group 3 as observed by immune-blot analyses. The immuno-fluorescence analyses also showed the similar trend confirming the effect of light on the development of retinal ganglion cells.

CONCLUSIONS
Light is essential for the proper development process of retinal ganglion cells as light directly affects regulatory opsin gene expression.


On the level of snail command neurones of the defensive behaviour an increase was revealed of the amplitude of summary EPSP recorded in command neurones in response to nerve stimulation, an increase of probability of appearance of action potential in the reaction and, under certain conditions, a significant decrease of habituation speed at rhythmic (0.1 Hz) nerve stimulation against the background of peptide. The latter effect was found during comparison of groups of neurones--control neurones and those to which the peptide was presented before the first series of stimulation in the test, i. e. without preliminary elaboration of habituation. The decrease of the speed of habituation concerned both the amplitude of summary EPSP and the probability of action potential appearance in the reaction. All these changes against the background of vasopressin analogue may be the basis of the increase of spike reactions of command neurones of the defensive behaviour and thus the basis of the initiation or the increase of behavioural defensive reactions. The obtained effects were not protracted and took place only in the presence of the peptide in the extracellular medium.


Garcinia cola also known as "bitter cola" (Guttiferae) is a plant with a wide usage of its parts for various medicinal purposes. The seeds are chewed as aphrodisiac and for the treatment of coughs, dysentery and liver inflammation. Morinda lucida (Rubiaceae) commonly called "great morinda" has been shown to have antimalarial and anti-pyretic activities. This study aimed at evaluating the anti-infective and antioxidant properties of G. cola and M. lucida and to justify their folkloric uses. Ethanol extracts of the stem barks of G. cola (GCB) and M. lucida (MLB) were evaluated for their antimicrobial, anthelmintic and antioxidant activities. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) using the micro broth dilution method against strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicans. Anthelmintic activity was evaluated by determining the effects of the extracts on the paralytic and death times of Pheretima posthuma at concentrations of 50, 20 and 10 mg/mL using piperazine citrate (PZN) (15 mg/mL) and albendazole (ABZ) (20 mg/mL) as references. Antioxidant activity was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity using ascorbic acid (ASA) as reference standard. The results reveal that the extracts from both plants demonstrated antimicrobial activity with MIC values ranging from 50 to 80 mg/mL and 10 to 30 mg/mL for GCB and MLB, respectively. Both extracts also demonstrated a concentration dependent anthelmintic activity with decrease in paralytic and death times upon an increase in extract concentrations. GCB and MLB extract showed antioxidant activities with IC50 values, 6.830 and 342.1 µg/mL, respectively. Phytochemical screening of both extracts revealed the presence of tannins, glycosides, alkaloids and flavonoids. These findings may justify the folkloric uses of these plants.

 Key words: Garcinia cola, antioxidant, Morinda lucida, antimicrobial, anthelmintic.


The objective of this study was to determine the technical and economic feasibility of reburning as a NOx control technique for Air Force jet engine test cells. Work included laboratory-scale testing of a prototype reburner, a preliminary reburn system design, and an estimate of capital and operating costs for a hypothetical JETC rated at 600 lb air/second. The study shows that 60 percent NOx reduction on a mass basis (80 percent on a lb/MBtu basis) can be achieved, but large NOx reductions require excessive amounts of reburning fuel (natural gas). Pressure loss across the reburner did not exceed 0.1 in. of water. Laboratory results suggested a full-scale reburner design rated at 150 million Btu/hr. Four reburners located in a separate combustion chamber downstream of the augmenter tube would be required for the hypothetical JETC. Capital cost for the retrofit was estimated to be $3 million; operating costs were $2 million/year based on 800 hours of testing per year at a constant reburning fuel flow rate (to minimize hydrocarbon as well as NOx emissions). Operating the reburner only at military and afterburner engine modes (NOx control only) could cut the operating cost by 50 percent. Reburner developments to minimize fuel usagemore » would make the technology more attractive.« less


Correction for 'Iridium-mediated C-S bond activation and transformation: organoiridium(III) thioether, thiolato, sulfinato and thiyl radical compounds. Synthesis, mechanistic, spectral, electrochemical and theoretical aspects' by Ujjwal Das et al., Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 8625-8639, DOI: 10.1039/C5DT00448A.


A tachistoscopic study investigated hemispheric specialization among monolingual and fluent French-English bilingual adults for speeded rhyme and syntactic category matching. A right visual field superiority was obtained for both types of verbal judgments. This effect was more pronounced in late bilinguals than in early bilinguals or monolinguals. In addition, bilingual subgroup differences in response latency and strategy were found, suggesting a preference for semantic processing among early bilinguals and for surface processing among late bilinguals, consistent with previous findings. Possible theoretical implications of these differences are outlined.


The national TB Program according to the long-term plan is to prevent and control of drug resistance
through Management Program of MDR-TB. The objective of the program are reducing morbidity, mortality
and transmission of MDR-TB. Medan is an area with the highest case of MDR-TB in Sumatera Utara
Province. Until November 2018 MDR-TB case has been confirmed in the city of Medan as many as 324,
which has not started the treatment are 61 patients (19%). This research using case-control design and
population is all people with MDR-TB in Medan city that recorded in E-TB Manager data. Sample case is
the confirmed MDR-TB person who has not started the treatment as many as 13 people while the control is
a confirmed person MDR-TB and willing to start the treatment as many as 31 people. The data is collected
through interview using questionnaires and has received approval from the Ethics committee of the Faculty
of Nursing University of Sumatera Utara. The data analysis is conducted with the chi-square test and the
OR calculation to assess which variables affect the action of beginning MDR-TB treatment. Results showed
that there was no influence of the distance of health facilities (p = 0.188) and family number at home (p =
0.507) with the status of starting treatment MDR-TB. There was influence of historical of TB with the status
of starting treatment respondent MDR-TB (p = 0.021)


One of the Subdistrict of Pekanbaru that has not yet reached the target of retribution of cleanliness is a subdistrict of Fifty. With respect to the development of the population that are correlated with the production of the waste produced by each household, stores, offices, supplemented by informal economy activities in district of Fifty, then the problem becomes a problem of its own hygiene by the subdistrict of Pekanbaru Fifty . As for the purpose of this research is to find out and analyze to know and evaluate the implementation of hygiene in levy voting districts Fifty Pekanbaru and to know the factors restricting implementation evaluation of hygiene in levy voting districts Fifty Pekanbaru. This research was conducted at the Office of the head of Fifty Pekanbaru. The population in the penelitiaan this is the whole of the clerk in the Office of the head of Limappuluh Town of Pekanbaru that directly relate to implementation of a levy collection object hygiene, RT/RW that existed in the Passover Service Janitorial And Landscaping Pekanbaru and society. For informants in this study is the Head, the Secretary of the district, Kasi Trantib who receive retribution of cleanliness of their surroundings, the village head, RT and RW, Community Service and the cleanliness and Landscaping as a supervisory Institution. In accordance with the research objectives that have been mentioned above, then the required data, among other data of primary and secondary data. Data collection techniques to do with interview techniques, observation and the study of librarianship. A data analysis method used in this research is descriptive qualitative analysis method of. The results showed that the evaluation of cleanliness levy on ballot in district Fifty Pekanbaru then the average of the results of research conducted, the situation is already pretty well underway, voting in district hygiene retribution Fifty Pekanbaru seen from the aspect of effectiveness, sufficiency, equity, responsifitas and accuracy. As for the factors that affect voting in district hygiene retribution Fifty Pekanbaru, among others: the lack of ability and profesonalisme of HUMAN RESOURCE management in running the cleanliness and garbage collection levies, lack of facilities and infrastructure that support the implementation of the management of hygiene in the subdistrict of Pekanbaru Fifty Lack created communication between employees, the lack of interaction, coordination, and communication apparatus in the conduct and management of the levy of the poll of cleanliness and lack of coaching and supervision of Government retribution against officers of the Sub collector of hygiene. Keywords: Evaluation, Collection of A Levy On Hygiene


With the increased dependence on software, there is a pressing need for engineering long-lived software. As architectures have a profound effect on the life-span of the software and the provisioned quality of service, stable architectures are significant assets. Architectural stability tends to reflect the success of the system in supporting continuous changes without phasing-out. The \textit{behavioural} aspect of stability is essential for seamless operation, to continuously keep the provision of quality requirements stable and prevent architecture's drifting and phasing-out. In this paper, we present a framework for reasoning about stability during runtime, leveraging on self-awareness principles. Specifically, we employ runtime goals for managing stability goals, online learning for reasoning about stability on the long-run, and stochastic games for managing associated trade-offs. We evaluate the proposed work using the case of cloud architectures for its highly dynamics during runtime. The experimental results have shown the efficiency of self-awareness techniques in realising the expected behaviour stable during runtime operation.


Background Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been associated with upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Given their worldwide use, even small risks account for a large number of cases. This study has been conducted with carefully collected information to further investigate the relationship between SSRIs and upper GI bleeding. Methods We conducted a case-control study in hospitals in Spain and in Italy. Cases were patients aged ≥18 years with a primary diagnosis of acute upper GI bleeding diagnosed by endoscopy; three controls were matched by sex, age, date of admission (within 3 months) and hospital among patients who were admitted for elective surgery for non-painful disorders. Exposures to SSRIs, other antidepressants and other drugs were defined as any use of these drugs in the 7 days before the day on which upper gastrointestinal bleeding started (index day). Results 581 cases of upper GI bleeding and 1358 controls were considered eligible for the study; no differences in age or sex distribution were observed between cases and controls after matching. Overall, 4.0% of the cases and 3.3% of controls used an SSRI antidepressant in the week before the index day. No significant risk of upper GI bleeding was encountered for SSRI antidepressants (adjusted odds ratio, 1.06, 95% CI, 0.57–1.96) or for whichever other grouping of antidepressants. Conclusions The results of this case-control study showed no significant increase in upper GI bleeding with SSRIs and provide good evidence that the magnitude of any increase in risk is not greater than 2.


In previous studies investigating the genus Xanthoparmelia, thirteen different species have been reported from South Korea alone. However, there currently has been no revisional study performed until now. To explore the genus Xanthoparmelia, a phenotypic analysis was performed based on morphological, anatomical and chemical characters, while an investigation of Xanthoparmelia phylogeny was based on nuclear ribosomal (nr) DNA ITS sequences. A thorough examination of the specimens deposited in the Korean Lichen Research Institute (KoLRI) confirmed that eight species of Xanthoparmelia occur inside South Korea. Our analysis further confirmed the colors of the lower surface and medullar chemistry are important taxonomic characters in Xanthoparmelia. This study also presents a detailed description of each species and a key to the genus.


Species-specific isotope dilution (SSID) in combination with gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS) has been developed for the separation and determination of methylmercury (MeHg) in water, sediments and biological tissues. Optimum conditions for the measurement of isotope ratios on the transient chromatographic peaks have been established. SSID analysis was performed using a laboratory synthesized enriched spike of Me198Hg. Isotope ratio precision based on the peak area measurements was 1.4% RSD for 50 pg (as Hg). The absolute detection limits obtained with GC-ICP-MS were 4.3 pg for 198Hg and 8.1 pg for 202Hg, respectively. Analytical precision was typically less than 3.6% RSD over eight repeated measurements. The accuracy of the method has been compared with the method with Tl as internal standard and further validated with certified reference materials (ERM-cc580 for sediments and Tort-2 for the biological tissues). The results obtained by SSID-GC-ICP-MS were in good agreement with the certified reference values.


Summary:  B lymphocytes contribute to immunity through production of antibodies, antigen presentation to T cells, and secretion of cytokines. B cells are generally considered in autoimmune diseases as drivers of pathogenesis. This view is certainly justified, given the successful utilization of the B cell‐depleting reagent rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune pathologies. In a number of cases, however, the depletion of B cells led to an exacerbation of symptoms in patients with autoimmune disorders. In a similar manner, mice lacking B cells can develop an aggravated course of disease in several autoimmune models. These paradoxical observations are now explained by the concept that activated B cells can suppress immune responses through the production of cytokines, especially interleukin‐10. Here, we review the stimulatory signals that induce interleukin‐10 secretion and suppressive functions in B cells and the phenotype of the B cells with such characteristics. Finally, we formulate a model explaining how this process of immune regulation by activated B cells can confer advantageous properties to the immune system in its combat with pathogens. Altogether, this review proposes that B‐cell‐mediated regulation is a fundamental property of the immune system, with features of great interest for the development of new cell‐based therapies for autoimmune diseases.


The occupational structure in the territory of South Baranja in the second half of the 18th century will be analysed on the basis of the data from population and settlement censuses conducted by the secular authorities and on the basis of entries made in records. The analysis will be limited to the Catholic population, which in the 18 century in South Baranja made up the majority. In the 18 century, South Baranja was divided between the Belje manor and the Darda manor and thus it is expected that the primary occupation of the most inhabitants was farming and those trade activities that were necessary in rural communities as well. The paper will identify the position of the farming population in terms of the right of free movement. Furthermore, the names of individual trades will be determined, as well as the manners in which they were recorded in historical sources, their distribution and frequency in individual settlements in view of the size and type of the settlement, and in view of the ethnic affiliation of the population. Moreover, attention will be brought to the occupations related to the administration and management of late feudal holdings.


This paper reports on the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a mass density and viscosity sensor based on an array of polysilicon microbeam resonators integrated with 20 pL fluidic microchannels. When filled with water, resonators exhibit resonant frequencies close to 500 KHz and Q-factor values of 400 operating at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature. Real-time measurements are highly reproducible and only require  $250~\mu \text{L}$  of the sample fluid. The built-in interferometric readout enables automatic detection of the beams increasing the throughput analysis and reducing detection times. The frequency shift response shows a linear behavior in accordance with the density of evaluated solvents, organic solutions, and alcoholic drinks, reporting a mass responsivity of 7.4 Hz/pg. Also, the sensor is capable of measuring the viscosity of liquid phase samples with a resolution of 0.15 cP by tracking the Q-factor response of the sensor within a linear regime between 1 to 2.6 cP. This approach demonstrates the ability to identify in real-time changes of fluids in the liquid phase that could provide a valuable assessment for bioanalytical applications. [2016-0319]


Background Nearly half of Australians between the age of 16 to 84 have suffered from mental illness [1]. Such health conditions can be chronic and require aggressive medication therapy leading to possible adverse drug reactions and further complications. The need for a holistic, lower risk health care approach has paved the way for the emerging, relatively lower risk therapies, such as advanced micronutrient therapy. Micronutrient therapy utilises vitamins and minerals to correct biochemical imbalances thought to be responsible for mental health conditions. Micronutrients have been investigated in over twenty placebo-controlled randomised control trials across a variety of mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, antisocial aggressive behaviour in prisoners [2]. Pyrrole disorder is an example of a biochemical imbalance that is treated with micronutrient therapy consisting primarily of Vitamin B6 (B6) and Zinc (Zn). A theorised mechanism of the pathophysiology of the disorder is the complexation of hydroxyhaemopyrrolin-2-one (HPL), an elevated marker in the pyrrole patients, with Zn and the active form of B6 leading to a deficiency these two nutrients in the body [3-6]. However, very little research has been done on the condition and the practice follows, mostly, anecdotal evidence.
Pyrrole disorder is characterised by a specific cluster of symptoms, signs and traits. Some of the distinctive symptoms reported are little or no recall of dreams, recollection of nightmares only when dreaming, and poor short-term memory (STM) [5, 7]. The relationship between these symptoms, however, has not been clinically investigated. Thus, this pilot study aimed to explore pyrrole disorder and the relationship between the recollection of dreams, remembering nightmares exclusively, STM performance, and the micronutrient, vitamin B6. This study is also the first of its kind in assessing pyrrole disorder in a population of healthy participants.
Methods
Adult participants aged 18-75 years were recruited across two sites in South East Queensland, at the Clinical Trial Unit at Griffith University and Applied Analytical Laboratories, over a period of 6 months between July and November 2017. A questionnaire was designed and tested by experts in the field that consisted of questions relating to dream recall, nightmare recall, STM perception, B6 intake and the unique cluster of symptoms, signs and traits observed in pyrrole disorder. STM was also measured through use of an electronic, validated digit span test (DST). HPL levels were assayed at Applied Analytical Laboratories, an external medical laboratory specialising in HPL urine analysis.
Statistical analyses of the data was conducted with IBM-SPSS statistics 24 software. Descriptive statistics were used for variables of interest which were assessed for normality through skewness and kurtosis. Parametric continuous variables were analysed and reported as mean ± standard deviation (SD) via T-tests or ANOVA. Non-parametric continuous variables were reported as median and range with minimum and maximum values through Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests with further post-hoc analysis for significance. Categorical variables are presented as case frequency, and percentage of prevalence, through Chi-square analyses for dichotomous results. Dichotomous variables with cells having an expected cell count ≤ 5 were tested and reported as Fisher's exact test p-value. Results were considered significant if p < 0.05.
Results
Two hundred twenty-nine adults were assessed though an expression of interest. One hundred eighty-five (mean = 37.96 ± standard dev 13.54 years) participants attended the clinic visit and completed the assessments with one urine sample excluded due to contamination. DST scores were evaluated for 176 participants. Participants were split into "pyrrole" (n = 44) and "non-pyrrole" (n = 141) groups based on the symptoms and traits of pyrrole disorder reported in the survey.
The pyrrole participants reported significantly less dreams (χ2 = 6.140; p = 0.046), recalled more nightmares when remembering they dream (χ2 = 0.128; p < 0.001), and scored lower on DST (t = 2.310; p = 0.022) than the non-pyrrole participants. For those participants taking B6 supplements, no significant effects were observed for B6 intake and dream recall frequency (χ2 = 1.423; p = 0.491), the recall of nightmares only when remembering dreams (χ2 = 0.128; p = 0.720), or DST scores (t = 0.416; p = 0.678). B6 did not control HPL values on its own (U = 2438.500; p = 0.242), however the combination treatment for pyrrole disorder (B6+Zn) did demonstrate control on HPL values with lower median, maximum, and the elimination of elevated outliers in comparison to those participants on no supplements (U = 1643.500; p = 0.080).
Conclusion
This pilot study explored a controversial condition that has lacked thorough clinical investigation due to the early misidentification of HPL and the mystery behind its origins. The study investigated key symptoms, signs and traits of the condition, including little to no dream recall, the recall of nightmares exclusively, and poor STM. The objectives of this thesis were achieved through the use of a novel questionnaire and digital DST. Pyrrole participants had significantly less dream recall, recalled nightmares only when dreaming, and had poor STM based on DST scores. Additionally, the treatment for pyrrole, namely B6 and Zn, was shown to control HPL values.
The study, therefore, supports anecdotal evidence for this condition and paves the way for a new approach in treating mental health conditions with a more favourable risk-benefit ratio. Important implications for future practice and research were also identified.


: There is a reliable link between liver failure and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). However, it is currently difficult to know whether liver fractures are in addition to T2DM, result from it, or are simply related to it because of perplexity. Authors used Mendelian randomization to explore proximity and evolution of any causal connection among liver capacity and danger of T2DM, counting up to 65,096 cases of T2DM and 608,014 control subjects. A few biomarkers remained applied as intermediates of liver capacity. Hereditary variations related to each marker of liver capacity remained applied to explore the impact of liver capacity on the risk of T2D. In adding, hereditary variations related to risk of T2DM and fasting insulin remained applied to investigate impact of T2DM tilt and insulin obstruction, separately, on liver capacity. Inherited ALT and high-flow AST were identified as presenting an enlarged danger of T2D. Here was the diffident negative relationship between hereditarily anticipated ALP and T2D hazard and not any indication of a relationship among GGT and T2D hazard. The hereditary inclination to developed fasting insulin nevertheless not T2D remained identified with extended-flow ALT. As circulating ALT and AST are markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, these findings offer some assistance for the insulin obstruction that occurs in NAFLD, thereby increasing the risk of T2D.


The effect of the sintering temperature was investigated in 0.75BiFeO3-0.25BaTiO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics. Undoped 0.75BiFeO3-0.25BaTiO3 ceramics were prepared by using a conventional ceramic process. When the sintering temperature was increased from 940 °C to 1,020 °C, the bulk density and the dielectric constant increased at first, reached their maximum values at 980 °C, and then decreased. The grain size increased greatly when the sintering temperature was increased from 960 °C to 980 °C and then was saturated with a further increase in the sintering temperature. The piezoelectric constant d33 and the electromechanical coupling factor kp displayed their highest values at sintering temperatures of 980 °C to 1,000 °C. The relationship between the piezoelectric properties and the microstructure is discussed.


Purpose: To verify whether age influences phonological performance and working memory, and whether there is correlation between phonological working memory and severity of phonological disorders in children with language impairment. Methods: Participants were 30 children diagnosed with language impairment, with ages ranging from 4 to 6 years. Data from the assessment of phonological working memory and phonology (measured by the Percentage of Consonants Correct – Reviewed) were collected and statistically analyzed. Results: Age did not influence phonology and phonological working memory, but there was positive correlation in the comparison between performances on phonological working memory and both phonology tasks. Conclusion: Age does not support the improvement of phonological abilities and phonological working memory. However, there is positive correlation between phonological working memory and the severity of phonological disorders, suggesting that the better the speech production, the better the phonological working memory.


White mould (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is a destructive disease of soybean worldwide. However, little is known of its impact on soybean production in Brazil. A meta-analytic approach was used to assess the relationship between disease incidence and soybean yield (35 trials) and between incidence and sclerotia production (29 trials) in experiments conducted in 14 locations across four seasons. Region, site elevation and season included as moderators in random-effects and random-coefficients models did not significantly explain the variability in the slopes of the incidence–yield relationship. The Pearson's r, obtained from back-transforming the Fisher's Z estimated by an overall random-effects model, showed that incidence of white mould was moderately and negatively correlated with yield (r = 0.76, P < 0.0001). A random-coefficients model estimated a slope of 17.2 kg ha % , for a mean attainable yield of 3455 kg ha , indicating that a 10% increase in white mould incidence would result in a mean yield reduction of 172 kg ha . White mould incidence and production of sclerotia were strongly and positively correlated (r = 0.85, P < 0.0001). For every 10% increase in white mould incidence, 1 kg ha 1 of sclerotia was produced. The relationship between disease incidence and production of sclerotia was stronger in southern regions and at higher elevation. In the absence of management, economic losses associated with white mould epidemics, assuming 43% incidence in 22% of the soybean area, were estimated at approximately US $1.47 billion annually within Brazil.


The objective of this study was to determine the apparent metabolisable energy corrected for nitrogen balance (AMEn) of some products containing glycerine from soybean oil (GOIL), a mixture of frying oil and lard (GMIX) and a semi-purified process (GSP) in broilers of different ages (10, 20, 30 and 40 days post-hatching), using two methodologies. In trial 1, the basal diets were replaced with 100 g/kg of each studied glycerine product and the diets were supplied ad libitum. Three hundred broilers were used in five replicates, with five, four, three and three animals per cage in each age group, respectively. The AMEn was calculated for each experimental unit. In trial 2, dietary treatments included the addition of glycerine at 0, 40, 80 or 120 g/kg for each crude glycerine product, with 900 broilers in six replicates, using the same number of animals per cage as described in trial 1. Depending on the experimental unit, the feeding was restricted in 88%, 92%, 96% and 100% of estimated intake according to the Cobb guide. The AMEn was determined using linear regression between the feed intake and the AMEn of each diet. In both trials, the total excreta collection method was used. Because of the chemical composition, GMIX was not considered crude glycerine. The mean AMEn values of the products were 20.55 MJ/kg, 15.80 MJ/kg and 15.05 MJ/kg for GMIX, GSP and GOIL, respectively. There was a linear decrease (p < 0.01) in the AMEn values with the increasing age of the broilers. Numerically, it was observed that the AMEn values decreased until 28-30 day post-hatching and then remained constant until the finishing phase. It is concluded that products containing glycerine can be used as an energy source for broilers, but that AMEn values can vary according to age. Younger broilers have a higher capacity of energy utilisation from these feedstuffs.


In the U.K., Chinese students are now "the largest single overseas student group" with more than 60,000 studying here in 2006 (British Council, 2008) yet there has been little study of their views towards British assessment methods, particularly innovative assignment types. The focus of this paper is on the similarities and differences in attitudes towards assessed writing between Chinese and British students in U.K. universities. Data was gathered in 2007-8 and consists of 200 questionnaire responses from Chinese and British students studying a wide range of subjects in over 40 UK universities together with follow-up emails and interviews. Students are asked to describe how they plan and write assignments and how this has altered over the course of their university study. Also explored are the use of aids such as electronic and paper dictionaries, translation software and proofreading by native or non-native speakers. The main focus of the study is British and Chinese students' views of assignment-writing, particularly in relation to recent, alternative assignment types such as blogs, letters and e-posters. Currently students in U.K. H.E. are expected to produce a wide variety of text types with several writers suggesting that more discipline and text-specific help is needed (e.g. Hewings and Hewings, 2001). Jin and Cortazzi have pointed out the "increasingly diverse" nature of Chinese students in the U.K. (2006) and Gu and Schweisfurth suggest that the notion of 'the Chinese learner' invites an unhelpful view of homogeneity (2006). In this paper I consider the difficulties facing U.K. university students in terms of the range of writing requirements which are now expected and how British and Chinese students embrace these challenges.


Abstract. Forests of the Western Himalaya, India, are impacted by the summer monsoon and winter seasonal rainfall events and associated changes in the meteorology. Here, we assess the scale interactions between observed forest ecosystem fluxes and meteorological parameters, particularly rainfall seasonality and extremes. The scale interactions were investigated using daily observed fluxes and meteorological parameters of 1080 days of 2014–2016 from a Pinus roxburghii dominated forest and using wavelet spectral analysis method. The mixed forest of this study was a sink of CO2 having the average NEE −3.21 gC m−2 day−1 for the period of observations. Result of the wavelet coherence analysis from observed data indicated a statistically significant correlation (> 0.7 at 95 % confidence level) between daily average NEE and daily total rainfall having band periods of 70–120 days, 35–64 days and 60–90 days of monsoon periods of 2014–16, respectively, where rainfall leading to NEE. Impact of heavy rainfall events of monsoon periods over NEE of the forest patch was found to have average band periods of 4 days; whereas, the winter time heavy rainfall events were having average band periods of 15 days with very high local correlation (> 0.7 at 95 % confidence level) inferring that ecosystem exchange rate was mirroring rainfall events. Although CASA-GFDE3 model simulated daily NEE values of 2014–15 were found have a low fraction of explained variance (= 0.08) with respect to observations, modeled NEE-rainfall relationship of 2014 was found to corroborate well with the observed pattern; however for 2015, the phase relationship between modeled NEE and rainfall around band period of 100 days was opposite to the flux tower observations. Subsequently, heavy rainfall events and daily average air temperatures were also found to be coherent during monsoon period having wavelet coherences > 0.8 indicating a cause and effect relationship between both parameters, and rainfall events were mirroring temperature variations. Therefore, it is anticipated that the Pinus roxburghii dominated forest productivity of Western Himalaya, India, are expected to increase even with the increment of heavy rainfall events in the near 20 future.


This paper provides an overview of existing measures relating to non-product-related processes and production methods (PPMs) adopted in the context of climate-change-mitigation policies, especially those linked to the life-cycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions of particular products. Such domestic PPM-related requirements and schemes are important policy tools for promoting sustainable development and are aimed at addressing GHG emissions resulting from the activities involved in producing, processing and transporting the product to the final consumer. Their ostensive purpose is to promote better environmental outcomes and to ensure that domestic climate-change policies and incentives do not inadvertently undermine other environmental objectives. Even though the general objectives of the reviewed regulations and private schemes are comparable (e.g. the promotion of renewable-energy sources, or provision of information on the carbon footprint of goods), the approaches, level of detail, choices of instruments and targeted environmental characteristics vary considerably from country to country and from scheme to scheme. Some regulations rely more or less extensively on market mechanisms, attaching price premiums to certain types of products. Others introduce command-and-control provisions limiting the use of certain PPMs, variously defined in different countries. Still others target certain types of fuels eligible for public support, with varying eligibility criteria. Private schemes mainly use environmental sustainability claims to secure consumer preference. The choice of different instruments presumably entails different trade impacts. However, all of the reviewed measures and schemes are fairly new, and experience with their application and therefore their potential trade effects has so far been relatively limited.


Research of the manuscript hitherto known and labeled as the "Liber sequentiarum and sacramentarium" ("LS"), stored today in Sibenik, has shown that this chant book is the earliest missal copied in the monastery of Tegernsee for the St Thomas Basilica in medieval Pula, Istria.Indications for its provenance are drawn from its codicological, palaeographical and repertorial features. Beside the detailed comparison of its script, notation, sequence and trope repertory, this article shows up to date not analyzed repertory of the saints venerated in its sacramentary and in the list of relicts to be mentioned at the end of missal (Haec suntreliquiae). Particularly, this portions of the "LS" repertory were a clue toward detection that the "Leitheiliger" of this chant book is St Thomas Apostle, a patron of the bishopric of Parenzo/Pula, to whom also the "unicum" sequence Armonia concinnans was dedicated. St Thomas Basilica in medieval Pula is place of usage where this "commissioned book" has been meant for liturgi...