The main obstacle for the application of high quality diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings has been the lack of adhesion to the substrate as the coating thickness is increased. The aim of this study was to improve the filtered pulsed arc discharge (FPAD) method. With this method it is possible to achieve high DLC coating thicknesses necessary for practical applications. The energy of the carbon ions was measured with an optoelectronic time-of-flight method. An in situ cathode polishing system used for stabilizing the process yield and the carbon ion energies is presented. Simultaneously the quality of the coatings can be controlled. To optimise the quality of the deposition process a simple, fast and inexpensive method using silicon wafers as test substrates was developed. This method was used for evaluating the suitability of a simplified arc-discharge set-up for the deposition of the adhesion layer of DLC coatings. A whole new group of materials discovered by our research group, the diamond-like carbon polymer hybrid (DLC-p-h) coatings, is also presented. The parent polymers used in these novel coatings were polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The energy of the plasma ions was found to increase when the anode-cathode distance and the arc voltage were increased. A constant deposition rate for continuous coating runs was obtained with an in situ cathode polishing system. The novel DLC-p-h coatings were found to be water and oil repellent and harder than any polymers. The lowest sliding angle ever measured from a solid surface, 0.15 ± 0.03°, was measured on a DLC-PDMS-h coating. In the FPAD system carbon ions can be accelerated to high energies (≈ 1 keV) necessary for the optimal adhesion (the substrate is broken in the adhesion and quality test) of ultra thick (up to 200 μm) DLC coatings by increasing the anode-cathode distance and using


The eye presents remarkable open doors and difficulties regarding the matter of the transport of Pharmaceuticals. While ingestion by this course is botching, there are few symptoms with routine visual dose structures like the eye drop and the eye suspension. A few polymeric frameworks have been utilized to create visual supplements for the better visual bioavailability and maintenance of medication for which the gelling frameworks have indicated focal points of advantageous organization and expanded contact time. Solvent casting technique was used for preparing PVP/PVA ocular inserts. The arranged ocular inserts were portrayed by method for film thickness, weight variety, collapsing persistence Value, XRD, DSC, SEM. These days, the utilization of polymers in therapeutic requisitions blankets an expansive assorted qualities of fields including inserts, prostheses, ophthalmology, dentistry and bone repair; they assume an imperative part as a provisional framework, a makeshift obstruction, and a medication conveyance framework. Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(vinyl Alcohol) (PVA) are incorporated in the rundown of engineered polymers which are utilized as a part of solution. PVP has a great notoriety because of its remarkable assimilation and buildings capacities, inasmuch as PVA presents imperative characteristics, for example, high hydrophilicity, perceived biodegradability, biocompatibility and great processability in film form shaping. In addition, these manufactured polymers are water dissolvable which is an exceptional trademark for film framing.


In the high luminosity era of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), the instantaneous luminosity is expected to reach unprecedented values, resulting in about 200 proton-proton interactions in a typical bunch crossing.
 To cope with the resultant increase in occupancy, bandwidth and radiation damage, the ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced by an all-silicon system, the Inner Tracker (ITk), aiming to provide tracking coverage up to $|\eta|<4$.
 The ITk consists of an inner pixel and an outer strip detector designed to provide a tracking performance at least as good as the current detector, but in the HL-LHC environment.
 In this talk, the updated layout of the detector for the pixel technical design report is presented, and the expected detector and tracking performance is discussed.


This study describes journalism students' value making of social research methods, such as sampling, data gathering strategies and quantitative and qualitative data analysis, by using a mixed-method approach to analyze 260 written reflection assignments. In their reflections, 26 student participants assessed the value of their new knowledge of social research methods on ten different occasions throughout the term. The qualitative analysis consisted of two stages: a content analysis and an analysis of students' collective experience of value making (phenomenographic approach). The findings of the content analysis showed that students generally value knowledge that is seen as useful and familiar from the perspective of trainee practitioners (professional standpoint). A focus on students' collective experience showed that value making happens when students adopt a standpoint from where to judge new knowledge and make connections between new and past knowledge and experience. Weak connections may lead students to disregard new content. The analysis of connections showed that students either reproduce the connections made by the instructor in class (performative connection) or make an original link with present and past experiences and knowledge (original connection). Performative connections produce general statements of value making, while concrete value making happens when students explicitly integrate and transfer knowledge to produce original connections with past and present personal or professional learning and experience.


Seismic velocity discontinuities within the top 1000 km of the Earth beneath southern Africa are imaged by stacking about 1300 source‐normalized broadband seismograms recorded by the Southern African Seismic Experiment. The Moho, 410, and 660 kilometer discontinuities are clearly detected. The mean mantle transition zone thickness is 245 km, essentially the same as the global average, suggesting that the transition zone is not anomalously warm. Thus, the lower‐mantle 'African Superplume' beneath our study area has no discernible effect on transition zone temperature and is consequently confined to the lower mantle. Variations in transition zone thickness appear to be related to the presence or absence of thick lithosphere. We do not detect several previously‐reported discontinuities beneath continents, such as the Hales or Lehmann discontinuities, and find no evidence for a 520 km discontinuity, nor do we detect a previously proposed low‐velocity zone just above the transition zone.


Halogen alkenyl Non ether can be prepared by elimination of addition and hydrogen halide of the carboxylic acid halide to vinyl ether. Improvement of the present invention is to have out in the presence of a stabilizer for, and / or alkenone in the absence of a base. The product in high yield results.


Abstract The mechanisms leading to dry-snow slab release are influenced by the three-dimensional variability of the snow cover. We measured 113 profiles of penetration resistance with a snow micropenetrometer on an alpine snow slope. Seven distinct layers were visually identified in all snow micropenetrometer profiles. The penetration resistance of adjacent layers did not change abruptly, but gradually across layer boundaries that were typically 2 mm thick. In two layers, penetration resistance varied around 200% over the grid, possibly due to wind effects during or after layer deposition. Penetration resistance varied around 25%in five layers. Statistically significant slope-scale linear trends were found for all layers. The semivariogram was used to describe the spatial variation. Penetration resistance was autocorrelated, but the scale of variation was layer-specific. A buried layer of surface hoar was the most critical weak layer. It had little spatial variation. The layers in the slab above had higher spatial variation. The penetration resistance of each snow layer had distinct geostatistical properties, caused by the depositional processes.


Abstract: The Cape Town Convention introduces a worldwide and computerized registration system of security interests. This will be a first-in-time system of 'notice filing' and it will be object based. For different types of mobile equipment different registries will be established. The international registration system to be created under the Cape Town Convention is analyzed from the perspective of internationally accepted guiding information (registration) principles: publicity, efficiency, sufficiency, accuracy, simplicity and uniformity. Finally, the question is examined whether notice filing can be implemented by civil law systems which have a system of deeds filling.


Background Homocystinuria is an inborn error of metabolism associated with elevated plasma and urine homocysteine levels. Osteoporosis is a recognised feature of the disease and is thought to be related to defective collagen cross-linkage. Limited data exists, however, concerning levels of bone health in unselected patients with homocystinuria. Objectives The aim of this analysis was to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis in a cohort of adult homocystinuria patients. Methods 46 adult homocystinuria patients, mean age 36.9 years, (Standard deviation [SD]=12.9) attending a specialist metabolic medicine clinic at Salford Royal Hospital NHS Trust (Salford, United Kingdom) were identified and retrospective analysis of their medical records performed. Information obtained included data on previous medications, and bone mineral density (BMD) scans which had been performed using Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Also, when available information about plasma homocysteine levels was obtained. Results 78% of patients (n=36) had had at least one DEXA scan. The mean lumbar spine BMD Z-score was -0.51 (SD=1.20) and for the total hip site, mean Z-score was -0.36 (SD=1.40). Mean level of plasma homocysteine was 96.6 μmol/Litre (normal range: <16μmol/Litre), (SD=69.7). Using the International Society of Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) criteria (Z-score < -2.0), five (10.9%) patients had evidence of osteoporosis; while using the World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria (T-score < -2.5), only three (6.5%) patients had evidence of osteoporosis. There was no association between either total hip or lumbar spine BMD Z-score and levels of plasma homocysteine. Conclusions In this cohort of patients with homocystinuria attending hospital clinics, the prevalence of osteoporosis was relatively low. References Ortop Traumatol Rehabil. 2007 Jul-Aug; 9(4): 337–56. J Clin Densitom. 2014; 17: 219–224. Acknowledgement Ms.Azita Rajai, Statistician, Manchester Biomedical Centre, Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom Disclosure of Interest None declared


Abstract Objective and reliable assessment of animal colouration is of great value to workers in the biological sciences. We present the results of a comparison between two colour measurement techniques: Munsell colour standard matching and spectroradiometry. As part of ongoing research on sexual selection in red jungle fowl ( Gallus gallus ), feather and comb colour of 49 roosters was measured using both techniques. Previous research showed that hens use variation in feather and comb colour in mate choice, and we allowed hens to choose between paired roosters. Colour matching and spectroradiometry scores were generally correlated, but spectroradiometry was more sensitive in detecting variation and also provided a better estimate of the role of secondary sexual characters in male mating success.


On the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Federation of Benedictine Women's Monasteries of Catalonia (Spain), the five monasteries represented are discussing the following question: what will monastic life be like in the future? This question is added to the debate about "new forms of monasticism", "urban monastic life" and, in a more general sense, to the modernisations and "the opening up" of the precepts and practices of monastic life at this time. Faced with the ambitious monastic questioning, the author responds with five deliberately provocative debates developed out of a consideration of various chapters of the Rule of St. Benedict that raise profound questions when it comes to responding to the question presented here. Having described these five debates, by way of a summary, the article presents three ideal types of monastery in relation to the current processes of deinstitutionalisation that represent, in an overall way, three provisional responses and serve as a focus for the question discussed here.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the antibacterial, mechanical and biocompatibility characteristics of an orthodontic adhesive that contains quaternary ammonium polyethyleneimine (QPEI) nanoparticles.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
QPEI nanoparticles were added to an orthodontic adhesive at 0%, 1% and 1.5% wt/wt. Antibacterial activity was tested after aging for 14 days using the direct contact test (DCT). The degree of monomer conversion (DC) was measured using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Shear bond atrength (SBS) was tested on the etched enamel of extracted human teeth. Biocompatibility was tested using keratinocyte and neutrophil cell lines in the XTT assay.

RESULTS
The DCT results showed significant bacterial growth inhibition in the test group incorporating 1.5% wt/wt QPEI nanoparticles (p < 0.05). The DC of the 0%, 1%, and 1.5% wt/wt samples measured immediately and after 10 min was 62.2-71.0%, 59.1-68.7%, and 52.9-58.6%, respectively, and the average SBS were 9.25 MPa, 11.57 MPa, and 9.10 MPa, respectively. Keratinocyte and neutrophil viability did not change following the addition of QPEI to the orthodontic adhesives.

CONCLUSIONS
The incorporation of QPEI nanoparticles into orthodontic cement provides long-lasting antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans without reducing the strength of adhesion to enamel, the degree of double bond conversion during the polymerisation, or the biocompatibility of the orthodontic cement.


Competition in banking industry from year to year increasingly fierce. Small capital banks must open compete with large banks in the same segment. Local banks must compete "apple to apple" with other local banks. In addition, local bank has to be able to compete with foreign banks in order to gain the largest market share. The level of customer engagement can be a leading indicator at the rate of return for investors. It means if the CE survey results produce a high level of engagement, then the company's financial performance expectation is also high. employee engagement level is the basic indicator of leading indicators. It means that if the EE survey results produce a high level of engagement then, engagement costumer is also high on products or services owned by a bank. Human Sigma is a model and approach by analyzing the value of Customer Engagement and Employee Engagement to determine Human Sigma Value that will describe the level of engagement from the point of view of employee and customer. The aim of this study is to look for top of pain factors the weakness of employee engagement in the retail banking company that caused the decrease of customer engagement and the level of company productivity by using the concept of human sigma.


Despite their prevalence in organic synthesis,
the application of boronic acids (BAs) as alkyl radical precursors in
visible-light assisted photocatalyzed reactions has been limited by their high
oxidation potential. This study demonstrates the remarkable ability of amide
solvents viz. DMA (N,N-dimethylacetamide) to participate in hydrogen-bonding
interactions with BAs, thus enabling the modulation of their oxidation potential
towards the generation of alkyl radicals. The developed protocol is simple,
robust and demonstrates broad applicability for alkylation, allylation and
elimination reactions in batch and continuous flow. The application towards
dehydroalanine allows the synthesis of unnatural amino acids. Furthermore, the
chemo-selective generation of radical species from BAs, in the presence of
boronic ester-containing molecules, is now feasible, endorsing plausible boron-selective
(bio-) orthogonal modifications.


The reliable extraction of physical information from astrophysical x-ray spectra depends upon the accuracy and completeness of plasma emission codes, which have become standard tools for the analysis of spectroscopic data from cosmic x-ray sources. These codes are designed to process atomic data and synthesize model spectra for the cosmically abundant elements over a wide range of temperatures and densities and often need to accommodate the presence of an ionizing radiation field. The upcoming launches of AXAF, XMM and Astro-E will usher in a new era of astrophysical x-ray spectroscopy, characterized by large collecting area, broad bandpass and order-of-magnitude improvements in spectral resolving power. The highly detailed spectra to be acquired with the new satellite observatories will present major challenges for analysts, plasma spectroscopists and atomic physicists. In fact, results from the ASCA and EUVE missions have already exposed problems in plasma codes, attributable to inadequacies in the incorporated atomic data. Revisions of the atomic database are being pursued along three avenues: atomic modeling, laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations. I will draw upon recent results in x-ray astronomy to establish the framework in which to discuss some of the problems faced by atomic modelers in the push to improve plasma emission codes.


Circadian rhythms regulate cell proliferation and differentiation but circadian control of tissue regeneration remains elusive at the molecular level. Here, we show that the circadian master regulators Per1 and Per2 are integral components defining the efficiency of myoblast differentiation and muscle regeneration. We found that the depletion of Per1 or Per2 suppressed myoblast differentiation in vitro and muscle regeneration in vivo, demonstrating their non-redundant functions. Both Per1 and Per2 directly activated Igf2, an autocrine promoter of myoblast differentiation, accompanied by Per-dependent recruitment of RNA polymerase II, dynamic histone modifications at the Igf2 promoter and enhancer, and the promoter-enhancer interaction. This circadian epigenetic oscillation created a preferred time window for initiating myoblast differentiation. Consistently, muscle regeneration was faster if initiated at night when Per1, Per2, and Igf2 were highly expressed compared with morning. This study reveals the circadian timing as a significant factor for effective muscle cell differentiation and regeneration.


To form a complex multicellular organism, stem cells must differentiate into each cell/tissue type along proper spatiotemporal scales. The study of differentiation and organismal development has historically been conducted in prokaryotes due to their genetic and morphological simplicity. Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is a multicellular filamentous cyanobacterium that differentiates a morphologically distinct secondary cell type, the heterocyst, in response to a lack of combined environmental nitrogen. Heterocysts are regularly spaced along filaments and fix atmospheric dinitrogen to maintain organismal viability in its absence. Previous work suggested that the hetZ gene is involved in heterocyst differentiation, but the insertional mutants created produced inconsistent phenotypes, so a specific role was not assigned. In this work, a clean hetZ mutant incapable of heterocyst differentiation was generated and the mutation was complemented with the reintroduction of hetZ alone. Overexpression of hetZ bypassed a mutation of hetR, the master regulator of heterocyst differentiation that controls biological pattern formation, but not a mutation of hetP, a regulator of commitment to a differentiated cell fate, which places hetZ roughly between these processes. A protein-protein interaction study showed that HetZ interacts with both HetR and itself. Assessment of transcriptional fusions between the hetZ, hetR, hetP, and patS (an inhibitor of HetR) promoter regions and GFP, and overexpression of HetR in a hetZ mutant resulted in the differentiation of heterocyst-like cells, together indicated that HetZ may act in concert with HetR as an early regulator of development. Taken together, these data describe a non-linear pathway of regulation leading to heterocyst development governed by both HetR and HetZ.


Background: Smoking among adolescents is a universal matter. Several findings suggest that smoking can lead to impaired oral health. Objectives: The current study was undertaken to evaluate the normative and subjective oral health status of 13-year-old smokers and nonsmokers in Qazvin, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a multistage cluster sample of 519 adolescents in Qazvin, Iran, in 2015. A self-administered questionnaire comprising three parts pertaining to oral health behavior (frequency of tooth brushing and dental visits, snacking, and the use of fluoride toothpaste) was administered. The socio-demographic and subjective characteristics of the study participants, including self-reported smoking, gum bleeding, and halitosis, were determined. The simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) was used to evaluate their clinical condition. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed separately for the smokers and nonsmokers. Correlation, kappa agreement, sensitivity, and specificity between the subjective and normative measurements were calculated. Results: 26% of the male adolescents and 15% of the female adolescents claimed that they smoked cigarettes or used water pipe. Infrequent dental visits (≥ 2 years) [odds ratio (OR) = 3.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1–7.8, P = 0.030), frequent snacking (≥ 3 times between meals) (OR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.5 - 8.4, P = 0.001), and halitosis were significantly associated with poor self-perceived oral health. Poor oral hygiene index, which represents normative measurement, was similar among smokers and nonsmokers in this age group. Sensitivity and specificity were reported to be 81% and 85% for smokers and 30% and 21% for nonsmokers, respectively. Conclusions: Normative and subjective oral health evaluations were not in the same line among smoking and nonsmoking adolescents. Professional screening is necessary to evaluate oral health in this age group, especially in countries with developing oral health care systems.


The failure of the sum of van der Waals radii axiom to provide information about donor-acceptor interactions in 8-dimethylamino-naphth-1-yl phosphines and their derivatives called for alternative methods. The coupling constants J(C,H) of the Me2N groups proved useful and indicate that in these compounds, N→P interactions are negligible.


This review of investigations in India on the genetic improvement of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) includes a report that, of the pest complex of the crop in northern India, Melanagromyza obtusa (Mall.) causes the most damage; the variety GP 127 from a tribal area in Orissa was the least preferred by M. obtusa, damage being only up to 5%,ADDITIONAL ABSTRACT:Research work developing high-yielding disease-resistant pigeon pea cv. at Varanasi is briefly described. The new highly disease-resistant cv. Purple 1 matured in 200 days and yielded up to 1.5 t/ha. Its 100-seed wt. varied from 5 to 26 g


Bone marrow contains a non-hematopoietic, clonogenic, multipotent population of stromal cells that are later called mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Similar cells that share many common features with MSC are also found in other organs, which are thought to contribute both to normal tissue regeneration and to pathological processes such as heterotopic ossification (HO), the formation of ectopic bone in soft tissue. Understanding the microenvironmental factors that regulate MSC in vivo is essential both for understanding the biology of the stem cells and for effective translational applications of MSC. Unfortunately, this important aspect has been largely underappreciated. This review tries to raise the attention and highlight this critical issue by updating the relevant literature along with discussions of the key issues in the area.


This report analyzes the results of the implementation at a large private Mexican university of the Pedagogical Expectancy Violation Assessment (PEVA), developed by Gaffney, Gaffney and Beichner [1]. The PEVA was designed to evaluate shifts of the first student's expectations due to the initial orientation and experiences in the classroom. The data was collected at the Student-Centered Learning (ACE) classroom, based on the Student Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) classroom. Three professors participated with their groups during the first semester they implemented their courses in this environment. Participants were enrolled either in a Pre-Calculus, Differential Equations, or Electricity and Magnetism course. The results indicate shifts in students' expectations during the semester and reveals differences in shifts among the different courses.


Abstract Objective To evaluate the relationships between maternal fish consumption and pregnancy outcomes in a large, population-based sample of women in the USA. Design We collected average fish consumption prior to pregnancy using a modified version of the semi-quantitative Willett FFQ. We estimated adjusted OR (aOR) and 95 % CI for associations between different levels of fish consumption and preterm birth (<37 weeks), early preterm birth (<32 and <35 weeks) and small-for-gestational-age infants (SGA; <10th percentile). Setting The National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). Subjects Control mother–infant pairs with estimated delivery dates between 1997 and 2011 (n 10 919). Results No significant associations were observed between fish consumption and preterm birth or early preterm birth (aOR = 0·7–1·0 and 0·7–0·9, respectively). The odds of having an SGA infant were elevated (aOR = 2·1; 95 % CI 1·2, 3·4) among women with daily fish consumption compared with women consuming fish less than once per month. No associations were observed between other levels of fish consumption and SGA (aOR = 0·8–1·0). Conclusions High intake of fish was associated with twofold higher odds of having an SGA infant, while moderate fish consumption prior to pregnancy was not associated with preterm or SGA. Our study, like many other studies in this area, lacked information regarding preparation methods and the specific types of fish consumed. Future studies should incorporate information on nutrient and contaminant contents, preparation methods and biomarkers to assess these relationships.


LER'S HANDY BOOK OF HINTS, SUGGESTIONS AND ADVICE [1862]. Edited with an Introduction by Jack Simmons. (Adams & Dart, 1971. Illustrated. u6 pp. £1·7S.) Professor Simmons is, by now, well known as a master of that difficult twentieth-century literary form: the introduction to a reprinted book. He never fails to offer the reader lucid and informative vignettesofhisauthor and hissubject, probably becausehis commentaries are unforced; instead the books and authors are commissioned by him as worthy of attention by the modern scholar and historically minded layman. His enthusiasm, as in the present two examples, is infectious. "A large wheel following a smaller wheel without being able to overtake it", was a wit's apt definition of the carriage. Adams's long book, 011 "the principles of the art of vehicular locomotion", was a veritable Aristotelian tour de force the material, efficient, formal and final causes of pleasure carriages spoilt only by the inventor's passion to promote his own Adams's Equirotal carriage. His Babbage-Iike thoughts on the philosophy of invention and lack of English (sic) inventiveness tell us much about British technology in the nineteenth century. Adams's book was not just a history of carriages or of aesthetics (for to Adams carriageswere objects of beauty that educated the national taste); it was, and is, a vade-mecum of their composition from horsehair to beechwood, oftheir maintenance, of the scientific principles of wheels, axles and springs, of the men who built carriages and their working conditions, and, finally, of the possibilitiesofsteam locomotion. Steam power applied to road traffic was the passion of William Fletcher (1848-1916), England's leading traction engine designer. His book on steam locomotion, which is only sketchily introduced by the tractionengine historian W. J. Hughes, deals with the development of this passenger and haulage road transport system from the seventeenth century to the I 890S, as well as a briefer, but better, practical account of the design and construction of these monstrous road engines. As history it is poor and derivative until he reaches his own lifetime. Fletcher is also less philosophical and stimulating than Adams, though he too had an axe to grind: not the patent laws, but the clauses of the Road Locomotive Acts which still gave horse transport an unfair advantage. The reprinting of the anonymous anecdotal Victorian Handy Book may seem a piece of fun to modern readers, but it was a serious informative booklet concerned with the business of railway travelling in the 1860s. And what a business it was! These Hints, S't.~l(estiolls audAdvice tell us more about popular views and fearsof the railway than many a stuffy Parliamentary report. Because of the small size of the original and its poor quality paper, the publishers have reprinted the text in a more handsome format, illustrated by contemporary engravings. It will make a charming present for all modem travellers, especially those who seek advice on the "treatment of unpleasant travelling companions". w. H. BROCK


Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to multiple sclerosis, the most common neurodegenerative disorder with onset in young adults. The objective of the current study is, based on the hypothesis that environmentally predisposed individuals are at risk for multiple sclerosis, to investigate whether they also carry genetic variants within the vitamin D machinery. Using medical files and DNA samples from 583 trios (a patient and both parents) of the French Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Group as well as data from the French Statistics Bureau, we aimed to assess whether: (1) a seasonality of birth was observed in French multiple sclerosis patients; (2) three single nucleotide polymorphisms within the promoter region of the vitamin D receptor were associated with multiple sclerosis susceptibility; and (3) the combination of a high risk month of birth and vitamin D receptor polymorphisms were correlated to multiple sclerosis incidence. We observed a significantly reduced number of individuals born in November who were later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis patients. However, we found no association between the three studied vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and multiple sclerosis. In conclusion, our data suggest that high levels of vitamin D during the third trimester of pregnancy could be a protective factor for multiple sclerosis.


Dr Jon Stone is an NHS Consultant Neurologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Neurology in Edinburgh. He has had a research interest in functional disorders in neurology since 1999 starting with his PhD thesis – a case control study of patients with functional limb weakness. He has published widely in the area including systematic reviews, large cohort studies, imaging studies and treatment studies. He has contributed to new diagnostic criteria for DSM-5 and ICD-11 and been involved in promoting functional disorders in training and research. He has made a website for patients at www.neurosymptoms.org which has been translated by other neurologists in to 12 other languages. He runs a weekly functional disorders clinic and as of August 2012 is a National Research Strategy (NHS Scotland) Career Research Fellow. Memory and cognitive 'symptoms' exist at high levels in the general population. Around one third of young adults forget why they came in to a room, what they had for breakfast the day before and regularly lose their car keys. There is an emerging awareness of those patients, especially in the 'early onset dementia' clinic who do not have dementia, or any other 'organic' cause for their genuine memory symptoms. Studies in Liverpool and Sheffield suggest these patients are anything from 40–80% of attendees. Greater diagnostic accuracy for dementia, increasing public awareness of dementia diagnosis and political/financial incentives for making the diagnosis all arguably make the study of this group increasingly important. The risk of harm in overdiagnosing dementia or not giving any diagnosis to someone with these symptoms is often discussed but rarely studied. Much of the literature in this area has focused on Subjective Memory Impairment and on Mild Cognitive Impairment with follow up studies mainly interested on how to detect the subgroup who go on to get dementia, not all the rest who stay the same or even improve. This talk will cover what this 'Non-Dementia' is in the memory clinic including the following overlapping categories: Memory symptoms as part of anxiety and depression; Isolate functional memory symptoms that are in excess of normal but occur in the absence of anxiety and depression; Memory symptoms that are normal for the population but have become a focus for concern, sometimes with "dementia phobia" Functional memory symptoms occurring in the context of another functional disorder such as chronic fatigue syndrome Memory symptoms related to prescription drugs, especially opiates Retrograde/Functional/Psychogenic Amnesia Prodromal stages of dementia/other neurodegenerative disorders but too early to be diagnosed. Just as functional motor disorders and seizures are best defined by their positive features there have been attempts to do the same for functional memory disorders.1 2 I will review what we do know and what we don't and how the field might move forward.


This study presents a numerical procedure to optimize the compressor design to increase the surge margin of compressor with response surface method (RSM). The Box-Behnken design method is used to reduce the number of calculation for fitting the second-order response surface. In order to consider the increase of surge margin during numerical optimization without any calculation at the surge point, the slope of compressor characteristic curve at the design point is suggested as an objective function in the present optimization problem. Mean line performance analysis method is used to get the design and off-design characteristic curves of centrifugal compressor. The impeller exit angle, impeller exit height and impeller radius are chosen as design variables. The optimum shapes show the increase of surge margin for the surge margin optimization and increase of efficiency for the efficiency optimization in comparison with an initial shape.


The complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) besides promoting the reduction of costs, have also proven to be effective as well as they have invested in health promotion and health education, as a means of preventing the disease to take control and possibly result in serious consequences. OBJECTIVE: to investigate the knowledge, opinions and social representations of managers and health professionals about those practices (CAM) in Public Health System (SUS) as well as to identify the difficulties and challenges that are present in their implementation, use and disclosure in the Health Services. METHODS: the survey was carried out in a Basic Health Unit and Specialty Clinic in the northern area of Sao Paulo/SP, Brazil. We chose the qualitative approach with its instruments, documentary analysis and interviews based upon pre-established guidelines directed to managers and health professionals of these units. The total of 35 interviews took place between the months of July to August 2010. RESULTS: the results support the thesis that managers are not prepared to implement the National Policy on Complementary and Integrative Practices (NPCIP) inSUS: only five out of the twenty six respondents were aware of the National Policy (NPCIP); the biomedical model sessions still prevails; material supply and acquisition of raw materials used in some of the CAM have become a major issue in the unit; the disclosure of the CAM has not been enough so as to be fully known by professionals and users alike. Furthermore, most of the professionals working in the Specialty Clinic where the CAM has been offered have undervalued those activities. The Complementary and Alternative Medicine have not played the role they should and/or could in the SUS for the Promotion of Health yet. CONCLUSIONS: it is pivotally necessary that the City of Sao Paulo/SP encourages and creates conditions for taking the CAM into all Health Units, so as to improve, disclose and support the inclusion of non-medical professionals, provided that they have proper training since practices such as Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Anthroposophy and Phytotherapy are already considered as medical specialties. Included in Public Health System (SUS),the Complementary and Alternative Medicine can certainly contribute a lot for the Promotion of Health.


The Cosmic Ray anisotropy is a key element in the quest to find t he origin of the enigmatic particles. A well known problem is that, although most of the lik e y sources are in the Inner Galaxy, the direction from which the lowest energy particles (less t han about 1 PeV) come is largely from the Outer Galaxy. We show that this can be understood taking i nto account a possible reflection of charged particles by 'walls' in the Interstellar Medium or/ and as a temporary phenomenon after the shock wave from the supernova explosion passed the Earth . This effect is too subtle to be explained by an ordinary diffusion theory and becomes apparen t within the frames of the non-local relativistic transport theory, which involves conception s of free motion velocity and path lengths with probability distributions of non-exponential type ta ken for a turbulent interstellar medium.


The ability of in situ snowflake microphysical observations to constrain estimates of surface snowfall accumulations derived from coincident, ground-based radar observations is explored. As part of the High-Latitude Measurement of Snowfall (HiLaMS) field campaign, a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP), and Multi-Angle Snow Camera (MASC) were deployed to the Haukeliseter Test Site run by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute during winter 2016/17. This measurement site lies near an elevation of 1000 m in the mountains of southern Norway and houses a double-fence automated reference (DFAR) snow gauge and a comprehensive set of meteorological observations. MASC and PIP observations provided estimates of particle size distribution (PSD), fall speed, and habit. These properties were used as input for a snowfall retrieval algorithm using coincident MRR reflectivity measurements. Retrieved surface snowfall accumulations were evaluated against DFAR observations to quantify retrieval performance as a function of meteorological conditions for the Haukeliseter site. These analyses found differences of less than 10% between DFAR- and MRR-retrieved estimates over the field season when using either PIP or MASC observations for low wind "upslope" events. Larger biases of at least 50% were found for high wind "pulsed" events likely because of sampling limitations in the in situ observations used to constrain the retrieval. However, assumptions of MRR Doppler velocity for mean particle fall speed and a temperature-based PSD parameterization reduced this difference to +16% for the pulsed events. Although promising, these results ultimately depend upon selection of a snowflake particle model that is well matched to scene environmental conditions.


abstract In this paper accurate estimation of parameters, higher order state space prediction methods and Extended Kalman filter (EKF) for modeling shadow power in wireless mobile communications are developed. Path-loss parameter estimation models are compared and evaluated. Shadow power estimation methods in wireless cellular communications are very important for use in power control of mobile device and base station. The methods are validated and compared to existing methods, Kalman Filter (KF) with Gaussian and Non-Gaussian noise environments. These methods provide better parameter estimation and are more accurate in most realistic situations. EKF can estimate the model channel parameters and predict states in state-space.


The recommendation is now part of our daily life. As the years pass by, companies collect more and more information about the users of their platforms. One question which could arise is: are the data collected useful for better predictions? In this paper, we investigate the performance impact on adding geographical positions on the performance of the prediction of users' behavior using an existing diffusion-based recommender system. We show how we can improve the accuracy of the diffusion algorithm using the geographical position of users. The accuracy of the improved algorithm is compared with the state of art similar recommender algorithms. Moreover, we design a general framework to infer the position location of users based on the position of their activities.


Using one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last public pronouncements as a foundation, we argue that access to public transportation is an important civil right in the United States and that public transportation continues to have a direct bearing on economic opportunities of poor people of color as well as their general right to the city and its many spaces and place-based resources. Almost fifty years since King's assassination, public transportation systems also continue to be important arenas for reinforcing but also challenging racism and discrimination. This paper, written by geographers and a community activist, connects the broader African American experience to a critical understanding of the racialized politics of mobility. Through a case study of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we argue that a contemporary challenge facing many communities is not just one of getting equitable access to public transportation or planning transport in a more opportunity-producing way, but the contemporary situation is even more dire as activists fight simply to keep public transportation a reality in cities across the United States.


Abstract Vocational education and training outcomes for Indigenous Australians have remained below expectations for some time. Implementation of Indigenous Standpoint Theory (IST) presents the opportunity to further enhance Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous people in Australia. This paper briefly discusses this theory, the concept of Indigenous knowledge and its integration to enhance Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous learners. It presents a case study on the experiences and challenges of a non-Indigenous Technical and Further Education (TAFE) teacher who has been working with Indigenous learners and communities in regional Queensland for over eight years. The paper highlights issues and challenges and identifies three binaries in integrating this theory to improve outcomes for Indigenous learners and their communities.


The southern Baltic Sea in northeastern Europe has been described as one of the most important areas for seabirds in the Western Palaearctic, based on extraordinary high numbers of birds occurring in the area particularly during the winter half-year. Most studies, however, only comprise information about the distribution of birds, while the factors and mechanisms causing the observed distribution patterns are only seldom addressed. Prey distribution and abundance and foraging strategies are certainly the most decisive factors determining the distribution and habitat choice of seabirds at sea, but diet preferences are unknown for many species. However, an extensive understanding of the functionality between seabirds and their marine environment is essential not only to be able to assess natural changes in numbers and distribution, but to evaluate the risks posed by anthropogenic activities as human pressure on marine ecosystems has increased enormously over the last decades. This thesis overcomes the lack of comprehensive knowledge about the ecology of birds in the brackish environment of the southern Baltic Sea and provides basic information on bird-habitat-relationships, on interspecific interactions and on diet preferences of selected species. Furthermore, set net fisheries as a particularly high threat to birds in the southern Baltic Sea are exemplarily outlined in this thesis. The methods to address the study objectives comprise ship-based Seabirds at Sea surveys to reveal spatial and temporal distribution patterns, mathematical modelling to analyse these patterns with regard to habitat parameters and species' interactions, analyses of stomach contents for dietary studies and the development of an approach to evaluate the conflict between birds and human impacts.

The avifauna of the brackish Baltic Sea strongly differs from truly marine systems: while pelagic species are only represented by auks, the bird community is dominated by species that breed in (arctic) freshwater habitats and occur in the southern Baltic Sea only during winter and migration. The different species are not evenly distributed, but show clear preferences for certain areas and habitats, depending on their diet and foraging strategies. Birds feeding on or near the sea bottom, like sea ducks and grebes, are restricted to areas with low water depth and, according to the substrate preference of their main prey species, occur in waters over specific bottom sediment types. Species that mainly forage on pelagic fishes, like auks, are not restricted to shallow waters but also occur in deeper offshore areas. Surface feeding species are mainly represented by gulls. Especially the large Larus-species have strongly adapted to the use of discards and offal from fishing vessels and distribution patterns are influenced by the occurrence of human fishing activities accordingly.
Detailed ecological questions are addressed in two case studies on grebes that are represented in the study area by three species and more than 10 000 wintering birds. The habitat choice of Slavonian Grebes is influenced by water depth and bottom sediment type: they prefer shallow waters of 4 to 14 m depth and occur only over sandy sediments. Both habitat factors can be linked to diet preferences: while the diving depth of endothermic animals is limited due to energetic constraints and thermoregulation, sediment type is regarded to be a proxy for food choice. The diet of Slavonian Grebes mainly consists of gobies that frequently occur over sandy bottom substrates. Great Crested and Red-necked Grebes prefer waters up to 26 m and 30 m, respectively. Within the areas suitable with regard to water depth, the three grebe species exhibit distinctive distribution patterns with only low spatial overlap. Furthermore, with increasing abundance of one grebe species, the abundance of the others significantly decreases. As the diet of the three grebe species differs only slightly, they seem to enable coexistence by spatial segregation rather than by ecological separation via different dietary niches. This indicates that interspecific competition, well known to influence seabird communities during the breeding season, can also act as structuring mechanism in densely populated wintering areas.

The most prominent threat to the highly abundant diving bird species are set net fisheries, extensively carried out in the southern Baltic Sea and leading to the entanglement and drowning of birds foraging underwater. Two indices are developed to overcome the lack of comprehensive knowledge on bird bycatch: a spatial overlap approach indicates the potential of conflict for diving birds in relation to set net fisheries, based on data of bird abundance and fishing activities, while a vulnerability index based on relative bird abundance indicates the maximum susceptibility of birds towards drowning mortality. Vulnerability and potential conflict exhibit spatial and temporal variations and are particularly high in coastal areas and on shallow offshore grounds during winter and spring. Large areas of the German Baltic Sea have been designated as protected areas and the implementation of management objectives is currently under process. The presented approach involving an improved understanding of the spatio-temporal occurrence of potential bycatch events and the assessment of bird vulnerability towards the impact provides a valuable tool for such management purposes.

By addressing various aspects of the ecology of birds at sea, this thesis fills considerable gaps in the knowledge about one of the most important areas for seabirds and waterbirds in the Western Palaearctic. It provides basic information on the relationship between birds and their biological and physical environment, which is fundamental to evaluate the consequences of human impacts and to set up appropriate conservation measures.


Carbon nanomaterials, especially graphene, are promising due to their abundance and the possibility to exploit them in lightweight, flexible, and wearable electronics enabling paradigms such as the Internet of Things. However, conventional methods to synthesize and integrate graphene into functional materials and flexible devices are either hazardous, time demanding, or excessively energy-consuming. To overcome these issues, here we propose a new concept based on the laser processing of single-layer diazonium-functionalized graphene. This is a safe, inexpensive, and environmentally-friendly method making it a competitive alternative for graphene-device fabrication. Flexible chemiresistors exhibit sensitivity for breath (water vapor and CO2) and ethanol detection up to 1500% higher than laser-reduced graphene oxide devices. We attribute this enhanced sensitivity to an optimal balance between structural defects and electrical conductivity. Flexible electronic circuits demonstrate a superb resilience against scratching and high current stability up to 98% with durability against 180° bending cycles for continuous operation of several weeks. This work can impact biomedical technology and electronics where tunable electrical conductivity, sensitivity, and mechanical stability are of uttermost importance.


Abstract This paper deals first with the formulation of a three-dimensional numerical model intended to determine the spatial and temporal evolution of the oceanic circulation in coastal zones under the effects of various oceanic and meteorological constraints. Simulations are based on the Mobeehdycs model which was developed through collaborative work of several laboratories. Then, the paper presents the results of the application of the model to the continental shelf of French Guiana under academic but realistic climatic conditions. The application required the adaptation of the model and the use of appropriate techniques for solving the equations accounting for the peculiarities of the local constraints. The application is of importance as, because of the lack of systematic observations, the current, salinity and temperature fields at the site are poorly known. A better knowledge of these fields is recognized as of fundamental interest for a characterization of the site from the biological and the ecological viewpoints. The results clearly show the effects of the external forcing (wind and rivers) on the fields evolution, at the surface and with respect to the depth. The time scales of these evolutions as well as their mutual influence are identified. Finally, the results agree, at least qualitatively with some of the few observational results available at present.


*Suresh Ramanathan is Assistant Professor of Marketing and Kilts Faculty Fellow at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, 1101 East 58 Street, Chicago IL 60637; phone: 773-834-8689, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com. Geeta Menon is Professor of Marketing and Harold MacDowell Faculty Fellow at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, 44 West 4 Street, Suite #9-70, New York, New York 10012; phone: 212998-0513, fax: 212-995-4006, e-mail: email@example.com. This article is based on the first author's dissertation under the supervision of the second. It was partially funded by the 2001 SCP-Sheth Dissertation Proposal Award won by the first author, as well as by the Beatrice Foods Co. Faculty Research Fund at the Graduate School of Business, the University of Chicago.


An experimental study of the acoustic noise emitted from an inverter-driven doubly salient variable-reluctance motor (VRM) is presented. A list of possible noise sources is given. Through a series of experiments, all but one source is eliminated as being important, and the remaining source is shown to be dominant. The dominant noise source is the ovalizing deformation of the stator due to its radial magnetic attraction to the rotor. The emitted noise is particularly strong when the frequency of deformation coincides with that of a natural mechanical resonance of the stator. Several methods of reducing acoustic noise emission are studied. One successful method is the introduction of dither into the control of the motor in order to spread the spectrum of noise excitation and reduce its coupling to the mechanical resonance of the stator. >


Two cases of massive hemoperitoneum secondary to spontaneous rupture of hepatic metastases are presented. This devastating complication of hepatic malignant disease is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. However, the diagnosis should be considered in patients with known malignant disease who present with unexplained blood loss, shock, or signs consistent with an acute surgical abdomen. The presence of fever and leukocy‐tosis with these signs and symptoms may also be part of the clinical picture. Treatment by hepatic resection is never curative. Review of the literature indicates that local control of the bleeding site by suture ligature, packing with topical hemostatic agents, or hepatic artery ligation offers the best chances of obtaining hemorrhage control and some degree of palliation in these desperately ill patients.


Abstract
Background: There is growing evidence that the numbers of babies being removed at birth, here in the UK is increasing and that the presence of domestic violence, drug misuse and mental ill-health are all contributory factors. Evidence is however lacking regarding the mothers experience and the impact of such removal. There also lacks evidence regarding the midwifery profession involvement, practitioners experience and possible strategies of amelioration for women and professional education needs of midwives, for this challenging aspect of contemporary midwifery practice.
Methods: Four mothers and eight midwives were recruited to the study. Narrative inquiry incorporating oral and photo-elicitation was used to collect the data, with mothers being interviewed face to face and midwives taking part via focus groups. Pre-existing analytical frameworks did not fit the study ambition and objectives leading to the creation of one to identify patterns, commonalities, as well as the contrasts and relationships across the data.
Results: The outcome of the analytical process enabled the reframing of the data to be shared via two composite narratives, one for the mothers and one for the midwives, each presenting the participant's experiences in a coherent and meaningful way. It also enabled analysis across the mothers' and midwives' narratives and the reporting of interconnected themes. Included in the results is emergent consideration of a model of grief for women who have their babies removed at birth. Reflection on midwifery care models and the educational needs and support for midwives. Plus the recognition that mothers whose babies may be removed at birth are vulnerable themselves and currently may have unmet safeguarding needs, which needs addressing.
Conclusions: This study has contributed to our collective understanding of mothers' and midwives' experience of babies being removed at birth. This narrative understanding provides valuable insight into a topic that has previously received minimal research attention within a changing social landscape, and evidence to guide and inform midwifery practice. This evidence has potential to inform and educate midwives in preparation for and in their continuing professional practice. It also provides a platform for further research and development in three areas. The process of grief for women who have their babies removed and how this may inform further life choices, care needs requires further exploration to enable understanding and guide services and practice. Midwifery models of care that enable midwives to focus on the dyad of mother and baby who are both vulnerable, may have safeguarding needs, rather than privileging one at the detriment of the other. Thirdly the dissemination of the creative analytical process of reviewing verbal and visual data linked to the use of narrative methodology.


First developed in the mid 1980s, organic transistors immediately raised the prospect of using cheap, flexible and lightweight plastic for "smart cards" and other throw-away memory devices, or as the array of switches that control the light emission from each picture element in conventional laptop computer displays. But the devices have never really made it out of the lab because of disappointing processing speeds and because they leaked current when turned off. New research, however, has progressed on both of these fronts and the latest organic transistors virtually match the speed and low-loss characteristics of amorphous silicon devices.


Trapping of bark- and wood-infesting insects in 2015 and 2016 at multiple locations on Drummond Island in northern Lake Huron, using baited multi-funnel traps, yielded 4 species of Buprestidae, 24 Cerambycidae, and 4 Siricidae. In 2015, all funnel traps were baited with the plant volatiles α-pinene, ethanol, and cis-3-hexenol, and were either black or green in color, and placed either at heights similar to the lower canopy of nearby trees (4-5 m) or at 1-2 m above groundline. In 2016, all traps were green, hung at 1-2 m above groundline, and baited with the cerambycid pheromones fuscumol acetate, monochamol, and syn-(2,3)-hexanediol. In 2015, 29 species of Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Siricidae were captured, compared with 9 cerambycids in 2016. The original target insect, emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), an invasive pest from Asia, was not trapped in either year.


In the present and accompanying papers we explicitly construct the on-shell supersymmetric component actions for 3-branes moving in D = 6 and D = 8 within the nonlinear realizations framework. In the first paper we apply our scheme to construct the action of supersymmetric 3-brane in D = 6. It turns out that all ingredients entering the component action can be obtained almost algorithmically by using the nonlinear realizations approach. Within this approach, properly adapted to the construction of the on-shell component actions, we pay much attention to broken supersymmetry. Doing so, we were able to write the action in terms of purely geometric objects (vielbeins and covariant derivatives of the physical bosonic components), covariant with respect to broken supersymmetry. It turns out that all terms of the higher orders in the fermions are hidden inside these covariant derivatives and vielbeins. Moreover, the main part of the component action just mimics its bosonic cousin in which the ordinary space–time derivatives and the bosonic worldvolume are replaced by their covariant supersymmetric analogs. The Wess–Zumino term in the action, which does not exist in the bosonic case, can be also easily constructed in terms of reduced Cartan forms. Keeping the broken supersymmetry almost explicit, one may write the ansatz for the component action, fully defined up to two constant parameters. The role of the unbroken supersymmetry is just to fix these parameters.


BACKGROUND
The ultrasound-guided block of the axillary nerve may be complicated in cases in which the posterior circumflex humeral artery (PCHA) follows an abnormal course.

OBJECTIVES
To develop a new technique that does not rely on direct visualization of the PCHA or the axillary nerve, and to compare interfascial injection and conventional perivascular injection for a block of the axillary nerve.

STUDY DESIGN
A prospective randomized study.

SETTING
An interventional pain-management practice in a university hospital.

METHODS
A total of 56 patients received ultrasound-guided block of the axillary nerve with either interfascial injection (IF Group) or perivascular injection with nerve stimulation (PV Group). The primary outcome was procedure duration, defined as the time interval from when the transducer contacted the skin to when the needle was removed from the skin.

RESULTS
The mean procedure time was significantly shorter in the IF Group than in the PV Group (64 seconds [SD 28.3] vs. 135 seconds [50.3], difference of -71.4 seconds; 95% confidence interval, -93.2 to -49.5) (P < 0.001). There were no differences in secondary outcomes, including the quality of blocks, between the 2 groups.

LIMITATIONS
The practitioner was not blinded to the group to which the patients belonged.

CONCLUSIONS
Ultrasound-guided block of the axillary nerve with interfascial injection can be performed without placing the needle near the PCHA.

KEY WORDS
Block of axillary nerve, ultrasound-guided block, posterior circumflex humeral artery, interfascial injection.


Abstract. The zonal structure of radar backscatter plumes associated with Equatorial Spread F (ESF), probably modulated by atmospheric gravity waves, has been investigated with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) in West Sumatra, Indonesia (0.20° S, 100.32° E; dip latitude 10.1° S) and the FM-CW ionospheric sounders on the same magnetic meridian as the EAR. The occurrence locations and zonal distances of the ESF plumes were determined with multi-beam observations with the EAR. The ESF plumes drifted eastward while keeping distances of several hundred to a thousand kilometers. Comparing the occurrence of the plumes and the F-layer uplift measured by the FM-CW sounders, plumes were initiated within the scanned area around sunset only, when the F-layer altitude rapidly increased. Therefore, the PreReversal Enhancement (PRE) is considered as having a zonal variation with the scales mentioned above, and this variation causes day-to-day variability, which has been studied for a long time. Modulation of the underlying E-region conductivity by gravity waves, which causes inhomogeneous sporadic-E layers, for example, is a likely mechanism to determine the scale of the PRE.


In the last two decades, total (pure) alcohol consumption in Australia has declined by about 31% and currently it is at the same level as it was in the 1950s. Australians consumed about 10 litres of pure alcohol per person in 1982 and now the level has declined to about 7 litres of pure alcohol per person. During the last four decades, per capita beer consumption has reached a peak of 140 litres in 1975 and has fallen to a low 93 litres in 1999; wine consumption has increased four-fold while spirits consumption has stayed around the same level. This paper, using the Australian consumption data for beer, wine and spirits for the period 1956–1999, aims to explain the change in consumption patterns of beer, wine and spirits by considering the effects due to changes in economic and demographic factors. The results show that while income and prices significantly influence the consumption patterns of alcohol, the increasing Australian elderly population also plays an important role.


This paper compares the German Resultativconstruction and the Chinese ba-construction and reveals their similarities in syntactic, semantic properties, argument structure and cognitive conception. Both the constructions require the transitivity and activity of the primary verb, yet in different ways: the transitivity of the German verb is realized through the four cases of the noun while that of the Chinese verb is achieved by the use of the particle ba. Also, the extension and change in the argument structure of the primary verb which is caused by the introduction of the secondary predicate exist in both constructions. Therefore, we can say the two constructions share the same cognitive basis. Finally, the paper tries to explain the two constructions in cognitive perspective through perception in time and space and claims that both constructions are projected and developed from move-imageschema (start-path-goal schema). When they are constructed, they are confined by the agent predicate and the theme predicate. The primary predicate and the secondary resultative predicate must be connected by a time and causative relation. These similarities show that people fundamentally share the same principle in their perception and cognition of the world and thus share the same principle in organizing information while constructing similar syntactic structures.


Chest x-ray and plain abdominal radiography are widely used in the daily practice of the emergency physician. The concept of « Choosing Wisely » implies a more efficient medicine that encourages, among other things, the avoidance of investigations that do not have a significant impact on the therapeutic management of patient. In this context, indications for these two imaging examinations were reviewed, whether in the context of a consultation in the emergency department, a hospital admission or a preoperative check-up.


Abstract  The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacquin, is an allogamous and monoecious plant that is mainly pollinated by insects such as Mystrops costaricensis Gillogly (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) and Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). To determine the relationship between inflorescences and pollinators as well as the relationship between pollinators and bunch components, 858 palms, divided equally between two plots planting with cultivars tenera and dura of E. guineensis, were monitored every 2 weeks over 1 yr. Male inflorescences (MIs) and female inflorescences (FIs) at anthesis, and pollinators collected from the inflorescences, were recorded at each sampling. Bunch components and the amount of rainfall during the study period also were recorded. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlations and linear regression. Significant positive correlations of the total number of MIs with the total number of pollinators were found in both cultivars (ρ = 0.72, P < 0.0001, n = 24 in cultivar tenera; ρ = 0.65, P = 0.0003, n = 26 in cultivar dura). The number of pollinators were linearly related with number of MIs in both cultivars (F = 0.002; r2 = 0.50 in cultivar tenera; F = 0.0005; r2 = 0.40 in cultivar dura). For both cultivars, we found significant negative correlations of the MIs and FIs with the rainfall recorded between 21 and 24 mo before anthesis. The number of MIs and the amount of rainfall were directly related to the number of pollinators. There was an inverse relationship of the inflorescences with the rainfall recorded between 21 and 24 mo before anthesis.


Abstract. Significance: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) enables the measurement of brain activity noninvasively. Optical neuroimaging with fNIRS has been shown to be reproducible on the group level and hence is an excellent research tool, but the reproducibility on the single-subject level is still insufficient, challenging the use for clinical applications. Aim: We investigated the effect of short-channel regression (SCR) as an approach to obtain fNIRS measurements with higher reproducibility on a single-subject level. SCR simultaneously considers contributions from long- and short-separation channels and removes confounding physiological changes through the regression of the short-separation channel information. Approach: We performed a test-retest study with a hand grasping task in 15 healthy subjects using a wearable fNIRS device, optoHIVE. Relevant brain regions were localized with transcranial magnetic stimulation to ensure correct placement of the optodes. Reproducibility was assessed by intraclass correlation, correlation analysis, mixed effects modeling, and classification accuracy of the hand grasping task. Further, we characterized the influence of SCR on reproducibility. Results: We found a high reproducibility of fNIRS measurements on a single-subject level (ICCsingle  =  0.81 and correlation r  =  0.81). SCR increased the reproducibility from 0.64 to 0.81 (ICCsingle) but did not affect classification (85% overall accuracy). Significant intersubject variability in the reproducibility was observed and was explained by Mayer wave oscillations and low raw signal strength. The raw signal-to-noise ratio (threshold at 40 dB) allowed for distinguishing between persons with weak and strong activations. Conclusions: We report, for the first time, that fNIRS measurements are reproducible on a single-subject level using our optoHIVE fNIRS system and that SCR improves reproducibility. In addition, we give a benchmark to easily assess the ability of a subject to elicit sufficiently strong hemodynamic responses. With these insights, we pave the way for the reliable use of fNIRS neuroimaging in single subjects for neuroscientific research and clinical applications.


Numerous studies have suggested the importance of bank vegetation as a control of channel patterns; however, to date there is no conclusive evidence that vegetation does represent a significant control. An analytical model is developed in order to assess the influence of bank vegetation on channel patterns of alluvial gravel‐bed rivers. Three channel types are considered: meandering, wandering, and braided. Bank vegetation effects are quantified in terms of a friction angle ϕ′. A new theoretical meandering‐braiding transition criterion is formulated that includes ϕ′, median grain diameter D50, and bank‐full discharge Q. The theoretical relation is tested against field data from 137 rivers and successfully discriminates between meandering and braided rivers. Wandering rivers show greater scatter. It is concluded that bank vegetation, as expressed in terms of ϕ′, does exert significant and quantifiable control on alluvial channel patterns. A simple planform stability diagram is developed to determine the sensitivity of gravel‐bed rivers to changes in bank vegetation.


PurposeThis paper is to examine the direct relationship between perceived corporate citizenship (CC) and purchase intention (PI). This study also tests the mediating role of brand trust (BT), consumer–brand identification (CBI) and the moderating effect of personal norms by a contribution of social exchange theory, brand relationship theory and social cognitive theory (SCT).Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research was carried out by means of a survey with a sample of 411 regular consumers who work for national retail brands, where the unit of analysis was an individual. The study analysed the data to test the research hypotheses using SPSS and Smart PLS.FindingsThis study found a significant positive impact of perceived CC on purchase intention (direct path), and furthermore, a partial mediation was shown for the indirect path. In addition, personal norms have a significant impact on the relationships between perceived CC on purchase intention, brand trust on purchase intention and CBI on purchase intention.Practical implicationsThis study provides useful insights for managers to implement CC strategies to enhance consumer purchase intention and brand relationship in the retail sector within the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Originality/valueThe current study is perhaps the first to investigate the impact of perceived CC on purchase intention across the BT, CBI and personal norms in the retail industry, period of COVID-19 pandemic. The study also makes some important theoretical contributions and previously not shed light on customer behaviour in this context.


We studied the renal effects of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor sodium meclofenamate (M) (5 mg/kg, iv) in the pentobarbital-anesthetized dog that had been maintained on an elevated (100 meq/day) or on a reduced (< meq/day) sodium intake, and during the administration of antiotensin II in the sodium-replete dog, or the angiotensin receptor blocker [Sar1-Ala8]angiotensin II in the sodium-deprived dog. In the sodium-replete dog, M did not affect mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), renal blood flow (RBF), glomerular filtration rate, (GFR), or urine volume (V), but reduced the urinary excretion of sodium (UNaV) by 47%, and of immunoreactive PGE2 (iPGE2) by 90%. However, in the sodium-replete dog during angiotensin II infusion (3 ng . kg-1 . min-1, iv), M reduced RBF by 35%, GFR by 24%, V by 72%, and iPGE2 by 94%. Similarly, in the sodium-deprived dog M reduced RBF by 34%, GFR by 28%, and iPGE2 excretion by 89%. However, M did not affect RBF or GFR in the sodium-deprived dog during infusion of [Sar1-Ala8]angiotensin II (6 microgram . kg-1 . min-1, iv), although iPGE2 excretion was reduced by 84%. This study demonstrates that the effects of M on renal hemodynamics in the dog vary with the state of sodium balance and suggests that a prostaglandin(s) contributes to maintenance of renal blood flow during activation of the renin-angiotensin system.


The recent introduction and spread of African swine fever (ASF) into Europe and Asia has shown that an integrated, multidisciplinary effort is needed to tackle this disease and the complex challenges it poses. This book presents practical guidelines on surveillance for detection of ASF virus, how to prevent outbreaks in the domestic pig sector through biosecurity and cleaning and disinfection routines, including in backyard holdings, and how to control and eradicate this disease in wild boar. Information on pathological lesions and diagnostic practices are provided to support practitioners. Virus infection mechanisms and the consequent host immune response are reported together with an overview on the status of vaccine and treatment development. Information on ASF epidemiology and the European wild boar and domestic pig populations is presented to assist breeders, wildlife managers and policy makers in designing practices aimed at preventing, or controlling and eradicating, this disease. The book provides currently available knowledge in a single place, and identifies knowledge gaps, prompting policy makers and funding bodies to support the scientific community in investigating the gaps.


The development of sensitive and selective detection methods for hydroquinone (HQ), a phenolic organic compound with high toxicity and low degradability, is of extraordinary importance. In this work, a fluorescent sensor based on functionalized luminescent metal-organic frameworks (LMOFs) was designed and applied for the ratiometric fluorescence sensing of HQ. The sensor was prepared by the functionalization of IRMOF-3 with rhodamine B (RhB), possessing dual-emission fluorescence properties. After the addition of HQ, the blue fluorescence of the IRMOF-3 framework was gradually weakened, while the red fluorescence of RhB remained unchanged, resulting in the continuous fluorescence change of RhB@IRMOF-3 with HQ concentrations. The sensing mechanism demonstrates that HQ changes the fluorescence of the sensor via electron transfer between benzoquinone and RhB@IRMOF-3. The RhB@IRMOF-3 sensor has the advantages of a wide linear range, quick response speed, and strong specificity for HQ detection. This work is the first attempt focusing on functionalized LMOFs for HQ fluorescence detection, which has superb potential for the application to real environmental water samples.


Quantifying the main sources delivering harmful sediment loads to river systems is required to
improve our knowledge of soil erosion processes. Among these potential sources, quantifying the
contributions of surface (e.g. cultivated topsoil) and subsurface (e.g. channel bank, gully, landslide)
material to sediment transiting river systems is of particular interest. Radiocesium ($^{137}$Cs) that was
emitted during the atmospheric bomb tests that took mainly place in the 1960s and nuclear
accidents provides an effective tracer to distinguish between topsoil material exposed to the
fallout and subsoil sheltered from this fallout. A global synthesis of research articles (n=123) that
used radiocesium to fingerprint sediment sources indicated that the largest number of
publications ($\sim$55% of the total) were found in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United
States. On the contrary, very few studies ($\sim$9% of the total) were published for catchments located
in Africa or South America. Given the low proportion of fallout recorded in regions located
between 0-20°N and 0-20°S, the potential of this technique for quantifying sediment source
contributions may be limited in this part of the world. A similar conclusion may be drawn for
applying this method in agricultural areas exposed to several soil erosion during the last several
decades, such as Chinese Loess Plateau and South Africa. Overall, 94% of studies incorporating
$^{137}$Cs as a potential tracer included this property in mixing models. In the future, given the
continuous decay of the initial radiocesium fallout that peaked in the 1960s, the access to ultra-low
background gamma-ray spectrometry facilities will be increasingly necessary to measure this
important sediment tracing property. In addition, more research should be devoted to develop
surrogate tracers providing discrimination between surface and subsurface material. Based on
this extensive study review, researchers are also recommended to systematically include basic
catchment information, details on the soil/sediment sampling design and access to raw data to
facilitate the dissemination of this information among the communities of scientists and
catchment managers.


OBJECTIVE
To observe autophagy induced by starvation in non-small cell lung cancer A459 and 95D cells.

METHODS
A549 and 95D cells in logarithmic growth in 1640 medium were cultured in Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 h. Autophagosome formation in the cell culture was observed by MDC fluorescent staining, and the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin1 in the cells were detected using Western blotting.

RESULTS
Compared with the control cells, the cells with prolonged starvation showed increased MDC-positive cells and autophagosome formation. The expression of Beclin-1 and the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio also increased as the starvation prolonged, reaching the peak levels at 3 h and 4 h, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Autophagy can be induced by starvation in A549 and 95D cells in correlation with the expression of autophagy-related proteins LC3 and Beclin-1. These cell models of nutritional deficiency-induced autophagy may allow for a better understanding of the role of autophagy in the development of non-small cell lung cancer.


Mutual information is introduced as an electron correlation measure and examined for isoelectronic series and neutral atoms. We show that it possesses the required characteristics of a correlation measure and is superior to the behavior of the radial correlation coefficient in the neon series. A local mutual information, and related local quantities, are used to examine the local contributions to Fermi correlation, and to demonstrate and to interpret the intimate relationship between correlation and localization.


An FPGA implementation of WCDMA-RAKE receiver architecture 1 2 Rakesh Kr. Jha, Mamta Sood Dept. BIST Bhopal, (M.P.) India EC Dept., TIT College, Bhopal, (M.P.) India This paper deals with the WCDMA Rake-receiver architecture for 3G communications. Third generation mobile communication is vastly advanced and emerging technology in the field of wireless communication. Third generation communication has advanced facilities like multimedia accessing, internet service, higher capacity of data rates. The main aim of 3G mobile communication is to implement truly anybody at any place to communicate with any one at any time. The project focuses on the RAKE receiver part of the WCDMA receiver. The main principle of RAKE receiver is that they exploit multipath propagation by receiving the multipath components of the transmitted signal separately and combining their energies. The RAKE receiver is used to tackle the problems of time dispersion (echoes) caused by multipath propagation in mobile communication. RAKE receiver has four fingers and all the energies of four fingers are combined in a single block


Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) analysis have been carried out at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory on some Donor-Bridge-Acceptor (D-B-A) molecules for their electrical rectification behavior. The donor-acceptor-heterocyclics (D/A-heterocyclics) (namely thiophene, furan and pyrrole rings) are attached as donor and acceptors to the two ends of cumulenic bridge. FMO analysis indicates that the molecules having even number of double bonds in the bridge, possess a complete localization of the MOs i.e., the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) are localized on the donor and the acceptor side of the molecules respectively, and LUMO+1 is localized on the donor side, where as in case of odd number of double bonds in the bridge, both the HOMO and LUMOs are delocalized all over the molecule. The Potential Drop (PD) in the former case decreases as the number of double bonds increases in the bridge and due to the presence of the mutually orthogonal and noninteracting π-clouds, they can act as molecular rectifiers. For the molecules with the odd number of double bonds due to the low-lying LUMO delocalized all over the molecule, may find application as molecular wires in molecular electronics circuits.


A fully integrated 0.18-µm CMOS receiver front-end for UWB system is implemented. This receiver enables 11 bands of operation covering 3.1 to 10.6-GHz with embedding a tunable notch filter to eliminate interferer at 5-GHz wireless local area network (WLAN). The receiver consists of a zero-IF receive chain and linearity specification is discussed. It is composed of a single-ended low noise amplifier (LNA), a down-conversion mixer, a low pass filter (LPF), and a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) with IO buffer. The LNA employs a common-gate topology of 1st stage with dual-resonant loads, a cascode amplifier of 2nd stage for mid-band resonance and tunable notch filter. The down-conversion mixer adopts single-balanced architecture with LO cancellation. The LPF is implemented based on active RC topology, also implements a 4-stage programmable gain amplifier. The receiver dissipates 49.3 mA from 1.8 V power supply. The average conversion gain of receiver IC is 73.5 dB and system noise figure is 8.4 dB. Input P1dB increase from −36.8 dBm at 4-GHz to −30.5 dBm at 10.3-GHz. The attenuation is 8.5 dB achieved in interference rejection band at 5.2-GHz. It occupies an area of 0.98 mm × 3.3 mm including the bondpads.


Judicious placement of inductive fault current limiters (IFCLs) in isolated power systems can increase the robustness of generator synchronization during and after short-circuit faults, while also improving continuity of power to the system loads. Our work defines optimal placements of IFCLs so as to protect the synchronization of multiple generators, and it defines the proper trip settings for the IFCLs so that they coordinate well with each other, and with the system's circuit breakers. Our work considers both radial and ring bus structures, but not mesh structures. The IFCL placement technique is demonstrated in a power network containing four buses in a ring arrangement. The system receives power from two main turbo-generators (36 MW each) and two auxiliary turbo-generators (4 MW each). In this system, the optimal locations for the IFCLs were found to be near the bus ties of the two larger generators. Further, the placement strategy for locating IFCLs in a power system with ring structure is developed. For this arrangement, fault currents were limited for all fault conditions while assuring maximum availability of power to the loads. Coordination between the IFCLs and the system circuit breakers is analyzed for IFCLs in these locations, and verified by simulation results.


We study several aspects of the study of Ind-Banach modules over Banach rings thereby synthesizing some aspects of homological algebra and functional analysis. This includes a study of nuclear modules and of modules which are flat with respect to the projective tensor product. We also study metrizable and Frechet Ind-Banach modules. We give explicit descriptions of projective limits of Banach rings as ind-objects. We study exactness properties of projective tensor product with respect to kernels and countable products. As applications, we describe a theory of quasi-coherent modules in Banach algebraic geometry. We prove descent theorems for quasi-coherent modules in various analytic and arithmetic contexts.


Executive function (EF) has rarely been considered for adolescents' daily school outcomes or in conjunction with ethnic/racial discrimination. Using 2-week, daily data from 137 ethnic/racial minority adolescents (Mage = 14.56; 53% female; 56% Black, 19% Latinx, 7% Asian, 7% Native, 12% other [e.g., multiracial]) in the Midwest United States, this study examined same-day, within-person associations between EF and school engagement (controlling for prior-day engagement), and how these associations varied by adolescents' daily experiences of ethnic/racial discrimination. Two EF components, inhibitory control and working memory, were associated with higher levels of school engagement on the same day, only on days when adolescents reported lower than their typical levels of discrimination. An alternative, indirect effect (i.e., discrimination compromised same-day school engagement via EF) was not observed. Findings highlight novel mechanisms through which discrimination may contribute to educational disparities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


Background There currently is no field test available for measuring maximal exercise capacity in people with stroke. Objective To determine the feasibility, reproducibility and validity of the Shuttle Test (ST) to measure exercise capacity in people with stroke. Design Longitudinal study design. Setting Rehabilitation department, day care centres from a nursing home and private practices specialized in neuro rehabilitation. Subjects People with subacute or chronic stroke. Interventions A standardized protocol was used to determine feasibility, reproducibility and validity of the 10-meter Shuttle Test (10mST). Main measures Number of shuttles completed, 1stVentilatory Threshold (1stVT). Results The associations of the number of shuttles completed and cardiopulmonary capacity as measured with a portable gas analyser were r > 0.7, confirming good convergent validity in subacute and chronic people with stroke. Criterion validity, however, indicates it is not a valid test for measuring maximal cardiopulmonary capacity (VO2max). Only 60% of participants were able to reach the 1stVT. Higher cardiopulmonary capacity and a higher total score of the lower extremity Motricity Index contributed significantly to a higher number of shuttles walked (p = 0.001). Conclusions The Shuttle Test may be a safe and useful exercise test for people after stroke, but may not be appropriate for use with people who walk slower than 2 km/h or 0.56 m/s.


Postoperative vision loss (POVL) is a devastating complication of spine surgery in the prone position that may result in permanent blindness. Prone position is one of the major factors contributing to the development of increased intraocular pressure (IOP), which leads to POVL. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the impact of head inclination on IOP in surgical patients positioned in the prone reverse Trendelenburg position compared to patients in the in the prone horizontal position. The CINHAL, EBSCOhost, Pubmed, Academic search complete, MEDLINE, Google scholar and Research Gate databases were utilized during this systematic review and the PRISMA 27-item checklist and four-phase flow diagram were used as well as the CASP tool for critically analyzing randomized controlled trials. Four studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and these studies were reviewed and analyzed in depth. Cross study analysis revealed that the reverse Trendelenburg position ameliorated increases in IOP in three out of four of the studies and IOP increased over time in three out of four of the studies. Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) may decrease the patient's risk for POVL by maintaining the reverse Trendelenburg position during prone spine surgery and by using a tonometer device for measuring intraocular pressure. By adopting these new practices, CRNAs may provide the highest quality care for their


A silicon microsphere was fabricated inside a fiber forming a hybrid Fabry–Perot microcavity. The large difference in indices and thermal-optic coefficients of the sphere and its silica cladding are exploited for high-sensitivity temperature sensing.


Medium- to high-grade metasedimentary rocks are exposed as isolated domains in mostly metaigneous crystalline rocks of the Chiapas Massif Complex (CMC), which forms the basement of the southern Maya Block, southeastern Mexico. Laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U-Pb isotope analyses on inherited detrital zircon cores show two principal age distributions: (a) Group I, with its highest peak at 500–650 Ma and smaller peaks at ∼380–400 Ma, 1.0–1.2 Ga, 1.5–2.0 Ga, and 2.6–3.1 Ga, and (b) Group II, with its highest peak at 1.0–1.2 Ga, a minor peak at 1.5–1.6 Ga (or ∼1.0-Ga zircon cores only), and a lack of 500–650-Ma zircons. The cores are commonly surrounded by metamorphic or anatectic overgrowths, and some zircon ages were reset by a tectonothermal event at ∼250 Ma. The age distribution of zircon cores from Group I metasediments are similar to detrital zircon ages in Carboniferous-Permian sediments (Santa Rosa Formation) in southeastern Chiapas, which were shed mostly from continental crust dominated by Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic cycles. Group II metasediments have different sources, principally from Grenville orogens, such as the Oaxacan Complex, and early mid-Proterozoic sources, such as the Rio Negro–Juruena Province of western Amazonia. The lowest stratigraphic unit in the CMC (the Jocote Unit) is intruded by lower Ordovician S-type granite and contains only 1.5–1.6-Ga and older detrital zircons. The protoliths of the CMC can be correlated with Paleozoic strata across the southern Maya Block, and they show parallels with the geologic history and provenance patterns of protoliths from the Acatlán Complex (Mixteca Terrane) of central southern Mexico. The geologic history of the CMC and the Maya Block can be interpreted in terms of tectonothermal events accompanying accretion of the CMC and polarity reversal during formation of the western Pangea margin.


Abstract The hypertrophied Marchigiana is a recently studied genotype that can appear in this population both as homozygous and heterozygous; as a matter of fact it is caused by a single base mutation of the myostatin gene. The mutation is a G to T transversion at nucleotide 874 in exon 3, known as E291X. The homozygous one's show some problems such a low viability, on the contrary heterozygous seem to have a very good performance in meat production. Usually the breeders don't like very much homozygous hypertrophied genotype but they are attracted by the good conformation of the heterozygous. The aim of this study is to compare the performance on meat production of normal (no hypertrophied - N) versus heterozygous (E) calves in order to evaluate if there is some economic convenience in rearing the last one. The genotype identification was performed by a rapid PCR-RFLP test for the myostatin gene (AF320998) using genomic DNA purified from whole blood. The main growth and slaughtering traits were evaluated on 279 animals: 227 normal (186 males and 41 females), 52 heterozygous (47 males and 5 females). The data were processed according to a linear model concerning with the effects of genotype and sex. The net live weights are similar in the males (N: 614.63 vs. E: 614.47 Kg) but different (P=0.01) in the females (N: 447.83 vs. E: 464.40 Kg) because the heterozygous were slaughtered at an older age (N: 15.8 vs. E: 17.0 months). The daily gains are a bit higher in the normal calves, the differences between the two genotypes are more evident (P=0.05) when the live weight are considerated. The dressing percentage on live weight seem to be homogenous (close to 64%) except in the normal males (62.41%); but the more informative dressing percentages on net live weight show better performance (P=0.01) in the heterozygous both in the males (N: 68.85 vs. E: 71.25%) and in the females (N: 68.72 vs. E: 69.14%). All the bones measures (bones, fore and hind shanks, hool, head) are smaller (P=0.05) in the heterozygous showing proportionally a larger quantity of meat in this genotype. Also the entrails and the skin are smaller in the heterozygous; on the contrary in this genotype the tongue is larger confirming the macroglossy already detected in the hypertrophied Marchigiana mainly in the homozygous. The SEUROP evaluation allow to well appreciate the good performance of the heterozygous as a matter of fact these animals have a higher grade of numerically expressed conformation (E: 4.58 vs N: 4.42 in the males and E: 4.00 vs. N: 3.80 in the females) and a lower grade of fatness (E: 2.30 vs. N: 2.63 in the males and E: 2.80 vs. N: 2.98 in the females). The obtained results show that the heterozygous animals have good performances at slaughtering with good car-casses; at the same time doesn't show the negative defects of the homozygous subjects.


From 1954 to 1958, District 65 of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), engaged in several campaigns to organize the new branch department stores opening in the suburbs of New York City. These department stores were a significant aspect of the post-World War Two suburban boom, significantly reshaping commercial space. The organizing drive was also an important, if neglected, part of the economic transformation of the suburbs in the US in the 1950s. Rather than contribute to the union's apathy, suburbanization sparked District 65's largest organizing drive of the decade. In branching out beyond New York City, District 65 adapted its organizing strategies, de-emphasizing its militant past and reaching out to women workers. By and large, District 65's efforts were unsuccessful, due to both challenges posed by the suburbs as well as the larger political and economic context of the US in the 1950s.


Many patients who recover from COVID-19 have symptoms that persist long after the acute phase of the disease has subsided, including fatigue and dyspnea on exertion. There is an unmet need for understanding the diverse cardiac and pulmonary causes of these symptoms and to monitor patients longitudinally. We imaged N=6 subjects with long-haul COVID using both cardiac MRI and hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI and spectroscopy. While cardiac imaging did not reveal structural or functional abnormalities, we observed a wide variety of findings on 129Xe MRI, with subjects who had been hospitalized exhibiting the most pronounced gas exchange impairment.


Wooing, hooking up and spinning stories are not the usual behaviours to describe academics and the ways they make connections with other scholars. These behaviours are now how some academics build relations for research, support and professional development as a part of the way they work in and across academia with social media use. How academics reveal facets of their identity online and use social media speak to ideas about identity and agency in the contemporary university. Academics are using social media in the university and this has risks to both the academy and the academic. Academics are taking on these risks in different ways, publically representing their academic selves and their research, building networks of connections with other scholars and using Twitter to be (non) strategic to benefit their research interests and inquiries. In this paper, we focus on how academics use Twitter to make connections and relations with others. The paper draws on preliminary findings from a study of academics using Twitter that used a modified snowball recruitment method to garner participants. Informal interviews were used to discuss how the academics used Twitter, what images they used to represent and describe themselves. How their academic identity was represented online as branding, strategic or not, and their various relations was a starting point in this analysis. We examine the themes of academics branding and being (non) strategic by the stories they told of relationship building on Twitter. That is wooing, or having conversations on specific topics to make a connection and demonstrate relevance, hooking up, or networking, and spinning stories, or rather enacting professional dialogues. We argue that these behaviours demonstrate how some academics are an example of a new type of 21 st century academic and conclude by suggesting that in doing so they are examples of new ways of being and becoming an academic context.