The rapid growth of veterinary specialty practices has created a number of vexatious ethical issues relevant to veterinary medicine. The preeminent question pertains to "the duty to refer." Do primary care practitioners have such a moral duty? If so, when does this duty arise? Does it pertain in all cases where specialized knowledge is relevant to a disease?

This raises the fundamental question of "Veterinary Ethics" — namely, does the veterinarian ideally have primary obligation to the client/owner or the animal? (1) There are 2 possible ideal types that a veterinarian can aim for — the Garage Mechanic Model or the Pediatrician Model (1). On the Garage Mechanic Model, the practitioner has primary obligation to the animal owner, just as a car's mechanic has primary obligation to the car's owner. On the Pediatrician Model, the veterinarian is like the pediatrician, whose primary moral obligation is to the patient; at best, the owner or parent pays the bills.

Most veterinarians accept the Pediatrician Model, even though society does not as yet stand behind it, as it does with children. This is not surprising; Plato made a similar point over 2000 years ago. A shepherd he says, in his or her role as shepherd, has a primary duty to care for and better the sheep. Although they are paid for this, it is in their capacity as wage earner, which does not trump their primary obligation to the animal (2).


In this paper, a calculation method based on matlab partial differential equations (PDE) tool is proposed to investigate the static characteristics of aerostatic spherical bearings. The Reynolds equation of aerostatic spherical bearings is transformed into a standard elliptic equation. The effects of geometric parameters and operational conditions on the film pressure, bearing film force, and stiffness are studied. The axial and radial eccentricities result in different film pressure distributions; the bearing film force and stiffness are significantly influenced by geometric parameters and operational conditions. The relative optimal parameters are confirmed based on the calculation results. A comparison between the numerical and experimental results is also presented. The highest relative error between the numerical results and the experimental data is 11.3%; the calculation results show good agreements with the experimental data, thus verifying the accuracy of the calculation method used in this paper.


Reaction of 2,3,5,6-tetramethylphenacyl halides with formamide did not produce the expected 4(5)-(2,3,5,6-tetramethylphenyl)imidazole, but 4(5)-(2,3,5,6-tetramethylbenzoyl)imidazole (VII) was isolated as the major product together with 5-(2,3,5,6-tetramethylphenyl)oxazole (III), alpha-formylamino-2,3,5,6-tetramethylacetophenone (IV) and alpha-chloro-beta-amino-vinyl 2,3,5,6-tetramethylphenyl ketone (IX) as by-products. The corresponding mesitylene derivatives gave analogous results, whereas 4(5)-(2-methylphenyl)imidazole was obtained from 2-methylphenacyl bromide as expected according to the Bredereck's reaction. The structure of the isolated compounds were elucidated by element analysis, mass, I.R., U.V. and N.M.R. spectra, and by chemical reactivity.


Nowadays, concerns have much more growing regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) on the public transportation including railway vehicles. Last year Korea Ministry of Environment (ME) set new guideline for public transportation. In this study several factors were analyzed which may affect comfortableness of railway passenger cabin, and we monitored IAQ parameters (PM10, CO, CO₂, VOCs, temperature and humidity) to investigate the present pollution in passenger cabin. In general, the railway air quality was satisfactory. The PM10 and CO₂ level on all passenger cabin were below the new guideline level 1 for PM10 (200 ㎍/㎥) and CO₂ (2,000 ppm). Clustering method was carried out to classify the air polluting pattern of the cabin. As a result, the pollutants could be classified to 4 clusters and the origin of pollution is soil, diesel exhaust gas, abrasion of rail and plume.


Future European missions aspire to bring soil samples from Mars back to Earth. The precise identification of the site from which samples are taken leads to major constraints as to the landing accuracy of the lander. Vision-based absolute navigation now appears to be the most promising navigation method for correcting errors originated from the interplanetary voyage at the point of re-entry. The thesis has consisted in improving the vision-based absolute navigation simulator developed for the landing phase. The image processing and identification algorithms have been based on algorithms implemented in 2012: matching between the characteristic points of the embedded image and the points which come from processing the measured image. The work has been focused on improving the navigation method with the main objective of minimizing the onboard design load and improving the robustness of the navigation system performance. The main tasks to continue the development of the simulator have followed the next steps: - Implementing and validating an iterative algorithm supplying a relative position/attitude in relation to the landing site. - Implementing flexible hybridization, incorporating the level of confidence in the matching carried out. - Studying the problem of the navigation filter initialization for a Martian landing.


1 Redondo P, Aguado L, Marquina M et al. Angiogenic and prothrombotic markers in extensive slow-flow vascular malformations: implications for antiangiogenic ⁄antithrombotic strategies. Br J Dermatol 2010; 162:350–6. 2 Wartiovaara U, Salven P, Mikkola H et al. Peripheral blood platelets express VEGF-C and VEGF which are released during platelet activation. Thromb Haemost 1998; 80:171–5. 3 Banks RE, Forbes MA, Kinsey SE et al. Release of the angiogenic cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from platelets: significance for VEGF measurements and cancer biology. Br J Cancer 1998; 77:956–64. 4 Webb NJ, Bottomley MJ, Watson CJ, Brenchley PE. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is released from platelets during blood clotting: implications for measurement of circulating VEGF levels in clinical disease. Clin Sci (Lond) 1998; 94:395–404. 5 Hormbrey E, Gillespie P, Turner K et al. A critical review of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) analysis in peripheral blood: is the current literature meaningful? Clin Exp Metastasis 2002; 19:651–63. 6 Wynendaele W, Derua R, Hoylaerts MF et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor measured in platelet poor plasma allows optimal separation between cancer patients and volunteers: a key to study an angiogenic marker in vivo? Ann Oncol 1999; 10:965–71.


signs of any abnormality in the central nervous system. The blood-pressure was known to have been within normal limits previously. The patient was put to bed and sedated, but it was later found that she could not be roused; when seen again by her doctor two hours after the first examination she was comatose, with a blood-pressure of 170/100 mm. Hg; the patient was sent to hospital, but died very shortly after admission. Post-mortem examination showed a haemorrhage in the left cerebral hemisphere disrupting the internal capsule and adjacent areas of the left corpus striatum. No other abnormality was found-in particular, no intracranial aneurysms -and no evidence of long-standing hypertension.


Effects of salinity on leaf characters and physiological growth attributes of different 33 rice genotypes were investigated at tillering and booting stages of growth. Salinity affected leaf number, leaf area (LA), leaf area index (LAI) and leaf dry wt. in a number of varieties such as BR 1, BR 18, IR-21015-196-3-1-3, Kalojira at tillering and BR 14, IR-21015-196-3-1-3, Kaloboroi and SR × SP-2-2-2 for most of the characters at booting stages to a higher extent. But Birpala, Canning-7, Zorabati and a few others revealed better performances for leaf characters at both growth stages. At tillering stage, salinity increased and/or did not affect substantially leaf number, LA, LAI and dry wt. in Deshipajam and Borobalamdhan. Similar trend under salinity was also noted in Borobalamdhan, MC-12 and Rashiraj at booting stage. Tolerance indices (TI) for leaf number, LA, LAI and leaf dry wt. were variable, ranged from 30 - 117% of control, but Borobalamdhan, BR 14, Canning-7, Deshipazam, MC-12, Pokkali, Raildhan, Rashiraj, Zorabati and a few others revealed better TI score for these characters at one or another growth stages. For leaf area ratio (LAR), net assimilation rate (NAR) and relative growth rate (RGR) Azobbati, Binasail, Birpala, BR 1, BR 3, BR 9, BR 18, BR 19, Kalojira, Pokkali and Rashiraj revealed higher TI score under stressful condition than others. For most of the leaf growth characters, the number of moderately tolerant (MT) genotypes was higher than that of other tolerance grades.


Non-selectivity and dose-dependent side effects of doxorubicin (DOX), particularly cardio-toxicology as well as multidrug resistance in various tumor cells, have increased the demand for novel formulations with suitable efficiency and safety. Microformulations and nanoformulations have been shown to have satisfactory responses compared with that of conventional formulations. In this review, recent advances alongside the advantages and disadvantages of microformulations and nanoformulations are discussed. Doxil and Caelyx (PEGylated forms) as well as Myocet (non-PEGylated form) are presented as approved liposomal forms by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to increase blood circulation half-life of DOX. Liposomes, micelles, hydrogels, lipid nanoparticles (NPs), polymeric NPs, polymersomes, metal/metal oxide NPs, mesoporous silica NPs, carbon-based NPs, and quantum dots are all major carriers for DOX and discussed accordingly. Considering all extracellular and intracellular conditions of cancer cells is an indispensable affair to obtain promising DOX carriers. Lack of a comprehensive related to drug-resistance cancer cells particularly in metastasis stages is an important hindrance to get acceptable results. Understanding of the drug resistance mechanisms in cancers cells particularly, in metastasis stages, is a critical factor to prepare efficient formulations.


It has been indicated that exposure in the first 3 months of life to cockroach (CR) allergens is associated with repeated wheezing and asthma (1– 3), suggesting that precocious exposure to CR may be involved in the development of early atopic status and infantile wheezing (4). In US and in other countries this is particularly associated with urban and low socio-economic status (5). In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of the CR sensitization and the association with allergic symptoms in a general population of preschool children. All children aged 3– 5 years attending 18 randomly selected nursery schools, located in the urban area of Verona, were considered suitable for the study. Parents filled ISAAC questionnaire (6) and child atopic status was verified by skin prick tests (SPT) using standardized extracts for German cockroach (Blatella germanica) (Stallergens, France) and the common inhalants as well as negative and histamine control (10 mg/ ml) (ALK-Abello , Milan, Italy). Approval by local Ethical Committee and written informed consent by children's parents or guardianswere obtained. A total of 1121 children were screened by both SPT and ISAAC WQ and 18.3% of children presented at least one positive SPT.Only five subjects (0.45%), twomales and three females, ranging in age between 4 and 5 years, were sensitive to CR. Mite, grass, alternaria and cat sensitivities were present, respectively, in 8.0, 7.8, 5.0 and 3.2% of population. CR sensitive children were all sensitive also to other allergens, particularly mites, grasses and alternaria. As results of multiple sensitivities, these five children presented allergic diseases as reported in the WQ. Two subjects presented wheezing, one patient eczema and asthma, and two subjects rhinitis. Totally 169 children (12.1% of the total population) reported wheezing in the last 12 months; three of these children (1.7%) were also SPT positive to CR. Another 236 children (16.8% of the total population) suffered from rhinitis apart from cold in the last 12 months; of these children two (0.8%) were sensitive to CR. Our data disclose the actual poor relevance of CR allergen in the population of our region in comparison with other more common allergens. Different socio-economic conditions may influence the indoor environment and differently drive the allergic sensitization. In our opinion the relevance of new allergens should be continuously verified in each country in order to concentrate the efforts against the real local major allergens. From a clinical point of view we suggest that in our region CR investigation should be reserved only to selected patients.


The clinical manifestations and complications of scrub typhus are variable. Few studies have examined the timeline of clinical symptoms after the appropriate antimicrobial agents have been administered. The most prevalent clinical manifestations are fever and cough, followed by headache, myalgia, eschar, skin rash, and nausea. Systemic symptoms are most severe during the early stages of illness (i.e., the first 5 days), but resolve slowly within 2 weeks. The associated skin rash is most severe during the first 8 days of infection, but it resolves slowly within 21 days.


The recent ascent of targeted covalent inhibitors (TCI) in drug discovery brings new opportunities and challenges to quantum chemical reactivity calculations supporting discovery efforts. TCIs typically form a covalent bond with the targeted nucleophilic amino acid side chain. Their reactivity that can be both computed and experimentally measured is therefore one of the key factors in determining inhibitory potency. Calculation of relevant quantum chemical descriptors and corresponding reaction barriers of model reactions represent efficient ways to predict intrinsic reactivities of covalent ligands. A more comprehensive description of covalent ligand binding is offered by mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) potentials. Reaction mechanisms can be investigated by the exploration of the potential energy surface as a function of suitable reaction coordinates, and free energy surfaces can also be calculated with molecular dynamics based simulations. Here we review the methodological aspects and discuss applications with primary focus on high-end QM/MM simulations to illustrate the current status of quantum chemical support to covalent inhibitor design. Available QM approaches are suitable to identify likely reaction mechanisms and rate determining steps in the binding of covalent inhibitors. The efficient QM/MM prediction of ligand reactivities complemented with the computational description of the recognition step makes these computations highly useful in covalent drug discovery.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of rumors on both individuals and the society at large in Saudi Arabia. Over the past several decades, the Internet has dramatically changed the manner in which modern society communicates. In particular, online media have altered how rumors are transmitted, from hearing those rumors - ranging from word of mouth among people to misleading online messages. Although the manner in which rumors are circulated has evolved over time, only a few studies have been conducted on the dynamics of how rumor spreads on the social media in Saudi Arabia. It is worthwhile to discuss the impact of rumors on individuals and the society in Saudi Arabia and determine the factors affecting the impact of rumors in Saudi Arabia. In this research study, two variables have been discussed, i.e. dependent and independent variables: the impact of rumors on both individuals and the society at Saudi Arabia, which shows dependency upon independent variables such as Uncertainty, Belief, Motivational Factors and Self-Enhancement. Quantitative research method has been used for this study that entails a total of 200 used survey questionnaires to collect vital information regarding the topic of investigation.


We discuss the analysis of the volume transition in thermosensitive colloidal core-shell particles by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering. The latex-particles are dispersed in water and consist of a solid poly(styrene) core (diameter: 107 nm) and a shell of a thermosensitive crosslinked polymer chains. The thermosensitive shell is built up from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) chains (PNIPA) crosslinked by N,N'-methylenbisacrylamide (BIS). The scattering intensities measured as function of temperature may be decomposed into a part deriving from the overall structure and a part originating from the fluctuations within the network. The analysis of the overall structure leads to the volume fraction of the swollen network at different temperatures. The intensity caused by the fluctuations of the network becomes the leading contribution at high scattering angles. It may be described by a Lorentzian below and above the volume transition. The analysis demonstrates that critical fluctuations of the network around the transition temperature are fully suppressed. This finding is explained by the strong steric constraint of the network by its confinement within a shell of colloidal dimensions: i) The swelling and shrinking can only take place along the radial direction, and ii) the chains are bound to the solid surface of the cores which remains constant during the transition.


In the last 10 years. Mohs' fresh-tissue surgery has been increasingly employed for the treatment of extensive basal cell carcinomas and other malignancies of the eyelids. Large defects after Mohs' surgery for these lesions may involve the nose, cheek, forehead, and other parts of the face as well as the eyelids, medial canthus, and lacrimal drainage system. Split-thickness skin grafts are useful in repairing these large defects and can be combined with other eyelid procedures such as the Hughes operation for lower-eyelid reconstruction.


The increasing variety of Linked Data on the Web makes it challenging to determine the quality of this data and, subsequently, to make this information explicit to data consumers. Despite the availability of a number of tools and frameworks to assess Linked Data Quality, the output of such tools is not suitable for machine consumption, and thus consumers can hardly compare and rank datasets in the order of fitness for use. This article describes a conceptual methodology for assessing Linked Datasets, and Luzzu; a framework for Linked Data Quality Assessment. Luzzu is based on four major components: (1) an extensible interface for defining new quality metrics; (2) an interoperable, ontology-driven back-end for representing quality metadata and quality problems that can be re-used within different semantic frameworks; (3) scalable dataset processors for data dumps, SPARQL endpoints, and big data infrastructures; and (4) a customisable ranking algorithm taking into account user-defined weights. We show that Luzzu scales linearly against the number of triples in a dataset. We also demonstrate the applicability of the Luzzu framework by evaluating and analysing a number of statistical datasets against a variety of metrics. This article contributes towards the definition of a holistic data quality lifecycle, in terms of the co-evolution of linked datasets, with the final aim of improving their quality.


One mission of the Shuttle is to place payloads into Earth orbit or on escape trajectories and to recover payloads from Earth orbit. In order to properly deploy and retrieve such payloads, operational and diagnostic communications must take place between the payloads and the Shuttle. The results of such communications, in the form of tracking, commands, and telemetry, will be interpreted both aboard the Shuttle and on the ground. To accommodate a diverse set of payloads for both NASA and DOD programs, multimode avionic equipment dedicated to payload communications is being installed aboard the Shuttle. This equipment, operating at RF and baseband and providing capability for digital and analog signal forms, will furnish all required capabilities to communicate with both attached and detached payloads.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Introduction: Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) targeting intracellular antigens released in rapidly growing tumors as a result of a cellular turnover is an attractive modality for treatment of aggressive solid tumors. We are developing RIT for metastatic melanoma and HPV-related cervical cancer by targeting the intracellular antigens melanin and E6 oncoprotein, respectively, with radiolabeled specific antibodies (mAbs). In prior studies we observed that administration of unlabeled mAbs to melanin and E6 alone to tumor-bearing mice caused retardation of tumor growth.

Objective: To investigate the immunological mechanisms by which unlabeled mAbs to intracellular antigens melanin and E6 oncoprotein contribute to the efficacy of RIT of melanoma and cervical cancer.

Methods: The CasKi human cervical tumors and A2058 human metastatic melanoma tumors were induced in female nude mice and when the tumors diameter reached 0.5-0.7 cm, the mice with cervical tumors were treated with C1P5 mAb (IgG1 isotype) to E6 or isotype-matching control mAbs, or left untreated; and mice with melanoma tumors were given 6D2 mAb (IgM isotype) to melanin or isotype matching control mAbs; or left untreated. The tumor growth was monitored for 30 days. On day 5 and 10 post-treatment 4 mice out of each group were sacrificed and their tumors analyzed for C3 complement by Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). On day 10 the tumors were analyzed by flow cytometry for the infiltration by inflammatory cells.

Results: There was significant retardation of melanoma and cervical tumor growth during the observation period by 6D2 mAb to melanin and C1P5 mAb to E6 compared with untreated controls (P 0.05). On days 5 and 10 C3 complement deposition was observed by Western blot and IHC in specific and non-specific mAbs-treated tumors but not in the untreated controls. The expression of C3 was more prominent on day 10. On day 10 there was infiltration of mAb-treated melanoma and cervical tumors by CD45+, CD4+ and CD8+ inflammatory cells with their levels being 30-100% greater than in untreated tumors.

Conclusions: Our results of the treatment of melanoma and cervical tumors with unlabeled mAbs to intracellular antigens suggest that these mAbs can initiate complement dependent toxicity (CDC) and antibody dependent cellular toxicity (ADCC). The effect of mAbs did not depend on a mAb specificity for a particular antigen. It appeared to be dependent on the affinity of the Fc portion of mAbs for C1q molecule (CDC case) or for the Fc receptors on inflammatory cells (ADCC case). Further investigation of the contribution of unlabeled mAbs to efficacy of RIT will help to design effective treatment regiments for patients with metastatic melanoma and cervical cancer.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5344.


THE TREATMENT of the diseases of the nails has long been relegated to dermatologists. General practitioners and general surgeons give little thought and less consideration to these problems, unless the complaints of the patient are so vociferous as to demand some sort of definitive treatment. Then the patient is either referred to a dermatologist or the offending nail plate is merely excised, with the hope and expectation that the new nail, when it grows, will possess a normal appearance. Adequate treatment can go much further to insure a satisfactory result than the heretofore haphazard methods. Onychauxis and onychogryposis are dystrophic diseases of the nail in which the nail plate becomes decidedly hypertrophied. The differentiation of the two entities is only one of degree of severity. In onychauxis the nail plate becomes greatly thickened. There may be noted some deformity or distortion of the nail. However, in onychogryposis the hypertrophy is


were for the first time successfully synthesized by a template-free route via soft chemistry with the precursor in a thin-film form. The phases, morphologies, and crystalline structures of 1D nanostructures of BFO and Bi2Fe4O9 were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. It was found that the atmosphere plays a crucial role in determining not only the morphologies but also the phase formation of 1D nanostructures of BFO and Bi2Fe4O9. The plausible development mechanism of 1D nanostructures of BFO and Bi2Fe4O9 was suggested.


Cyperus papyrus was rediscovered in two stands on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile Delta. The first stand is located at Sharabas village ca. 24 km south of Damietta. The growth of papyrus at this site isrich and giant where the habitat conditions are favorable for swampy vegetation. The second stand is recorded at Dahtora about one kilometer north of Zifta town with a feeble growth of an average height of one meter. Ecological notes and reasons of extinction of this important sedge are briefly discussed.


Certain forms of claudication are due to excess tissue pressure of the muscles of the aponeurotic chambers of the leg. These have been well described by Reneman, especially in their chronic form and for the anterior and lateral chambers. The claudication is due to an overworking of the muscles caused by walking, running or effort. It has its own characteristics, with direct measurement of the tissue pressure and phlebography aiding the diagnosis and attention being drawn by the presence of a "muscular hernia of the leg". Fasciotomy is the corrective treatment for cases of hyperalgia and beginning with a certain gradient of muscle pressure. The pathogenic reasons for this are discussed.


Abstract The temperature model of the lithosphere along profile passing through the Red Sea region has been derived using 2D integrated geophysical modelling method. Using the extrapolation of failure criteria, lithology and calculated temperature distribution, we have constructed the rheological model of the lithosphere in the area. We have calculated the strength distribution in the lithosphere and constructed the strength envelopes for both compressional and extensional regimes. The obtained results indicate that the strength steadily decreases from the Western desert through the Eastern desert towards the Red Sea where it reaches its minimum for both compressional and extensional regime. Maximum strength can be observed in the Western desert where the largest strength reaches values of about 250–300 MPa within the upper crust on the boundary between upper and lower crust. In the Eastern desert we observe slightly decreased strength with max values about 200–250 MPa within upper crust within 15 km with compression being dominant. These results suggest mostly rigid deformation in the region or Western and Eastern desert. In the Red Sea, the strength rapidly decreases to its minimum suggesting ductile processes as a result of higher temperatures.


Abstract The numbers of people affected by large‐scale disasters has increased in recent decades. Disasters produce a huge burden of surgical morbidity at a time when the affected country is least able to respond. For this reason an international disaster response is often required. For many years this disaster response was not coordinated. The response consisted of what was available not what was needed and standards of care varied widely producing a healthcare lottery for the affected population. In recent years the World Health organisation has initiated the Emergency Medical Team programme to coordinate the response to disasters and set minimum standards for responding teams. Anaesthetists have a key role to play in Level 2 Surgical Field Hospitals. The disaster context produces a number of logistical challenges that directly impact on the anaesthetist requiring adaptation of anaesthetic techniques from their everyday practice. The context in which they will be working and the wider scope of practice that will be expected from them in the field mandates that deploying anaesthetists should be trained for disaster response. There have been significant improvements in recent years in the speed of response, equipment availability, coordination and training for disasters. Future challenges include increasing local disaster response capacity, agreeing international standards for training and improving data collection to allow for future research and improvement in disaster response. The goal of this review article is to provide an understanding of the disaster context and what logistical challenges it provides. There has been a move during the last decade from a globally uncoordinated, unregulated response, with no consensus on standards, to a globally coordinated response through the World Health Organisation (WHO). A classification system for responding Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) and a set of agreed minimum standards has been defined. This review outlines the scope of the role of the anaesthetist in a Level 2 field hospital and some of the challenges that this scope and context present. It focuses mainly on natural disasters, but also outline some of the differences encountered in responding to other global disasters such as conflict and infectious outbreaks, and concludes with some of the challenges for the future.


In the crystal structure of the title compound, C15H20N2O3S, the hydroxy group is involved in the formation of O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, which link two molecules into a centrosymmetric dimer. Weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds further link these dimers into chains propagating along the a axis. The crystal packing exhibits π–π interactions between the five- and six-membered rings of neighbouring molecules [centroid–centroid distance = 3.819 (2) Å] and short intermolecular S⋯S contacts of 3.495 (1) Å.


Analyzing databases with many attributes per object is a recent challenge. For these high dimensional data it is known that traditional clustering algorithms fail to detect meaningful patterns. As a solution subspace clustering techniques were introduced. They analyze arbitrary subspace projections of the data to detect clustering structures. In this demonstration, we introduce the first subspace clustering extension for the well-established KNIME data mining framework. While KNIME offers a variety of data mining functionalities, subspace clustering is missing so far. Our novel extension provides a multitude of algorithms, data generators, evaluation measures, and visualization techniques specifically designed for subspace clustering. It deeply integrates into the KNIME framework allowing a flexible combination of the existing KNIME features with the novel subspace components. The extension is available on our website.


This survey of weed population by different soil moisture with paddy-upland rotation was conducted to investigate information on weed flora and its ecology between two years. Weed species were assessed in April: 2009, 2010. Soil samples were taken from each study plot to assess the impact soil moisture on the occurrence and abundance of dominance weed species. Soil water of poorly drained field ranged from 10.2~18.2% more than 11.8~14.3% of somewhat poorly drained field. Weeds of fields composed of 19 species belonging to 12 families. Among 12 families, 6 weed species belonged to Compositae (31.6%) were the biggest family, Cruciferae were 2 species (10.5%), and Rubiaceae were 2 species (10.5%), respectively. Youngia japonica had the highest summed dominance ratio(SDR) (97.0%) and followed by Conyza canadensis (92.1%), Galium spurium (35.3%) and Hemistepta lyrata (28.4%) of somewhat poorly drainage in 2009. Artemisia princeps the highest SDR (100%) and followed by Stellaria alsine(55.2%), Y. japonica (38.3%) and Nasturtium officinale (28.5%) of poorly drainage in 2009. And, Stellaria alsine had the highest SDR (86.8%) and followed by Alopecurus aequalis (77.7%), Astragalus sinicus (68.7%) and Y. japonica (46.3%) of somewhat poorly drainage in 2010. S. alsine the highest SDR (93.7%) and followed by A. aequalis (78.6%), Nasturtium officinale (31.3%) and Y. japonica (30.4%) of poorly drainage in 2010. Simpson`s index was calculated to 0.12~0.23, which showed that weed occurrence with different soil moisture in paddy-upland rotation and between years was various. Similarity coefficient between years was 43.0% (2009) and 74.2% (2010), which indicate a low diversity because of the moisture in the agro-ecosystem.


Interactive video games are being used increasingly to transform the dull and repetitive nature of rehabilitation exercises into an enjoyable play by moving limbs or whole body. One major benefit of using video games in rehabilitation is the possibility of home-based treatments. Video games open up new options for occupation therapists to remotely supervise the compliance of patients with their rehabilitation therapy while monitoring changes in patients' functions over a period. For this to happen efficiently, in this paper we propose that some routine activities of occupational therapists be partially incorporated into software agents. These agents should recognize the relevance of patient's problems to their exercise tasks based on their awareness about patients' conditions. We present a 3-step process, called Required Awareness of Agents based on Policies (RAAP), to create awareness about policies in agents where policies are obtained from the domain of rehabilitation treatment, and demonstrate that the actions of such agents are always policy compliant.


Variations in copy number are the most common type of DNA structural variations. Many of these alterations are associated with disease or indicate disease susceptibility. Detection of copy number variants (CNVs) for clinical applications requires efficient, fast and cost effective methods. Here we describe the use of the NEBNext Direct® hybridization-based target enrichment method to identify somatic CNVs with high sensitivity. This approach begins with target enrichment followed by enzymatic digestion of off-target sequences and ligation of adapters that contain unique molecular identifiers (UMIs). The UMIs enhance the identification of duplicate reads and further increase the final number of on-target reads used for variant detection. We used a cell line known to contain a deletion in the CDKN2A gene and spiked DNA isolated from the cell line into a HapMap DNA sample that contains full diploid copies of CDKN2A. We were able to detect the gene deletion as a somatic CNV in a dose dependent manner with high sensitivity. Thus, we demonstrate that the NEBNext Direct approach is an efficient technique to detect somatic CNVs of high and low frequencies. Citation Format: Kruti M. Patel, Sarah K. Bowman, Noa Henig, Amy B. Emerman, Andrew Barry, Charles Elfe, Scott Adams, Salvatore Russello, Ted Davis, Cynthia L. Hendrickson. Somatic copy number variants detection using the NEBNext Direct target enrichment method [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 495. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-495


Issue
Serving Medicare beneficiaries with complex health care needs requires understanding both the medical and social factors that may affect their health.

Goal
Describe the prevalence and characteristics of high-need individuals enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program.

Methods
Analysis of the 2015 Medicare Health Outcomes Survey.

Key Findings
Thirty-seven percent of enrollees in large Medicare Advantage plans have high needs, requiring both medical and social services. Individuals with high needs are more likely to report having limited financial resources, low levels of education, social isolation, and poor health.

Conclusion
Federal policymakers should consider allowing Medicare Advantage plans to identify high-need beneficiaries based on their medical and social risk factors, rather than just medical diagnoses. Doing so would enable plans to deliver better-targeted services that meet their members' needs and facilitate implementation of the CHRONIC Care Act provision that allows plans to offer nonhealth supplemental benefits.


Studies of gene expression at the single cell level in live bacterial cells represent a new and fertile area of research providing real‐time, spatially specified information that cannot be obtained by techniques relying on large cell populations. Before recently, most single‐cell studies have been concerned with gene expression at the protein level and explored the spatiotemporal localization and dynamics of different bacterial proteins. However, to fully understand the complex process of gene expression, it is necessary to visualize and quantify RNA molecules in the cellular environment. The first studies analysing the kinetics of RNA transcription and the distribution of RNA in single bacterial cells in real time have recently been reported. Here, I discuss the methods allowing RNA detection in living bacterial cells, the results on RNA kinetics and RNA localization, and the challenges for future research in this area.


Between September/2005 and October/2007, representative companies of Brazilian residential real estate market had adopted the strategy to increase their investment capacity by initial public offer (IPO). The context was favorable for residential real estate production to middle class because of two main factors: first, regarding to better conditions of financing to purchase residential properties promoted by the Brazilian finance system restructure from 2005, and, second, regarding to certainty demand in this market (middle class), considering that the majority of companies had focused on upper class market in order to guarantee the sales resources in the production phase. In this way, to attend the middle-class demand, it was necessary to enhance the investment capacity of the real estate companies. These factors, associated to the good expectations on Brazilian economy scenario as well as the global economy, encouraged the representative companies of Brazilian residential real estate market to increase their investment capacity by IPO, in a short time. The focus of this article is to analyze the quality of the investment in stocks of these Real Estate companies (21 offers were taking into account in the analysis). In order to identify in which expectations these companies supported their decisions to enter in Bovespa with the occurred prices and amounts, were also analyzed the offers correlations against BOVESPA Index (market index). Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that these offers were not supported by validated procedures of pricing, representing just speculative offers.


Background Mental health treatment rates are increasing, but the burden of disease has not reduced. Tools to support efficient resource distribution are required. Aim To investigate whether a person-centred e-health (Target-D) platform matching depression care to symptom severity prognosis can improve depressive symptoms relative to usual care. Design and setting Stratified individually randomised controlled trial in 14 general practices in Melbourne, Australia, from April 2016 to February 2019. In total, 1868 participants aged 18–65 years who had current depressive symptoms; internet access; no recent change to antidepressant; no current antipsychotic medication; and no current psychological therapy were randomised (1:1) via computer-generated allocation to intervention or usual care. Method The intervention was an e-health platform accessed in the GP waiting room, comprising symptom feedback, priority-setting, and prognosis-matched management options (online self-help, online guided psychological therapy, or nurse-led collaborative care). Management options were flexible, neither participants nor staff were blinded, and there were no substantive protocol deviations. The primary outcome was depressive symptom severity (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) at 3 months. Results In intention to treat analysis, estimated between- arm difference in mean PHQ-9 scores at 3 months was −0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] = −1.45 to −0.31) favouring the intervention, and −0.59 at 12 months (95% CI = −1.18 to 0.01); standardised effect sizes of −0.16 (95% CI = −0.26 to −0.05) and −0.10 (95% CI = −0.21 to 0.002), respectively. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion Matching management to prognosis using a person-centred e-health platform improves depressive symptoms at 3 months compared to usual care and could feasibly be implemented at scale. Scope exists to enhance the uptake of management options.


Climat e change has attracted the general concern of the international community. Global actions on climate change are based not only in the science, but also involve domestic and international economics and politics. Here we review the interactions between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and the development of climate policy under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There are inextricable links between the scientific research and political processes. The systematic IPCC assessment reports provide important scientific evidence and conclusions on which the Parties to the UNFCCC have based their negotiations. An important example is policies considering adaptation to long term climate change. Conversely, the UNFCCC negotiations direct research direction and foci for scientific communities and the IPCC. China has participated in global climate change science and policy activities for years, but although its scientific and political contribution has increased, its research activity still lags behind that of Europe and the United States. The percentage of mainland Chinese publications cited in the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5; 2013), Working Group I (Physical Science Basis), was 2.8%, a doubling from the percentage cited in the Working Group I report from the 4th Assessment Report (2007). For the AR5 second and third working group reports (Impacts, Mitigation), the lead authors were 1.3% and 1.6% respectively. Some core fields, such as the global sequence of surface air temperature data and the accumulated emission space of 2°C, lack expert and Chinese input. With the rapid development of its economy, China will


This article examines the sources of marital conflicts in cross-border remarriages in Hong Kong among Mainland Chinese women who migrated with their children from previous unions and those who did not. Drawing on in-depth interviews with remarried Mainland mothers, the study compares the ways in which different family compositions, that is, the presence or absence of non-shared and common children, may shape marital conflicts and affect remarital relations in cross-border stepfamilies. Results indicate that although cross-border remarriages with different family compositions may share certain sources of conflicts, each specific type of remarriage is prone to particular sources of conflicts. This study also demonstrates how the migration of Mainland children can greatly change remarital dynamics and stepparent–stepchild conflicts often entangled with disputes over other issues. The research fills a major gap in the literature on stepfamilies and marriage migration that pays little attention to the post-migration marital dynamics of international remarriages.


Beraprost sodium (BPS)--an orally active prostacyclin analogue--improves haemodynamic parameters and quality of life in group of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Effect of long-term therapy with BPS is not well defined. This study assesses influence of long-term therapy with BPS on the survival of patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension. Studied group consisted of 25 patients with precapillary PH (18 F, 7M, aged 34 +/- 13,9 years). Sixteen patients were diagnosed with primary PH, 3 pts had PH associated with connective tissue disease, 5 pts developed PH in course of congenital systemic to pulmonary shunt, and 1 patient suffered from inoperable chronic thromboembolic PH. At time of diagnosis 15 pts presented exercise impairment of WHO class II and 10 pts were in functional class III. All studied subjects had complete hemodynamic assessment of right heart and obtained values were used for estimation of hypothetic survival using prognostic equation proposed by D'Alonzo et al. On follow-up period patients received BPS in the highest tolerated dose (80-480 mg daily). During a follow-up period (mean: 22 months) 7 patients died. Cumulative survival rate BPS group was significantly higher in BPS group comparing to hypothetical survival at 6 months (96% (95% CI: 88-104%) vs 73% (95% CI: 67-78%), p = 0.02) and 12 months (94% (95% CI: 84-104%) vs 65% (58-71%), p = 0.01), respectively. At 18 and 24 months differences between BPS virtual and hypothetical survival were not statistically significant. There was no correlation between survival and maximal achieved dose of BPS. These results suggest, that BPS improves prognosis of patients with precapillary PH during 12 months after initiation of therapy. Later effect of BPS seems to decrease, requiring changing or intensification of therapy.


The main idea of this paper is to raise questions on the democratic character of "con- temporary constitutionalism". In this sense, we present the ideas of four renowned scholars and the core of their theses, whose influence – especially in the "Latin world" – is undenia- ble. They are Manuel Atienza, Luigi Ferrajoli, Luis Prieto Sanchis and Gustavo Zagrebel- sky. Among the many differences that characterize them, their accounts have at least one thing in common: enthusiasm for the constitutional project. To that extent, they stress the normativity of the Constitution and the "civilizing feature" of constitutional values. We address several objections to this understanding, taking into consideration the fundamen- tal right to participate on political affairs, including issues related to substantive rights, which require political and moral developments. To do so, we must take seriously the fact of disagreement and the fact of pluralism as elements of the process of protection and realization of fundamental rights. These rights are also subject to a decision-making process.


Background
Vaping is more prevalent among younger than older Canadians. While vaping is less harmful than combustible tobacco, it is not without health risk.

Data and methods
Data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth were used to estimate vaping prevalence. Logistic regression models assessed the association of sociodemographic, youth, parenting and peer factors with vaping. The 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey identified adolescents who reported vaping before tobacco smoking. Data from the 2019 Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey were used to examine vaping of e-liquids containing nicotine and flavours.

Results
Vaping rates for 15- to 17-year-olds were nearly four times (21.3%) higher than those of 12- to 14-year-olds (5.4%). Two-thirds (66.1%) of 12- to 17-year-olds who had used both tobacco and e-cigarettes reported trying e-cigarettes first. E-liquids containing nicotine were used by 89.3% of 15- to 19-year-olds who reported vaping in the past 30 days; comparable with older adults. For both younger and older adolescents, having friends who engaged in negative behaviours, having been employed, and having consumed alcohol increased the odds. For 12- to 14-year-olds, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was a risk factor, whereas having parents who usually knew who they were with and higher relatedness scores were protective. Among older adolescents, being male, being Canadian-born, having lower grades, and using tobacco or cannabis increased the odds of vaping.

Interpretation
An adolescent's risk of vaping was most strongly correlated with other substance use, although other youth, parenting and peer characteristics also mattered. Because most of the data presented were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic and new vaping regulations, ongoing monitoring remains important.


The solubility diagram of the quinary system Na+-Mg++-1-aminonaphtalene-6-sulfonate-1-aminonaphtalene-7-sulfonate-Cl–-H2O has been partially investigated between 0° and 75°. From this diagram a simple and effective procedure to separate the two CLEVE'S acids has been calculated, with yields in acid 1.7 (extracted as sodium salt) of 95.1% and in acid 1.6 (obtained as magnesium salt) of 70.0%. This theoretical procedure was adapted to the fractionnation of a crude industrial mixture of CLEVE's acids.


Two 3 x 3 Latin square design experiments with twelve growing goats (small East African crosses) in each were used to examine the influence of molasses on the intake by goats of browse offered with a supplement. The first experiment examined the responses in voluntary intake when molasses was sprayed onto Cassia siamea leaves (0.04kg molasses per kg browse) as compared to when molasses and Cassia siamea leaves were offered simultaneously yet separately. Goats ate more Cassia siamea leaves (0.20kg OM per animal per day) when the leaves and molasses were mixed than when the leaves and molasses were offered separately (0.10kg OM per animal per day) (P 0.01). The overall effect of spraying molasses on the browse was that total daily diet digestible organic matter intake was increased from 0.37 to 0.46kg per animal, an increase of 24% (p The second experiment examined the response in voluntary intake of Sesbania sesban leaves by goats when the leaves were either sprayed with molasses or when the leaves and molasses were offered separately. The response was small and statistically not significant (P > 0.01). It is concluded that mixing Cassia siamea leaves with molasses increased the intake of the leaves by goats and this offers a practical method of increasing the feeding value of this browse. UNISWA Jnl of Agric Vol 8 1999: pp 39-43


The authors present a semi-distributed approach for task scheduling in large parallel and distributed systems which is different from the conventional centralized and fully distributed approaches. The proposed strategy partitions the system into independent regions (spheres) centered at some control points. The central points, called schedulers optimally schedule tasks within their spheres and maintain state information with low overhead. The authors consider hypercube systems for evaluation and, using their algebraic characteristics, show that identification of spheres and their scheduling points is an NP-complete problem. The performance of the proposed strategy was evaluated and compared with an efficient fully distributed strategy. In addition to yielding high performance in terms of response time, better resource utilization, and throughput, the proposed strategy is shown to incur small overhead in terms of network traffic.<<ETX>>


The kinematic wave method is applied to evaluating the concentration time of overland flow in the basin composed of inclined planes and river channel. Firstly, the relationship between concentration time and geographical features of the basin is made clear for rainfall of constant intensity. Secondly, we evaluate quantitatively the effect of unsteadiness of rainfall on concentration time and peak discharge. The result of computation shows that concentration time is greatly influenced by the equivalent roughness coefficient of planes, and the concentration time defined in this study for unsteady rainfall is almost equal to that for rainfall of constant intensity.


We have investigated the linear and nonlinear optical properties of high quality cerium-doped zinc oxide films (ZnO:Ce). The layers were grown by the reactive chemical pulverization spray pyrolysis technique using zinc and cerium chlorides as precursors at temperature up to 450/spl deg/C. The influence of Ce concentration on the structural, linear and nonlinear optical properties of ZnO thin films is presented. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and photoluminescence measurements. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that all films are polycrystalline in nature and clearly shows the appropriate incorporation of the Ce atoms in the ZnO films. The third order nonlinear optical properties, which are the main subject of this investigation, were studied. For this propose, the third harmonic degeneration (THG) technique has been employed. A laser source has been used for the fundamental beam at 1064 nm so that the generated third harmonic signal is made at 355 nm.


We implemented versions of the SVM appropriate for one-class classification in the context of information retrieval. The experiments were conducted on the standard Reuters data set. For the SVM implementation we used both a version of Schoelkopf et al. and a somewhat different version of one-class SVM based on identifying "outlier" data as representative of the second-class. We report on experiments with different kernels for both of these implementations and with different representations of the data, including binary vectors, tf-idf representation and a modification called "Hadamard" representation. Then we compared it with one-class versions of the algorithms prototype (Rocchio), nearest neighbor, naive Bayes, and finally a natural one-class neural network classification method based on "bottleneck" compression generated filters.The SVM approach as represented by Schoelkopf was superior to all the methods except the neural network one, where it was, although occasionally worse, essentially comparable. However, the SVM methods turned out to be quite sensitive to the choice of representation and kernel in ways which are not well understood; therefore, for the time being leaving the neural network approach as the most robust.


Advances in the field of numerical relativity now make it possible to calculate the final, most powerful merger phase of binary black-hole coalescence for generic binaries. The state of the art has advanced well beyond the equal-mass case into the unequal-mass and spinning regions of parameter space. We present a study of the nonspinning portion of parameter space, primarily using an analytic waveform model tuned to available numerical data, with an emphasis on observational implications. We investigate the impact of varied m8BS ratio on merger signal-to-noise ratios (SNR~) for several detectors, and compare our results with expectations from the test-mass limit. We note a striking similarity of the waveform phasing of the merger waveform across the available mass ratios. Motivated by this, we calculate the match between our equal-mass and 4:1 mass-ratio waveforms during the merger as a function of location on the source sky, using a new formalism for the match that accounts for higher harmonics. This is an indicator of the amount of degeneracy in mass ratio for mergers of moderate mass ratio systems.


Toxin production and the presence of the toxA gene was assayed in 24 Pasteurella multocida strains isolated from pigs with pneumonia and pleuritis in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Toxigenicity was assessed through a mouse lethality test and a PCR amplification assay was used to obtain a 300 bp product from the toxA gene. In order to demonstrate that the amplified product corresponded to the toxA gene, the same segment of a reference P. multocida capsular type D toxigenic strain was amplified and treated with the restriction enzyme Taq1, and the restriction fragments corresponded to the expected sizes. Only one out of 24 strains of P. multocida was toxigenic in the mouse lethality test. However, with the use of PCR, nine strains carried the toxA gene. Hypothesis to explain this difference is the suppression of genic expression in vivo or the presence of a defective, non-functional gene.


Women are linked to illicit drug-related activities, whether they be cultivation, production, trafficking, peddling or consumption. The real extent of the impact of these activities on women, however, has only gradually been gaining the attention of policy makers dealing with matters related to drug abuse and illicit trafficking. This increase in awareness is the result of successful collaboration between organizations of the United Nations system in conducting gender analysis and research into the relationship between drug abuse and related activities and women. The present article documents the process of that collaboration, which led to the recognition of the issue at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995. Since the World Conference, a United Nations System-Wide Plan of Action was developed in 1996 on "Women and Drug Abuse: a Gender Perspective".


Damaging geo-Hydrogeological Events (DHEs) are defined as the occurrence of destructive phenomena (such as landslides and floods) that can cause damage to people and goods during periods of bad weather. These phenomena should be analyzed together as they actually occur because their interactions can both amplify the damage and obstruct emergency management. The occurrence of DHEs depends on the interactions between climatic and geomorphological features: except for long-term climatic changes, these interactions can be considered constant, and for this reason, some areas are systematically affected. However, damage scenarios can change; events that occurred in the past could presently cause different effects depending on the modifications that occurred in the geographical distribution of vulnerable elements. We analyzed a catastrophic DHE that in 1951 affected an area 3700 km2 wide, located in Calabria (southern Italy), with four-day cumulative rainfall exceeding 300 mm and return periods of daily rain exceeding 500 Y. It resulted in 101 victims and 4500 homeless individuals. The probability that a similar event will happen again in the future is assessed using the return period of the triggering rainfall, whereas the different anthropogenic factors are taken into account by means of the population densities at the time of the event and currently. The result is a classification of regional municipalities according to the probability that events such as the one analyzed will occur again in the future and the possible effects of this event on the current situation.


[1] A stratospheric sudden warming episode was self-consistently generated in the coupled National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, and Electrodynamics General Circulation Model/Climate Community Model version 3 (TIME-GCM/CCM3). Taking advantage of the unique vertical range of the coupled model (ground to 500 km), we were able to study the coupling of the lower and upper atmosphere in this warming episode. Planetary wave 1 is the dominant wave component in this warming event. Analysis of the wave phase structure and the wave amplitude indicates that the wave may experience resonant amplification prior to the peak warming. The mean wind in the high-latitude winter stratopause and mesosphere decelerates and reverses to westward due to planetary wave forcing and forms a critical layer near the zero wind lines. The wind deceleration and reversal also change the filtering of gravity waves by allowing more eastward gravity waves to propagate into the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), which causes eastward forcing and reverses the westward jet in the MLT. This also changes the meridional circulation in the upper mesosphere from poleward/downward to equatorward/upward, causing a depletion of the peak atomic oxygen layer at 97 km and significant reduction of green line airglow emission at high latitudes and midlatitudes. Planetary waves forced in situ by filtered gravity waves in the MLT grow in the warming episode. Their growth and interaction with tides create diurnal and semidiurnal variabilities in the zonal mean zonal wind.


OBJECTIVE
A deficit in empathy has repeatedly been described as a central feature of autistic disorders. However, little is known about how adolescents with autism evaluate their own empathic abilities, and how their parents judge these skills. The present study assesses affective components of empathy via both self-report and parental report.

METHOD
18 boys with autism and 18 typically developing boys participated in the study. A German translation of the Bryant Index of Empathy was used for the self-assessment of empathy. Parents rated the empathic abilities of their sons using a German version of the Griffith Empathy Measure. Both questionnaires are comparable with regards to content and mainly tap into affective components of empathy.

RESULTS
Self-reports of empathy in adolescents with autism did not differ from controls. In contrast, parents of adolescents with autism judged their sons to be less empathic compared to parents of typically developing adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS
The discrepancy between unimpaired self-reported empathy and parental report of impaired empathy in adolescents with autism might result from their difficulties in effectively conveying empathic feelings to other people. Alternatively, the results may be explained by impaired introspection on inner experiences in individuals with autism.


We examined the effects of mudballs around burrows and of sex on burrow characteristics (shape, diameter, length, depth and volume) in an underground mating fiddler crab species, Austruca annulipes (H. Milne Edwards, 1837). We investigated 35 burrows with mudballs (males: 20; females: 15) and 34 burrows without mudballs (males: 16; females: 18), and measured their burrow characteristics. Results showed that burrow characteristics did not differ between burrows with and without mudballs. Males built larger-sized burrows with greater volumes, and had more mudballs than females. Crabs built J-, I-, L-, S- and U-shaped burrows, with higher numbers of J-shaped burrows in males, and higher numbers of I-shaped burrows in females. J-shaped burrows were larger with greater volumes, and had more mudballs than I-shaped burrows. For burrows with mudballs, mudball numbers were positively associated with burrow characteristics. This indicates that fiddler crab burrow characteristics are affected by sex, not by the production and presence of mudballs.


From accidential patients fifteen per cent of 2328 pregnant women showed in a cultural method (malt-extract-agar) a vaginal mycosis in the seventh month of pregnancy. In most of the cases it was Candida albicans, but there were also other cases of Candida and Toruplopsis glabrata. The therapy of vaginal mycosis during pregnancy should be done generally, to prevent infections of infants and infections is gynecological and neonatological departments.


The classical theory of elliptic modular equations is refor mulated and extended, and many new rationally parametrized modular equations are dis covered. Each arises in the context of a family of elliptic curves attached to a genus-zero congrue nce subgroupΓ0(N), as an algebraic transformation of elliptic curve periods, which are parame triz d by a Hauptmodul (function field generator). Since the periods satisfy a Picard–Fuchs equat ion, which is of hypergeometric, Heun, or more general type, the new equations can be viewed as algeb r ic transformation formulas for special functions. The ones for N = 4, 3, 2 yield parametrized modular transformations of Ramanujan's elliptic integrals of signatures 2, 3, 4. The case of signature 6 will require an extension of the present theory, to one of modular equations for general elliptic surfaces.


This study examined the relationships between parent interactions with healthy term and preterm infants at 12 months of age, marital quality, family socioeconomic status, and preschool behavior problems. Eighty mothers and 74 fathers were observed in the home during an interaction with their child (Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale), and this group of parents completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale questionnaire (marital quality) 12 months after the child was discharged from the hospital. Each parent completed the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory when their child was four years of age. The parent and infant interaction scores were not predictive of later child behavior problems. Maternal perceptions of marital quality at 12 months predicted the frequency (Eyberg Intensity score) and impact (Eyberg Problem score) of the child's problematic behaviors reported by mothers. Marital quality and family socioeconomic status predicted the impact of behavior problems for fathers. There were no significant differences between preterm and term children or between boys and girls in the frequency or impact of problematic behaviors. Mothers reported a significantly greater frequency of behavior problems than fathers of the same children. The implications of these findings for nurses who work with families and young children are discussed.


Machine Learning methods belong to the group of most up-to-date approaches for solving partial differential equations. The current work investigates two classes, Neural FEM and Neural Operator Methods, for the use in elastostatics by means of numerical experiments. The Neural Operator methods require expensive training but then allow for solving multiple boundary value problems with the same Machine Learning model. Main differences between the two classes are the computational effort and accuracy. Especially the accuracy requires more research for practical applications.


The objective of this work is the air quality modeling according to the practical roughness length using the building information as surface boundary conditions. As accurate wind and temperature field are required to produce realistic urban air quality modeling, comparative simulations by various roughness length are discussed. The prognostic meteorological fields and air quality field over complex areas of Seoul, Korea are generated by the PSU/NCAR mesoscale model (MM5) and the Third Generation Community Multi-scale Air Quality Modeling System (Models-3/CMAQ), respectively. The simulated concentration on complex terrain and their interactions with the weak synoptic flow had relatively strong effects by the roughness length. A comparison of the three meteorological fields of respective roughness length reveals substantial localized differences in surface temperature and wind folds. Under these conditions, the ascended mixing height and weakened wind speed at night which induced the stable boundary stronger, and the difference of simulated concentration is .


Abstract A spectacular carbonate deposit from the western Meseta of Morocco consists of microbial and brachiopod limestones. The small, meter-sized Famennian limestone blocks are embedded in Carboniferous shales, implying later displacement. Primary deposition of the limestones apparently occurred below the depth limit of phototrophic organisms. The brachiopods belong to the genus Dzieduszyckia within the rhynchonellide superfamily Dimerelloidea. They occur in fantastic abundance, in a low-diversity faunal assemblage. The microbial limestones contain fossilized threadlike microorganisms of unknown affiliation. The enormous accumulation of brachiopods on the Famennian seafloor is best explained by the former existence of a seep. Crude oil was a major component of the seepage fluids, as indicated by the occurrence of pyrobitumen (metamorphosed petroleum) and δ13Ccarbonate values as low as −12‰, akin to the isotopic composition of carbonates forming at modern oil seeps. The lowest δ13C values in the Dzieduszyckia deposit are found for a carbonate phase referred to as banded/botryoidal cement. It is a fibrous, low-Mg calcite cement in the form of isopachous rims and botryoids that precipitated directly on and within brachiopod shells. The microbial limestones predominantly consist of this phase and therefore can be classified as cement framestones. Reticulate patterns of botryoidal aggregates and an elevated Sr content agree with an aragonite precursor of the banded/botryoidal cement. The interpretation of the Dzieduszyckia deposit as seep related supports the hypothesis that Paleozoic and Mesozoic members of the rhynchonellide superfamily Dimerelloidea were a lineage long associated with seeps that survived from Late Devonian to Early Cretaceous time.


The paper investigates and assesses different room acoustics software and the opportunities they offer to engage in parametric acoustics workflow and to influence architectural designs. The first step consists in the testing and benchmarking of different tools on the basis of accuracy, speed and interoperability with Grasshopper 3d. The focus will be placed to the benchmarking of three different acoustic analysis tools based on raytracing. To compare the accuracy and speed of the acoustic evaluation across different tools, a homogeneous set of acoustic parameters is chosen. The room acoustics parameters included in the set are reverberation time (EDT, RT30), clarity (C50), loudness (G), and definition (D50). Scenarios are discussed for determining at different design stages the most suitable acoustic tool. Those scenarios are characterized, by the use of less accurate but fast evaluation tools to be used in early design stages, or by more accurate but slower tools for later-stage design stage detailing and delivery phases.


Torture survivors, therapists, and society look to behavioral science for help understanding the traumatization, needs, and treatment of torture survivors. Any research of torture can and possibly will be used by torturers to refine their abuse of prisoners. It is difficult but necessary to discern profane research from therapeutic research of a profane activity. M. Başoğlu's (2009) study of the traumatization of torture survivors is enormously helpful to clinicians who must heal and to policymakers who must understand the psychological toll of torture.


Audio-driven facial animation is an interesting and evolving technique for human-computer interaction. Based on an incoming audio stream, a face image is animated with full lip synchronization. This requires a speech recognition system in the language in which audio is provided to get the time alignment for the phonetic sequence of the audio signal. However, building a speech recognition system is data intensive and is a very tedious and time consuming task. We present a novel scheme to implement a language independent system for audio-driven facial animation given a speech recognition system for just one language, in our case, English. The method presented here can also be used for text to audio-visual speech synthesis.


This book examines how the changing post-Cold War order affected Poland's security policy and particularly how the West's weakening position and Russia's revisionist policy reinforced the traditional view of security in Poland. It addresses the reasons why Poland, a middle power in Central Europe, adopted a bridging strategy in the early 1990s; how this strategy changed along with the redistribution of power in the international system; why, after the 2008 Georgian-Russian War, Poland took steps to support NATO consolidation, strengthen relations with the USA, and expand its own military capabilities; and how the Ukraine crisis affected Poland's security. This overview is an invaluable resource for students of international and European studies, security studies, political science, as well as for decision-makers, politicians, EU staff, and anyone interested in international politics in Central Europe.


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one of the most common systemic autoimmune diseases, is characterized by chronic joint inflammation and subsequent joint destruction [1]. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is a member of a family of growth factors. The human CD4 gene maps to chromosome 12p13 in a gene-dense region and its expression are regulated primarily at the transcriptional level [2]. The CD4 enhancer and promoter seem to be the major regulatory regions for CD4 transcription in T cells. Therefore, an analysis of the CD4 enhancer polymorphism can provide insights into regulation of its expression. Clearly, the molecular mechanisms controlling CD4 gene expression are very complex and are controlled by many different signals as the thymocyte develop [3]. Objectives This study will done to recognized the association between TGF-β1 (869C/T), CD4- (11743 A/C) and CD4- (10845 A/G) polymorphism and severity of RA patients. Methods One hundred fifty female RA patients diagnosed according to the criteria of ACR and 100 healthy female will used as a healthy control group. Genotyping of TGF-β1 (869C/T), CD4-11743 A/C and CD4-10845 A/G were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism- polymerase chain reaction (PCR-RFLP). Results The TGF-β1 T allele was associated with susceptibility to RA. Within the RA group, TGF-β1 T allele carriers had a significant increased risk to develop osteoporosis (OR =6.95, 95% CI = -2. 7 – 15.7, P<0.001), as well as more likely to develop bone erosion (OR =1.7, 95% CI =0. 99–2.7, P=0. 034). Better prediction was achieved when the TGF-β1 TT genotype was used in combination with elevated, rheumatoid factor (RF) or C reactive protein (CRP) (OR =6.8, 3.7 respectively). Also, they increased the risk to develop bone erosion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (OR =3.3, 9.8, P=0.017, 0.001 respectively).Subjects with the CC genotype of CD4-11743 were significantly more likely to develop RA (OR =2.7, P=0.03) and more likely to have severe RA (OR =2.7, P=0.024). Carrier of A allele of CD4-10845 was significantly more likely to develop severe RA (OR =3.7, P=0.000). Conclusions Our results suggest that TGF-β1 TT genotype may determine the development of osteoporosis and bone erosion in RA. CD4 enhancer gene polymorphisms were associated with susceptibility to RA and may be helpful in early detection of erosive RA. References Chang W-W, Su H, He L, Zhao K-F, Wu J-L, Xu Z-W: Association between transforming growth factor-beta1 T869C polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2010, 49:652–6. Ellmeier W, Sawada S, Littman DR. The regulation of CD4 and CD8 coreceptor gene expression during T cell development. Annu Rev Immunol 1999;17:523–54. Jiang H, Peterlin BM. Differential chromatin looping regulates CD4 expression in immature thymocytes. Mol Cell Biol 2008;28:907–12. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Energetic internal tides (ITs) are generated from the Luzon Strait (LS) and propagate westward into the South China Sea (SCS). Owing to the lack of large-scale synchronous measurements, the propagation features and seasonal variations of diurnal ITs remain unclear. From 2018 to 2019, mode-1 diurnal ITs west of the LS were continuously observed using a large-scale moored array of 27 pressure inverted echo sounders (PIESs) and a thermistor chain. Measurements confirmed that diurnal ITs radiate from the LS with a north–south asymmetrical pattern, with the most energetic channel located in the middle and south of the LS. The total energy radiated into the SCS across 120°E is 2.67 GW for the K1 and 1.54 GW for O1 ITs, approximately two times larger than those inferred from satellite observations. K1 dominates among the diurnal ITs, with its maximum isopycnal displacement (amplitude) and energy input to the SCS being the strongest in summer (i.e., 16.3 m and 2.81 GW, respectively). The propagation speed of K1 is higher in summer and autumn along the main channel (i.e., 4.33 and 4.36 m s−1, respectively). Seasonal stratification and circulation play important roles in the seasonal variation of amplitude and propagation speed of the K1 ITs. The seasonal variability of diurnal-band ITs, which includes all diurnal constituents, is location-dependent and primarily results from the superposition of the K1 and P1 ITs. In particular, vertical displacement is strong in summer and winter along the main channel of the K1 and P1 ITs. The seasonal amplitude of K1 can modulate this seasonal feature.


We have reported finding antigen-specific activity in human leukocyte dialysates (DLE) containing TF in the leukocyte migration inhibition (LMI) assay. To analyze this activity further, we have used polystyrene bound to antibody or to antigen as immunoadsorbent for DLE before pulsing nonimmune cells in the LMI assay. Candida-(CAN) immune or diphtheria toxoid-(TOX) immune DLE were depleted of all antigen-specific activity after absorption with specific antigen but not affected by absorption with specific antibody, respectively, and depletion of activity with antigen was abrogated by coating bound antigen with specific antibody before absorption of DLE. CAN-immune, TOX-immune DLE was selectively depleted for either CAN activity or TOX activity after absorption with CAN- or TOX-coated polystryrene, respectively, retaining its CAN-activity when absorbed with TOX and conversely retaining its TOX activity when absorbed with CAN; thus the antigen-specific activity binds to related but not unrelated antigen. The polystyrene-bound antigen-specific activity could be recovered by treatment with 8 M urea. We interpret these findings to suggest that such antigen-specific activity may be either a dialysable fragment of a T cell antigen receptor site, or a portion of the V-region, or a unique Ir gene product that assists in antigen presentation to other T cells.


We describe the Williams zeta functions and the twist zeta functions of sub-Lorenz templates generated by renormalizable Lorenz maps, in terms of the corresponding zeta-functions of the sub-Lorenz templates generated by the renormalized map and by the map that determines the renormalization type.


A novel probe-fed single-layer annular-ring patch antenna for dual-frequency circular polarization is evaluated numerically and experimentally verified. The proposed antenna consists of a small circular patch surrounded by two concentric annular-rings, which is loaded by an unequal lateral cross-slot ground plane. The circularly-polarized frequency ratio of the two resonant modes is tunable to a small value, suitable for wireless communications systems. The patch size of the proposed antenna is reduced by about 53% compared to the conventional circular patch at a given frequency. The radiation characteristics of the novel antenna are also presented.


"After a brief introduction to new United Nations model life tables for developing countries, we have proceeded to point out some blanks contained in them....[A theoretical] approach has allowed us to demonstrate the inadequacy of some fundamental assumptions on which the methods used are based. [An empirical approach] has enabled us to point out some of the problems that may be encountered when using the tables." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND ITA)


We analyze high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of a flux-emerging region (FER) in order to understand its magnetic and kinematic structure. Our spectropolarimetric observations in the He I 10830 Å spectral region of a FER were recorded with GRIS at the 1.5 m aperture GREGOR telescope. A Milne–Eddington-based inversion code was employed to extract the photospheric information of the Si I spectral line, whereas the He I triplet line was analyzed with the Hazel inversion code, which takes into account the joint action of the Hanle and the Zeeman effects. The spectropolarimetric analysis of the Si I line reveals a complex magnetic structure near the vicinity of the FER, where a weak (350–600 G) and horizontal magnetic field was observed. In contrast to the photosphere, the analysis of the He I triplet presents a smooth variation of the magnetic field vector (ranging from 100 to 400 G) and velocities across the FER. Moreover, we find supersonic downflows of ∼40 km s−1 appearing near the foot points of loops connecting two pores of opposite polarity, whereas strong upflows of 22 km s−1 appear near the apex of the loops. At the location of supersonic downflows in the chromosphere, we observed downflows of 3 km s−1 in the photosphere. Furthermore, nonforce-free field extrapolations were performed separately at two layers in order to understand the magnetic field topology of the FER. We determine, using extrapolations from the photosphere and the observed chromospheric magnetic field, that the average formation height of the He I triplet line is ∼2 Mm from the solar surface. The reconstructed loops using photospheric extrapolations along an arch filament system have a maximum height of ∼10.5 Mm from the solar surface with a foot-point separation of ∼19 Mm, whereas the loops reconstructed using chromospheric extrapolations reach around ∼8.4 Mm above the solar surface with a foot-point separation of ∼16 Mm at the chromospheric height. The magnetic topology in the FER suggests the presence of small-scale loops beneath the large loops. Under suitable conditions, due to magnetic reconnection, these loops can trigger various heating events in the vicinity of the FER.


A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL TRADE INTEGRATION: LESSONS FOR COMESA Regional trade integration is considered as trade discrimination, thus as a second best solution if compared to the unilateral trade liberalization advocated by the WTO. However, starting after the Second World War, the number of regional trade arrangements (RTAs) continues to grow as a result of the benefits that countries engaged in trade integration expect to get from that process. Theoretical experiences indicate that if all other things are equal, a regional trade integration arrangement may provide economic gains (ranging from static to dynamic gains) to its member countries. Empirical evidence proves that developed countries such as those of Europe, have benefited from regional trade integration, whilst the gains from regional trade integration failed to materialize in developing countries. COMESA is one of the biggest RTAs in Sub-Saharan Africa with twenty members including Rwanda. Rwanda joined COMESA in the hope that this will help to develop its economy which is underdeveloped and which situation has been worsened by the 1994 war and genocide. Given the poor performance of RTAs in developing countries, the main aim of this study was to determine which strategy would be most appropriate to enhance regional trade integration in COMESA so that it can provide to its member states the benefits they expect to have from it. Statistic descriptive and comparative analysis methods were used to investigate what the COMESA region can learn from other trade regions in order to enhance its intra-regional trade, as this is its main objective. The study was limited to the experiences of integration in the European Union, the ASEAN and the SADC regions. These regions have


From the paganism to the rise of monotheism and onwards, kings and rulers have introduced religion as part of their conduct in the socio-political construct of the society. One of the great rulers of the Old Testament, Solomon has been an important figure not only in Hebrew history but also in Christian and Islamic traditions. The purpose of this study is to make an iconographical evaluation of Solomon's depictions in mural paintings and mosaics of Christian tradition and Ottoman illuminated manuscripts with regard to the typology and evolution of an idealized sense of imperial rule.


The article "Analysis of the Inertial Parameters of Fire Detectors" is devoted to examination of different parameters of fire detectors, as well as to the research of operation principles of fire detector and its construction solution. Parameters and construction peculiarities of smoke, heat, flame and gas detectors are described in the article. Special attention is paid to flame detection principles of different detectors. For more convenient perception of the material, the description of fire detectors is given in logical sequence, on the basis of detector classification according to fire detection factor. In the practical part of the article given comparison of different smoke and heat detectors is made. While burning different kinds of fuel, the time of detectors' reaction is recorded. In the end of the article the conclusions on practical part are given.


'This article argues that application of beneficial ownership test in Articles 10 to 12 of the OECD Model Convention is not a straightforward question of legal or economic approach. Rather, it is a matter of balance between the two that simultaneously ensures legal certainty and does not countenance blatant treaty shopping. Accordingly, the article first explores the legal basis and main drawbacks of the two approaches when applied irrespective of one another. Basing on this analysis, the author advocates a targeted hybrid approach which is to be regulated by the relative abusiveness of the tax structure in question. The hybridity is manifested through the reliance on the economic approach as an exception to the legal approach in egregious cases, i.e., targeted cases. It is submitted that the relevant threshold of abuse can be determined on the basis of the 2014 update to the OECD Commentary on beneficial ownership. This conceptualization cuts through the ostensible inconsistencies of the contemporary jurisprudence and reveals the implicit public rationale guiding actions of tax authorities and court decisions'.


Question answering over knowledge graphs (KG-QA) is a vital topic in IR. Questions with temporal intent are a special class of practical importance, but have not received much attention in research. This work presents EXAQT, the first end-to-end system for answering complex temporal questions that have multiple entities and predicates, and associated temporal conditions. EXAQT answers natural language questions over KGs in two stages, one geared towards high recall, the other towards precision at top ranks. The first step computes question-relevant compact subgraphs within the KG, and judiciously enhances them with pertinent temporal facts, using Group Steiner Trees and fine-tuned BERT models. The second step constructs relational graph convolutional networks (R-GCNs) from the first step's output, and enhances the R-GCNs with time-aware entity embeddings and attention over temporal relations. We evaluate EXAQT on TimeQuestions, a large dataset of 16k temporal questions we compiled from a variety of general purpose KG-QA benchmarks. Results show that EXAQT outperforms three state-of-the-art systems for answering complex questions over KGs, thereby justifying specialized treatment of temporal QA.


The clinical course and symptomatology of the rare industrial disease due to inhalation and ingestion of dusts containing manganese are now well known. Edsall and Drinker, 1 and Edsall, Wilbur and Drinker 2 had an opportunity to examine a larger series of these patients than has been available to other investigators, and they summarized their observations as follows: As we have seen chronic manganese poisoning the following findings make the syndrome. We have numbered them in the most common order of appearance. It is difficult to emphasize in any written description the clearness with which the symptoms come out and the ease with which the diagnosis can be made. A history of work in manganese dust for at least three months. Languor and sleepiness. Stolid, mask-like facies. Low monotonous voice. Economical speech. Muscular twitching, varying in degree from a fine tremor of the hands to gross rhythmical movements of the


Introduction Inflammation generally refers to the body's defensive response to stimuli, and skin inflammation is still one of the major problems that affect human physical and mental health. While current pharmacological treatments are reported to have cytotoxicity and various side effects, herbal medicines with few side effects and low cytotoxicity are considered as alternative therapeutic approaches. Methods In order to investigate anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of ALOE, the potential cytotoxicity of A. vera extracts (ALOE) was determined in vitro at first. The production of the pro-inflammatory proteins (ie, IL-6, TNF-α) in lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and ultraviolet A (UVA)-stimulated HaCaT and RAW264.7 cells were then treated with ALOE to test its inhibitory effects using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To further explore the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of ALOE, quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze the mRNA expression of inflammatory genes iNOS, COX-2 and NO production. For NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways analysis, Western blotting and nuclear fluorescence staining were used to evaluate the expression of key factors. Results ALOE did not exhibit obvious cytotoxicity (0–3 mg/mL) in vitro. ALOE was able to inhibit the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α and functioned more prominently in LPS-induced model. ALOE could also suppress the mRNA expression of LPS-induced iNOS and COX-2 and further down-regulate NO level. Furthermore, ALOE reduced the protein expression of P65 in NF-κB signaling pathway and suppressed LPS-induced activation of ERK and JNK, instead of p38 MAPK pathway. Conclusion Taken together, these results demonstrated that ALOE is a potential treatment in suppressing LPS-stimulated inflammation reactions targeting NF-κB, JNK and ERK signaling pathways. The anti-inflammatory effects of ALOE indicated that it has the potential to become an effective cosmetic ingredient.


Emerging use-cases like smart manufacturing and smart cities pose challenges in terms of latency, which cannot be satisfied by traditional centralized networks. Edge networks, which bring computational capacity closer to the users/clients, are a promising solution for supporting these critical low latency services. Different from traditional centralized networks, the edge is distributed by nature and is usually equipped with limited connectivity and compute capacity. This creates a complex network to handle, subject to failures of different natures, that requires novel solutions to work in practice. To reduce complexity, more lightweight solutions are needed for containerization as well as smart monitoring strategies with reduced overhead. Orchestration strategies should provide reliable resource slicing with limited resources, and intelligent scaling while preserving data privacy in a distributed fashion. Power management is also critical, as providing and managing a large amount of power at the edge is unprecedented.


Signature analysis of reflectance spectra was used for the selection of the most suitable spectral bands for remote sensing of chlorophyll in inland waters. The parameters of the reflectance peak near 700 nm were employed for construction of algorithms for chlorophyll determination. The best model, validated by independent data sets, enabled estimation of chlorophyll concentration with an error < 0.6 mg/m3 for period of low Chl concentration and < 6.5 mg/m3 for period of the phytoplankton bloom. For the purpose of chlorophyll mapping in Lake Kinneret, the use of three relatively narrow spectral bands was sufficient. Radiometric data were also used to simulate radiances in the channels of TM Landsat and to find algorithm for chlorophyll assessment. The ratio (TM2-TM3)/TMl was used to retrieve chlorophyll in the range 3-10 mg/m3 with an error of < 1 mg.m-3; the ratio TM4/TM3 was used to map chlorophyll in the range 10-200 mg/m3 with 10 gradations.


Over the past decade, steric stabilization has been achieved for a variety of inorganic and organic colloids in supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (scCO2). Herein we demonstrate that colloids may also be stabilized in CO2 by electrostatic forces, despite the ultralow dielectric constant of 1.5. Zeta potentials of micrometer-sized water droplets, measured in a microelectrophoresis cell, reached -70 mV corresponding to a few elementary charges per square micrometer of droplet surface. This degree of charge was sufficient to stabilize water/CO2 emulsions for an hour, even with water volume fractions of 5%. Hydrogen ions partition preferentially, relative to bicarbonate ions, from the emulsion droplets to the cores of surfactant micelles in the diffuse double layer surrounding the droplets. The micelles, formed with a low molecular weight branched hydrocarbon surfactant, prevent ion pairing of the hydrogen counterions to the negatively charged emulsion droplets. Dielectrophoresis of the water droplets at a frequency of 60 Hz leads to chains containing a dozen droplets with lengths of 50 mum. The ability to form electrostatically stabilized colloids in carbon dioxide is particularly useful in practical applications, because steric stabilization in CO2 is often limited by the poor solvation of the stabilizers.


Purpose

Despite supposed widespread consumer support for ethical clothing, it still often fails to translate into actual purchase. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the way in which academics have defined and measured ethical clothing could account for this.

Design/methodology/approach

An over reliance on convenience sampling and the use of student samples has also been touted as a possible reason for this attitude-behaviour gap. To address this, this study employed a consumer household sample. It also used a quantitative survey approach to collect its data and structural equation modelling to analyse it.

Findings

In contrast to the way in which academics have conceptualised the construct, consumer perceptions of ethical clothing were found to be influenced by four dimensions: environmental responsibility, employee welfare, animal welfare and slow fashion attributes.

Originality/value

Ethical clothing has typically been operationalised using just two of these four dimensions. Ironically, one of the two dimensions often overlooked by academics – animal welfare – had the strongest influence on consumer perceptions. Previous academic efforts had never employed more than three dimensions, and yet the results of this study suggest that all four must be present if an item of clothing is to be regarded as "ethical".


In her preface, Hartman poses three critical questions that underline the inherent tension of writing Lebanese literature in French: "Can a work written in a colonial language like French express the everyday realities lived inArabic in Lebanon?Can this be done in away that does not simply 'spice up' the text and make a French novel seem more exotic? How can a French text speak Arabic?" (ix–x). These questions informHartman's analysis as she examines eight novels written in French by Lebanese women writers from 1933 to 2003. This seventy-year period witnessed different evolutions of the Lebanese novel at critical moments in the history of modern Lebanon, including French colonialism, Lebanese independence, a fifteen-year civil war, and the ongoing postwar nation building. In this regardHartman's analysis of the literary landscape is particularly attentive to the political and historical context of Lebanon. It also provides a localized understanding of Lebanese literature and its encounters with French beyond national and colonial geographies. This trajectory is exemplified in Hartman's review of colonial French-language education during themandate and the emergence of authors of Francophone novels, "who are for the most part members of the Lebanese elite and educated middle classes who moved in an actively polyglot world" (39), and her reference to the effects of global French and the continuous deep entanglement of France with Lebanon throughout the postwar period through active engagement with cultural centers, funding of festivals, support of the arts, and Beirut's hosting of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie summit in 2002, which underlines Beirut's "identification as one of the global locations where France's colonial linguistic policies took hold and had a deep effect" (233). Adopting an anticolonial framework that challenges both the universality of French and a nationalist reading of Frenchness in Lebanese novels,Hartman employs a triangular


Grid computing systems that have been the focus of much research in recent years provide a virtual framework for controlled sharing of resources across institutional boundaries. Security is a major concern in any system that enables remote execution. Several techniques can be used for providing security in grid systems including sandboxing, encryption, and other access control and authentication mechanisms. The additional overhead caused by these mechanisms may negate the performance advantages gained by grid computing. Hence, we contend that it is essential for the scheduler to consider the security implications while performing resource allocations. In this paper, we present a trust model for grid systems and show how the model can be used to incorporate security implications into scheduling algorithms. Three scheduling heuristics that can be used in a grid system are modified to incorporate the trust notion and simulations are performed to evaluate the performance.