The Background of the Research
Racial problems still have a very strong effect on the lives of black people in
the United States. Black people are still oppressed by the white society. People use
racial disparities as the basis for discrimination and prejudice which believed that
blacks are inferior to whites. As Louis Tyson mentioned in her book Critical Theory
Today in relating to the racial problem in Americans society that ―Many Americans
of all colors know, however, racism has not disappeared: it's just gone
―underground‖. That is, racial injustice in the United States is still a major and
pressing problem‖ (2006:367). The quotation above clearly explains that America is
still the most racist country toward black people. It can be defined that being different
race to another, black people should remain segregated from one another. This
condition shows black people is still undefined as a group who is living in oppressive
environment.
Racism is not just the act of prejudging a person, but it continues to influence
in the form of institutional racism where blacks discriminated by the dominant group
in the social institution, such as race-based discrimination in housing, education,
employment, governmental organization, courts of law, health care and more. It
occurs when institutions discriminate a certain group of people just because they
belong to a different race or culture. This condition makes minority people to be less
acceptable in the following social institution. Specifically, the unique experiences of
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women of color have been largely ignored by the social institution in the United
States. As Massey and Denton stated in Sociological Theory in the Contemporary
Era:
..., the institutionalized racism that African-American women encounter
relies heavily on racial segregation and accompanying discriminatory
practices designed to deny U.S. Blacks equitable treatment. Despite
important strides to desegregate U.S. society since 1970, racial
segregation remains deeply entrenched in housing, schooling, and
employment (qtd in Scott Appelrouth and Laura Desfor 2010:338).
From the quotation above, it is clearly seen that race becomes the high rate problem
in the United States. It becomes an obstacle for black people, especially for black
women, to fight the unfairness and segregation in the following social institution. In
this research, the writer focuses on race-based discrimination in the field of education
where educated black women are still degraded by their peers in attending American
institution. This phenomenon can be found in Alice Walker three selected short
stories that speaks to the black people struggle, especially for black women, who are
still treated differently than the whites in getting higher education in the United
States. Those selected stories represent educated black women whose encounter some
difficulties to socialize with their white counterparts, especially white female
domination in attending American college. The setting of the story is in the 1960's
and 70's where at that time the blacks constitute as an oppressed group in the United
States.
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In this research, the writer focuses on three selected short stories from the
book You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down (1981). The book itself is written by
feminist author who is best known for defending black women's standpoint, Alice
Walker. Three selected stories that the writer chooses in this study tell about black's
life, especially for black women's experience that still got discrimination, segregation
and oppression from white women domination in the form of institutionalized racism.
How white women society see black women's position in existing in the world of
education. As the best contemporary African American woman writer, Walker is also
acclaimed as the preeminent author in exploring her ideas about black women in
pursuing their rights and equality as same as white women's position in the United
States. Hence, she has been defined as a black feminist writer who explores the major
themes that remain unchanged, talking about a special concern by exploring the
insanities of black women struggle to cast fear aside from the unfairness treatment by
white society. As Tara Clark argues in her online article ―About Alice Walker‖ that
as a writer, Alice Walker deals with many issues, most of which concern
historical and modern race problems in America. Through this she brings
to national attention the cruelty and inhumane abuse that African
Americans have endured. This general topic can be broken down into
many areas that she feels are important for people to know and to learn
from‖ (1999).
Indeed, most of Walker's works are concentrated on African American women'
survival in dignity for the sake of the social acceptance. With this statement, it can be
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concluded that most of Walker's works deal mostly on African American experience
of life in the dominant group.
By describing a brief description and coherent relation among the issue, the
book and the author above, the writer is interested in analysing black women's
experiences who have been marginalized by white women society in making
significant strides in the world education. The writer finds this issue in three selected
short stories by Alice Walker You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down (1981): ―A
Letter of the Times, or Should This Sado-Masochism Be Saved?‖, ―A Sudden Trip
Home in the Spring‖ and ―Source‖.
There are several reasons why the writer chooses those three selected short
stories from the book You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down (1981) by Alice
Walker. Firstly, the stories contain modern racial problems where African American
woman becomes a strong figure for being able to overcome some barriers in resisting
oppression and discrimination. Here, Walker as the author of this book creates a new
image for colored women who are capable to fight for getting their rights and equal
opportunities toward society in all cases. Walker is also trying to portrait all black
women as feisty women who can solve their obstacles head on in facing all the risks
that they have endured in oppressive environment.
Secondly, the issue that appears in these selected stories is different from as
usual Walker's recurrent topics before in her literary works. As we have already
known before, many of the topics she wrote in her works are exploring about
domestic violence, black women's role in patriarchal society who are dominated even
violated by black and white men and the conflict with sexism that African American
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women have endured. But, in these stories, Walker stresses on the importance of
higher education issue for black women so that they will be treated fairly by the
society in order to achieve better life.


We report on the InGaAs/GaAsSb material system lattice-matched to InP for intersubband devices. Due to the much lower electron effective mass in the GaAsSb barrier material, this system is very promising for the realization of high performance intersubband devices, like quantum-cascade lasers and quantum well infrared photodetectors. Type I intersubband absorption in InGaAs/GaAsSb multi-quantum wells samples has been studied experimentally and the conduction band offset at the InGaAs/GaAsSb hetero-interface has been determined to be 360 meV. Additionally, we realized the first Al-free QCL based on the same material system, emitting at a wavelength of 11.3 μm.


IT HAPPENS about 10 000 times a day to every cell in the human body. Oxidants—the by-products of human metabolism—deliver damaging blows to the cells' DNA. Repair enzymes cut out much of the damage, but eventually time takes its toll. Oxidative attacks on the cells' DNA outpace the ability of enzymes to remove lesions. The cumulative damage is believed to be a major factor in the development of certain cancers and other aging-related illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease. But in recent years, scientists have pointed to the disease prevention potential of antioxidant properties found in certain nutrients, most notably vitamins C and E and beta carotene. As a result, fruits and vegetables that contain these compounds have taken a prominent place in contemporary recommendations to promote good health and prevent disease. "This is what mothers have known all along," says Bruce Ames, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and


In forest landscape restoration, one of the key objectives is to improve the water conservation capacity of the deforested land. A rapid, accurate assessment of the effects of the restoration measures on the water conservation capacity of targeted forests can help forest managers to identify the best practices for forest restoration. However, the traditional assessment tools of forest water conservation function lack a description of forest growth, and are featured by complex computation, which fails to evaluate the effects of forest restoration on the regional forest water conservation capacity in an efficient way. To address this issue, through combining the forest restoration evaluation model (equivalent recovery area, ERA), classic forest water storage capacity estimation (total water storage capacity), this study has taken advantage of ENVI/IDL, ArcGIS Engine/C#.Net to develop the Forest and Water Assessment Tool (FWAT) for assessing the changes of the regional forest landscape and the associated forest water conservation capacity in various forest restoration scenarios. This tool has been successfully applied in the Upper Zagunao watershed, a large forested watershed in the Upper Yangtze River basin. According to the assessment, the forest water conservation capacity of the study watershed consistently increased from about 1580.76 t/hm2 in 2010 to a projected 2014.34 t/hm2 by natural restoration, and 2124.18 t/hm2 by artificial restoration by 2030. The artificial restoration measures yield a better effect on forest water conservation function than natural restoration. By 2030, the forest water conservation capacity of artificial restoration scenario is expected to be about 7% higher than that of natural restoration scenario. The FWAT as an efficient tool to assess the effects of forest restoration measures on regional forest water conservation capacity can provide scientific support for the design of forest restoration and management strategies worldwide.


Aims To ascertain whether analysis of K-ras mutations at codon 12 (KRM) in the supernatant of pure pancreatic juice (PPJ) is more useful for the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma (PCa) than that in sediment, the authors analyzed KRM in DNA extract from not only the sediment but also the supernatant of PPJ and compared the results. Methodology PPJ was collected endoscopically from 19 patients with PCa and 25 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). DNA was extracted from the supernatant and the sediment of PPJ. Mutant allele-specific amplification (MASA) was performed for KRM analysis with the DNA extracts from these samples. Results The incidence of KRM in the supernatant of PPJ was 89% (17 of 19) in patients with PCa and 28% (7 of 25) in patients with CP, whereas that in the sediment was 79% (15 of 19) in patients with PCa and 20% (5 of 25) in patients with CP. Although there was no significant difference in KRM incidence between supernatant and sediment, the positive rate of KRM was higher in the former. Additionally, with regard to the PCa cases, KRM were found in the supernatant alone in four cases and in the sediment alone in two cases. Consequently, by a combination assay, all of the patients with PCa showed KRM in either the supernatant or sediment of PPJ. Although there was no relation between the incidence of KRM in PPJ and the location and size of tumor, and clinical stage of carcinoma in the patients with PCa, two patients with clinical stage I disease showed KRM in the supernatant. Conclusion These results suggest that the positive rate of KRM in the supernatant is not lower than that in the sediment, and simultaneous analysis of KRM in the supernatant and sediment of PPJ enhances the genetic diagnosis of PCa.


Wireless sensor networks(WSN) are an exiting emerging technology that scientists believe to become a part of every day life in the next few years. However, at this time many issues in wireless sensor networks remain unresolved. This paper studies the architecture of a neural wireless sensor network designed to identify technical condition of the base station of wireless sensor networks ,and this work presents an on-chip artificial neural networks(ANN) in a Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) system. In order to take maximum advantage of the distributed architecture of multiple NN systems is to providing a high degree of parallelism between NNs and, hence, a higher speed-up in relation to a sequential implementation. The goal of this work is to realize the hardware implementation of the base station of neural wireless sensor network using FPGAs to measure hamidi ty, temperature and light for the security system of an office.


This paper presents the experimental construction of a liquid-crystalline Bragg filter. The filter is designed as a low-cost WDM decoupler for fibre-optic networks, but can also be used as a demultiplexer in polarization-coded transmission. The theoretical basis, principle of operation and results of experimental examination of the device are given.


The impact of intravenous laser irradiation of blood with green laser in patients with hyperlipidemia was investigated. The blood of patients was chosen as sample for analysis. The patients were divided in two groups: patients with atherosclerosis of various localization and patients with atherosclerosis associated with diabetes mellitus. The effectiveness of laser impact was evaluated according the blood biochemical indicators. The levels of crude cholesterol, triglycerides, low and very low density lipoproteins, apoproteins A and B, highly sensitive C-reactive protein, atherogenity indicator, glucose content, uric acid content were determined befor and after 1, 3 and 6 months after impact. The study results indicate the occurrence of hypolipedemic and hypoglycemic effects.


Abstract.
 The purpose of this application, under Articles 78.1, 80.2.2 and 81.2.2 of the Code, is to conserve current usage of the well-established genus-group name Touit G.R. Gray, 1855 for a genus of South American parrotlets by suppression of the earlier but little-used, taxonomically ambiguous name Pyrrhulopsis Reichenbach, 1850. This course of action would also help to confirm the validity of the widely used genus-group name Prosopeia Bonaparte, 1854 for the Fijian shining parrots which has also been replaced by Pyrrhulopsis at times owing to differing interpretations of its meaning.


The final aim of this study is to identify the value of convective heat transfer generated by a local perturbation analog to a sun patch. A first approach to this work consisted of developing a means of evaluating the local heat transfer based on the use of an inverse method. We first chose the well-known academic case of a vertical heated plane plate to generate natural heat convection transfer. Then, for several temperatures of the plate, a first validation of the chosen inverse method was obtained in the steady state. It consisted of a comparison between the results provided by the inverse method and those obtained by the use of thermocouples to measure the temperature inside the boundary layer. These two types of results are also compared with relations published in the literature. In conclusion, the authors observe that the inverse method is pertinent and gives satisfactory results.


Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate on the effects of mother's thyroid autoantibodies on intrauterin fetal death. Meterial and Methods: A total of 200 pregnant women aged between 18 and 40 in their 6th-12th weeks of pregnancy were included in this study. The first group (study group) included 100 pregnant women who had previously experienced pregnancy loss in the second trimester in their previous pregnancies (termination of the pregnancy in the 13th-28th gestational weeks due to intrauterine fetal death). The second group (control group) also had 100 patients. Results: There is no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, number of pregnancies, and miscarriages (pg0.05). The avarage serum level of anti-thyroid peroxidase in the study group was higher than the control group (p=0.009). But when anti-thyroglobulin and anticardiolipin IgG levels were evaluated, we have seen that there was no difference between the two groups (pg0.05). Moreover, the ratio of pregnant women who had positive anti-thyroid peroxidase was %3 in the control group and %11 in the study group. This was considered statistically high (p=0.027). The correlation between the presence of thyroid autoantibodies and antiphospholipid antibody positivity was statistically low. Conclusion: Thyroid autoantibodies can be one of the autoimmune factors that are responsible for pregnancy loss. They show their effects by making a direct impact on the fetoplasental unit, causing thyroid malfunction, or creating an imbalance in the immune system of the mother. However, the role of thyroid autoantibodies on pregnancy losses are not clear and controlled studies are needed. Key words: Intrauterin Fetal Death; Thyroid Autoantibodies; Antiphospholipid Antibodies.


Aglets, a framework and runtime platform for mobile agents developed by the IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory, is an advanced system of mobile agents written in Java, and is already used in some commercial applications. Using mobile agent technologies provides potential benefits to applications, but they also pose security threats to those applications. These threats not only come as malicious agents, but also in the form of malicious hosts. In this paper we introduce security features against these threats. Access control and message protection can prevent attacks by malicious agents. Server authentication allows agents to avoid movement to malicious hosts and blocks suspicious agents coming from malicious hosts. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We provide a new way to prepare ZnO nanorods pattern from the solution composed of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and Zn(NO3)2. The substrate is ITO substrate covered by well ordered Au islands. Since Au and the underneath ITO substrate have two different nucleation rates in the initial stage of heterogeneous nucleation process, the subsequent ZnO growth on the quick nucleating area takes place under diffusion control and is able to confine the synthesis of ZnO nanorods to specific locations. The concentrations of zinc nitrate and HMT are well adjusted to show the possibility of the new route for the patterning of the ZnO nanorods. Furthermore, the nanorods pattern was characterized by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence and the performance of field emission property from ZnO nanorod patterns was investigated. The ZnO nanorods pattern with a good alignment also shows a good field enhancement behavior with a high value of the field enhancement factor.


Recessive X-linked disorders may occasionally evolve in clinical manifestations of variable severity also in female carriers. For some of such diseases, the frequency of the symptoms' appearance during women's life may be particularly relevant. This phenomenon has been largely attributed to the potential skewness of the X-inactivation process leading to variable phenotypes. Nonetheless, in many cases, no correlation with X-inactivation unbalance was demonstrated. However, methods for analyzing skewness have been mainly limited to Human Androgen Receptor methylation analysis (HUMARA). Recently, the X-inactivation process has been largely revisited, highlighting the heterogeneity existing among loci in the epigenetic state within inactive and, possibly, active X-chromosomes. We reasoned that gene-specific and ultra-deep DNA methylation analyses could greatly help to unravel details of the X-inactivation process and the roles of specific X genes inactivation in disease manifestations. We recently provided evidence that studying DNA methylation at specific autosomic loci at a single-molecule resolution (epiallele distribution analysis) allows one to analyze cell-to-cell methylation differences in a given cell population. We here apply the epiallele analysis at two X-linked loci to investigate whether females show allele-specific epiallelic patterns. Due to the high potential of this approach, the method allows us to obtain clearly distinct allele-specific epiallele profiles.


A low-cost and radiation-hardened program configuration module was designed with Commercial devices. Radiation hardness strategies, such as Error Correction Codes combined with multi-sector redundancy, and active reconfiguration, were designed to strength the radiation tolerance of the module. Cross-section data of the module tested in the accelerator environment is compared with the data of devices used in the module that has no radiation hardness.


Abstract This paper describes the extensive numerical investigation carried out on a 203-mm spin-stabilised projectile to study the effects of Magnus force at high angles of attack on the stability and flight-trajectory parameters, for further validation and incorporation in a 6-DOF trajectory solver for flight-stability analysis. Magnus force typically influences the course of flight by causing the projectile to drift from its intended path in addition to generation of inbuilt dynamic instabilities in pitch and yaw orientation and is a function of AoA and spin rate. This study is a consolidation of the authors' previous research on the same caliber projectile but with time-accurate analysis. It has been found that typically, the Magnus force and moment calculation requires time-accurate Navier Stokes equations to be solved numerically for accurate prediction(1,2). Hence, to complete the extraction of static and dynamic coefficients derivatives, unstructured time-accurate CFD analysis on multiple configurations, ranging from subsonic to supersonic Mach regimes, has been evaluated using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and found to be suitable for capturing the desired effects. However, the LES simulation requires non-dimensional wall distance (y+) of the order of 0.5 – 1, with LES_IQ > 75% thus, is computationally-intensive. In addition, to cover the entire flight envelope from Charge 1 (249 m/s) to Charge 7 (595 m/s), at spin rate from 500 rad/s to 750 rad/s, 30 cases have been evaluated to generate the time-accurate coefficient library for integration with 6-DOF solver analysis. The results obtained have been compared with the available experimental data and found to be in reasonable agreement. The results of 6-DOF solver, incorporating the extracted coefficients, were compared with firing-table results, which further validated the computational methodology. This study provides an insight on how opposite flow interacts with the attached boundary layer due to spin rate and generates a turbulent interacting flow with variation in vortical structures for Q-Criterion vortex-flow visualization.


ABSTRACT This paper presents the performance of the solid-oxide fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid power generation system with heat recovery waste unit based on the energy and exergy analyses. The effect of air inlet temperature and air/fuel ratio on exergy destruction and network output is determined. For the numerical calculations, air inlet temperature and air fuel ratio are increased from 273 to 373 K and from 40 to 60, respectively. The results of the numerical calculations bring out that total exergy destruction quantity increases with the increase of air inlet temperature and air/fuel ratio. Furthermore, the maximum system overall first and second law efficiencies are obtained in the cases of air inlet temperature and air/fuel ratio equal to 273 K and 60, respectively, and these values are 62.09% and 54.91%.


Abstract Recognizing the relevance of energy in our lives is essential for ensuring a sustainable future. The lessons offered by education systems could exert an impact throughout the lives of people. This study conducts a review of the content of elementary-level textbooks in Mexico to describe and analyze the scope of these materials and their depth from the perspective of energy literacy. Analysis considers the content of 44 textbooks published in 2014, and identifies 33 topics categorized based on the framework of energy literacy proposed by DeWaters (2011). The results show that energy-related issues were introduced to students earlier than expected by the government educational authority, energy-related contents were more extensive than expected across the textbooks, and offered a rich interdisciplinary perspective previously unrecognized by national educational guidelines. These findings suggest the need to update educational guidelines in Mexico to acknowledge the contents identified in this research, to support them with materials related to SDGs, and to understand better which energy education topics are being covered for future generations in other countries.


This study is aimed to investigate how to apply PULL mechanism in an agent-based Internet advertising system. In this pull mechanism, consumers are able to actively announce requirements. Therefore, advertisers are easier to find and analyze potential consumers for designing appropriate ads. This study also proposes an agent-based Internet advertising system which consists of multiple software agents to accomplish this pull mechanism. There are personal agents for consumers to release requirements and request promotion of advertisers actively. To attract consumers, this system supports advertisers to script animated conversational agents for expressively interacting with consumers. In order to demonstrate this study, an experimental system, e-novel advisor system, is also described in this paper.


Contrary to fairness expected in modern world, people seem to treat in-group members (us) better than out-group members (them). Do people then defend the in-group members as politicians but prosecute the out-group members in a fair-but-biased manner? Given information about injustices by a male or female manager, participants made outrage, attribution, attitude, and punishment responses to the manager. In-group defence held in the first three responses but fairness in punishment. However, the seeming fairness in punishment arose from bias suppression by outrage and mediation by attitude, and the order of mediation was from outrage to attitude and not vice versa. No of words = 100


Summary
The stability profiles of the antiviral states induced in L-929 cells against mengovirus by murine interferons MuIFN-α/β and by MuIFN-γ were shown to be different. Treatment of cells with combinations of IFN-α/β and IFN-γ have previously been shown to result in a potentiated expression of the antiviral state. Here we report studies of the stabilities of the antiviral states induced by various combinations of IFN-α/β and IFN-γ and that the regulation of the antiviral states induced by IFN-α/β and IFN-γ were independent of each other.


Minimally invasive measurement of cardiac output as a central component of advanced haemodynamic monitoring has been increasingly recognised as a potential means of improving perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery. Methods based upon pulmonary carbon dioxide elimination are among the oldest techniques in this field, with comparable accuracy and precision to other techniques. Modern adaptations of these techniques suitable for use in the perioperative and critical are environment are based on the differential Fick approach, and include the partial carbon dioxide rebreathing method. The accuracy and precision of this approach to cardiac output measurement has been shown to be similar to other minimally invasive techniques. This paper reviews the underlying principles and evolution of the method, and future directions including recent adaptations designed to deliver continuous breath-by-breath monitoring of cardiac output.


Progress in the development of disease‐modifying drugs for osteoarthritis has been hampered by a lack of understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and how it differs from rheumatoid arthritis. However, more recent research in this field has identified several promising therapeutic targets.


Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are enrolled into surveillance programs for the early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, most patients under surveillance are low-risk and never progress to CRC, while a significant proportion of CRCs in UC form without a preceding confirmed diagnosis of dysplasia. High resolution chromosomal copy-number alteration (CNA) analysis of unselected formalin-fixed paraffin embedded biopsies taken at surveillance colonoscopies using low pass whole genome sequencing (lpWGS) offers an appealing approach to CRC stratification.

 We conducted a retrospective case-control study to compare the CNA burden in four unselected non-neoplastic left-sided colorectal biopsies from patients with E2/E3 UC derived 1–5 years prior to HGD/CRC detection (cases), with that of biopsies from patients who subsequently remained HGD/CRC-free for at least 5 years (controls). The two patient groups were matched by age, gender, duration of IBD and PSC status. lpWGS was performed using a standardised pipeline for epithelial enrichment, DNA extraction, library preparation, next generation sequencing and bioinformatic analysis.

 476 biopsies, derived from 42 cases and 77 controls, were analysed. Nearly 80% of patients had a detectable CNA in at least one of their biopsies, with the maximal CNA burden in a typical biopsy involving a median 1.1% of that biopsy's genome. The CNA burden was significantly greater in the rectum compared to the sigmoid colon and descending colon. The most common CNA events were losses of between 1–30 megabases involving the sub-telomeric regions of chromosomes 5–9 and 22, which were found in similar proportion in both case and control biopsies. However, losses extending beyond sub-telomeric regions, as well as copy number gains, were found more frequently in cases biopsies (p<0.0001). The most discriminating CNA event was the presence of such a loss extending beyond subtelomeric regions in any of the patient's four biopsies, with a high specificity exceeding 0.95 (see Kaplan-Meier plot). ROC analysis demonstrates that lpWGS output has a fair level of accuracy at predicting future HGD/CRC risk (AUC 0.73).

 We identified multiple biopsies, predominantly in cases, with a surprisingly marked CNA burden involving over 10% of the genome, highlighting the fluid phenotype-genotype relationship. Non-dysplastic colitic epithelium can bear a significant burden of CNAs and maintain phenotypic stability for years without neoplastic transformation. Remarkably, by analysing the CNA burden of only four random biopsies, derived from less than 0.05% of the colonic surface area, we can significantly discriminate between case and control cohorts.


This study examined the effect of modifying chitosan (MC) with sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) in adsorbing soluble cutting fluid emulsion (SCFE). The adsorbent was prepared by the addition of SLES to chitosan solution followed by sulfuric acid immersion. Batch adsorption was carried out as a function of initial concentration of the soluble cutting fluid emulsion. The point of zero charge of the adsorbent was also measured at pH 1.9. The percent adsorption was calculated and found out to decrease, whereas the adsorption capacity increases as the initial concentration of the adsorbate increases. Experimental results showed that using 2.0 g of the modified chitosan in a 72,227 mg/L soluble cutting fluid emulsion concentration, a 2,518.8 mg/g adsorption capacity was calculated. Models of Langmuir and Freundlich were applied to describe the adsorption isotherm together with coefficient of determination and chi-square error function calculations. The Langmuir isotherm best fitted the experimental data of the modified chitosan. In addition, the significant uptake of the soluble cutting fluid emulsion was demonstrated by the changes in the FTIR spectra and the heat of combustion of the modified chitosan before and after the adsorption process.


The study of building materials is important for a better conservation of built heritage. Worldwide, volcanic stones (including basalt, andesite and dacite) are among the least studied building materials. In this research, the decay of a red basalt due to wet atmospheric deposition was studied. Red basalt was exposed to artificial rain solutions, prepared from rain samples collected weekly from 2014–2019. In this research, the decay of stone-built heritage was indirectly studied emulating wet atmospheric accelerated weathering under three different volume weighted mean (VWM) compositions: global, acid and no-acid categories. Lixiviates were analyzed to better understand the deterioration mechanisms taking place inside the material. Decay was quantified as mass difference, water absorption capacity (WAC) and open porosity (OP) changes. Results show that the methodology used is suitable to research the decay of built heritage. The studied basalt is indeed prone to decay by wet atmospheric deposition. The main decay mechanisms are the washing of insoluble compounds, dissolution of minerals, salt crystallization and cation exchange. WAC and OP showed promising results of their appropriateness as monitoring variables of decay in situ. Acid conditions produce the most severe decay, but Ph effect is not as important as precipitation volume. Non-linear equations relating volume of precipitation with mass difference in red basalt are presented.


CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME SIR: We present a case of Cornelia de Lange syndrome in Papua New Guinea. This is a syndrome basically characterized by low stature, mental retardation, growth retardation, brachymicrocephaly and hirsutism. As Papua New Guinea, rather than being one society, is made up of many communities, we believe that it is important to stress not only the occurrence of the syndrome itself, but also the high frequency of malformations in the area from which the patient comes. Since Cornelia de Lange first described the syndrome as "thin lips with small beak of the upper and corresponding notch in the lower lip; downward curving of the angle of the mouth",' between 120 and 130 cases have been mentioned in the medical literature. Although different types of chromosomal aberrations have sometimes been found, until now nothing appears in a constant form which could suppose its cause. The patient we report is a male child of II months of age from the village of Gaulim, in the Baining area. He was admitted to the Nonga Base Hospital at Rabaul because he was suffering from fever, respiratory distress, and cyanosis. It is difficult to be precise about the previous history of the patient among the primitive groups of Papua New Guinea. Seemingly, two or three days before admission to hospital, he had experienced respiratory difficulties. We did not know if this was motivated by an infectious process or by an aspirative accident in a child who was breast fed only. Judging by cases which are described in the literature, breast feeding is a typical cause in this type of syndrome.


Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) is one of the significant causes of lobar intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) mainly among elderly people. Sporadic cases of CAA have been linked to genetic polymorphisms with an increased risk of disease, an earlier presentation, and an accelerated pathology [1]. Here, we present a patient with no significant risk factors who had a recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage secondary to CAA probably induced by exercise.


Mugil cephalus L., 1758 (flathead mullet) is a valuable commercial fish and a promising object of artificial breeding in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and the study of its parasite fauna is important for fishery and mariculture. Monogeneans of the genus Ligophorus are common ectoparasites dwelling on the gills of mullets. Two representatives of this genus parasitise flathead mullet in the Azov-Black Sea region, namely Ligophorus mediterraneus Sarabeev, Balbuena et Euzet, 2005 and Ligophorus cephali Rubtsova, Balbuena, Sarabeev, Blasco- Costa et Euzet, 2006. Morphological identification of these species requires spending much time and a high level of experience in monogenean taxonomy. For quick and correct species identification of these parasites, we have developed a genotyping approach based on the polymerase chain reaction of allele-specific gene sites for various Monogenea species. A fragment of the 28S ribosomal gene, which includes conserved and variable sites, was chosen as a genetic marker. Three approaches were used as follows: amplified fragment length analysis, allelespecific PCR with endpoint detection and allele-specific real-time PCR using SYBR Green intercalating dye. The first approach was by obtaining PCR products of different lengths that were specific either to L. mediterraneus or to L. cephali. This approach was implemented due to the presence of several variable sites located at a distance from each other. The PCR mixture contained three primers: one forward and two reverse. The forward primer was complementary to the conserved site, which did not differ between species. Reverse primers were speciesspecific and, for each species, they were complementary to different DNA regions located 100 bp apart. As a result, L. mediterraneus was characterized by shorter amplicons than L. cephali. For the second and third approaches, a pair of primers was designed according to the following principle: the forward primer was complementary to both species, since it was selected for the conserved gene region. Reverse primers were species-specific and were designed for the 28S variable region. The two parasite species were distinguished by three-point mutations. Thus, one pair of primers was complementary to L. mediterraneus, the other, to L. cephali. The amplified fragment length analysis and the allele-specific real-time PCR demonstrated 100 % coincidence of genotyping results compared with Sanger sequencing. The developed genotyping protocols can be used not only to distinguish two species of Ligophorus from flathead mullet in ecological studies and veterinary practice but also for further development of similar approaches for other monogeneans, among which there are many pathogenic species.


The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of currently available topical skin pharmaceuticals against Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus pyogenes. The agar dilution assay was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration for cream formulations and their active substances. Corticosteroid formulations with the antiseptics clioquinol or halquinol were active against all microbes. The hydrogen peroxide formulation was primarily active against staphylococci. Clotrimazole, miconazole and econazole showed an effect against staphylococci in addition to their effect on C. albicans. In contrast, terbinafine had no antibacterial effect. Fusidic acid was active against staphylococci, with slightly weaker activity against S. pyogenes and no activity against C. albicans or E. coli. In summary, some topical skin pharmaceuticals have broad antimicrobial activity in vitro, clioquinol and halquinol being the most diverse. In limited superficial skin infection topical treatment can be an alternative to systemic antibiotics and should be considered. With the global threat of multi-resistant bacteria there is a need for new, topical, non-resistance-promoting, antimicrobial preparations for the treatment of skin infections.


In this study, the effect of longitudinal distance H between non-aligned twin cracks is investigated using finite element damage analysis. The FE damage analysis based on the stress-modified fracture strain model is used to calculate the failure stress of non-aligned twin cracked pipe. Parametric study on the axial distance H between non-aligned twin cracks with various crack depths and lengths were conducted and compared with predictions using the alignment rules and the net-section collapse load approach for single crack provided in ASME Code. It is shown that the trend of the predicted collapse bending stresses for the non-aligned twin cracked pipes using FE damage analysis are different from the ones using the alignment rule.


In conjunction with the classical functions of regulating intestinal, bone, and kidney calcium and phosphorus absorption, as well as bone mineralization of vitamin D, the population-based association between low vitamin D status and increased cancer risk is now generally accepted. Inflammation is causally related to oncogenesis. It is widely thought that vitamin D plays an important role in the modulation of the inflammation system by regulating the production of inflammatory cytokines and immune cells, which are crucial for the pathogenesis of many immune-related diseases. Mechanistic studies have shown that vitamin D influences inflammatory processes involved in cancer progression, including cytokines, prostaglandins, MAP kinase phosphatase 5 (MKP5), the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, and immune cells. Multiple studies have shown that vitamin D has the potential to inhibit tumor development by interfering with the inflammation system. The present review summarizes recent studies of the mechanisms of vitamin D on regulating the inflammation system, which contributes to its potential for cancer prevention and therapy. This review helps answer whether inflammation mediates a causal relationship between vitamin D and tumorigenesis.


Earlier this year the Federal Ministry of Justice released the second edition of the brochure, Law - Made in Germany. For those readers who do not know the brochure, it is the product of an umbrella group of German professional organizations known as the Bundnis fur das deutsche Recht. A purpose of the Bundnis, as stated at its founding in 2008, and of the brochure, is to improve the position of German law in the ― "international competition of legal systems" (internationalen Wettbewerb der Rechtsordnungen). Catalyst for founding of the Bundnis and for publication of Law - Made in Germany was the 2007 publication by The Law Society of England and Wales of the brochure England and Wales: The jurisdiction of choice — dispute resolution.The issue of the second edition of Law - Made in Germany is an appropriate moment to consider what improving the position of German law in international competition means. I see at least two different, but not mutually exclusive, goals. The one stems from the brochure's origin as counterpoint to the English brochure: to encourage non-Germans to bring their commercial disputes to Germany to be decided (forum shopping) and, related to that goal, to locate their businesses in Germany (location decision). The other goal is to raise appreciation of German law abroad and thereby, perhaps, to encourage voluntary adoption, adaptation or approximation abroad of some of its elements (reception of law).


In this report, we unify two quite distinct approaches to information retrieval: region models and language models. Region models were developed for structured document retrieval. They provide a well-defined behaviour as well as a simple query language that allows application developers to rapidly develop applications. Language models are particularly useful to reason about the ranking of search results, and for developing new ranking approaches. The unified model allows application developers to define complex language modeling approaches as logical queries on a textual database. We show a remarkable one-to-one relationship between region queries and the language models they represent for a wide variety of applications: simple ad-hoc search, cross-language retrieval, video retrieval, and web search.


Hadar & Russell (1974) and Levy & Paroush (1974) presented sufficient conditions for multivariate stochastic dominance when the distributions involved are continuous with compact support. Further generalizations involved either independence assumptions (Sacarsini (1988)) or the introduction of new concepts like "correlation increasing transformation" (Epstein & Tanny (1980), Tchen (1980), Mayer (2013)). In this paper, we present a direct proof that extends the original results to the general case where the involved distributions are only assumed to have compact support. This result has in turn proven useful for statistical tests of dominance without the assumption of absolute continuity. The first section introduces several concepts used throughout the paper. In the second section we recall the classic result as presented in Atkinson & Bourguignon (1982), with a slightly lighter proof using the general integration by parts formula for Lebesgue-Stieljes integrals in R. In the third section we present our proof of the general result, using Riemman-Stieljes partial sums in a direct fashion that helps to clarify the role of modularity conditions and boundary effects in the sufficiency of the conditions. The last section discusses the relevance of the result and concludes.


"Rule of Law Rules" is our podcast on Rule of Law in the age of digitalization from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The host of the podcast is Dr Angela Daly, a socio-legal scholar of digital technology. In each episode, she will interview one international expert about the opportunities and challenges for human rights in the digital age. We will gain insights into recent developments from different parts of the world.

After getting an overview of the latest regulations on "Data Protection" around the world in our first six episodes, now we want to focus on "Legal Tech" and the Access to Justice.

We start our journey in the Middle East with Suzanna Kalendzhian. Suzanna is the Co-founder and CEO of Legal Advice Middle East, the AI-powered legal services marketplace which operates in 16 countries across the region. Her company helps people to get access to justice by allowing them to find, communicate and transact with lawyers online.

We spoke with her about Legal Technology in her region, the Middle East.


Astronomy is driven by the quest for higher sensitivity and improved angular resolution in order to detect fainter or smaller objects. The far-infrared to submillimeter domain is a unique probe of the cold and obscured Universe, harboring for instance the precious signatures of key elements such as water. Space observations are mandatory given the blocking effect of our atmosphere. However the methods we have relied on so far to develop increasingly larger telescopes are now reaching a hard limit, with the JWST illustrating this in more than one way (e.g. it will be launched by one of the most powerful rocket, it requires the largest existing facility on Earth to be qualified). With the Thinned Aperture Light Collector (TALC) project, a concept of a deployable 20 m annular telescope, we propose to break out of this deadlock by developing novel technologies for space telescopes, which are disruptive in three aspects: • An innovative deployable mirror whose topology, based on stacking rather than folding, leads to an optimum ratio of collecting area over volume, and creates a telescope with an eight times larger collecting area and three times higher angular resolution compared to JWST from the same pre-deployed volume; • An ultra-light weight segmented primary mirror, based on electrodeposited Nickel, Composite and Honeycomb stacks, built with a replica process to control costs and mitigate the industrial risks; • An active optics control layer based on piezo-electric layers incorporated into the mirror rear shell allowing control of the shape by internal stress rather than by reaction on a structure. We present in this paper the roadmap we have built to bring these three disruptive technologies to technology readiness level 3. We will achieve this goal through design and realization of representative elements: segments of mirrors for optical quality verification, active optics implemented on representative mirror stacks to characterize the shape correction capabilities, and mechanical models for validation of the deployment concept. Accompanying these developments, a strong system activity will ensure that the ultimate goal of having an integrated system can be met, especially in terms of (a) scalability toward a larger structure, and (b) verification philosophy.


Multiple strategies to cure HIV infection are under investigation, including cell and gene therapy (C>) approaches. Research, and ultimately treatment, with these novel strategies will require patients' willingness to participate. To elicit the perspectives of people living with HIV specific to these novel approaches, we conducted 4 focus group discussions with a diverse group of 19 English-speaking men and women living with HIV in care at a large academic HIV clinic in the northwestern United States. Thematic analysis indicated participants expressed initial fear about C> research. They articulated specific concerns about risks, including analytical treatment interruptions, and thought only a person in desperate straits would participate. They voiced significant mistrust of research in general and believed there was already a cure from HIV that was being withheld from the poor. Overall, they were satisfied with their health and quality of life on antiretroviral therapy. These findings suggest the importance of community engagement and educational efforts about C> for HIV cure to ensure optimal collaborative partnerships.


This paper considers inference in log‐linearized dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models with weakly (including un‐) identified parameters. The framework allows for analysis using only part of the spectrum, say at the business cycle frequencies. First, we characterize weak identification from a frequency domain perspective and propose a score test for the structural parameter vector based on the frequency domain approximation to the Gaussian likelihood. The construction heavily exploits the structures of the DSGE solution, the score function, and the information matrix. In particular, we show that the test statistic can be represented as the explained sum of squares from a complex‐valued Gauss–Newton regression, where weak identification surfaces as (imperfect) multicollinearity. Second, we prove that asymptotically valid confidence sets can be obtained by inverting this test statistic and using chi‐squared critical values. Third, we provide procedures to construct uniform confidence bands for the impulse response function, the time path of the variance decomposition, the individual spectrum, and the absolute coherency. Finally, a simulation experiment suggests that the test has adequate size even with relatively small sample sizes. It also suggests it is possible to have informative confidence sets in DSGE models with unidentified parameters, particularly regarding the impulse response functions. Although the paper focuses on DSGE models, the methods are applicable to other dynamic models with well defined spectra, such as stationary (factor‐augmented) vector autoregressions.


This research work is to investigate the effect of radiating Gongronema latifolium leaves with UV-C light on the bioactive component, antioxidant, antidiabetic and Fe 2+ induced lipid peroxidative inhibitory capacity of the leaves. The leaves were freshly harvested and divided into 3 parts; one part was treated with UV-C lamp at 210 nm for 10 minutes (UV-C 10), the second part for 20 minutes (UV-C 20) while the last part was not treated. The aqueous extracts of G. latifolium were used for the analysis. The UV-C 20 sample had a higher level of total phenolics (6.10 mgGAE/g) and total flavonoids (0.64 mgQE/g). However, the untreated sample showed a significantly (p ˂ 0.05) higher value of ascorbic acid than the treated samples. There was increase in the scavenging and inhibiting abilities of G. latifolium when irradiated with UV-C. The UV-C 20 sample exhibited a higher and significant (p ˂ 0.05) DPPH scavenging and metal chelating abilities as well as higher inhibitory effect on α-amylase, α-glucosidase enzyme and Fe 2+ induced lipid peroxidation in vitro . The UV-C irradiated leaves could be used therapeutically for the correction of stress induced diseases. Keywords: Gongronema latifolium , UV-C, phenolic, ascorbic acid, total flavonoid, DPPH scavenging activity, α-amylase, α-glucosidase enzyme


: With the development of the economy, society, science – technique and media, the scope of marks that can be recognized as trademarks in commerce has been increasingly expanded to both three-dimensional trademarks and sound marks. On the basis of referencing international laws and several countries and region's practice of three-dimensional trademarks and sound marks, this article analyzes the provisions of Vietnamese law, especially the new provisions in the Law on amending and supplementing a number of provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property 2022 to propose recommendations to improve the law related to the protection of these two types of trademarks.


Materials adsorbed onto the surface of a fluid – for instance, crude oil, biogenic slicks or industrial/medical surfactants – will move in response to surface waves. Owing to the difficulty of non-invasive measurement of the spatial distribution of a molecular monolayer, little is known about the dynamics that couple the surface waves and the evolving density field. Here, we report measurements of the spatiotemporal dynamics of the density field of an insoluble surfactant driven by gravity–capillary waves in a shallow cylindrical container. Standing Faraday waves and travelling waves generated by the meniscus are superimposed to create a non-trivial surfactant density field. We measure both the height field of the surface using moiré imaging, and the density field of the surfactant via the fluorescence of NBD-tagged phosphatidylcholine, a lipid. Through phase averaging stroboscopically acquired images of the density field, we determine that the surfactant accumulates on the leading edge of the travelling meniscus waves and in the troughs of the standing Faraday waves. We fit the spatiotemporal variations in the two fields using an ansatz consisting of a superposition of Bessel functions, and report measurements of the wavenumbers and energy damping factors associated with the meniscus and Faraday waves, as well as the spatial and temporal phase shifts between them. While these measurements are largely consistent for both types of waves and both fields, it is notable that the damping factors for height and surfactant in the meniscus waves do not agree. This raises the possibility that there is a contribution from longitudinal waves in addition to the gravity–capillary waves.


This paper discusses virtual reconstructions of roman architectures from a constructive and technical point of view, and
presents the results of a study about the contribution of architectural construction applied to virtual "restoration", that allowed
reconstructive hypothesis realization using computer graphics for virtual reconstruction of the Villa of Livia. One of the key
features regarding the methodology developed is the reliance on knowledge about ancient building techniques to underpin
reconstruction hypotheses: as when designing a building, the preparation of a virtual model relies on architectural and
engineering criteria, such as structural stability, functionality and correct use of building materials. In this regard, the virtual
reconstruction of Roman buildings is eased by the existence of strong codes and principles that have ruled design and on
which reconstruction hypotheses can be based. The paper introduces how the methodology is perfectly transparent and
repeatable, guarantying a sound and objective final product.


The sequence G37pG36 is present in all tRNA species recognized and methylated by the Escherichia coli modification enzyme tRNA (guanosine-1)methyltransferase. We have examined whether this dinucleotide sequence provides the base specific recognition signal for this enzyme and have assessed the role of the remaining tRNA in recognition. E. coli tRNAHis and yeast tRNAAsp were substituted with G at positions 36 and 37 and were found to be excellent substrates for methylation. This suggested that the general tRNA structure can be specifically bound by the enzyme. In addition, heterologous tRNA species including fully modified tRNA1Leu are excellent inhibitors of tRNA1Leu transcript methylation. Analyses of structural variants of yeast tRNAAsp and E. coli tRNA1Leu demonstrate clearly that the core tertiary structures of tRNA are required for recognition and that G37 must be in the correct position in space relative to important contacts elsewhere in the molecule. This latter conclusion was reached because the addition of one to three stacked base pairs in the anticodon stem of tRNA1Leu dramatically alters activity. In this case, the G37 base is rotated away from the correct position in space relative to other tRNA contact sites. The acceptor stem structure is required for optimal activity since deletion of three or five base pairs is detrimental to activity; however, specific base sequence may not be important because (i) the addition of three stacked base pairs of different sequence had little effect on activity and (ii) heterologous tRNAs with little or no sequence homology in the acceptor stem are excellent substrates. Both poly G and GpG are potent and specific inhibitors of enzyme activity and are minimal substrates which can be methylated, forming m1G. Taken together, these studies suggest that 1MGT can bind the general tRNA structure and that the crucial base-pair contacts are G37 and G36.


This book offers a transnational perspective of evidentiary problems, drawing on insights from different systems and legal traditions. It avoids the isolated manner of analyzing evidence and proof within each Common Law and Civil Law tradition. Instead, it features contributions from leading authors in the evidentiary field from a variety of jurisdictions and offers an overview of essential topics that are of both theoretical and practical interest. The collection examines evidence not only as a transnational field, but in a cross-disciplinary context. Each chapter engages with the interdisciplinary themes cutting through the issues discussed, benefiting from the expertise and experience of their diverse authors.


Performance analysis is one of the most important aspects in the research of workflow technology. In this paper, we put forward an approximate performance analysis method of workflow model with resource constraints, which combines queuing theory and stochastic Petri net. In the end, an example is given to illustrates our method can solve real-world problems efficiently


Recent studies have revealed that probiotics and their metabolites are present under various conditions; however, the role of probiotic metabolites (i.e., postbiotics in pathological states) is controversial. Natural killer (NK) cells play a key role in innate and adaptive immunity. In this study, we examined NK cell activation influenced by a postbiotics mixture in response to gut microbiome modulation in stress-induced mice. In vivo activation of NK cells increased in the postbiotics mixture treatment group in accordance with Th1/Th2 expression level. Meanwhile, the Red Ginseng treatment group, a reference group, showed very little expression of NK cell activation. Moreover, the postbiotics mixture treatment group in particular changed the gut microbiome composition. Although the exact role of the postbiotics mixture in regulating the immune system of stress-induced mice remains unclear, the postbiotics mixture-induced NK cell activation might have affected gut microbiome modulation.


Every company tries to achieve goals to gain profit and win the competition. To achieve this goal, the company must be able to demonstrate a competitive advantage. Therefore, the company always strives to gain competitive advantage by identifying, managing and optimizing their internal resources in the form of tangible and intangible assets that have superior characteristics as the power of generating competitive advantage. The sustainable competitive advantage by empowering their internal company resources can be defined as Research-Based View (RBV). The importance of research based views is contradicting with Market Based View (MBV) which stated that the more market oriented the more superior their competitive position. By using qualitative research (literature review), this study aims to understand and investigate how to create company performances through both point of views which is internal resources integration and market orientation based on competitive advantages.


textabstractGene therapy is a procedure in which exogenous genetic material is
introduced into the cells of a patient in order to correct an genetic error or
to provide the cells of the patient with a new functional property.
Correction can be achieved by gene targeting via homologous
recombination, at present achieved with very low efficiency (reviewed in
Yanez and Porter 1998), or by addition of a therapeutic gene
(augmentation). For gene therapy to succeed in clinical practice, the
therapeutic gene must be delivered efficiently into the appropriate cells
(tissue) and, once delivered, the gene must be expressed at a therapeutical
level.
In this chapter (section A) I will summarise some of the efforts currently
underway for the development of practical, efficient and safe methods for
gene transfer in man and the rationale underlying these approaches as well
as the limitations and the problems involved (Tables IA and IB). I will
also address the following issues: regulation of gene expression (section
B), possible targets for gene therapy (section C), creation of animal models
for human diseases and their relevance to somatic gene therapy (section D)
and ethical and social implications of gene therapy (section E).


Background: No doubt, new communication technology has turned the whole world into a "Global Village". Technology, as it is, though, like two sides of a coin, carries both the negative and the positive sides of it. It allows people to be well educated, enlightened, and keep up with changes in the world. Technology is exposing society to a new way to do stuff. Objective of the study: Effect of digital media on academic performance in undergraduate students. Materials and Methods: The research population consisted of all students who from 2017-2020 academic years are studying at Malwanchal University willing to participate in the study and complete the questionnaires entirely. Stratified sampling at random was done. Variables of social media use were measured by the Merton (1968) social network site use scale and academic performance was evaluated according to the self-reported GPA. Results: The results showed that the mean percentage of users belonging to low social network sites among the sample categories, average users of social network sites and high users of social network sites varied significantly. Conclusion: The use of social networking sites on the Internet has a negative effect on academic success. The value of learning to balance the use of social networking sites for better purposes is found to aid in their academic standing.


XRCC genes (X-ray cross-complementing group) were discovered mainly for their roles in protecting mammalian cells against damage caused by ionizing radiation. Studies determined that these genes are important in the genetic stability of DNA. Although the loss of some of these genes does not necessarily confer high levels of sensitivity to radiation, they have been found to represent important components of various pathways of DNA repair. To ensure the integrity of the genome, a complex system of DNA repair was developed. Base excision repair is the first defense mechanism of cells against DNA damage and a major event in preventing mutagenesis. Repair genes may play an important role in maintaining genomic stability through different pathways that are mediated by base excision. In the present study, we examined XRCC1Arg194Trp and XRCC1Arg399Gln polymorphism using PCR-RFLP in 80 astrocytoma and glioblastoma samples. Patients who had the allele Trp of the XRCC1Arg194Trp polymorphism had an increased risk of tumor development (OR = 8.80; confidence interval at 95% (95%CI) = 4.37-17.70; P < 0.001), as did the allele Gln of XRCC1Arg399Gln (OR = 1.01; 95%CI = 0.53-1.93; P = 0.971). Comparison of overall survival of patients did not show significant differences. We suggest that XRCC1Arg194Trp and XRCC1Arg399Gln polymorphisms are involved in susceptibility for developing astrocytomas and glioblastomas.


Modular structural systems are constructed using a method that they are assembled with prefabricated unit modular frames on-site. This provides a benefit that can significantly reduce building construction time. The structural design is usually carried out under the assumption that their load-carrying mechanism is similar to that of traditional steel moment-resisting systems. However, both systems are different in terms of beam-column connection details which may strongly influence the lateral structural behavior. Specially, the presence of access holes in a beam-column joint of a unit modular frame could cause undesirable failure during strong earthquakes. Therefore, this study carried out finite element analyses (FEMs) of unit modular frames to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-column joints with the access holes. Analysis results show that the unit modular frames present stable cyclic response with large deformation capacities and their joints are classified into semi-rigid connections even if there are access holes. Keywords—Unit modular frame, steel moment connection, nonlinear analytical model, moment-rotation relation, access holes.


The J(1)-J(2) Ising model in the square lattice in the presence of an external field is studied by two approaches: the cluster variation method (CVM) and Monte Carlo simulations. The use of the CVM in the square approximation leads to the presence of a new equilibrium phase, not previously reported for this model: an Ising-nematic phase, which shows orientational order but not positional order, between the known stripes and disordered phases. Suitable order parameters are defined, and the phase diagram of the model is obtained. Monte Carlo simulations are in qualitative agreement with the CVM results, giving support to the presence of the new Ising-nematic phase. Phase diagrams in the temperature-external field plane are obtained for selected values of the parameter κ=J(2)/|J(1)| which measures the relative strength of the competing interactions. From the CVM in the square approximation we obtain a line of second order transitions between the disordered and nematic phases, while the nematic-stripes phase transitions are found to be of first order. The Monte Carlo results suggest a line of second order nematic-disordered phase transitions in agreement with the CVM results. Regarding the stripes-nematic transitions, the present Monte Carlo results are not precise enough to reach definite conclusions about the nature of the transitions.


This paper examines personality traits as antecedents of online privacy concern. The aim of the research is to analyze if and how personal characteristics of Internet users affect their concern for privacy. The theoretical framework consisting of the Big Five theory of personality traits has been used to test the variations in online privacy concern. The model includes a range of other variables that might affect online privacy concern, such as sociodemographic factors, cultural values and computer literacy. The empirical analysis is based on survey data collected in 2016 on a large sample of 2,060 Internet users in Croatia. Results of both OLS and ordered probit estimations show that two personality trait dimensions, namely extraversion and neuroticism, significantly determine the level of online privacy concern. The more extraverted, i.e., more energetic and outgoing Internet user is less concerned about his/her online privacy, whilst the more neurotic one is more concerned. Privacy awareness, computer anxiety and previous (negative) experience were also observed as antecedents, all positively affecting the level of privacy concern of Internet users. The results of this research fill the gap in the underexplored area of personality traits and online privacy concern literature.


Optical fiber in conjunction with ZnTe quantum dots (QDs) is investigated for sensing application. ZnTe QDs, are synthesized by a simple chemical bottom up approach. Quantum dots are capped with L-Cystein ethyl ester hydrochloride (LEEH), to increase their stability. Then LEEH capped ZnTe QDs, whose size is estimated as 2.29 nm by effective mass approximation (EMA), are dip-coated on a cladding removed optical fiber. Different concentrations of alcohol and ammonia are used to investigate the sensing behavior. It is found that sensitivity of the sensor increases with the use of QDs for both alcohol and ammonia.


The target of design is a harmony between Beauty and Usefulness. Design is a result from representation of visual language by designer"s creative thinking system. also, As an ill-defined problem cannot be described completely. and subjectively interpret depend on the situation, it is very difficult to present a theoretical standard. There have been many Design Sciences researches in recent years. such as Rule Based Design, Parametric Design, Replacement Design, Analogy Design, Metaphor Design, Genetic Algorithm. but Objective research is still unsatisfactory condition to investigate true nature about Design. At this point, It is very important to formulating about meaning of Design Language and Thinking. This study will define about that, and based on this definition, Lay out a logical basis for Treatment design variable and materialization of process by "Elements", "Relationship", "Schema". ultimately it look forward to provide a framework and minimize the complexity about Design Thinking.


Of the fifteen hired men on John Franklin's first land expedition, Pierre St. Germain has been the most underrated. Although a rogue, a rebel, and a troublemaker, he was the strongest, most resourceful, and most versatile man on the expedition. ... St. Germain, part French and part Indian, served in the Athabasca district for the North West Company from 1812 to 1818. In 1819 he joined the Hudson's Bay Company at a wage of 2,000 Montreal livres (100 Pounds Sterling) per annum and served as an interpreter at Fort Resolution, Great Slave Lake. ... On 5 June 1820, Colin Robertson wrote McVicar, giving permission for St. Germain to join the arctic land expedition under the command of Lt. John Franklin. On 25 July 1820, St. Germain entered into an agreement with Franklin for wages of "3000 Livres per annum until his return to Ft. Wedderburn." This 150 Pounds Sterling was two-and-a-half times the amount Franklin offered a French Canadian voyageur. St. Germain's employers recognized his ability but also his independent ways. Robertson described St. Germain as "an intelligent young man" and 5 June 1820 wrote "I have given up an excellent Chippeyan interpreter, St. Germain." McVicar considered him indispensable, mentioning how he could travel without either a blanket or provisions, but also noting his liking for alcohol. ... Richardson considered St. Germain to be one of the most reliable men on the expedition and the one with the most influence on the accompanying Copper Indians. St. Germain was intelligent, determined, and when reasonably fed, indefatigable. He made the preliminary trip to Point Lake with Back and Hood, 29 August-10 September 1820. During the winter of 1820-21, he snowshoed 440 km from Fort Enterprise to Fort Resolution, bringing back the two Eskimos, Augustus and Junius. Strong, resourceful, practical, a man of great stamina, St. Germain was also exceedingly dexterous, evidenced by his use of a made-down canoe to cross the Burnside River on 9 September and, five days later, to ferry Franklin across Belanger Rapids. St. Germain alone had the ability to improvise that allowed him single-handedly to convert the fragments of "painted canvas" or "oil-cloth" into a cockleshell that would finally transport everyone across Obstruction Rapids on 4 October, after nine days of crucial delay. ... As a troublemaker, St. Germain gained the enmity of both Franklin and Back. As early as 23 March 1821, St. Germain expressed his concern about the dangers involved in the proposed arctic explorations and shared his views with Akaitcho's Copper Indians. Because of this indiscretion, Franklin that day described him as "an artful man" and said he was "perfectly satisfied of his baseness." ... By September 1822-The Franklin expedition over-HBC Chief Trader Alexander Roderick McLeod engaged St. Germain at Lake Athabasca to serve in the capacity of interpreter. ... He continued to serve the Company as interpreter in the Mackenzie River District until 12 September 1834. St. Germain then retired to the Red River Settlement, where he purchased 50 acres of land on 13 April 1835. ... Although too independent to fit easily into naval discipline, Pierre St. Germain was an indispensable man. Without his hunting and craft skills, Franklin, Richardson, Back, and Hepburn would have perished. Without him, Franklin's first arctic land expedition, like the 1845 disaster, would have had no surviving officers and no published accounts. It was a close call indeed.


Leaf traits play key roles in plant resource acquisition and ecosystem processes; however, whether the effects of environment and phylogeny on leaf traits differ between herbaceous and woody species remains unclear. To address this, in this study, we collected data for five key leaf traits from 1,819 angiosperm species across 530 sites in China. The leaf traits included specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf area, leaf N concentration, and leaf P concentration, all of which are closely related to trade-offs between resource uptake and leaf construction. We quantified the relative contributions of environment variables and phylogeny to leaf trait variation for all species, as well as for herbaceous and woody species separately. We found that environmental factors explained most of the variation (44.4–65.5%) in leaf traits (compared with 3.9–23.3% for phylogeny). Climate variability and seasonality variables, in particular, mean temperature of the warmest and coldest seasons of a year (MTWM/MTWQ and MTCM/MTCQ) and mean precipitation in the wettest and driest seasons of a year (MPWM/MPWQ and MPDM/MPDQ), were more important drivers of leaf trait variation than mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). Furthermore, the responses of leaf traits to environment variables and phylogeny differed between herbaceous and woody species. Our study demonstrated the different effects of environment variables and phylogeny on leaf traits among different plant growth forms, which is expected to advance the understanding of plant adaptive strategies and trait evolution under different environmental conditions.


As the automobile industry is developing, the number of deaths and injuries has increased. To reduce the damages from automobile accidents, the government of each country proposes experimental conditions for reproducing the accident and establishes the vehicle safety regulations. And automotive manufacturers are trying to make safer vehicles by satisfying the requirements. The Hybrid III crash test dummy is a standard Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) used for measuring the occupant's injuries in a frontal impact test. Since a real crash test using a vehicle is fairly expensive, a computer simulation using the Finite Element Method (F.E.M.) is widely used. Therefore, a detailed and robust F.E. dummy model is needed to acquire more accurate occupant injury data and behavior during the crash test. To achieve this goal, a detailed F.E. model of the Hybrid III 5th percentile female dummy is constructed by using the reverse engineering technique in this research. A modeling process is proposed to construct the F.E. model. The proposed modeling process starts from disassembling the physical dummy. Computer Aided Design (CAD) geometry data is constructed by three-dimensional (3-D) scanning of the disassembled physical dummy model. Based on the geometry data, finite elements of each part are generated. After mesh generation, each part is assembled with other parts using the joints and rigid connection elements. The material properties are obtained through various material tensile tests.


Evidence of the frequent use of mainline and metropolitan trains as a means of suicide in and around Milan prompted the authors to analyse the occurrence of this event between 1993 and 2008 in Milan, examining data from the Institute of Legal Medicine. The 155 selected cases were analysed for various aspects, including the chronology and dynamics of the event, the personal, epidemiological and psychiatric profile of the victims and the features of the injuries found during autopsy.


The effect of atorvastatin, a CYP3A4 substrate, on the pharmacokinetics of terfenadine and its carboxylic acid metabolite, fexofenadine, were evaluated. Single 120‐mg doses of terfenadine were given 2 weeks apart to healthy volunteers with 80‐mg daily doses of atorvastatin administered from 7 days before through 2 days after the second terfenadine dose. Concentrations of terfenadine and fexofenadine were measured for 72 hours after each terfenadine dose. Administration of terfenadine alone or in combination with atorvastatin produced no alterations in the QTc interval. For terfenadine, atorvastatin coadministration produced an 8% decrease in maximum concentration (Cmax), a 35% increase in area under the concentration‐time curve extrapolated to infinity (AUC0‐∞), and a 2% decrease in elimination half‐life (t1/2). For fexofenadine, atorvastatin coadministration produced a 16% decrease in Cmax, a 2% decrease in AUC0‐∞, and a 51% increase in t1/2. None of these changes achieved statistical significance. Coadministration of atorvastatin with terfenadine does not result in a clinically significant drug interaction. Because 80 mg is the highest atorvastatin dose used clinically, drug interactions mediated by CYP3A4 inhibition are unlikely in clinical practice.


Background: Endovascular treatment for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) has been developed. However, the intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) presents a particular challenge due to the location and tortuous route, and the outcomes of endovascular treatment in patients with stenosis of the intracranial ICA still have not been reported. This article retrospectively investigated the 30-day and 1-year outcomes of tailored endovascular treatment for patients with severe intracranial ICA stenosis from a single center. Methods: Between June 2014 and December 2017, 96 consecutive patients with severe atherosclerotic stenosis (70–99%) of the intracranial ICA were managed with endovascular treatment in Beijing Tiantan Hospital. Three different kinds of treatments [angioplasty with balloon dilatation alone (BD group), balloon-mounted stent (BMS group), and self-expanding stent (SES group)] were performed according to the characteristics of the lesions. The primary endpoints included any stroke or death within 30 days and ipsilateral ischemic stroke afterwards within 1 year. Secondary endpoints included the revascularization success rate (residual stenosis <30%) and the restenosis rate (stenosis ≥ 50%) within 1 year. Results: The 30-day death rate was 0, and the stroke rate of all patients was 7.3% (7/96). The stroke rate was higher in the BD group (15.8%) and SES group (9.8%) than in the BMS group (0%) (p = 0.047). Thirteen (13.5%) patients suffered at least one onset of ischemic stroke in the ipsilateral ICA territory within 1 year, and there was no significant difference among the three groups (p = 0.165). The overall revascularization success rate was 93.8%, and the revascularization success rate was significantly higher in the SES group (100%) than in the BD group (78.9%) (p = 0.006). The restenosis rate of all patients within 12 months was 20.8%, and there was no significant difference among the three groups. Patients with Mori type C target lesions were more likely to suffer stroke within 30 days (25%) and restenosis within 1 year (31.3%). Conclusions: Both the 30-day and 1-year outcomes of tailored endovascular treatments seemed to be acceptable in the treatment of symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis of the intracranial ICA. However, this needs to be confirmed by further investigation, preferably in large multicenter randomized controlled clinical trials.


To clarify the mechanism underlying the enhancing effect of 17β-estradiol (E2) on contact hypersensitivity (CHS) and the expression of interferon (IFN)-γ in mice, the mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-18 were evaluated. Female BALB/c mice aged 3 weeks were ovariectomized, administered 3.2 μg of E2, and sensitized by 50 μl of 3% 4-ethoxymethylene-2-phenyl-2-oxazolin-one (OXA). Seven days later, CHS was elicited by the application of 7.5 μl of 1% OXA on the ear auricles. The auricles, cervical lymph nodes and spleens were excised, and gene expression was evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. E2 enhanced the expression of IL-18 mRNA in the spleen on the following day and in the ear auricles on days 4 and 7 after sensitization with OXA. The preadministration of an antibody against IL-18 receptor suppressed the CHS and reduced IFN-γ mRNA expression in E2-administered mice. IL-18 was present in the dermis of the ear skin and absent in the epidermis. E2 also enhanced the expression of IFN-γ and IL-18 mRNAs in splenocytes cultured with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). IL-18 protein was detected by flow cytometry in CD4+, CD8+ and NKG2+ lymphocytes among splenocytes cultured with LPS. These results suggest that E2 enhances lymphocyte activation in the sensitization phase of CHS, and that IFN-γ mRNA expression is enhanced in the elicitation phase of CHS.


Since the start of the twenty-first century, the Brazilian economy has experienced a growth cycle with characteristics unlike those of its previous historical experience, combining growth, macroeconomic stability and distributive progress. In this context, the study aims to analyse the factors and distributive effects of occupational mobility in Brazil, based on data obtained from the Monthly Employment Survey. The results suggest that: (i) mobility has been used in Brazil as a way to raise wages, even when it involves a drop in socio-occupational status; (ii) nonetheless, the wage increase obtained by changing job or occupational segment is smaller for poorer workers than for wealthier ones; and (iii) consequently, mobility helps to increase income, but it also tends to widen wage gaps.


Skin diseases in developing countries have a serious impact on people's quality of life. Occasionally skin diseases can be a manifestation of systemic diseases. A prospective study was carried out over six months (August 2010-January 2011) in the Dermatology outpatient department of tertiary care referral hospital in Malabar region of Kerala. A total of 500 cases were analyzed in which the total number of drugs was found to be 1230. The most commonly prescribed systemic agents were antihistamine (294) followed by antibiotics (181) & antifungal agents (49). The most commonly prescribed topical agents were topical steroids & its combination (236) followed by topical antifungal agents (124). This study reveals that generic prescription is very low and suggests that effort must be made to encourage prescribers for generic prescribing which may have a multitude of benefits including cost effectiveness. Having a steroid and antibiotic prescribing policy will go a long way to minimizing inappropriate prescriptions and also standard treatment guidelines for the treatment of common disease should be formulated.


Observations on the relationship of administered dosage per unit of body surface area and blood concentration achieved when different amounts of sulfadiazine and acetylsalicylic acid were given patients varying widely in size indicate that a direct proportionality exists for these two drugs regardless of patient size. On the basis of this finding body surface area was used as the common denominator in the calculation of dosages of a large variety of drugs for a period of more than one year on a service dealing with patients ranging from small prematures to young adults. The clinical results suggest that this method of dosage calculation offers the advantages of simplification and greater accuracy over calculations based on a unit of body mass or on the patient's age.


The purpose of this paper is to discus the design and analysis of the web-based Inventory control system for E-Commerce. Mainly focuses on the key functions of the Inventory Control such as Stock, Sales, Purchases, Orders, Payments and so on in the whole life cycle. This system is designed for the E-Business that desires a complete control over stock management and an inventory tracking across the Internet and it can be used either as a simple inventory control system or a complete E-manufacturing solution. This system uses the .NET Framework as Visual studio.net, ASP.NET and c# language as the tool and Oracle 9i as the Database server.


Background: Depression, a state of low mood and aversion to activity, can affect people's thoughts, behavior, tendencies, feelings, and sense of well-being. It can either be short-term or long-term, depending on the severity of the person's condition. Risk factors include personal or family history of depression, major life changes, trauma, stress, certain physical illnesses, and medications.
Objective: This study investigates the prevalence of depression among medical students at the University of Baghdad, college of medicine in Iraq, and the association between some variables and depression.
Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study design with a convenience sampling method was conducted. A sample of 323 medical students attending the University of Baghdad, college of medicine, were included in this study between July 2019 and September 2019, regardless of their age or gender. The study included five grades according to the year 2019-2020. An online survey was conducted using Google Forms which included two sections. Section 1 included questions about participants' demographics. The second section included the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) score.
Results: A total of 323 students of different demographics participated in this study. The number of males was 108 (33.4%), and the number of females was 215 (66.6%). The frequency of participants who got mild depression was the highest, i.e., 127 (39.3%), whereas 85 (26.3%) were non-depressed. Therefore, this study sample had a high prevalence of depression. On the other hand, the frequency of mild-moderate depression was 57.9%.
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression among medical students at the University of Baghdad was high. Gender, having friends, having a medical condition or disease, having family issues, whether it's easy to communicate with others, encountering an event that affected them, and having a family member who suffers from a psychological condition are associated with depression among students. In contrast, age, marital status, college year, seeking help in the past, and having a part-time job have no association with depression


It is at present generally considered that Von Recklinghausen9s disease (multiple neurofibromatosis) depends on a congenital anomaly in the development of the nervous system. Whether the cells of Schwann proliferate to form a neurinoma (Verocay) or whether the epi-, peri-, and endoneural connective tissue is partially or entirely responsible for the tumor growth, is as yet unsettled. It seems, at any rate, that a congenital anomaly of the ectodermal-mesenchymal components of the nervous system must be reckoned with. This disturbance is not limited to the peripheral nervous system but may involve the cerebro-spinal axis and meninges as well. Glioma, heterotopia of the gray matter, endothelioma of the dura or leptomeninges, etc., have been observed. Indeed the dysontogenesis, as Adrian1 first emphasized, may even extend beyond the peripheral and central nervous system, and occur in other organs of the body. Von Recklinghausen9s disease may be combined with epispadias, cryptorchism, uterus bicornis, renal malformations, polythelia, malformations of bones or muscles, dwarfism, infantilism, etc. The recent research of Geert Hoeckstra2 on the inheritance of this disease also supports the idea of a dysontogenetic origin in von Recklinghausen9s disease. Multiple neurofibromatosis then is apparently related in its genesis to various affections of other organs of the body. The recent work of L. Pick,3 Oberndorfer,4 A. Schultz,5 and Schmincke,6 calls to our attention a more accurate relationship between neurofibromatosis and changes in a particular organ.


The manuscript Add. 1570 (Cambridge) has been chosen as the base text for this edition of Proverbs. Against it twenty one Ethiopic manuscripts have been collated, as well as the printed texts of the Bassano edition and the and'm commentary. Add. 1570 has been selected as the base for reasons of date and textual type. The base text has been translated in a literal manner to retain, where possible, the idiosyncrasies of the Ethiopic version. The apparatus criticus records all the significant variants of the twenty one manuscripts and two printed texts. Points of interest relating to matters within Ethiopic, as well as to the relationship of one group of manuscripts to another and of these groups to likely original texts, are dealt with verse by verse in the notes. The data in the apparatus provide evidence for four distinct textual traditions. The introduction brings together and analyses the data from these traditions, in relation to the antecedents and history of the Ethiopic Old Testament version. The following conclusions are drawn;- No "pure" Ethiopic text is found – namely one which can be related to one textual Vorlage only. All groups of manuscripts Show a deep and thorough-going amalgamation of Greek and Semitic textual features. The Semitisms are found to be Hebraisms, with very scarce evidence of Syriac influences. The nature of the Hebraic element is considered such an integral part of the Ethiopic tradition that it cannot be considered to be the product of revision alone, but must go back to the earliest stage of translational activity. No evidence is found to prove that the Hebrew sources used in Ethiopic were different from the Masoretic text known to us. The structure and layout of the book are found to depend on the LXX (arrangement of chapters and verses). The Greek source used in the translation is identified with the main LXX tradition; influence from the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion is not found. But no particular strand of the LXX tradition is identified as influential upon Ethiopic. The particular Ethiopia tradition in the text of Proverbs is investigated. An editorial process of implification (even at the expense of fidelity to the original texts) is noticed in later manuscripts; this takes the form of additions, explanation— and a tendency to make explicit what is thought to be implicit in the text. Questions which remain unanswered include the date and authorship of the Ethiopic text, and the reconstruction of the plurality of stages through which the text must have passed. These questions, it is thought, cannot be answered in isolation for the Book of Proverbs alone; even tentative conclusions must await further analysis of the data in many more books of the Ethiopic Old Testament.


Due to the fact that hydrogen energy is an abundant, clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly renewable energy source. Therefore, the production of hydrogen by photocatalytically splitting water on semiconductors has been considered in recent years as a promising and sustainable strategy for converting solar energy into chemical energy to replace conventional energy sources and to solve the growing problem of environmental pollution and the global energy crisis. However, highly efficient solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production remains a huge challenge due to the poor visible light response of available photocatalytic materials and the low efficiency of separation and transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In the present work, organic heterojunction structures based on bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) and chlorophyll (Chl) molecules were introduced and used for solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production from water under visible light. Also, noble metal-free photocatalyst was successfully constructed on Ti3C2Tx nanosheets by simple successive deposition of Chl and BChl, which was used for the photocatalytic splitting water to hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The results show that the optimal BChl@Chl@Ti3C2Tx composite has a high HER performance with 114 μmol/h/gcat , which is much higher than the BChl@Ti3C2Tx and Chl@Ti3C2Tx composites.


The concept of functional redundancy has received considerable attention in both the macroecology and microbial ecology literature. As a result, multiple metrics of functional redundancy have been proposed. These vary in how they weight trait levels, species abundance, functional richness, and species richness. Here we present a new functional redundancy metric tailored for community-aggregated traits, which are traits that are quantified at the community level and can be quantitatively partitioned among species. We call this metric Contribution Evenness (CE) because it measures how evenly species contribute to a community-aggregated trait. As CE is an evenness measurement, it ranges from 0 and 1, where 0 corresponds to a single species contributing to a community-aggregated trait and 1 corresponds to all species contributing equally. Using in silico simulations of species extinctions, we demonstrate that CE reflects the stability of an ecosystem function to species extinction, a hypothesized ecological consequence of functional redundancy. As a positive control and to illustrate how CE can be used with sequence data, we analyzed the functional redundancy of eight nitrogen-transforming pathways using 2,631 metagenome-assembled genomes from 47 marine sites. CE for marine nitrogen cycle marker genes was consistent with our qualitative understanding of which nitrogen pathways are most functionally redundant in the ocean. We found that, on average, the NH4+ assimilation pathway was the most functionally redundant (0.44 ± 0.08) while dissimilatory nitrate reduction was the least redundant (0.005 ± 0.005). As demonstrated here, CE provides a promising framework for measuring trait stability in microbiomes.


Dutch power companies recently have become aware of a hazard due to the presence of radioactive 210Pb in their boilers. In an investigation conducted by KEMA in The Netherlands it was discovered that 210Pb isotope accumulates within fire‐side deposit layers that form on membrane waterwall tubes. Because the measured levels of total radioactivity exceeded the governmental regulation limit of 100 Bq/g, refurbishment activities in the boiler are subject to governmental authorization and must be conducted under the supervision of authorised radiation protection officers. The 210Pb material originates from decay of 238U, which is present in small amounts in coal. During combustion of the coal, heavy metals such as Pb evaporate and are present in the flue gas in the form of Pb, PbCl, PbCl2, PbS, PbS2 or PbSO4, dependent on the gas environment and temperature. These volatile products subsequently will condense at lower temperatures on the waterwall tubes in the boiler.


The Algerian revolution illustrates a particular type of revolution, the woman-in-the-family model, which excluded or marginalised women from the process of defining and building independence, liberation and freedom. This categorisation corresponded quite closely to the dominant ideology of Messali Hadj's partisans, whose activities and newspapers promoted a differentialist feminism, anchored in the Arabo-Islamic tradition and with a charitable dimension. In response to the outbreak of armed combat and colonialist propaganda that emphasised women's emancipation, the context became favourable to a redefinition of the role assigned to Muslim Algerian women. This phenomenon, which we will investigate in terms of the conditions for its emergence and its scope, was stronger among Algerian emigrants in France, and found its institutional framework in the short-lived Messalist union, the Union des syndicats de travailleurs algeriens (USTA). These union members were just as preoccupied by women's emancipation as by national independence or workers' demands, and they enabled the Messalist movement to show faces that were acceptable for its French interlocutors and to distinguish itself from its rival, the National Liberation Front (FLN).