UV curing (photopolymerization) is ubiquitous in many facets of industry ranging from the application of paints, pigments, and barrier coatings all the way to fiber optic cable production. To date no reports have focused on polymerizable phosphonium salts under UV irradiation, and despite this dearth of examples, they potentially offer numerous substantial advantages to traditional UV formulation components. We have generated a highly novel coating based on UV-curable trialkylacryloylphosphonium salts that allow for the fast (seconds) and straightforward preparation of ion-exchange surfaces amenable to a roll-to-roll process. We have quantified the surface charges and exploited their accessibility by employing these surfaces in an anion exchange experiment by which [Au25L18](-) (L = SCH2CH2Ph) nanocrystals can be assembled into the solid state. This unprecedented application of such surfaces offers a paradigm shift in the emerging chemistry of Au25 research where the nanocrystals remain single and intact and where the integrity of the cluster and its solution photophysical properties are resilient in the solid state. The specific loading of [Au25L18](-) on the substrates has been determined and the completely reversible loading and unloading of intact nanocrystals to and from the surface has been established. In the solid state, the assembly has an incredible mechanical resiliency, where the surface remains undamaged even when subjected to repeated Scotch tests.


Objective: To assess the perceptions of students and faculty of Shifa College of Medicine regarding the effectiveness of small group discussion as a learning strategy.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted at Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, in November 2013. Students of 3rd, 4th and Final Year MBBS along with faculty were asked to respond to structured questionnaires based on a 3-point Likert scale regarding small group discussion as a learning strategy. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for each variable in the questionnaire. Enrolment was voluntary and anonymous.
Results: A total of 217 students and 50 faculty members responded to the questionnaires. Most of the students had a positive attitude towards small group discussion, which they felt allows them to better achieve their learning objectives (82%), is student-centred (76%) and promotes critical thinking (72%), self learning (84%) and motivation (67%). They believe it is a better method for understanding subject matter (74%) and retaining knowledge (78%) than lectures. More than half (66%) wanted it as the main strategy for delivering course objectives. The faculty also preferred small group discussion over conventional lectures (90%), as it encouraged student participation (88%) and active learning (84%). However, they had concerns regarding logistics of conducting small groups (78%) and standardization in delivering objectives (52%). Half of them believed that other teaching methods should also be utilized.
Conclusion: Small group discussion as a learning strategy has wide acceptability among both students and faculty, as it promotes active learning and allows them to better achieve learning objectives.


It was found, that Tołpa Peat Preparation administered prophylactically to rats decreased significantly the size of gastric mucosa damage induced with ethanol. TPP administered to rats with experimental gastric and duodenal ulcers significantly accelerated the healing process.


Three conclusions are supported by the investigation outlined in this paper. (1) The two hydrous aluminum silicates, montmorillonite and smectite, appear to be identical. (2) Both may be prominent as constituents of bentonite and fuller's earth. (3) Fuller's earth from one or more long recognized European localities has been formed by the alteration of volcanic ash to smectite (montmorillonite). This is a type of origin generally relied upon to determine bentonite.


The aims of the research were to inventory the flora of Sulawesi, especially orchids in the Mount Tinombala Natural Reserve and to collect the plant materials for planting as a collection plants in Bali Botanical Garden. The method used in this research was explorative method at the place with altitude more than 700 m above sea level. The result of the research was 50 collection number of orchids which was consist of 72 specimens, 19 families and 24 species found in the Mount Tinombala Natural Reserve, Tolitoli Regency, Central Sulawesi. Two numbers of them that unidentified yet called as a genus dubious. Dendrobium and Eria were the genus that dominant in the natural reserve and one species that predicted as a new collection for the Bali Botanic Garden was Macodes petola Lindl. © 2006 Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNS Surakarta


Aspergillus niger and Fusarium solani have been reported to show the ability of inducing agarwood formation in Gyrinops walla. Both these species are also well known for the ability to produce mycotoxins; products from secondary metabolism of fungi, with varied biochemical structures and modes of action. Therefore it is worth knowing the characteristics of the toxins formed by these fungal species before using them as potential inoculants. Since the production of mycotoxin is limited to certain fungal strains, the present study aimed to identify the potential of selected strains of A. niger and F. solani for toxin production and its extraction. Therefore, two strains of A. niger and two strains of F. solani were screened to identify their ability to produce mycotoxins in Yeast Extract Glucose (YEG) and CzapekDox (CDB) liquid media. These media were inoculated with three agar plugs from fully grown plate cultures and incubated at room temperature under normal light and dark regimes. The filtrates were obtained after incubation periods of 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 21 and 28 days. Production of toxins was identified by assessing the damage caused on the surface of Piper nigarum leaves by a known volume (20μl) of filtrate. Toxicity of culture filtrates were evaluated qualitatively by a graded scale of Group 1 to Group 5. According to the results, both strains of A. niger produced positive results for the production of mycotoxin. However, Asp-MBL1-C strain showed the maximum toxin production in YEG medium after 4 days of incubation while Asp-U strain showed the maximum toxin production in the same medium after 12 days of incubation. The maximum toxin production in CDB medium was observed after 14 days of incubation. More intense leaf damage was observed to be associated with Asp-U strain in CDB medium. Out of two strains of F. solani tested in two selected media, only U-Fus strain produced positive results in YEG medium, where maximum toxicity was observed after 10 days of incubation. Keywords: Mycotoxin, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, agarwood inducement


Having a history of parental incarceration is associated with an increased risk for numerous challenges. The present study examined several factors of peer relations among children with incarcerated parents and their peers to determine if problematic peer relations play a role in the difficulties these children experience. Participants were 77 elementary school children and their caregivers from a high-crime, high-poverty neighborhood, over half of whom had experienced parental incarceration. Caregivers assessed their child's social behavior and problem behaviors, and, during the course of an interview, children's helping behavior was assessed through a behavioral measure. Children with incarcerated parents displayed significantly more aggressive behavior than their peers and, according to their caregivers, they also tended to have more aggressive social behavior and to engage in greater relational aggression. Because aggression is an important indicator of problematic peer relations, it is very likely that the increased difficulties that children with incarcerated parents face are partially related to additional challenges with their peer relations.


Energy-based models (EBMs) are generative models inspired by statistical physics with a wide range of applications in unsupervised learning. Their performance is best measured by the cross-entropy (CE) of the model distribution relative to the data distribution. Using the CE as the objective for training is however challenging because the computation of its gradient with respect to the model parameters requires sampling the model distribution. Here we show how results for nonequilibrium thermodynamics based on Jarzynski equality together with tools from sequential Monte-Carlo sampling can be used to perform this computation efficiently and avoid the uncontrolled approximations made using the standard contrastive divergence algorithm. Specifically, we introduce a modification of the unadjusted Langevin algorithm (ULA) in which each walker acquires a weight that enables the estimation of the gradient of the cross-entropy at any step during GD, thereby bypassing sampling biases induced by slow mixing of ULA. We illustrate these results with numerical experiments on Gaussian mixture distributions as well as the MNIST dataset. We show that the proposed approach outperforms methods based on the contrastive divergence algorithm in all the considered situations.


The requirement of more than one blood meal to complete a gonotrophic cycle is reported here to be infrequent among field-collected Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus), including Anopheles darlingi, South America's most important malaria vector. The overall frequencies of host-seeking females that did not develop eggs after one blood feeding were low for Anopheles darlingi (6.6%), Anopheles rondoni (5.0%), and Anopheles triannulatus (2.2%); the majority of wild-caught females that did not develop eggs after one blood meal were nulliparous. Laboratory-reared Anopheles albimanus and Anopheles albitarsis, other species of the same subgenus, were grown on enriched and impoverished larval diets to yield a range of adult sizes and to examine relationships between egg maturation, body size, and blood meal intake. 10.7% of nulliparous An. albimanus and 22.9% of An. albitarsis failed to mature eggs after sugar and one blood meal, and shorter wings and smaller blood meals predisposed females to require multiple blood feeds for egg maturation. Unmated An. albitarsis were significantly more likely than mated females not to develop eggs. Multiple blood meals within a single gonotrophic cycle appear to be less important in the life histories of neotropical Nyssorhynchus species compared to afrotropical malaria vectors.


Abstract #76 Background: QOL and MH outcomes were integrated into the NSABP B-30 trial as secondary outcomes to the efficacy analyses which are being presented separately. Explicit secondary aims of the NSABP B-30 study were 1) to compare toxicities among the regimens, 2) to compare QOL, and 3) to examine differences in amenorrhea and its relationship to symptoms, QOL, and efficacy. Here we examine the secondary aims of the study as a companion to the efficacy results that are presented separately.
 Materials and Methods: 5351 pts with cT1-3, N0-1, M0 were enrolled from 3/1/99 to 3/31/2004. 2170 were enrolled on the QOL study, and 2449 were enrolled on the MH study and were randomized to one of three treatment groups: Group 1 [doxorubicin (A) 60 mg/m2 and C 600 mg/m2 q 3 weeks (wks) x 4 followed by docetaxel (T) 100 mg/m2 q 3 wks x 4; Group 2 [A 50 mg/m2 and T 75 mg/m2 q 3 wks x 4]; Group 3 [A 50 mg/m2 T 75 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide (C) 500 mg/m2 q 3 wks x 4]. All patients with ER-positive tumors received hormonal therapy after completing chemotherapy. Preliminary results from Group 1 have been reported previously (Swain, et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2008).
 Results: The protocol specifies that 800 deaths are required for the definitive analysis of treatment, QOL, and MH outcomes, which are expected to occur by fall 2008. For this final report, results from a comparison of the three arms will be analyzed and presented. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 76.


A Saudi family with Wilson's disease (hepatolenticular degeneration) is described. The index case presented with anicteric hepatitis and hydrops of the gallbladder. Neurological involvement appeared later. The diagnosis of Wilson's disease was based on the presence of Kayser-Fleischer rings, a low serum ceruloplasmin level, and an elevated urinary copper concentration. Histological examination of the liver biopsy specimen revealed active cirrhosis. Acute hepatic failure developed during D-penicillamine therapy. Continuation of the drug at a lower dose, along with other supporitve measures, was successful in reversing this. After three years of therapy, the index patient's neurological signs disappeared, and liver function and gallbladder size and function returned to normal. Family screening revealed that three other siblings have the disease, and all have been treated with D-penicillamine. The parents are related but are asymptomatic. An unusual feature of the index case was the presence of a distended nonfunctioning gallbladder that reverted to normal with decoppering. Although D-penicillamine treatment possibly precipitated the acute hepatic failure, paradoxically it was also successful in treating it.


Background Up-to-date research from low- and middle-income countries is needed to inform local pediatric cancer nursing care and share best practices from these settings. Access to all current Chinese-language publications on pediatric oncology nursing research is limited because of a language barrier. Objective The aim of this study was to document the volume, type of research study, and yearly and geographical distribution of published pediatric oncology nursing research in Mainland China and evaluate their content and quality. Methods A systematic search was performed for published pediatric oncology research conducted by nurses in Mainland China (2008–2018), using 3 English databases and 3 Chinese databases. Included articles were evaluated using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Research Evidence Appraisal for strength and quality of evidence. Results A total of 133 articles were included: 106 in Chinese and 27 in English. Most studies showed level III evidence (88/133) and were rated as good quality (81/133). The most frequently researched topics were psychosocial care, clinical nursing practice, and psychometric testing, which accounted for 63.2% of all publications. Conclusions Progress in pediatric oncology nursing research capacity among Mainland China is promising. To gain higher-quality evidence and make existing evidence transferable for nursing practice, optimization of specific research topics is still needed. Implications for Practice In Mainland China, developing interventions to address the symptoms of children with cancer and caregivers' psychosocial issues based on local nursing research should be prioritized. Some synthesized findings of this review may serve as guidance for the future of pediatric oncology nursing science in similar settings.


We analyze the constituency bases of the congressional parties from 1857 through 1913 by focusing on two key concepts: party homogeneity and party polarization. With a few notable exceptions, prior efforts to assess these concepts have relied upon measures based on members' roll call votes. This is potentially problematic, as such measures are likely endogenous: They reflect the party's actual level of success as much as the party's underlying homogeneity. To address this problem, we construct measures for party homogeneity and polarization that are based on constituency characteristics, using economic-based census data and presidential voting data as proxies. We then examine how these "exogenous" measures compare to roll call–based measures. We find that changes in party unity on roll call votes track shifts in constituency characteristics fairly closely. Substantively, we find that the congressional parties went through three distinct phases during these 56 years: first, a period of extremely high overlap and low party homogeneity during the Civil War and Reconstruction, followed by a period of moderate polarization and homogeneity from the mid-1870s through the early 1890s, and concluding with a period of sharp polarization and high homogeneity, which coincided with the realignment of 1894–96. While the status of the 1894–96 elections as a critical turning point remains controversial in the historical and political science literatures, our results suggest that these elections did lead to a substantial change in the underlying characteristics of the congressional parties.


Gums are widely used to support the pharmaceutical, brewery, food, cosmetics and adhesive industries. Their uses are mainly based on their physicochemical properties and their mucilage. These properties make them act as emulsifiers, suspenders, thickeners, stabilizers, binders, and lubricants. In spite of the tremendous quantities of gums used in industries in Ghana, the chemistry of the locally available gums are not known. The main commercial gums used in industry are from the Acacia senegal, an exotic species. Chemical properties of gums from selected Acacia species - A. Acacia polyacantha, A. sieberiana, and A. dudgeoni were studied. The local gums had acceptable levels of moisture content (which is not more than 15%), less than 1.0% insoluble matter, less than 5% total ash value, and acid insoluble ash. They dissolved in water and sodium hydroxide, but not in most organic solvent. They showed levorotary optical rotation in water, and maintained a relative stable pH with time. The gums did not contain any starch or tannins. It was confirmed from the sugar reactions that their sugar composition were Rhamnose, Arabinose, Galactose, and Glucuronic acid. The viscosities increased with concentration and decreased with time, rose with pH till a pH of about 5 and then fell as the pH increased from 6 to 14. The local gums can be used as suitable substitutes for the commercially imported ones. JOURNAL OF THE GHANA SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Volume 2 No. 1 (2000) pp. 71-79


Research suggests that single mothers are an increasingly vulnerable group in Scandinavia. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this study takes a closer look at challenges faced by Swedish working-class and low-income single mothers. It explores how working conditions and economic resources influence their access to valued practices, such as the possibility to reconcile paid work and family commitments. It is assumed that discrepancies between mothers' notions of good mothering and their ability to act in accordance with these values give rise to conflicts and dilemmas. Findings show that lack of financial resources and low control over their work situation significantly limited the mothers' possibility to combine various responsibilities and to practice the kind of mothering they preferred. Furthermore, the opening hours of preschools frequently did not match the mothers' working schedules, and they could often not effectively benefit from some of the social rights granted by the Swedish welfare state.


In recent administrative and organizational literature much attention has been paid to values that guide organizational and managerial behaviour in the public and private domain. Comparative empirical research efforts, however, are sparse. This article reports the results of a comparative empirical survey of 382 managers from a variety of public and private sector organizations in The Netherlands. Contrary to much recent literature that presupposes the intermixing or convergence of value systems guiding governance in different kinds of organizations, the results of this study show two distinct and relatively classical value systems for government and business as well as a ' common core ' of important organizational qualities. These are accountability, expertise, reliability, effi ciency and effectiveness, all of which are considered crucial in both public and private sector organizations. Additional analysis shows that value preferences are primarily attached to sector rather than to age, gender, working experience, or previous employment in the other sector.


Harmonic downmixing is an important effect that must be taken into account when performing sensitive spectrum sensing using direct-conversion receivers. When the local oscillator waveform contains harmonics of the fundamental frequency, the quadrature mixer in the receiver will downconvert RF signals found at these harmonics, termed harmonic images, in addition to the RF signals around the fundamental frequency. The harmonic images will be detected by power spectral density based sensing algorithms and will cause certain parts of the desired spectrum to be mistakenly flagged as occupied. Although harmonic downmixing is important to consider, it is an often negelected effect. This paper presents a harmonic rejection spectral sensing technique, that exploits two quadrature mixers. The mixers work with different LO frequencies, which decorrelate the harmonic images so that cross-correlation of their outputs renders an improved spectral estimate. In addition to rejecting the harmonic images, spurious signals entering the receiver through the analog baseband inputs was also be rejected. The frequency resolution of the spectral estimate is scalable and the rejection of the harmonic images increases 15 dB per 1000-fold increase of the correlation time. The complexity of the algorithm is analyzed and its performance is shown by means of simulations. The effect of I/Q imbalance is also taken into account.


Throughout the world, brain tumors have become a medical priority as more people suffer from this malignant disease worldwide. In the field of computer science, researchers have been studying to utilize MRI scans to its fullest potential, in recognizing signs of tumors early on, and utilizing computers and convolutional neural networks to process massive amounts of patient data at once in hopes of saving lives. This investigation finds out the specifications of visualization of MRI scans and how filters and layers are used to identify lethal tumors in the brain. For one of our main methods, a pre-trained model to improve accuracy was used - the Xception model. This showed a contrast between previous existing models as those fully connected layers were added to the back of existing ones. Our main proposed model of Xception + Bidirectional GRU had the highest accuracy of 82% out of 7 different models. In our proposed model, Convolutional layers were used to extract specific features of an image and process other similar images in the same way. By using 3 layers of Convolution, Activation, and Max pooling, we saw the networks focus on the actual tumors in the brain by distinguishing patterns in images and focusing on that area to create visual representations. Principal components of this research were the ability to visualize abnormal features of brain scan images to filter out and layer regions to bring attention to tumors in the brain.


Abstract : A method is presented for constructing system reliability using component failure data when the sample sizes for testing on the component parts differ greatly. The procedure can be applied to weapons systems as easily as subsystems. No assumptions about failure distributions are made. The accuracy of the procedure was examined by computer simulations and in this manner the procedure has demonstrated high accuracy for cases of practical interest. (Author)


The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of transition metal (TM)-based (oxy)hydroxide is dominated by the number and nature of surface active sites, which are generally considered to be TM atoms occupying less than half of surface sites, with most being inactive oxygen atoms. Herein, based on an in situ competing growth strategy of bimetallic ions and OH- ions, a facile one-step method is proposed to modulate oxygen defects in NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH)/FeOOH heterostructure, which may trigger the single lattice oxygen mechanism (sLOM). Interestingly, by only varying the addition of H2 O2 , one can simultaneously regulate the concentration of oxygen defects, the valence of metal sites, and the ratio of components. The proper oxygen defects promote synergy between the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM, metal redox chemistry) and sLOM (oxygen redox chemistry) of OER in NiFe-based (oxy)hydroxide, practically maximizing the use of surface TM and oxygen atoms as active sites. Consequently, the optimal NiFe-LDH/FeOOH heterostructure outperforms the reported non-noble OER catalysts in electrocatalytic activity, with an overpotential of 177 mV to deliver a current density of 20 mA cm-2 and high stability. The novel strategy exemplifies a facile and versatile approach to designing highly active TM-LDH-based OER electrocatalysts for energy and environmental applications.


Background: Na+-dependent D-glucose and D-galactose transport was studied in the ileal brush-border membrane vesicles from both spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive genetic control Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Initial rates and accumulation ratios of the transport of both monosaccharides were significantly lower in the hypertensive rats compared to the WKY rats. Methods: In order to determine whether such modifications are related to morphological abnormalities, ileal epithelium of SHR and WKY rats was examined by light and electron microscopy. In addition, immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical localization of Na+-glucose cotransporter (SGLT1) was performed. Results: Light microscopy studies showed hypertrophy in the ileal villi of hypertensive rats, with an increase in the villus width when compared to those from normotensive rats. Immunohistochemical studies of SGLT1 showed the protein localized in the apical membrane of the absorptive epithelial cells, along the entire villus. No changes between SHR and WKY rats were noted in the intensity and distribution of the SGLT1 protein along the villus-crypt axis. Electron microscopy studies showed a patchy loss of microvilli in the ileal enterocytes of SHR, compared to those from WKY rats. Immunocytochemical studies of SGLT1 were carried out by the immunogold method. Colloidal gold particles were localized at the ileal microvilli of normotensive rats. No significant presence of SGLT1 was found in the smooth apical surface of ileum from hypertensive rats, although most adjacent microvilli were marked. Conclusion: Morphological changes were accompanied by modifications in the sugar transport and in the immunolocalization of SGLT1 in the ileal epithelium of SHR.


BACKGROUND
Seborrheic keratoses are the most common benign tumors in adults. Despite their negative cosmetic appearance, no topical treatment is commonly recommended for these lesions.

OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to assess whether clinical benefit could be achieved by using a keratolytic topical agent and superficial scraping for this condition.

METHODS
A topical 50% urea-containing product under occlusion was applied daily to large and/or thick hyperkeratotic seborrheic keratoses on the truck and extremities. The patients were instructed to digitally scrape the surface of the lesions in an attempt to reduce the thickness of the lesions.

RESULTS
In a pilot nonrandomized open-label survey, patients expressed satisfaction with using this topical therapeutic technique.

CONCLUSIONS
Hyperkeratotic seborrheic keratoses can be satisfactorily managed with topical agents and scraping with reasonable patient satisfaction. Further studies with various keratolytic agents using other delivery systems are warranted.


Implicated within the relationship between memory and identities at the local, national and international levels is the question of whether there is 'right to memory': the human right to have the otherness of the past acknowledged through the creation of symbolic and cultural acts, utterances and expressions. This article outlines the rationale for a right to memory and why the debate is of importance to memory and cultural studies. It outlines some of the relationships understood between memory and identity within memory studies, suggesting that a right to memory requires an understanding of the complex dynamics of memory and identities not only within, but internationally across, borders. It extends the concept of political cosmopolitanism to use as an analytical framework to enable an analysis of current international protocols, showing how they formulate the discursive relationship between identity and memory in four ways that involve a number of contradictions and unresolved tensions.


Investment is an interesting thing to analyze during the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic because at this time the economy is experiencing a decline so specifically for investors, they must consider the level of risk in their shares. The purpose of this study is to determine the condition of Consumer Goods Industry stocks with a concentration of pharmaceutical companies that can form an optimal portfolio and to determine the proportion of each selected stock and the level of return and risk of the resulting portfolio. The method that used is Single Index Model approach. The results of the analysis show that using the Single Index Model, Consumer Goods Industry stocks with a concentration of pharmaceutical companies from December 2016 to November 2020 can form an optimal portfolio consisting of SIDO with a proportion of 26.10%, PYFA with a proportion of 23 , 02%, DVLA with a proportion of 50.89% and a portfolio expected return of 5.79% and a risk of 6.95%


In this work we propose and analyze an abstract parameter dependent model written as a mixed variational formulation based on Volterra integrals of second kind. For the analysis, we consider a suitable adaptation to the classic mixed theory in the Volterra equations setting, and prove the well posedness of the resulting mixed viscoelastic formulation. Error estimates are derived, using the available results for Volterra equations, where all the estimates are independent of the perturbation parameter. We consider an application of the developed theory in a viscoelastic Timoshenko beam, and report numerical experiments in order to assess the independence of the perturbation parameter.


Understanding evolution requires detailed knowledge of genotype-phenotype maps; however, it can be a herculean task to measure every phenotype in a combinatorial map. We have developed a computational strategy to predict the missing phenotypes from an incomplete, combinatorial genotype-phenotype map. As a test case, we used an incomplete genotype-phenotype dataset previously generated for the malaria parasite's 'chloroquine resistance transporter' (PfCRT). Wild-type PfCRT (PfCRT3D7) lacks significant chloroquine (CQ) transport activity, but the introduction of the eight mutations present in the 'Dd2' isoform of PfCRT (PfCRTDd2) enables the protein to transport CQ away from its site of antimalarial action. This gain of a transport function imparts CQ resistance to the parasite. A combinatorial map between PfCRT3D7 and PfCRTDd2 consists of 256 genotypes, of which only 52 have had their CQ transport activities measured through expression in the Xenopus laevis oocyte. We trained a statistical model with these 52 measurements to infer the CQ transport activity for the remaining 204 combinatorial genotypes between PfCRT3D7 and PfCRTDd2. Our best-performing model incorporated a binary classifier, a nonlinear scale, and additive effects for each mutation. The addition of specific pairwise- and high-order-epistatic coefficients decreased the predictive power of the model. We evaluated our predictions by experimentally measuring the CQ transport activities of 24 additional PfCRT genotypes. The R2 value between our predicted and newly-measured phenotypes was 0.90. We then used the model to probe the accessibility of evolutionary trajectories through the map. Approximately 1% of the possible trajectories between PfCRT3D7 and PfCRTDd2 are accessible; however, none of the trajectories entailed eight successive increases in CQ transport activity. These results demonstrate that phenotypes can be inferred with known uncertainty from a partial genotype-phenotype dataset. We also validated our approach against a collection of previously published genotype-phenotype maps. The model therefore appears general and should be applicable to a large number of genotype-phenotype maps.


A single day census found that long-stay patients (LSP) numbering 7,307 accounted for about 48% of the total inpatient strength of 15,345 in government mental hospitals in India. A load of 2695 (37%) LSP were in two to five years duration of stay, 2782 (38%) were in five to fifteen years duration of stay, and the remaining 1830 (25%) were staying for more than fifteen years. About 11% of LSP were aged sixty years and above, majority (53%) were males, non-voluntary cases constituted 80%. and more than two-thirds (69%) were schizophrenics. The characteristics distributions associated with high rates of LSP at individual hospitals were identified. The load of LSP was decreased by 9% during the period from 1993 to 1999.


lations of his or her own kind. McKerrow's "The Elizabethan Printer and Dramatic Manuscripts" exhibits the symptoms of such epiphenomena.2 In showing that Renaissance dramatic texts are less accurately printed than other texts of the period, McKerrow uses as an initial sample the 1596 edition of The Faerie Queene where, in 5,391 lines of verse of Book IV, the Oxford editor J. C. Smith "thought it necessary to depart from the text as printed by Field in not more than twenty-one places," and those errors, if they are errors, all represent in the printing real words. The dramatic texts McKerrow has in mind are not Pollard's bad quartos but Folio texts, such as Coriolanus, which contain


The Sma and Mad related (Smad) family proteins are critical mediators of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily signaling. After TGF-β-mediated phosphorylation and association with Smad4, Smad2 moves to the nucleus and activates expression of specific genes through cooperative interactions with DNA-binding proteins, including members of the winged-helix family of transcription factors, forkhead activin signal transducer (FAST)-1 and FAST2. TGF-β has also been described to activate other signaling pathways, such as the c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) pathway. Here, we show that activation of JNK cascade blocked the ability of Smad2 to mediate TGF-β-dependent activation of the FAST proteins. This inhibitory activity is mediated through the transcriptional factor c-Jun, which enhances the association of Smad2 with the nuclear transcriptional corepressor TG-interacting factor (TGIF), thereby interfering with the assembly of Smad2 and the coactivator p300 in response to TGF-β signaling. Interestingly, c-Jun directly binds to the nuclear transcriptional corepressor TGIF and is required for TGIF-mediated repression of Smad2 transcriptional activity. These studies thus reveal a mechanism for suppression of Smad2 signaling pathway by JNK cascade through transcriptional repression.


We propose and analyze the properties of photorefractive Fabry-Perot étalons that consist of photorefractive crystal plates with high-reflectance coatings. Some new phenomena such as nonreciprocity, bandwidth narrowing, and broadening are presented.


This paper presents a powerful new design aspect to reduce acoustic noise and vibration of electromagnetic origin for electrical machines, by introducing improved slot wedges referred to as "structural stator spacers." These spacers, by using a very stiff dielectric and nonmagnetic material, a modified shape, and small modifications to the stator laminations, not only secure the windings and reduce windage losses, but also make it possible to increase the stiffness of the stator structure significantly, thereby reducing the generation of audible noise. This new method does not incur the significant drawbacks usually associated with other noise reduction methods or interdict other noise control methods. Design models and practical prototypes are detailed which are used to verify the effectiveness of the spacers.


This study is about the livelihood of one of the Bangladesh ethnic tribal communities, the Santals.  Being the minority, the Santals faces some challenges to adjust to political, social, economic and natural changes that came in their way during the last three hundred years. Due to multi-sectoral industrial development, the natural resources which are the primary sources of livelihood for the tribal communities are being depleted. This study aims to find the impacts on the livelihood pattern of the Santals due to the depletion of the common pool resources and how they are coping with this situation. This study identifies that pragmatic and comprehensive arrangements for the Santals is necessary so that they can continue living by preserving their ethnicity and cultural diversity.
Keywords: Santals, tribal community, livehood, vulnerability


Post-sternotomy mediastinitis is a serious complication after cardiothoracic surgery and contribute significantly to post-operative morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Negative pressure wound therapy is today's golden standard for post-sternotomy mediastinitis treatment. A systematic literature search was conducted at PubMed until October 2012 to analyse whether vacuum-assisted closure technique prevents mediastinitis after clean surgical incisions closure. Today's studies showed reduction of post-sternotomy mediastinitis including a beneficial socio-economic impact. Current studies, however included only high-risk patients, hence furthermore, larger randomised controlled trials are warranted to clarify the benefit for using surgical incision vacuum management systems in the general patient population undergoing sternotomy and clarify risk factor interaction.


In this paper, we aim to test the feasibility of very high resolution satellite imagery for urban turf quality mapping. Our study site is the urbanized area of Shenyang City where the dominant turfgrass is Poa L., and the satellite imagery is QuickBird. After extracting grass from QuickBird by texture-combined supervised classification method, we analyze the relationship between green grass coverage (extracted by ground-based digital image analysis) and satellite spectral characteristics at 48 turf samples. Results show that, though it's hard to obtain green grass coverage and identify species composition simultaneously, it's successful to partition turf into two rough classes: managed turf (Poa L. coverage>60–70%) and unmanaged turf (Poa L. coverage>60–70% or dominated by weeds).


This work presents a time dependent version of the fission matrix method named Transient Fission Matrix (TFM) developed to perform kinetics calculations. Coupled neutronics and thermal-hydraulics transient calculations are studied using the TFM approach and a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code. The generation of the matrices is performed using the Monte Carlo neutronic code SERPENT beforehand the transient calculation. The neutronic module and the coupling are directly implemented in the CFD opensource code OpenFOAM. An application case is presented on the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR). This system is a circulating liquid fuel reactor characterized by a two meter core cavity and a fast spectrum. Thus the present approach is well suited since an accurate distribution of the velocity of the liquid fuel circulating in the cavity and of the delayed neutron precursor transport is required. A reactivity insertion incident of around 2.5$ is presented, showing the good behavior of the MSFR in such a case. A load-following from 50% to the nominal power generation is also discussed


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

Cancer-testis (C-T) antigens represent attractive potential targets for cancer immunotherapy due to their limited expression in normal somatic tissues and their widespread expression in malignant cells of diverse histologies. The utility of C-T antigens for immunotherapy of colorectal cancer (CRC), however, is limited because expression of C-T genes is repressed in most CRC cells by hypermethylation. We investigated whether treatment of CRC lines with the hypomethylating agent 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (DAC) could induce C-T gene expression in CRC cells and thereby sensitize them to recognition by CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) specific for the highly immunogenic C-T antigen NY-ESO-1.

A panel of CRC and primary dermal fibroblast lines was cultured with DAC or medium alone for 48 hours followed by culture with exposure to interferon γ (IFNγ) or medium alone for an additional 48 hours. After the treatment period, cells were harvested for collection of RNA, DNA, and protein; studied with flow cytometry for analysis of MHC class I and II expression; and tested for recognition by HLA-A*0201-restricted CTL specific for NY-ESO-1157–165 in a 51Cr release-cytotoxicity assay.

Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the expression of 20 C-T genes in untreated and DAC-treated cells using a custom PCR array showed that the majority of C-T genes were expressed at low levels in untreated CRC cells but were induced in most CRC cell lines by DAC exposure. Fibroblasts did not show any significant C-T gene expression with or without DAC treatment. Western blot analysis for NY-ESO-1 expression confirmed that DAC induction of NY-ESO-1 transcription was also associated with increased protein expression. DAC-treated HLA-A*0201+ CRC lines were also recognized by CD8+ HLA-A*0201-restricted NY-ESO-1-specific CTL. CTL recognition was enhanced when the cells were treated with IFNγ in combination with DAC, with the most significant effect seen in CRC cells with low baseline expression of MHC class I molecules.

These data suggest that epigenetic modulation with DAC or related agents could be used to selectively induce expression of C-T antigens in CRC cells and thereby make them susceptible to C-T antigen-directed immunotherapy.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4778.


Aims: The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of Vit E, B6, omega-3 and calcium on the treatment of this syndrome. Study Design: A double blind clinical randomized trial study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of midwifery, of Islamic Azad University, sari, branch Iran. Between March 2012 and October 2012. Methodology: Two hundred girls with moderate and severe form of premenstrual syndrome were selected randomly and were divided into five groups. Group 1 received 1g of calcium during 7 final days of the cycle for three cycles. Group 2 received 100 mg of Vit E daily for three cycles. Group 3 received 1g of capsule of fish oil for three months. Group 4 received 40 mg of Vit B6 daily for three months. And group 5 received daily one tablet of placebo for three months and also filled Rosignol Bonlender check list during the use of the drugs. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, and severities of symptoms were compared before and after the intervention in each group and after the treatment in all five groups. Result: Severity of physical, mental and physical and mental symptoms in patients who received Vit E, VitB6, calcium, omega-3 and placebo reduced (p< 0.05) Conclusion: It E, Vit B6, calcium, and omega-3 are effective on PMS. Original Research Article Annual Research & Review in Biology, 4(7): 1141-1149, 2014 1142


Previous studies on streaming media networks have mainly focused on how to conserve the network bandwidth, especially the Internet backbone bandwidth, while maintaining a desired quality. This paper tackles the problem from another perspective, trying to improve the individual streaming quality while not increasing the backbone traffic. Specifically, we apply a peer-paired collaborative streaming architecture that exploits the power of peer-to-peer networking and extends the peer-paired collaboration from a live broadcasting scenario to the more general on-demand streaming scenario by introducing a unique catch-up scheme. Experimental results show that the peer-paired collaboration can bring about a significant performance gain for on-demand streaming application scenarios. In addition, we propose a forward error correction based error recovery technique that can resist up to 50% packet losses regardless of whether the losses are independent or shared.


Since the late 1990s, Zimbabwe has experienced a protracted socioeconomic and political crisis. This crisis was marked by unprecedented unemployment rates, company closures, retrenchments, and rapid informalisation. In the face of employment uncertainties, many youth joined the burgeoning small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. This article explores private SME growth in Harare and shows how it enables young people to navigate the unemployment crisis. Based on the lived experiences of youth working in the retail and clothing SME sector in Harare, the article argues that young people deploy their agency and resourcefulness in grappling with unemployment by devising creative and inventive ways of 'getting by' through engagement with SMEs. Although SME sector growth can help create employment for youth, the nexus is complex. Both the number and quality of jobs created remain problematic. The SME sector is also politically sensitive, so young people have to navigate partisan politics as well.


This paper focuses on the identification of dynamical systems with tailor-made model structures, where neural networks are used to approximate uncertain components and domain knowledge is retained, if available. These model structures are fitted to measured data using different criteria including a computationally efficient approach minimizing a regularized multi-step ahead simulation error. The neural net-work parameters are estimated along with the initial conditions used to simulate the output signal in small-size subsequences. A regularization term is included in the fitting cost in order to enforce these initial conditions to be consistent with the estimated system dynamics.


An efficient three-dimensional (3D) fracture model was developed that can be applied to arbitrary planar cracks with Mode 1 stress singularity at the fracture tip. Surface stress, thermally induced stress, and poroelasticity were included. In addition, the elasticity constants can be varied between elements. A parameter study was conducted with the model to evaluate the stress-intensity factor, the evolving shape of the fracture, and fracture width. The study includes the borehole effect, fracture migration, fracture barriers, fracture cross-sectional shape, fracture front shape and its stress-intensity factor, and evaluation of the validity of some simplified models. Further work on the details of the theory, algorithm, accuracy, and efficiency of the 3D fracture model is in progress.


Selective IgM deficiency has been associated with recurrent infections and enteric protein loss. We have evaluated eight patients with IgM deficiency presenting with recurrent infections and manifestation of atopy. A variety of subtle immunologic aberrations were noted, including depressed IgM and elevated IgG responses to immunization with bacteriophage OX174. Despite normal quantitative IgG in most patients, IgG antibody responses to diphtheria-tetanus and/or pneumococcal polysaccharide antigens were generally depressed. No correlation could be made between antibody responses (or lack thereof) and the nature of infections in any given patient.


Pertamina Hulu Energi - Offshore North West Java, also known as PHE-ONWJ, owns 426 subsea pipelines from which only 185 are active operating to support PHE-ONWJ's production activity and the rest, 241 pipelines, are inactive which status is either remain idle or being preserved. Need to be noted that 67% or 284 pipelines aged more than 30 years, which is more than its design life. From which, 120 pipelines are still actively operating distributing fluids such as Oil, Gas and 3-phase. Multiple events of leak have occurred which implicates PHE-ONWJ's production activity.
 Based on observation, more than 90% of leak events occurred, were caused by internal corrosion. The specific cause is that PHE-ONWJ pipelines transports such fluids that contains corrosive agents such high CO2 content, sands or solid particles, SRB and water.
 The existing integrity management plan such as in-line inspection, fluid sampling, chemical injection and others have been performed onto several pipelines. However, since the size of PHE-ONWJ's pipeline network facility is complex and massive, to perform in-line inspection to all pipelines is not economically beneficial. Moreover, performing in-line inspection induced high risk and not all of the pipelines are piggable either because of its design or operating condition. Therefore, by considering such conditions mentioned previously, an effective and efficient pipeline integrity management developed based on corrosion rate prediction from topside piping within corrosion circuit with pipeline.
 It is clear unwanted event such leak shall interrupt PHE-ONWJ production activity, moreover the age of most pipeline facility are old which means it has probability to fail, even though not all leak event associated with the age of the pipeline. To maintain and predict failure event such as leak or even rupture, a corrosion model has been developed. This model is constructed from combining several parameters which are; fluid sampling, In-Line Inspection of several pipelines with different services, Topside piping inspection data, Operating history and pipeline design data. The model generated in the form of an equation that associates topside piping corrosion rate and pipeline corrosion rate which both were obtained from inspection data and the boundary is operating and design history of the pipeline itself.
 The developed model or equation is continuously validated as In-Line Inspection (ILI) performed onto several pipelines that previously has been assessed by using the internal corrosion model. Since the model developed, an accuracy ranging from 80-99% has been achieved in predicting maximum internal corrosion rate of PHE-ONWJ's pipeline. Which later on, this corrosion model become as a basis in determining pipeline's integrity status, remaining life and assisted in assessing the pipeline risk which outcome are mitigation / action plan. All of these were obtained by only using topside inspection data.
 Even though the corrosion model developed is able to represent PHE-ONWJ's pipeline internal corrosion rate, further study should be done to be applicable onto other facility or even company pipelines. Therefore, a joint study may be made to create such corrosion model for pipelines. The goal is to have an in-depth approach in managing matured and unpigable pipeline integrity that operates across the world with such effectiveness and ensure all stakeholders that the pipeline is safe to operate.


Neuronal cell specific cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a known regulator of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. We report that Cdk5 also plays an important role in the proliferation of breast cancer cells MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 and is functionally involved in chemosensitivity as well as in cell death pathways induced by anti-cancer drug carboplatin (Carb). Here, we demonstrate that carboplatin induced Cdk5 activation under positive regulation of ERK, promotes cell death in MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 cells. DNA-damage stress enhanced ERK activity utilizes Cdk5 as one of its downstream targets for the execution of death signal in carboplatin induced death in MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 cells. Additionally, present data clearly indicates that activated Cdk5 modulates p53 transactivation in MCF-7 cells. However, in p53 mutant MDA MB-231 cells, Cdk5 mediated cell death is likely to be p53 independent. Collectively, our findings not only draw attention to the extra-neuronal functions of Cdk5 but also propose Cdk5 as a novel and potential therapeutic target of chemotherapeutic drugs.


OBJECTIVE: To estimate the overall reduction in ovarian cancer risk associated with the use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and whether reduction in risk is affected by specifics of OCP use, such as formulation or duration of use. DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and ClinicalTrials.gov for studies published from January 1990 to June 2012, with primary analysis of studies published since January 2000. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: We reviewed 6,476 citations. We included English-language controlled studies with human participants reporting a quantitative association between exposure to OCPs (in which the explicit or implicit indication for OCP use was prevention of pregnancy or ovarian cancer) compared with no use of OCPs. Two investigators independently reviewed the title and abstract and full-text of articles for inclusion or exclusion decision; discordant decisions were resolved by team review and consensus. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Fifty-five studies met inclusion criteria. A random-effects meta-analysis of 24 case-control and cohort studies showed significant reduction in ovarian cancer incidence in ever-users compared with never-users (odds ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.81). There was a significant duration–response relationship, with reduction in incidence of more than 50% among women using OCPs for 10 or more years. The lifetime reduction in ovarian cancer attributable to the use of OCPs is approximately 0.54% for a number-needed-to-treat of approximately 185 for a use period of 5 years. CONCLUSION: Significant duration-dependent reductions in ovarian cancer incidence in the general population are associated with OCP use.


This is the first part of a two-paper series and presents the modeling methodology for all of the main components of a typical wind power plant for power system transient studies. The models developed are intended for investigation of the temporary overvoltages, switching overvoltages, and lightning overvoltages. The component models developed include the high-frequency models of the vacuum and SF6 circuit breakers, three core cables for the collector grid, and quad core cables for the wind turbine tower, turbine transformer, doubly fed asynchronous generator, and surge arrester. The models developed are wideband in nature and can be used for all studies, except the transformer model which requires two variations for the low-mid frequency range and mid-high frequency range. Detailed user-defined models developed for both vacuum and SF6 circuit breakers take account of the restrikes, reignitions, prestrikes, low-frequency high-current interruption, and high-frequency low-current interruption. The generator and transformer transient models include a representation of the various high-frequency capacitive couplings. The success criteria for each individual component model are discussed, and the model performance is validated against these criteria.


This paper presents Virtual Aggregation, an architecture that attempts to tackle the Internet routing scalability problem. Our approach does not require any changes to router software and routing protocols and can be deployed by any ISP without the cooperation of other ISPs. Hence, Virtual Aggregation is a configuration-only solution. The key insight here is to use divide-and-conquer so that default-free zone routers don't need to maintain the entire routing table. Instead, an ISP can modify its internal routing such that individual routers in its network only maintain a part of the routing table. We evaluate the application of Virtual Aggregation to a few tier-1 and tier-2 ISPs and show that it can reduce routing table size on individual routers by an order of magnitude while imposing almost no traffic stretch and very little increase in router load. We also deploy Virtual Aggregation across two different testbeds comprising of Cisco and Linux routers. Finally, we detail some shortcomings of the proposed design and discuss alternative designs that alleviate some of these. However, in spite of the limitations, we believe that the simplicity of the proposal and its possible short-term impact on routing scalability suggest that it is an alternative worth considering.


A focus of infarction is surrounded by hypoperfused areas. The present study was undertaken to examine the long-term changes in the size of infarcts, the relationship between the size of an infarct and the extent of the surrounding hypoperfused areas, and the background of such changes. The subjects of this study were 11 patients with ischemic lesions of the brain who had undergone brain SPECT (99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer) within 1 week after initial MRI, and who underwent MRI again more than half a year later. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was conducted to detect significantly hypoperfused areas on the SPECT images. Relative size of significantly hypoperfused areas on SPM and infarcts on T2-weighted MR images were measured. The patients were divided into two groups based on the percentage of the infarct's size relative to the size of the surrounding hypoperfused areas (75–125 and 0–39%). Infarcts in the '75–125%' group showed little change in size, while in the '0–39%' group infarcts increased slowly until it reached the same rate as the former group. All patients with infarct in the '0–39%' group were noted to have severe stenosis of the internal carotid arteries bilaterally. Patients having severe stenosis of the internal carotid artery often had a slowly enlarging infarct. SPM seems to be useful in predicting the ultimate size of the infarct.


Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) improve cognition in patients with stroke and increase the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the rat hippocampus. However, the effects of SSRIs on cognition and BDNF level in vascular dementia (VaD) patients are largely unknown. We performed an open-label study to investigate the effects of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, on mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score and serum BDNF level in VaD patients. Fifty VaD patients were randomly allocated to receive fluoxetine (20 mg/d; n = 25) or no fluoxetine (control group; n = 25) for 12 weeks. Both groups received secondary prevention of stroke. Baseline serum BDNF level correlated with MMSE score (r = 0.326, p = 0.021). MMSE score increased in the fluoxetine group (15.1 ± 3.0 at baseline vs. 16.1 ± 2.9 at week 12, p = 0.0004) but not in the control group (15.7 ± 2.6 vs. 15.8 ± 2.7, p = 0.566). Serum BDNF level increased in the fluoxetine group (21.2 ± 3.2 ng/ml at baseline vs. 25.7 ± 4.0 ng/ml at week 12, p < 0.001) but not in the control group (21.4 ± 5.8 ng/ml vs. 21.5 ± 6.9 ng/ml, p = 0.921). In the fluoxetine group, the increase in serum BDNF level correlated with the increase in MMSE score (r = 0.413, p = 0.04). The utility of SSRIs during cognitive recovery of VaD patients requires further investigation. BDNF may play an important role in cognitive recovery. (Trial registration: chictr.org, Identifier: ChiCTR-TRC-12002247).


What is the economic case for increasing the federal minimum wage?

To even posit that question sounds odd. Proponents of a higher minimum wage claim that the policy change could alleviate all sorts of economic and social ills. But it's worth assessing, from first principles, the economic arguments advanced for how the minimum wage level should be set.


Whether nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is related to vitamin D and bone health in obese children is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate vitamin D status and bone mineral density (BMD) in obese children according to their condition within the NAFLD spectrum. Anthropometric data, laboratory tests, and abdominal ultrasonography were obtained from 94 obese children. The subjects were divided into three groups according to NAFLD spectrum: normal liver, simple steatosis, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Although there were no differences in vitamin D levels between the three groups, these groups showed significant differences in highly sensitive C-reactive protein (P=0.044), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (P=0.02), hepatic fibrosis scores (P<0.05), and trunk fat percentage (P=0.025). Although there were significant differences in BMDs, the age-matched BMD z-scores were not significantly different between the three groups. Serum vitamin D levels were negatively correlated with age (r=-0.368, P=0.023), serum uric acid levels (r=-0.371, P=0.022), fibrosis 4 (FIB4) (r=-0.406, P=0.011), and HOMA-IR (r=-0.530, P=0.001) in obese children with NASH. Multiple regression analysis for vitamin D in the NASH group revealed age and HOMA-IR as significant factors. In conclusion, inflammatory markers, hepatic fibrosis scores, trunk fat, and insulin resistance may reflect the spectrum of NAFLD in obese children, whereas vitamin D levels and BMD may not. In patients with NASH, however, low serum vitamin D is associated with hepatic fibrosis and insulin resistance, but not with bone health status.


Background and Objective: The Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a challenging problem in combinatorial optimization whose main purpose is to find the shortest path reaching all interconnected cities by straight lines.In spite of many available heuristic methods for solving TSPs, no attempts have been made to evaluate and compare their performances. The purpose of this study is to carry out a comparative evaluation study on Simulated Annealing (SA) and several variation of Tabu Search (TS).Materials and Method: This study considers four heuristic methods, i.e., Simulated Annealing (SA), conventional Tabu Search (TS), Improved Tabu Search (ITS) and modified Reactive Tabu Search (RTS) to solve symmetric TSPs.The algorithms were tested on five chosen benchmark problems. Their
performances were compared and the appropriate algorithm for solving TSPs was then identified. The solution quality was evaluated using empirical testing, benchmark solutions and probabilistic analyses. Results: The analysis of computational results showed that the modified RTS algorithm provided a better solution quality in terms of minimizing the objective function of TSPs, while the SA algorithm was useful for obtaining instant solutions for TSPs with a large number of cities. The modified RTS algorithm also performed better compared to the existing heuristic methods. Conclusion: This study has explored the most effective heuristic method for solving TSPs based on the intended solution quality. The algorithms proposed in this study should be considered in solving symmetric travelling salesman problems.


Introduction: Stroke has been described as a long term chronic condition with acute events, so the importance of promoting self management is gaining greater recognition. However, the hyper and acute stroke care environments can pose challenges for professionals to promote self management strategies. This study within a central London
stroke pathway trained in the Bridges Self-management Programme, explores these challenges to implementation.
Method: Qualitative semi-structured interviews pre- and post- Bridges training with multi-disciplinary stroke pathway team (n = 15). Data were analysed using a thematic content method.
Results: Analysis of data highlights several perceived barriers to the promotion of self management specifically within the hyper and acute stroke care environment. These broadly fall into three categories; (1) personal stroke related factors including fluctuating condition, medical ill-health and individual and carer 'readiness'; (2) professional factors
including the conceptualisation of self-management as an 'add-on' to therapy, and (3) organisational issues, specifically rapid discharge, demands of diagnostic tests, staff communication and external targets. Despite these barriers participants highlighted the necessity for self-management self-management principles to be initiated in acute care to facilitate a shared approach through the rehabilitation pathway.
Conclusion: Although this research highlights several barriers to the implementation of self-management in the hyper and acute environment, a need to find integrated methods is strongly raised.


A special technique of neurolept analgesia for electrocoagulation of the gasserian ganglion is described which has been used since 1974. Induction is by means of Fentanyl and Valium. The dosis is sufficiently low for the patient to remain responsive and co-operative but practically painfree. The actual thermocoagulation is performed in intravenous methohexital sodium anaesthesia. The dosis is kept so low that the patient wakes up within 2--3 minutes and is able to inform the surgeon of the success or failure of the operation. If no relief from pain has been obtained a further 20 mg of methohexital are injected and the operation is repeated.


We construct BPS saturated regular configurations of N = 4 SU(3) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory carrying non-parallel electric and magnetic charges. These field theory BPS states correspond to the string theory BPS states of 3-string junctions connecting three different D3-branes by regarding the N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory as an effective field theory on parallel D3-branes. firstname.lastname@example.com. Supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (#3160). email@example.com. Supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (#09640346). firstname.lastname@example.com


Water was found to be a convenient reaction medium for functionalization of substituted anisoles using iodine in the presence of Selectfluor F-TEDA-BF(4) or hydrogen peroxide as mediators and oxidizers. Two types of functionalization were observed: iodination or oxidation. In the iodination process, two reaction routes were established. In the case of the first route, a high iodine atom economy was achieved for selective and effective iodo functionalization with a stoichiometric ratio of substrate/iodine/(mediator/oxidizer) = 2:1:1.2. An electrophilic iodination reaction process was suggested for this route, with the oxidizer converting the liberated iodide anion to iodine. For the second reaction route, a stoichiometric ratio of substrate/iodine/(mediator/oxidizer) = 1:1:1 and a lower iodine atom economy were observed; in this case, ion radical formation in the first step of the reaction was suggested. Iodine was found to be an effective catalyst for the oxidation of a hydroxy benzyl functional group to benzaldehyde using F-TEDA-BF(4). Water is an effective medium for functionalization of anisole, p-methoxy benzyl alcohol, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanone, o-dimethoxy benzene, m-dimethoxy benzene, and p-dimethoxy benzene, whereas F-TEDA-BF(4) as a mediator/oxidizer could be replaced by hydrogen peroxide in the case of the functionalization of 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanone, o-dimethoxy benzene, m-dimethoxy benzene, and p-dimethoxy benzene. Water changes the type of transformation of p-methoxy benzyl alcohol.


Introduction: Cortisol effects on the brain are exerted through two distinct receptors, inducing complex and even opposite effects on the cerebral structures implicated in the various cognitive functions. High cortisol may also have deleterious effects on the brain structures and contribute to neurodegeneration, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), via different mechanisms. Objective: To examine the interrelationships between cortisol, cognitive impairment and AD. Methods: Review of the literature. Results: Clinical studies found that elevated cortisol was associated with poorer overall cognitive functioning, as well as with poorer episodic memory, executive functioning, language, spatial memory, processing speed, and social cognition; while in animals, glucocorticoid administration resulted in cognitive impairment and abnormal behavior. In cognitively healthy subjects, higher cortisol levels have been associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and AD. Subjects with dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) due to AD have been found to have higher CSF cortisol levels than cognitively healthy controls. Elevated CSF cortisol may also be associated with a more rapid cognitive decline in MCI due to AD. Elevated cortisol levels have been also found in delirium. High cortisol may mediate the impact of stressful life events, high neuroticism, depression, sleep disturbances, as well as cardiovascular risk factors on cognitive performance, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline. High cortisol may also exert neurotoxic effects on the hippocampus, and promote oxidative stress and amyloid β peptide toxicity. Further possible underlying mechanisms include the interactions of cortisol with inflammatory mediators, neurotransmitters, and growth factors. Conclusion: Elevated cortisol levels may exert detrimental effects on cognition and contribute to AD pathology. Further studies are needed to investigate cortisol-reducing and glucocorticoidreceptor modulating interventions to prevent cognitive decline.


The authors provide an update on most issues related to biology, diagnosis, and treatment of children with ependymoma based on a literature review. Ependymoma is the third most common brain tumor in children and overall survival ranges from 24% to 75% at 5 years. The extent of surgical resection remains the principal risk factor that clearly influences outcome. The influence of age, location, grade, or stage has proved to be more controversial. Current standard therapy includes surgical resection and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy has a role in infants to avoid/delay radiotherapy and can be helpful to improve resectability. About half of patients will experience relapse, and outcome is dismal. New radiation modalities, reirradiation, chemotherapy, or targeted agents have been tested with promising results. Results of multi-institutional clinical trials are awaited to determine the best first-line treatment, while results of early phase I/ II trials will explore directed therapies based on new biologic factors.


We present a numerical algorithm to solve the micromagnetic equations based on tangential-plane minimization for the magnetization update and a homothethic-layer decomposition of outer space for the computation of the demagnetization field. As a first application, detailed results on the flower-vortex transition in the cube of Micromagnetic Standard Problem number 3 are obtained, which confirm, with a different method, those already present in the literature, and validate our method and code. We then turn to switching of small cubic or almost-cubic particles, in the single-domain limit. Our data show systematic deviations from the Stoner-Wohlfarth model due to the non-ellipsoidal shape of the particle, and in particular a non-monotone dependence on the particle size.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate stock price and trading volume reactions to simultaneous interim dividend and earnings announcements by the Greek firms listed on the Athens stock exchange (ASE). Design/methodology/approach - Classical event study methodology was employed to examine the share price and trading volume reaction to interim dividends and earnings announcements. Findings - Results confirm the signaling hypothesis which predicts positive market reaction to the joint dividend and earnings announcements. However, the magnitude of the price reaction initiated by the final dividend announcement seems to be higher than the one by the interim dividend announcement. Research limitations/implications - The observations are not many, although the whole population was included, since there are no data available prior to 1998. Practical implications - The findings are useful to researchers, practitioners and investors who have an interest in firms listed on the ASE for their proper strategic decision making. Originality/value - For the first time, the stock price and trading volume behaviour of firms listed on the ASE around contemporaneous dividend and earnings announcement dates is examined.


Purpose: Risks of red blood cell transfusion may outweigh benefits for many patients in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs). The Transfusion and Anemia eXpertise Initiative (TAXI) recommendations seek to limit unnecessary and potentially harmful transfusions, but use has been variable. We sought to identify barriers and facilitators to using the TAXI recommendations to inform implementation efforts. Materials and Methods: The integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (iPARIHS) framework guided semi-structured interviews conducted in 8 U.S. ICUs; 50 providers in multiple ICU roles completed interviews. Adapted Framework analysis, a form of content analysis, used the iPARIHS innovation, recipient, context and facilitation constructs and subconstructs to categorize data and identify patterns as well as unique informative statements. Results: Providers perceived that the TAXI recommendations would reduce transfusion rates and practice variability, but adoption faced challenges posed by attitudes around transfusion and care in busy and complex units. Development of widespread buy-in and inclusion in implementation, integration into workflow, designating committed champions, and monitoring outcomes data were expected to enhance implementation. Conclusions: Targeted activities to create buy-in, educate, and plan for use are necessary for TAXI implementation. Recognition of contextual challenges posed by the PICU environment and an approach that adjusts for barriers may optimize adoption.


The present status and perspectives in the control of fertility in the male have been reviewed. There are two potential sites in the male reproductive processes that can be used as targets for regulation of fertility in the male: (1) inhibition of spermatogenesis, and (2) interference with sperm maturation in the epididymis. A variety of compounds tested for their antispermatogenic action in laboratory animals have no future for the control of fertility in the human male because of a number of undesirable side effects (cf. Prasad, 1973). Progestational compounds inhibit spermatogenesis by affecting the hypothalamo-hypophysial system and result in impairment of libido. The possibility of adjustment of the minimal dose of progestational compounds required to induce suppression of spermatogenesis and reduction of plasma testosterone to a level compatible with the maintenance of normalcy of libido and potency needs to be studied. A new approach to contraception in the male involves the use of a combination of progestational compounds for suppression of spermatogenesis along with testosterone (administered through silastic capsule implants or as intramuscular injections) for maintenance of libido and accessory sex gland function. A number of such combinations have been tested clinically with some success. However, the limitations of side effects, such as weight gain, gynecomastia, and psychological complications preclude their long-term use for contraception in man. Short-term use of these combination regimens by the male for 1 year followed by use of a contraceptive method by the female may be desirable to encourage partnership in family planning. Although testosterone and other androgens suppress spermatogenesis in man, the feasibility of their use for contraception depends on the establishment of a dosage and mode of adminstration that provide antispermatogenic action without causing more general metabolic alterations. Inhibition of spermatogenesis by selective interference with the action of FSH on the Sertoli cells by active or passive immunization or by selective suppression of synthesis and release of FSH by administration of "Inhibin" offers exciting possibilities in the control of fertility in the male. Studies on the physiology of the rete testis highlight its importance as a post-tubular site of action of antifertility agents in conveying (to the epididymis) compounds interfering with epididymal functions and/or viability of spermatozoa. A new approach to the induction of functional sterility in the male by selective alteration of epididymal function by a local androgen deprivation effect has been successfully tested in clinical trials. Small doses of cyproterone acetate, administered orally, result in maintenance of libido and accessory sex gland function accompanied by a decrease in the motility of ejaculated spermatozoa and incomplete inhibition of spermatogenesis...


Introduction As high cholesterol level has been reported to be associated with cancer cell growth and cholesterol is vulnerable to oxidation, the conventional liposomes including cholesterol in the formulation seem to be challenged. Timosaponin AIII (TAIII), as a steroid saponin from Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge, possesses a similar structure with cholesterol and exhibits a wide range of antitumor activities, making it possible to develop a TAIII-based liposome where TAIII could potentially stabilize the phospholipid bilayer as a substitution of cholesterol and work as a chemotherapeutic drug as well. Meanwhile, TAIII could enhance the uptake of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and exhibit synergistic effect. Thus, we designed a novel thermally sensitive multifunctional liposomal system composed of TAIII and lipids to deliver DOX for enhanced HCC treatment. Methods The synergistic effects of DOX and TAIII were explored on HCC cells and the tumor inhibition rate of TAIII-based liposomes carrying DOX was evaluated on both subcutaneous and orthotopic transplantation tumor models. TAIII-based multifunctional liposomes were characterized. Results Synergistic HCC cytotoxicity was achieved at molar ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 of DOX/TAIII. TAIII-based liposomes carrying a low DOX dose of 2 mg/kg exhibited significantly enhanced antitumor activity than 5 mg/kg of DOX without detected cardiotoxicity on both subcutaneous and orthotopic transplantation tumor models. TAIII-based liposomes were characterized with smaller size than cholesterol liposomes but exhibited favorable stability. Mild hyperthermia generated by laser irradiation accelerated the release of DOX and TAIII from liposomes at tumor site, and cell permeability of TAIII enhanced uptake of DOX in HCC cells. Conclusion The innovative application of TAIII working as bilayer stabilizer and chemotherapeutic drug affords a stable multifunctional liposomal delivery system for synergistic therapy against HCC, which may be referred for the development of other types of saponins with similar property.


The aim of this study is to examine the involvement of families in child protection cases in Iceland, as well as to shed light on the attitudes of child protection workers on the importance of including families while working on child protection cases. The study is part of an international comparative analysis called: Social Work with Families: Social Workers' Constructions of Family in Professional Practice. This article only addresses the Icelandic segment of the research. In the study, qualitative methods were used and three focus groups were conducted, in which the same three-step vignette about a child protection case was presented. The findings highlighted how difficult child protection workers found it to define the family. The main element is that family are those individuals closest to the child and connected to them through emotional ties, as Icelandic child protection workers seem to strive to involve family in child protection cases. However, there are signs which show that when working with more complicated cases the definition of a family becomes narrower, and involvement is restricted mostly to parents and grandparents. The findings also show that attitudes toward fathers differ from those toward mothers. The mother is expected to support and create security for the child, while the father is judged mostly on his violent behaviour and is not automatically regarded as providing support or actively taking responsibility for his child.


The research study was set to assess the role which APHIA II plays in helping retain orphaned and vulnerable children in secondary school in the larger Nyeri District. Literature related to orphaned aad vulnerable children, education, donor funding and retention in school was reviewed to try and capture what others have said about the retention of students in school. The objectives of the study were to establish to what extent payment of school fees by APHIA II Central influences the retention of orphans in secondary school. to establish to what extent provision of counseling influences the retention of orphans in secondary school. to establish to what extent the provision of food influences the retention of orphans in secondary school and to establish to what extent provision of medical care helps in the retention of orphans in secondary school. The study employed a mixed mode approach. It combined both quantitative and qualitative paradigms. The data collection method used was a descriptive survey; data was collected by means of a questionnaire from ninety respondents among them eighty orphaned and vulnerable children and ten representatives from the implementing partners. Data was collected from secondary and primary sources. Primary data was collected through the use of questionnaires, while secondary data was collected through the critical analysis of documents and existing records. Data was analyzed using SPSS computer package using descriptive statistics then presented in tables of frequencies and percentages. Descriptive statistics were used to draw a regression line between the dependant and the independent variables. Chapter four dealt with analysis, presentation and interpretation of data obtained in the study. TIle analysis was based on the variables of the study which included payment of school fees, provision of counseling, provision of food and provision of medical care. Chapter five presented a summary of the major findings, discussions, conclusions and recommendations for possible actions. It has been shown in the findings that only 15% of the orphaned and vulnerable children would be in school without the support of APHIA II Central. Psychosocial support was rated as the best type of support that the orphans receive from APHAI II Central to see them through school.


Commercially Pure Titanium foils, were irradiated using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser under ambient air, in order to produce and characterize a well controlled surface texture (roughness and waviness) that enhances osseointegration. To study the 'peri-implant' reparative process response, the laser treated Ti foils were implanted in the tibia of 10 male Wistar rats. At 14 days post-implantation, the histological analysis showed a tendency to more bone formation compared to the untreated control implants. The formation of a layer of TiN on the surface and the obtained roughness, have been demonstrated to improve bone response.


Protein interactions define the homeostatic state of the cell. Our ability to understand these interactions and their role in both health and disease is tied to our knowledge of the 3D atomic structure of the interacting partners and their complexes. Despite advances in experimental method of structure determination, the majority of known protein interactions are still missing an atomic structure. High‐resolution methods such as X‐ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy struggle with the high‐throughput demand, while low‐resolution techniques such as cryo‐electron microscopy or small‐angle X‐ray scattering provide data that are too coarse. Computational structure prediction of protein complexes, or docking, was first developed to complement experimental research and has since blossomed into an independent and lively field of research. Its most successful products are hybrid approaches that combine powerful algorithms with experimental data from various sources to generate high‐resolution models of protein complexes. This minireview introduces the concept of docking and docking with the help of experimental data, compares and contrasts the available integrative docking methods, and provides a guide for the experimental researcher for what types of data and which particular software can be used to model a protein complex.


The spectrum of diseases presented in this article covers benign common conditions with variable aetiology as
well as some diseases caused by fungi, viruses, bacteria and ectoparasites.


BACKGROUND
Estrogen protects against cardiovascular disease in both patients and animal models and regulates insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), an important cell-cycle progression factor.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Smooth muscle cells and tissues were harvested from male recipient rabbits that 6 weeks earlier had received a cardiac allograft transplant consisting of a donor heart and ascending aorta. Segments of the ascending aorta from the native and allograft hearts from 9 placebo-treated and 8 estradiol-treated recipients were compared by using IGF-I-stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation. The responses of the native vessel segments were similar (175.3+/-32% and 166.9+/-41%, respectively; P>.05) whether or not the recipients had been treated for 6 weeks with estradiol. In the grafts, however, estradiol markedly inhibited vascular cell thymidine incorporation (328.04+/-56% compared with 67.3+/-11%; P<.02). Smooth muscle cells were derived from the native aorta of the placebo-treated rabbits to study the effect of estradiol in vitro. IGF-I increased cell counts in a concentration-dependent manner. In serum-starved cells estradiol further decreased cell proliferation; this effect was blocked by the specific estrogen receptor antagonist ZK-119.010. Immunohistochemistry staining for IGF-I protein in the coronary arteries and ascending aorta of the cardiac allograft from the placebo-treated recipients revealed extensive IGF-I expression in the myointima. In contrast, IGF-I protein was not expressed in the coronary arteries and ascending aorta of the cardiac allograft from the estradiol-treated recipients. The IGF-I protein was extensively expressed only in the placebo-treated graft vessels. Myointimal thickening of the coronary arteries was significantly reduced by estradiol treatment (17.9+/-1.5% versus 44.3+/-3.7%; P<.02).

CONCLUSIONS
In vivo estradiol treatment abolishes both IGF-I mitogenic effects and IGF-I protein expression in the vascular wall, which may be causally related to the inhibitory effect of estradiol on transplant arteriosclerosis.


Abstract Spanish agri-food producers, particularly organic producers, have faced commercial problems for years. Websites are able to combine informative, relational and transactional functions. This ability makes them attractive sales channels in sectors such as the organic agri-food sector, which has traditionally had major commercial shortcomings in these three areas. This study is built on this premise. The study explored whether organic agri-food producers and conventional producers differ in terms of their use of websites as a sales channel and their degree of interaction with users. The extended model of Internet commerce adoption (eMICA) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were used. Other statistical techniques were also used. The fieldwork began with a sample of 998 producers (239 organic and 759 conventional). The results reveal differences between organic and conventional olive oil producers regarding website adoption and use. In terms of attracting website visits, the results also reveal the relevance of being an organic producer and having a capitalist or cooperative company structure.


Background: The microbiota interacts with the brain through the gut–brain axis, and a distinct dysbiosis may lead to major depressive episodes. Bacteria can pass through the gut barrier and be found in the blood. Using a multiomic approach, we investigated whether a distinct blood microbiome and metabolome was associated with major depressive episodes, and how it was modulated by treatment. Methods: In this case–control multiomic study, we analyzed the blood microbiome composition, inferred bacterial functions and metabolomic profile of 56 patients experiencing a current major depressive episode and 56 matched healthy controls, before and after treatment, using 16S rDNA sequencing and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Results: The baseline blood microbiome in patients with a major depressive episode was distinct from that of healthy controls (patients with a major depressive episode had a higher proportion of Janthinobacterium and lower levels of Neisseria) and changed after antidepressant treatment. Predicted microbiome functions confirmed by metabolomic profiling showed that patients who were experiencing a major depressive episode had alterations in the cyanoamino acid pathway at baseline. High baseline levels of Firmicutes and low proportions of Bosea and Tetrasphaera were associated with response to antidepressant treatment. Based on inferred baseline metagenomic profiles, bacterial pathways that were significantly associated with treatment response were related to xenobiotics, amino acids, and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, including tryptophan and drug metabolism. Metabolomic analyses showed that plasma tryptophan levels are independently associated with response to antidepressant treatment. Limitations: Our study has some limitations, including a lack of information on blood microbiome origin and the lack of a validation cohort to confirm our results. Conclusion: Patients with depression have a distinct blood microbiome and metabolomic signature that changes after treatment. Dysbiosis could be a new therapeutic target and prognostic tool for the treatment of patients who are experiencing a major depressive episode.


Warfare is just as bad as could be considered, but despite this fact, wars have been fought and shall continue in the future as well. War is an intense armed conflict between states and paramilitary groups characterized by the presence of violence, aggression, and destruction of life and property using military tactics. Even in such circumstances, the Islamic law as well as international law has described some fundamental rules, which shall be followed by the warring parties. This portion of law is known as the jus in bello, while the portion of the legal rules talking about the legitimacy of warfare is known as the jus ad bellum. The conduct of war is differently explained by Islamic law and the International Humanitarian Law. International Humanitarian Law can be defined as the body of laws governing the conduct of states during an armed conflict. The guiding principles of IHL arise from the need of placing limits on the conduct of warfare to diminish its damages. Whereas the Islamic law of war has been derived by the Muslim Jurists through the primary sources, the Holy Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad saw Sunnah. Secondary sources include early Islamic precedents, consensus between the jurists (Ijma), jurists' rulings through analogy, and public interest (Al-Dawoody, 2017). Keywords: Conduct of Warfare, Jus in Bello, Jus ad Bellum, Islamic Law, International Law


Numerical solution of the density matrix formulation of a discrete quantum non-linear Schrödinger equation, which has been used to describe transport in one-dimensional molecular chains, has been carried out in the case of a trimer. Results show that the occupation probabilities tend to their initial values in the limit of large nonlinearity. How the asymptotic values are approached depends strongly on the initial conditions. It has been seen that the occupation probabilities behave quasiperiodically or chaotically with varying nonlinearity, and periodically if there is no nonlinearity. Amplitudes of oscillation of the site occupation probabilities are larger in chaotic intervals than in quasiperiodic intervals. Transition to localisation of the excitation is also marked by a sharp change in the probability amplitudes, if this transiton is preceeded by a chaotic interval. The degree of localisation is never bigger than initially. If the excitation is well, but not necessarily completely, localised initially, transition to localisation is preceeded by one or more prelocalised intervals. In a prelocalised interval excitation oscillates mainly between two sites.


ABSTRACT Politics, religion and legal argumentation were inextricably intertwined in the reception of John Selden's Mare Clausum/The Closed Sea (1635). The work's writing and printing history is closely tied to Stuart foreign policy, particularly James I's and Charles I's attempts to tax the Dutch herring fisheries. Mare Clausum's immediate impact on European international relations has received little attention from historians so far. It is clear, however, that government authorities in London, The Hague and Venice expected an official reply from Hugo Grotius, author of Mare Liberum/The Free Sea (1609) and Swedish ambassador in Paris. Yet the latter declined to assist the Dutch authorities in this matter, blaming them for his imprisonment in 1618–1621 and his second banishment from Holland in 1632. The antipathy was mutual. The Dutch authorities abhorred Grotius' pleas for religious tolerance and commissioned his Calvinist kinsman Dirk Graswinckel to respond to Selden instead. Graswinckel had already published Libertas Veneta/Venetian Liberty (1634), a learned defense of the Republic of Venice's political interests. In 'Vindiciae maris liberi'/Vindication of the Free Sea (written 1636–1637), he tried –but arguably failed – to reconcile Dutch claims to freedom of navigation, trade and fishing with Venetian claims to the Adriatic. It never appeared in print.


I reply to Mills's critique of my effort to show the relevance of Rawls's theory of justice for thinking about and responding to racial injustices. Contrary to Mills's claims, my suggestion that the fair equality of opportunity principle can remedy socioeconomic disadvantages caused by the legacy of racial oppression is compatible with Rawls's framework, does not conflate distributive justice with corrective justice, and does not confuse racial injustice with economic injustice. I also raise doubts about Mills's project to radically reconstruct contractarian political philosophy. He seeks to displace ideal theory with nonideal theory by foregrounding the realities of past racial domination. Against this approach, I argue that an ideal theory that abstracts away from these realities is not inherently ideological, useless for corrective justice, or too ideal to guide social reform. And I defend the view that ideal theory is indispensible for nonideal theorizing about racial justice.


Tour operators are critical in Kenya's multi-billion-dollar tourism industry, a vital pillar of the country's economic development agenda. However, recent statistics indicate that tourism performance has declined due to various factors, including political and security unrest, bureaucratic government policies, stiff competition, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the emergence of sharing economy platforms such as Airbnb has threatened the traditional business model of tour operators. At the same time, a 16% value-added tax on sales has also put pressure on their revenues. In addressing these challenges, this paper examined how tour operators in Nairobi City County can enhance their performance by implementing a cost leadership strategy in Kenya. A descriptive survey study was conducted with 15 company owners and 210 managerial staff. The respondents answered structured questionnaires and interviews, and the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship between cost leadership strategy and organizational performance (r=0.449, P<0.05), rejecting the null hypothesis, with the strategy explaining 20.2% of the variation in performance (=0.378, P<0.05). The study recommends that tour operator companies adopt strategic alliances with the supply chain, implement operational efficiency frameworks, entirely automate their services, and follow cost-reduction mechanisms to enhance organizational performance. These findings guide tourism stakeholders, particularly company executive teams, on the organizational performance implications of strategic cost-reduction techniques in the context of Nairobi City County's tour operator industry. Keywords: Cost Leadership Strategy, Organizational Performance, Nairobi City County, Tour Operators, Tourism, COVID-19