The effect of electronic data storage tags (DSTs) on the growth of cod Gadus morhua was evaluated in laboratory and field experiments. In the first laboratory experiment, large DSTs (60 x 18 mm, 3 g in water ) attached externally for 3 months did not have any effect (ANOVA, P > 0.05) on the growth of adult cod (mean ± S.D. 65 ± 4·5 cm total length) relative to untagged adult cod. In a second experiment, small DSTs (34 x 11 mm, 1.5 g in water) implanted into young cod (48·1 ± 4.4 cm) for an 8 month period did not have any effect upon the growth relative to untagged controls (ANOVA, P > 0.05). Length data returned from tagging experiments conducted on adult cod (57·3 ± 7.5 cm) in the North Sea showed that the growth of fish tagged either externally or internally with large DSTs was not different (t-test, P > 0·05). Attachment wounds, however, provided evidence that external attachment of DSTs should be avoided unless sensor configuration requires access to the external environment, and that internal implantation should be preferred whenever possible.


Weed management is an ongoing constraint in southern Africa for conventional farming systems and in emerging conservation agriculture systems, which are more heavily reliant on herbicides for primary weed control. The challenge of rising labour costs and decreasing availability creates a greater need to develop effective and efficient weed management methods in key crops such as maize. Field experiments were conducted at Sebele Agricultural Research Station, Botswana in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 cropping seasons to evaluate pre-emergence application of atrazine at 1,000 and 2,000 g a.i. ha-1 and S-metolachlor at 1,440 and 2,880 g a.i. ha-1, and a tank mixture of atrazine at 1,000 and S-metolachlor at 1,440 g a.i. ha-1. Atrazine at either rate alone, effectively controlled annual broadleaf weeds: Acanthospermum hispidum, Datura ferox and Sesamum alatum, but failed to control annual grass weeds (Tragus berteronianus and Urochloa spp.). Conversely, sole application of S-metolachlor at either rate provided complete control of annual grass weeds, but poorly controlled annual broadleaf weeds except small-seeded Amaranthus hybridus and Amaranthus thunbergii. A tank mixture of atrazine and S-metolachlor provided broad-spectrum weed control and successfully controlled both annual broadleaf and grass weeds. Atrazine alone and in tank mixture with S-metolachlor significantly reduced annual broadleaf weed density and biomass and increased maize grain yield by more than 80% when compared with the weedy treatment. High weed density and biomass of annual broadleaf weeds in S-metolachlor treatments significantly reduced maize grain yield to levels similar to the weedy treatment. A pre-mixture of atrazine and S-metolachlor is recommended for broad-spectrum weed control. Using a combination of herbicides with different modes of action may reduce selection pressure for herbicide resistance.


Although banana and plantain (Musa spp.) are crucial to food security in most countries of tropical Africa, the continent's role in the world banana economy has, at least until now, been relatively minor, as exports accounted for less than 4% of international banana trade in 2007, rising from 3% in 1985. This growth has been driven by just a few countries: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and most recently, Ghana. However, the strong downward pressure on prices paid to the big multinational fruit companies like Dole, Chiquita and Fresh Del Monte from the large Northern retail markets - combined with low labor costs and tariff-free access to the EU-27 market - means that the three biggest global fruit companies have been actively prospecting for new production locations in the continent. Virtually all exports from Africa go to Europe, with France and the UK being the primary destinations. This is linked to geographical proximity and location of the shipping lines, but also to the fact that, as ex-colonies, African exporting countries have enjoyed substantial tariff preferences in the single European market since 1993 and are still enjoying bilateral agreements. Virtually all the 2007 export volume of >0.5 million t/year is accounted for by medium- and large-scale producers linked to one of the three major multinational fruit companies. Although banana plantations employ high levels of labor compared to any other export commodity, wages are low and have fallen in relation to the cost of living. Another key feature of industrial banana production is the high level of agrochemical inputs. Although overall levels of chemical application are lower than in Central America, African workers and neighboring communities report a number of health, safety and environmental problems related to these products. The potential expansion of export banana production in Africa comes at a time when the nature of demand in the world market is changing. As consumers, especially in Europe, have become increasingly more aware of the social and environmental consequences of industrial banana production, so the demand for fair trade and organic fruit has grown. By the end of 2007, an estimated one third of the UK market, Europe's second biggest, is accounted for by fair trade and organic banana imports. In Switzerland, this figure is over half the total market. Overall, the global market for fair trade certified bananas is now approaching 2% of world trade (nearly 5% in the EU), whilst world organic exports represent an estimated 2.2% in 2007. If African governments and civil society wish to attract the financial, social and environmental benefits inherent in fair trade and organic banana production, they will have to persuade investors to look beyond the traditional banana business model. In the African context, this likely growth in banana exports must not be at the expense of local food security. A 'business as usual' expansion model in Africa would simply reproduce the same model of poor labor conditions, occupational health and safety hazards, and long-term negative externalities for the natural environment. Nonetheless, there is growing evidence that the increasing focus by the big banana companies on sustainable development will be better reflected in new operations in Africa. This is an ideal opportunity to learn and apply the lessons from over a hundred years of banana export industry history in Latin America.


per second, was utilized with the aid of a Philips 5-inch image intensifier. These experiments were performed on newborn cats, dogs and lambs ranging in age from 0 to 6 days. The ductus venosus was closed shortly after birth, but could be opened with epinephrine, nor-epinephrine and acetylcholine. Injection of normal saline had no effect. Up to the present time we have not found any drug which closes the ductus. In newborn infants the ductus has been found to be patent 12 days after birth. The size of the lumen has varied. (Hirvonen et al.) Reference: Hirvonen, L., Peltonen, T., and Ruokola, M.: Ann. Paed. Fenn. 7, 112, 1961.


Background: Enterobacteriaceae are one of the most predominant pathogen in surgical site infections. In recent years we oberved increase in resistance among bacteria from surgical site infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial suceptibility pattern of Enterobacteriaceae isolates from surgical site infections, the biofilm formation and the production of OXA-48 carbapenemase.Methods: A total of 41 Enterobacteriaceae (19 Escherchia coli, 8 Enterobacter sp., 9 Citrobacter sp., and 5 Serratia sp. ) clinical isolates were collected from patients with SSI in Hôpital Saint Joseph (Kinshasa) for diagnostic purposes. The pus samples were cultured and the antibiotic susceptibility profile of the isolates were determined by disk-diffusion method following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 2012 recommendations. OXA-48-producing Enterobacteriaceae were detected using ChromaticTM OXA-48 chromogenic medium. Crystal Violet Staining Method was used to assess the ability of bacteria strains to form a biofilm. Results: All Enterobacteriacea isolates studied were biofilm producers and highly resistant to the majority of antibiotics tested. E. coli, Enterobacter sp., Citrobacter sp., and Serratia sp. were 100 % resistant cefotaxime, imipenem, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and ampicillin. Serratia sp. isolates were 100% and 80% sensitive to norfloxacine and amikacine respectively. There was relationship between antibiotic resistance and biofilm production. E. coli, Enterobacter sp., and Citrobacter sp. strains were all OXA-48 producers.Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrate the emergence of multidrug resistant organisms, the correlation between antibiotic resistance- biofilm formation and OXA-48 production. These results suggest the implementation of antimicrobial resistance survey programm in order to prevent and combat the spread of multidrug resistant organisms in hospital and community in Democratic Republic of Congo.


The historical period covered by this book is one in which the English oppressed Ireland in politics, economy and theology. Before 1500 both England and Ireland acknowledged that the head of the Christian Church was the Pope in Rome, but when Henry VIII declared himself the head of the Church of England this was unacceptable to Irish people at all levels of society. For four centuries the Irish rebelled against the tyranny of the English, who campaigned repeatedly to subdue the Catholics or transfer their land to incomers. As we know, the problem is still not resolved, but in 1921 an agreement ending the Anglo-Irish war gave independent status to the Republic of Ireland and formally ended the English domination of all but the north-eastern counties of Ulster. These were predominantly Protestant and remain part of the UK.

Clarkson and Crawford are social historians, and their mission is to show that 'Food and nutrition should be part of the mainstream of social history'. They trace the history of food and famine in Ireland, and provide a context for the Great Famine which between 1846 and 1851 caused a million deaths (about 12% of the population) and the loss of a similar number by emigration, mostly to the United States. The immediate cause of the famine was potato blight (Phytophthora infestans), which severely decreased the yield of the potato crop in the years 1845, 1846 and 1848, when about 30% of the population were dependent on a diet of potato and milk. The authors show that the potato diet was no sudden switch in national cuisine. Until the late 16th century farmland was mainly pasture, but with an increasing population a switch to tillage became necessary to obtain higher yields of food from the available land. The moist, mild climate of Ireland was ideal for growing potatoes, even on the poorer ground that was available to those lowest in the social structure. With a potato patch and a cow a man could provide food to support his family, and if he raised pigs or poultry these would be sold to enable him to buy other necessities. Thus in the mid 19th century, while the gentry had a varied diet similar to that in other European countries, the monotonous but nutritionally adequate diet of the labourer was greatly dependent on the potato harvest.

The preface tells us that Clarkson and Crawford spent nearly two decades writing their book, and their scholarly industry is indisputable: the massive bibliography shows that they have scoured account books of great families and of workhouses, of armies and of almshouses, of schools and of hospitals. They quote profusely from contemporary letters, diaries, sermons and speeches in parliament. They have done everything possible to learn what people in various social classes in Ireland were eating, and the effect on their nutrition and health, over four centuries. The reader will agree with their thesis that food and nutrition should be part of the mainstream of social history, especially in an area like Ireland where an agricultural disaster 150 years ago led to such important political and economic repercussions.

A two-decade gestation period gives time for scholarly delving, but it also brings some disadvantages. Some of the reference books which they cite are out of date: the 4th edition of Composition of Foods (1978) is now replaced by the 5th edition (1991). The dietary requirements they use have been superseded by reports that give much lower energy requirements for very active adults. The authors assume that the reader is familiar with historical and economic terms but quite ignorant of nutrition or medicine. For example the phrase 'after the Restoration' is used without any explanation that this refers to the return of Charles II of England in 1660; however, it is thought useful to explain that 'Energy is obtained by the oxidation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates' (no mention is made of alcohol as an energy source). Medical readers will already know that 'Tuberculosis is caused by a micro-organism, tubercle bacillus which can attack several sites in the body, the most common being the lungs'. As a nutritionist, I am unhappy about the extent to which the authors expect that changes in health of the population of Ireland could be reliably related to changes in reported diet. It is often difficult to obtain a reliable picture of the habitual diet of people, or to explain their state of health on the basis of this diet, even when face to face with intelligent and cooperative patients. It must be still more difficult to establish this relationship if estimates of diet and health must be made from archival data about people who died many years ago. To summarize: Feast and Famine presents a large amount of detailed and fully referenced data about the diets consumed by various social groups in Ireland since 1500, but has little to offer the reader who hopes to learn more about the effect of diet on health.


The normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignments, 1 H and 13 C NMR chemical shifts and structural parameters (bond lengths, bond and dihedral angles) of 2-[(1E)-2-aza-2-(5-methyl(2-pyridyl)ethenyl)]-4-bromobenzen-1-ol (2mpe-4bb) Schiff base compound have been theoretically examined by means of Hartree-Fock (HF) and Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) density functional methods with 6-31G(d) and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. Furthermore, reliable vibrational assignments have made on the basis of potential energy distribution (PED) calculated and the thermodynamics functions, highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) of 2mpe-4bb have been predicted. Theoretical results have been successfully compared with available experimental data in the literature. Regarding the calculations, 2mpe-4bb prefers enol-imine form and DFT method is superior to HF approach except for predicting bond lengths. KEY WORDS : Schiff bases, Normal mode frequencies, HF, DFT, NMR Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2012 , 26(2), 279-285. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v26i2.11


The discovery of the blue lightsensitive retinal photoreceptor responsible for signaling daytime to the brain suggested that light to the circadian system could be inhibited by using blue‐blocking orange tinted glasses. Blue‐blocking (BB) glasses are a potential treatment option for bipolar mania. We examined the effectiveness of BB glasses in hospitalized patients with bipolar disorder in a manic state.


We use individual life-history data on twelve European countries to investigate the role of temptation in explaining the decision to become home-owners relatively late in life. The model we consider takes into account the standard motives for saving and investing in illiquid assets such as housing and individual retirement accounts, but recognizes that illiquid assets may be used by individuals who find it hard to procrastinate current consumption to control the temptation linked to having plenty of cash on hand. The evidence we produce is consistent with the notion that tempted individuals first resort to illiquid financial assets to control temptation, but as retirement age approaches they are more likely to use home-ownership as a commitment device.


A study was carried out in order to determine knowledge and attitudes regarding the transmission of the human immune deficiency virus HIV- among fourth year medical students that were on the epidemiology course at the School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima. A questionnaire survey was applied to 204 students with 10 knowledge questions and 05 attitude questions regarding HIV transmission. 91,6 % of the answers on knowledge and 77% of those in attitudes were correct. 46 % of the students indicated that blood donors could transmit HIV; 10 % said that HIV infection could be transmitted via mosquitoes. As for the attitudes, 22% of those surveyed indicated that they would commit suicide if they were HIV infected. The attitude towards suicide was moderately associated with the male sex (OR=2.36). Therefore, most of the students have correct knowledge regarding HIV transmission and a lesser percentage of students, though also important, assumes incorrect attitudes.


Voicing assimilations inside groups of obstruents occur in opposite directions in French and German, where they are respectively regressive and progressive. The aim of the study is to investigate (1) whether non native speakers (here French learners of German) are apt to acquire subtle L2 specificities like assimilation direction, although they are not aware of their very existence, or (2) whether their productions depend essentially upon other factors, in particular consonant place of articulation. To that purpose, a corpus made up of groups of obstruents (/t/ followed by /z/, /v/ or /f/) embedded into sentences has been recorded by 16 French learners of German (beginners and advanced speakers). The consonants are separated by a word or a syllable boundary. Results, derived from the analysis of consonant periodicity and duration, do not stand for an acquisition of progressive assimilation, even by advanced speakers, and do not show differences between the productions of advanced speakers and beginners. On the contrary the boundary type and the consonant place of articulation play an important role in the presence or absence of voicing inside obstruent groups. The role of phonetic, universal mechanisms against linguistic specific rules is discussed to interpret the data.


Background: Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the number of leprosy casesin 2015 was 211,973 in 108 countries in the world. The number of leprosy cases in Indonesia ranks third after India and Brazil. There are 14,000 (8%) leprosy cases with disability. This study aimed to determine factors affecting disability and Years of Life with Disability (YLD) attributable to leprosy in patients with leprosy at Kelet Hospital, Central Java.

Subjects and Method: This was a case control study conducted at Kelet Hospital, Central Java, from December 2017 to January 2018. A total sample of 140 leprosy patients was selected for this study using fixed disease sampling, consisting of 70 patients with disability and 70 patients without disability. The dependent variables were disability and YLD. The independent variables were age, education level, and self care. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by path analysis.

Results: Disability increases YLD (b= 0.37; 95% CI= 0.31 to 0.43; p<0.001). Disability increased with older age (b= 1.41; 95% CI= 0.38 to 2.43; p= 0.007) and decreased with better self care (b= -3.80; 95% CI= -4.90 to -2.71; p<0.001). Better self care increased with high education level (b= 1.96; 95% CI= 1.03 to 2.89; p<0.001).

Conclusion: Older age increases the risk of disability, whereas self care decreases the risk of disability. Disability itself increases YLD. Higher education improves self care.

Keywords: leprosy, disability, years of life with disability, determinant


The article discusses aspects of school literacy in a first cycle classroom, in which the use of the textbook is central. For that end, thirty-seven hours of classroom interaction were videotaped. The analysis focuses on the interaction process involving teacher and pupils, around the Portuguese Language textbook. It is observed that the teacher changes the initial objective of the book giving it new meaning according to her own practice. The analysis makes use of concepts from Bakhtin's theory and from interactional ethnography providing evidence as to how literacy processes are constituted. Specific analysis of discursive aspects of the interaction demonstrates that the participants interpret classroom discourse in different ways: pupils and teacher take on social roles that connote an asymmetrical relationship in the teaching-learning process.


This study identified satisfaction with gas heating and indoor thermal environment, targeting houses using gases for heating. 1) Thermal environment is relatively satisfactory except that indoor humidity is low. 2) A question that indoor temperature has to be decreased for saving energy was given and about two thirds of the respondents answered that temperature has to be lowered. When they were asked how to save energy 57% answered that they put on more clothes and 27% answered that they lower indoor temperature If consistent promotion on energy saving is implementer it's believed that energy can be effectively saved. 3) People wear simple clothes when they stay indoor because they think it is comfortable. However, for energy saving. they gave to wear warm clothes though they stay indoor.


Objective: To determine whether distinct single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the glutamate receptor ionotropic NMDA 1 gene (GRIN1) are associated with NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis and whether these same variants are associated with variability in the clinical presentation and course of affected patients. Methods: We performed clinical follow-up on 48 patients with NMDAR encephalitis and NMDAR autoantibodies detected in serum or CSF. All RefSeq GRIN1 coding exons were sequenced in 39 Caucasian-European patients, and the frequencies of SNPs were compared with those of an ethnically similar population using a case-control study design. Predetermined clinical variables were compared between patients with and without identified SNPs. Results: Two SNPs were identified in GRIN1: 24 (62%) Caucasian-European patients with NMDAR encephalitis had alternate alleles at both rs6293 (exon 6) and rs1126442 (exon 7; exon numbering according to NM_001185090). The SNPs were in complete linkage disequilibrium. The frequency of these variants did not differ between patients with NMDAR encephalitis and ethnically matched individuals in the general population. No differences in clinical presentation, measures of disease severity, clinical course, or outcomes were observed between patients with different genotypes at these SNPs. Conclusion: Disease susceptibility or course in patients with NMDAR encephalitis was not strongly affected by SNPs in GRIN1. This study provides an estimate of the frequency of SNPs in GRIN1 in patients with NMDAR encephalitis and emphasizes the need for multisite collaborative studies enrolling larger numbers of patients to identify the genetic contributions to NMDAR encephalitis.


Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified dozens of common genetic variants associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the majority of CRC heritability remains unclear. In order to discover low-frequency, high-risk CRC susceptibility variants in Swedish population, we genotyped 1 515 CRC patients enriched for familial cases, and 12 108 controls. Case/control association analysis suggested eight novel variants associated with CRC risk (OR 2.0–17.6, p-value < 2.0E-07), comprised of seven coding variants in genes RAB11FIP5, POTEA, COL27A1, MUC5B, PSMA8, MYH7B, and PABPC1L as well as one variant downstream of NEU1 gene. We also confirmed 27 out of 30 risk variants previously reported from GWAS in CRC with a mixed European population background. This study identified rare, coding sequence variants associated with CRC risk through analysis in a relatively homogeneous population. The segregation data suggest a complex mode of inheritance in seemingly dominant pedigrees.


The western New South Wales NSW region in Australia is one of 31 Primary Health Network PHN regions. Its land area is 441,609 km2 and with a resident population of approximately 310,000 people. Of the 28 Local Government Areas comprising western NSW, 64% are classified as socially and economically disadvantaged while 39% are classified as remote or very remote Health Intelligence Unit, WNSW: Health of the Population, December 2017. In western NSW, 12% of the population identifies as Aboriginal, compared to only 3% for all NSW. Access to health services is a key regional focus particularly for Aboriginal people Western NSW PHN: Needs Assessment, 2017. In their submission to the Australian Government Department of Health in early 2015 to operate the new Western New South Wales Primary Health Network WNSW PHN, the consortium for operating the new PHN highlighted their commitment to building and driving culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal people across the region, including with existing and prospective mainstream and other primary healthcare providers Debble Institute Canberra: 'What works' in partnering to deliver effective Aboriginal health services: The Western New South Wales Primary Health Network experience, 2017. Much has been written on the approaches to date by health services and related organisations to fulfil this important need. Programs are described in the literature and have included mandatory cultural awareness and sensitivity training, appointment of Aboriginal health workers, increasing the proportion of the workforce who identify as Aboriginal, and involvement of Aboriginal Elders and community leaders in service development, among other strategies. However, programs described are often occurring in isolation, predominantly in hospital settings, and with a considerable focus on antenatal care/midwifery and cardiovascular conditions. There is also limited evidence of evaluations of these initiatives to indicate their success or applicability across a range of health care settings. In 2016, WNSW PHN's Aboriginal Health Council recommended that the PHN develop its own comprehensive Cultural Safety Framework. The Framework could then guide all service providers funded by WNSW PHN Aboriginal and other, as well as the PHN's commissioning framework and the PHN itself in building a culturally safe primary healthcare system in Western NSW. Cultural safety in healthcare means designing and providing services that meet the needs of patients through a process of self-reflection, awareness of cultural biases and processes to actively respond in a way that will benefit the patient's health and wellbeing. WNSW PHN is playing a leadership role in the development of culturally safe models of care to ensure access to quality health care and wellbeing programmes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The WNSW PHN Cultural Safety Framework sets out a continuum for primary healthcare service providers in the transformation to cultural safety, involving three major steps: Cultural Awareness; Cultural Sensitivity; and Cultural Safety. Embedding a cultural safety process in WNSW PHN's commissioning of health services will play an important role in Closing the Gap between the health outcomes for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal People in western NSW.


Copyright is held by the author/owner(s). SIGCSE'06, March 1–5, 2006, Houston, Texas, USA. ACM 1-59593-259-3/06/0003. SUMMARY SIGCSE 2004 marked the official announcement of the ACM Java Task Force, which is working to develop a stable collection of pedagogical resources that will make it easier to teach Java to first-year computing students. The Task Force published a draft report in February 2005 and presented the highlights of that report at SIGCSE 2005. Based on the feedback we received at SIGCSE and in the comment period that extended over the next two months, the Task Force redesigned some features of the library packages and extended their capabilities in areas that seemed to be of particular importance to the community. The final report of the Task Force will be published in the fall of 2005. The purpose of the special session is to highlight the features of the Java packages described in the report and show how those packages can be used to enhance introductory computer science education. The work of the Java Task Force has been supported by funding from the ACM Education Board, the SIGCSE Special Projects Fund, and the National Science Foundation (NSF Award DUE-0411905).


As a promising energy storage device, the rechargeable zinc–air battery (RZAB) has attracted increasing attention because of its high energy density, cost-effectiveness, and high safety, and the rich abundance of zinc, as well as its environmental benignity. However, the widespread application of RZABs still faces considerable challenges derived from zinc-electrodes, electrolytes, and air-electrodes. In this paper, specific attention is given to RZAB zinc-electrode materials and fabrication with focus on the fundamental understanding of zinc-electrode reaction mechanisms, technical challenges, mitigation strategies, and perspectives. Particularly, the approaches to overcome the challenges are also presented and analyzed for facilitating further research and development of RZABs.


Birds can use the geomagnetic field for compass orientation. Behavioral experiments, mostly with migrating passerines, revealed three characteristics of the avian magnetic compass: (1) it works spontaneously only in a narrow functional window around the intensity of the ambient magnetic field, but can adapt to other intensities, (2) it is an "inclination compass", not based on the polarity of the magnetic field, but the axial course of the field lines, and (3) it requires short-wavelength light from UV to 565 nm Green. The Radical Pair-Model of magnetoreception can explain these properties by proposing spin-chemical processes in photopigments as underlying mechanism. Applying radio frequency fields, a diagnostic tool for radical pair processes, supports an involvement of a radical pair mechanism in avian magnetoreception: added to the geomagnetic field, they disrupted orientation, presumably by interfering with the receptive processes. Cryptochromes have been suggested as receptor molecules. Cry1a is found in the eyes of birds, where it is located at the membranes of the disks in the outer segments of the UV-cones in chickens and robins. Immuno-histochemical studies show that it is activated by the wavelengths of light that allow magnetic compass orientation in birds.


Abstract Background Conventional prehospital spine-assessment approaches based on low index of suspicion and mechanism of injury (MOI) result in the liberal application of spinal immobilization in trauma patients. A painful distracting injury (DI), such as a suspected hip fracture, historically has been a sufficient condition for immobilization, even in an elderly patient who suffers a simple fall from standing and exhibits no other risk factors for spinal injury. Because the elderly are at increased risk of hip fracture from low-level falls, and are also particularly susceptible to the discomfort and morbidity associated with immobilization, the prevalence of cervical spine (c-spine) fracture in this patient population was examined. Methods Hospital billing records were used to identify all cases of traumatic femur fracture in Minnesota (USA) in 2010-2011. Concurrent diagnosis and external cause codes were used to estimate the prevalence of c-spine fracture by age and MOI. Results Among 1,394 patients with femur fracture, 23 (1.7%) had a c-spine fracture. When the MOI was a fall from standing or sitting height and the patient age was ≥65, the prevalence dropped to 0.4% (2/565). The prevalence was similar when the definition of hip fracture additionally included pelvis fractures (0.5%; 11/2,441). Eight of the 11 patients with c-spine fracture had diagnosis codes indicative of criteria other than the DI that likely would have resulted in immobilization (eg, head injury and compromised mental status). Conclusions C-spine fracture is extremely rare in elderly patients who sustain hip fracture as a result of a low-level fall, and appears to be accompanied frequently by other known predictors of spinal injury besides DI. More research is needed to determine whether conservative use of spinal immobilization may be warranted in elderly patients with hip fracture after low-level falls when the only criteria for immobilization is the distracting hip injury. BolandLL, SatterleePA, JansenPR. Cervical spine fractures in elderly patients with hip fracture after low-level fall: an opportunity to refine prehospital spinal immobilization guidelines? Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(1):1-4 .


The aim of the present clinical study was to determine, through histologic and histomorphometric investigations of human bone specimens, whether the addition of autogenous bone to the bone substitute material Bio-Oss can produce a high-quality implant site. To improve vertical bone height, 13 sinus floor elevations were carried out in a total of 12 patients. Augmentation of the maxillary sinus floor was completed using a mixture of Bio-Oss and bone harvested intraorally from the mandibular symphysis, the retromolar space, or the tuberosity region. Following an average of 7.1 months of healing, 36 Brånemark System implants were placed. During this surgical intervention, 23 cylinder-shaped bone biopsies were taken from the augmented maxillary region using trephine burs. Histologic analysis of the bone biopsies revealed that the Bio-Oss granulate was well-integrated into the newly formed bone; 33.1% (+/- 12.4%) of the substitute material surface was in direct contact with bone. Histomorphometric analysis of the samples revealed an average percentage proportion of bone of 18.9% (+/- 6.4%). The bovine substitute material and soft tissue occupied, respectively, 29.6% (+/- 8.9%) and 51.5% (+/- 9.4%) of the measured surface. When the implants were uncovered after an average healing phase of 6 months, all 36 implants had become osseointegrated. The combination of osteoconductive Bio-Oss and osteoinductive autogenous bone thus proved to be a material suitable for application in sinus floor augmentation.


The manner in which newborn coding sequences and their transcriptional competency emerge during the process of gene evolution remains unclear. Here, we experimentally simulated eukaryotic gene origination processes by mimicking horizontal gene transfer events in the plant genome. We mapped the precise position of the transcription start sites (TSSs) of hundreds of newly introduced promoterless firefly luciferase (LUC) coding sequences in the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana cultured cells. The systematic characterization of the LUC-TSSs revealed that 80% of them occurred under the influence of endogenous promoters, while the remainder underwent de novo activation in the intergenic regions, starting from pyrimidine-purine dinucleotides. These de novo TSSs obeyed unexpected rules; they predominantly occurred ~100 bp upstream of the LUC inserts and did not overlap with Kozak-containing putative open reading frames (ORFs). These features were the output of the immediate responses to the sequence insertions, rather than a bias in the screening of the LUC gene function. Regarding the wild-type genic TSSs, they appeared to have evolved to lack any ORFs in their vicinities. Therefore, the repulsion by the de novo TSSs of Kozak-containing ORFs described above might be the first selection gate for the occurrence and evolution of TSSs in the plant genome. Based on these results, we characterized the de novo type of TSS identified in the plant genome and discuss its significance in genome evolution.


The stromal derived growth factor IL-7 was studied for its ability to modulate cytokine expression in human T cells. IL-7 alone did not induce IL-3 or granulocyte-macrophage-CSF (GM-CSF) mRNA. However, IL-7 enhanced the Con A-induced IL-3 and GM-CSF mRNA accumulation in a dose-dependent way. mRNA stability studies revealed that the effect of IL-7 was caused by post-transcriptional stabilization of the IL-3 and GM-CSF transcripts. Upon Con A treatment, the IL-3 and GM-CSF mRNA decayed with a t1/2 of approximately 90 and 50 min, respectively. Costimulation with Con A plus IL-7 stabilized both transcripts to t1/2 of greater than 2 h for IL-3 mRNA and 90 min for GM-CSF mRNA. Using nuclear run-on assays, we showed that the transcription rate of both genes was not affected by IL-7. Furthermore, it appeared that the effect of IL-7 was independent on protein synthesis, because cycloheximide did not abolish the promotive effect of IL-7. Finally, it was shown that in accordance with the mRNA results IL-7 enhanced the secretion of GM-CSF protein in Con A-activated T cells. After 12 h of stimulation T cells cultured in the presence of Con A secreted 575 +/- 309 pg GM-CSF/ml (x +/- SD, n = 5), which increased to 1425 +/- 758 pg/ml in the presence of Con A plus IL-7 (p < 0.01). In summary, these data demonstrate that IL-7 augments the expression and secretion of CSF in activated human T cells.


Soft-tissues Image Processing: Comparison of Traditional Segmentation Methods with 2D active Contour Methods The paper deals with modern methods of image processing, especially image segmentation, classification and evaluation of parameters. It focuses primarily on processing medical images of soft tissues obtained by magnetic resonance tomography (MR). It is easy to describe edges of the sought objects using segmented images. The edges found can be useful for further processing of monitored object such as calculating the perimeter, surface and volume evaluation or even three-dimensional shape reconstruction. The proposed solutions can be used for the classification of healthy/unhealthy tissues in MR or other imaging. Application examples of the proposed segmentation methods are shown. Research in the area of image segmentation focuses on methods based on solving partial differential equations. This is a modern method for image processing, often called the active contour method. It is of great advantage in the segmentation of real images degraded by noise with fuzzy edges and transitions between objects. In the paper, results of the segmentation of medical images by the active contour method are compared with results of the segmentation by other existing methods. Experimental applications which demonstrate the very good properties of the active contour method are given.


Background: Disseminated tumour cells can remain dormant in the bone marrow for years prior to subsequent activation and the development of overt metastases. Bisphosphonates (BP) have profound effects on bone physiology and could potentially modify the metastatic disease process. Variable outcomes in terms of disease recurrence have been reported, with efficacy apparently influenced by menopausal status. Methods: We sought individual patient data for meta-analysis from 41 randomised trials that compared BP to no BP (placebo or open control). Primary outcomes were time to recurrence, time to first distant recurrence and breast cancer mortality. Predefined subgroup comparisons were of type of BP (amino-/non-amino), duration and schedule of BP treatment, menopausal status, age, ER status, concomitant chemotherapy and site of distant recurrence (bone/other). Results: Data on 17,751 women (75% of 23,573 randomised in relevant trials) have so far been received, with around 3,300 breast cancer recurrences and 2,500 deaths. Effects on breast cancer mortality, recurrence and bone metastases for 17,016 women in the locked database and for 10,540 who were postmenopausal are shown below. Reductions in bone recurrence for postmenopausal women were similar irrespective of bisphosphonate type, treatment schedule, ER status, nodal involvement or use of concomitant chemotherapy. There were no improvements in bone (RR = 1.00, 2p = 0.97) or other recurrence for premenopausal women. Adjuvant bisphosphonates also reduced bone fractures (RR = 0.83, 2p = 0.009). Conclusion: Adjuvant bisphosphonates reduce bone recurrences and improve breast cancer survival in postmenopausal but not premenopausal women. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr S4-07.


The authors describe the function of intermediation in the financial sector and the role of regulatory supervision in managing the inherent structural vulnerability of the process. Financial intermediaries provide both a risk taking and a maturity transformation function in mobilizing savings assets into productive real investments. These inherent activities create a natural structural vulnerability which regulatory oversight is intended to mitigate. The consequence of failure to effectively manage the inherent structural vulnerability can lead to "runs" in which depositors withdraw funds leading to institutional insolvency. The vulnerability to runs becomes a public policy concern when a loss of confidence in the sector leads to a contagious loss of confidence in other institutions. In response to these dangers, governments and regulators throughout the world have established "financial safety nets" to be triggered at various stages in evolving financial crises. The "safety nets" can be seen as comprising at least seven elements or separate stages in managing financial crises: 1) the chartering function screens out institution managers who would be likely to take on excessive insolvency exposure; 2) if institution managers do try to expose their institution to shocks, the prudential supervision function is established to prevent this; 3) if a shock still occurs, the termination authority removes the institution's license before too much damage is caused; 4) if losses still occur, the insurance function may prevent creditors from running; 5) if the institution closes, the insurance function may sustain the confidence of creditors at similar institutions; 6) if runs take place at other institutions, the lender of last resort function may help solvent institutions meet the claims of liability holders; and 7) if other failures occur the monetary authority may confine the damage to the institutions directly affected. The role of regulators is to return the financial structure to its position before the crisis and restore confidence in the system and should not be punitive or involve reconstruction of the system, which can wait until a later time. Solutions will differ depending on how many institutions are affected and whether the problem affects impacts on the entire system or market. There are three generic options available for problem resolution: 1) permitting continued operation under some restrictions; 2) forcing a merger with another institutions or 3) closure of some form. Within these three options are seven ways to either continue operations, force a merger or liquidate. These are: 1) forbearance - granting of time for an institution to resolve its problems; 2) capital infusion with existing management; 3) regulatory control (temporary); 4) de facto nationalization of the institutions; 5) Good-bank, Bad-bank split; 6) purchases and assumption; 7) liquidation with and without governmental assistance. The authors review and summarize the experiences in the US, Scandinavia and France where a variety of these resolution options have been recently applied. Forbearance was used in an attempt to resolve the US Thrift Crisis of the 1980s. This option did not create the desired results and the Resolution Trust Corporation was established in 1989 in order to organize the process. When Norway was faced with a major banking crisis in 1991, it nationalized the banking system. Sweden similarly infused its failing banks with capital during a crisis in 1993, effectively nationalizing them. The "good bank-bad bank" method was used extensively in the Swedish bailout. Finland's central bank took over failing banks in 1991 and the remaining ones were consolidated into one entity. The French government has bailed out troubled Credit Lyonnais, costing the government as much as 135 billion francs. From their review of foreign intervention in bank crises, the authors conclude that: 1) Costs of intervention are generally larger than anticipated; 2) Interventions aimed at preserving the current institutional structure generally do not achieve the expected outcome; and 3) The only true resolution appears to come from a change in the aggregate economy.


Endogenous ADP-ribosylation of two proteins with molecular weights of 30,000 (30K) and 80,000 (80K) was detected in cell extracts of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Modification of these proteins was enzymatic. The ADP-ribose bound to 30K was removed by HgCl2 but not by NH2OH, suggesting the modification of a cysteine residue. The ADP-ribose bound to 80K was not removed by either HgCl2 or NH2OH, which is consistent with the modification of an asparagine residue. ADP-ribosylation of 80K appeared to be reversible.


An experimental study was carried out to examine the structural behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams strengthened with aramid fiber sheets, carbon fiber sheets and plates, and to propose the reasonable strengthening method for the deteriorated R.C. deep beams. Results show that the most significant differences in behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams strengthened with fiber sheet and plate were mainly due to various fiber orientations and anchorage. Deep beams diagonally strengthened with carbon fibers show better performance compared with those of vertically, horizontally strengthened specimens and produce the increase in the shear resistance through the redistribution of internal forces after the initial cracks occur. However, strengthened deep beams without anchorages might show unreasonable, brittle peeling-off failure of fiber reinforcements.


This paper presents a study of the sensibility of the incoherent (electromagnetic backscattering model) and coherent (DInSAR and PolInSAR inversion) crop height estimation methods of SAR imaging. The methods were compared for paddy-rice crop height monitoring with a TanDEM-X dataset. For this, rice-cultivated agricultural fields located in Northern Turkey were selected. Intensive ground data collection during the cultivation period in 2015 was carried out. The accuracy analysis showed that the requirement of external (vegetation-free) DEM in DInSAR-based crop height estimation decreases its performance compared to the PolInSAR and backscattering inversion methods.


Most expositors have understood ויצאו ילדיה, "and her children come out," in Exod 21:22, as a reference to miscarriage, while a much smaller percentage argue for a viable premature birth. This essay examines the semantics of יצא afresh and offers a set of parameters and conditions necessary for each perspective on the meaning of יצא to succeed. Although taking exception with arguments from both sides, I, nevertheless, favor the premature birth position. This is because the Pentateuch betrays a proclivity for using יצא in vivid nativity scenes, where accompanying modifiers apply to the child and contribute to a detailed description of its delivery. If Exod 21:22 is included within this set, then "there is no harm" would serve as the modifier that specifies the condition of the child at birth. Moreover, the common judgment that the ancient Israelite would not expect an infant to survive under such conditions is undermined by high-risk but successful births in the Pentateuch and the OT. Secondary philological matters are then discussed, after which I conclude that the premature birth position has greater potential for realization than previously estimated and merits more serious consideration by OT scholarship.


Listeria monocytogenes infections are most common in newborn infants and persons with impaired defense mechanisms. There are reports of successful treatment with ampicillin alone: however, there is uncertainty as to what regimen constitutes the most effective therapy. The purpose of this study was to illustrate the in-vitro synergism between ampicillin and gentamicin against L. monocytogenes. Seven strains of L. monocytogenes isolated from bloods or cerebrospinal fluids of infants and three control strains obtained from the Center for Disease Control were tested. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of ampicillin and gentamicin were determined in Todd-Hewitt broth with an inoculum of 10(5) organisms/ml. Killing curves were determined for ampicillin 6 microgram/ml, gentamicin, 0.5 microgram/ml, and the combination of ampicillin, 6 microgram/ml, plus gentamicin, 0.5 microgram/ml. Incubation of approximately 10(7) organisms/ml with these concentrations of ampicillin and gentamicin caused no significant reduction in the viable bacterial population in 24 hours. The combination, on the other hand, was bactericidal in all seven strains isolated from patients and one control strain. The authors believe the ultimate test of the superiority of this combination to ampicillin alone must come from clinical studies. However, the synergistic and bactericidal effects of ampicillin with gentamicin may be very desirable in treatment of newborns and patients with underlying disease.


Abstact:

Background: Cardiac involvement is one of the commonest causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. It manifest as coronary artery disease. Definitive diagnosis, precise assessment of CAD requires invasive diagnostic modality like conventional coronary angiography and its anatomic severity can be judged by Syntax score.

Aims and objectives: 1) Extent and severity of coronary artery disease with reference to Syntax score between diabetics Vs Non diabetics. 2) Correlation between fasting glucose, Glycated Hemoglobin (Hb A1c),TC/HDL-C ratio, BMI (body mass index) and severity of coronary artery disease.

Materials and methodology: 200 patients (100 Diabetics and 100 Non diabetics) after meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, admitted with symptoms of acute or chronic coronary syndrome, scheduled to undergo coronary angiogram were taken.

Results: In our study duration of diabetes and severity of coronary artery disease was not correlating but as compared to non-diabetics,diabetics had higher syntax score, 23-32 30(30%) were diabetics, while 13(13%)were nondiabetics, and score>33 9, (9%) diabetics as compared to nondiabetic has 1%,p value<0.001. Diabetics have more numbers of TVD (Triple Vessel Disease) 52% as compared to nondiabetics 12%, p value<0.001. Diabetics had more numbers of Total occlusion of vessel (p=0.027), Calcification (p=0.003), Proximal vessel involvement, (p=0.000), CTO (chronic total occlusion), p=0.027 and diffusely disease vessels (p=0.000), as compared to nondiabetics. Biochemical parameters like FBS, HbA1c and clinical parameters like BMI and Hypertension were not correlating with severity of coronary artery disease. In controls age is highly correlated with severity of coronary artery disease with correlation coefficient of 0.363 (p value=0.0001) whereas in cases TC/HDL is highly correlated with severity of coronary artery disease with correlation coefficient of 0.205 (p value 0.041).

Conclusion: Diabetics have more numbers of Total vessel occlusion, CTOs, Proximal vessel involvement, calcifications and diffuse CAD.TC/HDL is better parameter to predict severity of CAD.


— Time Series Clustering is an important subroutine in many higher-level data mining analyses, including data editing for classifiers, summarization, and outlier detection. It is well known that for similarity search the superiority of Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) over Euclidean distance gradually diminishes as we consider ever larger datasets. However, as we shall show, the same is not true for clustering. Clustering time series under DTW remains a computationally expensive operation. In this work, we address this issue in two ways. We propose a novel pruning strategy that exploits both the upper and lower bounds to prune off a very large fraction of the expensive distance calculations. This pruning strategy is admissible and gives us provably identical results to the brute force algorithm, but is at least an order of magnitude faster. For datasets where even this level of speedup is inadequate, we show that we can use a simple heuristic to order the unavoidable calculations in a most-useful-first ordering, thus casting the clustering into an anytime framework. We demonstrate the utility of our ideas with both single and multidimensional case studies in the domains of astronomy, speech physiology, medicine and entomology. In addition, we show the generality of our clustering framework to other domains by efficiently obtaining semantically significant clusters in protein sequences using the Edit Distance, the discrete data analogue of DTW.


The clinical and public health implication of HIV Western blot (WB) indeterminate results is yet to be appraised in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. Using HIV Tri Line Test enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), 1286 patients (600 males and 686 females; age range, 5-60 years) with symptoms suggestive of HIV infection were screened. A total of 1020 (79.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 76.8-81.5) of the patients comprising of 514 (85.7%) males and 506 (73.8%) females were HIV seropositive and the difference was statistical significantly (chi(2) = 5.72, df = 1, p < 0.05). Western blot analysis of sera from the 1020 HIV-seropositive individuals using the BIO-RAD NEW LAV-BLOT I specifying World Health Organization (WHO) interpretive criteria, confirmed the HIV serostatus of 815 (79.9%, 95% CI, 77.4-82.4) of them with 205 (20.1%, 95% CI, 17.6-22.6) individuals having indeterminate results consisting of either; 1 env +/- gag +/- pol, gag + pol, gag only or pol only. Of these, 102 (19.8%) were males and 103 (20.4%) were females. Patients aged 11-20 years old recorded the highest percentage of indeterminate results (31.7%, 95% CI, 20.2-43.2) while those aged 21-30 years recorded the least (14.2%, 95% CI, 10.6-17.8) and the difference was statistically significant (chi(2) = 15.73, df = 5, p < 0.05). Result confirmed the limitation of Western blot assays in HIV confirmatory serodiagnosis. After obtaining HIV indeterminate Western blot result, clinicians should consider the total profile for the patient, reassess risk factors for HIV infection, perform a HIV retesting at 3-month intervals for 6 months or use an alternate HIV antibody confirmatory assay and running antibody tests for other human retroviruses.


Saddle-point optimization problems are an important class of optimization problems with applications to game theory, multi-agent reinforcement learning and machine learning. A majority of the rich literature available for saddle-point optimization has focused on the offline setting. In this paper, we study nonstationary versions of stochastic, smooth, strongly-convex and strongly-concave saddle-point optimization problem, in both online (or first-order) and multi-point bandit (or zeroth-order) settings. We first propose natural notions of regret for such nonstationary saddle-point optimization problems. We then analyze extragradient and Frank-Wolfe algorithms, for the unconstrained and constrained settings respectively, for the above class of nonstationary saddle-point optimization problems. We establish sub-linear regret bounds on the proposed notions of regret in both the online and bandit setting.


The paper presents a general approach to numerically simulate the noise behavior of bipolar solid-state electron devices through a physics-based multidimensional device model. The proposed technique accounts for noise sources due to carrier velocity and population fluctuations. The power and correlation spectra of the external current or voltage fluctuations are evaluated through a Green's function, linear perturbation theory equivalent to the classical Impedance Field Method for noise analysis and its generalizations. The numerical implementation of the method is performed through an efficient technique, which allows noise analysis to be carried out with negligible overhead with respect to the small-signal simulation. Some case studies are analyzed in order to compare the present approach with theoretical results from the classical noise theory of p-n junctions and bipolar transistors.


The study explored the contributions of Jos Wildlife Park towards conservation education in Plateau State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected through observation, review of records, oral interview and structured questionnaires. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics in the form of tables, frequency of counts and percentages. A total of 100 questionnaires were administered. Results showed that 90% and 9% of the respondents were students and teachers respectively. 44% and 31% became aware of the park through students and teachers respectively while 21% knew of the park through electronic media. 68% and/or 79% visited the park purposely to see animals and learn respectively. 72% and 12% of the respondents indicated that observing wildlife species and conservation lectures were the peak of their enjoyment in the park. 81% of the respondents prefer being conducted round the park by tour guides to ensure that learning is incorporated. 94% of the respondents are willing to visit the park again. The study further showed that the number of educational visitors increased progressively from 3,844 in the year 1998 to 14,838 in the year 2001. Also, the study revealed that visitors who crave to observe and learn about endangered, threatened, rare and abundant species of wildlife and their environments flock the Jos Wildlife Park on daily basis. Suggestions on how to sustain continuous conservation education were made. Journal of Environmental Extension Vol 5 2005: 70-76


We consider theoretically the role of crossed transitions on the interband optical properties of quantum dots. These transitions, which involve one bound state and one delocalized state, are inherent to the joint nature of the valence-to-conduction density of states in quantum dots. We show that they play a crucial role both on the interband absorption and on the broadening of the quantum dot lines.


The present research sought to understand the affective relations among institutionalized children who wait for adoption. Four children (two girls and two boys) aged from six to nine years old participated in the study. Their life histories were examined in the documents of the institution and the children were interviewed individually. They were observed at play, in routine activities and in drawing sessions which revealed their feelings and behavioral orientations in terms of their affective attitudes and the significance of these attitudes. It was found that their perceptions with reference to the institution were not as problematic as might be supposed at first. Between the children and their caretakers a certain level of affectivity was observed. Following a qualitative analysis of the data it could be perceived that the children were positively linked to the institution. They did, however, manifest the desire for a home. Other categories of behavior used to identify feelings of affection included their play activities, friendships and the distinctions they made between good and evil. It can be said that the children observed, in spite of having established affective relations within the institution, still remained captivated by their own imaginations, longed for families and hoped for their inclusion in family situations. It was concluded that the themes of the study are related to the possibility of the child to establish relations with others in informal and symbolic manners.


There are circumstances in which the military and the civil health authorities have duties to perform which may harmonize or clash, according to the attitude taken by the one or the other. The military ~.lthority has presumably enough to do to look after the health of the troops from enlistment until discharge, and has little time to consider the welfare of the community in general, although it is evident that it is from a healthy community that useful recruits must be drawn. A certain number of convalescent soldiers are now in the Commonwealth after having been rendered inefficient for military duty by intestinal affections. The lay public regard these affections as if they were uniformly of the nature of enteric fever, but there is evidence that a large proportion belong to the group of paratyphoid infections. We have learnt recently from the Home Secretary in the House of Commons that from the outbreak of hostilities up to the end of November, 1915, the bacteriological diagnosis of enteric fever was made among British soldiers in no less a number than 1150. Incidentally it may be mentioned that he has informed the House that the mortality among the inoculated was 6.04% and among the noninoculated it was 20.9%. The soldiers convalescent from one or other of these intestinal disturbances are potential spreaders of infection until freed from the causative bacillus either in the course of time or by artificial means. It is obvious that the military authority has no further direct interest in the man as a soldier who continues to harbour the bacillus in his body. If he is cast hack into civil life, he becomes a source of danger to the community. The advantage of collaboration of the military authority with the health authority in this connexion is so apparent that the point need not be argued. Precautions are taken by the military authority to exclude the carrier from associating with soldiers in camp or elsewhere. Various regulations have been in force with this end in view. Recently the opinion has been expressed in England that the control of the urine of enteric fever convalescents suffices for the detection of those who harbour Eberth 's or Schottmliller's bacillus. Experience of many years does not lend confirmation to this view. Bacilluria is a sign of general infection, whereas the bacilli may lie dormant in the gall bladder, and may be thrown out from time to time into the intestines without any active signs of disease. The control of the invalided soldier should therefore consist of an expert bacteriological examination of the freces and possibly of the urine as well. Should the examination prove negative, the soldier is sent to his home for a time, and at the end of the fixed period a further test is made. Should this also prove negative the man is declared fit for duty. On the other hand, if the bacteriological examination yields a positive result, the man is ordered into hospital, and is re-examined at a later date. A positive bacteriological find is then the signal for his discharge from military service. The test should ~e repeated at short intervals to be of practical value. It is at this stage that the health authority should step in. The man having been proved to be a possiblbe danger to the community should be kept under control by the health authority until it is shown that he is no longer capable of conveying the infection to others. The Health Act of Victoria contains provisions for the civil control of these men. V{e have yet to learn that machinery has been created for the systematic examination of the freces and urine of enteric fever convalescents, who have been discharged from military service on account of the presence of enteric or paratyphoid bacilli in their excretions. This provision would be a useful first step toward the completer control of enteric fever in the Commonwealth. •


OBJECTIVE
Establishing reference values for neuroconduction studies regarding the peroneal, tibial and sural nerves in a group of young adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Neuroconduction was tested (also known as nerve conduction velocity (NCV) tests) on 155 asymptomatic subjects' tibial, peroneal and sural nerves using current conventional techniques, after informed written consent had been obtained. Reference values were obtained and presented as averages, standard deviations and percentiles, along with their correlation with parameters such as age, weight and height, via bivariate analysis of linear correlation using Spearman's rank correlation test.

RESULTS
Peroneal nerve average distal latency was 3.6 ms (0.4 SD), amplitude 6.1 mV (2.0 SD) and conduction velocity 54.8m/s (4.2 SD). Average tibial nerve distal latency was 3.5 ms (0.4 SD), amplitude 16.7mV (4.7 SD) and conduction velocity 53 m/s (3.8 SD). Average sural nerve peak latency was 3.4 ms (0.3 SD) and amplitude 21.3V (5.0 SD). Peroneal and tibial nerve upper limit of normal side to side variation was 0.8ms (average+2DE) and 0.4 ms (average + 2 SD) for the sural nerve. A statistically significant relationship was found with variables such as weight, height and age.

CONCLUSIONS
The values so obtained could be used in Colombia's electrophysiology laboratories as reference in evaluating patients' suffering musculoskeletal pathologies and different types of polyneuropathy.


Introduction The pear pulp is formed by the development of the ovary wall, which is the somatic cell of the female parent, and its genetic traits are identical to those of the female parent, so that its phenotypic traits should also be identical to those of the female parent. However, the pulp quality of most pears, especially the stone cell clusters (SCCs) number and degree of polymerization (DP), were significantly affected by the paternal type. Stone cells are formed by the deposition of lignin in parenchymal cell (PC) walls. Studies on the effect of pollination on lignin deposition and stone cell formation in pear fruit have not been reported. Methods: In this study, 'Dangshan Su' (P. bretschneideri Rehd.) was selected as the mother tree, while 'Yali' (P. bretschneideri Rehd.) and 'Wonhwang' (P. pyrifolia Nakai.) were used as the father trees to perform cross-pollination. We investigated the effects of different parents on SCCs number and DP, and lignin deposition by microscopic and ultramicroscopic observation. Results and Discussion The results showed that the formation of SCCs proceeds was consistent in DY and DW, but the SCC number and DP in DY were higher than that in DW. Ultramicroscopy revealed that the lignification process of DY and DW were all from corner to rest regions of the compound middle lamella and the secondary wall, with lignin particles deposited along the cellulose microfibrils. They were alternatively arranged until they filled up the whole cell cavity to culminate in the formation of stone cells. However, the compactness of the wall layer of cell wall was significantly higher in DY than in DW. We also found that the pit of stone cell was predominantly single pit pair, they transported degraded material from the PCs that were beginning to lignify out of the cells. Stone cell formation and lignin deposition in pollinated pear fruit from different parents were consistent, but the DP of SCCs and the compactness of the wall layer were higher in DY than that in DW. Therefore, DY SCC had a higher ability to resist the expansion pressure of PC.


Adenomas of the major duodenal papilla are rare but clinically important since they are a premalignant condition. Endoscopic mucosal resection has emerged as the first line therary for ampullary adenoma. However, various complications such as pancreatitis, bleeding or duodenal perforation have been reported after endoscopic mucosal resection. To our knowledge, cholangitis has not been reported as a complication of the procedure in the literature. We report a case of papillary stenosis and cholangitis caused by endoscopic mucosal resection of ampullary adenoma. We performed the endoscopic biliary spincterotomy followed by biliary stenting and cholangitis was successfully controlled.


Herbs, spices and their extracts (botanicals) have a wide range of activities. May have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal microflora of animals, performance and quality of animal products. In this experiment the effects of supplementation of the diet for laying hens with different doses of thyme or oregano essential oil addition on body weight, feed consumption and egg production were studied. Hens of laying hybrid Hy-Line Brown (n=50) were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=10) and fed for 20 weeks with diets with thyme or oregano essential oil supplemented. In the control group hens received feed mixture with no additions. The diets in the first and  second experimental groups were supplemented with 0.5 ml/kg or 1.0 ml/kg thyme essential oil. The diets in the third and fourth experimental groups were supplemented with 0.5 or 1.0 ml/kg oregano essential oil.  Average body weight for the whole period was in the order of the groups 1791.2±80.83; 1809.0±66.88; 1742.6±65.43;   1819.1±78.54 and 1803.9± 98.00 g (P>0.05). In the feed consumption per feeding day, per egg, or in the feed conversion were observed statistically non-significant differences compared to the control group (P>0.05). Number of eggs per hen during the reporting period was in order of the groups: 135.6; 140.7; 139.1; 137.3 and 138.5 pcs at an average intensity of laying 90.4; 93.80; 92.73; 91.53 and 92.33%. The results suggest that the body weight, feed consumption, feed conversion, egg production, egg mass and egg weight were not significantly influenced with thyme or oregano oil addition (P>0.05).


This editorial introduction to our symposium on the work of Louis Favoreu falls into two sections, reflecting Favoreu's own interests. The first traces the links between Favoreu's academic career and key moments in the establishment and development of the institutions of the French Fifth Republic and, in particular, of the Conseil Constitutionnel. It suggests that Favoreu was extraordinarily perceptive about the potential of these events, to which he responded promptly. And the converse may also be true: that Favoreu's insights into the possibilities of the Constitution of 1958 enabled him, in some instances, to influence the course that developments took. The second section explores some themes in comparative constitutional adjudication in which Favoreu himself was interested and with which the contributions to the symposium deal. These themes include the contrast between concentrated and diffuse models of judicial review and the related issue of their respective advantages from the standpoint of the legitimacy of review. Both this section and the articles to which it acts as a guide show that the institutional differences are not as clear cut as may at first appear. Both also suggest, however, that underlying conceptual differences help to explain and sustain the distinction between the two models.


Environment is the concern of many people. Environment policy should enable people to realize the importance of life and nature conservation. Formal education at schools has a central role in teaching environment. The teaching and learning process, therefore, should be supported with effective media. One of the media is story about science fiction. This medium is selected because basically children like stories, while it gives children freedom to develop their imagination, at the same time they learn about environment and the principle of learning throngh playing and playing by learning.


It is quite common to approximate "mildly" inhomogeneous bodies as homogeneous bodies belonging to a certain constitutive class in view of the simplification that such an approximation accords. In this study, we investigate the consequences of such an assumption and we show that it is clearly inappropriate for many classes of inhomogeneous bodies. We choose specific boundary value problems to illustrate the fact that we could be grossly in error, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with regard to local measures such as stresses and strains. In the examples considered, we find that, for global quantities such as applied forces and moments, the error could be significant. Not only could the material parameters found from, say, an extension test and torsion test, which neglect the inhomogeneity of the body, be quite different from one that incorporates the inhomogeneity, but also the values for the material parameter in the homogenized approximation gleaned from these different experiments could be different. In the process of elucidating our thesis, we investigate an important class of deformations, which in view of the paucity of boundary value problems that have been solved for non-linear inhomogeneous solids is worth documenting in its own right.


In vitro assays and computer models are promising alternatives for in vivo animal testing, but the power of these alternative methods to predict in vivo risk is still very limited. One step forward is to make the outcome of in vitro assays (such as median effect concentrations (EC50 values)) independent of assay conditions such as protein content. Here we show that measured free concentrations of chemicals in the in vitro assay medium result in system-independent EC50 values. We introduce a very simple method to measure free concentrations in miniature test systems using negligible depletion solid-phase microextraction. The generated data are much more suitable for extrapolation to in vivo, provide unbiased input for computational methods (for example, quantitative structure-activity relationships), and can shed an entirely different light on the activity of environmental contaminants.


Flood remains one of the most common natural disasters. Its rate of occurrence and the associated destructive tendency are on a rising scale across the globe. Flood risk may increase due to human activities. It could also decrease by appropriate flood management and planning. However, this requires upgraded and newly generated reliable and up to date floodplain and flood vulnerability maps. Hence, this study analysed the Niger-Benue river flood risk and vulnerability of 256 communities in Kogi State. The aim is to generate reliable up to date flood vulnerability maps that categorises the communities into different vulnerability zones and identify likely locations for erecting flood shelter/refugee camps during flood events in the State. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (STRM) Digital Elevation Datasets, the spatial location of 256 communities, shapefiles of Kogi State's administrative boundaries and Niger-Benue river basin were among the datasets acquired for the study. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the study area was created to depict topography and the heights of each component of the terrain. Also, a 3km buffer distance was created around the Niger-Benue river and four vulnerability zones were defined based on the terrain and proximity components of each community. Furthermore, choropleth maps were generated for each vulnerability zone based on the number of communities per Local Government Area (LGA). Findings of this study revealed that out of the 256 sampled communities, 161 representing 62.89% are exposed to varying degrees of vulnerability due to Niger-Benue flooding. Out of these, 33 (12.89%) are highly vulnerable, whereas each of the vulnerable (64) and marginally vulnerable (64) communities accounted for 25%. The rest 37.11% constituted the not vulnerable communities (95). Out of the highly vulnerable communities, 27.27% accounted for those located on river banks and 72.73% for those located within a 3km distance from the river. The majority of the riverbank communities were found in Kogi, Lokoja and Ajaokuta LGAs. Igalamela Odolu, Kogi, Ofu and Bassa were among the LGAs with a high number of vulnerable communities. The not vulnerable communities were mostly located around the Agbaja Plateau and Okoro-Agbo hills in Ijumu, Kabba/Bunu and Yaba East LGAs. It was concluded that the 9 communities (Ajaokuta, Eroko, Iche, Jamata, Numai, Okume, Agodo, Denbor and Gunji Twaki) located on river banks are exposed to the highest level of flood risk and invariably, the devastating impact of flood in Kogi State. Most communities in Ijumu, Kabba/Bunu and Yaba West LGAs are less likely to be affected by Niger-Benue River flooding. It is therefore recommended that communities within the highly vulnerable zones, beginning with the 9 located on river banks should be relocated to higher terrains. Also, future settlement development should be discouraged in the zone by the collaborative efforts of the State and LGA authorities. Further studies should be conducted around Ijumu LGA in view of identifying the most suitable locations for possible flood shelter/refugee camp development in the study area.


D EGENERATIVE changes in pi tui tary adenomas and their a t t endan t clinical manifestations occur not infrequently yet they have been mentioned in only a few of the more complete descriptions of these tumors. These changes usually consist of small hemorrhages and areas of necrosis with "cys t" formation, reparat ive fibrosis and sometimes calcification. Some writers relate such lesions to the apparent arrest of acromegaly or to the rapid development of dyspituitarism. However, in most instances these degenerative changes are regarded as un impor tan t findings without precise relationship to symptoms and without significant effect on the growth of the adenoma. In the routine examination of the brains of individuals who have died unexpectedly we have several times discovered tumors of the p i tu i tary gland in which widespread necrosis and /o r extensive hemorrhage had occurred. Clinically, these changes were associated with a sudden onset of neurological symptoms such as ophthahnoplegia, blindness, stupor or coma and they have resulted in dea th within a few hours to days. Extensive lesions of this type have seldom been described. In fact, a review of the l i terature disclosed only 5 cases showing similar symptomatology and pathological findings. The following cases are presented, therefore, in order to call at tention to these severe retrogressive pi tu i tary lesions.


Glufosinate is used widely to control glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.) in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Previous research has shown weed control with several herbicides, including glufosinate, can be affected by application time of day. The response sometimes has been attributed to diurnal leaf movement (leaf orientation) in the weeds. The objectives of our research were to determine the influence of time of day of glufosinate application on Palmer amaranth control and to determine if the response was related to diurnal leaf orientation. Field experiments in five states evaluated Palmer amaranth control with glufosinate applied at nine intervals ranging from 1 h before sunrise to 6 h after sunrise and nine intervals ranging from 6 h before sunset to 1 h after sunset. Greatest Palmer amaranth control was achieved with glufosinate applied 2 h after sunrise to 1 h before sunset. Ammonium sulfate, added only to glufosinate 1 h before sunrise or 1 h after sunset treatments, did not improve control. Leaf angles of Palmer amaranth and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti L.) were determined in a greenhouse at 1 h before light, 2 h after light, mid-day, 2 h before dark, and 1 h after dark. Leaves of velvetleaf oriented downward during the dark periods but time of day had no effect on leaf orientation of Palmer amaranth. These results demonstrate the need for sunlight for optimum glufosinate efficacy on Palmer amaranth.


This paper describes an approach that can help clarify mechanisms of central circulation of orthostatic men using a mathematical model and noninvasive methods of examinations. Circulation parameters such as peripheral resistance (PR), arterial compliance (Ca), and ratio of vein compliance (Cv) to the pump coefficient of the heart (beta) were determined by the "partial identification" method of the two-component circulation model with the aid of cardiac output and arterial blood pressure measured by tetrapolar thoracic rheography and tachooscillography. The paper also contains physiological interpretation of the above parameters as related to the upright posture of man. Peripheral resistance in the head-up position characterizes both the degree of arterial vasoconstriction and the state of the so-called muscle pump. Blood displacement to the lower body results in an increase of the ratio Cv . beta. The orthostatic reaction of circulation of 28 healthy male subjects was investigated. Blood pooling in the lower body, with venous and cardiac reactions being manifest, led to the fall of arterial pressure and cardiac output to 67% when compared with the pretest level. The change in the properties of resistance vessels (Ca and PR) accelerated the recovery of the arterial pressure value.


AIM
To study the anti-schistosomiasis effect in mouse immunized with rSj26GST vaccine.

METHODS
The E.coli BL21/pET28a of rSj26GST gene was coated LB/Kana/IPTG/X-gal pan, cultured, collecting bacteria, bacteria broken, separation, purification. 5 μL purified protein were carried out from SDS-PAGE analysis, then to observe the results of purified protein. Each mouse in infection control group was boosted with 50 μL PBS on 0 weeks later, 2 weeks later and 4 weeks later. While each mice rSj26GST vaccine group was boosted with rSj26GST vaccine. Two weeks after last immunization, each mouse was challenged with 30 ± 2 cercariae of S. japonicum Chinese strain. The control group wasn't do some treatment. The mice were sacrificed at the 45th day post-infection. The size of single egg granulomas in livers was measured with micrometer. The level of hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN) in sera of the mice was determined by ELISA.

RESULTS
The mean hepatic egg granuloma diameters of the rSj26GST vaccine group(191.6 ± 26.3) μm was significantly smaller than that in infection control group (267.7 ± 28.6) μm (P<0.05). The level of HA and LN in sera of rSj26GST vaccine vaccinated mice was markedly lower than in infection control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
The results showed that rSj26GST vaccine may act as an effective inhibitor against formation of egg granuloma and reduce immunopathological damage caused by Schistosoma japonicum in the host.


(f) To direct growth to areas suitable for urban development based on such factors as the capacity of existing infrastructure and public facility systems, the cost-effectiveness of providing new infrastructure and public facility systems to the site, the site's proximity to employment centers, and favorable site conditions including topography and freedom of natural hazards and environmental constraints; and


Adulteration of diesel oil by kerosene is a serious problem because of air pollution resulting from car exhaust gases. The objective of this study was to develop a relatively simple optical measurement and data analysis method to screen low-adulterated diesel oils. For this purpose, we introduce the utilization of refractive index measurement with a refractometer, scanning of visible-near-infrared transmittance, transmittance data inversion using the singly subtractive Kramers-Kronig relation, and exploitation of so-called wavelength-dependent relative excess permittivity. It is shown for three different diesel oil grades, adulterated with kerosene, that the excess permittivity is a powerful measure for screening fake diesel oils. The excess relative permittivity of such binary mixtures also reveals hidden spectral fingerprints that are neither visible in dispersion data alone nor in spectral transmittance measurements alone. We believe that the excess permittivity data are useful in the case of screening adulteration of diesel oil by kerosene and can further be explored for practical sensing solutions, e.g., in quality inspection of diesel oils in refineries.


: In this letter, we have developed a novel and simple feature extraction that exploits the characteristics of I/Q signals received from ZigBee devices to represent RF circuit impairments such as the frequency offset and I/Q imbalance. Experiments have been carried out to evaluate the identi(cid:12)cation performance in several scenarios: line-of-sight (LOS) and non line-of-sight (NLOS) environments, varying distance between the transmitter and receiver. The results show that our method can identify twelve ZigBee devices with high accuracy. In ad-dition, it is revealed that some features are sensitive to environmental change during the training and test phases.


Abstract In urban areas, the most pressing adaptation challenges are associated with the problem of poor retention of rainstorm water. Hence, recommended actions focus on improving rainwater retention in the landscape. One of the strategic direction of adaptation to climate change is including green infrastructure solutions like green roofs, green walls, water reservoirs along streets – supplying high vegetation, permeable ground cover and rain gardens. Due to a variety of proposals, the costs and benefits resulting from the implementation of a chosen solution should be regarded when selecting an appropriate action. Considering the above, the article attempts to show the costs and benefits of one of the solutions – a green garden. When analysing the cost of green garden implementation, account should be taken of the cost of investment and upholding, as well as the alternative cost of land use. Then again, the benefits of the rain garden comprise the losses avoided by limiting the effects of rainstorm as well as improving the quality and quantity of water in the urban landscape. The cost and benefit monetization makes it possible to decide on the financial viability of implementing rain gardens in the city.


PURPOSE
The aim of this review was to evaluate the clinical outcomes for the different time points of implant placement following tooth extraction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A PubMed search and a hand search of selected journals were performed to identify clinical studies published in English that reported on outcomes of implants in postextraction sites. Only studies that included 10 or more patients were accepted. For implant success/survival outcomes, only studies with a mean follow-up period of at least 12 months from the time of implant placement were included. The following outcomes were identified: (1) change in peri-implant defect dimension, (2) implant survival and success, and (3) esthetic outcomes.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Of 1,107 abstracts and 170 full-text articles considered, 91 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Bone augmentation procedures are effective in promoting bone fill and defect resolution at implants in postextraction sites, and are more successful with immediate (type 1) and early placement (type 2 and type 3) than with late placement (type 4). The majority of studies reported survival rates of over 95%. Similar survival rates were observed for immediate (type 1) and early (type 2) placement. Recession of the facial mucosal margin is common with immediate (type 1) placement. Risk indicators included a thin tissue biotype, a facial malposition of the implant, and a thin or damaged facial bone wall. Early implant placement (type 2 and type 3) is associated with a lower frequency of mucosal recession compared to immediate placement (type 1).


Ethnic minorities have always been an integrated part of development reality. Taking Nu people, one of the 56 ethnic minorities in China, for case study, the present article is an attempt to examine the multiple discourses concerning ethnic minority development in the country. Evidence based analysis is conducted to reveal the existence of three major layers of discourses in the arena of ethnic development and to compare in detail the cognitions, orientations, expression mechanisms and encounters between government, intermediary and community discourses. The paper proposes an intervention selection system to enlarge room for manoeuvre at the bottom. It also calls for a development warning system for ethnic minorities in development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.


Recently, various diagnostic modalities revealed the characteristic abnormalities in transient global amnesia (TGA). We described two TGA patients with focal lesions in the right hippocampus. One patient showed bilateral temporal spike-and-wave on EEG and contralateral temporal hyperperfusion on SPECT. The other exhibited contralateral temporal sharp waves and ipsilateral temporal hypoperfusion. Our patients suggest that bilateral dysfunction of the medial temporal lobe is important for developing TGA. Multimodal diagnostic approach is required to clarify this phenomenon.KeyWords:Transient global amnesia, EEG, MRI


Context. The common flare scenario comprises an acceleration site in the corona and particle transport to the chromosphere. Using satellites available to date it has become possible to distinguish between the two processes of acceleration and transport, and study the particle propagation in flare loops in detail, as well as complete comparisons with theoretical predictions. Aims. We complete a quantitative comparison between flare hard X-ray spectra observed by RHESSI and theoretical predictions. This enables acceleration to be distinguished from transport and the nature of transport effects to be explored. Methods. Data acquired by the RHESSI satellite were analyzed using full sun spectroscopy as well as imaging spectroscopy methods. Coronal source and footpoint spectra of well observed limb events were analyzed and quantitatively compared to theoretical predictions. New concepts are introduced to existing models to resolve discrepancies between observations and predictions. Results. The standard thin-thick target solar flare model cannot explain the observations of all events. In the events presented here, propagation effects in the form of non-collisional energy loss are of importance to explain the observations. We demonstrate that those energy losses can be interpreted in terms of an electric field in the flare loop. One event seems consistent with particle propagation or acceleration in lower than average density in the coronal source. Conclusions. We find observational evidence for an electric field in flare loops caused by return currents.


The right eye of a 15-year-old boy was removed and found to contain grossly disorganised intraocular tissues, with bone formation. The literature relating to this finding is reviewed. Trauma of an unspecified and undisclosed nature is proposed as the most probable cause. The mechanism by which such trauma might lead to the formation of bone is discussed.


Experimentally-induced cases of sweating sickness in calves were used in an effort to correlate the blood chemistry with some of the known pathological changes. Results showed that the "sweating" associated with necrotic dermatitis did not alter blood electrolyte levels. Laboratory evidence of a disseminated intravascular coagulopathy was found which correlated with the microthrombi described in cases of sweating sickness. A high blood cortisol level was found in one of the animals that died from the disease and could possibly be used as a prognostic indicator in clinical cases. Recommendations are made with regard to the supportive treatment based on the clinical pathological findings.


In a particle accelerator, two particle beams are accelerated and collided at one or several physics detectors. The machine detector interface (MDI) is the place where the accelerator ring is linked to the physics detector. It is the area where the alignment requirements are the most stringent, and the MDI of the lepton version of the future circular collider (FCC-ee) is no exception. It will implement a complex design and alignment requirement for typical components in the MDI are of the order of 30 μm. Until now, no working solutions have been proposed for the alignment of such MDI. In this contribution, two different systems are studied: the Surveillance d'Ouvrages par Fibre Optique (Structural Monitoring by Optical Fibers, SOFO) and the in-lined multiplexed and distributed frequency scanning interferometry (FSI). Both systems allow individual and simultaneous distance measurements of multiple portions along a fiber, and a new system using the FSI technology is proposed for the alignment monitoring. Using a network of helical shaped fiber allows the measurement of deformations if a sufficient amount of fibers is placed on the cylinder. With a sensor measurement accuracy of 1 μm, 3D coordinates of points at the end of a 4 m long and 0.25 m radius cylinder (FCC-ee MDI dimensions) can be determined at an accuracy under 5 μm. This system will provide a link between the alignment of the final focusing quadrupoles and the rest of the machine.


The ability of certain organisms, including notably the Mollusca and lower Vertebrata, to respond to their surroundings by appropriate pigmentary changes has long been familiar to biologists; it has been recognised for more than half a century that a special type of effector organs (chromatophores, melanophores, etc.) are actively instrumental in producing such changes, and that, in Vertebrates at least, pigmentary response is partially controlled through the nerves by stimuli received from the organs of vision. During the past two decades it has been shown that the reactions of the pigment cells to stimuli simulate those of other effector organs, especially as regards their responses to certain internal secretions. That a fuller understanding of their properties might prove of service to practical aspects of physiology, as well as the key to a knowledge of "colour adaptation," was realised by Lister, who concludes his paper on the cutaneous pigmentary system of the Frog (1858) with the following comment: "The pigmentary system also promises to render good service in toxicological enquiry. Hitherto in experiments performed on animals with that object attention has been directed chiefly, if not exclusively, to the effects produced upon the actions of the nervous centres, the nerves, and muscles. In the pigment cells we have a form of tissue with entirely new functions, which, though apparently allied to the most recondite processes, yet produce very obvious effects… Such experiments are so readily performed, and the effects produced are so obviously indicated by the changes in colour of the integument, that I venture to recommend this method of investigation to those who are occupied in studying the action of poisons. …" A considerable literature, which has been reviewed too thoroughly and recently to merit an extensive epitome here, bears witness to the intricacy of the mechanism which underlies pigmental response in Fishes, Amphibia, and Reptiles; and very little work has been done on Molluscs in this connection. It can be safely asserted that as many distinct types of chromatophores are already known as there are different sorts of other effector organs whose properties have been studied. Hence it is obvious that, apart from the intrinsic interest presented by the phenomenon of colour change, a study of the properties of this series of effectors invites consideration in relation to a fuller understanding of the role played respectively by the character of tissue and the nature of its nerve supply in the local action of drugs. The research, of which this preliminary communication contains an initial account, of the response of Amphibian melanophores to pituitary extracts, has been approached with both these objectives in view. For present purposes it will suffice to recapitulate briefly what has already been achieved in relation to the endocrine factors in pigmental response.


Plants are able to acclimate to environmental constraints through functional modifications that may also occur in tissues that are not directly exposed to stress. This process is termed "systemic acquired acclimation." The present study aims to evaluate the involvement of PolyADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein in the acclimation process to high light (HL) stress in Phaseolus vulgaris plants. For this purpose, some leaves located at the top of the plant, in the apical position, were directly exposed to HL ("inducing" leaves), while others on the same plant, distal from the top, continued to be exposed to growth light ("receiving" leaves) to verify the hypothesis that an "alert" message may be transferred from injured tissues to distal ones. Biochemical and eco-physiological analyses, namely PARP activity, H2O2 and water- and fat-soluble antioxidants (i.e., ascorbic acid, tocopherol, glutathione (GSH), phenols, carotenoids, etc.) content, and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements were performed on both "inducing" and "receiving" leaves. Even if no change in PARP expression was found, its activity increased in "receiving" unstressed leaves in response to the light stress duration experimented by "inducing" leaves, while antioxidant capacity declined. When the "receiving" leaves were exposed to HL, the PARP activity returned to the control value, while antioxidant capacity photosynthetic electron transport rate (Jf) decreased and increased, respectively, compared to Control. Our results seem to show an acclimation pathway triggered in remote tissues not yet subjected to stress, likely involving a reactive oxygen species wave activating the PARP enzyme in a mechanism still to be clarified. In addition, the increased tolerance of plants directly exposed to HL could implicate a boosted synthesis of soluble antioxidants accompanied by a reduction of PARP activity to reduce excessive consumption of NAD(P).