ABSTRACT This study describes what types of service use barriers older adults' informal care-givers perceive and examines how these barriers differentiate care-giver service use patterns. Analysing the 2004 National Long-Term Care Survey and Informal Care-giver Data Set (N=1908) in the United States of America, this study reports the prevalence of service barriers for each type of service as well as for overall service use. Service barriers are measured in terms of availability, awareness, affordability, staff quality, privacy violation, complex bureaucracy, language barriers, qualification of each programme and no thought of service. Andersen's health behaviour model guides determinants related to care-giver service use patterns. As a main outcome, care-giver service use patterns (light service users, selective in-home users, and multiple service users) are examined in relation to service use barriers when other predisposing, enabling and need variables are controlled. Of the ten service use barriers defined in this study, awareness and no thought of service are the most prevalent barriers. Care-givers reporting service barriers of availability, awareness and affordability are more likely to be light service users compared to multiple service users and selective in-home service users. These findings highlight the significance of enhancing awareness of care-giver supportive services as well as increasing availability and financial support for service use.


We present an analysis of student language input in a corpus of tutoring dialogue in the domain of symbolic differentiation. Our focus on procedural tutoring makes the dialogue comparable to collaborative problem-solving (CPS). Existing CPS models describe the process of negotiating plans and goals, which also fits procedural tutoring. However, we provide a classification of student utterances and corpus annotation which shows that approximately 28% of non-trivial student language in this corpus is not accounted for by existing models, and addresses other functions, such as evaluating past actions or correcting mistakes. Our analysis can be used as a foundation for improving models of tutoring dialogue.


The author reports on the development of an original piece, Boott Mill (Lowell), in which he takes field recordings of loom machines from the Boott Mill Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts, and uses the recordings as the foundation for a fully realized composition featuring percussion, strings, keyboards and assorted musical textures.


Two dibutyltin(IV) carboxylates, (C4H9)2Sn(OOCR)2 (RCOO- = Salicylic and Acetyl salicylic), have been successfully prepared in our laboratory by the reaction of dibutyltin(IV) chloride, (C4H9)2SnCl2 with the respective carboxylic acid via dibutyltin(IV) oxide, (C4H9)2SnO. The product in each reaction was afforded in very high yield (in average was more 80 %). The product obtained in each step was mainly characterized by IR spectroscopy. These works were done as part of our on going work in the study of organotin(IV) carboxylate compounds and in attempts to find the possible biological activities of the organotin(IV). Keywords: dibutiltin compound, synthesis, IR


Online Social Networks like Facebook, MySpace, Xing, etc. have become extremely popular. Yet they have some limitations that we want to overcome for a next generation of social networks: privacy concerns and requirements of Internet connectivity, both of which are due to web-based applications on a central site whose owner has access to all data. To overcome these limitations, we envision a paradigm shift from client-server to a peer-to-peer infrastructure coupled with encryption so that users keep control of their data and can use the social network also locally, without Internet access. This shift gives rise to many research questions intersecting networking, security, distributed systems and social network analysis, leading to a better understanding of how technology can support social interactions. This paper is an attempt to identify the core functionalities necessary to build social networking applications and services, and the research challenges in realizing them in a decentralized setting. In the tradition of research-path defining papers in the peer-to-peer community [5, 14], we highlight some challenges and opportunities for peer-to-peer in the era of social networks. We also present our own approach at realizing peer-to-peer social networks.


Background: Tumor recurrence is an abomination for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving local treatment. Purpose: The aim of the study was to build a hybrid machine learning model to recommend optimized first treatment (laparoscopic hepatectomy [LH] or microwave ablation [MWA]) for naïve single 3–5-cm HCC patients based on early recurrence (ER, ≤2 years) probability. Methods: This retrospective study collected 20 semantic variables of 582 patients (LH: 300, MWA: 282) from 13 hospitals with at least 24 months follow-up. Both groups were divided into training, validation, and test set, respectively. Five algorithms (logistics regression, random forest, neural network, stochastic gradient boosting, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting [XGB]) were used for model building. A model with highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in a validation set of LH and MWA was selected to connect as a hybrid model which made decision based on ER probability. Model testing was performed in a comprehensive set comprising LH and MWA test sets. Results: Four variables in each group were selected to build LH and MWA models, respectively. LH-XGB model (AUC = 0.744) and MWA-stochastic gradient method (AUC = 0.750) model were selected for model building. In the comprehensive set, a treatment confusion matrix was established based on recommended and actual treatment. The predicted ER probabilities were comparable with the actual ER rates for various types of patients in matrix (p > 0.05). ER rate of patients whose actual treatment consistent with recommendation was lower than that of inconsistent patients (LH: 21.2% vs. 46.2%, p = 0.042; MWA: 26.3% vs. 54.1%, p = 0.048). By recommending optimal treatment, the hybrid model can significantly reduce ER probability from 38.2% to 25.6% for overall patients (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The hybrid model can accurately predict ER probability of different treatments and thereby provide reliable evidence to make optimal treatment decision for patients with single 3–5-cm HCC.


Objectives To quantify global, regional and country-specific estimates of epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Four databases were systematically searched, and a Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was constructed to estimate the global, regional, and country-specific incidence and prevalence of SLE. Results 112 studies met the inclusion criteria. The global SLE incidence and newly diagnosed population were estimated to be 5.14 (1.4 to 15.13) per 100 000 person-years and 0.40 million people annually, respectively. In women, the values were 8.82 (2.4 to 25.99) per 100 000 person-years and 0.34 million people annually, while in men, the estimates were 1.53 (0.41 to 4.46) per 100 000 person-years and 0.06 million people annually, respectively. Poland, the USA and Barbados had the highest estimates of SLE incidence. Regarding prevalence, the global SLE prevalence and affected population were estimated to be 43.7 (15.87 to 108.92) per 100 000 persons and 3.41 million people, respectively. In women, the values were 78.73 (28.61 to 196.33) per 100 000 persons and 3.04 million people, while in men the estimates were 9.26 (3.36 to 22.97) per 100 000 persons and 0.36 million people, respectively. The United Arab Emirates, Barbados and Brazil had the highest SLE prevalence. In addition to regional and sex differences, age and prevalence estimation method (period or point prevalence) differences could also lead to variations in epidemiological SLE findings. Conclusions Epidemiological data on SLE are lacking for 79.8% of countries worldwide. The epidemiology of SLE varies substantially between different sex and age groups and is distributed unequally among geographical regions; specifically, SLE occurs more frequently in high-income countries.


Russia's use of force against Ukraine since early 2014 has prompted some observers to remark that it is engaging in 'hybrid warfare'. This form of military statecraft has made other former Soviet republics, such as the Baltic countries, fear that Russia would use subversion rather than pursue a conventional military engagement against them. Despite this concern about Russian hybrid war, existing descriptions of this form of war suffer from conceptual weaknesses. In this article hybrid warfare is conceived as a strategy that marries conventional deterrence and insurgency tactics. That is, the belligerent uses insurgent tactics against its target while using its conventional military power to deter a strong military response. The article then outlines why some former Soviet republics are susceptible to Russian hybrid warfare, allowing it to postulate inductively the conditions under which hybrid warfare might be used in general. The analysis yields two policy implications. First, military solutions are not wholly appropriate against hybrid warfare since it exploits latent ethnic grievances and weak civil societies. Second, only under narrow circumstances would belligerents resort to hybrid warfare. Belligerents need to be revisionist and militarily stronger than their targets, but they also need to have ethnic or linguistic ties with the target society to leverage in waging hybrid warfare.


In this work the technology of receiving high-sensitivity gas sensors on the basis of zirconium oxide is developed for hybrid sensor systems. Laboratory samples of sensors of gas on the basis of zirconium oxide are made with use sol-gel method. Gas-sensitive characteristics of samples of sensors in relation to nitrogen dioxide are defined: limit of detection and factor of gas sensitivity. The received gas sensors will help to determine approach of an attack of bronchial asthma some hours prior to its beginning by level of an oxide of nitrogen in exhaled air of the person.


The nucleus accumbens is thought to contribute to action selection by integrating behaviorally relevant information from multiple regions, including prefrontal cortex. Studies in rodents suggest that information flow to the nucleus accumbens may be regulated via task-dependent oscillatory coupling between regions. During instrumental behavior, local field potentials (LFP) in the rat nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex are coupled at delta frequencies (Gruber AJ, Hussain RJ, O'Donnell P. PLoS One 4: e5062, 2009), possibly mediating suppression of afferent input from other areas and thereby supporting cortical control (Calhoon GG, O'Donnell P. Neuron 78: 181–190, 2013). In this report, we demonstrate low-frequency cortico-accumbens coupling in humans, both at rest and during a decision-making task. We recorded LFP from the nucleus accumbens in six epilepsy patients who underwent implantation of deep brain stimulation electrodes. All patients showed significant coherence and phase-synchronization between LFP and surface EEG at delta and low theta frequencies. Although the direction of this coupling as indexed by Granger causality varied between subjects in the resting-state data, all patients showed a cortical drive of the nucleus accumbens during action selection in a decision-making task. In three patients this was accompanied by a significant coherence increase over baseline. Our results suggest that low-frequency cortico-accumbens coupling represents a highly conserved regulatory mechanism for action selection.


Crypto-processors are the target of attacks. For instance, an attacker may exploit facilities offered by scan chains to retrieve embedded secret data closely related to the key. However, scan design is the most popular and efficient method to test circuit. The goal of the technique proposed here is to preserve test efficiency, diagnostic and debug while counteracting security threats. This solution relies on using the secret key already stored in the circuit under test in order to encrypt test patterns by adding extra blocks ciphers. Both control and observed test data are thus unusable without the knowledge of the key. Manufacturing test is the process to sort fault-free from faulty circuits. It guarantees a high level of quality and reliability of integrated circuits (IC). A design approach called Design-for-Testability (DfT) aims to improve circuit testability. The most popular DfT method relies on scan design, which consists in replacing original FFs by so-called "scan FFs" organized in shift-registers during the test phase. Serial input/output provide a mechanism for controlling and observing internal states at test time. However, an attacker can use observability and controllability offered by scan registers to leak secret on the circuit, typically by observing intermediate states. Especially, crypto-processors are targets of scan attacks [1][2]. The attacks relies on the capability of shifting out scan chain's content while registers state are correlated with the secret key. The attacker is thus able to identify the key. Several countermeasures have been proposed in the literature [3][4][5][6][7][8] to counteract scan attack. Each countermeasure has an impact on testability: test time, fault coverage and the facilities to diagnosis and debug. Applying those securing techniques has also a cost in terms of area and power consumption and can impact the DfT flow. A tradeoff between these aspects has to be chosen for the designer of secure circuits. We propose here a new countermeasure [8] that consists in encrypting scan chain content of circuits embedding at least one crypto-core. Assuming a key management policy for the embedded crypto-processor, the secret key for scan chain encryption is stored in the same tamper-resistant memory with the management policy already implemented. Light block ciphers are added in input scan chain and output scan chain (Fig. 1). The procedure consists in encrypting test patterns off-chip, and then scanned them in the circuit to be decrypted by implemented block cipher. The next step is collecting test responses. Before test responses are shifted out, these ones are encrypted by another on-chip block cipher. Eventually, encrypted test responses are decrypted off-chip to be compared with expected ones. Without the knowledge of the key, an attacker can not perform scan attacks. Decryption in input scan chain prevents control-based scan attacks; encryption in output scan chain prevents observation-based scan attacks. This solution keeps test, diagnosis and debug facilities. A developer wishing to debug an application can thus read and write on the registers of the processor. Nevertheless, this protection has a cost in term of area and test time. Applying the solution on a pipelined AES core, the area overhead related to the proposed secure scan infrastructure is of 2.92%. The test time is increased by 0.8% in relation to original test time. This experimental results showed a marginal impact on both area and test time.


Education tourism refers to a travel program to a location with the primary goal is to engage in learning activities directly associated with a tourist destination. The current study explores the practice of edutourism as implemented by Beruga' Alam Institute which involved college students of English language education. This case study employed participant observations, in-depth interviews, and documentation to gain a deep understanding regarding the case under study. 13 participants consisting of 7 students of English language education, a program coordinator, 2 tour guides and the head of the institute took part in the interviews. Collected data were analyzed interactively to conclude the study. The findings of this study revealed that the concept of educational tourism practiced in Beruga' Alam Institute reflected its five fundamental vision namely: a) well behaved; b) being insightful; c) being skillful; d) being self-reliant and; e) contribution. The promoted model of edutourism in Beruga' Alam begins with meditation, followed by exploration, reflection and ended with a publication. These stages feature every edutour program. The edutour programs offered to college students include nature exploration, art and culture exploration, Kings and Saints (graveyards) visits, charity and social life exploration, staying with the locals, local figures visits and other programs. Students were also offered short courses like photography writing, cooking class, and public speaking during the tours. Finally, based on the participants' reflection on their edutour experiences, all of them express positive views on the programs and were willing to participate in the future education tourism programs.


This study is aimed to (1) understand whether or not the resistance of the small vendors ex Taman Surya Surabaya was organised; (2) understand what the causes of the resistance were; (3) describe the process of the resistance and (4) map the forms of the resistance amongst the ex. small vendors Taman Surya. This study was based on qualitative perspective. The informant's include four groups, they are coordinator of the small vendors representatives, the small vendors, government officials and non-government organization. Data collection was conducted through several steps: indepth interview, collecting documentary from several related agences and observation. All the collected data were classified and writter in to essay. Response of the small vendors to resist was related to the government prohibition to reside at Taman Surya. They have tried to prepare to resist with establishing a sosial network either amongst the small vendors or non-government organization. Since the government security keep the Taman Surya, the resistance of the vendors has stopped to occur. The forms of the resistance have included three,: "begging resistance", demonstration and demonstration with violence.


The capital Bishkek, as well as Russia and Kazakhstan, are important workplaces for the population from the rural South of Kyrgyzstan. Migration enables younger men and women in particular to improve their income prospects, but also to gain access to educational facilities and to turn away from traditions such as early marriage. Very few children or older people migrate, the latter remaining in their home villages. Whilst older people presume that this separation of the families is temporary, the younger ones start to separate from their rural places of origin and to settle in other urban locations. This has long-term consequences for the development of rural areas. The article describes the increasingly multifocal lifestyles of the population of Kyrgyzstan and the fact that migrants do not return to their rural region of origin or that their return is delayed. This failure to return has so far unresearched consequences for the development of rural areas. Particular relevance attaches here to the worsening labour shortages, to the dependence of the rural population on remittances and to changing family structures which place in question care of children and older people.


Solid catalysts are widely used for chemical processes in industry, but much is still unknown about how they work on a microscopic level. In his Perspective, Sauer comments on work reported by Smith et al. in the same issue, in which water molecules were used as probes of the catalytic active sites.


In this paper the conversion methods of GPS geodetic height to normal height using BP and RBF neural network and second surface fitting based on the GPS and Leveling data are proposed.Some valuable conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the accuracy of conversion result.


This paper proposes generalized controllable strange attractors through dynamic rotation of fractional-order chaotic systems. Dynamic rotation angle enables the generation of multi-scroll and multi-wing attractors from single and double-scroll ones. The rotating systems are integrated with a generalized dynamic switched synchronization scheme. Dynamic control switches determine whether each system plays the role of master or slave. Based on dynamic scaling factors, the master can be one system or a combination of several ones with new strange attractors. The rotating fractional-order systems fit into the synchronization application, where simulation results validate successful synchronization for rotating slave and master systems.


Larger terrestrial animals tend to support their weight with more upright limbs. This makes structural sense, reducing the loading on muscles and bones, which is disproportionately challenging in larger animals. However, it does not account for why smaller animals are more crouched; instead, they could enjoy relatively more slender supporting structures or higher safety factors. Here, an alternative account for the scaling of posture is proposed, with close parallels to the scaling of jump performance. If the costs of locomotion are related to the volume of active muscle, and the active muscle volume required depends on both the work and the power demanded during the push-off phase of each step (not just the net positive work), then the disproportional scaling of requirements for work and push-off power are revealing. Larger animals require relatively greater active muscle volumes for dynamically similar gaits (e.g. top walking speed)—which may present an ultimate constraint to the size of running animals. Further, just as for jumping, animals with shorter legs and briefer push-off periods are challenged to provide the power (not the work) required for push-off. This can be ameliorated by having relatively long push-off periods, potentially accounting for the crouched stance of small animals.


A total of 49 rice landraces were investigated for eight traits using principal component analysis (PCA) for the determination of variation pattern, the relationship among genotypes and its traits. Out of eight principal components (PC), three PC's exhibited Eigenvalue more than one with 72.9 per cent of total variability among the characters. The highest positive Eigenvalue observed for the number of productive tillers per plant (0.148) and flag leaf length (0.148) in PC1 indicated their pronounced effect in the overall variation of the genotypes. The study revealed the traits that are contributing maximum for the variation. Hence, selective rice landraces can be utilized for improving these traits in high yielding cultivars through suitable breeding programmes.


-A retrospective case-control study of 200 patients with head and neck cancer, and 200 controls matched for age and sex, confirmed the importance of tobacco and alcohol consumption in the aetiology of malignant tumours of the upper gastrointestinal and upper respiratory tracts. A male-female ratio of 3:1 was found, and the association of smoking with laryngeal cancer and of alcohol with cancer of the tongue was particularly strong. A significant excess of alcohol-related occupations was found among the cases. These findings are discussed.


English Language Error Analysis of the Written Texts Produced by Ukrainian Learners: Data Collection Recently, the studies of second language acquisition have tended to focus on learners errors as they help to predict the difficulties involved in acquiring a second language. Thus, teachers can be made aware of the difficult areas to be encountered by the students and pay special attention and devote emphasis to them. The research goals of the article are to define what error analysis is and how it is important in L2 teaching process, to state the significance of corpus studies in identifying of different types of errors and mistakes, to provide the results of error analysis of the corpus of written texts produced by Ukrainian learners. In this article, major types of errors in English as a second language for Ukrainian students are mentioned.


Although I have been seeing various counsellors and psychologists for a number of years, I recently made the decision that I will no longer be seeing anyone. I think that I have grown too critical of much of orthodox psychiatric practice to gain anything useful from seeing therapists who are often sexist and who make judgements based upon their theoretical assumptions rather than actually listening to me when I try to tell them about my experiences.


A formal theory to explain the Stark effect in molecular exciton states is developed using the second-quantization formalism. In this theory not only the Stark effect but also the Davydov effect are explicitly taken into consideration since the observed spectral splitting in the UV spectra for molecular crystals with two or more molecules per unit cell may be the result of combination of the above two effects. Especially for molecular crystals containing two molecules in a unit cell the splitting is shown to be hyperbolically dependent upon the strength of an externally applied, uniform electric field, from which informations regarding the excited state dipole moments of a single molecule may be obtained.


The aim of the investigation was to develop normative (percentile) values of the peak systolic velocity (PSV) and the pulsatility index (Pi) in the fetal hepatic artery in relation to the parietal-coccygeal length at 11–14 weeks gestation. Materials and Methods. PSV in the hepatic artery and its Pi were estimated in 192 normal karyotype fetuses at 11–14 weeks of gestation. Results. The average values of PSV were 12.13±2.5 cm/s. They ranged up to 11.1 cm/s in those cases where the parietal-coccygeal length of the fetus was 45–52 mm and up to 14.6 cm/s when it was 62.1–79.0 mm. The upper limit of the norm was set as the 90th percentile. The average value of Pi in the fetal hepatic artery was 1.98±0.12, standing at 1.9 in those cases where the parietal-coccygeal length was 45–52 mm and 1.7 where it was 62.1–79.0 mm. The lower limit of the norm was set as the 10th percentile. Conclusion. As the gestation period and, therefore, the parietal-coccygeal length of the fetus increase, the PSV in the fetal hepatic artery also increases, while the Pi decreases. Such specific normative values of the blood flow indicators can be used in clinical practice to determine the risk groups for unfavorable perinatal outcomes.


A 50-year-old man had symptoms of hoarseness, sore throat, and difficult swallowing for one year. He was a heavy smoker and in recent months had noticed some shortness of breath. Roentgenograms showed mild pulmonary amphysema and subglottic tumor formation. Biopsy of the larynx established the diagnosis of epidermoid carcinoma, and laryngectomy with radical neck dissection was planned. Preoperative sedation with meperidine hydrochloride and atropine sulfate was satisfactory, and induction of anesthesia was accomplished easily with nitrous oxide, oxygen, and halothane. A moderate depth of anesthesia, as determined by clinical signs, was maintained. Respirations were assisted and compliance was satisfactory. The skin incision was designed to allow low tracheostomy. Although some bubbles had been noticed in the midline as the trachea was being dissected, things went quite smoothly until tracheostomy was performed. Shortly after an anode endotracheal tube with inflated cuff was properly placed in the distal tracheal stoma, impedance to


We studied a family with HLA-linked hereditary hemochromatosis in which an informative recombination occurred within the HLA region. The father, an obligate heterozygote for hereditary hemochromatosis, had HLA haplotypes A2,B13 and A11,B27. The mother, also an obligate heterozygote, had HLA haplotypes A29,B44 and A2,B7. Three haplotypes were found among three homozygous affected offspring. Two affected siblings were HLA-identical with haplotypes A2,B13 and A29,B44. The proband had HLA haplotypes A2,B13 and A2,B44, the latter a recombinant haplotype inherited from her mother. Since the maternal hemochromatosis allele was linked to the A29,B44 haplotype, and since the proband has hemochromatosis, the maternal hemochromatosis allele was transmitted to the proband with the B44 antigen. This is the first known example of recombination in an individual with HLA-linked hemochromatosis in whom the hemochromatosis allele appeared to segregate with the HLA-B antigen instead of the -A antigen. The possibility of either a double reciprocal recombination event or a gene conversion event cannot be excluded. Combined with earlier observations of segregation of the hemochromatosis allele with the A locus in HLA recombinants, the findings in this pedigree map the hemochromatosis locus between the HLA-B and HLA-A loci rather than outside the HLA region.


The reaction of barium trimers with molecules of SF6 has been investigated on large argon clusters (around 4000 atoms). The reaction is strongly exoergic (by approximately 5 eV) and leads to several reaction products; among which, the desorption of ground state BaF molecules is observed. The energetics of these molecules has been analysed by laser-induced fluorescence with subDoppler resolution. The rotational, vibrational and translational energy distributions are found to be thermal, with temperatures in the range 1600–2400 K. These temperatures are lower than those found in a preceding analysis of chemiluminescent desorbed products but remain much higher than the temperature of the cluster. This is interpreted by different time scales of interaction of the products with the cluster substrate: short times leading to highly internally excited products, long times to solvated products, with the ground state desorbed products appearing as intermediates in between.


In recent years, it has become common to point to the early church's Rule of Faith as evidence for the reading of Scripture as an overarching story. Appeal is typically made to Irenaeus's accounts of the Rule of Faith with particular importance being attached to the rehearsal of the Rule in the Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. It has been argued that in Irenaeus's Demonstration the lacuna between the statement about God the Creator and the salvific events of the life of Christ are filled out with the story of God's dealings with Israel. This article reexamines Irenaeus's understanding of the Rule of Faith and argues that accounts of this sort are mistaken and involve a misreading of the Demonstration. Irenaeus does not present a metanarrative that stretches from creation to consummation; rather, he works with a two-part OT canon and shows how both parts prefigure and predict salvation in Jesus Christ. The article concludes with a reconsideration of the relationship between narrative and the Rule of Faith and how Israel is to be figured into Christian faith.


A kind of novel polyether polyurethane (PU)/clay nanocomposite was synthesized using poly(tetramethylene glycol), 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 1,6-hexamethylenediamine, and modified Na+-montmorillonite (MMT). Here, organicly modified MMT (O-MMT) was formed by applying 1,6-hexamethylenediamine as a swelling agent to treat the Na+-MMT. The X-ray analysis showed that exfoliation occurred for the higher O-MMT content (40 wt %) in the polymer matrix. The mechanical analysis indicated that, when the O-MMT was used as a chain extender to replace a part of the 1,2-diaminopropane to form PU/clay nanocomposites, the strength and strain at break of the polymer was enhanced when increasing the content of O-MMT in the matrix. When the O-MMT content reached about 5%, the tensile strength and elongation at break were over 2 times that of the pure PU. The thermal stability and the glass transition of the O-MMT/PU nanocomposites also increased with increasing O-MMT content. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 6–13, 2006


In the companion paper to this one (Part I), the Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere-Total Runoff Integrating Pathways (ISBA-TRIP) continental hydrological system of the Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques is evaluated by using river discharge measurements and terrestrial water storage (TWS) variations derived from three independent datasets of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). One of the conclusions is that the river reservoir simulated by TRIP at the global scale seems to be one of the main sources of TWS and/or discharge errors. Here, the authors study these uncertainties in river routing processes, such as flow velocity and groundwater storage. For this purpose, a simple groundwater reservoir depending on a time delay factor and a variable streamflow velocity calculated via Manning's formula are added to TRIP following the approach of Arora and Boer. The previous and the new TRIP are then compared, and two studies of the sensitivity to the groundwater time delay factor and to the flow velocity are performed. Using the same experiment design as in Part I, the authors show that the effect of this flow velocity and of the groundwater time delay factor on the ISBA-TRIP simulation is potentially significant. Nevertheless, over tropical and temperate basins, a competition between the two processes implies a slight difference between the previous and the new TRIP compared to both the GRACE and the discharge signals. The global results underline that simulating a realistic streamflow velocity is a key process for global-scale application.


We describe a microfluidic platform with enhanced solvent compatibility to screen solid forms of pharmaceutical parent compounds including salts, cocrystals, and their crystal forms via controlled solvent evaporation and antisolvent addition techniques. The platform enables on-chip combinatorial mixing of parent compound, auxiliary materials, or non-solvents in a 24- to 72-well array (∼100–200 nL per well). This approach enables screening with very small quantities of material per condition compared to traditional screening approaches that require larger volumes, ∼100 μL per well. Compatibility with (i) polar as well as non-polar organic solvents commonly employed in crystallization of pharmaceuticals, such as ethanol, methanol, tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, chloroform, hexane, and toluene, (ii) Raman spectroscopy used for on-line identification of the resulting solids was achieved by using a perfluoropolyether-based microfluidic platform. Integration of a hybrid thin layer assembly of elastomeric PDMS–SIFEL–SIFEL ensures that pneumatic valving capabilities are retained. This assembly was sandwiched between layers of cyclic-olefin copolymer (COC) at the top and Teflon FEP or COC (depending on the solvent) at the bottom to yield a physically rigid, Raman compatible crystallization chip. In addition, a solvent-impermeable thiolene layer patterned with evaporation channels was employed to permit control over the rate of solvent evaporation for solvent evaporation experiments. The resulting hybrid microfluidic platforms enabled enhanced compatibility with a variety of polar and non-polar organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, hexane, heptane, and toluene, which is especially critical for antisolvent crystallization experiments. In solvent evaporation experiments with these platforms the rate of solvent evaporation can be controlled consistently (5–20 nL h−1), thereby facilitating nucleation and crystal growth. Model compounds, theophylline and carbamazepine, were used to validate the platform's ability to screen for cocrystals via solvent evaporation and for polymorphs via antisolvent addition. On-chip Raman analysis was used to identify different cocrystals and polymorphs.


Abstract Hezbollah, like other Islamic fundamentalist movements in the region, professes an "Islamic way of life" as an objective to achieve and implement in society, but its actual practices can best be understood as harmonious with—and reflective of—the nature of the capitalist environment in which it operates, despite discourses appealing to the popular classes of society. Religious fundamentalist movements should indeed not been considered as fossilized elements from the past. While they may employ symbols and narratives from earlier periods, fundamentalisms are alive, dynamic, and representative of major contemporary trends. Their emergence must thus be fully situated in the political, economic, and social context of the contemporary period. In this perspective, the article analyzes the political economy of Hezbollah and its support for neoliberal policies.


The structural parameters, electronic structure, chemical bonding and optical properties of hexagonal LiIO3 are investigated in the framework of density functional theory. The calculated lattice parameters are in agreement with the previous experimental work. The band structure, density of states, and Mulliken charge population are obtained, and indicate that hexagonal LiIO3 has an indirect band gap of 2.81 eV. Furthermore, the optical properties are also calculated and analyzed in detail. It is shown that hexagonal LiIO3 is a promising dielectric material.


BACKGROUND
Telerehabilitation represents a new cutting-edge method in the treatment of patients suffering from motor and cognitive disorders caused by stroke. Even if there exist dedicated devices able to track patients' movements to evaluate the performed rehabilitation exercises, they require specific settings necessary for a correct and simple use at the patient's home. If we consider the recent pandemic situation and the lockdown condition, which made difficult the access to these products, post stroke patients may be not able to perform home rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVES
the goal of this work is the design of a specific method to develop a tele-rehabilitation platform for post-stroke patients using consumer technologies without involving ad-hoc devices.

METHOD
Open-source tools have been investigated for speeding up the development starting with the medical knowledge.

RESULTS
a group of four healthcare technologies engineering students with no specific skills about computer science has developed a platform in four months using the design method.

CONCLUSION
the presented method allowed the development of a clinical knowledge-based web platform for post-stroke patients totally based on consumer technology.


Reversible watermarking aims to restore the original data after watermark extraction, which is more suitable for copyright protection of 2D-vector maps. In this paper, we present a reversible watermarking strategy for 2D-vector maps based on iterative embedding. It begins with vertex grouping of each polyline. Then only the highly correlated data sets are selected as the cover data for iterative embedding. Finally, the iterative embedding is carried out by reversibly modifying the median vertex coordinates of each selected embedding unit. The original vector data can be strictly recovered with accurate watermark extraction. Meanwhile, both higher payload capacity and better invisibility are proved through both theoretical analysis and comprehensive experimental validations. Experimental results show that the proposed reversible watermarking method is very suitable for 2D-vector map copyright protection and secret communication.


Our detailed knowledge of the surface geology of Britain is perhaps unique as a result of centuries of study but the subsurface geology and structure are less well known. In contrast, since the late 1960s the subsurface geology of the offshore areas of the UK has been extensively surveyed using seismic techniques to the point at which detailed 3D images of large areas are available. The amount of seismic data acquired onshore is very small. Most of it is 2D and covers the Permian and Carboniferous basins either side of the Pennines and the Weald and Portland areas of southern England. Principally these data were acquired for hydrocarbon and coal exploration and much of it is publicly available as part of the UK Onshore Geophysical Library. While some of the data in the library are only a few years old, some date back to the 1960s and consequently the quality varies considerably.

The British Geological Survey has recently undertaken a review of these data and this book is the result. It is not really an atlas in the true sense of the word, more a gazetteer of images of some of the more …


This paper focuses on the outlier detection algorithm based on frequent pattern (FP method). First we analyze the drawback of FP method, and then present an improved method (LFP method). Finally, we evaluate the two methods by using several datasets and the experiment results show that the LFP method outperforms the FP method in outlier detection.


The capillary endothelial pores of perfusion-fixed and immersion-fixed liver, thyroid and adrenal of mice were observed using freeze-etching preparations. In liver sinusoids, endothelial pores are heterogeneous in size and range from 50-100 nm. When the pores are classified into three types according to their size, small pores up to 100 nm in diameter represent 69.8%, intermediate pores measuring 100-500 nm 27.6% and large pores exceeding 500nm 2.6% of all pores in number. The endothelial pores of the thyroid blood capillaries are fairly homogeneous in size (70-90 nm), corresponding to the small type pores in the liver. In both adrenal cortex and medulla, the capillary endothelial pores measure 40-50 nm in diameter, showing small and intermediate types. In the adrenal cortex the former occupy 80.6% of all pores and the latter 19.4%. No larger type pores are recognized in the adrenal gland. These findings are not affected by different fixation methods, either perfusion or immersion.


Primary: epidural analgesia. Secondary : associated clinical and psychological outcomes; cost analysis. Results Six hundred and eighty women were randomised. There was no statistically significant difference in epidural use: 27.9% (intervention), 30.3% (control), odds ratio (OR) 0.89 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64 – 1.24], or in 27 of 29 pre-specified secondary clinical and psychological outcomes. Women in the intervention group had lower actual than anticipated levels of fear and anxiety between baseline and 2 weeks post natal (anxiety: mean difference (cid:1) 0.72, 95% CI (cid:1) 1.16 to (cid:1) 0.28, P = 0.001); fear (mean difference (cid:1) 0.62, 95% CI (cid:1) 1.08 to (cid:1) 0.16, P = 0.009) [Correction added on 7 July 2015, after first online publication: 'Mean difference' replaced 'Odds ratio (OR)' in the preceding sentence.]. Postnatal response rates were 67% overall at 2 weeks. The additional cost in the intervention arm per woman was £ 4.83 (CI (cid:1) £ 257.93 to £ 267.59). training sessions did not significantly reduce intra-partum epidural analgesia use or a range of other clinical and psychological variables. The impact of women's anxiety and fear about childbirth needs further investigation. Psychological. Satisfaction with labour pain relief; memory of labour pain; psychological morbidity/wellbeing; satisfaction with life, and expectation and experience of anxiety and fear. Economic analysis. Economic analysis used the Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER), based on resource use per quality-adjusted life year (QALY), measured using the EQ-5D instrument. 14 This paper provides a comparison of costs by treatment group, based on three specific phases of resource utilisation the activities undertaken during the antenatal period, an inventory of the resources required during labour, and services required as part of postpartum admissions (Supporting Information Table S2, Unit costs of antenatal activities and health services ). for a test null a table, with as the 95% for the odds ratio and P -value for a two-sided test of the null hypothesis that the true odds ratio is one. No sub-group analyses were for the for the


Medicinal plants are the oldest known source for treatment of disease. Using pharmaceutical plants and plant extracts have been at great attention. In this research, the antibacterial activity of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Lemon verbena Leaves cultured in research farm Islamic Azad University , Azadshahr Branch were tested against nine pathogen bacteria strains. Crude extracts were obtained by using ethanol and hot sterile distilled water as the extraction solvent. Four concentrations(1000 mg/ml, 500 mg/ml, 250 mg/ml and 125 mg/ml) were used to check the antibacterial activity of this plant .The antibacterial activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts was determined by Disk diffusion and agar well diffusion methods. Results of this research indicated that ethanolic Extract despite of aqueous extract was showed considerable antibacterial effects . The most susceptible bacteria were E.feacalis ,S.epidermidis, S.aureus and B. cereus while the most resistant bacteria were gram negative bacteria for example Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Salmonella typhimorium and Shigella dysentriae. The largest zone of inhibition was against E. feacalis , S. epidermidisand S. aureus in agar well diffusion method 24,22,20 (mm) respectively while in disk diffusion methodlarsest zone of inhibition was S. epidermidis and S. aureus 15,12(mm) respectively. Yersinia entrocolitica was the most susceptible among gram negative bacteria. Generally Effect of ethanolic extract of lemon verbena leaves was more than theire aqueous extract and gram positive bacteria were more sensitive than gram negative bacteria.future studies are recommended to determine the Antibacterial effect of ethanolic extract of lemon verbena leaves on animal models.


Radiation-induced osteosarcoma, its metastasis, and cells grown in tissue culture were karyotyped. Both hypodiploid and hyperdiploid stem lines were observed. The hypodiploid line contained 45-55 chromosomes with 10-15 abnormal metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes and one subtelocentric marker. The hyperdiploid line contained 90-105 chromosomes with 20-30 abnormal metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes with two subtelocentric markers. Karyotypic analysis can be used to monitor osteosarcomas maintained in tissue culture.


Polyethylene terephthalate-polylactic acid copolymer (PET-PLA) was synthesized from bis (2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate) and L-lactic acid oligomer in the presence of manganese antimony glycoxide as a catalyst. The synthesized PET-PLA copolymer was used for controlled drug release systems with gold nanoparticles. Fluorouracil containing PET-PLA nanocapsules was prepared in the presence of gold nanoparticles by solvent evaporation method. The morphologies of the nanocapsules were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Controlled release of Fu and Fu@Au was carried out in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and 0.1 M HCl solution. The results indicated that the drug release for gold nanoparticles/fluorouracil (Au@Fu) incorporated PET-PLA nanocapsules was controlled and slow compared to Fu incorporated PET-PLA nanocapsules. This may be due to the interaction between the gold nanoparticles and fluorouracil in PET-PLA nanocapsules.


A no. of diagnostics to measure all plasma properties in the vicinity of the hollow cathode are described. The momentum balance in the plasma and the source properties of the hollow cathode are detd. The main driving term in the momentum balance is the pressure gradient of ions and electrons. The deceleration of the ions is mainly caused by ion viscosity and to some extent by friction with neutrals. At high currents the ion flux almost equals the gas flux. At high gas flows the ion flux sats. [on SciFinder (R)]


Objective: To evaluate whether diabetes and prediabetes are associated with reduced cognitive performance among older adults and whether depressive symptoms mediate the association.
 Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Einstein Aging Study, a systematically recruited community-based cohort study of diverse older adults (N=794; Mean Age (SD) =78.9 (5.3) years; 64.4% Non-Hispanic White, 28.7% Non-Hispanic Black, 5.7% Hispanic) . Participants were categorized as having diabetes if they reported a history of diabetes, were prescribed a diabetes medication, or had a fasting blood sugar of >126 mg/dL. Those not categorized as having diabetes were identified as having prediabetes if their fasting blood sugar level was 100 to125 mg/dL. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. Cognitive tests include Digit Symbol, Trails-B, Free Recall, Category Fluency, Boston Naming, and Block Design. Linear regression and mediation analyses using the product of coefficients were applied with no diabetes as the comparison group.
 Results: Compared to those without diabetes, diabetes was associated with worse performance on all cognitive tests (ps<0.05) , except Trails-B (p=0.53) , and increased depressive symptoms (p<0.01) . Prediabetes was not associated with worse cognitive performance or depressive symptoms. For diabetes, evidence of mediation via increased depressive symptoms was observed for Free Recall (p=0.044) , Category Fluency (p=0.033) , and Boston Naming (p=0.048) .
 Conclusions: Diabetes was consistently associated with worse cognitive performance and depressive symptoms among this older cohort, while prediabetes was not. Mediation results suggest that depressive symptoms may be a biobehavioral pathway linking diabetes and cognition, though the temporal sequence is unclear. Nevertheless, addressing both diabetes and depressive symptoms among older adults may protect cognitive function.

 C.J.Hoogendoorn: None. J.Qin: None. C.Wang: None. N.A.Roque: None. J.Laurenceau: None. M.Katz: None. C.A.Derby: None. R.B.Lipton: Advisory Panel; AbbVie Inc., Biohaven, Eli Lilly and Company, Lundbeck, Consultant; AbbVie Inc., Amgen Inc., Biohaven, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline plc., Grifols, S.A., Lundbeck, Merck & Co., Inc., Satsuma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Vedanta, Other Relationship; Wiley-Blackwell, Research Support; AbbVie Inc., Amgen Inc., Axsome, Charleston Labs, Eli Lilly and Company, Gammacore, National Institutes of Health, Satsuma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Veterans Administration, Stock/Shareholder; Biohaven, CtrlM Health. J.S.Gonzalez: Consultant; Virta Health Corp.

 This study was supported by grant NIA-P01AG003949 from the National Institutes of Health, the Sylvia and Leonard Marx Foundation and the Hollander Fund. This study was also partially supported by the Einstein–Mount Sinai Diabetes Research Center (P30 DK020541) and the New York Regional Center for Diabetes Translation Research (P30 DK111022) . Dr. Hoogendoorn is also supported by the Drs. David and Jane Willner Bloomgarden Family Fellowship Fund. Dr. Gonzalez is supported by grants RDK104845, RDK121298, RDK121896 and R18 DK098742 from the National Institutes of Health.


Abstract A comparison of techniques for detecting the presence of Cysticercus bovis in bovine carcasses was made by using carcass dissection and routine beef inspection guidelines. In the study, 28 calves were used after they were tested and found to be negative for the presence of anti-C. bovis serum antibodies and were inoculated orally with aliquots containing 6×104 Taenia saginata eggs. One hundred and twenty days after inoculation, the animals were slaughtered and a post mortem evaluation was done following Brazilian Federal Beef Inspection guidelines. This routine meat inspection was able to identify 71·42% of the assessed infected carcasses as being parasitized. This result implies that 28·58% of the infected carcasses would have been released as fit for human consumption since they would have been considered as free of C. bovis infection when using this method for carcass assessment. Only 3·07% of the total 2311 metacestodes present in the carcasses were identified by the conventional procedures of sanitary inspection. The assessment of different parts of the carcasses showed high infestation rates in shoulder clod (14·37%), head (11·21%), neck+chuck roll (8·05%), heart (7·75%) and top (inside) round (7·18%) which, together, were responsible for housing 48·51% of all the cysts found in the 24 beef cuts assessed. These numbers contrasted to the low incidence of cysts found in organs such as tongue (3·12%), diaphragm (1·69%) and esophagus (1·60%) which are usually described as predilection sites for the parasite.


Our aim is to develop an algebraic approach to estimate human posture in the sagittal plane using Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) providing accelerations and angular velocities. For this purpose, we address the issue of the estimation of the amplitude, frequency and phase of a biased and noisy sum of three sinusoidal waveform signals on a moving time horizon. The length of the time window being small, the estimation must be done within a fraction of the signal's period. The problem is solved via an algebraic method. The efficiency of our approach is illustrated by computer simulations.


OBJECTIVES
This study sought to investigate numerous reports emanating from Punta Arenas, Chile (population 110,000, latitude 53 degrees S), that associated acute ocular and dermatologic disease in humans and animals with excess ultraviolet-B (UV-B) exposure in the setting of the thinning of the ozone column.

METHODS
Ophthalmologic and dermatologic records in Punta Arenas were systematically reviewed to enumerate sentinel diagnoses potentially associated with UV-B exposure, ocular examinations on representative animal populations were performed, and the ambient UV-B exposure in the region during the time of maximal thinning was estimated.

RESULTS
No increase in patient visits or conditions attributable to UV-B exposure was seen for periods of known ozone depletion compared with control periods. Although ambient UV-B exposure was 1.6 to 2.3 times the habitual exposure on individual days, this excess exposure conferred only a 1% increase in annual exposure on the region.

CONCLUSION
This study does not support existing lay reports of ocular and dermatologic disease in humans and animals that had been associated with the ozone hole over southern Chile.


Responses to a self-report questionnaire of 85 Commercial drug dispensers in Uyo township of South-Eastern Nigeria were used to analyze some issues in drug abuse control in Nigeria. Among other things, the findings revealed that; (1) self medication is reported to be widespread among clients;(2) over and under dose of common drugs are frequent in managing common ailments. Furthermore, the frequency of complaints of non-effectiveness of drugs dispensed at commercial outlets is generally high, to which sellers reported adopting specific actions. Whereas the drugs are said to be obtained from reputable agents/distributors, many of the dispensers are not registered with professional bodies nor professionally trained and have received intermediate formal education. The inherent dangers in unethical conduct of professionally unregulated practice were discussed. It is suggested that the activities of commercial drug dispensers be properly monitored to check/control the occurrence of inappropriate drug uses in the population. KEY WORDS: Drug Abuse, Self Medication, Drug Dispensing, Epidemiology, Professional Ethics in Drug Dispensing and Public Safety Global Journal of Social Sciences Vol.3(1&2) 2004: 61-66


African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious, hemorrhagic and highly lethal viral disease in swine. Following the initial report of ASF in Kenya in 1921 it spread to East Asia through Western Europe and Russia (including Eastern Europe). Many efforts have been dedicated to controlling ASF but the struggle to eradicate this disease continues. Thus far, the efforts to develop an effective vaccine to control ASF have been unsuccessful. A previous inactivated ASF vaccine, developed by traditional methods, failed to protect pigs from ASF virus (ASFV) infection. Neutralizing antibodies were not effective in inducing protective immunity and it appears that cellular immunity is required. To develop an effective ASF vaccine the identification of protective antigens of ASFV has been explored and subunit vaccines that target these potential protective antigens have induced partial protection. DNA vaccines that induce cellular immunity have been effective in inducing protection against ASFV infection. ASFV live attenuated vaccines (LAVs) can be rationally designed and engineered via comparative and functional genomics. LAVs have a major safety concern despite their high protective efficacy. ASF vaccines are urgently needed to control ASF; however, many obstacles remain to be overcome to develop an effective ASF vaccine.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate speech outcomes in patients of maxillary reconstruction with free fibula composite flap.

METHODS
Speech measurements of 20 patients of maxillary reconstruction with free fibula composite flap were collected. Palatopharyngeal valve, the symmetry and movement of soft palate, hypernasality and nasal emission were examined by nasoendoscopy. At the same time the speech intelligibility was measured.

RESULTS
No palatopharyngeal valve insufficiency was found and all the soft palates had good symmetry and movement. The average speech intelligibility was 98.4%.

CONCLUSIONS
Free fibula composite flap can reconstruct the phonatory structure and support the function of soft palate, which can restorate speech function well. It is a good choice for maxillary reconstruction.


TIIVISTELMÄ TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... 1 1 SUMMARY................................................................................................. 3 2 REVIEW OF THE GLACIAL REBOUND MODELS FOR SCANDINAVIA .. 9 3 IMPROVEMENTS IN MODELLING METHODS AND IN EXTERNAL MODEL PARAMETERS........................................................................... 11 4 OBSERVATIONAL DATA ........................................................................ 13 4.1 Geological data ................................................................................ 13 4.2 Geodetic data................................................................................... 14 5 AN IMPROVED REBOUND MODEL FOR FENNO-SCANDINAVIA ........ 19 5.1 Earth rheology.................................................................................. 19 5.2 Model-parameter estimation procedure............................................ 19 5.3 Results: variants of the reference model .......................................... 20 5.4 Results: time-dependent scaling of the ice load ............................... 27 5.5 Results: spatially variable scaling of the ice load ............................. 33 5.6 Results: the revised ice sheet .......................................................... 39 5.7 Baltic Ice-Lake data: a check of model parameters.......................... 41 6 RESULTS FROM GEOLOGICAL DATA INVERSIONS ........................... 47 7 PRESENT-DAY TIDE GAUGE RECORDS: A COMPARISON OF OBSERVATIONS AND PREDICTIONS ................ 55 7.1 Summary.......................................................................................... 58 8 CRUSTAL STRESS CONSIDERATIONS ................................................ 61 8.


In this study we show that the adhesion to mucus of the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains responsible for diarrhea in calves involves a bacterium-mucin recognition phenomenon in which the bacterial pili and specific mucus receptors carried by the glycoproteins (2,000 to 400 kilodalton) play a major role. An adhesion maximum was observed at a pH of less than 6 (4.75 to 5.25). The sialic acids and galactose appeared to be at least partly responsible for the attachment of K99 pili, whereas F41 pili preferentially recognized desialylated receptors. The attachment of different strains of E. coli characterized by the presence of the three main pili, K99, F41, and FY, known to be responsible for the binding of enterotoxigenic E. coli to the intestinal epithelium of the calf, was studied using Scatchard and Hill analyses. The attachment mechanism of bacteria carrying K99 pili showed positive cooperativity. FY and F41 pili recognized independent receptor sites, the first on sialylated mucus and the second on sialidase-treated mucus. Moreover, F41 pili were found to bind the native mucus according to a negative cooperativity phenomenon. Finally, the recognition sites carried by bacterial pilins may be saturated by some animal glycoprotein glycans which are therefore adhesion inhibitors.


In the eyes of rest of the world Gabor Temes is a brilliant researcher, educator, prolific author, and inventor of many things spanning diverse areas such as network theory, circuit analysis, analog filters, switched capacitor circuits, and more famously delta-sigma data converters. But to us, above all, he is the most wonderful friend, colleague and collaborator ? the Shannon limit of collegiality. Gabor personifies the rare combination of being the smartest and the nicest person to work with. These characteristics have endeared him to his colleagues and students alike. When we joined Oregon State University some fifteen years ago, he embraced us immediately, as a colleague (Un-Ku) and as a student (Pavan), and got us involved in many of his research activities. This was instrumental in each of us getting an excellent start to our careers in academia. Gabor has offered similar opportunities over the past two decades to numerous other junior faculty members in the department and has been a big part of their success. He is a truly a great role model for mentoring.


While the behaviour of large amounts of liquid is dictated by gravity, surface forces become dominant at small scales. They have for example the remarkable ability to make droplets stick to their substrates (even if they are inclined), which is a practical issue in many cases (windshields, window panes, greenhouses, or microfluidic devices). Here we describe how this problem can be overcome with super-hydrophobic materials. These materials are often developed thanks to micro-textures, which decorate a solid surface, and we describe the way such textures modify the wettability of that solid. We conclude by showing the unusual dynamics of drops in a super-hydrophobic situation.


This basic review of genetic principles will aid pharmacists in preparing for their eventual role of translating gene-drug associations into clinical practice. Genes, which are stretches of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) contained on the 23 pairs of human chromosomes, determine the size and shape of every protein a living organism builds. Variation in pharmacogenes which encode for proteins central to drug action and toxicity serves as the basis of pharmacogenomics (PGx). Important online resources such as PharmGKB.org, cpicpgx.org, and PharmVar.org provide the clinician with curated and summarized PGx associations and clinical guidelines. As genetic testing becomes increasingly affordable and accessible, the time is now for pharmacists to embrace PGx-guided medication selection and dosing to personalize and improve the safety and efficacy of drug therapy.


Abstract:In Part XI of the Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, Philo enumerates "four circumstances" which he claims are the principal sources of pain and suffering in human life. In this paper, I focus on Philo's second circumstance in which he develops a critique of what I call the 'general laws theodicy.' This theodicy, according to which natural evils arise as a result of God's government of the universe by simple and general laws of nature, is most closely associated with Nicolas Malebranche. However, I argue that Philo's criticisms badly misfire against Malebranche's version of the theodicy. I then show how the general laws theodicy was radically reinterpreted by a succession of British philosophers—among them Berkeley, Hutcheson and Butler—and that it is against this reconceived version of the theodicy that Philo's objections are aimed.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Hypoxia promotes neovascularization, metastasis, and resistance to treatments. The activation of the transcription factor HIF-1α has been identified as the master mechanism of adaptation to hypoxia. We recently identified the sphingosine kinase 1/sphingosine 1-phosphate (SphK1/S1P) pathway as a new modulator of HIF-1α activity under hypoxia in multiple cancer cell models including prostate cancer (Ader et al, Cancer Res, 2008). S1P elicits proliferation, survival, or angiogenesis, and is believed to exert most of its actions as a ligand for a family of specific GPCRs to elicit paracrine or autocrine signaling. We have suggested that inhibiting SphK1/S1P signaling, which is upregulated under hypoxia, may normalize the microenvironment and increase sensitivity to chemotherapy, in the broader concept of "normalization of tumor vessels" as tumor oxygenation is known to enhance response to chemotherapy (Ader et al., Cancer Res, 2009). Methods: Quantification of intratumoral hypoxia and angiogenesis, and treatment efficacy (primary tumor, metatasis dissemination) using an orthotopic (o.t) xenograft model of fluorescent hormone refractory prostate cancer cells. Results: We first provide in vitro evidence that inhibition of the S1P exogenous signaling, through pharmacological inhibition of its receptors or by taking advantage of a monoclonal antibody neutralizing S1P, blocks HIF-1α accumulation and its activity in prostate cancer cells under to hypoxia. Second, using an o.t model of prostate cancer, we show that an anti-S1P antibody inhibits intratumoral hypoxia and modifies vessel architecture and improves tumor perfusion within 5 days of treatment. Third, we show for the first time that an anti-S1P strategy sensitizes to docetaxel, the 'gold standard' treatment for hormone-refractory prostate cancer. A 5-day anti-S1P antibody pretreatment markedly sensitizes to docetaxel in an o.t. PC-3/GFP model established in nude mice. The combination anti-S1P antibody together with docetaxel was not only accompanied by a smaller primary tumor volume compared to docetaxel treatment, but also significantly reduced the occurrence and number of metastases. Conclusion: These preclinical data establish the proof-of-concept that blocking the exogenous action of S1P induces vascular normalization, improves intratumoral oxygenation and sensitizes to chemotherapy in prostate cancer animal model.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4826. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4826


Prolongation of the QTc interval has been associated with proarrhythmia resulting from a potentially fatal form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia called torsades de pointes (TdP). Genetic forms of the long-QT syndrome (LQTS) associated with high arrhythmic risk have been causally related to mutations in ion channels responsible for the cardiac action potential; genetic factors associated with milder degrees of QTc prolongation and arrhythmic risk have also been described. Acquired forms of QTc prolongation and proarrhythmia, particularly related to drug therapy, are frequently related to drug effects on the same ion channels involved in genetic forms of LQTS. As is true for genetic forms of LQTS, there is a wide spectrum of potential drug effects on the QTc interval ranging from trivial to potentially lethal. Drug-induced QTc prolongation is a complicated phenomenon related not just to the properties or dose of a particular drug but also to drug-drug interactions and a variety of patient factors, including age, gender, the presence and severity of underlying heart disease, and genetic predisposition. Additionally, drug effects on other ion channels, including blockade of sodium channels (causing prolongation of the QRS interval rather than the QTc interval), are an important cause of drug-induced proarrhythmia.

The purpose of this review is to summarize the available data related to acquired forms of LQTS, with particular focus on drug-related LQTS and proarrhythmia. A brief summary is presented here of genetic LQTS because the relevant genes and proteins form the basis for an understanding of the causes of acquired LQTS, and in any given patient, the QTc is determined by genetic, substrate, and environmental factors. Emphasis is placed on practical strategies for clinicians, with the goal of minimizing the risk of dangerous proarrhythmia related to the use of both cardiac and noncardiac drugs with the potential for QTc prolongation.

Genetic …


The eurozone is in recession and will show negative growth in 2012, notes Stefano Micossi in this new CEPS Policy Brief. Hopes that fiscal consolidation could spur growth by improving household and business confidence are not materialising, because in reality, domestic demand has been hit too hard by fiscal consolidation, and investment throughout the Union remains well below pre-crisis levels.

The author calls upon the European Council to consider launching a new growth initiative, centered on mobilising vast resources at EU level for investment in worthy projects of common interest Europe-wide. The key goal is to make sure that there is light at the end of the tunnel, lest at some stage the unbearable social and political costs of adjustment lead to a breakdown of domestic political systems and disorderly default.


Rats were fed three different dietary levels of essential fatty acids (EFA), 3.0, 0.75 and 0.1 cal%, representing normal, subnormal and severely deficient dietary intakes. From the animals kept on these diets, with a protein content of 16 cal%, 3-month-old females were randomly selected to be fed diets with only 6 cal% protein but with unchanged amounts of EFA. The rats were then mated, and the effects of the diets were studied in the forebrains of their offspring. The growth and the fatty acid patterns of the ethanolamine phosphoglyceride and total phosphoglyceride fractions were studied during the first 60 days of life. Addition of protein-calorie deficiency to rats severely undernourished in EFA mitigated the biochemical signs of EFA deficiency. In EPG the developmental pattern with a decrease of 20:4 (n-6) and an increase of 22:6 (n-3) was retarded between 11 and 21 days of age in the protein-calorie deficient groups suggesting a delay in the maturation of the forebrain.


Interactions between positively charged side-chain residues and C-terminal carboxylate groups are of great importance in stabilizing secondary structures of many biologically active peptide sequences. The conformational properties of the hexapeptide sequence L-Arg-L-Val-Gly-L-Arg-L-Val-Gly with an Arg residue located at the third position from the carboxy terminus and a second Arg moiety at the amino terminus of the molecule, have been investigated in DMSO solution at pH 6.5, by means of 1D and 2D 1H NMR spectroscopy. The considerable downfield shift of the Arg4NIµH resonance, when the pH of the solution is raised from 2 to 6.5, and the magnetically non-equivalent CβH and Cδ H methylene protons of the same residue at pH 6.5 provide evidence for a non-covalent hydrogen-bonding interaction between Arg4 guanidinium and C-terminal carboxylate groups. The intense backbone–backbone NOE connectivities observed for the L-Arg4-L-Val5-Gly6 C-terminal sequence, the NOE connectivities of Arg4 methylene protons and the retained ABX system of Gly6 C-terminal residue at high temperature are evidence for some mobility restrictions around this part of the molecule, and provide additional confirmation for a particular propensity of the arginine side chain, when occupying a position near the carboxy terminus, to interact with the C-terminal carboxylate group at neutral pH. Absence of ROE connectivities between protons of the Arg1 side chain, and the fact that almost all methylene protons of the same residue appear magnetically equivalent, point out that this Arg moiety does not participate in any intramolecular interaction. Thus, differences in the behaviour of guanidinium side chains of the reported peptide sequence can be used as a general probe for the study of Arg side-chain mobility and for its ability to generate hydrogen-bonding interactions in other peptides and proteins.


BACKGROUND
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex, heterogeneous endocrinopathy. Women with PCOS often present with cardiovascular disease risk factors. Physical activity (PA) interventions reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in women with PCOS. However, sedentary behaviors have a distinct deleterious effect on cardiometabolic health. Increasing PA and reducing sedentary behaviors may be a worthwhile therapeutic target to improve cardiovascular health in this population. This study investigated the feasibility of 2 PA interventions to decrease cardiovascular disease risk in women with PCOS.

METHODS
This was a feasibility randomized controlled trial of 2 PA interventions in 36 women with PCOS. Participants were randomized to a supervised exercise intervention (n = 12), a lifestyle physical activity group intervention aimed at reducing sedentary behaviors (n = 12), or a control group (n = 12), for 12 weeks. Primary outcomes included the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions and procedures.

RESULTS
Recruitment rate was 56%. Adherence rate was 53% and 100% to the exercise intervention and lifestyle PA intervention, respectively. Secondary outcome data indicate a reduction in oxidized low-density lipoprotein concentrations in the exercise group, and weight loss in both intervention groups.

CONCLUSIONS
The procedures for recruitment, allocation, and outcome measurements were acceptable. However, before progression to a full-scale trial, adherence to the exercise program should be addressed.


The new economy, also called e-economy, is the most frequently used term in economic and technical literature, discussions of scientists, businessmen and politicians beside globalization and information technology society. Three planes of understanding of the new economy can be distinguished: as a system of new principles explaining how economic subjects function on the market; as activities of economic subjects in the strongly changed conditions. Owing to the dynamic development of technical progress, especially in information technology economic subjects change completely strategy of their activities many times. Information and knowledge as main economic categories, which are the basis of the contemporary business, are the foundation of activity another term is assigned to this understanding, namely knowledge-based-economy. The third plane, new economy treated as a subject, namely determining activities of an enterprise in the IT sector. Therefore, the new economy, also called cyber-economy, constitutes a new paradigm of business. On this virtual market E-business is a new form of an exchange of resources by means of information technology systems and internet technologies, conducted on-line through electronic connections and an information n exchange by use of electronic multimedia such as Internet, cable and satellite television, telephony, electronic cards, Intra and Extranet at the national and international level.


The operators of b → sγ, b → sl+l− are usually regarded as being sufficient to describe b → sγγ, b → sl+l−γ with the statement that contributions from diagrams without an effective vertex b → sγ to processes b → sγγ and b → sl+l−γ are negligible. In this work we present a comprehensive analysis of the transition b → sγγ and find that 1) Effects due to off-shell quarks in vertex b → sγ on b → sγγ are large; 2) Contributions from diagrams without an effective vertex b → sγ to b → sγγ are not negligible compared with others; 3) These effects cancel each other out exactly, so the operators of b → sγ can safely be used to describe b → sγγ.


PURPOSE
Low-dose aspirin is commonly used for preventing cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes, but its association with cancer remains controversial. This study used a nationwide population-based reimbursement database to investigate the relationship between low-dose aspirin use and breast cancer incidence in women with diabetes.

METHODS
This retrospective cohort study was conducted using data retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2011. Women diagnosed as having diabetes with low-dose aspirin use (75-165 mg daily) were identified as the study population, whereas those without low-dose aspirin use were selected as the comparison group.

RESULTS
We analyzed 148,739 patients with diabetes. Their mean age (standard deviation) was 63.3 (12.8) years. A total of 27,378 patients were taking aspirin. Overall, the use of aspirin in patients with diabetes reduced the risk of breast cancer by 18% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-0.94) after adjustment for potential confounders, namely age and comorbidities. Specifically, a cumulative dose of aspirin exceeding 88,900 mg was observed to reduce the risk of breast cancer by 47% (HR, 0.53, 95% CI, 0.43-0.67); however, low (<8,600 mg) and medium (8,600-88,900 mg) cumulative doses of aspirin did not reduce the risk of breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that a cumulative aspirin dosage of more than 88,900 mg daily was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in women with diabetes. However, additional studies are necessary to confirm these findings.


The invention provides a variable diffuser for a compressor, having further increased efficiency. In the variable diffuser (30), a diffuser passage (33) for recovering static pressure from dynamic pressure by reducing the speed of an air current discharged from the outer peripheral end of an impeller rotating in a housing is formed between a hub-side wall surface (32a) and a shroud-side wall surface (31a), and diffuser vanes are installed in the diffuser passage (33). Fixed vanes (35) and movable vanes (34) serving as the diffuser vanes are alternately circumferentially fixed to a fixed disk (31) and a movable disk (32) that form the hub-side wall surface (32a) and the shroud-side wall surface (31a). The variable diffuser also has a drive device (40) for rotating the movable disk (32) coaxially with the impeller.


OBJECTIVES
Clinical and electrocardiographic and echocardiographic data were collected in 50 black Africans with hypertension to study modifications in left ventricular geometry.

METHODS
Thirty men and 20 women with hypertension (mean age 40.9 +/- 10.2 years) who had recently immigrated from Africa were included in the study. Parameters recorded were: systolic and diastolic pressures, body mass index (BMI = weight/height2); ECG; echocardiography (36 patients): end diastolic septal and posterior wall thickness, left ventricle diameter, left ventricle mass (LVM) and relative wall thickness.

RESULTS
Systolic and diastolic pressures and BMI were 169 +/- 24 mmHg, 105 +/- 14 mmHg and 26.7 +/- 3.9 kg/m2). LVM was 129 +/- 41 g/m2 (Normal < 134 g/m2) in men and 113 +/- 35 g/m2 (Normal = 110 g/m2) in women. Concentric remodeling was found in 8 patients (LVM = normal, relative wall thickness > or = 0.45), concentric left ventricle hypertrophy in 10 (LVM > normal, relative wall thickness > or = 0.45), excentric left ventricular hypertrophy in 6 (LVM > normal, relative wall thickness < 0.45), asymmetric septal hypertrophy in 4 and normal echocardiogram in 8. There was a negative correlation between age and end diastolic left ventricle diameter (r = -0.34, p < 0.05) and age and end systolic ventricle diameter (r = -0.74, p < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between body surface and septal thickness (r = 0.34, p < 0.05), posterior wall thickness (r = 0.56, relative wall p < 0.001), and relative wall thickness (r = 0.45, p = 0.05).

CONCLUSION
This population of young subjects with hypertension showed a high prevalence of modifications in left ventricular geometry with predominant concentric modeling with (8/36) and without (10/36) left ventricle hypertrophy.


Objectives: To study the current practice patterns and opinions in the treatment of corneal bacterial ulcers among Saudi ophthalmologists. Methods: A web-based online survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia to randomly selected ophthalmologists who were registered with Saudi commission for health specialties during the study period between August 2018 to December 2018 using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Results: Of the respondents, general ophthalmologists were 32 (58.2%) and cornea specialists were 23 (41.8%). The mean years of practice was 6.6±6.1 [mean±SD]. Among the respondents 53 (96.4%) treated corneal ulcer cases, most of them 51 (92.7%) agreed there is a relation between the use of contact lenses and ocular ulcers. Fifty respondents indicated that they prescribed antibiotics for the treatment of corneal ulcer. About 12 (52.2%) of the cornea specialist and 22 (68.8%) of general ophthalmologists prefer to use culture of ulcer (Scrapping and gram staining of ulcer) diagnostic tests prior to treatment of corneal ulcers. Fortified antibiotic used was given higher advantage and the management of ocular ulcers differed according to the severity of each case. Conclusion: In conclusion, results found that the management of corneal ulcers varies from specialist to general ophthalmologist. All the respondents agreed that they prescribed two broad spectrum antibiotics to treat an advanced corneal ulcer. Additionally, most of the respondents believed that fourth generation fluoroquinolones were less effective in comparison to fortified, broad-spectrum antibiotics. Key words: Corneal bacterial ulcers, Antibiotics, Fluoroquinolones, Broad spectrum antibiotics, Fortified antibiotics.


Hepatitis C is a rapidly growing infectious disease in Australia. People with hepatitis C face challenges and need help managing the psychosocial impact of the disease and treatment on their daily lives. A qualitative study design was used to explore social workers' understanding of the psychosocial consequences of the hepatitis C treatment experience and to clarify the roles and suggested practices for social workers dealing with this population. The study findings contribute to the knowledge base about how social workers, on multidisciplinary teams, contribute to meeting the psychosocial needs of people who receive treatment for hepatitis C.


Abstract Background Rifampin is generally advised in the treatment of acute staphylococcal periprosthetic joint infections (PJI). However, if, when, and how to use rifampin remains a matter of debate. We evaluated the outcome of patients treated with and without rifampin, and analyzed the influence of timing, dose and co-antibiotic. Methods Acute staphylococcal PJIs treated with surgical debridement between 1999 and 2017, and a minimal follow-up of 1 year were evaluated. Treatment failure was defined as the need for any further surgical procedure related to infection, PJI-related death or the need for suppressive antimicrobial treatment. Results A total of 669 patients were analyzed. Treatment failure was 32.2% (131/407) in patients treated with rifampin and 54.2% (142/262) in whom rifampin was withheld (P < .001). The most prominent effect of rifampin was observed in knees (treatment failure 28.6% versus 63.9%, respectively, P < .001). The use of rifampin was an independent predictor of treatment success in the multi-variate analysis (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.20 – 0.45). In the rifampin group, the use of a co-antibiotic other than a fluoroquinolone or clindamycin (OR 10.1, 95% CI 5.65 – 18.2) and the start of rifampin within 5 days after surgical debridement (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.08 – 3.65) were predictors of treatment failure. The dosing of rifampin had no effect on outcome. Conclusions Our data supports the use of rifampin in acute staphylococcal PJIs treated with surgical debridement, particularly in knees. Immediate start of rifampin after surgical debridement should probably be discouraged, but requires further investigation.


Infection with Baylisascaris procyonis roundworms is rare but often fatal and typically affects children. We attempted to determine parameters of viability and methods of inactivating the eggs of these roundworms. Loss of viability resulted when eggs were heated to 62°C or desiccated for 7 months but not when frozen at –15°C for 6 months.


The thoracic paravertebral sympathetic chain postganglionic neurons (tSPNs) represent the predominant sympathetic control of vascular function in the trunk and upper extremities. tSPNs cluster to form ganglia linked by an interganglionic nerve and receive multisegmental convergent and divergent synaptic input from cholinergic sympathetic preganglionic neurons of the spinal cord (Blackman and Purves, 1969; Lichtman et al., 1980 ). Studies in the past have focused on cervical and lumbar chain ganglia in multiple species, but few have examined the thoracic chain ganglia, whose location and diminutive size make them less conducive to experimentation. Seminal studies on the integrative properties of preganglionic axonal projections onto tSPNs were performed in guinea pig (Blackman and Purves, 1969; Lichtman et al., 1980 ), but as mice have become the accepted mammalian genetic model organism, there is need to reproduce and expand on these studies in this smaller model. We describe an ex vivo approach that enables electrophysiological, calcium imaging, and optogenetic assessment of convergence, divergence, and studies on pre- to postganglionic synaptic transmission, as well as whole-cell recordings from individual tSPNs. Preganglionic axonal connections from intact ventral roots and interganglionic nerves across multiple segments can be stimulated to evoke compound action potential responses in individual thoracic ganglia as recorded with suction electrodes. Chemical block of synaptic transmission differentiates spiking of preganglionic axons from synaptically-recruited tSPNs. Further dissection, including removal of the sympathetic chain, enables whole-cell patch clamp recordings from individual tSPNs for characterization of cellular and synaptic properties.


Processes associated with permafrost degradation in the arctic coastal zone are highly dynamic and account for significant amounts of organic carbon released to the Arctic Ocean. Thermo-erosion, as a mechanism of rapid permafrost thaw, reshapes arctic landscapes and has a clear impact on the mobilization and distribution of carbon and nitrogen in permafrost terrains. However, few studies report on the diversity of thermo-erosional landforms or assess the factors involved in their development.

This study highlights the diversity of thermo-erosional drainage pathways -- including gullies and valleys -- and specific thermokarst features such as retrogressive thaw slumps and active layer detachments, and determines the prevailing factors accounting for their distribution and driving their expansion over the last 60 years along the Yukon coast.
With the software OrthoEngine from PCI Geomatica we used a large set of high resolution satellite images from 2011 (GeoEye-1 and WorldView-2) for geocoding aerial photographs from the 1950s. The aerial photographs come from the National Air Photo Library, Canada. This dataset allowed us to manually digitize and classify thermo-erosional gullies, valleys, retrogressive thaw slumps and active layer detachments for the 1950s and 2011 using ArcGIS 10.3.
We gathered additional observations during fieldwork in July and August 2015 on gully and valley morphologies, and on the current development stage of retrogressive thaw slumps. Based on remote sensing, we calculated and compared the surface area occupied by slumps in 1950s and in 2011 as well as the types, number and lengths of thermo-erosional drainage pathways over the same period. We coupled these information with additional datasets related to climate, geology and topography, and performed multivariate statistical analyses using the software R.
Over this time span, we observed an important spatial heterogeneity in the landform dynamics among the different geological units. The number and the surface area of retrogressive thaw slumps increased on average. We did not detect a specific increase in the length of thermo-erosional drainage pathways over the whole area, however, in some specific geological units they decreased in length due to important coastal erosion.

This dataset will be complemented by soil organic carbon data collected across several thermo-erosional landforms during fieldwork conducted in 2015 in order to understand the processes of carbon mobilization within specific thermo-erosional landforms.


Cyclicality is a well-known and accepted fact of life in market-driven economies. Less well known or understood, however, is the phenomenon of amplification as one looks "upstream" in the industrial supply chain. We examine the amplification phenomenon and its implications through the lens of one upstream industry that is notorious for the intensity of the business cycles it faces: the machine tool industry. Amplification of demand volatility in capital equipment supply chains, e.g., machine tools, is particularly large relative to that seen in distribution and component parts supply chains. We present a system dynamics simulation model to capture demand volatility amplification in capital supply chains. We explore the lead-time, inventory, production, productivity, and staffing implications of these dynamic forces. Several results stand out. First, volatility hurts productivity and lowers average worker experience. Second, even though machine tool builders can do little to reduce the volatility in their order streams through choice of forecast rule, a smoother forecasting policy will lead companies to retain more of their skilled work force. This retention of skilled employees is often cited as one of the advantages that European and Japanese companies have had relative to their U.S. competitors. Our results suggest some insights for supply chain design and management: downstream customers can do a great deal to reduce the volatility for upstream suppliers through their choice of order forecast rule. In particular, companies that use smoother forecasting policies tend to impose less of their own volatility upon their supply base and may consequently enjoy system-wide cost reduction.


Kinetics and kinematics of an oblique impact are different when compared with frontal collisions. The objective of this research is to simulate various oblique crash scenarios that pregnant drivers may experience by using the computational pregnant occupant model, Expecting and investigate potential injuries that pregnant drivers may suffer. Half-sine acceleration pulses representing crash speeds, 15 to 45 kph are used in the simulations. Oblique impact simulations are conducted both from the nearside and the farside (offside) of the vehicle. The placental abruption and hence foetus mortality risks during oblique crashes are compared with the full-frontal impact cases.


Canopy-forming seaweed are ecosystem engineers and play a central role in structuring entire communities through the amelioration of biotic and abiotic conditions and the provision of habitat. Their effects are particularly important in high-stress environments such as the intertidal zone where they provide the foundation for entire communities that would otherwise not occur there. Gastropods are among the most common group of invertebrates on intertidal rocky shores. Many species colonize seaweed canopies, or occur on the rock beneath the canopies, which reduce abiotic stress from strong wave action, high temperature, low humidity and provide a refuge from predation. While the importance of canopy-forming seaweeds as ecosystem engineers is recognised, the influence of morphological variation within intertidal seaweed species in traits such as thallus length, number and shape of structural elements on their engineering capacity and gastropod communities is not well understood.
Hormosira banksii (Turner) Descaisne (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) is one of the most abundant canopy-forming species on intertidal rocky shores in southern Australasia. As with many other intertidal seaweeds, H. banksii shows a large degree of morphological variation and several morphologies are recognized across coastal and estuarine environments. While this morphological variation is likely to reflect an adaptation to differences in the tidal regime and wave action at sites, whether morphology differentially influences engineering of abiotic factors and associated gastropod communities is not well understood.
This thesis examines variation in the structure of gastropod communities associated with distinct H. banksii morphologies and experimentally examines the evidence for a link between H. banksii morphology, amelioration of abiotic stress and gastropod abundance.
Chapter 2 is a large-scale descriptive survey of morphological variation in H. banksii and associated gastropod communities among multiple sites occurring in different habitats (coasts and estuaries), regions (east and north) and times (February-March and October-November), in Tasmania. Three seaweed morphs were identified on the north coast (small individuals), east coast (intermediate sized individuals) and in estuaries (large individuals). Each Hormosira banksii morph supported distinct gastropod communities with a small overlap in species and two dominant species were found in the different habitats. A slight correlation occurred between H. banksii morphology and gastropod abundance, and thallus length, number and length of vesicles were the best predictors of the observed pattern.
Chapter 3 investigates variation of shell morphology of the two commonest gastropod species found within the canopies of H. banksii and the link between gastropod shell size and seaweed morphology. Large and small-scale differences occurred in shell morphology for both Lunella undulata (Lightfoot, 1786) and Chlorodiloma odontis (W. Wood, 1828). A different correlation occurred between the morphology of H. banksii and the shell morphology of gastropods, suggesting a species-specific influence of seaweed morphological traits, specifically thallus length and vesicle size, on the observed patterns.
Chapter 4 used two field experiments to explore the extent to which canopy cover and morphological variation of H. banksii influences engineering of key abiotic factors (temperature and irradiance) and colonisation by gastropod species. In the first experiment, canopy cover was manipulated to three levels (full [unmanipulated], half and quarter cover) and temperature, irradiance and gastropod abundance monitored. Despite any significative effect of canopy density on temperature and light levels, the full canopies supported the highest abundance of gastropods, with a species-specific colonization of the different sized canopies. In the second manipulative experiment, large (east coast) and small (north coast) morphs were transplanted to a single site and temperature, irradiance and gastropod abundance monitored for three months. The small morph of H. banksii lowered the temperature and irradiance under the canopies and supported the highest abundance of gastropods. Overall, there were weak correlations between temperature and light levels and gastropod abundance.
Chapter 5 used lab experiments to examine the habitat choice of the gastropod Lunella undulata and Chlorodiloma odontis and H. banksii for different morphologies (habitat quality) and biomasses (habitat quantity) at different temperatures. There was strong variation in species behaviour, highlighting the importance of H. banksii morphology and cover in buffering temperature and providing different microhabitats to intertidal gastropods.
Overall, this thesis has confirmed the importance of H. banksii as ecosystem engineer in the intertidal zone, supporting gastropod communities that differ between seaweed morphologies. However, the experimental tests of gastropod colonisation in the field and habitat choice in the lab suggest the presence of small-scale and species-specific effects of H. banksii morphology and cover on gastropod abundance, highlighting the importance of H. banksii morphological traits in determining the bioengineer potential of this species across different habitat with different environmental conditions.


Microbial resistance to antibiotics has become a global threat that interferes with the interaction among humans, the environment, and microbes. Our study sought to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria in light of the growing interest in using antibiotics in the poultry sector. We collected 24 poultry liter samples from 04 different upazilas of Khulna district (Batiaghata, Dumuria, Paikgachha and Koyra). Initially, 09 bacterial isolates were selected and among them, 77.78% bacteria were found gram positive. Subsequently, to characterize these bacteria, a toal of 10 biochemical tests (methyl red test, MacConkey agar test, indole test, catalase test, triple sugar iron test, mannitol salt agar test, oxidase test, Voges-Proskauer test, citrate test and nitrate test) were carried out in this experiment. Moreover, our study also isolated and amplified bacterial DNA for Sanger sequencing and finally disclosed 09 different antibiotic resistant bacterial species, namely Priestia aryabhattai, Bacillus cereus, Priestia megaterium, Lysinibacillus macrolides, Rossellomorea aquimaris, Mammaliicoccus sciuri, Bacillus wiedmannii, Escherichia coli and Citrobacter freundii. Further, disk diffusion assays were performed following CLSI guidelines and it unveiled the susceptibility and resistant properties of isolates against commonly used 08 antibiotics (penicillin 10U, tetracycline 20µg, nitrofuran 300µg, clindamycin 2µg, azithromycin 15µg, quinolones 5µg, tetracycline 30µg and penicillin 30µg) in poultry farms. All of the bacterial isolates were found resistant to at least one of the antibiotics except C. freundii (isolate 9). Most of the isolates (66.67%) were resistant to nitrofuran, whereas all of them were susceptible to penicillin. Lastly, this study also made an effort to understand the evolutionary relationships of the identified species through a phylogenetic tree. Thus, the findings of this study will help farmers and common people to better understand the risk of developing antibiotic-resistant bacteria as a result of excessive antibiotic usage.