Endurance exercise has been shown to be a positive regulator of skeletal muscle metabolic function. Changes in mitochondrial dynamics (fusion and fission) have been shown to influence mitochondrial oxidative capacity. We therefore tested whether genetic disruption of mitofusins (Mfns) affected exercise performance in adult skeletal muscle. We generated adult-inducible skeletal muscle-specific Mfn1 (iMS-Mfn1KO), Mfn2 (iMS-Mfn2KO), and Mfn1/2 (iMS-MfnDKO) knockout mice. We assessed exercise capacity by performing a treadmill time to exhaustion stress test before deletion and up to 8 wk after deletion. Analysis of either the iMS-Mfn1KO or the iMS-Mfn2KO did not reveal an effect on exercise capacity. However, analysis of iMS-MfnDKO animals revealed a progressive reduction in exercise performance. We measured individual electron transport chain (ETC) complex activity and observed a reduction in ETC activity in both the subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar mitochondrial fractions specifically for NADH dehydrogenase (complex I) and cytochrome- c oxidase (complex IV), which was associated with a decrease in ETC subunit expression for these complexes. We also tested whether voluntary exercise training would prevent the decrease in exercise capacity observed in iMS-MfnDKO animals ( n = 10/group). However, after 8 wk of training we did not observe any improvement in exercise capacity or ETC subunit parameters in iMS-MfnDKO animals. These data suggest that the decrease in exercise capacity observed in the iMS-MfnDKO animals is in part the result of impaired ETC subunit expression and ETC complex activity. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that mitochondrial fusion in adult skeletal muscle is important for exercise performance. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to utilize an adult-inducible skeletal muscle-specific knockout model for Mitofusin (Mfn)1 and Mfn2 to assess exercise capacity. Our findings reveal a progressive decrease in exercise performance with Mfn1 and Mfn2 deletion. The decrease in exercise capacity was accompanied by impaired oxidative phosphorylation specifically for complex I and complex IV. Furthermore, voluntary exercise training was unable to rescue the impairment, suggesting that normal fusion is essential for exercise-induced mitochondrial adaptations.


Ships play the major role in bulk transportation and they need their special energy system. This paper proposes a stochastic programing method for optimal sizing of a hybrid ship power system with energy storage system (ESS), photovoltaic power (PV) and diesel generator. To account for uncertainties, in this study a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer non-linear programing is used to model the optimal design problem of hybrid system for ships. The uncertainty of the hourly global solar irradiation and its effect on the output power of the PV system is taken into account. The probability density function of the global solar radiation follows a normal distribution. The Monte Carlo sampling approach is used to generate the scenarios with a specified probability and a proper scenario reduction method is used to decrease the computational burden of problem. Three cases are studied and the results are presented and compared.


This descriptive study aimed at finding the impact of Tell Me More (TMM), an online language-learning program, on English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduate learners' achievement in a University in Thailand. The study also looked at whether the time of use of TMM had an effect on learners' achievement. Data was collected from the scores of students at four proficiency levels who did the placement, progress and achievement tests in the TMM program for the 2015 academic year. The analysis of the data indicated an improvement in English language achievement for the beginner and advanced proficiency levels after the use of the TMM program. However, TMM did not have any effect on students of intermediate+ and intermediate proficiency levels. The ANOVA and pairwise comparison analysis revealed a significant difference between the proficiency levels. The analysis of the time on task was striking. It raises concerns about the use of time as the sole indicator for assessment. The findings suggest that learning goals and assessment have the capacity to influence the use of computer-assisted language learning technologies. The study therefore will guide instructors on how to design curriculums for autonomous online learning and improve ways of assessment.


The quadrupole‐coupling and the chemical‐shift tensors of 51V were measured in a single crystal of V2O5 at room temperature. The quadrupole‐coupling constant is 805(6) kc/sec and the anisotropy factor η is 0.04(1). The chemical‐shift tensor, relative to a solution of Na3VO4, has principal values of −1.8(4)×10−4, +6.5(3)×10−4, and −3.0(3)×10−4. Attempts to calculate the electric‐field‐gradient tensor at the vanadium nucleus, using a point‐charge model, led to results that did not agree with experiment.


This paper asks how we might theorise the politics of empathy in a context in which visions of social justice premised on empathetic engagement need to be situated within prevailing neoliberal frameworks. Through reading the ambivalent grammar of President Obama's emotional rhetoric, I examine how it resonates in different ways both with feminist and antiracist debates about empathy and social justice and with the neoliberal discourse of the 'empathy economy' expressed within popular business literatures. I argue that, in framing empathy as a competency to be developed by individuals alongside imperatives to become more risk-taking and self-enterprising, Obama's rhetoric reveals its centrist neoliberal underpinnings and risks (re)producing social and geopolitical exclusions and hierarchies. Yet, I suggest that seeing the phenomenon of 'Obama-mania' as produced not only within discourses of neoliberal governmentality but also through more radical intersections of empathy, hope, and imagination illustrates how empathy might be conceptualised as an affective portal to different spaces and times of social justice.


The article deals with the volatility of intersectoral flows in Ukrainian economy during 2000–2017. For this purpose, the authors construct a dynamic matrix series of direct cost coefficients in comparable detail (19 economic activities (EAs)); calculate statistical characteristics of 361 dynamics (19x19) and coefficients of direct expenses of Ukraine's intersectoral balance; and analyze the dynamics of cost indicators of Ukraine's economy (the ratio of GDP to total output, the Frobenius – Perron numbers) and those of economic activities (the Brauer – Perron numbers). Construction of the historical series of the matrix of direct costs in comparable detail is achieved by aggregating the "input - output" tables. Volatility is assessed using indicators of variation, relative variation, sample standard deviation, standard deviation per mean, historical volatility, and standard trend error (regression), i.e. trend volatility. Volatility of intersectoral flows in Ukraine is significant. The maximum variation for the coefficients of direct costs for EA "Information ..." for all years of observation was 0.3144, for EA "Water Supply" - 0.3004, and for EA "Art" - 0.2673. Derivative aggregates (Brauer-Solow numbers, relative EA cost) are also volatile. According to estimates of the standard deviation, the agrosector is the most stable, the most unstable - public administration. Economy Ukraine has a significant margin of productivity. A sufficient Brauer-Solow condition for the productivity of the direct cost matrix is guaranteed to be satisfied for all years of observation. Out of 361 coefficients of direct costs, time trends are recorded for 166. Among them, 91 have an upward trend, 65 - a downward trend. To fix the presence of the trend, the authors use the probability of deviation of the hypothesis about the significance of the linear dependence of the coefficients of direct costs on time. The high cost intensity of the economy is a general economic problem of Ukraine. The ratio of GDP to total output in Ukraine is about 40%, while in developed countries, this figure is close to 60%. Reducing costs is a significant resource for economic growth in Ukraine.


The fact that platelets play a key role in host defense against infection has been demonstrated by the following observations(1): (a) platelets rapidly respond to sites of endovascular trauma and chemotactic stimuli associated with microbial colonization, and they are the earliest and predominant cells at sites of microbial colonization of vascular endothelium; (b) platelets have surface receptors and cytoplasmic granules comparable in structure and function to those of neutrophils, monocytes, or macrophages; (c) platelets adhere directly to, and may internalize, microbial pathogens, thereby enhancing their clearance from the bloodstream and limiting their potential for hematogenous dissemination; (d) bacterial, fungal, and protozoal pathogens are damaged or killed by activated platelets in vitro; (e) platelets are capable of initiating or amplifying complement fixation in the presence of microorganisms; (f) platelets generate oxygen metabolites which likely contribute to their antimicrobial activity; (g) platelets and leukocytes interact synergistically to exert enhanced antimicrobial functions in vitro; (h) thrombocytopenia increases susceptibility to and severity of certain infections. Importantly, rabbit and human platelets are now known to contain and release microbicidal proteins (termed platelet microbicidal proteins [PMPs] or thrombin-induced PMPs [tPMPs]) when stimulated with microorganisms or platelet agonists associated with infection in vitro. It is hypothesized that these microbicidal peptides accumulate locally at sites of endovascular damage or infection. Recent investigations have confirmed that tPMP-susceptible pathogens are less capable of proliferation or hematogenous dissemination in vivo as compared with their isogenic counterpart strains that are resistant to PMPs. Collectively, the above observations strongly suggest that platelets play key and multi-faceted roles in antimicrobial host defense which appear to be significantly mediated by PMPs and tPMPs. Copyright 1999 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.


The Semantic Web works on the existing Web which presents the meaning of information as well-defined vocabularies understood by the people. Semantic Search, at the same time, works on improving the accuracy if a search by understanding the intent of the search and providing contextually relevant results. This paper describes a semantic approach toward web search through a PHP application. The goal was to parse through a user's browsing history and return semantically relevant web pages for the search query provided.


Duct leakage is a major source of energy loss in residential buildings. Most duct leakage occurs at the connections to registers, plenums, or branches in the duct system. At each of these connections, a method of sealing the duct system is required. Typical sealing methods include tapes or mastics applied around the joints in the system. Field examinations of duct systems have shown that taped seals tend to fail over extended periods of time. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has been testing sealant durability for several years using accelerated test methods and found that typical duct tape (i.e., cloth-backed tapes with natural rubber adhesives) fails more rapidly than other duct sealants. This report summarizes the results of duct sealant durability testing over two years for four UL 181B-FX listed duct tapes (two cloth tapes, a foil tape and an Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) tape). One of the cloth tapes was specifically developed in collaboration with a tape manufacturer to perform better in our durability testing. The tests involved the aging of common ''core-to-collar joints'' of flexible duct to sheet metal collars. Periodic air leakage tests and visual inspection were used to document changes in sealant performance. After two years ofmore » testing, the flex-to-collar connections showed little change in air leakage, but substantial visual degradation from some products. A surprising experimental result was failure of most of the clamps used to mechanically fasten the connections. This indicates that the durability of clamps also need to be addressed ensure longevity of the duct connection. An accelerated test method developed during this study has been used as the basis for an ASTM standard (E2342-03).« less


Mineral cycling in the calcareous foraminifera Rosaa Va specific activity 160 i =S specific activity 95 i a2p specific activity 2.03 mCi/g ). Although 14C was a good indicator of growth during the first 3 weeks, its usefulness declined as the cultures aged. Some "Ca and O'Sr was adsorbed to dead tests. Both foraminifera were decalcified by treatment with 0.01% Na2EDTA in seawater at pH 8.1. Recalcification and growth took place when individuals were returned to control media. Ten to 0.1 PM 2-acetylamino-1,3,4-thiadiazole-5sulfonamide (Diamox) inhibited Ca but not Sr incorporation into the test. Calcium and strontium were tightly bound to foraminiferan shells and under conditions of alkaline pH and low hydrostatic pressure these did not exchange with environmental ions.


Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is the most common idiopathic inflammatory myopathy in children. Its outcome depends on the precocity of the diagnosis and of the treatment, but predictive parameters for guiding the correct therapeutic and prognostic approaches to JDM are still lacking. We analysed the one-year-old outcomes of 20 JDM patients treated with methylprednisolone boluses, methotrexate, and cyclophosphamide, through a longitudinal retrospective study. The outcome variables included: the Childhood Myositis Assessment Score (CMAS); Manual Muscle Testing (MMT); the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ); the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ: physical score CHQ PhS and psycho-social score CHQ PsS), patient and parent Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), as well as laboratory data: ESR, LDH, CK, and ALT. Within all JDM patient groups, we discovered significant improvement in all disease activity parameters CMAS (p<0.001) and MMT (p<0.001), followed by a significant decrease in CHAQ (p<0.001), as well as parent VAS (p<0.001) and physician VAS (p<0.001). With regard to laboratory parameters, only CK (p=0.001) and LDH (p=0.013) levels were found to be significantly decreased, while there were no significant changes in ESR and ALT. The results of our study support the findings that the aggressive treatment of JDM patients improves their short-term outlook.


The antioxidant activity, nitrite scavenging effect, and angiotensine I-converting enzyme inhibiting activity of solvent extracts of soybean isoflavone were investigated. Also anticarcinogenic activities of them were examined by MTT assay using human cancer cell line. Isoflavone aglycones showed relatively high antioxidant activity in order of glycitein, genistein, and daidzein. Methanol extract of soybean actively scavenged free radicals and was shown excellent nitrite scavenging effect. Glycitein and methanol extract of soybean inhibited the growth of human cancer cell such as stomach carcinoma (SNU-1) and colon carcinoma (SNU-C4) effectively. Genistein, daidzein and methanol extracts of soybean inhibited the growth of cancer cell such as stomach carcinoma (SNU-1), but had weak activities to colon carcinoma (SNU-C4). To applicate the soybean isoflavone as an enhancer for food quality and processibility, the stabilities on heat and pH of isolated isoflavone, isoflavone in soybean flour and isoflavone concentrate of soybean were investigated. Stability of isoflavone concentrate of soybean was decreased in pH extreme (below 3, above 8) during sterilization, but isoflavone in soybean flour showed higher stability in all pH range. All kinds of isoflavone tested in this study were very stable during the heat treatment.


Across ages and cultures, music has been associated with sexual allure, gender inversion and suspect sexuality. Music has been theorised as both a putative agent of moral corruption and an expressive mechanism of gender and sexual signification, capable of arousing and channelling sexual urges and desires. This research examines musically facilitated expressions of queerness and queer identity, asking how and why music is used by queer musicians and musical performers to express non-normative gender and sexual identities. A queer theoretical approach to gender and sexuality, coupled with interdisciplinary theories concerning music as an identificatory practice, provides the theoretical landscape for this study.

An investigation into queer musical episodes such as this necessitates an exploration of the broader cultural milieu in which queer musical work occurs. It also raises questions surrounding the corpus of queer musical practice—that is, do these practices constitute the creation of a new musical genre or a collection of genres that can be understood as queer music? The preceding questions inform an account of the histories, styles, sensibilities, and gender and sexual politics of camp, drag and genderfuck, queer punk and queercore, as well as queer feminist cultures, positioning these within musical praxis. Queer theory, music and identity theories as well as contemporary discussions relating to queer cultural histories are then applied to case studies of queer-identified music performers from Brisbane, Australia. A grounded theoretical analysis of the data gathered in these case studies provides the necessary material to argue that musical performance provides a creative context for the expression of queer identities and the empowerment of queer agency, as well as oppositional responses to and criticism of heterosexual hegemony, and the homogenisation and assimilation of mainstream gay culture. Resulting from this exploration of queer musical cultures, localised data gathering and analysis, this research also supposes a set of ideologies and sensibilities that can be considered indicative and potentially determinant of queer musical practice generally.

Recognising that queer theory offers a useful theoretical discourse for understanding the complexities and flexibility of gender and sexual identities—particularly those that resist the binary logics of heteronormativity—this project foregrounds a question that is relatively unanswered in musicological work. It asks: how can musicology make use of queer theory in order to produce queer readings and new, anti-oppressive knowledge regarding musical performance, composition and participation? To answer this, it investigates the history of resistance towards embodied studies of music; the disjuncture between competing discourses of traditional and 'new' musicology; and recent developments in the pursuit of queer visibility within music studies. Building upon these recent developments, this work concludes that the integration of queer theoretical perspectives and queer aesthetic sensibilities within musicological discourse allows for a serious reconsideration of musical meaning and signification. In the development of a queer musicology, a committed awareness of queer theory, histories, styles and sensibilities, together with an embodied scholarly approach to music, is paramount. It is through this discursive nexus that musicology will be able to engage more fully with the troubling, performative and contingent qualities of gender, sexuality and desire.


This work seeks to reveal in an accessible fashion how a revolution that owes as much to laptops as lab coats is transforming medical care. The author, Michael L. Millenson, a three-times Pulitzer Prize nominee as a reporter for the "Chicago Tribune", combines the experiences of real people and evidence from the scientific literature to tell the story of the information explosion and the application of quality-measurement techniques to medicine. Balancing criticism and praise, he illustrates serious flaws and errors in contemporary American medical practice, and shows ways in which care can be improved and many thousands of lives saved. The current debate over health care generally focuses on finance: how do we contain the cost of care, and how do we ensure that all citizens can afford access to it? The most important issue - the quality of treatment - is too often ignored. Millenson shows that while American medicine may be the most sophisticated in the world, treatment is alarmingly inconsistent. Medicare data, for example, show that in 1996 an elderly man or woman was four times as likely to undergo surgery for back pain living in Fort Meyers, Florida, as a patient with the same symptoms living in Manhattan. Yet Millenson balances similar disturbing stories with optimistic, inspiring accounts of recent improvements in patient care. For example, a new computer-based programme in a Utah hospital has dramatically reduced treatment-caused deaths, while in another hospital a database is being created to give all doctors access to the latest medical treatments. The book concludes that the major barriers to protecting and systematically improving medical care are cultural, not technical. Patients will not receive the consistently excellent care they deserve until physicians and health care plans are given the proper financial incentives to change, have the clinical information to guide them, and most important, accept the moral responsibility to implement change and make it work.


Nitrogen balance data from 1,813 nitrogen balance days on adults and 141 nitrogen balance days with young children were compared with that predicted from food intake and body weight data using the equations developed by Miller and Payne. In addition, 14-day growth data from 378 infants were also compared with those predicted assuming a constant relationship between positive nitrogen balance and weight gain. The original Miller-Payne equations were found to predict with poor accuracy, and various modifications have been proposed which include changing of the exponent for body weight, addition of a factor for activity, lowering of the value for endogenous nitrogen losses, and attempting to allow for the nonlinear relationships at low levels of intake. New equations are proposed including these modifications which can significantly improve the accuracy of prediction of nitrogen balance and growth from food intake and body weight data.


Hairless SKH-1 mice were exposed once to UVB light (180 mJ/cm2), and mechanistically important early adaptive responses in the epidermis were evaluated by immunohistochemical and morphological methods. Interrelationships in the time course for these UVB-induced responses were examined. The number of epidermal cells with DNA strand breaks (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling-positive cells) or with thymine dimers increased to maximal levels within 30 min after UVB. The number of cells with DNA strand breaks located specifically in the basal layer of the epidermis was increased substantially by 3-30 min after UVB and gradually increased further over the next 5.5 hours. DNA strand breaks specifically in the basal layer of the epidermis were increased maximally at 6 h after UVB. The number of epidermal cells with DNA strand breaks or thymine dimers decreased markedly between 12 and 36 h. Pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photodimers (6-4 photoproducts) in isolated epidermal DNA were increased immediately after irradiation of the mice with UVB and decreased markedly during the next 6 h. Exposure to UVB caused a rapid 8-fold increase in the number of epidermal cells with the DNA mismatch repair protein, MSH2 (within 30-60 min), and the level of MSH2-positive cells remained elevated for at least 48 h. These observations suggest a possible role of MSH2 in the repair of UVB-induced DNA damage. The number of epidermal cells with wild-type p53 protein started to increase at 1 h after UVB exposure and reached maximal levels by 8-12 h. The number of p53-positive cells fell markedly between 24 and 48 h. The time course for UVB-induced increases in the number of p53-positive cells was paralleled very closely by the time course for UVB-induced increases in the number of cells with p21(WAF1/CIP1), increases in morphologically distinct apoptotic sunburn cells, and decreases in the number of epidermal cells with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporation into DNA. Although the start of UVB-induced increases in the number of p21(WAF1/CIP1)-positive cells was similar to that for the increase in p53-positive cells and very high levels of p21(WAF1/CIP1)-positive cells were observed at 8-12 h, maximal increases in p21(WAF1/CIP1)-positive cells were not achieved until 24 h after UVB irradiation (approximately 12 h after the peak value for p53). Myeloperoxidase-positive epidermal cells started to increase by 30 min after UVB exposure, and maximal numbers of myeloperoxidase-positive epidermal cells were observed at 2 h after UVB (18-fold higher than in nonirradiated control mice). An increased level of epidermal peroxidase enzyme activity in the epidermis was also observed from 1 to 24 h after exposure of the mice to UVB. Although neutrophil infiltration into the epidermis was not seen after exposure to UVB, neutrophil infiltration into the dermis (inflammatory response) was observed from 4 to 144 h after UVB exposure. In contrast to the marked inhibitory effect of UVB on BrdUrd incorporation into the DNA of epidermal cells observed at 8-12 h after UVB irradiation (>90% inhibition), BrdUrd incorporation into the DNA of epidermal cells was markedly increased (approximately 30-fold increase in the number of BrdUrd-positive cells) at 48 h after UVB exposure, and increases in epidermal cell layers and epidermal thickness (hyperplasia) were also observed. These later effects were associated with regeneration of the damaged epidermis.


PURPOSE
To present a new application of quantitative area pachymetry of the cornea.

METHODS
Sectorial quantitative area pachymetry of small corneal zones located at the center and surrounding areas is possible by means of the statistical analysis device and tools menu of Orbscan II (Bausch and Lomb).

RESULTS
Average pachymetry of 1 central zone and 12 small zones around the center may be shown in the pachymetry map by simply formatting the system. Average pachymetry, standard deviation, rate of thickness variation (slope), and volume of analyzed annular corneal zone can also be automatically shown in a data window. The examination results can be printed and kept on record.

CONCLUSIONS
The method is simple and descriptive. This type of preoperative evaluation may guide the manual or laser preparation of channels for intracorneal segments and the corneal trephination for lamellar or penetrating keratoplasty.


Beiging of white adipose tissue (WAT) is capable of adaptive thermogenesis and dissipating energy. The beiging processes have been associated with the increase of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, however the function of M2 macrophage on beiging and the underlying mechanism are not fully understood. Here we identified a macrophage cytokine Slit3 by analyzing the transcriptome of M2 macrophages collected with FACS in inguinal WAT (iWAT) of mice after cold exposure. Once released from macrophages, Slit3 bound to the ROBO1 receptor on sympathetic neuron and activated tyrosine hydrolase (TH) through PKA and CaMKⅡ signaling, and thus stimulated norepinephrine (NE) synthesis and release. NE acts on adipocytes and stimulate thermogenesis. Adoptive transfer of Slit3-overexpressing M2 macrophages to iWAT depot acquired local adipocytes with beiging phenotype and enhanced thermogenesis. In addition, mice bearing the myeloid inactivation of Slit3 were cold intolerant and gained more weight due to the lowered metabolic rate. Collectively, we demonstrate Slit3 is a macrophage cytokine and promotes beiging and thermogenesis through intensifying the sympathetic nerve function. As the expanded M2 macrophages are integral cell population in adipose tissue, the macrophage-Slit3-sympathetic neuron-adipocyte axis assures the long-term cold adaption.


In 169 children with a runny nose the difference between the group with rhinitis and those diagnosed as having sinusitis was indistinct. History and examination, and the results of radiology, ultrasound, the appearance of the sinus washings, the number of leucocytes in the washings, and the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the culture of the secretion from the nose and sinuses had little correlation with each other or with the clinical picture. In our view there is no marked difference between rhinitis and simple sinusitis, that is, mucosal inflammation of the maxillary sinus. This difference is also of no therapeutic relevance, and both diseases may be regarded as part of an upper airway infection. It is important to distinguish between sinusitis with and without empyema, because empyema must be treated differently. The latter disease produces distinct symptoms in the acute stage resembling ethmoiditis in children or maxillary and frontal sinusitis in adults. This type of sinusitis did not occur in our patients. Further investigation in children with a runny nose is indicated only in those with typical symptoms of an empyema.


The idea of harmony is valued in a wide variety of ways by a wide variety of thinkers in early China. It is certainly most prominent in Confucian texts, for which it is a clear and distinctive good both morally and politically. However, texts like the Laozi and the Zhuangzi also have normative visions that can be conceptualized in terms of harmony. Furthermore, harmony has an important role to play even in much more "realist" texts such as the Han Feizi. This paper will argue that it is possible to think through Han Fei's political system from the perspective of a broader concept of harmony, and that in doing so, several important points may be revealed. First, insofar as harmony has a positive role to play, it must be systematized and turned into an objective standard. Second, this objective standard must be hooked up to the overarching cosmic dao, and third, this conception of harmony is necessarily stripped of any moral normativity. Thinking through harmony in this way may have a range of benefits not only for understanding the concept in its original historical context, but also in thinking through ways in which it may be of value today. It will perhaps force us to realize that there are a range of incompatible conceptions of harmony. As such, there may be a need to evaluate the disputations over these various conceptions of harmony as we try to ascertain what, if anything, from them may profitably be brought into conversation with contemporary political philosophy.


Background: Reduced renal function is a health problem in elderly patients. Different creatinine- and cystatin-C-based formulae have been used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Aims: To investigate individual and group differences of GFR estimates derived from five different formulae. Methods: 60 patients were randomly assigned to participate in this cross-sectional study. Nutrition status was assessed, blood samples were drawn and GFR was calculated using two creatinine- and three cystatin-C-based formulae. Results: Four of five formulae indicate reduced GFR in >70% of the participants, GFR was significantly less in malnourished patients according to one creatinine formula. Estimates from the formulae were highly correlated (r = 0.607–0.863, p < 0.001), but individual differences were between –36.1 and 79.9 ml/min/1.73 m2. The formulae grouped 38.3–60.0% of the subjects differently into the five stages of chronic kidney disease. BMI, total cholesterol, age and gender were significant predictors for the calculated GFR differences between the formulae. Conclusion: The prevalence of reduced renal function is high in elderly hospitalized patients. BMI, age and/or gender can affect GFR estimates depending on the formula used, and there is an association between total cholesterol and calculated GFR differences between formulae. Different formulae can result in a different grouping of patients into the five stages of chronic renal disease.


A thoroughly revised edition of the highly successful geology textbook that discusses all important new developments in the field. New features include an introductory chapter, a chapter on the Himalayas, plus updated material on early active continental margins, crustal evolution, greenstone belts in India and West Australia, and granulite-gneiss belts in India and the Limpopo. Includes an updated bibliography.


Abortion-related mortality and morbidity has long been an important public health problem in Mexico. Between 1990 and 2005, abortion-related cause of maternal mortality nationally, and the third leading cause in Mexico City (Schiavon, Polo, & Troncoso, 2007). In 2006, an estimated 149,700 women were hospitalized for complications from induced abortion, a 40% increase over the number hospitalized in 1990 (Juarez et al. 2008). A key factor underlying these statistics is that abortion was, until recently, a largely illegal practice in Mexico. As a result, women faced with unintended pregnancies who wished to terminate them had to do so clandestinely often risking their health and lives. This situation led to social inequalities because it was the poorest, the least educated, the youngest, and women from indigenous backgrounds who were at highest risk for unsafe abortions, while afford safe services (Sousa, Lozano, & Gakidou, 2010).


The current developments and tendencies of globalisation result in a highly complex design and implementation of vocational education in the partnership countries of development cooperation. It can be assumed that the ideas type of a polarity profile is divided in vocational training where the traditional system of vocational training increasingly associate with environment-referred innovative vocational training. But they are also partly competitively. Macerations in examples of traditional career profiles, modular qualification concepts, varieties of eLearning methods, increasingly more flexible competences based on education and "lifelong learning" are a kind of symptoms. Current and future decades will challenge and become developed on a path toward a knowledge-based society. They will use the know-how and the competence, which the new media always offers. The encouragement of development will certain stringent look after not to miss the vaulting goal of the poverty fight but rather priority is setting here. In context of the future lifelong learning various initiation will based on biography consideration processes of education from childhood over adolescence till the high adulthood - with strong orientation on occupation, working process and the operation requirement. During this process of different ranks of qualification it comes to an increasing cross setting of vocational and general education, which is represent an additional, strategic requirement of the German Development Cooperation (EZ).


This paper revisits the results of the pioneering models of the firm under demand uncertainty and analyses the apparent disparity with respect to the signal of the investment-uncertainty relationship predicted by them. In the 1970's-1980's the modelling of demand uncertainty at the firm level taking into account the firm's optimal choice of factor inputs constituted a cutting-edge research topic. But while setting the standards in the literature of the firm's optimal behaviour under uncertainty, those models did not clarify the rationale behind the disparity of the results concerning the impact of increased uncertainty on the firm's desired investment. In the context of an isoelastic stochastic demand function, where the shock variable may enter either linearly or non-linearly, we show it is the way the firm perceives the demand shocks that, by determining the shape of the profit function, establishes the signal of the investment-uncertainty relationship predicted by the model.


American wildcelery, Vallisneria americana Michx. is an ecologically important component of aquatic communities in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR). We conducted a study in 2002 to determine the association of several abiotic factors on the vegetative growth of Vallisneria in Navigation Pool 8 (Pool 8) of the UMR. We measured turbidity, percent light absorbance, surface water ammonium, surface water nitrate, current velocity, conductivity, pH and water depth throughout one growing season at 56 stratified sites based on where Vallisneria occurred in previous years. Sediment and aboveground biomass samples were collected during peak growth. Sediment was analysed for organic content, particle size, pore water nitrate and pore water ammonium. Vallisneria biomass samples were dried to constant mass. Because some sites were without water for much of the growing season, only data from 52 sites were reported. Biomass was associated with depth, percent light absorbance, turbidity and wind fetch. Vallisneria was abundant in the depth range of 0.55 to 1.03 m, in areas receiving at least 38% of surface light and in areas exposed to greater wind fetch (>2000 m). Our results suggest that the primary abiotic variable associated with Vallisneria americana in the UMR is light, not nutrients. Published in 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In French Guiana cutaneous leishmaniasis occurs mainly in the localized form with L. guyanensis accounting for more than 90% of cases. Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis is uncommon (less than 2% of cases) with L. braziliensis accounting for all previously reported cases. The purpose of this report is to describe a case of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. guyanensis that led to diagnosis of HIV infection in a patient living in French Guiana.


The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has supported an increase in educational requirements for the professional practice of engineering for the past twenty years. These efforts were named the Raise the Bar initiative and were initially meant to apply to the qualifications of all engineering disciplines. In July 2017, the ASCE Board of Direction modified ASCE Policy 465– Academic Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional Practice to focus only on civil engineers. This renewed effort and re-focus of the Raise the Bar initiative will have profound impacts on ASCE's Raise the Bar activities. The United States has a longstanding tradition that engineering licenses are granted by each jurisdiction (states and territories). If additional education requirements are implemented through licensure, each of these jurisdictions will need to determine how to address these new education standards that would apply only to civil engineers. The authors, under the auspices of the ASCE Committee on Licensure, have researched this topic and determined there are two possible routes for different education requirements for licensure among engineering disciplines: discipline specific licensure and a civil centric approach. Discipline specific licensure would require that licensing boards consider applicants for each area or specialty of engineering both separately and differently. The requirements whether education, experience, or testing could vary, the license could be linked to a unique niche of engineering work, and the license would have a specific designation for each area of engineering. The civil centric approach would maintain a general professional engineering license for all engineers, but would allow the licensing jurisdiction to vary the requirements for applicants based on their education background. For example an applicant with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering would also need a master's degree to pursue licensure. Both of these approaches are unique and would require substantial changes to most licensing jurisdiction's rules. The authors analyzed both the discipline specific and civil centric approaches for their respective strengths and weaknesses. Current licensing jurisdictions that use variations of these methods were investigated to see the past successes and impacts on licensing boards. In addition, conflicting policies from other professional groups and similarities to licensure processes of other professions were considered. The results are presented from both a policy and a practicality standpoint. The conclusion is that changes to licensing jurisdiction rules and policies may be beneficial to the ASCE Raise the Bar efforts, but implementation would be difficult. The consequences need to be carefully weighed by the civil engineering community before moving forward with this strategy.


SMALL INDUSTRY Employment Growth in Seventh Plan J C Sandesara WE examine here the statistics of employment coverage in the small industry sector in the Sixth and the Seventh Plans, and also the statistics of employment coverage and production of the Seventh Plan. We go exclusively by the data given in the Seventh Plan document. Our examination shows that the small industry sector is planned for a lower rate of growth of employment in the Seventh Plan


The authors describe a 22-year-old man with osteolytic mandibular and maxillary lesions. Biopsy substantiated the presence of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (eosinophilic granuloma). Levels of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) were elevated repeatedly. After definitive therapy with excision and bone grafting, ACE levels returned to normal. The role of histiocytes in ACE production is discussed. Langerhans cell histiocytosis should be considered in the diagnosis of conditions occurring with elevation of serum ACE levels and clinical findings similar to sarcoidosis.


Of concern in this paper is the laminated beam system with frictional damping and an internal constant delay term in the transverse displacement. Under suitable assumptions on the weight of the delay, we establish that the system's energy decays exponentially in the case of equal wave speeds of propagation, and polynomially in the case of non-equal wave speeds.


It was hypothesized that individuals of low socioeconomic status are exposed to a greater number of stressful events and therefore have a higher incidence of psychological disorders. However, the way they interpret, evaluate and cope with these stressful situations may either cause them to maintain, intensify or eliminate their overall stress. Past research indicates that the poorest individuals tend most frequently to falsely minimize or avoid stressful situations, which lowers the probability of resolving their problems. The objective of this study is to discover and compare the situations that have produced a high level of stress in subjects of three different socioeconomic groups over the last three months, as well as the strategies they used to cope, and their perceived effectiveness. The sample included 900 subjects of both sexes living in Mexico City. Among them, 346 were extremely poor, 260 were moderately poor and 312 were not poor. The results indicate that socioeconomic status is related to the frequency with which subjects report certain kinds of stressful situations. It was also found that non-poor subjects use problem-focused coping methods more than the other groups, while the poor use more emotionally-focused coping strategies, This article analyzes the strategies used by each group in each type of stressful situation reported.


Wireless sensor networks become ubiquitous to collect people's information in many people-centric applications, such as, health care, smart space and public safety. Because any misusage of these personal data might result in the leakage of privacy, it is expected that the data requesters can only access to the data what they are entitled to read. Based on a revised hash chain technique, we proposed a novel time-based privacy protection (TPP) scheme for multi-attribute data in WSNs. In the scheme, all the personal data are divided into 2-D subspaces representing data attribute and generation time. Data in each subspace is encrypted with a sub-key before its transmission to the sink. Anyone who wants to read data attribute at a particular time must get the corresponding sub-key from the sender node. TPP can generate a sub-key for data in each subspace in an efficient manner in terms of less sub-key generation time and low memory space usage. The simulation results show that the schemes can be applied to the resource limited WSNs efficiently.


We present a fast and scalable algorithm to induce non-monotonic logic programs from statistical learning models. We reduce the problem of search for best clauses to instances of the High-Utility Itemset Mining (HUIM) problem. In the HUIM problem, feature values and their importance are treated as transactions and utilities respectively. We make use of TreeExplainer, a fast and scalable implementation of the Explainable AI tool SHAP, to extract locally important features and their weights from ensemble tree models. Our experiments with UCI standard benchmarks suggest a significant improvement in terms of classification evaluation metrics and running time of the training algorithm compared to ALEPH, a state-of-the-art Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) system.


Author(s): Shipp, Lauren Elizabeth | Advisor(s): Hamdoun, Amro | Abstract: ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are large membrane proteins found in all organisms. They use ATP to power transport of diverse substrates across membranes, and the ABC-B, -C, and -G families make up the multidrug resistance (MDR) transporters. Here, I survey the expression of MDR transporters during development of the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and identify and characterize one transporter, Sp-ABCC5a (C5a) that has a role in developmental signaling required for hindgut morphogenesis.From the unfertilized egg through the prism stage (~58 hours post-fertilization, hpf), I detected transcripts of 20 MDR transporters with predicted roles in cell signaling, lysosomal and mitochondrial homeostasis, potassium channel regulation, pigmentation, and xenobiotic efflux. The protective transporter ABCB1a is ubiquitously expressed throughout embryogenesis in all cells, and the protein localizes to apical membranes at the interface between the embryo and external environment. In contrast, expression of C5a, a previously uncharacterized transporter, is first detected at hatching and peaks after gastrulation, and the protein localizes to basolateral membranes. I propose that profiling spatiotemporal expression and subcellular protein localization may identify transporters with roles in protection, homeostasis, and signaling.As expected, efflux activity of C5a does not support a role in protection; C5a is not a broad-spectrum chemical effluxor, and it discriminates between structurally similar compounds. C5a expression is restricted to aboral non-skeletogenic mesoderm (NSM) cells (pigment cells) and is dependent on delta/notch signaling from the skeletogenic mesoderm (SM) as well as the aboral NSM regulatory gene, glial cells missing. During gastrulation, C5a protein traffics to the plasma membrane of pigment cells, while these cells migrate away from the archenteron to embed in the aboral ectoderm.Knockdown of C5a leads to embryos with differentiated pigment cells but abnormal protrusion of the hindgut, which is seen in ~90% of embryos by the late prism stage (~eight hours after C5a protein expression peaks). The ABCC5 substrate cAMP rescues the prolapse in a dose-dependent manner, and in control embryos causes hyper-invagination. The cAMP-producing enzyme soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) is expressed in tandem with C5a, with peak expression in pigment cells just after gastrulation. Blocking sAC activity with the specific inhibitor KH7 impairs gastrulation. Together these data suggest that C5a-mediated efflux of sAC-derived cAMP from pigment cells controls late invagination of the hindgut. This study elucidates a novel role for an ABCC/MRP transporter in mesoderm-endoderm signaling during embryogenesis.


BACKGROUND
The aim was to investigate compliance by ethnic groups to the mammography screening programme in the City of Copenhagen over six years and to look at developments over time.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Mammography screening has, since 1 April 1991, been offered free of charge to all women between 50 and 69 years of age in the City of Copenhagen. Data on women born in Poland, Turkey, Yugoslavia, and Pakistan divided into five-year groups were compared to that of women born in Denmark and all other foreign-born women. Data from 1991 to 1997 were grouped according to the mammography performed, the offer refused, or non-appearance.

RESULTS
Whereas 71% of Danish-born women accepted mammography, compliance by foreign-born women was significantly lower. The offer was accepted by 36% of Pakistanis, 45% of Yugoslavians, 53% of Turks, and 64% of Poles. Compliance fell in all ethnic groups with advancing age. Of the Danish women, 16% failed to keep the appointment. The corresponding percentages were 52 for Pakistanis, 48 for Yugoslavians, 41 for Turks, and 23 for Poles. The proportion of women who actively refused the offer was similar in all groups. The number of invited women fell during the period.

CONCLUSIONS
The lower participation of women from the countries under study might have various explanations: among them the language barrier, procedure-related factors, and a lower incidence of breast cancer in the countries of origin.


This essay explores the debate that took place between French intellectuals Georges Didi-Huberman and Elisabeth Pagnoux and Gerard Wajcman following the inclusion of four photographs from Auschwitz in a Paris exhibition in 2001. Extending the controversy between Claude Lanzmann and Jean-Luc Godard on the unrepresentability of the Shoah, the debate centered on the role of the photographic image in remembering the Shoah. Departing from discourses of the unrepresentable, this essay reframes the iconoclastic impulse of Didi-Huberman's critics, according whom the four photographs appear as "symptoms of psychic resistance," as a mode of enclosure that reflects the intersecting logics of capitalism and psychoanalysis. The essay argues that both the fetishization and the prohibition of the four photographs are structural effects of competing logics in which the enclosure of images is read as a symptom of psychic resistance.


This paper introduces a novel analysis of the classic "persistence of leadership" question, and applies it to a newly constructed dataset for Japanese manufacturing. The analysis rests on an appeal to an empirical "scaling relationship" between current market share and the variance of changes in market share. This relationship provides a powerful "model selection criterion" for candidate models of market share dynamics. It also makes it feasible, even in small datasets, to test directly for the properties of the "first passage times" corresponding to loss of leadership.


Critical infrastructures important to society are at risk from natural hazards and man-made events, ranging from climate change to terrorism. The awareness of the potential consequences in socio-economic terms of losing the functionality and availability of this infrastructure has grown in the past two decades. The result has been considerable research effort into understanding our infrastructure systems, how they are interconnected and the levels of risk that exist from the variety of hazards they face. A significant number of infrastructure related risk and resilience policies, plans and supporting methods of analysis and assessment have been produced. This paper reviews current thinking regarding risk and resilience of infrastructure, and in particular that of transportation systems. The aim is to illustrate the key concepts, identify developments and signpost sources of suitable information.


The high comorbidity rates of chronic pain and depression have been well documented. Chronic pain and depression are both complex phenomena that can have significant effects on physical and psychological health and which can be exacerbated by stress. However, little research has examined the relationship between chronic pain and depressed mood among undergraduate students, despite prevalence rates of depression in college students that are similar to other populations and relatively high rates of perceived stress among college students. The goal of this study was to examine the complex relationship between chronic pain experience and depressed mood among undergraduate students and to investigate how both affect academic performance. As a part of a larger study conducted at Penn State University, self-reported measures of pain, depressed mood, perceived stress, and academic performance were collected from 206 students with chronic pain. Chronic pain experience was measured by the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), providing ratings of sensory, affective, and evaluative, as well as other facets of pain. Depressed mood was measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale and its four factors—depressed affect, lack of positive affect, somatic, and interpersonal. MPQ subscales were compared to the CES-D subscales in college students with chronic pain in order to better understand the unique relationships between pain and psychological health. Lastly, the relationships between chronic pain, depressed mood and academic success was examined, with the expectation that depressed mood would mediate and account for any association between pain and performance. Academic performance was measured by grade point average (GPA) as well as a student's happiness with their grades and the extent to which they believed their grades reflected their ability. ii Findings suggest a high prevalence of depression amongst college students with chronic pain. Total pain was most strongly associated with somatic and interpersonal depressed mood, while total depressed mood was most associated with affective and evaluative pain. Moreover, sensory and evaluative pain were more indicative of somatic and interpersonal depressed mood, while affective pain was linked to all aspects of depressed mood. Various measures of pain and depressed mood were negatively correlated with academic performance. Pain severity and lack of positive affect were significantly associated with a student's happiness with their grades. Moreover, total depressed mood and somatic depressed mood were significantly related to both a student's happiness and expectations of grades based on their abilities. Structural equation modeling suggested that chronic pain relates to academic performance via depressed mood, with a significant and well-fitted model. Results were significant with and without controlling for perceived stress. Overall, findings suggest an intricate relationship between chronic pain, depressed mood, and academic performance. It seems likely that pain contributes to depressed mood among undergraduate students with chronic pain and that their depressed mood contributes to poorer academic performance.


Obesity is a global epidemic, responsible for 2000 premature deaths in Ireland each year. The extent of this epidemic was quantified by the National Taskforce on Obesity (IOTF), whose report, published in 2005, found that 39% of adults in Ireland were overweight and 18% obese with obesity in adults predicted to increase by 1% per year. In light of the clear evidence that we, as a nation, are quite literally expanding, how well equipped are Irish hospitals and, in particular, radiology departments, to deal with patients of increasing size and weight? The purpose of this study was to quantify the weight limits and girth restrictions of the radiology equipment, in particular CT, MRI and fluoroscopy, in hospitals, both public and private, in Ireland in an attempt to answer this question.


The automobile sector in India is one the key segment of Indian economy as it contributes to 4% of India's GDP and 5% of India's Industrial production. The supply chain of any firm is generally dependent on six driving factors out of which three are functional (information, inventory, and facilities) and 3 are logistic (sourcing, pricing, and transportation). The risk causing factors in supply chains consists of various levels of sub-factors under them. Say for instance, under supply risk, the sub-factors can be poor logistics at supplier end, poor material quality etc., under demand risk, the sub-factors can be inaccurate demand forecasting, fluctuating demand, bullwhip effect, and under logistics risk, the sub-factors can be poor transportation network, shorter lead time, stock outs. Through this study, we observe to find the effect of these factors in the supply chain. We use Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) technique to prioritize the various types of risk into zones namely high, medium and low risk factors. Also, we use the Best Worst Method (BWM), a multi-criteria decision-making technique to find out the overall weightings of different risk factors. The combination of these methods can help an organization to prioritize various risk factors and proposing a proper risk mitigation strategy leading to increase in overall supply chain efficiency and responsiveness.


ABSTRACT Previous research highlighted the underrepresentation of immigrants in receiving societies' political system. Furthermore in countries with authoritarian legacies a tendency for civic apathy and weak parties was identified. Under such circumstances, what are the chances for immigrants' political claims within the political opportunity structure (POS)? What role do individuals and groups play – their agency – in propelling immigrants' political claims? Taking Portugal as a case study, this article analyses how immigrants' political inclusion is influenced by access to political rights, the party system, and the citizenship regime, envisaging a comprehensive view upon the macro-structure that creates the conditions for such inclusion. The POS' analytical role is discussed to understand immigrants' political mobilization and involvement with political parties. Additionally, acknowledging that political contexts can be appropriated differently by actors, we consider the weight of perceptions (and its mismatches with the objective POS), by analysing the discursive environment in which political strategies occur.


Motion variance differs among individuals, knowing as the differences in dominant and non-dominant hand functions provide beneficial information to clinicians or therapists regarding accurate diagnosis and rehabilitation purposes. However, due to subjective considerations, there are some limitations of the handedness questionnaires, which are one of the standard methods for evaluating interlimb function differences.

 This study aims to quantify the differences in upper limb motions between the dominant and non-dominant hands in the reaching task using approximate entropy (ApEn) and sample entropy (SampEn) measures. This study also provides proper combinations of parameter values m and r for the ApEn and SampEn measures in the hand movement data of the reaching task.

 Twenty volunteers performed a multi-directional reaching task. The acceleration data of hand motions were recorded by GENEActiv 3D acceleration sensor (Activinsights Ltd., UK) with a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. In addition, the ApEn and SampEn values were analysed.

 The ApEn values of the dominant hand were statistically significantly lower than those of the non-dominant hand for parameter combinations of m=2,3,4,5 with r=0.15,0.20,0.25 for the Y- and Z-axis (p<0.05). The SampEn values of the dominant hand significantly demonstrated lower than those of the non-dominant hand for all axes when computing on combinations of parameter m=2,3,4,5 with r=0.15,0.20 (p<0.05).

 The ApEn and SampEn measures could be used to predict the degree of regularity or complexity of the reaching hand motion time-series data. These entropy measures also reveal the differences between the dominant and non-dominant hand movements, quantifying movement differences in the dynamic motor tasks associated with hemispheric brain asymmetry.


Heat stress (HS) disrupts redox balance and insulin-related metabolism. Supplementation with supranutritional amounts of selenium (Se) may enhance glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity and reduce oxidative stress, but may trigger insulin resistance. Therefore, the aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of a short-term high Se supplementation on physiology, oxidative stress and insulin-related metabolism in heat-stressed pigs. Twenty-four gilts were fed either a control (0.20 ppm Se) or a high Se (1.0 ppm Se yeast, HiSe) diet for 2 weeks. Pigs were then housed in thermoneutral (20°C) or HS (35°C) conditions for 8 days. Blood samples were collected to study blood Se and oxidative stress markers. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was conducted on day 8 of thermal exposure. The HS conditions increased rectal temperature and respiration rate (both p < .001). The HiSe diet increased blood Se by 12% (p < .05) and ameliorated the increase in rectal temperature (p < .05). Heat stress increased oxidative stress as evidenced by a 48% increase in plasma advanced oxidized protein products (AOPPs; p < .05), which may be associated with the reductions in plasma biological antioxidant potential (BAP) and erythrocyte GPX activity (both p < .05). The HiSe diet did not alleviate the reduction in plasma BAP or increase in AOPPs observed during HS, although it tended to increase erythrocyte GPX activity by 13% (p = .068). Without affecting insulin, HS attenuated lipid mobilization, as evidenced by a lower fasting NEFA concentration (p < .05), which was not mitigated by the HiSe diet. The HiSe diet increased insulin AUC, suggesting it potentiated insulin resistance, although this only occurred under TN conditions (p = .066). In summary, HS induced oxidative stress and attenuated lipid mobilization in pigs. The short-term supranutritional Se supplementation alleviated hyperthermia, but did not protect against oxidative stress in heat-stressed pigs.


A 35-item questionnaire was designed to assess the relative importance of various factors to medical students when ranking physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residency training programs. The questionnaire was used to assess the relative importance of the various factors to three groups of medical students: those who interviewed, those who matched and those who were listed on the match list of the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) Department of PM&R, as well as to our current residents. Recipients were asked to grade selection factors based on a numerical scale: 1, extremely important; 2, very important; 3, important; 4, minimally important; 5, not important. A response rate of 100% (n=72 medical students + 25 residents) was attained. The analysis indicates that, overall, there is no significant difference in ranking of the factors by each of the four groups. However, the medical students who recently matched with the UMDNJ-NJMS PM&R program rated the opportunity to conduct research significantly higher than the current house staff or the medical students on the entire match list. This is a desirable result, as the program strives to provide an environment that is conducive to the growth of research and academic physiatrists. This questionnaire could also be used by other residency training directors to guide the development of their program and to gain valuable information regarding the perception of their program among in-coming residents and the importance of various factors to the students interested in their program.


In this paper, the author explores how the practice of walking the city may open curricular spaces to nurture a deep engagement and feelings of enchantment with the world. By disrupting the taken-for-granted sensibilities of our everyday urban lives and being open to the unexpected voices, bodies and more-than-human beings who co-exist in urban spaces, the author contends that when we slow down and become attuned to our surroundings, possibilities of transformation can emerge. In this interdisciplinary unfolding, the author first shares how walking allows us to experience time and space to accentuate our relations, engagements, and being in the world. Through narrative and photography, the author then reflects on encounters from recent walks through the city of Calgary, addressing notions of self-reflexivity, play and experience. Through these walking encounters, this paper reflects on considerations for embodying a curriculum to promote a modern ecological ethic.


PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on prolonged intermittent exercise and performance.

METHODS
Eight healthy male subjects (mean +/- SD: age 25.4 +/- 6.4 yr, mass 70.9 +/- 5.1 kg, height 179 +/- 7 cm, VO(2max) 4.21 +/- 0.51 L.min-1) volunteered for the study, which had received ethical approval. Subjects undertook two 30-min intermittent cycling trials (repeated 3-min blocks; 90 s at 40% VO(2max), 60 s at 60% VO(2max), 14-s maximal sprint, 16-s rest) after ingestion of either sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO(3); 0.3 g.kg-1) or sodium chloride (NaCl; 0.045 g x kg(-1). Expired air, blood lactate (BLa), bicarbonate (HCO(3)-), and pH were measured at rest, 30 and 60 min postingestion, and during the 40% VO(2max) component of exercise (4, 10, 16, and 29 min).

RESULTS
After ingestion, pH increased from rest to 7.46 +/- 0.03 and 7.40 +/- 0.01 for NaHCO(3) and NaCl, respectively (main effect for time and trial; P < 0.05). Values decreased at 15 min of exercise to 7.30 +/- 0.07 and 7.21 +/- 0.06, respectively, remaining at similar levels until the end of exercise. BLa peaked at 15 min (12.03 +/- 4.31 and 10.00 +/- 2.58 mmol.L-1, for NaHCO(3) and NaCl, respectively; P > 0.05) remaining elevated until the end of exercise (P < 0.05). Peak power expressed relative to sprint 1 demonstrated a significant main effect between trials (P < 0.05). Sprint 2 increased by 11.5 +/- 5% and 1.8 +/- 9.5% for NaHCO(3) and NaCl, respectively. During NaHCO(3), sprint 8 remained similar to sprint 1 (0.2 +/- 17%), whereas a decrease was observed during NaCl (-10.0 +/- 16.0%).

CONCLUSION
The results of this study suggest that ingestion of NaHCO(3) improves sprint performance during prolonged intermittent cycling.


Most Pacific small island developing states (SIDS) have ambitious renewable energy targets which call for huge investment, a significant part of which is expected to come from the private sector (IFC, 2021). Although there are around 40 renewable energy projects across the Pacific SIDS either already operating, under construction, or planned for commissioning in the next decade, they are still heavily reliant on imported fuel. Given the huge funding gap in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate objectives in developing countries, private financing has been advocated for as the solution for the shortfall, as it has a large pool of capital available and catalytic properties that could effectively scale-up the "reach" and the scope of influence of public financing (Samuwai, 2021). Private sector partners are particularly critical to supporting SIDS as they often struggle to access international capital markets due to their high debt levels, lack of creditworthiness or small market size (UN-OHRLLS, 2022). However, there is still a general lack of private sector financing in the renewable energy sector in the Pacific SIDS (PIFS, 2018; Samuwai, 2021). Whether private finance mobilisation for clean energy is realistic at the scales needed in the Pacific SIDS is not answered clearly in the literature, although much of it is based on the assumption that there is no real alternative to private sector investment. This rapid review hence explores some of the key drivers, constraints and opportunities to the mobilisation and scale-up of this private sector investment.


The detection of out of distribution samples for image classification has been widely researched. Safety critical applications, such as autonomous driving, would benefit from the ability to localise the unusual objects causing the image to be out of distribution. This paper adapts state-of-the-art methods for detecting out of distribution images for image classification to the new task of detecting out of distribution pixels, which can localise the unusual objects. It further experimentally compares the adapted methods on two new datasets derived from existing semantic segmentation datasets using PSPNet and DeeplabV3+ architectures, as well as proposing a new metric for the task. The evaluation shows that the performance ranking of the compared methods does not transfer to the new task and every method performs significantly worse than their image-level counterparts.


A simple and precise reversed phase HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous estimation of acetaminophen, dextropropoxyphene and oxyphenbutazone in tablet formulations. The method was carried out on a Kromasil C18 (25 cm x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 I¼) column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile:0.5% triethylamine (adjusted to pH 3.5 using orthophosphoric acid), (45:55 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.2 ml/min. Detection was carried out at 220 nm. Chlormezanone was used as internal standard. The retention time of acetaminophen, dextropropoxyphene, chlormezanone and oxyphenbutazone was 2.26, 3.72, 4.96 and 10.67 min, respectively. The validation of the proposed method was also carried out. The proposed method can be used for the estimation of these drugs in combined dosage forms.


Background: Underreporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by clinician is a common problem. As interns will be budding doctors to serve the community, this study was undertaken to evaluate knowledge, attitude and perception about ADR and pharmacovigilance in them.

Aims and Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude and perceptions of interns about ADR and pharmacovigilance program and find out possible ways of improving spontaneous reporting.

Materials and Methods: A cross-section questionnaire-based study was conducted after approval by ethics committee. Pretested and validated questions consisting of 20 questions (knowledge 12, attitude 4, and perception 4) were administered to 68 interns. The filled questionnaires were collected and analyzed on Microsoft Excel sheet.

Result: All interns were well aware of term "pharmacovigilance." They have an idea to where they should report ADR and about the nearest AMC center but only 3.33% were able to differentiate adverse effect and adverse event. Only 27.94% of the interns were revealing clear knowledge about who could report and types of the ADR to be reported at adverse drug monitoring center. Nobody was able to explain "rechallenge" or "dechallenge" in reference to ADRs 100% correctly. Majority of interns (85.29%) had not reported even single case of ADR till date. Poor reporting among interns were because of various reasons, which were busy in preparing postgraduate entrance examination (51.47%), problems in communicating patients (22.06%), inadequate training (22.06%), unavailability ADR form (4.41%), and overload of work (1.47%). Majority of interns (73.52%) were comfortable in ADR reporting by means of telephone. Of 68 interns, 48 (70.59%) supported that ADR reporting exercises should be taught in pharmacology practical classes.

Conclusion: The deficit in ADR reporting can be resolved if we adequately train our undergraduates regarding ADR reporting system, how to report, importance of reporting, and their obligation to report.


T cells rapidly convert their cellular metabolic requirements upon activation, switching to a highly glycolytic program to satisfy their increasingly complex energy needs. Fundamental metabolic differences have been established for the development of Foxp3+ T regulatory (Treg) cells versus TH17 cells, alterations of which can drive disease. TH17 cell dysregulation is a driver of autoimmunity and chronic inflammation, contributing to pathogenesis in diseases such as multiple sclerosis. A recent paper published in Cell by Wagner, et al. combined scRNA-seq and metabolic mapping data to interrogate potential metabolic modulators of TH17 cell pathogenicity. This Compass to TH17 cell metabolism highlights the polyamine pathway as a critical regulator of TH17/Treg cell function, signifying its potential as a therapeutic target.


AIMS
We tested whether phagocytic monocytes/macrophages are more susceptible than nonphagocytes to nanoparticle (NP) toxicity.

MATERIALS & METHODS
We compared in vitro cell death and proinflammatory cytokine production in human monocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes and HeLa cells due to synthetic amorphous silica (SiO2)-NPs in different serum concentrations and correlated them with cellular uptake and distribution.

RESULTS
Phagocytes were approximately ten-times more sensitive than nonphagocytes to SiO2-NPs and more effectively endocytosed SiO2-NP-serum protein nanoagglomerates, so determining their accumulation in acidic endocytic compartments well beyond a critical/cytotoxic threshold. Monocyte/macrophage death was paralleled by cytokine secretion.

CONCLUSION
The physiological specialization of monocytes/macrophages to effectively capture NPs may expose them to the risk of catastrophic inflammatory death upon saturation of their maximal storage capacity.


Age and gender differences during long-term warfarin anticoagulation monitored with Fiix-prothrombin time or prothrombin time in patients with atrial fibrillation. Hulda María Jensdóttir, Brynja R. Guðmundsdóttir, Páll Torfi Önundarson 1 Landspitali Department of Laboratory Hematology, The faculty of medicine, University of Iceland, Introduction: The prothrombin time (PT, PT-INR) during monitoring of warfarin measures its influence on the activity of coagulation factors (F) II, VII and X. Rapid fluctuations occur in the PT-INR due to FVII ́s short half-life but these fluctuations have little effect on the antithrombotic activity of warfarin which is mainly induced by FII and possibly FX. The new Fiix-PT measures only the activity of the longer half-life FII and FX. The Fiix-trial showed that monitoring with Fiix-PT lead to less variability of anticoagulation than monitoring with PT. The objective of this study was to compare if stability of anticoagulation monitored by Quick-PT and Fiix-PT was affected differently by age and gender. Methods and materials: This study is a part of the prospective, randomized controlled and doubleblinded Fiix-trial. Patients were randomized to dosing based on Fiix-PT (Fiix-INR) monitoring (the active Fiix arm) and PT (PT-INR) monitoring (control PT arm). The participants were outpatients over 18 years old with INR 2-3 as a therapeutic range. The current subgroup study analyzed anticoagulation indicators in 815 atrial fibrillation (AF) patients on long-term warfarin therapy. The main outcome parameters were time in therapeutic range (TTR), INR variance growth rate (VGR), frequency of INR monitoring, fraction of tests in defined target INR range and number of dose adjustments. Results: Patients in the Fiix-PT arm had 65.5% of tests in target range compared to 62.9% in the PT arm (p = 0.0019) and they had proportionally fewer tests with INR < 2 (18.9% vs 20.9%, respectively, p = 0.0061). There were fewer dose changes per monitoring test in the Fiix-PT arm than in the PT arm (0.26 vs 0.28, p = 0.0428). Males in the Fiix-PT group and PT group had 0.26 vs 0.27 median dose changes per monitoring test (p = 0.2707). Females in the Fiix-PT group and PT group had 0.27 and 0.32 dose changes per monitoring test (p = 0.0292). Females in the Fiix-PT group had 64% of tests in target range and females in the PT group had 59% (p = 0.0001). Females in the Fiix-PT group had 20% of tests with INR < 2 and females in the PT group had 24% (p = 0.0002). The median TTR in females in the Fiix-PT group was 80.3% compared to 75.3% in females in the PT group (p = 0.0401) but the median TTR in males was 80.7% vs 80.3% (n.s.). Females in the PT group had higher median daily warfarin dose than females in the Fiix-PT group, 4.2 mg vs 3.4 mg (p = 0.0029). Both the Fiix-PT and the PT-INR variability (VGR) were significantly higher in females than in males. There was a significant difference between the TTR (median) in the Fiix-PT and PT groups in 66-80 years old patients and in 66-74 years old patients in dose changes per test and VGR. The daily dose decreased with increasing age in both groups. Conclusion: The Fiix-PT test improved the stability of warfarin in females. Females on warfarin monitored with the Fiix-INR had significantly higher TTR and their dose-adjustment need was reduced. Anticoagulation variability (VGR) was higher in females than in males in both groups.


The salt-free Wittig reaction of stabilized ylides Ph3PCHCO2Me 1 and (MeO)3PCHCO2Me 2 has been investigated using DFT method including solvation. This analysis shows that TS structures and E/Z selectivity in the phosphine stabilized ylide 1, which gives high E selectivity with PhCHO, are predominantly controlled by a dipole-dipole interaction between the two reactants at the TS (as well as the well-known 1,2 and 1,3 steric interactions). The surprisingly different behavior of the phosphite ylide 2, which gives only 69:31 E/Z ratio with PhCHO, is accounted for by its much smaller overall dipole. The introduction of this new parameter (dipole-dipole interactions), which has not previously been invoked in discussions of this important reaction, accommodates all the experimental observations relating to selectivity in the Wittig reaction of stabilized ylides under salt-free conditions.


Many emerging applications that use XML are distributed, usually over large peer-to-peer (P2P) networks on the Internet. The deployment of an XML query shipping system over P2P networks requires a specialized synopsis to capture XML data in routing tables. In this paper, we propose a novel graph-structured routing synopsis, called kd-synopsis, for deployment over unstructured super-peer based P2P networks. This synopsis is based on length-constrained FBsimulation relationship, which allows the balancing of the precision and size of the synopsis according to different space constraints on peers with heterogeneous capacity. We report comprehensive experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the kd-synopsis.


Purpose To determine the prevalence of presbyopia, and near vision spectacle coverage in a rural population of Northwestern Nigeria. Study design Cross sectional prevalence study. Subjects and methods Six hundred and fifty people of at least 40 years of age, in 13 clusters (50 per cluster) were examined using a multi-stage random sampling with probability proportional to size. The survey was conducted from April 7 to 28, 2012 at Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nigeria. Presbyopia was defined as the inability to read N8 at 40 cm. Presbyopic Spectacle Correction Coverage (PSCC) was calculated, and information on barriers to using near vision spectacles identified. Results The crude prevalence of presbyopia was 30.4%, 95% CI: (26.8%–34.1%). The prevalence was significantly higher in females (P=0.0005) and individuals with at least secondary education (P=0.022). The age specific prevalence of presbyopia was three times (63.5%) more among those aged 70 years and above, as compared to those within 40–49 years age group (19.3%). The met need was 0.2%, the unmet need 30.2%, and a PSCC of 0.7%. The major barriers reported as reasons for not obtaining near vision spectacles were unawareness and lack of felt need. Conclusion The prevalence of presbyopia in Bungudu is relatively low compared to other reports with major risk factors being increasing age, female sex and attainment of higher education. The presbyopic spectacles correction coverage is very low with high unmet need thus there is a need to create awareness, and provide affordable and accessible optical services in the affected population.


It was found that 79% of healthy pigs, slaughtered in three different slaughterhouses in the Netherlands, were intestinal carriers of Campylobacter jejuni (mean number 4000 cfu per g), and 21% of the same pigs had Salmonella in the intestinal tract (mean number 10 cfu per g). Immediately after slaughter, Campylobacter was swabbed from 9% of the carcasses and Salmonella from 13%. It is concluded from these data that most of the contamination on carcasses does not originate directly from the intestinal tracts of the animals but rather from surfaces, equipment, and utensils in the slaughter hall. It was demonstrated that Salmonella could survive in the slaughter hall, whereas Campylobacter died off, probably due to its vulnerability to drying conditions and its inability to grow at temperatures below 30 degrees C. Campylobacter was not isolated from the carcasses after cooling. It had been shown earlier that this again was caused by dry conditions, brought about by the use of forced ventilation in the cooling rooms. In an additional investigation, Campylobacter was not isolated from 248 samples of minced pork (10 g each), whereas Salmonella was found in 13% of these samples.


In this paper we describe an event timer which was designed to be used in a neurophysiological laboratory. The timer is used with an LSI 11/03 computer and interfaces with the computer through a standard Digital Equipment Corporation DRV 11 interface board. The time of occurrence of pulses on up to 15 different input lines can be recorded with an accuracy determined by the time base of the timer, which can be varied from 1 to 5000 gs. In order to record events that occur simultaneously on different channels or in very rapid succession, we employ a first-in, first-out (FIFO) register as a buffer. An input scanner allows one timer to be used for timing events that occur on several input channels. This device may be useful in other applicatoins in which the time of occurrence of multiple events needs to be accurately timed.


The purpose of this paper is to study the problem of weak stability of common fixed point iterative procedures for some classes of contractive type mappings. An example to illustrate weakly stable but not stable iterative fixed point procedures is also given.


Growth as an inevitable human nature roots even in our business operation. Private entities, similarly, in seek of expansion and maybe more influence over their area of expertise, decide to go public in a certain point of time. The timing to move from private to public, indeed, is a critical factor in the future success of the business. In the traditional capitalist structure of this move, small private companies, which are defined by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as those entities with consolidated revenue of less than $50 million per year, choose between sellout to a parent firm or Initial Public Offering (IPO). Both options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Yet, they are both complex, highly regulated, costly, and frustrating which are truly major drawbacks for small entities. Failure to go public caused by these drawbacks results in death of small businesses and loss of jobs which is followed by terrible socio-economic consequences. To avoid the conventional frustrating publicity of the private firms, in this article, utilization of cryptocurrency as the modern financial instrument is discussed. Digital currencies enable fast transition, globalization, grassroot economy, and social justice.


The optimal scheduling of hydropower station is a constrained strong, nonlinear and multi-stage combinatorial optimization. Aiming at this issue, this paper analyses the shortcomings of previous PSO algorithm in hydropower station optimal scheduling model, and presents an improved PSO algorithm for hybrid BFO algorithm, which overcomes the problem that the PSO algorithm is easy to fall into local extremum and has strong dependence on parameters. A case study of a short-term scheduling period of a hydropower station is used to compare the improved PSO algorithm mixed BFO algorithm with previous PSO algorithm. The results show that the improved PSO algorithm can converge to the global optimal solution more accurately. Therefore, it provides a new method for solving the optimal scheduling model of hydropower station.


Purpose: To analyze the clinical and radiological results of whole lumbosacral fusion, and to identify whether an extension of the fusion level is required. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review was carried out on 40 patients who had undergone whole lumbosacral fusion. The adjacent segment changes were evaluated by the radiological findings including intervertebral space narrowing, traction spur, endplate sclerosis and vacuum phenomenon. The clinical results were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI). Results: The mean age was 63.8 years and the mean follow-up period was 41.7 months. At the last follow-up, adjacent segment changes were observed in 12 cases of intervertebral space narrowing, 15 cases of traction spur, 20 cases of endplate sclerosis and 8 cases of vacuum phenomenon. In the clinical results, the VAS was improved to 4.0 points from 7.6 points, and the ODI improved to 43.9% from 86.0%. There were no revision cases due to adjacent segment problems. Conclusion: Whole lumbosacral fusion in spinal stenosis with degenerative lumbar scoliosis was concomitant with some adjacent segment problems, but presented favorable outcomes. For the prevention of junctional problem, caution should be taken when extending the fusion level to the proximal level in whole lumbosacral fusion.


In this research, a design guideline for a kinetic energy converter using a cantilever triple-layer piezoelectric harvester (CTLPH) for low-frequency applications is presented. By combining the constitutive and internal energy equations, the analytical equations for harvested voltage and power were developed. It was also found that frequency of motion, applied tip force, piezoelectric coefficients, geometrical dimensions, and mechanical properties of layers play significant roles in the performance of the harvester. Having characterised the voltage regulator module, LTC3588, the dependency of output voltage on both the storage and output capacitors of the LTC3588 was investigated. An experimental measurement using the optical method was carried out to determine the applied tip force. Furthermore, the performance of the CTLPH in low frequencies (<3.3 Hz) for various resistive loads was investigated. It was found that both excitation frequency and external resistance load are effective on the maximum generated power. The developed CTLPH shows the optimum power of 17.31 μW at the external resistance of 20 kΩ, which is highly appropriate for micropower devices with at least 3.2 Hz of kinetic vibration in their environment.


:  Age-based population assessment is widely used, but there are cases where information on age or even body length of landed fish is difficult to collect. In the present study, the biomass and fishing mortality of the southern Hokkaido stock of Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus was estimated directly from body weight composition, using weight-based virtual population analysis, from 1994 to 2000. The estimated biomass over 1 kg body weight was 5607 t in 1994 and increased to 7908 t in 2000. The increase was explained by an increase in recruitment.


AIM
The present study evaluated the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of nebivolol enantiomers in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and in patients undergoing haemodialysis.

METHODS
Forty-three adult patients were distributed into three groups: healthy volunteers and hypertensive patients with normal kidney function (n = 22); patients with stage 3 and 4 CKD (n = 11); and patients with stage 5 CKD undergoing haemodialysis (n = 10). The subjects received a single oral dose of 10 mg racemic nebivolol. Serial blood samples were collected up to 48 h after administration of the drug and heart rate variation was measured over the same interval during the isometric handgrip test. The nebivolol enantiomers in plasma were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS
The pharmacokinetics of nebivolol is enantioselective, with a greater plasma proportion of l-nebivolol. CKD increased the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of l-nebivolol (6.83 ng.h ml(-1) vs. 9.94 ng.h ml(-1) ) and d-nebivolol (4.15 ng.h ml(-1) vs. 7.30 ng.h ml(-1) ) when compared with the control group. However, the AUC values of l-nebivolol (6.41 ng.h ml(-1) ) and d-nebivolol (4.95 ng.h ml(-1) ) did not differ between the haemodialysis and control groups. The administration of a single dose of 10 mg nebivolol did not alter the heart rate variation induced by isometric exercise in the investigated patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Stage 3 and 4 CKD increases the plasma concentrations of both nebivolol enantiomers, while haemodialysis restores the pharmacokinetic parameters to values similar to those observed in the control group. No significant difference in heart rate variation induced by isometric exercise was observed between the investigated groups after the administration of a single oral dose of 10 mg nebivolol.


Is coelioscopic surgery an interesting way in massive obese patients? This is well established concerning the post-operative benefit, with a decreased risk of pulmonary and thrombo-embolic complications. But technical difficulties are not well described, whereas we encountered some: incomplete retraction of intra-abdominal organs, weakness and hemorrhagic tendency of the tissues, and most of all an insufficient pneumoperitoneum in all patients preventing sometime the surgical procedure. We analyse those obstacles to propose solutions when the laparoscopic way seems better regarding to the post-operative risk. We study their predictive factors, the best one being the thickness of the abdominal anterior wall, whereas the body weigh is an inadequate factor.


Reaction of [(η5-C5H5)(CO)2(NO)Mo] (1) with alkynyllithium and [(CH3)3O]BF4 affords the vinylidene-molybdenum complex 2 along with the methoxy(alkynyl)carbene molybdenum complex 3. Both compounds are characterized by an X-ray crystal structure analysis. Due to axial and central chirality in the LnMCCR2 moiety complex 2 is formed as a 2 : 1 mixture of two diastereomers. The formation of 2 and 3 can be understood in terms of a competitive attack of alkynyllithium at the carbonyl ligand and the molybdenum center.


This paper presents an investigation of echo-pairs in Hungarian. Echo-pairs are formed by duplicating a base with an altered initial consonant and have diminutive, playful, or intimate connotations (e.g., cica [t͡sit͡sɒ] "cat" → cica-mica [t͡sit͡sɒ-mit͡sɒ] "cat.dim"). Echo-pairs are commonly seen as an example of extra-grammatical morphology in the literature. Our goal in looking at this phenomenon is to gain a better understanding of the morphological mechanisms underlying extra-grammatical phenomena and shed new light on the distinction between plain and extra-grammatical morphology. We analyze data from (a) a collection of echo-pairs extracted from a large corpus of online texts and (b) a large-scale online nonce-word experiment with close to 1,500 participants. Our results reveal two key phonological patterns in the data and some additional systematic variation across words and experimental stimuli. We compare two different models of morphology, the Minimal Generalization Learner and the Generalized Context Model, in terms of their ability to capture this variation. We find that echo-pair formation is best captured by lexicon-oriented models such as the Generalized Context Model, but only when they rely on a structured similarity metric that encodes broader generalizations about the data. Our results do not support a clear-cut distinction between extra-grammatical and plain morphological processes, and we suggest that some of the peculiar characteristics of extra-grammatical phenomena such as echo-pair formation may simply follow from their special function and the limited set of contexts in which they appear.


Lower torso ischemia leads on reperfusion to sequestration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in the lungs and increased permeability. This study tests the role of circulating leukocytes (WBC) in mediating this lung injury. Anesthetized sheep prepared with chronic lung lymph fistulae underwent 2 hours of bilateral hind limb tourniquet ischemia. In untreated controls (n = 7), 1 minute after reperfusion there were transient increases in mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) from 13 to 38 mmHg (p less than 0.05) and pulmonary microvascular pressure (Pmv) from 7 to 18 mmHg (p less than 0.05), changes temporally related to a rise in plasma thromboxane (Tx) B2 levels from 211 to 735 pg/ml (p less than 0.05). Lung lymph TxB2 levels rose from 400 to 1005 pg/ml at 30 minutes (p less than 0.05), and remained elevated longer than plasma levels. Lung lymph flow (QL) rose from 4.3 to 8.3 ml/30 minutes (p less than 0.05) after 30 minutes of reperfusion and remained elevated for 2 hours. The lymph/plasma (L/P) protein ratio was unchanged from 0.6, while the lymph protein clearance increased from 2.6 to 4.6 ml/30 minutes (p less than 0.05), suggesting increased microvascular permeability. WBC counts decreased within the first hour of reperfusion from 6853 to 3796/mm3 (p less than 0.05), and lung histology after 2 hours showed proteinaceous exudates and leukosequestration of 62 PMN/10 high-powered fields (HPF), higher than the 22 PMN/10 HPF (p less than 0.05) in sham animals (n = 3). Recruitment of the pulmonary vasculature by left atrial balloon inflation (n = 3) resulted in a rise in MPAP to 20 mmHg. After 3 hours of balloon inflation, QL stabilized at 9.8 ml/15 minutes, and a pressure-independent L/P protein ratio of 0.3 was achieved. During reperfusion, QL increased further to 11.2 ml/15 minutes, the L/P ratio rose to 0.56 and the calculated osmotic reflection coefficient decreased from 0.70 to 0.44, documenting an increase in lung microvascular permeability. In contrast to these untreated ischemic controls, sheep (n = 7) rendered leukopenic with hydroxyurea or nitrogen mustard and having a total WBC count of 760/mm3 and PMN count of 150/mm3 did not manifest reperfusion-induced increases in MPAP, Pmv, QL, lymph protein clearance, or lung lymph. TxB2 level (p less than 0.05). Plasma TxB2 levels rose slightly at 30 minutes from 199 to 288 pg/ml (p less than 0.05). Lung histology was normal. These data indicate that WBC mediate the ischemia-induced increase in pulmonary microvascular permeability.


Despite the identification of areas exhibiting successful adoption and use of water harvesting technologies (WHTs) by small-scale farmers in SSA, on the whole WHT use remains low and hence impacts on crop production and livelihoods marginal. Past research has determined the importance of social factors in the adoption and use of WHTs, but little attempt has been made to fully understand their role. This paper presents qualitative, micro level research conducted in Botswana and Burkina Faso that has increased understanding of the effect of social factors. The main lesson learnt is that WHTs sit within a highly complex and dynamic system and the problem of low adoption and use cannot be solved using approaches that attempt to over-simplify it. Ensuring the sustainability of WHTs into the future requires that the complexity and messiness of the system is fully embraced by researchers and practitioners seeking solutions.


Tightened environmental legislation enacted as a result of government policy has compelled the industry to pay serious attention to air pollution issues. Gas cleaning with ceramic filters has proven to be a major technology for removal of particulate emissions at high temperatures. Filters, after a certain period of filtration time, must be cleaned for maximum efficiency. This can be done by applying a pulsed reverse cleaning flow into the filters. The cleaning mechanisms by which the deposited cake is removed from the filter surface are still not fully understood. Varied mathematical models were thus developed to investigate the flow dynamics of the filtration and reverse pulse flow cleaning in a ceramic filter. These include a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, a Simple Excel Reverse Pulse Flow Model and a time-dependent filter cake model. The simulation results were validated using the results of previously reported experiments carried out for filtration and reverse flow cleaning using the filter elements.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of robotic or endoscopic thyroidectomy via bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) without a drainage procedure. Methods: A total of 64 patients who underwent robotic or endoscopic thyroidectomy via BABA without a close suction drain between February and March 2012 were enrolled. We checked postoperative symptoms or signs including change of vital signs, dyspnea, swelling or fluctuation of anterior chest and neck and compression symptoms at 1, 6, 24, and 48 hours and 1 month after surgery. Postoperative ultrasonography was performed in patients with at least one or more postoperative symptoms or signs in order to confirm hematoma or fluid collection. Results: None of the enrolled patients had dyspnea or change of vital signs. Two of 64 patients had swelling, 1 of 64 patients had fluctuation on the anterior chest, and 1 of 64 patients had compression symptoms. Fluid collection was confirmed in 2 of 4 of the above mentioned patients and the collected fluid was aspirated. The amounts of aspirated fluid were 25 mL and 8 mL. Thereafter, the follow up ultrasonography showed no more fluid collection in all patients. In addition, we rechecked the above mentioned symptoms or signs at 1 month after surgery; none of the enrolled patients had symptoms or signs. Conclusion: Robotic or endoscopic thyroidectomy via BABA without a closed suction drain shows no serious seroma or hematoma collection. Therefore, we expect that robotic or endoscopic thyroidectomy via BABA without a closed suction drain can reduce the pain, discomfort or longer hospital stay as a result of closed suction drain using this method.