Aims IVH and posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) are common and major complications of prematurity. Management usually requires surgical intervention to temporarily or permanently drain CSF. In 2012 we introduced a new protocol for management of preterm IVH using ventriculosubgaleal shunt (VSGS) – a tube that drains CSF from the ventricle of the brain to a subgaleal scalp pocket – as the preferred temporising device. The protocol involves using VSGS for babies with 1) ventricular indices (VI) >97th centile +4 mm, or 2) ventriculomegaly with clinical evidence of raised intracranial pressure. This study examines outcomes of the first cohort of patients managed at a tertiary paediatric neurosurgical centre using this protocol. Methods A retrospective case review of consecutive patients treated on protocol within the first 2 years following its introduction (2012–2014). Electronic patient records and databases were interrogated using a study proforma. Results 20 patients were identified during the study period. 1 patient was an out-of-area referral who was repatriated and no follow up data was available so was excluded from analysis. Of the 19 subjects, mean follow up duration was 516 d (range 137- 1056). 18 (95%) had Papile grade 3 or 4 IVH at the time of referral, 1 had Papile grade 2. At the time of VSGS insertion, mean gestational age was 31+1 weeks (range 26+4–36 + 4) and mean weight was 1171g (range 758–1600g). VI was reduced a mean 7.6 mm following insertion. There were 5 operative complications; 2 shunt infections, 2 shunt failures requiring revision, and 1 decompression haemorrhage (managed conservatively). 18 required permanent CSF shunting. This occurred a mean of 79 days (range 24–349) after the VSGS insertion. There was no mortality. Conclusion This protocol is a safe and efficacious method of managing preterm IVH. When compared to other series, our complication rate was favourable, particularly in view of the age and weight profile of our population. The rate of conversion to permanent CSF shunt was high and may reflect the generally poor Papile grade of our referred patients.


Dental caries is the most common chronic infectious disease globally. The microbial communities associated with caries have mainly been examined using relatively low-resolution 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and/or using downstream analyses that are unsound for the compositional nature of the data provided by sequencing. Additionally, the relationship between caries, oral microbiome composition, and host immunological markers has not been explored. In this study, the oral microbiome and a panel of 38 host markers was analyzed across the saliva from 23 children with dentin caries and 24 children with healthy dentition. Metagenomic sequencing, followed by investigation using tools designed to be robust for compositional data, illustrated that several Prevotella spp. were prevalent in caries, while Rothia spp. were associated with the health. The contributional diversity (extent to which multiple taxa contribute to each pathway) of functional pathways present in the oral microbiome was decreased in the caries group. This decrease was especially noticeable in several pathways known to impede caries pathogenesis, including arginine and branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis. 10 host immunological markers were found to be significantly elevated in the saliva of the caries group, and microbe-metabolite co-occurrence analysis provided an atlas of relationships contributing to the bi-directional influence between the oral microbiome and the host immune system. Finally, 527 metagenome-assembled genomes were obtained from the metagenomics data, representing 151 species. 23 taxa were novel genera/species and a further 20 taxa were novel species. This study thus serves as a model analysis pipeline that will tremendously expand our knowledge of the oral microbiome and its relationship to dental caries once applied to large populations.


The objective of this case report is to explore whether genetic testing is appropriate to guide the treatment of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). In this case report, we describe a 27-year-old female who had no significant medical history and no tumor detected in the thyroid gland by ultrasound or computed tomography (CT), but had multiple enlarged lymph nodes at the right cervical lymph node levels II, III, IV, and V. The intraoperative frozen section pathology results showed that seven out of 23 right lymph nodes were metastatic from thyroid papillary carcinoma, but no primary lesion was found in the thyroid gland. After multiple post-operative sampling and micro section, only a 1 mm papillary carcinoma in the left thyroid gland was identified. The genetic testing result showed that the patient was positive for CCDC6-exon 1-RET-exon 12 fusion. The final diagnosis of the patient was left thyroid micro-papillary carcinoma (1 mm) with the right lateral cervical lymph node metastasis. She received iodine-131 treatment with nuclide and lifelong levothyroxine therapy in the 3rd month after surgery. Continuous follow-up showed no elevation of thyroglobulin, no recurrence signs on positron emission tomography-CT re-examination, and good self-reported health status. In conclusion, the identification of CCDC6-RET fusion by genetic testing in the PTMC case aided diagnosis and treatment.


We present in situ observations of adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on citrate-stabilized gold nanospheres. We implemented scattering correlation spectroscopy as a tool to quantify changes in the nanoparticle brownian motion resulting from BSA adsorption onto the nanoparticle surface. Protein binding was observed as an increase in the nanoparticle hydrodynamic radius. Our results indicate the formation of a protein monolayer at similar albumin concentrations as those found in human blood. Additionally, by monitoring the frequency and intensity of individual scattering events caused by single gold nanoparticles passing the observation volume, we found that BSA did not induce colloidal aggregation, a relevant result from the toxicological viewpoint. Moreover, to elucidate the thermodynamics of the gold nanoparticle-BSA association, we measured an adsorption isotherm which was best described by an anticooperative binding model. The number of binding sites based on this model was consistent with a BSA monolayer in its native state. In contrast, experiments using poly(ethylene glycol)-capped gold nanoparticles revealed no evidence for adsorption of BSA.


Abstract : The main objective of this study is to further enhance information transfer between the doctor and the patient, giving women with early stage breast cancer an opportunity to more fully participate in treatment decision making. To accomplish this, the authors developed a decision aid, called the Decision Board (DB), for women regarding choices in breast cancer with respect to surgical treatment and adjuvant chemotherapy. The study compares three versions of the decision board (DB), all containing the same information but using different forms of media: (1) the standard DB, which is a foam core, poster-sized version with pull-out panels; (2) the computer DB, which uses a Windows-based program that resembles the standard DB and is available on a laptop computer; and (3) the paper DB, which is a small 8.5 x 11-inch paper version of the standard DB that also serves as the take-home brochure for the standard DB. The different versions of the DB were developed to improve the instrument's usefulness and to allow for information to be updated more readily. A total of 310 patients were accrued to the study and were randomly assigned to one of the three versions. The DB presents one of two treatment choices: (1) an adjuvant chemotherapy decision for women with stage I or II moderate risk breast cancer (no chemotherapy vs. CMF [Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, and Fluorouracil] vs. AC [Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide] vs. ACT [Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, and Taxol]); and (2) a surgical decision (mastectomy vs. lumpectomy plus radiation). Preliminary analyses show that the three versions of the DB indicate similar levels of patient knowledge, decisional conflict, and satisfaction with decision making among the patients who used them. The three instruments also showed a similar level of usefulness to patients and physicians. The study supports the use of computer-based and paper-based versions of the DB in treatment decision-making.


This article tests the expectation hypothesis by using the volatility index VIX and futures contracts written on that index. Because the VIX index is negatively correlated with the S&P 500 index returns the VIX futures price should contain a negative risk premium, which is confirmed in this study. When the futures price is not adjusted with the risk premium, the expectation hypothesis is rejected at the 5% significance level for 20 of 21 forecast horizons. However when the futures price is adjusted with the risk premium, obtained from a stochastic volatility model, the expectation hypothesis cannot be rejected. Further, the results show that the risk premium adjusted futures price forecasts the direction of the VIX index well. The one day ahead forecast predicts the direction correctly 73% of the time.


Energy-saving optimization is very important for various engineering problems related to modern distributed systems. We consider here a control problem for a wireless sensor network with a single time server node and a large number of client nodes. The problem is to minimize a functional which accumulates clock synchronization errors in the clients nodes and the energy consumption of the server over some time interval [0, T ]. The control function u = u(t), 0 ≤ u(t) ≤ u1, corresponds to the power of the server node transmitting synchronization signals to the clients. For all possible parameter values we find the structure of optimal trajectories. We show that for sufficiently large u1 the solutions contain singular arcs.


The China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) is a new tokamak fusion reactor under preliminary design, where the toroidal field (TF) coil has been designed to create a magnetic field of over 14.3 T. The TF conductors need to operate stably at 14.3 T, requiring the exclusion of conductor performance degradation from thermal and electromagnetic loading as much as possible. The maximum Lorentz force will reach about 1200 kN m−1, which is much higher than that of ITER conductors. In previous research, performance degradation was found during electromagnetic cycles and warm-up–cool-down cycles. A correlation was found between a conductor's degradation and its mechanical properties. According to the analysis, a conductor with a short twist pitch (STP) scheme or a copper wound superconducting strand (CWS) design has large stiffness, which enables significant performance improvement in terms of the electromagnetic and thermal load cycling. The cable stiffness is closely related to the number of inter-strand contact points inside the conductor. Based on this concept, four types of prototype cable-in-conduit conductor samples with STP and CWS design were manufactured. The number of inter-strand contact points was analyzed, and mechanical transverse load testing was performed at 77 K. The results show that the conductors with more contact points per unit length exhibit a higher stiffness. However, the cable designed with high cable stiffness caused strand indentation, which was also investigated. In this paper, the conductor design and experimental results are discussed and compared with ITER TF and central solenoid conductors.


Abstract Text comprehension involves frequent backtracking through previously read material, either accompanied by regressive saccades or not, in order to find the elements necessary for the interpretation of words currently being inspected. An obvious example is anaphor processing, where reference to an earlier element in the text, and thus the necessity to backtrack, is marked linguistically (by a pronoun, a definite article, a preposition, etc.). Little is known, however, concerning the exact nature of the text representation(s) used by readers when performing such backtracking. In the present paper, two potential levels of text representation will be discussed: a representation of the text content (see, for example, the notion of a discourse model proposed by Garnham, 1981) and a representation of the surface form of the text, including the spatial locations of words on the screen.


Since the late 1800's, houses have been built of straw. Contrary to nursery rhymes, these houses have proved sturdy and comfortable and not at all easy to blow down. In the last several years, as people have experimented with new and old building materials and looked for ways to halt rice field stubble burning, there has been a resurgence of homes built with straw. Unfortunately, there has been very little testing to determine the thermal performance of straw bale walls or to discover how these walls affect a home's heating and cooling energy consumption. Reported R-values for straw bale walls range from R-17 to R-54, depending on the test procedure, the type of straw used and the type of straw bale wall system. This paper reports on a test set-up by the California Energy Commission (Commission) and conducted in a nationally accredited lab, Architectural Testing Inc. (ATI) in Fresno, California. The paper describes the tested straw bale wall assemblies, the testing process, and problems encountered in the construction and testing of the walls. The paper also gives a reasonable R-value to use in calculating thermal performance of straw bale houses and presents findings that show that straw bale construction canmore » decrease the heating and cooling energy usage of a typical house by up to a third over conventional practice.« less


Philosophical approaches to ancient Israelite religion are rare, as is metaethical refl ection on the Hebrew Bible. Nevertheless, many biblical scholars and philosophers of religion tend to take it for granted that the biblical metaethical assumptions about the relation between divinity and morality involve a pre-philosophical version of Divine Command Theory by default. In this paper the author challenges the popular consensus with several arguments demonstrating the presence of moral realism in the text. It is furthermore suggested that the popular consensus came about as a result of prima facie assessments informed by anachronistic metatheistic assumptions about what the Hebrew Bible assumed to be essential in the deity–morality relation. The study concludes with the observation that in the texts where Divine Command Theory is absent from the underlying moral epistemology the Euthyphro Dilemma disappears as a false dichotomy.


We use full 3D EM simulation to optimize the design of a 30 GHz branch line coupler using thin film microstrip lines (TFMS) in a commercial 120 GHz SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology. The effects of various ground plane connections are considered for designing the branch line coupler. With an improper design of the ground plane in the TFMS, the measured S/sub 21/ shows 7 dB degradation at 30 GHz, in agreement with simulation. A carefully optimized coupler design shows that -4 dB S/sub 21//S/sub 31/ with -15 dB reflection coefficient at 30 GHz should be achievable.


The nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way is a unique target in the Universe. Contrary to extragalactic nuclear star clusters, using current technology it can be resolved into tens of thousands of individual stars. This allows us to study in detail its spatial and velocity structure as well as the different stellar populations that make up the cluster. Moreover, the Milky Way is one of the very few cases where we have firm evidence for the co-existence of a nuclear star cluster with a central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. The number density of stars in the Galactic center nuclear star cluster can be well described, at distances 1 pc from Sagittarius A*, by a power-law of the form p(r) ∞ r-γ with an index of γ ≈ 1.8. In the central parsec the index of the power-law becomes much flatter and decreases to γ ≈ 1.2. We present proper motions for more than 6000 stars within 1 pc in projection from the central black hole. The cluster appears isotropic at projected distances 0.5 pc from Sagittarius A*. Outside of 0.5 pc and out to 1.0 pc the velocity dispersion appears to stay constant. A robust result of our Jeans modeling of the data is the required presence of 0.5 — 2.0 x 106 M⊙ of extended (stellar) mass in the central parsec of the Galaxy.


The role of gender in the labour force and potential inequalities between men and women have been widely discussed. Despite efforts to align gender roles in recent decades, high levels of inequality are not an exception but rather the standard. These inequalities can lead to the respective minorities' general dissatisfaction, which affects the working atmosphere and ultimately a firm's economic success (Hoogendoorn et al., 2013). Recent quantitative studies confirm this dissatisfaction exists. However, analyses only take place at a country or regional level. Therefore, conclusions can be drawn on an aggregated level, whereas underlying structural differences between individual firms remain undetected. Alternative ways to measure inequalities include qualitative studies for individual companies. However, no generalized inference can be made. Our proposed framework, the Gender Equality Firm Index (GEFI), allows for quantitative gender equality analysis at the company level. GEFI aims to explore the latent and the concrete implementation of gender equality in firms. Specifically, we derive firm-level measurements from large-scale data extraction of firm websites and combine them with official data. We consequently derive a gender equality score for each company, making it possible to draw conclusions at any given level of granularity. We demonstrate the applicability of our framework in a case study including nearly 1 million firms throughout Germany. Thereby, we find that mainly urban and western German firms in sectors such as health and social services comparably enforce gender equality the most, which is in line with the existing literature.


A novel gaseous detector, based on parallel-plate gas amplification with a resistive anode and remote readout electrode, is described. The detector is significantly less prone to discharges than other gaseous wireless detectors and unique in its ability to achieve high gain at high counting rates. A local counting rate >5/spl times/10/sup 5/ counts/mm/sup 2/-s at a gas gain of up to 10/sup 5/ has been achieved in a 14/spl times/14 cm/sup 2/ area detector for diffraction applications. The detector radiation hardness is characterized by the anode accumulated charge >100 Coul/cm/sup 2/. The detector is sealed and its regassing period is estimated to be 5-10 yr. The operating characteristics of the new detector, its spatial resolution, and linearity are described and preliminary X-ray diffraction data are presented.


This paper develops a Bayesian approach to estimating exchange rate target zone models and rational expectations models in general. It also introduces a simultaneous-equation target zone model that incorporates stochastic realignment risk. Using FF/DM and IL/DM exchange rate data, we find that the signing of the 1987 Basle-Nyborg Agreement reduces both the magnitude and the likelihood of a central parity realignment, while the lagged exchange rate deviation from its central parity increases them. Furthermore, the interest rate policies and the monetary conditions of the participating countries signal a forthcoming realignment. In general, we are unable to improve upon a simple random walk model in out-of-sample exchange rate prediction by introducing target zone models.


The daily amount of Android malicious applications (apps) targeting the app repositories is increasing, and their number is overwhelming the process of fingerprinting. To address this issue, we propose an enhanced Cypider framework, a set of techniques and tools aiming to perform a systematic detection of mobile malware by building a scalable and obfuscation resilient similarity network infrastructure of malicious apps. Our approach is based on our proposed concept, namely malicious community, in which we consider malicious instances that share common features are the most likely part of the same malware family. Using this concept, we presumably assume that multiple similar Android apps with different authors are most likely to be malicious. Specifically, Cypider leverages this assumption for the detection of variants of known malware families and zero-day malicious apps. Cypider applies community detection algorithms on the similarity network, which extracts sub-graphs considered as suspicious and possibly malicious communities. Furthermore, we propose a novel fingerprinting technique, namely community fingerprint, based on a one-class machine learning model for each malicious community. Besides, we proposed an enhanced Cypider framework, which requires less memory, x650, and less time to build the similarity network, x700, compared to the original version, without affecting the fingerprinting performance of the framework. We introduce a systematic approach to locate the best threshold on different feature content vectors, which simplifies the overall detection process.


The microaerophilic protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia occurs globally and causes dysentery in humans and animals. Since it is very sensitive to oxygen and reactive oxygen species, G. lamblia disposes over several enzymatic pathways to counter oxidative stress. One of the enzymes involved is thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), a central redox regulator that indirectly reduces peroxiredoxins via thioredoxin, an electron shuttle protein. Interestingly, the components of the TrxR-mediated redox system, including functional thioredoxins, have so far not been described despite their surmised importance for parasite survival. We aimed at filling this gap and attempted to identify functional thioredoxins and other interaction partners of TrxR in G. lamblia. To this end, we conducted database searches and expressed three recombinant candidate thioredoxins in Escherichia coli for ensuing enzyme assays. Further, co-immunoprecipitation experiments were conducted in order to identify further components of the thioredoxin redox network. Finally, the cellular localization of TrxR and peroxiredoxin 1 was determined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Surprisingly, our endeavours did not result in the identification of a functional thioredoxin or other credible interaction partners of TrxR. We, therefore, conclude that there is currently no evidence for a canonical thioredoxin redox network in G. lamblia.


— In this study, soil samples, taken from Izmir Bay, treated with different chemical additives and with different proportions in order to obtain strength values for the possible usage of the dredge material as a raw material for road construction purposes. Sieve analysis, hydrometer tests and Atterberg limits determination were performed for the classification of the dredge material. Specific gravity tests and organic content determination were also performed. pH value and atterberg limits change of several soil binder mixtures was determined in order to judge the optimum binder ratio. Standard Proctor tests were performed to understand the compressibility behavior of dredge materials and finally, unconfined compression tests are performed for the verification of the determination of the optimum binder content and stabilization process. Salty sea water used in curing method in order to supply tougher conditions. And also different cure times applied in order to investigate short and long term gains of soil in terms of stabilization


In order to confirm the reliability of non-destructive plant life assessment method by metallurgical examination, creep damage was evaluated in aged power boiler pressure parts operated more than 100 000 h. Then the evaluated creep damage was compared with destructive tests, namely creep rupture test and creep fatigue test, of samples removed from the same positions of components inspected by the metallurgical method.In the metallurgical method, metallurgical degradation was quantified by variation of type and shape of carbide, variation of distribution of alloying elements and nucleation of creep voids. All quantified values but shape of carbide varied systematically during the further operation for 1 or 2 years at all of inspected components. Comparing the quantified metallurgical degradations, with consumed life fraction assessed by destructive tests, relative fraction of M6C carbide, which was quantified type of carbide, and characteristics of Cr and Mo composition spectra, which was quantified distribution of alloying elements, were found to suit the life assessment during first half of life. The creep void density, which was quantified nucleation of creep voids, was found to suit during the latter half.Consequently residual life of aged power boiler pressure parts can be assessed by the metallurgical method.


This paper examines how popular jokes about White women and their sexuality are utilised by Cook Islanders to negotiate relationships with outsiders, particularly Western tourists. These jokes serve to unsettle tourist images of erotic paradise populated with welcoming island women and, further, offer a humorous commentary on the inequities of global capitalism.


Food production is a complex process that incorporates many factors whose main goal is getting health safety, quality and proper hygiene of food products. Guaranteed food safety, proven by the implementation of European standards is a crucial condition for selling products on European markets. Since Macedonia is directed towards EU membership, and already is a member of the WTO, as a developing country it is very important to have a position on raising the standards and rigors of the EU in relation to production of safe food. Part of the system of production of safe food, known as "Risk Analysis and Critical Control Points" or HASAP (HACCP) as legislation is introduced rapidly in all developing countries and in Macedonia is introduced in 2002.Accepting the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) concept, the manufacturer orients toward implementationon safe production of food products through continuous control of the effective cleaning and sanitation of the production areas with their documentation. In this case studyis presented the current situation regarding the implementation of HACCP system in the food sector in the municipality of Probistip and are projected the future activities that need to be taken by all entities responsible for the food safety.During the preparations of this case studyit was conducted a survey among the food business operators. By processing the data from the questionnaire therewere detected the most significant barriers and problems, and also thepositive sides - advantages, for implementingtheHACCP system in the food business.
Key words: KKT –critical control point; Secure and safe food;Control of food products; Operator;Consumer.


ABSTRACT

In the first decade of the new Millennium a wave of change caught Latin America as a reaction to Neoliberalism's crisis. Economic growth returned to the Continent pushed by an enlarging domestic market and a heated world market of primary goods. At the end of this decade, some changes were visible in the majority of Latin-American countries: beside economic expansion and labour market enlargement there was social change, poverty reduction, income distribution improvement and political transformations. Some prohibited subjects as equity and political and economic rights of marginalized classes were introduced within the political agenda. Inequality decrease get the better of this movement and its achievement only occurred in countries where governments willingly adopted social policies of income transferences and wage improvement.

Key words: Latin America; development; equality.

Artigo recebido em 01 nov. 2011.


Cylindrical grinding is the process of metal removal using multiple cutting point. The objective of the study is to investigate the chip characteristics (shape and width) and surface roughness materials. The materials are AISI 1020, AISI 1045, AISI 1090, AISI D2, and AISI 4340 with a grinding wheels WA46K8V. The research is using cylindrical grinding processes at low-speed workpiece 100 rpm, depth of cut 0.5 mm, in dry condition. Result of research is comparing characteristic chip with variable feet rate 120 mm/min, 420 mm/min, 1300 mm/min. The result is to show the increasing feedrate lead, the growth of chip width and high surface roughness value. On materials AISI 1020, AISI 1045, AISI 1090, and AISI 4340 show that chips width is related to hardness value.


Background Central precocious puberty (CPP) due to premature activation of GnRH secretion results in early epiphyseal fusion and to a significant compromise in the achieved final adult height. Currently, few genetic determinants of children with CPP have been described. In this translational study, rare sequence variants in MKRN3, DLK1, KISS1, and KISS1R genes were investigated in patients with CPP. Methods Fifty-four index girls and two index boys with CPP were first tested by Sanger sequencing for the MKRN3 gene. All children found negative (n = 44) for the MKRN3 gene were further investigated by whole exome sequencing (WES). In the latter analysis, the status of variants in genes known to be related with pubertal timing was compared with an in-house Cypriot control cohort (n = 43). The identified rare variants were initially examined by in silico computational algorithms and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Additionally, a genetic network for the MKRN3 gene, mimicking a holistic regulatory depiction of the crosstalk between MKRN3 and other genes was designed. Results Three previously described pathogenic MKRN3 variants located in the coding region of the gene were identified in 12 index girls with CPP. The most prevalent pathogenic MKRN3 variant p.Gly312Asp was exclusively found among the Cypriot CPP cohort, indicating a founder effect phenomenon. Seven other CPP girls harbored rare likely pathogenic upstream variants in the MKRN3. Among the 44 CPP patients submitted to WES, nine rare DLK1 variants were identified in 11 girls, two rare KISS1 variants in six girls, and two rare MAGEL2 variants in five girls. Interestingly, the frequent variant rs10407968 (p.Gly8Ter) of the KISS1R gene appeared to be less frequent in the cohort of patients with CPP. Conclusion The results of the present study confirm the importance of the MKRN3-imprinted gene in genetics of CPP and its key role in pubertal timing. Overall, the results of the present study have emphasized the importance of an approach that aligns genetics and clinical aspects, which is necessary for the management and treatment of CPP.


Whelan and Barnes-Holmes (this issue) emphasized points with which they disagree with our analyses, especially regarding what they define as the correct usage of technical terms, what should be considered motivational, and the use of intervening variables in behavior analysis. Except for the definition of motivational phenomena, however, we believe that there are similarities between our proposal and the analyses presented in their commentary. We agree that terms should be used correctly and that behavior analysts should avoid dualistic explanations of behavior, but we propose that the intervening variable consequence value, defined as the relation between dependent variables and the independent variables that influence the effectiveness of consequences, is a more precise account of motivational phenomena than is a definition by exclusion, which has a higher likelihood of misuse. The present notion of value is consistent with the philosophical and scientific principles of behavior analysis and, most important, it can further experimental analyses and theoretical systematizations of findings about behavior because its limits are empirically established.


Packet communications have increasingly become popular since the launch of the first ever packet-switched network, the ARPANET. Evolution of such networks resulted in creation of the Internet, the global packet-switched network. Amongst the well-known advantages of packet-switching are service transparency, cost-effectiveness, and high system capacity. A natural pathway will incorporate tetherless mobility features to packet services. The key component to realisation of wireless packet communication is the multiple access technology (the subject of this thesis), capable of optimum sharing of scarce radio resources amongst a diverse set of packetized information sources. Based on core features of packet multiple access protocols, a classification is presented by which most proposed protocols could be mapped into. For mixed services, two equivalent offered loads, namely ''access load" and "traffic load", are derived. The former can be used for design, optimisation, and stabilisation of the access mechanism, whilst the latter is to evaluate the overall system performance. The proposed normalised offered loads are found accurate and instrumental in predicting and designing packet access protocols for mixed services. "Statistical upper-bounds" for packet access protocols are derived (both for random access and general access mechanisms), based on which an "efficiency factor" is defined to evaluate and compare merits of protocols against each other. Conventionally, analysis of resource-sharing systems with mixed services (such as multiple access protocols) involve multidimensional Markov chains which become quite intractable for more than two service types. In order to avoid multidimensional Markov analysis, an analytical method called "Aggregate Source Modelling" is proposed by means of which various service types are aggregated into a representative service type. The proposed method is deployed to analyse various queueing and multiple access scenarios. Finally, a series of multiple access protocols are presented for adapting real-time and non-real-time packet services to existing cellular and satellite systems. For evaluation purposes, the proposed statistical models of packet services (such as FTP, E- mail, WWW, packet voice, and so forth) are used throughout the thesis. These models have components of various statistical distributions, namely, Poisson (Exponential), lognormal, Pareto, Cauchy, Gaussian, Geometric, and Hyper-Exponential. Extensive discrete-time simulation models have been developed for evaluation purposes.


Each chapter ends with "Summary." 1. Origins of a Diverse Profession. Social Workers on the Job. Values and the Profession. Knowledge for Social Work Practice. Defining Social Work. Functions of Social Work Practice. Roots of the Profession. Roots of American Social Work. Emergence of a Profession. Social Work's Conservative Origins. Social Work and Related Professions. Overview. 2. Educating and Credentialing Social Workers. Controversies in the History of Social Work Education. Current Curriculum Guidelines. Structure of Social Work Education. Membership Organizations. Licensure and Certification: Protection for Whom? Status and the Profession. 3. In Search of Social Work Theory. What is a Theory? Evaluating Theories. Toward a Social Work Theory. Ideological Perspectives on Social Work Practice. 4. A New Look at Traditional Social Work Methods: Positioning the Profession for the Future. The Generalist Model. Social Casework. Social Work Practice with Groups. Community Organization Practice. 5. Contemporary Social Work Methods: Beyond Direct Practice. Emergence of Macropractice Methods. Social Work Administration. Policy as a Practice Method. Radical Social Work Practice. Research and Evaluation Practice. 6. Social Work's Response to Mental Illness. History of Mental Health Services. The Scope of Mental Health Problems. Community Mental Health Services. Social Workers and Mental Health Practice. Mental Health and the Competing Professions. Ethnic Minorities, Women, and Mental Health Care. The Rights of Clients with Mental Illness. Future of Social Work in the Mental Health Fields. 7. New Directions in Social Work's Response to Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse. Sin, Crime, or Disease? AODA Problems and Social Work Practice. Causalities of the War on Drugs. Future Directions. 8. Meeting the Crisis in Health Care. Basic Premises and Goals of Social Work in Health Care. Knowledge, Skills, and Values. Health Care Policy. Good Health and Medical Care: The Missing Link. Health Care for the Poor and Minorities. Health Care Reform. Social Work in Health Care Settings. Future of Health Social Work. Future of the Public's Health. 9. Developmental Disabilities: Striving Toward Inclusion. What are Developmental Disabilities? Social Concern and Mental Retardation. Contemporary Social Policy and Developmental Disabilities. Case Management: Knowledge, Skills, and Values. Aged People with Mental Retardation. Social Workers in the Developmental Disability Field. Future Trends and Directions. 10. Services to Vulnerable Children and Their Families. The Need for a System. Development of Children's Services. Current Services to Children. Services to Children Outside Their Homes. 11. Social Work Faces the Graying of America. The Faces of Older Americans. Services for Older Americans. Models of Service. The Graying Concerns of Social Work. The Makings of a Gerontological Social Worker. 12. Poverty: Improving the Quality of Life for America's Poor. Social Work with the Poor: Are Professional Skills Needed? Emerging Dilemma: Individual Versus System Level of Intervention. Challenge to Social Work: Meeting Financial Needs of the Poor. AFDC: Helping Poor Families Stay Together. Designing Programs to Make Housing Affordable to the Poor. Service Needs of People Who are Homeless. 13. Seeking Justice for Clients in the Legal System: Social Workers in the Justice System. Crime: As American as Apple Pie. The Justice System. Other Correctional Programs. Juveniles: Diversion from the System. Issues in Corrections. 14. Social Work and the Occupational Arena. A History of Social Workers in the Workplace. Occupational Social Work Today. A Framework for Understanding Occupational Social Work Social Work in the Military. Current Issues in Occupational Social Work. 15. Toward Cultural Competence: Social Work, Ethnicity, and Culture. Why Social Workers Need to be Culturally Competent Terminology for Culturally Sensitive Practice. Ethnic-Sensitive Practice. Cultural and Ethnic Groups in the United States. The Profession's Response. 16. Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Social Work Practice. Homosexuality and Bisexuality. Diversity in the Gay Community. Intimate Relationships. Coming Out. Important Issues for Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals. Guidelines for Working with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients. Organizations for the Gay Community. Social Work and the Gay Community. 17. A Feminist Perspective on Social Work. The Feminization of Poverty. Equal Rights. Abortion: A Woman's Right? Violence Against Women. Feminism-Its Place in Social Work Practice. Sexual Discrimination and Harassment in Social Work. Professional Groups and Women's Issues. 18. Is There a Future for Social Work? Trends in Education. Trends in Practice. Trends in Employment. Demographic Trends. Trends in Technology and Social Work. References. Author and Subject Indexes.


Introduction The most common cause of acute onset thrombocytopenia in childhood is idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The disease may seen in previously healthy children with only thrombocytopenia or with petechiae, purpura, ecchymosis and mucosal hemorrhage without clinical evidence. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical presentation of ITP. Methods Patients with acute ITP diagnosed between 2017 and 2018 in Mustafa Kemal University, Research Hospital, Department of Child Health and Diseases were retrospectively studied. Patients were evaluated according to age, gender, frequent seasons, referral complaints, history of previous infection and vaccination and ethnic group. Results The clinical findings of the patients were as follows: petechia 100% (n: 155), purpura 100% (n: 155), ecchymosis 100% (n: 155), epistaxis 11,61 (n: 18), gingival bleeding 9,67: 15), gastrointestinal bleeding was 1.93% (n: 3) and hematuria was 1.29% (n: 2). bone marrow biopsy was performed a patient with hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy and subsequent EBV infection diagnosed and also on 2 patients whose thrombocytopenia continued more than 6 months. Two patients with long-standing thrombocytopenia of 6 months get a diagnosis of chronic ITP. Discussion and conclusion ITP is a disease that worries families and physicians because of clinical findings like leukemia and It is not rare cause of thrombocytopenia. Therefore, findings of thrombocytopenia; should be evaluated together with detailed history and careful physical examination and acute ITP should be kept in mind.


Intending at economically solving the trouble of deduplication with discrepancy privileges in cloud computing we regard as a hybrid cloud structural design consisting of a public cloud and a private cloud. Dissimilar existing data deduplication systems, the private cloud is occupied as a proxy to tolerate data owner/users to firmly achieve duplicate check with differential privileges. Such architecture is realistic and has concerned much attention from researchers. The data owners only outsource their data storage by employing public cloud while the data operation is handled in private cloud. A new deduplication system supporting differential duplicate check is planned under this hybrid cloud architecture where the S -CSP dwells in the public cloud. The user is only authorized to carry out the duplicate ensure for files marked with the corresponding privileges. The users without equivalent privileges cannot perform the duplicate check. Additionally such unconstitutional users cannot decrypt the cipher text even conspire with the S-CSP.


Employment-at-will (EAW) is the legal presumption that employers and employees may terminate an employment relationship for any or no reason. Defenders of EAW have argued that it promotes autonomy and efficiency. Critics have argued that it allows for the domination, subordination, and arbitrary treatment of employees. We intervene in this debate by arguing that the case for EAW is contextual in a way that existing business ethics scholarship has not considered. In particular, we argue that the justifiability of EAW for a given jurisdiction depends on existing complementarities among the institutions that constitute the jurisdiction's political economy. Notably, our view takes seriously the ethical concerns EAW critics have raised by showing how these concerns can be mitigated through public policy measures that do not require eliminating EAW.


A new die-to-database reticle inspection system has been developed to meet the production requirements for 130nm node 4x reticles, as well as, the early inspection requirements for 100nm node 4x reticles. This new system is based on the TeraStar platform1 developed recently by KLA-Tencor Corporation for high performance die-to-die and STARlight inspection of 130nm node reticles. The TeraStar platform uses high-NA triple-beam scanning laser optics for high throughput. The platform also includes a new generation of defect detection algorithms and image processing hardware to inspect, with high sensitivity and low false detections, the small linewidths, aggressive OPC, and advanced EPSM 4x reticles characteristic of the 130nm node. The platform further includes the TeraPro concurrent STARlight and die- to-die inspection mode for exceptional productivity. The necessary database elements have now been developed and added to the TeraStar platform, to give it die-to-database inspection capability. A new data format along with new data preparation, data rendering, and data modeling algorithms have been developed to allow high precision database matching with the optical image for exceptional die-to- database performance. The TeraPro high productivity features of the TeraStar platform have been extended to the die-to- database mode providing the opportunity to use STARlight and die-to-database modes concurrently. The system design and in-house test results are discussed.


A nation-wide survey was conducted in 2009 to collect information about behavioural patterns possibly associated with gastrointestinal illness (GI) in the general Swedish population. One-third of the respondents used various internet and/or telephone resources to find information about GI. Nearly eighty percent said that they buy and consume certain food products or beverages, and one-third of the respondents claimed that they buy over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for treatment of GI. In the present study, information retrieval behaviour on the internet and telephone calls to health care advice services appear to be the most relevant indicators of GI in Sweden.

 Key words: Beverages, consumption patterns, foods, drugs, incidence of foodborne and waterborne gastrointestinal illness, health indicators, information retrieval, outbreak detection, over-the-counter drugs (OTC drugs), surveillance.


Data movement in nearly all modern imperative languages is based on a single primitive: traditional assignment. (With traditional assignment, data are moved between variables by copying.) Unfortunately, traditional assignment poses many known software engineering drawbacks with respect to efficiency for value types, and with respect to modular reasoning for reference types. Moreover, its entrenched legacy has stifled serious regard of potentially superior data-movement primitives. Exploration of the complete design space for data-movement primitives supports the following conclusions: (1) traditional assignment is fundamentally flawed, and (2) any other data-movement primitive would be better.


Cytochrome P450s have been shown to play a vital role in the xenobiotic detoxification system of Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, the causal agent of the turfgrass disease dollar spot. A previous study indicated that three CYP450s were validated to play a functional role in resistance against different fungicide classes including propiconazole and plant growth regulator, flurprimidol. In this study, we present these CYP450s possess the capability to modify the multi-site mode of action fungicide chlorothalonil. Chlorothalonil is an extensively used contact fungicide and has been shown to persist in soils. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) indicated faster rates of chlorothalonil biotransformation by CYP561 and CYP65 overexpression strains when compared to the wild-type and CYP68 overexpression strain. Our GC-MS results show that the primary transformation intermediate found in soils, 4-hydroxy-2,5,6 trichloro-isophthalonitrile is produced by CYP450s' metabolism. These findings suggest fungal CYP450s can biotransform chlorothalonil for biodegradation or detoxification.


In this paper, the application of virtual reality simulation technology of sports dance rehearsals were preliminary research and implementation of a virtual simulation system of sports dance rehearsal and rehearsal, the system can for the coordination of the sports dance creating staff on formation of the arrangement, the movements of the mechanical rationality and sound dance provide technical parameters, can be used as a powerful auxiliary tool for composing personnel of sports dance. The main research contents of this paper include: first to based on the physical simulation research 111e status has made the review and the summary, in order to carry out computer simulation of sports dance performance. This paper is divided into three blocks of dance in the process can not be avoided in the virtual human animation technology, dancers and edit dance of harmony harmony is discussed. At last, the three pieces of work are integrated into the final system of sports dance choreography. In the virtual human animation technology, the traditional way for the teacher to carry out a frame by frame manual labeling, heavy workload, high cost of motion capture, manual identification accuracy. In this paper, we use a combination of linear interpolation and quaternion interpolation method to capture the motion information of interpolation, to solve the problem of hopping between some separate interpolation algorithm for every frame of the animation, so that eventually the synthesis of human animation is natural, smooth and realistic. Initial animation still has a lot of problems, in order to allow the computer to make action of modified return to action subject, this paper of each rigid body motion clips do accurate and detailed data analysis, use based on keyframe the spline interpolation algorithm to solve location bias, the quaternion in value algorithm to solve the action subject or body movements rotation problem, let the computer auxiliary action scheduling system make actions to modify the fully return to virtual human animation.


At times of severe social disruption, be that war, conflict, pandemic, or economic downturn, both the availability and consumption of healthy dietary patterns can be adversely affected with any effects often outlasting the initial social disruption. For instance, when the COVID‐19 pandemic hit and lockdown restrictions followed, households were reported to consume unhealthy diets. In some cases, this seemed to be a response to the situation and a coping mechanism. In contrast, in other cases, it was a consequence of limited food availability or access, with some communities finding that fresh foods became difficult to source due to the disruption in global supply chains. The example presented by the impact of conflict in Ukraine, which has also disrupted global food supply chains, at a macrolevel, food systems and at a microlevel, individual and community shows that food choices may respond to different global events in similar ways. Therefore, in this review, a range of events/disruptions are considered, beyond pandemics and wars, including climate disasters (e.g., fire, famine, and floods) that have been shown to impact food supply and consequently, food security. The importance of this can be seen as inadequate and nutritionally poor diets have a concomitant effect on health, which extends beyond the initial period of societal stress and disruption of food supply chains. Hence, the impact of such disruptions on consumer behavior which includes food choice needs to be corroborated. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the impact of such disruptions on consumer behavior and food choices. Additionally, this review provides some practical strategies that can be used to ensure the availability of healthy diets.


A RTD/HBT combination acting as a frequency multiplier is studied, both numerically and experimentally. The DC and quasi-static characteristic of the module are modelled using the HP MDS circuit simulator software based on measured characteristics of the individual devices. In presence of a non-linear, negative differential type feedback due to the RTD a precise DC-characterisation is obtained for a voltage controlled input as a function of bias, input voltage, and load resistance. While a full AC-analysis is pending a quasi-static description of the output spectrum was carried out. A demonstrator module is realised on s.i. InP using hybrid epitaxy with MOVPE (HBT) and MBE (RTD). The DC-characteristics are in full agreement with the calculated behaviour and allow a precise understanding of the complicated multiplication function. The quasi-static characteristics are proven by low-frequency multiplication measurements.


IN a relatively misunderstood scene from Zach Braff's recent film, Garden State, the protagonist, Andrew Largeman, wakes up in his friend's house and sits down to breakfast. He is recovering from a party the night before and so is unprepared to face a knight in shining armor who clanks noisily through the kitchen on a quest for cornflakes. Apparently a waiter from Medieval Times, this character comes and goes, serving not only to highlight the moral dissipation of the mother of the protagonist's best friend but also to reinforce the theme of armor that is used throughout the film. Garden State is a movie where the characters periodically armor themselves in everything ranging from protective helmets to shirts that camouflage themselves as wallpaper to garbage bags that serve as raingear and, indeed, to drugs and alcohol. Internet commentary, through partially or thoroughly anonymous reviews, mostly highlights the implausibility of allowing a Medieval Times employee to take his "costume" home at night-few, if any, commentators bother imagining a symbolic purpose lurking behind the noisy steel plates. In addition, mainstream critics, although bemused by the scene, merely point to its filmic associations, in particular with regard to its relationship with The Graduate. Very few sources, if any, interpret the costume for what it is. It is as if the armor was "written" in an unfamiliar visual code, its meaning indecipherable due to some shortcoming or failure in language of steel. The issue of the symbolic failure in the limited area of costuming is not to be confused with a pedantic demand for historical veracity in film. Such a prerequisite is not needed for the creation of a suspension of disbelief and never has been. As Cook asserted, "film constructs its fictions through the deliberate manipulation of photographed reality itself so that, in cinema, artifice and reality become quite literally indistinguishable" (93-94); but, as Woods suggested, "despite their mythic overtones and romance coloring, films with medieval themes, like medieval histories, are required by their audiences to deliver a convincing picture of life" (39). Noting that it was "unusual... that a lapse of authenticity tears the fabric of the viewer's sense of the authentic" (47), Woods argued that film audiences "can be sustained by what seems typical, the kinds of clothes, gestures and so forth that we expect of medieval reality" (47). Davis agreed, asserting that "historical authenticity comes first and foremost from the film's credible connection with 'the spirit of a period' (471). Driver and Ray, quite rightly, noted that, even for the authentically medieval audience of an authentically medieval text, some loss of realism was acceptable (20), and they explained the obvious gulf between the harsh realities of peasant life and its depiction on the pages of a typical book of hours. What is interesting is the chimera of meaning created by the lacunae between the historic and the fantastic. As far as such things go, the Garden State suit of armor itself is commendably accurate-a fully articulated, reasonably Italianate suit of plate armor, replete with a cod piece-which is in itself a rarity in any film. In many ways, this armor succeeds where other filmic armors fail. Consider the armor typically seen in the bulk of contemporary popular film, including Henry V, Excalibur, First Knight, Timeline, and A Knight's Tale-all films that attempt to create a plausible medieval setting. In these films, an ambition towards establishing a recognizably medieval look and feel is almost always accompanied by a visible and immediate failure in the presentation of armor. Michael Wilkinson, Garden State's costume designer, insists that the armor used in the scene arrived in the film almost accidentally. The first suit of armor they rented for the production had a "comic, amateur feel [with] fiberglass armor and knitted yarn chain mail" (Wilkinson), and the suit used in the film was eventually found by a production assistant "surf[ing] the web" (Wilkinson). …


This paper proposes to examine Giulia Civita Franceschi's work in the city of Naples, in favour of abandoned childhood. Between 1913 and 1928, she obtained by the Ministry of Navy and steered the training ship Caracciolo, which became for many urchins their home and family. So, they had the occasion to be saved from misery and delinquency. While before it they crowded streets, squares and arcades of the city, searching charity and ready to steel for surviving, on board ship they became little sailors, living a laborious and restrained life. Civita, inspiring to the concept of the sea as an educator, showed that thanks to her method, edged children and boys could become citizens, conscious of their rights and duties. The ship was site of visits by Italian and foreign delegations, which went to observe closer an educative experiment, considered as a pattern to imitate. The ship was a «second birth» for the Neapolitan urchins, offering them a new starting point, not an arrival point or a temporary protective recovery. The orientation impressed by Giulia Civita, in fact, marked the "Caracciolo" among other similar experiences as a unique educative pattern.


This paper examines the role of dual sourcing (e.g., outside options) in vertical and horizontal relations. In a bilateral monopoly market, if either the upstream or downstream firm has outside options, the other firm could lose from seemingly positive shocks, e.g., market expansion or technology improvements. We extend this setting to a bilateral duopoly market in which each downstream firm has outside options and upstream firms can engage in cost reducing investments and generate technological spillovers. We find that each upstream firm has an incentive to voluntarily generate technological spillovers to its upstream rival if the downstream firms have better outside options.


Demands for energy storage and delivery continue to rise worldwide, making it imperative that reliable performance is achievable in diverse climates. Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries offer a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries owing to their substantially higher specific capacity and energy density. However, improvements to Li-S systems are still needed in low-temperature environments where polysulfide clustering and solubility limitations prohibit complete charge/discharge cycles. We address these issues by introducing thiophosphate-functionalized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), capable of tethering polysulfides, into the cathode architecture. Compared to cells with the parent MOFs, cells containing the functionalized MOFs exhibit greater capacity delivery and decreased polarization for a range of temperatures down to -10 °C. We conduct thorough electrochemical analyses to ascertain the origins of performance differences and report an altered Li-S redox mechanism enabled by the thiophosphate moiety. This investigation is the first low-temperature Li-S study using MOF additives and represents a promising direction in enabling energy storage in extreme environments.


Background Hepatitis E is a common infection in China, but few studies have been carried out to compare regional and ethnic factors in its prevalence. Objectives To characterize the seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgM and IgG in the general population of 11 Chinese provinces and in the people from different ethnic minorities. Materials and Methods Sera from 14208 people including 723 people from four ethnic minorities were screened for anti-HEV IgM and IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For the anti-HEV IgM positive samples, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out for the detection of HEV RNA. Results The overall prevalence of anti-HEV IgG was 19.7%. The highest rate was 35.7% in Guizhou, while the lowest rate was 5.5% in Shanxi. Significantly higher rates were found among males compared to females in Hebei and Hunan province, and among females compared to males in Chongqing and Shannxi. In Guizhou, the prevalence rates among the Buyi, Miao, Shui and Han ethnic groups were 41.8%, 32.0%, 37.5% and 34.7%, respectively, which were not significantly different. The results also showed that the anti-HEV IgG detection rates increased with age for each ethnic group. Additionally, four samples were tested positive for anti-HEV IgM but HEV RNA was not detectable. Conclusions HEV prevalence varies considerably among Chinese provinces. Thus, prevention and control programs including vaccination could be specifically targeted to people living in regions with relatively higher prevalences.


Habitat perturbation due to human activities may generate numerous behavioural and physiological alterations in wild animals. In consequence, some individuals become more susceptible to diseases, while others modify their foraging behaviour or present a diminished reproductive success. In this study, we compare the daily activity pattern (DAP) and the levels of faecal glucocorticoids (fCORT) of individuals of spiny tailed iguana (Ctenosaura acanthura) found in conserved habitats, with those found in areas perturbed by human activities. Our results indicate that none of the behaviours (basking, resting, feeding, locomotion, movement and aggression) presented significant differences between habitats. Furthermore, the concentrations of fCORT were similar among individuals from both sites. We suggest that the spiny tailed iguana is a species that has adapted to perturbed areas, where it has found enough resources to survive. Our findings imply that iguanas are less sensitive to habitat degradation; additionally, these results may serve as a basis for future research aiming to describe behavioural and physiological characteristics of reptile species living in perturbed habitats.


Water purification by discharge inside bubble in water containing organic two dyes has been investigated. Indigo carmine and azo phloxine were employed as specimens to evaluate decomposition efficiency. Oxygen or argon gases were injected into the water near the high-voltage wire electrode to generate plasma to identify the dominant reactions of the decolorization of the dye solutions. The energy efficiencies for decolorization of two dyes in single dye solutions were almost same in the case of argon injection. Indigo carmine was decolorized with higher energy efficiency than that of azo phloxine in the case of oxygen injection in single dye solution. Indigo carmine and azo phloxine in the two dyes mixing solution were completely decolorized. Indigo carmine was preferentially decomposed in the case of the mixed solution. These results show reaction rates of indigo carmine and chemical species such as ozone and hydroxyl radical are much higher than that of azo phloxine.


The coupled channel formulation is utilized to variationally derive approximate closed-form expressions for reactive transition matrices. In conjunction with this effort it is shown that the effect of differing choices of possible channel coupling arrays becomes important when incomplete channel basis sets are used. Generalized techniques are employed to derive the necessary variational principles. The inherent coupling of the Green's functions in the resulting expression for the transition matrix makes inclusion of continuum states in the basis sets less crucial. The practical viability of this formulation as a computational scheme for chemical systems is discussed.


Abstract This article analyses monodic reperformance of epinicians in the fifth century BC and argues that the musical and ethical dimensions of such performances were mutually reinforcing. Reperformances by solo singers would have strongly foregrounded the agency of the individual performer, while also enacting his understanding of musical conventions. This relationship forms a structural parallel with the function of ethical statements in epinicians, which are usually conventional in terms of their conceptual content and yet also emphasize the agency of individuals in responding to them. I argue that the parallelism between ethics and monodic reperformance is an important thematic strand in Nemean 4 and Isthmian 2, and prefigures the responses that the poems elicit from audiences.


The heat capacities and thermodynamic functions from 5 to 300 K for naphthalene-pyromellitic dianhydride (N-PMDA) and pyrene-pyromellitic dianhydride (P-PMDA) are reported. From the featureless heat-capacity curve of N-PMDA, it has been concluded that the naphthalene moieties executed anharmonic librations in a thermodynamically-ordered crystal and not reorientational motion in a disordered crystal. Two minor anomalies have been observed in the heat capacity of P-PMDA. A small peak near 155 K may arise from the disordering of the PMDA molecules while an irreproducible transition observed near 250 K has been tentatively ascribed to a disordering motion of the pyrene molecules. The agreement of the P-PMDA heat capacity results of this study with previously-published data is discussed.


Even before the recent movement toward managed care, there was mounting evidence of excessive numbers of many medical and surgical specialists. Generalist physicians are now in short supply, as are nonphysician providers. The ideal correction for the current problems of specialty surplus and total physician excess would be based on economics or the marketplace. However, a rapid correction is unlikely in a voluntary system. A national commission has been suggested by several bodies. This commission could make recommendations for the total number of training positions and, subsequently, the subspecialty trainees needed. Implementation of the recommendations could be through large multistate regional consortia.


In 2008, the president of the city of Lodz appointed a committee to devise a four-part development strategy for the Municipal Zoological Garden in Lodz. One of the committee's tasks was to diagnose the current condition of the Zoo with special attention being given to: (1) area development and utilization; (2) condition of the facility and infrastructure; (3) animal keeping and breeding conditions, such as welfare and quality of the exhibits, including their educational value and attractiveness to visitors; and (4) evaluation of the landscape and aesthetics. A system of five ordinal scales (from 1 to 5) was developed and used to evaluate the Zoo. Evaluation of all technical facilities and infrastructure was based on their technical condition and aesthetics. However, animal exhibits were additionally evaluated on their attractiveness to visitors, ability to meet animal welfare needs and educational value. The total grade attained for the whole Zoo was 2·5 points. Moreover, an on-site inspection and analysis of information concerning the infrastructure allowed for a prediction of the area available for development and utilization, which amounted to 35%: the majority of the site (48%) is covered by vegetation. Additionally, it was established that most of the structures within the Zoo are obsolete and only 15% of the area of the Lodz Zoo contained attractive exhibits that should be preserved as a framework for further development.


Abstract : Over the last 15 years, the academic literature has analysed forms of political activism the on-line environment might provide or facilitate. Empirical evidence brought information about online activists as people very interested in politics and over-active. At the same time, parties themselves were described as professionalizing, particularly with their communication activities. Membership is declining and members would progressively turn to be "supporters". However, the relationship between net-activists and party organizations hasn't been explored much: either surveys were conducted within parties, over-representing "traditional" party members and usually showing little difference between "offline" and "online" members; or they were conducted within the general population of voters, showing the limited impact of technologies over political engagement and political participation. This paper offers another perspective, looking at online political activism at an intermediary level between the general population and the party members. It explores how the (limited number) of people who get involved into an online campaign perceive parties and how they consider and practice activism. It shows that strong differences between party members and non-members remain, which tends to show that party boundaries haven't slackened yet, at least in France. However, qualitatively, distinctions appear between those who are mostly active online and those who are mostly active offline. The paper is based on quantitative and qualitative data (group and individual interviews) gathered during the French presidential campaign 2012, in the France-Quebec project webinpolitics.com.


Drone is one of the current technological devices with the greatest prospects for use. It is estimated that last year the drone business mobilized more than 7 million dollars worldwide in the distribution sector, and that this figure would approach 30 million by 2021.
Certainly, although its use is very widespread in the military field, its use in the civil field also presents great challenges, particularly from the perspective of fundamental rights that may be affected by the use of drones (privacy, image, data protection) which impact may vary —and it likely will— as the technology can incorporate progresses.
Drone operations must respect and guarantee the regulations for the protection of rights at the European level, in particular the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, but also at national level in the respective scoop of application.
Our aim in this paper is to develop an overview on the actual European legal framework for the civil use of drones outlining fundamental rights protection challenges from multilevel constitutional perspective.


The Uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī, considered a Buddhist text about the Goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā and her dhāraṇī, is known as one of the most important texts in the Old Uyghur translation literature. It occupies a central position as a dhāraṇī text in South Asian, Central Asian, and East Asian Buddhism. Apart from Old Uyghur, it appears in a variety of languages and scripts, including Sanskrit, Tangut, Tibetan, Chinese, and Mongolian. The text is appraised as particularly beneficial for eliminating karmic obstacles and evil paths, annihilating hostility, disasters, demons, and scourges, relieving beings of suffering and bringing them happiness, prolonging their well-being, and increasing their longevity. It is also believed to increase wisdom, obliterate hells, and provide a chance to be born in Buddha heaven, called Sukhāvatī, or other pure lands. This paper deals with the edition of newly identified fragments of the Uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī in Old Uyghur preserved in the Serindia Collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOM, RAS). The fragments presented belong to the same blockprint edition produced during the Mongolian period. The study includes the transliteration, transcription, and translation of these fragments within the context of a semantic sequence of the text. The version on the fragments is compared with versions in other languages to reveal differences between texts. Finally, a reconstructed text is presented.


Mechanisms of nucleic acid accumulation were likely critical to life's emergence in the ferruginous oceans of the early Earth. How exactly prebiotic geological settings accumulated nucleic acids from dilute aqueous solutions, is poorly understood. As a possible solution to this concentration problem, we simulated the conditions of prebiotic low‐temperature alkaline hydrothermal vents in co‐precipitation experiments to investigate the potential of ferruginous chemical gardens to accumulate nucleic acids via sorption. The injection of an alkaline solution into an artificial ferruginous solution under anoxic conditions (O2 < 0.01% of present atmospheric levels) and at ambient temperatures, caused the precipitation of amakinite ("white rust"), which quickly converted to chloride‐containing fougerite ("green rust"). RNA was only extractable from the ferruginous solution in the presence of a phosphate buffer, suggesting RNA in solution was bound to Fe2+ ions. During chimney formation, this iron‐bound RNA rapidly accumulated in the white and green rust chimney structure from the surrounding ferruginous solution at the fastest rates in the initial white rust phase and correspondingly slower rates in the following green rust phase. This represents a new mechanism for nucleic acid accumulation in the ferruginous oceans of the early Earth, in addition to wet‐dry cycles and may have helped to concentrate RNA in a dilute prebiotic ocean.


Herring gulls, Larus argentatus, typically lay three eggs. The third laid egg is smaller, hatches later, and hatches a lighter, smaller chick than the first two. The third hatched chick also has a lower chance of survival. Observations of parent-chick and chick-chick interactions were conducted at two Ontario sites in the Great Lakes to determine whether and how parents might behaviorally bias investment in their chicks after the incubation period, and how interactions among chicks might add to the third chick disadvantage. Little evidence was found for behavioral discrimination against the third chick by either its parents or its siblings. The last hatched (C) chick was not less likely than its older siblings (A or B) to get to the food first, and while A and B were more likely to target C when initiating tugs-of-war over food, they were not more likely than C to initiate tugs-of-war in general. C pecked siblings the most, and, despite its younger age and smaller size, was not more likely to lose tugs-of-war with its siblings. It is likely that the locations where this study was conducted represent relatively benign environment in which to raise chicks compared to the marine populations observed in other studies. Given this, parents might be expected to reduce chick asymmetries if they are able. There was a high degree of hatching synchrony in Hamilton Harbor. In 7 out of 28 nests the C chick hatched on the same day as the B or A and B chicks.


Background: The main objective of contemporary orthognathic surgery is to correct dentofacial deformities. Nonetheless, many adjunct procedures to enhance the esthetic outcome in orthognathic surgical cases have been successfully incorporated to improve patient satisfaction. The authors report our preliminary experience of performing simultaneous orthognathic surgery with Asian double eyelid suture method blepharoplasty in the same surgical setting. Method: This case series report includes all 19 consecutive cases presenting to the Chang Gung Craniofacial Center for combined orthognathic surgery with Asian double eyelid suture method blepharoplasty. The double eyelid crease height was measured as the vertical line between the upper eyelid margin (eyelid lash) and the upper eyelid crease, observed at the mid-pupillary line with the eyes in primary gaze. Results: There were no complications or relapse reported within this time period. There was significant improvement in the left and right mid-pupillary double eyelid crease height postsurgery. There were no statistically significant differences between the left and right mid-pupillary double eyelid crease heights after surgery indicating good eyelid crease height symmetry bilaterally was obtained. Conclusions: Orthognathic surgery combined with suture method blepharoplasty can be safely performed in the same surgical setting without inappropriate rise in costs or operating room time. This case series demonstrates that excellent esthetic results can be obtained in simultaneous bimaxillary orthognathic surgery with suture method Asian blepharoplasty.


The present study proposes a nonstandard solution to the problem of assessing water withdrawals (AWW) in the scarce-data transboundary basin. The applied AWW method operates with the open-source available data on precipitation and river flow and thereby overcomes the usual restriction due to lack of data on shared water use in the Middle East. Analysis of dynamic precipitation-flow relationships enable to separate the effect of water withdrawals from the total decline of river flow under the decreasing precipitation. This study is the first which provides complete information (1972–2020) on water withdrawals from total, surface, and base flow of the Hasbani River (Lebanon). The resulting values that exceed by far earlier published estimates were confirmed by (i) indirect indices (area of irrigated land and population), and (ii) validation of the AWW method based on independent data on water use (Israel Water Authority). The study results are useful for water balance estimations, as well as for management of water resources in the Jordan River headwaters basin and in the entire Lake Kinneret Basin. The AWW method can be applied to other transboundary basins and enables historical and real-time monitoring of water withdrawals as a necessary database for settlement of riparian water relations.


Thermoelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are promising sustainable energy devices that utilize thermoelectric (TE) effect of nanomaterials to convert a temperature gradient into electrical energy. Compared to bulk thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that are commercially available, TENGs are more flexible and power‐dense, owing to their tuneable nanostructures. Hence, smaller TENGs are better suited for small form‐factor applications like wearable electronics, internet of things (IoT) devices, and self‐powered sensors. However, the higher complexity and cost of TENGs than TEGs inhibit their widespread adoption. This review appraises the latest advances in TENG materials, design, and fabrication in optimizing the performance of TENGs, making TENGs more viable for real‐world applications. More precisely, this work examines how nanostructure engineering, nanomaterial compositing, and post‐synthesis treatment approaches have enhanced the TE properties of common and promising TE materials, including tellurides, selenides, metal oxides, metal alloys, silicon, carbon nanomaterials, and organic compounds. Given that the TE material is a key component in TENGs, this review highlights how to optimize other vital parameters, including the TENG configuration, contact interface, form factor, heat sink use, and folded shape for specific applications. Lastly, critical attributes of TENGs used in wearable electronics, sensors, implantable electronics, solar energy conversion, and waste heat recovery are analyzed.


ABSTRACT To the Editor. —How often do we prescribe two or more adversely interacting drugs to the same patient? Maybe more often than we think. One benefit to busy pharmacists designed to minimize this problem is the computerized drug-interaction database, which can alert them to potential interactions between drugs entered into a patient's profile. However, this is only as useful as the information entered into the database is accurate.We recently observed an adverse drug interaction when a 40-year-old woman taking Nardil (phenelzine sulfate) for chronic depression was also prescribed Midrin (isometheptene mucate plus dichloralphenazone and acetaminophen) for headaches. Forty minutes after the first dose of Midrin, the patient experienced neck pain, palpitation, worsening headache, diaphoresis, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, and premature ventricular contractions. The patient was taken to the hospital emergency department and treated for a hypertensive crisis. The patient was treated with intravenous phentolamine and had rapid resolution of her


Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma (BMPM), also known as multilocular peritoneal inclusion cyst, is a rare tumour that occurs mainly in women at their reproductive age. The aetiology and pathogenesis are controversial. It originates from any abdominal peritoneal or pleural surface. The biological behaviour of BMPM is usually clinically benign. Here we present a case report of BMPM from our department with a review of the literature.


Abstract This instructional resource production project explored low cost and waste materials for developing practical and interactive resources for teaching science at the basic school level. Developing countries, including Ghana, are not able to provide teachers with instructional resources for teaching and learning due to financial constraints. Science in particular is a subject that pupils and students in Ghana generally do not perform well both at the basic and senior high levels which is evident from the end of level examinations over the years. The study used exploratory and descriptive approaches under qualitative research. Convenience sampling was used to select low cost and waste materials to work with, and observation was used to collect data from the production process. The research found that waste materials can be used safely to develop appropriate and useful instructional resources that are very practical for teaching and learning of science lessons. This research projects to science teachers that they can freely turn collected waste and low-cost materials into useful resources for effective lessons.


Adjustable programs allow the user to introduce changes and optimizations to the program in the late phases of the software lifecycle. Maintaining and enhancing software to cope with newly discovered problems or new requirements can take far more time than the initial development of the software. In conventional programs, such changes are usually made by software engineers, which makes the process time-consuming and costly. The main contribution of this paper is the novel approach to developing adjustable software by means of interfaces that are built into a program during its specification and development. These interfaces are made open to the user who can perform later changes of the program behavior and functionality, without possessing a specific knowledge in programming languages or software engineering. We present our approach to adjustability and its implementation in the context of the Lyee programming methodology, in which programs are generated (semi)automatically from high-level specifications developed by a non-expert user. Our approach is illustrated using an application case study --a web-based shop --for which we describe the implementation of adjustability using interfaces realized by the Lyee programming method.


Tasks as small as organizing drinks after work and as big as designing the firm website increase profits, productivity, and hold an organization together. In the crisis conditions of the COVID-19 quarantine, workers created new systems to keep governments, businesses, and schools functioning while also figuring out new ways to keep staff safe, connected, and engaged. Yet employment law, managers and the workers themselves often ignore or devalue these non-billable tasks. That myopia perpetuates gender and racial inequity, since women—and even more so women of color—bear a disproportionate cost of non-billable work. One cost is that management pressure on women to "volunteer" for non-billable tasks shunts them away from tasks that lead to promotion and bonuses. This Article combines economic sociology, business advice literature, and employment law to address that problem by making non-billable work more visible, showing its value to organizations, and arguing that pay equity cases could redistribute the costs of non-billable work. It starts with examples of that work from the Jones Day gender discrimination lawsuit, then expands the analysis beyond law firm culture in a three-part typology that shows the many forms of non-billable work hidden in plain sight. A literature review explains how the work benefits organizations as well as why women do more of it. Finally, the Article proposes a metaphor—mosaic—to help lawyers, scholars, managers and workers see and more accurately value non-billable work. The mosaic metaphor could displace the reigning metaphor of "Hostile Worlds" that depicts altruism and self-interest as opposites, which enables organizations to simultaneously require, ignore, and devalue non-billable work merely because they see it as a gift to the organization. The metaphor of mosaic, in contrast, shows the mix of collegiality and economic exchange in non-billable work, which prevents the analytical error of believing that altruism crowds out the real economic benefits that the work confers on employers. That shift should help pay equity cases like the Jones Day litigation reallocate the cost of non-billable work where it belongs, with the organization.


A fluorescent chemosensor is a powerful analytical tool for the visualization and quantitation of analytes in living cells, tissue slices, and whole bodies. Peptides with a reporter ionophore are very valuable as fluorescent chemosensors, because of their higher biological compatibility and solubility compared to organic dyes, and they are more stable than proteins in aqueous solutions. Herein, we report a novel peptide fluorescent chemosensor (HL) based on tetra-peptides conjugated with dansyl groups, which was synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis. This chemosensor selectively and sensitively detects Zn2+ based on the photo-induced electron transfer (PET) effect by turn-on response in 100% aqueous solutions. As designed, HL can penetrate live HeLa cells and image intracellular Zn2+ by turn-on response. Moreover, HL exhibits low biotoxicity with a limit of detection (LOD) of about 32 nM for Zn2+, implying that HL acts as a highly useful peptide fluorescent chemosensor for biological systems.


Assessing the vulnerability of critical infrastructure objects is of major concern when dealing with the process of dependability and risk management. Special attention is paid to the objects of higher interest, such as nuclear power plants. In spite of the protection of these objects, there is still a certain level of a potential threat. The aim of the paper is to describe a possible way of attacking on the object in order to get into a particular part of it. Several characteristics of an adversary ́s attempt were obtained. For this reason as well as for modelling adversary ́s behaviour diffusion processes have been used.


This paper presents a process model of arguing with hypotheticals and uses it to explain examples of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court that are like those employed in Socratic law teaching. The process model has been partially implemented in the LARGO (Legal ARgument Graph Observer) intelligent tutoring system. The program supports students in diagramming oral argument examples; its feedback on students' diagrammatic reconstructions of the examples enforces the expectations of the process model. The paper presents empirical evidence that features of the argument diagrams made with LARGO are correlated with independent measures of argumentation ability. The examples and empirical results support the model's explanatory and diagnostic utility.


Gershoff et al. (2018) recently summarized the scientific evidence against disciplinary spanking, using epidemiological and psychological criteria for causal validity. Unfortunately, the evidence they cited would make most actions to correct serious problems appear to be harmful, whether implemented by parents (e.g., timeout) or professionals. The reason is that the type of evidence that Gershoff et al. consider adequate is insufficient for establishing a causal connection between any disciplinary response to persistent defiance and problem behaviors in children, whether that response is spanking or an effective alternative to spanking. Before opposing a widespread practice such as spanking, researchers need to document stronger causal evidence against it and identify an alternative demonstrated to be more effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).


Abrin is a highly potent and naturally occurring toxin produced in the seeds of Abrus precatorius (Rosary Pea) and is of concern as a potential bioterrorism weapon. There are many rapid and specific assay methods to detect this toxic plant protein, but few are based on detection of toxin activity, critical to discern biologically active toxin that disables ribosomes and thereby inhibits protein synthesis, producing cytotoxic effects in multiple organ systems, from degraded or inactivated toxin which is not a threat. A simple and low-cost CCD detector system was evaluated with colorimetric and fluorometric cell-based assays for abrin activity; in the first instance measuring the abrin suppression of mitochondrial dehydrogenase in Vero cells by the MTT-formazan method and in the second instance measuring the abrin suppression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression in transduced Vero and HeLa cells. The limit of detection using the colorimetric assay was 10 pg/mL which was comparable to the fluorometric assay using HeLa cells. However, with GFP transduced Vero cells a hundred-fold improvement in sensitivity was achieved. Results were comparable to those using a more expensive commercial plate reader. Thermal inactivation of abrin was studied in PBS and in milk using the GFP-Vero cell assay. Inactivation at 100 °C for 5 min in both media was complete only at the lowest concentration studied (0.1 ng/mL) while treatment at 63 °C for 30 min was effective in PBS but not milk.


Origami art provides possible inspiration for products that require extreme portability, stowability, and deployability. Origami-based design represents a possible source of innovative configurations for engineered products, which could meet challenging design situations. However, a fundamental gap exists between paper-based origami art and engineered products. This work proposes a basic terminology for origami-based design, and presents areas of consideration for cases where the final engineering design is directly related to a crease pattern. The considerations are applied after the crease pattern has been selected for a given application. Four areas of consideration are discussed: 1) rigid-foldability 2) crease characterization 3) material properties and dimensions and 4) manufacturing.Two diverse examples are used to illustrate these areas of consideration: design for a backpack shell, and design of a shroud for an adjustable C-Arm x-ray device.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Coleus ( Coleus forskohlii ) is an important medicinal crop containing forskolin in their roots. Root rot is considered the most important disease in coleus, causing serious losses affecting growth and yield. Infected coleus plants showing root and stem rots were collected from Giza gardens and nurseries. The pathogenicity tests of the isolated fungi ( Fusarium oxysporum, F. roseum, F. semitectum, F. solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, Pythium splendens and Rhizoctonia solani ) revealed the ability of these fungi to cause infection. Application of three organic acids (Ascorbic, oxalic and salicylic acid) each at 250 and 500 ppm, against R. solani, F. semitectum, F. oxysporum and F. solani was performed in the greenhouse. All the tested organic acids reduced significantly disease incidence when used as dipping unrooted cuttings and/or spray plants 30 days after planting or soil drenching under greenhouse conditions particularly at 500 ppm compared with untreated plants. In general, oxalic acid at 500 ppm was more efficient in reducing infection with root and stem rot diseases. As for plant growth parameters, soil drenching with oxalic acid was the best treatment in increasing plant height and branch number compared with the other treatments. However, ascorbic acid was the least effective treatment compared with the other treatments. On the other hand, dual combination of three organic acids was superior on the other treatments and also recorded superiority in peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase enzyme activities.


Extensive research is being carried out by many researchers for the purpose of developing solar cells and photo-electrochemical cells with II-IV and II-IV-VI compounds. As an attempt to this, CdZnSe thin films with a varying concentration of Cadmium have been deposited on the glass micro slides by employing chemical bath deposition technique, which provides large area deposition for fabricating optoelectronic devices. The growth mechanism and chemical kinetics of these materials have been studied considering its elementary parameters such as basic constituents, molarities, pH of reaction mixture and deposition conditions like temperature time, rotations per minute etc. Composition of the films was estimated by EDAX studies. Thickness of as- deposited films have been measured by weight difference and interferometric method decreases with increasing Cadmium doping. UV-VISIBLE Optical studies show a high absorption coefficient with direct type of transitions. The energy band gap decreased from 2.81ev to 1.72ev as the doping concentration of Cadmium increases from 0 to 1.


The process of increased connectivity has made the issue of "hate speech" more and more relevant in the social and political debate. The effects of hate speech and its viral diffusion on most social media are producing deteriorating effects in the contemporary social and political environments, with direct consequences on the quality of the democratic debate and on the level of institutional respect. The chapter suggests that an ethical approach based on values can be much more effective than sanctions and regulations in the contrast to hate speech practices.


[reaction: see text] The first synthesis of the shark repellent pavoninin-4, 3, was achieved in 12 steps with 21% overall yield from diosgenin, 8. Key reactions involve an efficient synthesis of the C-15alpha hydroxyl steroid from a C-16beta hydroxyl steroid by an unexpected 1,2-transposition strategy, a stereospecific glycosylation of a hindered C-15alpha alcohol using glycosyl fluoride as a glycosyl donor and a highly chemoselective acetylation of the C-26 primary alcohol by catalytic transesterification.


ABSTRACT Objectives: The Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) model is now widely adopted in many institutions to provide multidisciplinary care for patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). However, descriptive experiences of PERT operations and studies on clinical outcomes remain limited. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of PERT activations at an academic tertiary care center, with secondary aims to study outcomes associated with performing catheter directed therapies (CDT). Results: The intermediate high-risk PE category was most frequent (n = 40, 76.9%) among the 52 total cases evaluated during the study period. There was one in-hospital mortality, associated with hospice admission for a non-PE diagnosis. Six patients (11.5%) experienced a bleeding complication of any severity. Anticoagulation (AC) alone was recommended in 30 patients (57.7%) and CDT was performed in 16 patients (30.8%). There were no significant differences in patient characteristics or disease severity between patients in the AC group versus the CDT group, except for a higher prevalence of malignancy in the AC group (p = 0.037). Patients who underwent CDT demonstrated a lower, albeit non-significant, median intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) (3 vs. 4 days, p = 0.34) and hospital LOS (4 vs. 5 days, p = 0.25), as compared to patients receiving AC alone. Bleeding rates were similar between the two groups (6.7% vs. 6.3%, p = 1.0). Conclusions: Adoption of the PERT model at an academic tertiary care center was associated with acceptably low rates of mortality and bleeding, similar to other published studies. Performing CDT in select patients under PERT consultation may be associated with shorter ICU and hospital LOS; however, larger studies are needed to validate this finding.


Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the main causative factors in a wide variety of complications such as neurodegenerative disorders, ischemia/reperfusion, aging process, and septic shock. Decrease in respiratory complex activity, increase in free radical production, increase in mitochondrial synthase activity, increase in nitric oxide production, and impair in electron transport system and/or mitochondrial permeability are considered as the main factors responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction. Melatonin, the pineal gland hormone, is selectively taken up by mitochondria and acts as a powerful antioxidant, regulating the mitochondrial bioenergetic function. Melatonin increases the permeability of membranes and is the stimulator of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and catalase. It also acts as an inhibitor of lipoxygenase. Melatonin can cause resistance to oxidation damage by fixing the microsomal membranes. Melatonin has been shown to retard aging and inhibit neurodegenerative disorders, ischemia/reperfusion, septic shock, diabetes, cancer, and other complications related to oxidative stress. The purpose of the current study, other than introducing melatonin, was to present the recent findings on clinical effects in diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction including diabetes, cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, and diseases related to brain function.


Small non-coding regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are key players in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Hundreds of sRNAs have been identified in Sinorhizobium meliloti, but their biological function remains unknown for most of them. In this study, we characterized the expression pattern of the gene encoding the 77-nt sRNA MmgR in S. meliloti strain 2011. A chromosomal transcriptional reporter fusion (PmmgR-gfp) showed that the mmgR promoter is active along different stages of the interaction with alfalfa roots. In pure cultures, PmmgR-gfp activity paralleled the sRNA abundance indicating that mmgR expression is primarily controlled at the level of transcriptional initiation. PmmgR-gfp activity was higher during growth in rhizobial defined medium (RDM) than in TY medium. Furthermore, PmmgR-gfp was induced at 60 min after shifting growing cells from TY to RDM medium, i.e. shorter than the cell doubling time. In defined RDM medium containing NO3 (-), both PmmgR-gfp and MmgR level were repressed by the addition of tryptone or single amino acids, suggesting that mmgR expression depends on the cellular nitrogen (N) status. In silico analysis failed to detect conserved motifs upstream the promoter RNA polymerase binding site, but revealed a strongly conserved motif centered at -28 that may be linked to the observed regulatory pattern by the N source.