Urban centers are drivers of economic growth. Normal principles of economics apply here and due to economies of scale, because of larger population, synergies take place. In hunger of self-interest, and if system fails to optimize benefits vis-a-vis cost, the cities become hell rather than heaven. Sustainable development of city is based on three major performance indictors: 1. Economic Performance 2. Social Performance 3. Environmental Performance In race of increasing economic performance, the other indicators are sacrificed. Therefore, the system should be so designed that, the ven-diagram of these three indicators gives the larger pie. To better, the economic activities, we require infrastructure, industry, commerce, trade and skilled people. The populace with peace, harmony, safety, facilities (and opportunities) for self development, health & education, entertainment and so on and so forth, but not at cost of environmental damage, taking climate change & global warming into consideration. The process of optimization is not easy, as diverse interest groups are to be handled. But it is not impossible, if the leader are visionary, impartial, good administrators having democratic style of functioning, equity and rendering justice in their heart.


The research aims to build a mathematical model to analyze the performance of companies using non-financial indicators by data and explanations received from companies at the end of each financial period, so as to complement the approved models using financial indicators. The research assumed that the proposed model is not suitable for the use of non-financial indicators as a tool for predicting the financial default. The research was based on the applied side on the Iraqi industrial joint stock selected companies for the period (2009-2017). A group of default and non-default companies were selected for the purpose of testing the research sample, in order to achieve the main objective of the study, which is to build a model for predicting the financial default of the industrial sector for Iraqi public shareholding companies.


Abstract Almeda, F. & H. Ranarivelo (2018). A new Gravesia (Melastomataceae, Sonerileae) from the Bemangidy-Ivohibe rainforest of southeastern Madagascar. Candollea 73: 1–5. In English, English and French abstracts. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15553/c2018v731a1 Gravesia parvula Almeda & Ranarivelo (Melastomataceae, Sonerileae), a new species from the Bemangidy-Ivohibe forest of southeastern Madagascar, is described, illustrated, mapped, and compared with superficially similar Malagasy species. In addition to its dwarf rosette-like habit, it is distinguished by the semi-succulent obovate to oblanceolate 1-nerved leaf blades with entire distally repand margins, indumentum of minute dark brown gland-like trichomes that are rounded to shallowly bilobed at the apex, stamens with external (antesepalous) and internal (antepetalous) whorls somewhat unequal in size in each flower, obovoid to oblong anther thecae with cleft-like ventrally inclined apical pores, and capitate stigma. A conservation assessment of "Endangered" is recommended for this species based on IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.


Abstract Background and study aims Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy are useful for differential diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) of the large intestine and ulcerative colitis (UC). We aimed to identify novel histopathological and endoscopic findings in the upper gastrointestinal tract in patients with CD who did not have Helicobacter pylori infection. Patients and methods Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed on patients with CD and UC. Mucosal lesions detected were subsequently observed using magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (M-NBI), following which biopsy was performed. When no mucosal lesion was detected on conventional endoscopy, M-NBI and biopsy were performed on four sites: the gastric body, gastric antrum, duodenal bulb, and second portion of the duodenum. Results The prevalences of gastric metaplasia (GM) were 48 % (24/50) and 16 % (8/50) in the CD and UC groups, showing a significant difference (P = 0.001). In 23 of 24 patients with histologically proven GM in the CD group, mucosal lesions were detected using conventional white-light imaging (C-WLI). In 22 of 24 patients with histologically proven GM in the CD group, disappearance of normal villous structure and the presence of curved marginal crypt epithelium were noted using magnifying endoscopic findings characteristic of GM (M-GM). A combination of C-WLI and M-NBI yielded a significantly increased specificity (P = 0.004) and accuracy (P = 0.039). Conclusions The prevalence of GM in the duodenal mucosa was significantly higher in patients with CD than in controls. The identified endoscopic findings may be useful as novel indicators for the histological diagnosis of GM in the duodenum.


The paper aims to examine the relationship, whether complementary or substitutive, between inward FDI and gross domestic investment in the six GCC countries using cointegration techniques and fully modified GMM estimation. Based on the panel data, the empirical evidence implies that in Qatar, Oman, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the inward FDI has positive short-run and long-run effects on the domestic investment. For Bahrain, such a complementary relationship exists only in the short-run. For the majority of GCC countries, the long-run elasticities have large magnitude compared to the short-run counterparts, justifying more attraction policy of the IFDI in the future. The gap in the privatization process of public enterprises in the GCC explains in a large extent their heterogeneity in terms of elasticities and spillovers effects.


The author analyses the problems of erosion of the book culture and the role of bookishness in the contemporary Western and Russian identities. While analysing the processes of disappearance and displacement of bookshops, the author presumes that culture of bookstores and communication subcultures in them cannot compete with networks and e-commerce. It is assumed that the logic of capitalism favours the progress of on-line bookstores, specialising in the serial and mass literature while independent bookstores prefer to sell intellectual, non-fiction, and academic books that are not interesting to consumer readers of mass culture. The author tries to analyse causes of private non-mass bookstores crisis. The author believes that intellectuals of 2000s were optimistic in their prognosis for the development of bookstores as spaces of cultural initiatives. By the end of 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of independent bookstores decreased significantly when on-line bookstores occupied their place. It is assumed that the cultures of reading, book collections, personal libraries lost the positions they held in the 20th century and even in the first decade of the 21st century. The author presumes that independent bookstores became cultural ghettos and intellectual reservations, when net bookstores became successful actors of the mass culture. In general, it is predicted that heterogeneous, regionally localised minority book cultures and reading strategies of the New Medievalism may replace the "mass" book as a cultural institution of a modern political imagined communities as elements of the dying Gutenberg Galaxy with its heterogeneous national identities.


Introduction IV Paracetamol use has increased since gaining EU drug approval in 2002, possibly due to its rapid onset and favourable side-effect profile.1 The recommended adult daily dose is 4 g/day. The standard daily dose may be high enough to cause acute liver failure in patients with certain Gastroenterological problems [hepatocellular insufficiency, chronic malnutrition2 (The British National Formulary (BNF) version 60 advises that IV Paracetamol should be reduced to 3 g/day in these susceptible patients.3 We aimed to assess if IV paracetamol prescriptions are in line with BNF guidance. Methods A prospective, point prevalence audit of all patients receiving IV paracetamol was undertaken on 2 days, 2 weeks apart. All adult inpatients (excluding the Women's Department) at Arrowe Park Hospital were assessed. A list of all patients receiving IV paracetamol was identified through the electronic prescribing system. The case-notes of all these patients were reviewed for evidence of high-risk characteristics including; weight. Results Over two audit days a total of 104 out of 1158 (9%) hospital inpatients were prescribed IV Paracetamol. Three patients were present on both days, therefore 101 sets of data were collected. 16 patients (16%) prescribed IV Paracetamol were identified as high risk (hepatocellular insufficiency, chronic malnutrition or chronic alcoholism), and 15 (94%) of these patients were not prescribed a reduced dose. This equates to a drug error in 1.3% of all inpatients. Conclusion IV Paracetamol is prescribed very frequently. Prescription is common in susceptible Gastroenterology patients with malnutrition, liver disease and alcoholism. Almost all susceptible patients in this audit were prescribed an inappropriately high dosage of paracetamol. This may lead to significant adverse side effects in an already vulnerable group of patients. It is important to increase awareness of reduced dosages in susceptible patients. Locally an alert has been placed on the electronic prescribing system and we have increased Pharmacist and medical staff awareness of appropriate paracetamol doses. We suspect our audit findings may be similar in other hospitals. Competing interests None declared. References 1. Schmitt E, Vainchtock A, Nicoloyannis N, et al. Ready to use injectable paracetamol: easier, safer, lowering workload and costs. EJHP 2003;6:96–102. 2. Claridge LC, Eksteen B, Smith A, et al. Acute liver failure after administration of paracetamol at the maximum recommended daily dose in adults. BMJ 2010;341:1269–70. 3. BNF 60. London: BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press, 2010.


The aim with this Master thesis work is to design, build and test a small size, light
weight and low power consumption harmonic radar system that will be installed
in a flying drone for the purpose of tracking and localizing tagged Bogong moths
near their aestivation caves and crevices in Australia during summer. A FMCW
harmonic radar is proposed, it comprises a radar transmitter, receiver and a signal
processor. The challenges of the design are to make the system small and light
enough to be carried by the drone and to keep power consumption as low as
possible to at least complete an entire search mission with one battery charge.
The investigations during the thesis cover link budget analyses for different design
options, operating frequency selection, waveform design, system simulations and
components selection. The moths are tagged with a special adhesive tag which is
small so it does not disrupt the insect movement, the small size and low reflected
power of the tag limits the radar detection range and the radar design is optimized
to improve range measurement by proper selection of components and proper
design of the radar waveform.


Background: Sternal nonunion after median sternotomy is an uncommon but potentially disabling complication. The management of nonunion varies based on the discretion of the cardiovascular surgeon. Methods: An analysis of all patients with symptomatic sternal nonunion who underwent wire removal, subtotal sternal débridement, and muscle flap reconstruction from 1993 to 2008 was conducted. A retrospective review was performed to evaluate preoperative and postoperative symptoms, pain scores, procedures, length of hospital stay, operating time, complications, morbidity, and mortality. Results: A total of 24 patients were identified. The male-to-female ratio was 11:1. Time from initial median sternotomy to consultation ranged from 5 to 48 months. All were referred when stability was not achieved by other means. None of the patients had clinical or laboratory evidence of sternal wound infection at presentation. The patients rated their preoperative pain severity at an average of 7.7 and a maximum of 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. All intraoperative cultures showed no growth. The operating time averaged 104 minutes. The average length of stay for these patients was 2.5 days. Follow-up ranged from 2 to 15 months, with an average of 4.2 months. All patients had clinically improved sternal stability. Conclusions: All patients experienced improvement of their preoperative symptoms, particularly pain, popping, and grinding. Average pain severity dropped from 7.7 preoperatively to 2.2, with a maximum of 4. Two patients developed seroma and required operative drainage. Both went on to complete healing. The mortality rate was 0 percent.


We provide a measure of equality of educational opportunity in 54 countries, estimated as the effect of family background on student performance in two international TIMSS tests. We then show how organizational features of the education system affect equality of educational opportunity. Our model predicts that late tracking and a long pre-school cycle are beneficial for equality, while pre-school enrollment is detrimental at low levels of enrollment and beneficial at higher levels. Using cross-country variations in education policies and their interaction with family background at the student level, we provide empirical evidence supportive of these predictions.


ajor chest wall resections often represent a difficult challenge for surgeons because of surgical and aesthetic reconstruction. In case of large defects a synthetic mesh with armoured ribs or titanium bar skeletron covered or uncovered with pedicled muscle transposition or omental flaps could be used. We report our experience on 57 patients, 43 males and 14 females mean age 66.2y (range 34-86). 35 (61.4%) cases were lung cancers with thoracic wall involvement, 16 were sternal, scapular or chest wall sarcomas, 6 were sternal and rib metastastatic involvement from extrathoracic neoplasms. We performed 51 thoracectomies and 6 sternetomies, 5 subtotal and one total. We resected an average of 3 ribs (range 1-6) and performed in 35 cases a reconstruction with synthetic mesh, in 7 associated with cyanomethacrilate armoured ribs, in 2 with thytanium bars. In total sternectomy we reconstruct the anterior ribs with 2 silicon tubes, in one of subtotals with 2 titanium bars. 25 cases needed pedicled muscle transposition, in 20 cases with latissimus dorsi in 5 with pectoralis major. We had no mortality or major complications. 13 patients presented minor complications as atrial fibrillation in 4, respiratory failure in 6, 2 wall hematoma and one syeroma. Mean hospital stay was 9.8 days (range 7-20). Major chest wall resections are possible for the multiple reconstructive choices actually proposed. An adequate preoperative study of the patient, a correct surgical strategy and the use of all reconstructive techniques are the keys for a successful outcome.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Sparse data exist for quantifying the association between Chlamydia trachomatis infection, salpingitis, and tubal infertility.

GOAL OF THIS STUDY
To investigate the impact of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis in tubal infertility.

STUDY DESIGN
This was a multicenter case-control study that compared women who have bilateral tubal occlusion with other infertile women and age-matched pregnant control subjects. Reproductive and sexual history were recorded, and immunoglobulin G antibodies to C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae were measured.

RESULTS
Women with past chlamydial or gonococcal infections or both were significantly more likely to have bilateral tubal occlusion. The majority of women with bilateral tubal occlusion reported no history of pelvic inflammatory disease symptoms. Other infertile women had a prevalence of C. trachomatis antibodies (60%), which was similar to that of patients with bilateral tubal occlusion (71%).

CONCLUSION
Sexually transmitted infections, especially C. trachomatis, are associated with tubal infertility. Because they usually cause no symptoms, public health efforts to prevent tubal infertility should focus on identifying infections in the lower genital tract before they ascend.


Investigated the relationship between family social climate characteristics and adolescent personality functioning. The High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ) was administered to 80 high school students. These students and their parents also completed the Family Environment Scale (FES). Results of a stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that one or more HSPQ scales had significant associations with each FES scale. Significant variance in child behavior was attributed to family social system functioning; however, no single family variable accounted for a major portion of the variance to the exclusion of other factors. It was concluded that child behavior varies with total system functioning, more than with separate system factors.


Ameloblastic carcinoma is a rare aggressive malignant epithelial odontogenic tumor. The spindle cell variant of ameloblastic carcinoma (SCAC) is exceedingly rare with 15 cases of SCAC having been reported. Therefore, because of the paucity of cases in literature related to SCAC, the biological behavior of the entity has not been well evaluated. Herein the authors report a case of incidentally diagnosed SCAC in a 20-year-old woman identified on imaging as part of the evaluation of a work-related facial injury. Histologically, the tumor had background of cystic ameloblastoma with areas of dense hypercellular spindle cells with short-to-long intersecting fascicles and occasional herringbone pattern intermixed with solid epithelial nests. Both the epithelial and spindle cells were positive for cytokeratin including cytokeratin 19, D2-40, and transducin-like enhancer of split proteins-1 immunohistochemical stains. The patient was followed for 18 months with no evidence of recurrence or metastasis. To the knowledge this is a first case of reporting D2-40 positivity in spindle ameloblastic carcinoma and this immunostain could be used as helpful marker to diagnose this entity.


OBJECTIVE
To establish a method to determine the contents of 8 ginsenosides in extraction of Panax ginseng by HPLC.

METHODS
The sample was analyzed on an ODS chromatogram column (Kromasil 250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm), with mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (gradient elution) at flow rate 1.0 ml/min and detection at wavelength of 203 nm.

RESULTS
RSD of stability, precision and recurrency was 0.55%-2.26%, 0.85%-1.93% and 0.97%-2.72% respectively.

CONCLUSION
This method can be good for the content determination of ginsenoside.


Numerous studies on energy-efficient routing for multihop ad hoc networks (MANET) look at extending battery life by minimizing the cost at the transmitting node. In this paper, we study the complexity of energy-efficient routing when the energy cost of receiving packets is also considered. We first prove that, surprisingly, even when all nodes transmit at the same power, finding a simple unicast path that guarantees enough remaining energy locally at each node in the network then becomes an NP-complete problem. Hence we propose several heuristics based on Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm in which we integrate the notion of remaining energy in order to satisfy flow requirements. We show with several simulations that these heuristics not only allow the computation of routes that save energy of nodes with low battery but also allow the network to handle more flows


One hundred and seven chronically wheezing infants, aged 6 months to 3 years, completed a double‐blind placebo controlled multicenter study. Alter a two‐week baseline period the patients were randomized into two groups receiving twice daily either ketotifen or placebo for a period of 12 weeks. The ketotifen dosage was 0. 5 mg for children younger than one year and 1 mg for the older. During the 12‐week treatment period the patients from the two groups demonstrated gradual improvement of the disease severity parameters, as compared with the baseline period. The amelioration was more marked in the ketotifen treated patients and during the 0‐4, and 4‐8 weeks of treatment a significant decrease was achieved in the percentage of days with a cough (p < 0.04) and in the number of wheezing episodes (p = 0.02). Moreover, a 50% reduction of the days and nights with cough and in the number of wheezing episodes occurred earlier in the ketotifen than in the placebo treated patients, i. e. after 1. 2 vs 4. 6; 4. 4 vs 8. 6 and 5. 2 vs 7. 2 weeks, respectively. It should be stressed that the ameloration of the asthmatic morbidity in the ketotifen group was achieved with a significantly reduced need for the concomitant use of bronchodilators. The principal side effects observed were weight gain and transient sedation. It is concluded that ketotifen may be effective in the amelioration of asthma associated symptomatology and acceleration in the natural tendency for improvement in chronic wheezing infants.


Nanoindentation induces versatile deformation mechanisms. The situation is examined here for the case of nanocrystalline Cu by means of parallel molecular dynamics simulations. The indenter is applied to the grain boundary (GB) or to the grain interior. The inter-atomic interaction of Cu is modelled by both the Lennard-Jones potential and the embedded atom method potential. The burst and arrest of stacking faults hold the key for the plastic deformation of nanocrystalline Cu under nanoindentation, in clear contrast to the case of nanoindentation on single-crystal Cu. The following descending order of indentation resistance is found: single crystal (or polycrystal of large grain size), nanocrystal when indented on the grain interior, and nanocrystal indented on the GB.


Silicon carbide is a wide-band-gap semiconductor suitable for high-power high-voltage devices and it has excellent properties for use in photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs). PCSS were fabricated as planar structures on high-resistivity 4H–SiC and tested at dc bias voltages up to 1000 V. The typical maximum photocurrent of the device at 1000 V was about 49.4 A. The average on-state resistance and the ratio of on-state to off-state currents were about 20 Ω and 3×1011, respectively. Photoconductivity pulse widths for all applied voltages were 8–10 ns. These excellent results are due in part to the removal of the surface damage by high-temperature H2 etching and surface preparation. Atomic force microscopy images revealed that very good surface morphology, atomic layer flatness, and large step width were achieved.


HOW DO CITIES control their populations, and how can the military benefit (or suffer) from current technology? How does urban design affect military mobility, responsiveness, and effectiveness? How should planners identify and consider control architecture when planning urban activities? What aspects of control technology should the military adapt and incorporate for military purposes?1 During early times, cities were designed to protect citizens from outside invaders. However, one aspect of city design was to protect richer and moreinfluential citizens from the depredations of the city's criminals or rioting mobs. Gated communities are relatively new to the United States but are common in other parts of the world, where high walls topped with broken glass protect the homes of the middle class and the well-to-do. City planners today are not concerned with protecting cities from conquest; their first objective is usually traffic flow. Where security is a primary concern, however, planners seek to protect residents and high-value property from the city's more aggressive residents. Architects join planners in developing subtle ways to control public access to affluent residential areas, government buildings, banks, major firms, key industrial sites, and such buildings as presidential palaces. While the control aspect of urban design mainly interests architects, others, such as city planners, public safety officials, and military professionals, should be aware of such control aspects. For example, a country's military force might have to back up police and firefighters or capture a structure hardened by new technology. Military efforts to recapture important urban buildings are often spectacular. Examples are the 1980 British Special Air Service assault on the Iranian Embassy in London; the 1985 Colombian military assault on the Palace of justice in Bogota; and the 1997 Peruvian military assault on the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima. Since then, many key buildings have been hardened and incorporate new control architecture. Hardened buildings present challenges to the military attacker, especially when attackers must limit collateral damage. Control Architecture Cities have historically controlled their populations by restricting access; canalizing movement; positioning military barracks or police and fire stations at critical points; gathering intelligence from criminal and dissident elements; modifying public behavior through laws, religion, and education; controlling access to commodities; segregating castes, races, classes, and trouble-prone businesses into designated neighborhoods; controlling movement to and through key neighborhoods and centers; and maintaining a system of rewards and punishments for their citizenry. When these efforts fail, city officials call in the military to help restore order. Modern technology and design assist in urban control while complicating the terrain in which a military force might operate. Control architecture is the reasonably unobtrusive use of terrain, landscaping, structures, design, and technology to limit access, guide movement, thin and contain groups, or prevent entry to high-value buildings, urban centers, industrial sites, and affluent residential areas. While often appearing to improve access to an area, control architecture actually allows a small security element to control or deny access. Television monitors detect the presence of unwanted elements, microphones monitor conversations, and operators can shut off escalators and elevators remotely or activate barriers on access ramps electronically. Guards can seal intruders into a holding area that appears to be a normal lobby. Many centers are self-contained, having their own water, food, and electrical supplies. Although primarily designed to withstand assaults by criminals, terrorists, and rioters, hardened buildings are also resistant to a military force attempting to gain entrance. …


In sociological studies of culture, increasing attention is being paid to socalled prosumption. The article describes prosumption in the sphere of popular culture. The author proposes the term "culture of prosumption." The term refers to the culture industry and its contemporary mode of operation, which is characteristic of the prosumption capitalism that has currently become prevalent. The aforementioned mode of operation is a specific corporation culture; with increasing frequency, enterprises within the entertainment industry seek their success through the grass-root emergence of groups of recipients who work for a culture text. The author proposes a convenient way of diagnosing the mechanisms of the culture of prosumption: specifically, it can be described through an analysis of its most engaged recipients—that is, its fans—who constitute an avant-garde of culture of prosumption. As regards fans, all of the essential features of prosumption are clearly identifiable, which allows one to argue that studies on the culture of prosumption should take into account considerations pertaining to fans.


Valuable resources in physical servers are often underutilized and virtualization can be employed to consolidate multiple physical servers so that resources are more fully utilized. If a VMM creates the illusion that there are more instances (or bandwidth) of a resource than actually physically available, that resource is considered to be overcommitted (or oversubscribed). For example, if three uniprocessor servers are virtualized (as guests) and consolidated onto one dual-processor server, the CPU resource is considered overcommitted. If all three guests each need to run workloads that always require an entire CPU, these guests would be considered poor candidates for virtualization. But, virtualization works most of the time because most resources on many physical servers are badly underutilized.


In Egypt, people are unable to determine the qualities of appropriate residence that achieves quality and occupant satisfaction, and contributes to sustainability of residential conglomerations. In general, developing countries lack housing information which can be used to enhance quality of residence. Also, the methods of assessing and identifying the appropriate criteria for future residence quality remain traditional ones that cannot address the multiple, conflicting, overlapping aspects to reach a good decision. This calls for using the Analytical Network Process  (ANP), an effective tool for specifying the relative importance of all factors impacting a specific issue for making an appropriate residential decision. In addition, this method provides results for the decision element impacts network within the decision structure; thus contributing to more understanding of the mechanisms and requirements of residence selection. The proposed decision structure comprises a two-level network: main clusters, main elements, and sub-elements included in the demographic characteristics group, the residence criteria group, the demand parameters group, the supply parameters group, the residence specifications group, and the alternatives group which representing, in total, the decision and specifying the percentage needed for each housing level. Results of the model showed complete capacity in smoothly addressing complexities and overlapping in the decision structure. The decision structure showed that 52% chose luxury residence, 28% chose middle-class residence, and 19.5% chose the economic residence. Mechanisms of decision making were analyzed; particularly in terms of relationship to demographic characteristics and residence specifications. Also, the importance and impact of demand / supply parameters in reaching decision were analyzed.


Innovative building materials have been used in building envelops to reduce the heating and cooling loads of the building. Foamcrete consist of an air-void network that not only makes it lightweight but also improves the thermal properties of cement composites. This numerical study aims to assess the hygrothermal performance and risk of fungal growth in multilayer lightweight concrete panel with foamcrete and pozzolanic admixtures. A model of 226 mm thick wall assembly consisting of plaster layers on both surface with foamcrete filled in between the layers of normal concrete was created in WUFI Pro software. Also, a layer of weather resistive barrier was provided on the exterior surface to prevent rainwater. The foamcrete layer used consists of fly ash, metakaolin, and silica fume replaced by cement up to 20% by weight, for the cast density of 400 kg/m 3 . During the hygrothermal analysis, Harbin city of China, which has extreme cold climatic conditions, was selected for all five different mixtures. The results showed that wall with formcrete blended with fly ash reduces the heat loss up to 38% in comparison with normal concrete which is highest among all the pozzolans. Furthermore, all walls based on insulation foamcrete mixed with pozzolans showed the mold index within the acceptable range, i.e., 2. Addition of pozzolanic admixtures in foamcrete layer showed improvement in the relative humidity and temperature at the interior surface of walls. The indoor temperature increased from 0.43 °C to 13 °C while the range of relative humidity reduces from 57 - 95% for reference wall to 42 - 68% for insulated wall. This material allows stabilisation of relative humidity levels in the ambient air by naturally regulating the hygrometry, to ensure better ambience. Similarly, the water resistivity of the wall also improved in the presence of foamcrete layers. Thus, this material can be used massively in the construction field to meet the requirements of the current standards which aim to reduce the energy and environmental impacts of dwelling and office building.


Chapter 1 introduces the concept of wax crystal modification in middle distillate fuels and reviews the more common chemical additives used commercially, and by examination of the advantages and drawbacks of these additives discusses the possible benefits of polyolefin block copolymers. From this end functionalisation of polyethylene (PE) as a route to block copolymers is reviewed from different literature methods for their synthesis.

Chapter 2 introduces the catalytic hydride insertion polymerisation mechanism as a route to end functional polyolefins and goes on to focus on the production of end functional ethylene/hexene copolymers. Using a range of comonomer concentrations and a number of catalysts, end-functional copolymers with a range of comonomer incorporation are produced. The thermal properties of these polymers are investigated and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) mass spectra were acquired. Finally, the chapter discusses the synthesis of short chain analogues of end functional PE.

Chapter 3 describes the production of polyolefin-polar block copolymers via the free radical polymerisation of the functional polyolefins with a range of polar monomers. A reversible termination mechanism similar to nitroxide mediated polymerisation is proposed. The products are analysed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and by an in detail 2D NMR study to confirm block copolymer structure.

Chapter 4 examines the physical properties of the synthesised block copolymers. The tendency of the copolymers to aggregate in solution into particles of varying size is investigated by VT NMR and dynamic light scattering (DLS), these findings were supported by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal properties of these copolymers were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Following this the efficacy of these polymers as wax crystal modifiers (WCM) for fuels was investigated by cold flow plugging point (CFPP), optical microscopy and DSC of the treated fuels. Finally, the behaviour of the polymers in solid polyethylene wax was investigated by drop shape analysis (DSA) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Chapter 5 details the various experimental procedures used to carry out the work in this thesis.

Appendix A gives an overview of polymerisations between ethylene and α- methylstyrene comonomers catalysed by hafnocene catalysts and goes on to detail the investigation of the materials acquired. Analysis was conducted using 2-D NMR, MALDI and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY). Appendix B contains the DLS correlograms for samples analysed in chapter 4. Appendix C contains the schematic diagram for the gas burettes system used for metallocene polymerisations


In Europeanized policy domains, executive actors are considered especially powerful because they are directly responsible for international negotiations. However, in order to avoid failing in the ratification process, they are also highly dependent on the support of domestic, non-state actors. We argue that in Europeanized decision-making processes, state actors are not passively lobbied, but actively seek collaboration with – and support from – domestic actors. We apply stochastic actor-based modelling for network dynamics to collaboration data on two successive bilateral agreements on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the European Union (EU). Results confirm our hypotheses that state actors are not passively lobbied, but actively look for collaboration with other actors, and especially with potential veto players and euro-sceptical actors from both the conservative Right and the Left.


The deposition of films from an argon plasma containing a mixture of ethylene oxide or hydrogen and perfluorohexane was tried to obtain very hydrophobic, less hydrophobic and intermediate coatings. This paper studies more extensively the deposition of a thin coating from a perfluorohexane and hydrogen plasma on polysulfone and polyhydroxybutyrate membranes to optimize their surface properties without affecting their filtering properties. The plasma deposition of smooth and very hydrophobic fluorocarbon coatings seems to increase the bio- and hemocompatibility of poorly biocompatible membranes. The treated substrates were characterized by measuring the mass variations, surface profilometry and contact angle measurements, as well as scanning electron microscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis.


AbstractFluorescent indicator displacement assays have become popular for converting synthetic receptors into optical sensors. We have now shown that a 1:2 host–guest complex between cucurbit[8]uril (Q[8]) and proflavine (PF) can be used as a fluorescent indicator for sensing the anticancer drug gefitinib. The 2PF@Q[8] complex can be used to detect gefitinib with high selectivity using fluorescence spectrometry with a detection limit of 6.63 × 10−8 mol−L. The proposed sensing mechanism was investigated using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), isothermal titration calorimetry and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. The 2PF@Q[8] complex was shown to be suitable for imaging gefitinib in prostate cancer (PC3) cells, which may help to elucidate relevant biological processes at the molecular level. We have developed a novel F-IDA to detect the anticancer drug GEF with high selectivity. The new indicator has excellent selectivity and a low detection limit for GEF. We have also demonstrat...


In the context of Aboriginal–Anglo Australian relations, we tested the effect of framing (multiculturalism versus separatism) and majority group members' social values (universalism) on the persuasiveness of Aboriginal group rhetoric, majority collective guilt, attitudes toward compensation, and reparations for Aboriginals. As predicted, Anglo Australians who are low on universalism report more collective guilt when presented with a multiculturalist than a separatist Aboriginal frame, whereas those high on universalism report high levels of guilt independent of frame. The same pattern was predicted and found for the persuasiveness of the rhetoric and attitudes toward compensation. Our data suggest that (a) for individuals low in universalism, framing produces attitudes consonant with compensation because it produces collective guilt and (b) the reason that universalists are more in favor of compensation and reparation is because of high collective guilt. We discuss the strategic use of language to create power through the manipulation of collective guilt in political contexts.


RNA extracted from T4 phage-infected Escherichia coli cells can direct the synthesis of phage-specific deoxynucleotide kinase in a cell-free system from uninfected E. coli. The maximum messenger activity is obtained 8 min after infection at 37 degrees C and decreases there-after. The main activity of this messenger RNA has a sedimentation coefficient of about 15 S on a sucrose density gradient. The conditions necessary for the appearance of enzyme activity in vitro are the same as those required for de novo synthesis of protein. RNA from cells infected with a T4 amber mutant incapable of inducing the kinase in vivo lacks the ability to direct the synthesis of enzyme in vitro.


Introduction Gyejibongneyong-hwan (GBH), also known as Guizhi Fuling formula, and is widely used for uterine fibroids in East Asian countries. Many clinical trials assessing the efficacy and safety of GBH formula for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea have been reported. This review will assess the clinical evidence for and against the use of GBH formula as a treatment for dysmenorrhoea. It will also discuss the proposed mechanism(s) that could link herbal medicine to improvements in dysmenorrhoea. Methods and analysis Fourteen databases will be searched until September 2016. We will include randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining GBH decoctions for any type of dysmenorrhoea. All RCTs of decoctions or modified decoctions will be included. The methodological qualities of the RCTs will be assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias. Ethics and dissemination This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. The review will also be disseminated electronically and in print. It will be updated to inform and guide healthcare practices. Trial registration number CRD42015023419.


The aim of the paper is to identify the enablers for the successful implementation of Six Sigma. None of the existing frameworks provides any clear understanding related to linkages between, and hierarchical relationships among, the constructs of Six Sigma implementation. Our study has both inductive and deductive elements. We identified enablers of Six Sigma implementation from existing research, and we developed a contextual framework using the interpretive structural modelling technique. We further studied enablers based on their driving power and dependence using MICMAC analysis to categorise the enablers into four clusters. In order to validate the ISM model statistically we developed and pre-tested a structured questionnaire before using it for a survey. Data were collected using a split survey method using a modified version of Dillman's total design method. We performed non-response bias before checking assumptions such as constant variance and normality. We further checked the reliability and construct validity using confirmatory factor analysis. We find that constructs and indicators of our theoretical framework meet the criteria, and find them to be a good fit based on confirmatory factor analysis. We draw conclusions based on statistical analyses and our study limitations, and suggest further research directions.


The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) community climate model (CCM) has historically made use of a moist adiabatic adjustment procedure for parameterizing the effects of moist convection. The most recent version of the NCAR CCM, CCM2, has abandoned this approach in favor of a stability-dependent mass-flux representation of moist convective processes. This scheme physically constrains the process of moist convection with the use of a simple bulk cloud model, which provides a basis for estimating convective-scale transports of heat, moisture, and other atmospheric constituents as well as the diabatic heating associated with condensation and the fallout of precipitation. This paper presents the formalism associated with this simple mass-flux approach and contrasts its behavior with the moist adiabatic adjustment procedure used in earlier models. The inclusion of this scheme significantly moistens and warms the model troposphere at all latitudes but particularly in the tropics. Additionally, the simulated magnitude, structure, and location of the large-scale mean circulations are generally improved. The sensitivity of the simulated climate to the formulation of the cloud model is also presented.


Four major taxonomical issues are commented briefly in view of evolutionary biology: classification, hierarchy, trees and nomenclature. It is argued that distinction between diachronous and synchronous classification schemes is of primary importance in taxonomy. The currently adopted classification of life is meant to be diachronous and Linnaean at the same time. This is problematic, because morphological and genetic gaps between higher taxa are the result of evolution; they are apparent only at a horizontal cross section of the phylogenetic tree and cannot be observed in time along the spatio-temporal continuum of populations. On the other hand, synchronous classifications would be consistent with the sharp boundaries necessary to set up a meaningful Linnaean hierarchy. Distinguishing Darwinian phylogenetic trees from Hennigian cladograms is just as well important. Monophyly-paraphyly-polyphyly concern the status of a group in a diachronous classification with respect to the phylogenetic tree, while cladograms can be logically contrasted with synchronous classifications. This necessitates introduction of new terms, monoclady, paraclady and polyclady, all referring to the respective conditions of groups of organisms in a cladogram. The existence of different and independent nomenclatural codes conserves an exceedingly obsolete view on the living world—harmonization of the codes with one another as well as with evolutionary theory is inevitable.


Abstract In order to study channelled snow flows over rough surfaces, a laboratory-scale experiment was installed at the "Col du Lac Blanc", a 2800 m high pass in the French Alps, near the Alpe d'Huez ski resort. It consists of a 0.2 mwide, 10 m long channel fed with snow by a motorized hopper. Both the slope of the channel and the feeding rate of the hopper can be modified. Sensors in the channel provide measurements of the velocity profile, the flow height and the shear and normal stresses at the bottom of the flow. Velocity profiles for different slopes are presented in this paper. Results indicate the presence of a highly active layer at the bottom. This layer is mainly responsible for the avalanche velocity, while the upper layer has a much smaller velocity gradient. A first interpretation of both layers is given.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the proposed eco currency union has sufficient business cycle synchronization among its members to avoid problems such as those experienced in the last several years by countries in the eurozone. This monetary union would potentially include 18 countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo – which collectively have a GDP of over 744 billion dollars and a population of over 300 million people.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors will apply some recently created econometric tools that were developed specifically to investigate business cycle synchronization in the eurozone. These tools – denoted synchronicity and similarity – overcome some of the limitations of previous studies which have used vector autoregressions and suffered simultaneity bias as a result.

Findings

The different measures employed suggest that the potential members of the eco exhibit a very low level of synchronization. Nigeria in particular, which is heavily dependent on oil, as are some, but not all potential members, would be the largest member, and exhibits a very low level of synchronization with other prospective eco member nations. Finally, preliminary evidence from several countries which have joined the existing African currency unions does not indicate that the act of joining a currency union improves synchronization, and this result contradicts the "endogenous optimal currency area" hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

Like previous studies on the topic, the authors rely on the available data. The number of observations is more limited than would be optimal.

Practical implications

The results would strongly caution against the creation of the eco currency union, as members appear even less ready for monetary integration than countries in the eurozone did.

Originality/value

This is the first study to apply the synchronicity and similarity tools to the prospective West African eco nations.


Monodispersed colloidal particles have received continuously increasing attention due to their unique physicochemical properties for applications in many technological areas, especially in nanotechnology. The size and morphology of the colloid particles produced in a homogeneous solution are very sensitive to the synthesis conditions. Thus, it has been a great challenge to generalize the synthesis of monodispersed colloidal particles. In this work, a hydrothermally promoted double hydrolysis approach (HPDH) was found to be effective in the synthesis of monodispersed colloidal particles of different compositions. Several types of colloids were synthesized to demonstrate the feasibility and versatility of this novel approach. The monodispersity of the colloids was examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and particle size distribution analysis. The crystalline structure and porosity of the colloids were investigated by X-ray diffraction, selected area-electron diffraction and N2 adsorption methods. Results show that the HPDH derived colloids have a high monodispersity, which may render these materials highly potential in numerous emerging applications.


A novel class of inhibitors of the enzyme γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were evaluated. The analog OU749 was shown previously to be an uncompetitive inhibitor of the GGT transpeptidation reaction. The data in this study show that it is an equally potent uncompetitive inhibitor of the hydrolysis reaction, the primary reaction catalyzed by GGT in vivo. A series of structural analogs of OU749 were evaluated. For many of the analogs, the potency of the inhibition differed between the hydrolysis and transpeptidation reactions, providing insight into the malleability of the active site of the enzyme. Analogs with electron withdrawing groups on the benzosulfonamide ring, accelerated the hydrolysis reaction, but inhibited the transpeptidation reaction by competing with a dipeptide acceptor. Several of the OU749 analogs inhibited the transpeptidation reaction by slow onset kinetics, similar to acivicin. Further development of inhibitors of the GGT hydrolysis reaction is necessary to provide new therapeutic compounds.


Fucoidan is a sulfated algal polyanionic polysaccharide that possesses many biological activities. In this paper, a fucoidan (SHF) polysaccharide was extracted from Sargassum hemiphyllum collected in the South China Sea. The SHF, with a molecular weight of 1166.48 kDa (44.06%, w/w), consisted of glucose (32.68%, w/w), galactose (24.81%, w/w), fucose (20.75%, w/w), xylose (6.98%, w/w), mannose (2.76%, w/w), other neutral monosaccharides, and three uronic acids, including glucuronic acid (5.39%, w/w), mannuronic acid (1.76%, w/w), and guronuronic acid (1.76%, w/w). The SHF exhibited excellent immunostimulatory activity. An immunostimulating assay showed that SHF could significantly increase NO secretion in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells via upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) levels based on both gene expression and protein abundance. These results suggest that SHF isolated from Sargassum hemiphyllum has great potential to act as a health-boosting ingredient in the pharmaceutical and functional-food fields.


Human herpesviruses are ubiquitous in the world population, in part due to the ability of this family of viruses to establish life-long, persistent infections. Human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) is generally acquired early in life, and is the causative agent of the benign childhood febrile illness, Roseola Infantum, and severe encephalitis in rare instances. Mitochondria play diverse roles in cell homeostasis, including metabolism, energy production, and regulation of antiviral innate immunity. As a family, herpesviruses are known modulators of mitochondria and we have observed that HHV-6B significantly alters mitochondrial function of infected T-cells. Specifically, we have discovered that HHV-6B alters mitochondrial DNA replication and transcription, while also dramatically decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential during infection. We hypothesize that HHV-6 disrupts mitochondrial function by altering mitochondrial gene expression and oxidative phosphorylation, leading to metabolic and signaling imbalances that influence cellular homeostasis and anti-HHV-6 immunity.


Hybrid lead-halide perovskites have been studied extensively for their promising optoelectronic properties and prospective applications, including photovoltaics, solid-state lighting, and radiation detection. Research into these materials has also been aided by the simple and low-temperature synthetic conditions involved in solution-state deposition/crystallization or melt-processing techniques. However, concern over lead toxicity has plagued the field since its infancy. One of the most promising routes to mitigating toxicity in hybrid perovskite materials is substituting isoelectronic Bi(III) for Pb(II). Various methods have been developed to allow pnictide-based systems to capture properties of the Pb(II) analogues, but the ability to melt extended hybrid pnictide-halide materials has not been investigated. In this work, we prepare a series of one-dimensional antimony- and bismuth-iodide hybrid materials employing tetramethylpiperazinium (TMPZ)-related cations. We observe, for the first time, the ability to melt extended hybrid pnictide-halide materials for both the Sb(III) and Bi(III) systems. Additionally, we find that Sb(III) analogues melt at lower temperatures and attribute this observation to structural changes induced by the increased stereochemical activity of the Sb(III) lone pair coupled with the reduction in effective dimensionality due to steric interactions with the organic cations. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to melt process phase pure thin films of (S-MeTMPZ)SbI5.


Horizontal and vertical ridge augmentation was performed using autogenous tooth bone graft block and powder in 44-year old male patient. Excellent bony healing was obtained 2~4 months after ridge augmentation. Implant treatment was performed successfully.


This paper presents an investigation on the environmental factors affecting meliponiculture (the cultivation of stingless bees on a commercial scale for honey production or pollination) using an internet of thing (IOT) application. Manual collection of data for chosen factors can be sporadic and produce variations from incorrect measurement taking; this can cause complications in producing any important interpretation. The feasibility of online monitoring of bee hive based on IoT application has not been properly explored. For a particular bee hive, the amount of departing and arriving bee was estimated by using non-intrusive sensors of infrared transmitter and receiver. A basic temperature-humidity sensor to monitor the temperature and humidity was placed inside the bee hive.  All sensors were integrated with a microcontroller and a Wi-Fi module which sent the data wirelessly to IoT cloud platform where the data was continuously saved, monitored, and can be retrieved anytime. Colonies of Trigona Itama were active throughout the whole period at the experimental site but the daily activity period was intense in the warmer days (over 30 °C) whereas the relative humidity had no significant effect on the flight activities. Intensity of daily flight activity was greatest in December, 2016. Temperature was the most important variable affecting flight.


Listening and reading comprehension constitutes a challenge for both educators and learners while learning English. The difficulty lies both in relation to the reluctance of students to participate in the educational process as well as in relation to the limited time of the traditional class.
The proposed solution is to utilize online tools that make teaching listening and reading interesting, enjoyable and efficient. The advantages that the existing sites offer are important and therefore their use is considered imperative.
Their choice, however, must be done with great care in order that they meet criteria that ensure the suitability and quality offer in the educational process. For this reason, these criteria are clearly defined while the online tools that meet them are presented and described.
Subsequently these online tools are presented to teachers of English with a view to informing them, exploring their attitudes towards the use of technology and the internet and finding out their intention to utilize them in their educational practice.


The vertical sequences of sedimentary facies in three southwest Pacific marginal basins are controlled by sea-floor spreading. The basal sediments at Site 285 (South Fiji Basin) and Site 286 (Hebrides Basin) are turbidites that coarsen upward into debris-flow conglomerates because of submarine-fan progradation. The clastic facies are overlain by biogenic sediments and are capped by pelagic red clays. At Site 287 (Coral Sea Basin), the vertical sequence is partly reversed, consisting of basal biogenic sediments overlain by olive clays that were produced by turbid suspension and are capped by silty-clayey turbidites organized into graded cycles. The following tectonic-sedimentary events are suggested. During initial rifting of the marginal basins, the overlying blanket of oceanic sediment was slumped onto the basin floor. The basin environment was characterized by high slope instability during early stages of basinal sea-floor spreading, which favored deposition of coarser turbidites and debris-flow sediments on fans prograding basinward. As the basin widened during later stages of spreading, regional slope gradients declined, and associated turbidity currents were characterized by reduced flow intensity. After spreading appeared to have ceased, pelagic oceanic sedimentation occurred, followed by pelagic red clays once the basin floor subsided below the calcite compensation depth. Higher sediment accumulation rates are characteristic of the early stage of sea-floor spreading, intermediate sediment accumulation rates are characteristic of the late stage of spreading, and low accumulation rates are characteristic of the pelagic phase. The reversed facies sequence at Site 287 owes its origin to deposition of a clastic wedge of turbidites associated with later vertical uplifts along the basin boundary. Sediment accumulation rates increased during this resurgent tectonic phase. Such resurgent tectonic phases may repeat the facies sequences observed at Sites 285 and 286.


The KNMI/ESA Tropospheric EMission Internet Service (TEMIS) publishes daily forecasts of the clear-sky UV index for today and 8-days ahead and analyses of the daily UV dose of yesterday and before. Near-real time ozone satellite observations are used to account for the variations in UV radiation as a function of the overhead ozone column. The daily UV dose depends critically on the assumptions that are made for the cloud correction factor. Cloud cover fraction is the most uncertain parameter for day-to-day variations in the daily UV dose under non-overcast cloud conditions. The cloud optical thickness is the most important parameter determining variations in daily UV dose for overcast situations. A good cloud mask is essential to identify cloud-free scenes. Still further improvements in the daily UV dose can be made, including the inclusion of the diurnal variation in cloud optical thickness as well as corrections for aerosols.


Retranslations of the Qur'an constitute an intriguing site of research with particular premises governing their production, dissemination and/or reception in Turkey. Its inherently religion-oriented context is accompanied by discussions on the sacred status of the source text, arguments on its untranslatability, translatorial human agency vis-à-vis the Holy creator, acknowledged Arabicity of the source text, etc. In this regard, each new translation of the Qur'an in Turkish is released with a motivation to justify its necessity amid abundant retranslations available in the target repertoire. Various approaches towards the conceptualization and instrumentalization of these Qur'anic translations create a meta-narrative on its own right. This study aims at exploring this particular discourse on the retranslations of the Qur'an with a bi-faceted study design composed of quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative analysis focuses on the numeric changes of Qur'anic retranslations in respective decades, whereas the qualitative analysis concentrates on the statements of the translatorial agents on the motives behind their translational production. By shedding light on the discursive narrative postulated upon these retranslations, it is claimed that social, political, cultural and financial concerns have prevailingly governed the reproductions of this canonical work in Turkey.
Keywords: Qur'an translation, religious-text translation, retranslation, discourse analysis.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

2777

Inhibition of the EGFR has been reported to sensitize malignant epithelial cells including squamous cell carcinoma of the skin to the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation. In this study we ask the question whether interaction with components of the extracellular matrix affects radiosensitization of transformed keratinocytes by EGFR blockade. To this end, we used HaCaT cells seeded in the presence and absence of the EGFR inhibitor IRESSA (ZD1839) onto 96-well plates coated with either 0.9% agarose for forced suspension culture or various extracellular matrix components including collagen I, IV, fibronectin, laminin I and Poly-D-Lysine for 2h prior to exposure of various doses of ionizing radiation (0-10 Gy). Effects of these treatments on cellular metabolism were determined 3 days after radiation using MTT assays. Consistent with previous reports, we observed that ZD1839 inhibited MTT conversion in HaCaT cells either alone or in combination with radiation. All types of extracellular matrices tested supported high levels of cellular metabolism in comparison with forced suspension culture. Furthermore, attachment to either collagen I, IV or fibronectin markedly alleviated the reduction in cellular metabolism by EGFR blockade and radiation. By contrast, cells seeded on laminin I, poly-D-lysine or tissue culture-treated plastic surface did not protect against radiosensitization by EGFR blockade. In the same experimental setting, we also found that attachment to collagen I, IV, fibronectin and laminin I demonstrated elevated levels of constitutive and EGF-induced MEK/MAPK activation and insulin-induced PI3K/AKT activation as compared to tissue culture-treated plastic surface and poly-D-lysine. Additional signaling pathways jointly controlled by EGFR activation and matrix engagement and instrumental in radioprotection are currently under investigation. Collectively, these observations suggest that the extracellular matrix surrounding tumor cells in vivo may offer protection against EGFR blockade and ionizing radiation.


The work presented in this thesis concerns the opioid peptide dynorphin A (DynA). DynA functions primarily as a neurotransmitter and belongs to the family of typical opioid peptides. These peptides are a part of the opioid system, together with the opioid receptors, a family of GPCR membrane proteins. The opioid system system is involved or implicated in several physiological processes such as analgesia, addiction, depression and other types of neurological disorders. In this thesis, two biologically relevant aspects of DynA have been investigated with biophysical methods. First, interactions between DynA and an opioid receptor, and second, the direct membrane interactions of DynA.The DynA–receptor studies were focused on the selectivity-modulating second extracellular loop (EL2) of the kappa-opioid receptor (KOR). A protein engineering approach was used in which the EL2 was grafted onto a soluble protein scaffold. The results show that DynA binds with low affinity but high specificity to EL2 in the construct protein environment. The strength of the interaction is in the micromolar range, and we argue that this interaction is part of the receptor recognition event.With bicelles as a mimetic, membrane interactions were probed for wild-type DynA and for two DynA peptide variants linked to a neurological disorder. R6W–DynA and L5S–DynA were shown to be very different in terms of bicelle association, penetration and structure induction. In these experiments, as well as in investigations of DynA dynamics in bicelles, the lipid environment was shown to have much larger effects on peptide dynamics than on structure; and both these properties depend on lipid charge.Additionally, in a methodological project, DHPC/DMPC bicelle morphology as a function of total PC concentration was characterised by diffusion NMR in combination with two-way decomposition. The results may contribute to providing guidelines for the appropriate use of bicelles as a membrane mimetic.


Detailed chemotaxonomic studies were undertaken to establish the qualitative profile and real amounts of the pharmacologically active isoflavone aglycones genistein, daidzein, formononetin, and biochanin A in aerial parts of thirteen Trifolium L. (clover) species, native to Poland. A newly elaborated micropreparative technique--SPE--on BakerBond octadecyl, cyclohexyl, and phenyl cartridges was used in combination with ultrasound-assisted extraction for isolation of isoflavone aglycones from hydrolyzed samples. The effectiveness of all three SPE sorbents in the purification of plant extracts was compared and very high recoveries (>96%) were documented for four isoflavones. Classical photodiode-array and very sensitive fluorescence detection, coupled with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), were employed to obtain the most reliable qualitative and quantitative results. Chemotaxonomic differences combined with flower color variability were demonstrated within thirteen clover species. Concentration levels of particular isoflavones in ten Trifolium species possessing flowers with white, pink, or purple-red corolla ranged from approximately 3 to approximately 3300 microg/g dry weight, while in three yellow flowering clovers (T. aureum, T. dubium, and T. campestre) isoflavone compounds have not been detected at all. RSD values, determined for intra- and inter-day precision of the quantitative results, were not higher than 6.2% and 7.1%, respectively.


Two experiments, one in Open Field (OF) and the other inside a Greenhouse (GH), were conducted at Al-Jubeha Agricultural Research Station –The University of Jordan, to study the effect of Treated Wastewater (TWW) on soil chemical and physical properties. It was also intended to find the effect of TWW on spike quality of gladiolus. Five water treatments were used for both experiments, T1:100% Potable Water (PW); T2:100%TWW; T3:25%PW +75%TWW; T4:50%PW+50%TWW; and T5:75%PW+25%TWW. The design for both experiments was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The results in both experiments showed high accumulation of salts in soils for all treatments with the highest accumulation values in soil T2. Soil organic matter (OM) and N were reduced after planting for all treatments in the GH treatments, but OM remained almost the same in the OF treatments. There was an increase in Zn, Pb, and Cu microelements in soils for all treatments. Soil physical properties such as aggregate stability was reduced for all treatments significantly after planting by about 40% for the GH treatments, and nonsignificantly by about 3-12% for the OF treatments. Soil water retention curve and pore size distribution did not significantly change after planting for the soil for all treatments in both experiments. Plant properties, from both experiments, were affected by TWW irrigation. Parameters such as: spike length, spike diameter, corm size, number of florets per spike, and the number of cormels per corm were found to be affected by water treatments. It gave the worst quality for plants that irrigated with 100% TWW for both experiments. Based on results obtained from both experiments, it was found that soils were affected negatively by TWW irrigation for their chemical and physical properties. Use of TWW when mixed with some PW for irrigation of non-edible plants such as cut flowers gave better results than using PW alone.


Background: Disasters can happen due to nature and human being which cause damages, loss, and deteriorating health as well as health care. Psychosocial and mental health problems arise whilst and post disaster since disaster will lead to trauma for those who undergo it. Depression has comorbidity with dementia which decreases the quality of life of the elderly, thus it needs an effective and sustainable treatment with the goal to recover coping mechanism toward physical and psycho-social problem, prevent physical and psycho-social disability, and optimize psycho-social function. Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of Elderly Management Effort activities towards geriatric depression scale of permanent shelter residents in post Eruption of Merapi Methodology :  This research is quasi-experimental research using pretest postest design. The subject of this research is 40 people which meet the inclusive criteria: elderly, living in shelter, having non-terminal illnesses, and willing to join the whole research. The exclusive criteria are having a medical record with severe psychological problem and DO which will be used for those who do not join all session completely. The samples were taken using consecutive sampling method. The instruments used in this research are the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Elderly Management Effort. The data were analyzed through t test and chi square. Findings:  Decreasing of score was found for the Geriatric Depression Scale from 5.2 to 2.1 and back to the score 4.3 at the last intervention in the 10 th month. Conclusion: The Elderly Management Effort through the activities in Posyandu including Dance Movement Therapy dan Reminiscence Therapy is proven effective to decrease the Geriatric Depression Scale in post disaster.


This well-documented preliminary repo-t is a study of the patterns of residential segregation of MexicanAmericans in the Southwest (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas). Generalizations are difficult because the extent of seg-egation differs widely from city to city within these states of the Southwest. Using an "index of residential dissimilarity" the authors have analyzed the segregation patterns of 35 cities in the Southwest and conclude that the ea-lier ghettoes and agricultural enclaves have developed into areas with a high level of segregation for both Mexican-Americans and Neg-oes from members of the dominant groun, the Anglos. Although the-e are different patterns in the various cities, the rank order of seg-egation indicates that the greatest segregation exists between Neg-oes and Anglos followed by a next higher deg-ee of segregation between Mexican-Ame"icans and Negroes, followed by the lowest degree of segregation between Mexican-Americans and Anglos. In an attempt to locate the significant facto-s relating to residential seg-egation, the authors reject income of the minority grouo, homing vacanc'es, population density of the city, and inner-city co tcentration of the minotity g-oun as significant "explanatory" variables. The mo-e important factors accounting for residential segregation seem to be size of the city, proportion of large households in the two minorities, income differentials (not the same as low income) between the Anglos and the minorities, and the deg-ee of ethnic composition (Negroes and Mexican-Americans) within the total population of the city. An attempt is made to measure the "taste for discrimination" displayed by Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and Negroes but this proves to be a difficult and elusive quest. Perhaps continued research, using this fine Report as a guide, will provide such an index. JOHN LENNON University of MissouriSt. Louis


It is known that electromagnetic resonant tunneling phenomenon can be found in the single-negative (SNG) bilayer, a two-layer coating made of the epsilon-negative (ENG) and the munegative (MNG) media. In this work, we report that this resonant tunneling is strongly dependent on the static positive parameters in SNG materials. The values of the static permeability in ENG layer and the static permittivity in MNG layer for obtaining the resonant tunneling are theoretically analyzed and discussed for two possible cases of equaland unequal-thicknesses. Useful design guidelines in selecting positive parameters for the resonant tunneling are obtained. We also investigate the possible influence in the resonant tunneling due to the losses from the ENG and MNG materials. Additionally, we examine the polarization-dependent resonant tunneling, that is, the dependence of angle of incidence is examined.


In this work, the efficacy of various features on electrocardiogram (ECG) based biometric authentication process is thoroughly examined. In particular, the features acquired from temporal analysis, wavelet transformation, power spectral density estimation and QRS-complex detection over ECG signals are considered. These features are employed with two distinct classification algorithms, namely decision tree and Bayes network, specifically for gender, age and identity recognition problems. The biometric authentication framework is evaluated on a benchmark dataset that contains ECG records of 18 healthy people including 5 men, aged 26 to 45, and 13 women, aged 20 to 50. The results of the experimental analysis reveal that if all those features are used in combination rather than individually, better performance is attained for all classifiers in each recognition problem.


Background: Global pandemic identified as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a variety of clinical symptoms, from asymptomatic carriers to those with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS) and moderate upper respiratory tract symptoms (URTS). This systematic review aimed to determine effectiveness of stem cell (SC) applications among COVID-19 patients. Methods: Multiple databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were used. Studies were screened, chosen, and included in this systematic review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 flowchart diagram and PRISMA checklist. Included studies' quality was assessed employing Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) quality evaluation criteria for 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Results: Fourteen RCTs were performed between the years of 2020 to 2022, respectively, with a sample size n = 574 (treatment group (n = 318); control group (n = 256)) in multiple countries of Indonesia, Iran, Brazil, Turkey, China, Florida, UK, and France. The greatest sample size reported from China among 100 COVID-19 patients, while the lowest sample of 9 COVID-19 patients from Jakarta, Indonesia, and the patient's age ranges from 18 to 69 years. Studies applied to the type of SC were "Umbilical cord MSCs, MSCs secretome, MSCs, Placenta-derived MSCs, Human immature dental pulp SC, DW-MSC infusion, Wharton Jelly-derived MSCs". The injected therapeutic dose was 1 × 10 6 cells/kg, 1 × 10 7 cells/kg, 1 × 10 5 cells/kg, and 1 million cells/kg as per the evidence from the different studies. Studies focused on demographic variables, clinical symptoms, laboratory tests, Comorbidities, respiratory measures, concomitant therapies, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, mechanical ventilation, body mass index, adverse events, inflammatory markers, and PaO 2 /FiO 2 ratio were all recorded as study characteristics. Conclusion: Clinical evidence on MSC's therapeutic applications during COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a promising therapy for COVID-19 patient recovery with no consequences and applied as a routine treatment for challenging ailments.


Context. Thanks to its spatial resolution, the ESA/Gaia space mission offers a unique opportunity to discover new multiply imaged quasars and to study the already known lensed systems at sub-milliarcsecond astrometric precisions.
Aims. In this paper, we address the detection of the known multiply imaged quasars from the Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and determine the astrometric and photometric properties of the individually detected images found in the Gaia DR2 catalogue.
Methods. We have compiled an exhaustive list of quasar gravitational lenses from the literature to search for counterparts in the Gaia DR2. We then analysed the astrometric and photometric properties of these Gaia's detections. To highlight the tremendous potential of Gaia at the sub-milliarcsecond level we finally performed a simple Bayesian modelling of the well-known gravitational lens system HE0435-1223, using Gaia DR2 and HST astrometry.
Results. From 481 known multiply imaged quasars, 206 have at least one image found in the Gaia DR2. Among the 44 known quadruply imaged quasars of the list, 29 have at least one image in the Gaia DR2, 12 of which are fully detected (2MASX J01471020+4630433, HE 0435-1223, SDSS1004+4112, PG1115+080, RXJ1131-1231, 2MASS J11344050-2103230, 2MASS J13102005-1714579, B1422+231, J1606-2333, J1721+8842, WFI2033-4723, WGD2038-4008), eight have three counterparts, eight have two and one has only one. As expected, the modelling of HE0435-1223 shows that the model parameters are significantly better constrained when using Gaia astrometry compared to HST astrometry, in particular the relative positions of the background quasar source and the centroid of the deflector. The Gaia sub-milliarcsecond astrometry also significantly reduces the parameter correlations.
Conclusions. Besides providing an up-to-date list of multiply imaged quasars and their detection in the Gaia DR2, this paper shows that more complex modelling scenarios will certainly benefit from Gaia sub-milliarcsecond astrometry.


Selenium is a trace element that has antioxidant properties and is a component of selenoproteins. In certain circumstances, such as injury, selenium supplementation is required to regulate the inflammatory response. Contusion injury increases the inflammatory response to a muscle or tissue that begins with vasodilation, increases blood flow, increases vascular permeability, and leads to edema formation at the site of injury. Objectives: To determine the effect of selenium supplementation on changes in blood markers in rats treated with contusion injury. Methods: Experimental design, using experimental male rats (Rattus norwegius), eight weeks old, weighing 200-220 grams, divided into three groups, namely: The Control group, the contusion group, the contusion + Selenium group. Selenium supplementation was given orally on days 1-3 after injury at a dose of 0.0153 mg into 2% PGA. Examination of markers such as White Blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils was carried out on day three after treatment. Results: This study found that the administration of post-muscular selenium supplementation based on examination of blood markers such as WBC, Lymphocytes, Monocytes was higher in the contusion group and lower in the selenium group. Neutrophils were higher in the contusion and selenium groups. This was not significantly different from the control group. The result of blood marker examination tended to change, but it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Selenium supplementation in post-contusive injury mice did not provide significant changes in blood markers such as WBC, lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils.Keywords:  antioxidant, blood marker, contusion, selenium


Increased knowledge of the role that dysregulated MAPK signaling plays in melanoma has opened the door for novel therapeutic strategies, among them MEK-targeted approaches. With the recent approval of the selective MEK inhibitor trametinib, both as a single agent and in combination with dabrafenib for patients with BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma, MEK-based therapy now has a place as a standard of care option for the treatment of this disease. Early data suggest a benefit of MEK inhibition in other melanoma subtypes as well, including NRAS-mutant and uveal melanoma. This review summarizes the clinical development and the currently available data regarding the role of MEK inhibitor therapy in the treatment of advanced melanoma.


Objective To identify factors affecting work-life balance amongst male and female orthodontists in the UK. Design A qualitative interview-based study with a cross-sectional design. Subjects Specialist orthodontists working in specialist practice and the hospital service in the UK were selected by purposive sampling. Methods In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 orthodontic specialists. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Framework Analysis. Result Four main themes pertaining to work-life balance in orthodontics were identified: work factors affecting work-life balance, life factors affecting work-life balance, perception and effects of work-life balance and suggestions for managing work-life balance within the profession. Conclusions There was substantial variation in the work-life balance of the orthodontists interviewed in this study; however the majority reported high levels of career satisfaction despite difficulties maintaining a good work-life balance. Whilst there were some clear distinctions in the factors affecting work-life balance between the hospital environment and specialist practice (including additional professional commitments and teaching/training-related issues), there were also a number of similarities. These included, the lack of flexibility in the working day, managing patient expectations, taking time off work at short notice and the ability to work part-time.


In the last few years, wireless mesh networks (WMNs) become a one of the most promising technology for broadband wireless access. These networks provide multi-hop transmissions between nodes. In multi-hop networks the total network performance decreases with increasing number of nodes and hops. To increase the total network performance, each mesh node is equipped with multiple radio interfaces which operate on a distinct frequency channels. The IEEE 802.11 specification provides multiple orthogonal channels (non-overlapping), which can be used simultaneously. This paper presents a new centralized channel assignment concept called first random channel assignment algorithm (FRCA). This algorithm efficiently utilizes multiple radio interfaces to achieve improvement of the network performance. We created simulation model in NS-2 simulator and simulation results of our channel assignment algorithm was compared with some other algorithms.


This paper describes the 32nm Sandy Bridge processor that integrates up to 4 high performance Intel Architecture (IA) cores, a power/performance optimized graphic processing unit (GPU) and memory and PCIe controllers in the same die. The Sandy Bridge architecture block diagram is shown in Fig. 15.1.1 and the floorplan of a four IA-core version is shown in Fig. 15.1.2. The Sandy Bridge IA core implements an improved branch prediction algorithm, a micro-operation (Uop) cache, a floating point Advanced Vector Extension (AVX), a second load port in the L1 cache and bigger register files in the out-of-order part of the machine; all these architecture improvements boost the IA core performance without increasing the thermal power dissipation envelope or the average power consumption (to preserve battery life in mobile systems). The CPUs and GPU share the same 8MB level-3 cache memory. The data flow is optimized by a high performance on die interconnect fabric (called "ring") that connects between the CPUs, the GPU, the L3 cache and the system agent (SA) unit that houses a 1600MT/s, dual channel DDR3 memory controller, a 20-lane PCIe gen2 controller, a two parallel pipe display engine, the power management control unit and the testability logic. An on die EPROM is used for configurability and yield optimization.


Nutrition affects all physiological processes occurring in our body, including those related to the function of the immune system; indeed, metabolism has been closely associated with the differentiation and activity of both innate and adaptive immune cells. While excessive energy intake and adiposity have been demonstrated to cause systemic inflammation, several clinical and experimental evidence show that calorie restriction (CR), not leading to malnutrition, is able to delay aging and exert potent anti-inflammatory effects in different pathological conditions. This review provides an overview of the ability of different CR-related nutritional strategies to control autoimmune, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, as tested by preclinical studies and human clinical trials, with a specific focus on the immunological aspects of these interventions. In particular, we recapitulate the state of the art on the cellular and molecular mechanisms pertaining to immune cell metabolic rewiring, regulatory T cell expansion and gut microbiota composition, which possibly underline the beneficial effects of CR. Although studies are still needed to fully evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the nutritional intervention in clinical practice, the experimental observations discussed here suggest a relevant role of CR in lowering the inflammatory state in a plethora of different pathologies, thus representing a promising therapeutic strategy for the control of human health.


The article examines the approach of leading rabbis toward levirate marriages following the establishment of the State of Israel. Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Herzog supported the abolishment of levirate marriages and attempted to impose on all ethnic communities the Ashkenazi approach, which since the 13th century favored chalitza. Chief Sephardic Rabbi Uziel supported rabbi Herzog although the levirate commandment takes precedence over chalitza in the Sephardic and oriental traditions and is practiced in these communities. In 1950, the two Chief Rabbis led a council of rabbis that enacted a regulation rejecting levirate marriages and favoring chalitza. Rabbi Uziel believed that two opposing traditions governing an issue as central as family law are not appropriate in a modern state. He perceived the levirate marriage, which binds women in matrimonial relations against their will, to be inconsistent with their status in the modern era. The strong roots of the Ashkenazi Halachic tradition, which has for many generations rejected levirate marriages, allowed him to demand that all ethnic groups adopt it. Rabbi Yossef and other oriental critics regard his actions as submissive to Ashkenazi tradition, a criticism I reject. Rabbi Yossef vigorously opposed the abolition of levirate marriages, and in a decision in 1951 he claimed that it was invalid. It was the beginning of his struggle against what he perceived as Ashkenazi dominance and Sephardic submission, demanding the restoration of the oriental and Sephardic traditions. In time, this became an explicit ideological-political stance under the motto leachzir atara le'yoshna. I suggest that Rabbi Yossef endeavors to restore the golden age of the Bashi sages in Jerusalem, chief among them Rabbi Elyashar, at the twilight of the Ottoman period. LEVIRATE MARRIAGE IN THE STATE OF ISRAEL No. 2–3, 2003–2004] 427 LEVIRATE MARRIAGE IN THE STATE OF ISRAEL ETHNIC ENCOUNTER AND THE CHALLENGE OF A JEWISH STATE Elimelech Westreich*


Cyberspace is reshaping the way businesses manage their sales and marketing assets. Unlike traditional media, such as TV, radio or newspapers, social media is characterized by freely available user-generated content. In addition to gaining phenomenal popularity as the web becomes accessible via all sorts of devices, they also have a strong influence on brands, making social media a force that many businesses can no longer ignore. However, among these network applications and services, it has been reported that some public relations companies hired people to post product comments on different online communities and social networks, without even consuming the services or products. While online paid posters can be used as an efficient e-marketing strategy, they can also act maliciously by spreading gossip or negative information about competitors. More specifically, a group of paid posters could operate with well-coordinated attacks and generate a desired result of positive or negative opinions, to attract attention or trigger curiosity. This kind of suspicious online behavior is known as 'crowdturfing' or 'astroturfing', which may mislead the public perception and bring a negative effect on both the Internet users and society. Technically, crowdturfing is closely related with other known suspicious online behaviors: spam email, fake review, social spam and link farming. Therefore, how to exploit the characteristics and behavior patterns of crowdturfing from the massive user information and user-generated content has become a challenging task. The research field is very extensive, and as a result, recent years have witnessed increasing research attentions on curbing crowdturfing in social networks like contentbased method, behavior-based methods, social relation-based methods and applications and open case study. This trend raised the need for launching this special issue, and we solicit the recent theoretical and application output in curbing crowdturfing. Based on the invited extension of the best work in the International Conference on Applications and Techniques in Information Security and an open call, four submissions have been accepted to best illustrate the recent directions and perspectives. The papers in this issue report a variety of methods in securing cyberspace and curbing crowdturfing and mainly involve the following aspects: the security algorithm optimization, the encryption scheme, abnormal behavior discovering and ciphertext update. These work proposed more security and efficiency schemes in various kinds of crowdturfing detection, traffic classification and monitoring systems, meanwhile against selective identity adaptively chosen-message attacks. Here, we provide an integrative perspective of this special issue, by summarizing each contribution contained therein. In [1], Tang et al. proposed an optimization algorithm to improve the efficiency in traffic classification system, network monitoring system and network intrusion detection system (NIDS). More specifically, they introduced a character escaping and replacing scheme to decrease the size of DFA's character set and to reduce DFA's space requirement through optimization. Then based on transition rewriting, a space-efficient and time-efficient DFA presentation, Reduced Input Character Set DFA (RICS-DFA), is proposed together with an efficient constructing algorithm. For real rule sets, ICS-DFA reduces the memory consumption by 68–92%, compared with the original DFA, and this paper designed a scalable RICS-DFA matching engine on FPGA platform on which the reduced state transition matrix is mapped to on-chip memories. The throughput of executing deep packet inspection for real world rule sets can achieve 7–50.5 Gbps. In [2], Yan et al. proposed a pre-image sample algorithm with outputs obeying irregular Gaussian distribution and then designed the construction of hierarchical identity-based signature. Two measures were adopted to prevent the leakage of the geometrical property of trapdoor caused by irregular Gaussian outputs. Theoretically, the authors showed that this identity-based signature is more efficient and unforgeable against selective identity adaptively chosen-message attacks.


Fifteen crossbred pigs of Swedish Landrace and Yorkshire, about 6 months of age and susceptible to develop malignant hyperthermia (MH) when exposed to halothane, were subjected to stress provoked by the myorelaxant succinylcholine. The results were compared with those of 12 normal pigs. During the stress the halothane-sensitive (HS) pigs showed much higher levels of plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline and more severe ventricular arrhythmias than the controls. The degree of myocardial degeneration and necrosis being similar to catecholamine induced myocardial damage was significantly higher in the HS pigs than in the controls. The ultrastructural examination revealed three main types of changes in affected myocardial cells. One type of myocardial cell damage was characterized by various degree of hypercontraction, enlarged mitochondria with dense bodies and dilated sarcoplasmic reticulum. The other type showed mitochondria with tubular configuration whereas the third type of cell damage was characterized by almost normal mitochondria combined with a severe damage of the myofilaments. Three HS pigs which died within 30 min after stress showed signs of malignant hyperthermia. No signs of the disease were observed in the other 12 HS pigs.


Temperature and nutrient concentrations regulate aquatic bacterial metabolism. However, few studies have focused on the effect of the interaction between these factors on bacterial processes, and none have been performed in tropical aquatic ecosystems. We analyzed the main and interactive effects of changes in water temperature and N and P concentrations on bacterioplankton production (BP), bacterioplankton respiration (BR) and bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) in tropical coastal lagoons. We used a factorial design with three levels of water temperature (25, 30, and 35°C) and four levels of N and/or P additions (Control, N, P, and NP additions) in five tropical humic lagoons. When data for all lagoons were pooled together, a weak interaction was observed between the increase in water temperature and the addition of nutrients. Water temperature alone had the greatest impact on bacterial metabolism by increasing BR, decreasing BP, and decreasing BGE. An increase of 1°C lead to an increase of ~4% in BR, a decrease of ~0.9% in BP, and a decrease of ~4% in BGE. When data were analyzed separately, lagoons responded differently to nutrient additions depending on Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) concentration. Lagoons with lowest DOC concentrations showed the strongest responses to nutrient additions: BP increased in response to N, P, and their interaction, BR increased in response to N and the interaction between N and P, and BGE was negatively affected, mainly by the interaction between N and P additions. Lagoons with the highest DOC concentrations showed almost no significant relationship with nutrient additions. Taken together, these results show that different environmental drivers impact bacterial processes at different scales. Changes of bacterial metabolism related to the increase of water temperature are consistent between lagoons, therefore their consequences can be predicted at a regional scale, while the effect of nutrient inputs is specific to different lagoons but seems to be related to the DOC concentration.


Abstract In 2016, the Flagship Program for improving health systems performance and equity, a partnership for leadership development between the World Bank and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and other institutions, celebrates 20 years of achievement. Set up at a time when development assistance for health was growing exponentially, the Flagship Program sought to bring systems thinking to efforts at health sector strengthening and reform. Capacity-building and knowledge transfer mechanisms are relatively easy to begin but hard to sustain, yet the Flagship Program has continued for two decades and remains highly demanded by national governments and development partners. In this article, we describe the process used and the principles employed to create the Flagship Program and highlight some lessons from its two decades of sustained success and effectiveness in leadership development for health systems improvement.


This paper aimed at utilizing GIS software in calculating pavement condition index )PCI( values, using four different interpolation methods: IDW, spline, trend and kriging. The case study covers four major streets in Nablus city with a total length of about 6.50 km. The PCI values were calculated using the ASTM conventional method. The four streets were divided into equal 100- meter sections. The PCI values were also calculated for each point of defect in both directions of the streets. The results of the four methods (point by point of defects) were compared manually with the conventional method (ASTM procedure). The results showed that the spline method had a strong correlation with the conventional method in terms of multiple R and R-square calculation (multiple R for left 0.918, right 0.947 and R2 for left 0.843, right 0.897). This method also fitted the data better than the other methods, as seen from the linear regression model results, in addition to producing the minimum error value. The results indicated that by identifying the PCI value, it would be possible to select the proper pavement maintenance and corresponding cost for each point of defect. This in turn would help in prioritizing pavement sections. KEYWORDS: Pavement condition index (PCI), GIS, Interpolation, Distress, Maintenance, Spline.


The first volume of this Series is on The Role of Government / Academia / Industry in Building Innovation-Based Cities and Nations and aims to present a group of cases of successful Triple Helix engagement which demonstrate the benefits and the costs of multi-stakeholder management at regional, national and international level. Articles present different sectoral and regional triple helix constellations in different country contexts – comparing actors, their strategic aims, and how these coalign, how they act together, and what is the tangible and intangible impact of such a triple helix mobilization.

The editorial article synthesizes across all cases and introduces a generalized view on different models proposed for the scale-up of the impact from the collaboration between government - industry, and academia.

The cases in the first volume were sourced from the applications for the Triple Helix International Medal Award 2018, A triple Helix Association Award, launched at the II International Triple Helix Summit, 10-13 November 2018 Dubai.