Catalytic asymmetric Diels−Alder reaction is one of the most powerful reactions in organic chemistry. It is still a challenge to achieve high and general exo-selectivity. A novel bispyrrolidine diboronate compound has been derived from the reaction of two molecules of oxazaborolidine with one molecule of water. Upon activation, it effectively catalyzes (0.4-5 mol % loading) the Diels–Alder reaction between a variety of mono- and di-carbonyl activated dienophiles and dienes with better than 20:1 regioselectivity, up to >99:1 enantioselectivity, and better than 20:1 exo/endo selectivity. Mechanistic studies show a remarkable nonlinearity in enantioselectivity, and a second-order kinetics with respect to the catalyst concentration. A model is proposed to rationalize the above observations. The reaction is expected to find wide applications in organic synthesis.


The effect of stationary liquid media to improve shoots elongation in date palm cv. Najda and an in vitro pre-acclimatization stage to increase the survival ercentage of plantlets in the greenhouse was investigated. Two basal liquid media were tested: full strength and half strength Murashige and Skoog medium (MS). Media were devoid of plant growth regulators (PGRs), containing 0.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) or 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 0.5 mg/L BAP. After three months of culture, all liquid media were efficient and allowed to overcome slow growth problem. The maximum shoot elongation was 11.3 cm, obtained in MS supplemented with 0.5 mg/L BAP and 0.5 mg/L IBA. The shoots were isolated and transferred either to the greenhouse or to one month in vitro pre-acclimatization stage in a PGRs-free solid medium (MS or MS/2) then to the greenhouse. A higher surviving rate (ranging from 70 to 86 %) was obtained after one month pre-acclimatization compared with the direct transfer to the greenhouse (12–28 %).


Health monitoring of civil structures by system identification procedures from automatic control is now accepted as a valid approach. These methods provide frequencies and modeshapes from the structure over time. For a continuous monitoring the excitation of a structure is usually ambient, thus unknown and assumed to be noise. Hence, all estimates from the vibration measurements are realizations of random variables with inherent uncertainty due to (unknown) process and measurement noise and finite data length. The underlying algorithms are usually running under Matlab under the assumption of large memory pool and considerable computational power. Even under these premises, computational and memory usage are heavy and not realistic for being embedded in on-site sensor platforms such as the PEGASE platform. Moreover, the current push for distributed wireless systems calls for algorithmic adaptation for lowering data exchanges and maximizing local processing. Finally, the recent breakthrough in system identification allows us to process both frequency information and its related uncertainty together from one and only one data sequence, at the expense of computational and memory explosion that require even more careful attention than before. The current approach will focus on presenting a system identification procedure called multi-setup subspace identification that allows to process both frequencies and their related variances from a set of interconnected wireless systems with all computation running locally within the limited memory pool of each system before being merged on a host supervisor. Careful attention will be given to data exchanges and I/O satisfying OGC standards, as well as minimizing memory footprints and maximizing computational efficiency. Those systems are built in a way of autonomous operations on field and could be later included in a wide distributed architecture such as the Cloud2SM project. The usefulness of these strategies is illustrated on data from a progressive damage action on a prestressed concrete bridge.


AIM
Assess the association between high risk transgender (TG) HIV status, self-perceived barriers toward oral care, and the residents' stigma and willingness to treat during community dental outreach.

METHODS
Demographics, tobacco habits, HIV status, willingness for rapid HIV testing, and self- perceived oral health, barriers toward oral care were assessed in a cross-sectional study among 212 transgender in South India. Further, the residents' stigma across three subscales and residents' willingness to treat the transgender was evaluated.

RESULTS
Overall, 88% had begging as the sole income, and 93% lived in slums and used some form of tobacco. Oral health was perceived to be poor by more than half, and the mean probing pocket depth (PPD) and decayed, missing, or filled teeth (DMFT) was 4.2 mm and 3.67, respectively. The residents reported significantly low regard and willingness to treat TG irrespective of high/low stigma and when the transgender HIV status was positive/do not know. Residents with greater fear of exposure expressed least regard and willingness to treat TG (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The self-perceived oral health of transgender' was poor corresponding to the clinical examination findings. Moreover, the stigmatizing attitude and low regard to provide oral care is rampant among the dental residents, which further frustrates dental care.


Although numerous methods have been formalized for handling the technical aspects of developing domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs), user needs and usability aspects are often addressed in ad hoc manners and late in the development process. Working in this context, this paper presents the development of the customer journey modeling language (CJML), a DSML for modeling service processes from the end-user's perspective. CJML targets a wide and heterogeneous group of users, making it especially challenging regarding usability. This paper describes how an industry-relevant DSML was systematically improved by using a variety of user-centered design techniques in close collaboration with the target group and how their feedback was used to refine and evolve the syntax and semantics of CJML. We also suggest how a service-providing organization may benefit from adopting CJML as a unifying language for documentation purposes, compliance analysis, and service innovation. Finally, we generalize the experience gained into lessons learned and methodological guidelines.


Feature selection has been an active research area in pattern recognition, statistics and data mining community. Idea behind feature selection is to choose a subset of input variables by eliminating features with little or no predictive information. Feature selection (FS) is to determine a minimal feature subset from a problem domain while retaining a suitably high accuracy in representing the original features. This can significantly improve the comprehensibility of the resulting classifier models and often build a model that generalizes better to unseen points. Rough set theory (RST) can be used as a tool to discover data dependencies and to reduce the number of attributes contained in a dataset using the data alone, requiring no additional information. In this paper, feature selection technique has been used in high dimensional data for removing irrelevant features and producing high accuracy for post processing data.


We acknowledge the rectification from Dr. Arduini and Dr. Zammit covering the introduction of our article, which includes a description of the intracellular metabolic fate of acetate in skeletal and cardiac muscle cells. We regret that this passage contains an error grounded on a misinterpretation of acronyms, as described by the authors' letter. This error affects neither the methodological developments nor the results of the in vivo studies described in our work. Our article presents a framework for quantitatively imaging hyperpolarized C-acetate-to-acetylcarnitine conversion in cardiac and skeletal muscle, which could be of high interest as a persistent marker of myocardial and skeletal muscle ischemia (1) and cardiac oxygen consumption (2). Based on the present work, a study investigating hyperpolarized [1-C]acetate as a potential marker in a rat model for diabetes (3) was published. Regrettably, the above-mentioned error was transferred into the introduction of this work as well. The error was remedied by a letter from Dr. Zammit and Dr. Arduini (4), which was acknowledged and reviewed in a response letter written by our team (5). To avoid redundancy, we would like to refer interested readers to this letter for a more detailed discussion.


THE OPERATION of extrapleural pneumonolysis for tuberculosis was apparently first performed by Tuffier in 1891. 1 In its various modifications this operation has enjoyed several periods of popularity, only to suffer ensuing periods of disrepute. In the armamentarium of conservative thoracic surgeons it has come to occupy a definite, though minor, place in their treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. For the most part, its use should be confined to cases in which thoracoplasty cannot or should not be done. Literally scores of various and different substances have been used to fill the artificially created, unnatural extrapleural space. The recent introduction of comparatively nonirritating plastic compounds, particularly lucite (an acrylic resin, methyl methacrylate) in the form of spheres, has again brought this operation into focus. 2 However, the use of lucite spheres has been condemned by Trent, 3 Murphy 4 and others. The relative hardness of the spheres has caused them to


Aim: We aim to measure the LyC signal from a sample of sources in the Chandra deep field south. We collect star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) with accurate spectroscopic redshifts, for which Hubble Space Telescope (HST) coverage and multi-wavelength photometry are available. Method: We selected a sample of about 200 sources at z~3. Taking advantage of HST resolution, we applied a careful cleaning procedure and rejected sources showing nearby clumps with different colours, which could be lower-z interlopers. Our clean sample consisted of 86 SFGs (including 19 narrow-band selected Lya emitters) and 8 AGN (including 6 detected in X-rays). We measured the LyC flux from aperture photometry in four narrow-band filters covering wavelengths below a 912 A rest frame (3.11<z<3.53). We estimated the ratio between ionizing (LyC flux) and 1400 A non-ionizing emissions for AGN and galaxies. Results: By running population synthesis models, we assume an average intrinsic L(1400 A)/L(900 A) ratio of 5 as the representative value for our sample. With this value and an average treatment of the lines of sight of the inter-galactic medium, we estimate the LyC escape fraction relative to the intrinsic value (fesc_rel(LyC)). We do not directly detect ionizing radiation from any individual SFG, but we are able to set a 1(2)sigma upper limit of fesc_rel(LyC)<12(24)%. This result is consistent with other non-detections published in the literature. No meaningful limits can be calculated for the sub-sample of Lya emitters. We obtain one significant direct detection for an AGN at z=3.46, with fesc_rel(LyC) = (72+/-18)%. Conclusions: Our upper limit on fescrel(LyC) implies that the SFGs studied here do not present either the physical properties or the geometric conditions suitable for efficient LyC-photon escape.


In the present article we offer informations regarding the estimated amounts of nitrates and nitrites which may be consumed by 12,000 students 12 to 17 years old, who attend boarding schools. The method of analysis used to determine nitrates and nitrites is that reported by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee using a cadmium reducing column. The estimated quantities of nitrates and nitrites which these students may consume according to their food intake are smaller than those recommended as admissible daily intake by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.


Compared with free heme, the proteins hemoglobin (Hb) and myoglobin (Mb) exhibit greatly enhanced affinity for oxygen relative to carbon monoxide. This physiologically vital property has been attributed to either steric hindrance of CO or stabilization of O(2) binding by a hydrogen bond with the distal histidine. We report here the first direct evidence of such a hydrogen bond in both alpha- and beta-chains of oxyhemoglobin, as revealed by heteronuclear NMR spectra of chain-selectively labeled samples. Using these spectra, we have assigned the imidazole ring (1)H and (15)N chemical shifts of the proximal and distal histidines in both carbonmonoxy- and oxy-Hb. Because of their proximity to the heme, these chemical shifts are extremely sensitive to the heme pocket conformation. Comparison of the measured chemical shifts with values predicted from x-ray structures suggests differences between the solution and crystal structures of oxy-Hb. The chemical shift discrepancies could be accounted for by very small displacements of the proximal and distal histidines. This suggests that NMR could be used to obtain very high-resolution heme pocket structures of Hb, Mb, and other heme proteins.


Mesoporous bioactive glass is a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering due to its good biocompatibility and bioactivity. In this work, we synthesized a hierarchically porous bioactive glass (HPBG) using polyelectrolyte-surfactant mesomorphous complex as template. Through the interaction with silicate oligomers, calcium and phosphorus sources were successfully introduced into the synthesis of hierarchically porous silica, and HPBG with ordered mesoporous and nanoporous structures was obtained. The morphology, pore structure and particle size of HPBG can be controlled by adding block copolymer as co-template or adjusting the synthesis parameters. The ability to induce hydroxyapatite deposition in simulated body fluids (SBF) demonstrated the good in vitro bioactivity of HPBG. Overall, this work provides a general method for the synthesis of hierarchically porous bioactive glasses.


In this work we first prove the existence and uniqueness of a strong solution to stochastic GOY model of turbulence with a small multiplicative noise. Then using the weak convergence approach, Laplace principle for solutions of the stochastic GOY model is established in certain Polish space. Thus a Wentzell-Freidlin type large deviation principle is established utilizing certain results by Varadhan and Bryc.


This study compares the diameter of data obtained from utilizing two measuring instruments (the caliper and diameter tape). This instrument is the two most commonly used instruments for measuring tree diameters in forest inventory procedures. The measurement of diameter has a high implication in the estimation of the basal area and stand volume. It is therefore imperative to ensure accurate measurement of the diameter of trees in a stand. This work evaluated data taken with these two diameter measuring instruments. In order to evaluate the performance of the measuring instruments, parallel measurement of the diameter at breast height (DBH) of a sample of Pinus radiata trees in a plantation were measured. Also, the basal area of the stand was determined for both instruments. It was concluded through the analysis of variance (ANOVA) that there is no significant (p =0.958) difference between the averages of the calculated basal areas from the diameter measurements obtained by the diameter tape and the caliper. The estimated value from the diameter tape was 0,04190829, while the caliper was 0,04145599. Thus, the use of the two measurement tools led to similar results in the calculation of the cross-sectional areas of pine trees measured at breast height.


One would think that rape which, unlike domestic violence, has long been considered a criminal act, would by now be unambiguously and judiciously dealt with by our legal system. Yet to this day, most rapists get away with their crimes, with only 12% of rapes resulting in conviction. As anyone who has been raped or assisted rape victims is well aware, reports of rape and sexual assault are in fact scrutinized and treated with greater suspicion by the legal system than virtually all other types of crimes; to paraphrase Malcolm X, in many cases, the victim is turned into the criminal and the criminal becomes the victim. In this article, authors M. Claire Harwell and David Lisak explain, with disturbing detail, why, a half-century after the human rights movements of the mid-20th century led to a greater awareness of the realities of sexual violence, true justice for victims of sexual assault is all too often lacking. KEYWORDS: Re-perpetration; barriers to prosecution Language: en


By analyzing KRas and HRas X-ray structures, we developed a novel strategy that involves the design of a series of "synthetic" or "artificial" KRas mutations, namely T20I, D57E, D57F, T58A, T58V, and G60A, individually introduced into KRas with the G12C natural pathogenic mutation to create double mutants that we expect would enhance compound binding to the switch II pocket. The goal of using these mutants is to induce greater overall flexibility of the KRas structure to allow the switch II pocket (S-IIP) to open more frequently in the absence of a C12-covalently bound ligand. We developed sensitive assays for the Raf:KRas(GTP) interaction and SOS-driven GDP/GTP exchange to assess these KRas proteins, including the wild-type form, a mutant frequently found in human cancers (G12C), and the "artificial" G12C double mutants. By characterizing these KRas mutants, we hoped to identify at least one mutant that may provide enough flexibility for non-covalent binding to the switch II pocket, thus facilitating future non-covalent compound screening. The results of these assays provide preliminary support that some of the studied mutants demonstrate increased protein flexibility relative to that of KRas(G12C). This strategy of slightly increasing protein flexibility or destabilization through the introduction of selected mutations may be applied to other proteins for which low assay sensitivity is due to transient, high-energy, open-form binding sites.


bacteria are given either concomitantly with or very soon after the antibiotic, the Lebensraum is used up and the re-emerging C. difficile has no place to propagate. It is just this simple principle, so effective clinically, that Dr. Karpa is trying to publicize. One looks forward to her second edition when more data are available about the quality of these over-the-counter products. They are available in profusion, but, unfortunately for the public, the products are not Food and Drug Administration supervised. This has allowed shoddy, unreliable, and contaminated products to be sold alongside other very reliable, potent, and pure products. To her credit, the author does not delve into the sticky problem, which is one reason that the field of probiotics has not risen to accepted medical practice. One can forgive the stubborn physician who refuses to take a fresh look at an old reliable therapy, indeed the only effective therapy for certain stubborn diseases—the unpredicted results of diseases of medical progress. In time, this attitude must certainly change. To expedite this day, we can thank the dedication of such brilliant scientific writers as Dr. Karpa, whose insight was gained through suffering, but whose prepared mind was nimble enough to make a significant contribution to modern scientific medicine. I can find little to criticize. The title, Bacteria for Breakfast, is catchy but detracts from the serious scientific message. The subtitle, Probiotics for Good Health, likewise gives the impression, perhaps influenced by the propaganda of the many commercial companies now emerging, that a daily dose of bacteria is somehow necessary for good health in the normal healthy individual. In contrast to the patient with dysbiosis, once a normal flora is established in any one individual, there is yet no scientific evidence that additional "healthy" bacteria can alter or improve upon it. The exceptions to this are the proven benefits of prophylactic daily probiotics in preventing travelers diarrhea and also treating and preventing certain specific viral causes of gastroenteritis. In Europe, pediatricians for decades have published studies of serious infectious disease prevention in newborn babies, studies almost totally ignored in this country. This may be the most important future application of this preventive medicine, feeding a healthy flora in the first days of life. Until the modern scientific community can catch up with, either to prove or disprove, the alternative care practitioner's many health claims (cancer cures or prevention) that cannot yet be substantiated, the practitioner rightly should approach the area of probiotics with a strong dose of skepticism. A number of unsubstantiated claims have turned off the traditional mainstream physician. However, Dr. Karpa has gone to some lengths to distance herself from the nonscientific health claims made by unscrupulous companies and has concentrated on the proven, solid science. Historically, probiotic therapy has survived in the realm of alternative practitioners, but Dr. Karpa makes a strong case that it now belongs back in the texts of mainstream medicine. Perhaps her volume II could be retitled Mechnikoff Rediscovered: The Return of Probiotics to Mainstream Medicine. I highly recommend this book.


The production Computer Based Learning within the UK Higher Education sector means that there is a need to deliver the material produced. This can be achieved using information servers over wide area networks. This report examines the requirements for serving material and considers if the World-Wide Web offers appropriate tools. The sort of information required on the server is considered with the possible security implications. The methods by which software can be delivered are considered an initial implementation of a possible tool to interpret delivery instructions is discussed. Other related tools within the community are also identified. A project with particular needs for dissemination is also considered as a pilot study to identify their real requirements and specify the tools they would need. The recommendations of the report are that the possibilities of the World-Wide Web should be recognised by those with a need to deliver material. If the need is to supply descriptions and packages that can be contained within single files then clients and servers already supply the necessary means. However, the efficient delivery of more complex package does require new tools to be constructed. This report is produced as part of the Support Initiative for Multimedia Applications funded under the JISC New Technologies Initiative.


Study Design An experimental study with extracellular vesicles (EVs) from mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) of the epidural fat (EF) of the spine. Purpose This study aims to isolate the exosomes from epidural fat-derived mesenchymal stem cells (EF-MSCs) and fully characterize the EF-MSC-EVs. Overview of Literature EF-MSCs were reported in 2019, and a few studies have shown the positive outcomes of using EF-MSCs to treat specific spine pathologies. However, MSCs have significant limitations for conducting basic studies or developing therapeutic agents. Although EVs are an emerging research topic, no studies have focused on EVs, especially exosomes, from EF and EF-MSCs. Methods In this study, we isolated the exosomes using the tangential flow filtration (TFF) system with exosome-depleted fetal bovine serum and performed the characterization tests via western blotting, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and transmission electron microscopy. Results In transmission electron microscopy, the exosome had a diameter of approximately 100–200 nm and had a spherical shape, whereas in the NTA, the exosome had an average diameter of 142.8 nm with a concentration of 1.27×1010 particles/mL. The flow cytometry analysis showed the expression of CD63 and CD81. The western blotting analysis showed the positive markers. Conclusions These findings showed that isolating the exosomes via TFF resulted in high-quality EF-MSC exosome yield. Further studies with exosomes from EF-MSC are needed to evaluate the function and role of the EF tissue.


The composition and temperature dependences of the thermal and electrical conductivities of three different Cd–Zn alloys have been investigated in the temperature range of 300–650 K. Thermal conductivities of the Cd–Zn alloys have been determined by using the radial heat flow method. It has been found that the thermal conductivity decreases slightly with increasing temperature and the data of thermal conductivity are shifting together to the higher values with increasing Cd composition. In addition, the electrical measurements were determined by using a standard DC four-point probe technique. The resistivity increases linearly and the electrical conductivity decreases exponentially with increasing temperature. The resistivity and electrical conductivity are independent of composition of Cd and Zn. Also, the temperature coefficient of Cd–Zn alloys has been determined, which is independent of composition of Cd and Zn. Finally, Lorenz number has been calculated using the thermal and electrical conductivity values at 373 and 533 K. The results satisfy the Wiedemann–Franz (WF) relation at T<373 K, which suggests the dominant carriers of thermal conduction are mainly electrons. Above this temperature (T>373 K), the WF relation could not hold and the phonon component contribution of thermal conductivity dominates the thermal conduction.


It is often assumed that climate adaptation policy asks for new responsibility arrangements between central government and citizens, with citizens getting a more prominent role. This prompts the question under which conditions these new responsibility arrangements can be justified as they may raise serious ethical concerns. Without paying due attention to these ethical concerns, climate adaptation policy may be unsuccessful and even be considered illegitimate. This paper aims to address this topic by exploring some examples of climate adaptation responses and their associated ethical challenges. The examples from the water domain differ in terms of their primary beneficiaries and the extent to which they are prone to collective action problems. Discussion of the examples shows that any shift of responsibilities towards citizens should be accompanied by a governmental responsibility to make sure that citizens are indeed able to assume these responsibilities and a responsibility to see to it that the greater involvement of responsibilities does not create disproportional inequalities.


Communicative culture is one of the key factors of a company's efficiency. In this regard, the article is aimed at analyzing the general theoretical concept of communicative culture and its interaction with the organizational structure and corporate culture of a company. The leading approach to the study of this problem is the method of comparative critical analysis of conceptual approaches to the definition of a communicative culture of a company. Methods of structural analysis and classification of types of communicative culture are also used. The article, based on an integrated approach, presents the concept of corporate culture as an individualized unity of organizational structure, communicative culture and administrative culture. The article reveals the goals and criteria for the effective management of the company's communicative culture and analyzes the types of corporate culture. The materials of the article have practical value for improving the management of the communicative culture of a company in the context of the general trend of transition from organizational cultures and closed, bureaucratic, hierarchical structures type to open, flexible cultures that involve effective business communication based on creating a favorable psychological climate, value-orientation unity of the team, creative communication and collaboration strategies.


The development of the breeding and non-breeding populations of the White-headed Duck, Oxyura leucocephala, in Turkey was analysed based on all available records from the period 1966–2016 from 99 different areas. Breeding is confined to Inner Anatolia and the eastern parts of the country. The breeding population had been estimated as 200–250 pairs in the period 1996–2001 but recent observations show that it does now not exceed 80–125 pairs which is a decline of about 50% within two decades. The non-breeding winter population comprises approximately 8,500–10,000 individuals. Burdur Lake has traditionally housed more than 90% of the population but is no longer a significant resting place. The numbers started to decrease from more than 10,000 birds at the beginning of the 1990s to a few hundred in the early 2000s. Now only very small numbers overwinter there. The reason seems to be a combination of water pollution and decreasing water level. After a period of more than 10 years, the numbers in Turkey started to increase again, and most birds are now concentrated at Manyas Lake in Western Anatolia. In 2016, the population reached a winter maximum of approximately 6,000. In the post-breeding season, up to 4,000 individuals were recorded in Eastern Anatolia in October 2014 which is far more than has ever been recorded in this season before.


This paper reviews wound healing, which is divided into three main processes, inflammation, proliferation and maturation. Research in this area has led to detailed knowledge of the processes involved and to the development of new techniques to stimulate this process--cellular growth techniques and recombinant technology.


There are 72 isomers of the octene molecules and only a small number of them have high value as a blending octane component in gasoline. The amorphous silica alumina catalyst used for selectively dimerizing octenes from linear butenes can itself isomerize the target species. It is demonstrated that this process of equilibration leads to an overall reduction of the blending octane number. This is dependent on the different reactivities of octene isomers over the catalyst under dimerization conditions. The boundary between double bond and skeletal isomerization is explored. The linear octenes have a much higher threshold for isomerization than the branched (high octane value) species. In addition, those higher order oligomers (almost exclusively trimers and tetramers) with a large number of allylic hydrogens are considerably more reactive, but this is partially offset at higher temperatures by cracking back down to dimers. A mixture of selective dimerization and associated oligomer cracking emerges as the most promising route for upgrading a mixed butene monomer feed.


The breakdown of the Bretton Woods system of pegged exchange rates has since 1971 given developing countries a wider range of choice with regard to their exchange rate regimes than had previously existed. With the emergence of a variety of exchange rate regimes, increasing attention has been given to the rationale for choosing one type of regime over another and how the variations in the nominal or real exchange rate affect the economies of these countries. This Ph.D. thesis is a combination of essays on exchange rate policy in developing countries along the lines of adoption of exchange rate regime and the determination of the nominal or real exchange rate variations. It attempts to investigate the following: (i) the role of `learning' in exchange rate regim adoption; (ii) the economic implications of adopting a monetary union in the Southern-Africa Development community (iii) the role of politics in determining exchange rate devaluation; and (iv) the problem of currency convertibility. The study partly build theoretical models and partly empirically investigates these models by employing various econometric, statistical and mathematical techniques.


Work-life balance is one of the current issues within the academic, political, and managerial debate. An article discussed in a TAO Research Programs seminar held in June 2015 at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, suggests a critical interpretation of the mainstream literature and its related controversial results in terms of work-life reconciliation practices. The article also provides an alternative analytical framework based on Bruno Maggi's organization theory, Norbert Elias' theory of time, and Amartya Sen's theory of justice. Scholars from different universities and disciplines contribute with comments on the notions of time, justice, organization and the proposed interpretative framework as well.


Although Faroese exhibits extensive linguistic variation and rapid social change, the language is near-uncharted territory in variationist sociolinguistics. This article discusses some recent social changes in Faroese society in connection with language change, focusing in particular on the development of a de facto spoken standard, Central Faroese. Demographic mobility, media and education may be contributing to this development in different ways. Two linguistic variables are analysed as a first step towards uncovering the respective roles of standardisation, dialect levelling and dialect spread as contributing processes in the formation of Central Faroese: morphological variation in -st endings and phonological variation in -ir and -ur endings. The analysis confirms previously described patterns of geographically constrained variation, but no generational or stylistic differences indicative of language change are found, nor are there clear signs that informants use Central Faroese. The results may in part be due to the structure of the corpus used.


We report on the experimental demonstration of the internal bosonic Josephson effect in a rubidium spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. The measurement of the full time dynamics in phase space allows the characterization of the theoretically predicted π-phase modes and quantitatively confirms analytical predictions, revealing a classical bifurcation. Our results suggest that this system is a model system which can be tuned from classical to the quantum regime and thus is an important step towards the experimental investigation of entanglement generation close to critical points.


Human adenovirus E1A oncoprotein activates or represses transcription from a variety of viral and cellular promoters by several complex mechanisms. The E1A products, 289R and 243R, have differential effects on transcription directed by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR). Previous reports indicate that repression of HIV-1 LTR-directed gene expression by E1A 243R is mediated through the kappa B enhancer elements located between nucleotides -105 and -82 relative to the transcription initiation start site (+1). Results from this study suggest a novel mechanism for transcriptional repression of the HIV-1 LTR by E1A 243R that is enhancer-independent and that is mediated through basal HIV-1 promoter elements. Transient expression assays, in which 5'-truncated or site-directed mutant HIV-1 LTR-CAT reporters were tested for their response to repression mediated by wild-type or mutant 243R, demonstrate that LTR sequences upstream of -31 relative to the transcription initiation start site (+1) and inclusive of the enhancer elements are dispensable for 243R-mediated repression. The ability of 243R to repress HIV-1 basal promoter activity requires both an intact N-terminus of E1A 243R and the TATA element within the HIV-1 promoter. These results support a novel mechanism for E1A 243R-induced transcriptional repression that is enhancer-independent and that targets directly the general transcription machinery.


The goal of this research is to develop a tool that employs intelligent technologies to
capture the patterns of urban change driven by a diverse set of context factors. Data
mining provides opportunities and knowledge embedded in the urban structure, which
complement and extend the data previously obtained with other approaches. A case
study is in place to investigate the modeling and predictive capabilities of the tool. A
number of simulations have revealed distinctive local patterns of urban change in the city
of Skopje, shaped by local urban spatial and institutional structures. This study shows the
possibilities of intelligent technologies in the interpretation of the historical evidence of
urban development and better understanding of the urban phenomenon.


Objective

To understand the meaning attributed to the reception of a manual by families of children with acute leukemia.
Methods

Qualitative study based on the theoretical framework of the Reception Study. Online interviews were conducted with families of children undergoing treatment for acute leukemia at different stages of treatment and who used the manual 'My child has acute leukemia. How about now?' for thirty days. The WebQDA® software was used in the organization of data analyzed according to the inductive Qualitative Content Analysis.
Results

Participation of nine families represented by seven mothers, one father and one grandmother. From the analysis, emerged analytical categories related to the context experienced by the family when receiving the manual and to the evaluation of the language and illustrations. The meaning attributed by the family to receiving the manual, based on interactions with it, is 'Having the Hope of Healing Strengthened', which helps them to face the adversities of the treatment and keeps them optimistic about the best prognosis.
Conclusion

The use of informative materials facilitates communication with the team, promotes the family's health literacy and strengthens their hope for a cure.


The kinematic modeling and feedback control of a mobile robot/vehicle with two independently steerable wheels is studied. Two-wheel steer vehicles are highly maneuverable in confined space and their orientation can be made independent of the position trajectory. However, the control of such vehicle is less intuitive and difficult. A dynamic feedback control algorithm is developed, which enables the vehicle to move from any initial configuration (position and orientation) to any final configuration. It is also shown that the same cannot be achieved by any static feedback controller. Simulation results are presented to verify the independent control of the two position variables and the orientation variable.


The world has become a global village and all nationals have got opportunity to visit various parts of the world due to advancement of travelling and communication technologies for the purpose of trade, education, business or trade. Somehow, the main reason to travel for majority of population stands to earn a good earning that is creating trouble for many nations and France is among top of the list. France has emerged as a multi-cultural nation and many of its societies have been based on multi-cultural intruders. The country is thinking to tackle the issue but all in vein and inacceptable by the concerned. The illegal immigrants are demanding to be issued permanent residence of France and identification cards as per the country rules but most injured nation stands the Muslim societies. The whole Europe looks at Muslims with an eye of hatred and consider them threat to their safety especially after the 9/11 attacks on twin-towers of New York City. Our article depicts highlight on the history of establishment of France as a Multi-cultural nation and the challenges it is being faced with.


This volume of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education presents discussions of a new comprehensive model of experiential learning for instructors of adults in formal educational programs. Two major messages are conveyed through these discussions. The first is that linking the conceptural foundations of adult and experimental learning to actual insturctional applications is key to effective practice. the second message is that paying attention to the assessment component of experiential learning is as important as the process of making choices about which methods and techniques should be selected to encourage learners to use and reflect on their own experiences. This is the 62nd issue in the journal series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.


Today, access to minerals and the development of mines are both closely linked to combating climate change, enabling developments in transitions of energy and transportation systems. New mineral extraction projects are highly contested, and the mining sector has been struggling with both environmental and social governance, as well as the legitimacy of mineral exploration and mining activities. Collaborative governance aims to address these challenges by suggesting deeper, more interactive modes of engagement for planning and decision-making procedures. It calls for cooperative relations and deliberative approaches to environmental governance. This article comparatively explores relationships between collaborative governance and legislation on mining in Finland and Sweden. It argues that Finnish and Swedish mining-related laws and, in particular, land use planning and environmental impact assessment laws, have collaborative objectives and support the use of interactive and co-operative planning modes. However, corresponding legislation does not require broad consensus on critical decisions, and format and quality of collaborative processes can significantly differ case-by-case within the minimum legal requirements. This article identifies timing of statutory participation as a key factor for successful collaborative practices, and suggests changes to mining laws in this regard. It cautions that a unilateral focus on procedure means a risk of disregarding the close interplay between the procedural and substantive sides of regulatory frameworks – sides that are crucial for successful outcomes of collaborative processes.


This paper describes a study made to assess the electrical stresses imposed on line circuit breakers of a new 500 kV AC expansion of the FURNAS transmission system, to be possibly installed in the Brazilian central region. The study has considered three configurations of the transmission lines, two of which assume the use of compact towers. In one of these two cases, the lines would have high surge-impedance loading. Digital simulations have been made with the aid of the Alternative Transients Program (ATP) to calculate the switching transients appearing as a result of line energization and reclosing, clearing of terminal and short-line faults, no-load line opening in normal and faulted conditions and out-of phase switching. Four alternatives have been considered for the limitation of overvoltages on closing, assuming either the sole use of surge arresters on each line end or the use, in addition to the arresters, of pre-insertion resistors, synchronizers or time relays to provide a staggered closing of the breaker poles. The stresses obtained were compared with those applied by the standard IEC tests or with the maximum admissible levels usually considered by the utility for its transmission branches at the planning stage.


: In this paper, analyze a real fascinating task of always producing presentation slides for scholastic papers. The produced presentation slides can be utilized as drafts to offer the moderators some assistance with preparing their formal slides quickly. A novel framework called PPSGen is proposed to address this assignment. It first utilizes the relapse technique to take in the significance scores of the sentences in a scholarly paper, and after that endeavors the whole number straight programming (ILP) strategy to create all around organized slides by selecting and adjusting key expressions and sentences. Assessment results on a test set of 200 sets of papers and slides gathered on the web exhibit that our proposed PPSGen framework can produce slides with better quality. A client study is additionally shown to demonstrate that PPSGen has a couple of clear preferences over pattern techniques. And also we are enhancing the graphical elements into slides.


Automated decision support systems with high stake decision processes are frequently controversial. The Online Compliance Intervention (herewith "OCI" or "RoboDebt") is a system of compliance implemented with the intention to facilitate automatic issuance of statutory debt notices to individuals, taking a receipt of welfare payments and exceeding their entitlement. The system appears to employ rudimentary data scraping and expert systems to determine whether notices should be validly issued. However, many individuals that take receipt of debt notices assert that they were issued in error. The commentary on the system has resulted in a lot of conflation of the system with other system types and caused many to question the role of decision of support systems in public administration given the potentially deleterious impacts of such systems for the most vulnerable. The authors employ a taxonomy of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) issues, to review the OCI and RPA more generally. This paper identifies potential problems of bias, inconsistency, procedural fairness, and overall systematic error. This research also considers a series of RoboDebt specific issues regarding contractor arrangements and the potential impact of the system for Australia's Indigenous population. The authors offer a set of recommendations based on the observed challenges, emphasizing the importance of moderation, independent algorithmic audits, and ongoing reviews. Most notably, this paper emphasizes the need for greater transparency and a broadening of criteria to determine vulnerability that encompasses, temporal, geographic, and technological considerations.


In radiotherapy, the application of the IMRT arc technique, a special technique of external beam irradiation, while providing greater ballistic accuracy and personalization of treatment, as well as better speed of execution, requires special attention to the development of the treatment plan and its verification.Therefore, tools and methods of physical-health analysis that allow verification of the accuracy of the delivery of the radiant beam in the stages prior to treatment are essential. At the unit of Medical Physics at Dimiccoli Hospital Barletta, a prospective experimental study was conducted based on the comparison of two different methods of pre-treatment verification in patients treated for prostate cancer with the aim of increasing the performance of the treatment workflow.A comparative evaluation of gamma analysis results on images acquired with a 2D flat panel detector EPID (Electronic Portal Imaging Device) on the one hand and a 2D ionizing chambers detector on the other hand was conducted. The study sample included 38 patients undergoing radiotherapy with IMRT between December 2021 and October 2022, and each subject was studied and verified with both methods.The results of gamma analysis conducted with the two methods of pre-treatment verification of patients with prostate cancer are superimposable. In addition, with EPID we have a significant saving of machine time and thus allows an increase in the number of patients undergoing daily radiotherapy.In light of internationally accepted dosimetric and radiation protection accuracy standards according to Decree 101/2020, pre-treatment verification of dose distributions, using a 2D flat panel detection system (EPID), was found to be in line with waiting list reduction goals.


Aims: In this review, we bring further evidence in support of the hypothesis on the socalled respiratory and pH imbalance (RpHI) as a cause of long standing hypoxia within the whole organism, characteristic to the preneoplastic stage. Background: Carcinogenesis is a process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. Cancer is a multifactorial disease with contributions from environmental, genetic and lifestyle factors. Cancer prevention is a global priority, yet the proximate causes of most cancers are still little understood. However, under hypoxic conditions, the overbusy cells, getting less oxygen than needed, turn into anaerobic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, excessive multiplication and finally, tumor development. Since hypoxia depends on the intensity and duration of action of the stress agent, human and animal organisms may compensate hypoxia only if the causal agent stops acting continuously. Cancer prevention might be associated with an increase in oxygen delivery to overstressed cells, carbon dioxide removing, as well as pH and glucose concentration balancing. The role of RpHI in chemical carcinogenesis and cancer incidence is also discussed. Conclusion: Evidence from the literature data is brought to show that cancers develop at the physiological level, while the molecular changes in cancer cells are the consequence and not the main cause of malign processes. A link between the Warburg effect and the Macovschi's biostructural theory was suggested. Mini-review Article International Journal of Biochemistry Research & Review, 4(5): 386-409, 2014 387


We propose a method of optimizing monotone Boolean circuits by re-writing them in a simpler, equivalent form. We use in total six heuristics: Hill Climbing, Simulated Annealing, and variations of them, which operate on the representation of the circuit as a logical formula. Our main motivation is to improve performance in Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE) schemes for Boolean circuits. Therefore, we show how our heuristics improve ABE systems for Boolean circuits. Also, we run tests to evaluate the performance of our heuristics, both as a standalone optimization for Boolean circuits and also inside ABE systems.


The aims of this research were to: i) assess plant biodiversity in Sardinian Mediterranean temporary
wetlands (TWs); ii) identify key environmental factors affecting it and possible interactions with
other taxonomic groups, and iii) define conservation issues.
Plant biodiversity was evaluated at different spatial scale. The application of a fine-scale zonation
sampling approach allowed identifying different assemblages "within TW", with different floristic,
structural, and sintaxonomical features at each site in the same relative position. Three belts were
recognized: central, intermediate and outer characterised by different water depth and flooding
period. Comparisons at scale of the entire temporary TW pointed out differences due to substratum,
elevation and size. At temporal scale differences between assemblages were significant only in the
same environmental conditions (e.g. TWs located at the same site). While vegetation pattern was
mainly driven by "within TW" effect, investigation on soil pattern pointed out that it is mainly due
to "a site effect". Significant positive relationships were found between plant and crustacean
assemblages, not only in terms of community structure but also at composition level. Conservation
relevance was related to the presence of habitats of Community interest and listed species.
Intraspecific variability and conservation status were assessed to some species strongly dependent
to this habitat type (e.g. Isoetes histrix).


Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the major endocrinopathy among reproductive-aged women, is not yet perceived as an important health problem in the world. It affects 4%–20% of women of reproductive age worldwide. The prevalence, diagnosis, etiology, management, clinical practices, psychological issues, and prevention are some of the most confusing aspects associated with PCOS. Aim: The exact prevalence figures regarding PCOS are limited and unclear. The aim of this review is to summarize comprehensively the current knowledge on the prevalence of PCOS. Materials and Methods: Literature search was performed through PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar (up to December 2019). All relevant articles published in English language were identified following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Results: Our analysis yielded 27 surveys with a pooled mean prevalence of 21.27% using different diagnostic criteria. The proportion of women with PCOS also increased in the last decade. Conclusion: The current review summarizes and interprets the results of all published prevalence studies and highlights the burden of the syndrome, thereby supporting early identification and prevention of PCOS in order to reverse the persistent upward trend of prevalence.


We present the results of an intensive ground-based spectrophotometric monitoring campaign of the Seyfert galaxy NGC~4151 for a period of over two months, with a typical temporal resolution of one day. Light curves for four optical continuum bands and the H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ emission lines are given. During the monitoring period, the continuum at 6925~\AA\ varied by $\sim$17\% while the continuum at 4600~\AA\ varied by $\sim$35\%, with larger variations in the near UV. The wavelength dependence of the variation amplitude also extends into the far UV. The dependence in the 2700$-$7200~\AA\ range can be explained by the different relative starlight contributions at different wavelengths, but the large variability at 1275~\AA\ cannot be explained in this way. The continuum variability timescale is of order 13 days and is similar at all optical wavelength bands. No evidence for a time lag between the optical continuum and the UV continuum and emission lines was found. The H$\alpha$ emission line flux varied by about 12\% with a gradual rise throughout the campaign. Its cross correlation with the continuum light curve gives a lag of $0-2$ days. The variations in the H$\beta$ emission line flux are about 30\% and lag the continuum by 0$-$3 days. This is in contrast to past results where a time lag of 9$\pm$2 days was found for both emission lines. This may be due to a different variability timescale of the {\em{ionizing}} continuum, or to a real change in the BLR gas distribution in the 5.5 years interval between the two campaigns.


Tropical and subtropical regions can be particularly severely affected by flooding. Climate change is expected to lead to more intense precipitation in many regions of the world, increasing the frequency and magnitude of flood events. This paper presents a review of studies assessing the impacts of climate change on riverine flooding in the world's tropical and subtropical regions. A systematic quantitative approach was used to evaluate the literature. The majority of studies reported increases in flooding under climate change, with the most consistent increases predicted for South Asia, South East Asia, and the western Amazon. Results were more varied for Latin America and Africa where there was a notable paucity of studies. Our review points to the need for further studies in these regions as well as in Australia, in small to mid-sized catchments, and in rapidly urbanising catchments in the developing world. Adoption of non-stationary flood analysis techniques and improved site-specific socio-economic and environmental model scenarios were identified as important future directions for research. Data accessibility and mitigation of model uncertainty were recognised as the principal issues faced by researchers investigating the impacts of climate change on tropical and subtropical rivers.


Purpose
This paper aims to investigate relationships among correlates of individual innovative activity: creativity, innovativeness, novelty seeking and intelligence.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 202 students of the Higher School of Economics (123 females and 79 males).

Findings
The findings revealed significant relations between intelligence and fluency of participants' creative performances, as well as novelty seeking and innovativeness.

Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the correlation design, the sample of students and the self-reported measures for novelty seeking and innovativeness.

Practical implications
The paper proposes a number of implications for researchers and practitioners who deal with innovation. The results of the study can be applied to various procedures and stages of innovation management.

Originality/value
The study contributes to knowledge on psychological correlates of innovation on an individual level, such as creativity, innovativeness, novelty seeking and intelligence, as well as produces an empirically validated model of the relationships among them.


It is curious to read once again the text of the paper by Dr. Moses Barron1 which was first read by Fred Banting on October 30, 1920, and which stirred him so urgently to attempt the isolation of insulin. He stopped at the library casually on the way home from the medical school and looked at the first paper in Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics. Because he had to talk to students on the following day on the function of the pancreas and because its title was "The relation of the islets of Langerhans to Diabetes with special reference to cases of Pancreatic Lithiasis," he took the journal home with him. The sentences he underlined were "Arnozan and Vaillard ligated the pancreatic ducts in rabbits and found that within twenty-four hours the ducts became dilated, the epithelial cells were desquamated and there were protoplasmic changes in the acinic cells … Ssobolew ligated the ducts in rabbits, cats and dogs. He found a gradual atrophy and sclerosis of the organ and relatively intact islets and no glycosuria." At 9 p.m. Banting rang up Dr. Tew to say that he had an idea-that it might be possible to isolate the antidiabetic hormone from the islets by first allowing the acinar cells, containing digestive ferments, to atrophy. It was an idea so powerful that it changed his life and the lives of manv others.


Abstract:This essay examines the history of how Kodak (starting at the turn of the century) and Polaroid (starting in the 1950s) marketed amateur photography. It argues that these two corporations were significantly influential not only in selling their products (at one point Kodak had an extraordinary market dominance worldwide), but in actually shaping practices of everyday picture taking. Kodak began by advertising the photographic camera as a modern device for independence and leisure time, focusing on young women, its "Kodak Girls." It then shifted by the 1920s to selling photography as key to the coherence of the American family, establishing the idea of the "Kodak Moment." By contrast, Polaroid marketed its instant photos as a key element of parties and social life, related to sex and art. Because of the market dominance of these two brands, they were highly influential in the broader practices of amateur photography throughout the twentieth century. This essay explores how, with the rise of digital photography and the demise of Kodak and Polaroid, advertising is less influential in shaping photographic practices. It looks at a number of recent campaigns and explores how Google, Instagram, Facebook, and Apple, with social media networks and mobile phone cameras, are the forces shaping photographic practices today.


The author reviews the interaction of lower hybrid waves and plasmas which is a very versatile method. The method has proven to be effective in a large range of applications which the author discusses: (1) bulk ion heating; (2) bulk electron heating; and (3) noninductive current drive.


M oday, O cber 1, 2018 chosen had an uncomplicated closed MF, during January to December of 2017. Two measures of the Distal Interphalangeal Joint (DIPJ) were done, at the initial trauma and 6 weeks after conservative treatment. All were ranked according to the CC. Analysis was made to determine most frequently affected gender, age group, hand and fingers. Furthermore, we compared the association between the initial angulation and the residual angulation of the DIPJ.


The way people respond to and recover from stress is a core aspect of emotion regulation, making it important to understand when and how stress response systems become dysregulated. In this article, I discuss a program of research designed to clarify the origins of stress regulation or dysregulation within families. My study highlights how parents with mood dysregulation shape their children's developing stress sensitivity via both inherited and social-environmental paths, and how such sensitivity aids or impairs regulation depending on the environmental context. The work also points to ways in which the family environment continues to modulate stress sensitivity over time, framing regulation as a dynamic interplay among early and later parental influences, and current conditions, rather than a static outcome. I also discuss implications for conceptualizing stress regulation and points of intervention.


This article presents a reflective analysis of teaching research methodology through a three course sequence using a project-based approach. The authors reflect critically on their experiences in teaching research methods courses in an undergraduate business management program. The introduction of a range of specific techniques including student developed research projects, student-centered learning experiences, and public presentation of research projects are reflected upon. In 2001, the Department of Management reviewed the curriculum and established a research sequence linking major management course offerings. Three courses: Statistics, Research Methodology and Organizational Behavior were selected to be taught in sequence and designed to build research expertise. This article addresses the processes, procedures and practices for implementing and sustaining an undergraduate research sequence. Techniques are included for course design, development, and facilitation that emphasize product based learning strategies and interactive elements. Techniques for garnering student engagement and excitement for research projects will be presented.


Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between positive glucose challenge test (GCT) values and perinatal outcomes stratified by maternal body mass index (BMI). Study Design Retrospective cohort of singleton gestations with a GCT performed at >20 weeks and documented BMI at entry to care. Subjects were classified by GCT level and BMI. Primary outcomes included large for gestational age (LGA), macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Cochran–Armitage tests for trend and logistic regression were used to compare the GCT categories. Results A total of 14,525 women met enrollment criteria—8,521 with a GCT < 120 mg/dL and 6,004 with a GCT ≥ 120 mg/dL. When BMI < 25 kg/m2 was considered, the risks were not increased at any level of GCT for any outcome. However, for subjects with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, the risk of LGA for a GCT 130 to 134 mg/dL was increased, but not at GCT of 135 to 139 mg/dL (p < 0.001). Similar, but nonsignificant, trends were observed for macrosomia and shoulder dystocia. Conclusion Increasing GCT is associated with adverse outcomes primarily in women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and a GCT 135 to 140 mg/dL appear to have less risk of LGA than women with GCT 130 to 134 mg/dL, suggesting a possible effect of diagnosing and treating gestational diabetes mellitus in this group.


In this study, we report two new freshwater fish species, Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859 and Petroleuciscus borysthenicus (Kessler, 1859) from Simenlik-Akgöl Lagoon in Yeşilırmak Basin (Samsun). Turkey has a rich biodiversity in terms of freshwater fish. Because of climate change, periodic ichthyofauna monitoring and updating of fish fauna are critical. Gambusia holbrooki, Eastern mosquitofish, is an invasive fish species and has a widespread range because of biological struggle against mosquitoes in many water sources. However, simultaneously feeding with fish eggs presents a significant threat to biodiversity. And also, Petroleuciscus borysthenicus, Dnieper chub, is a small bodied-fish from the genus Petroleuciscus with a wide range. Dnieper chub and Eastern mosquitofish were assessed as Least Concern (LC) species according to the IUCN criteria. The minimum and maximum total lengths of P. borysthenicus and G. holbrooki are 4.5 cm-5.7 cm and 2.5 cm-5.3 cm, respectively. The results of this study reveal that the existence of new fish species has been recorded for the fish fauna of Simenlik-Akgöl Lagoon, and the distribution area of both these fish species have reached a different location in Yeşilırmak Basin.


Abstract This short review demonstrates how the use of American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) case materials, both throughout intercollegiate competitions and in academic courses, can engage and invigorate students while teaching them crucial skills in a way that few other programs or activities can do. The AMTA case provided for the 2017–2018 academic year, State of Midlands v. Dylan Hendricks, offers a comprehensive introduction to the rules of evidence and crucial criminal law concepts while teaching students the importance of thorough preparation in a way that is difficult to do in a classroom setting. This case requires student attorneys to make difficult choices while preparing their case, witnesses, and evidence for trial. Arriving at an optimum strategy (or strategies) can only occur after critical and reasoned examination of each side of an often complex problem, thereby providing an excellent opportunity for students to use critical thinking skills and to analyze all sides of an issue and all potential outcomes of a strategy. Students must thoroughly study and understand the rules of evidence, rules of criminal procedure, and relevant statutory and case law, and be prepared to use all of these as part of a reasoned, logical argument at a moment's notice. Overall, this is an exceptional case for skill-building and engaged learning, and can be a valuable tool for faculty and students alike.


There is a renewed interest among geographers in tourism and how tourism makes the world and its people modern. In this paper, I engage with this renewed interest by way of a case study: British working holiday makers in Australia. Drawing on two modes of research practice, ethnography and political economy, I argue that, while working holidays may be structured in numerous ways, they also involve challenges, active individuals, heterogeneous spaces, and slow time (for reflection and inscription), which together, in a sense, make their makers modern. I frame this engagement, this argument, with a debate familiar to geographers: the problem of Free Independent Travellers


Summary. The lipolytic activity in supernatant fractions of cultures of Saccharomycopsis lipolytica, Micrococcus caseolyticus, Bacillus licheniformis, and a Staphylococcus sp. was studied. Nutrient broth with and without emulsified olive oil was used as substrate. Optimal pH values and temperatures for the lipase produced by the 4 different micro-organisms were determined. The lipolytic activity generally reached a maximum after incubation for 2–6 days. The subsequent decrease in the lipolytic activity was associated with a high proteolytic activity only for Micrococcus caseolyticus. The lipolytic activity was decreased by the presence of olive oil in the medium. Determination of the lipolytic activity after a certain time of incubation, the maximal lipolytic activity and a time-integrated lipolytic activity are compared as estimators for the potential hydrolytic capacity of micro-organisms.


The transition to high school is a critical stage in students' academic trajectories and can be especially difficult for middle school students who struggle academically. Starting high school on a low academic track and with low academic performance often leads to dropping out of high school. This study inves tigates what might protect academically vulnerable students during the transition to high school by explor ing the potential effects social relationships and changing context have on academic outcomes in high school. As students move from middle school to high school, their social relationships are transformed. The degree to which social relationships change is in part a function of the way school districts are orga nized. The results suggest that middle school social relationships are protective against low academic out comes in the first year of high school, but not for low-achieving middle school students. In addition, a district context characterized by greater reconfiguration of peer social relationships is not associated with math course placement but protects against course failure, especially among low-achieving middle school students. These results suggest implications for the way districts organize students and how con texts of school transitions have the potential to provide resilience.


Abstract: Background: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the relationships risky driving behaviors (RDBs) have with the big five personality factors, sensation seeking and driving anger. Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Psychinfo, and the Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched. All original studies were retrieved that assessed the relationships RDBs had with the big five personality factors, sensation seeking, and driving anger. Heterogeneity between studies was examined using the Cochran Q statistic and I2 tests. After applying Fisher's r-to-z transformation, the correlation coefficients (r) were summarized from each study and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Results: Overall, 22 studies were included in the meta-analysis, which included 11211 participants. The results showed that RDBs had a significant negative relationship with agreeableness (r -0.27; 95% CI, -0.36, -0.19; P less than 0.0001), but significant positive relationships with neuroticism (r 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03, 0.29; P=0.584), sensation seeking (r 0.28; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.33; P less than 0.0001) and driving anger (r 0.39; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.64; P=0.002). Conversely, RDBs were not significantly related to extraversion (r -0.01; 95% CI, -0.08, 0.05; P=0.705), conscientiousness (r -0.05; 95% CI, -0.21, 0.12; P=0.584), or openness (r -0.06; 95% CI, -0.12, 0.00; P=0.065). Conclusions: Therefore, it appears that individuals most likely to engage in risky driving behaviors would be low in agreeableness, but high in neuroticism, sensation seeking and driving anger.


This paper is an inquiry of investigating trends and spatiotemporal patterns of meteorological drought in semi-arid pastoral areas in southern Ethiopia. Monthly gridded rainfall and temperature data for thirty years between 1986 to 2016 were obtained d from Ethiopian Meteorological Agency. Nonparametric Mann Kendall's test (MK) along with Sen's slope estimator was employed to see trends of drought. In addition, Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) was used to characterize the drought patterns. The result indicates that under all time scale, drought events tend to show an increasing trend with varying magnitude and intensity. The highest drought severity category for major and small rainy months was identified during May 2000 with RDI= -2.28 and September 2000 with RDI= -2.55 . The drought magnitudes of the small rainy months range from -11.15 in November to -11.76 in September, while it ranges from -10.08 in April to -11.38 in March for the major rainy months. There are some variations of drought magnitude among the seasons while rainfall tend to show gradual decline as a manifestation of spatially varying drought severity, frequency and intensity in the watershed.


This paper provides a report of the usage of a phenomenological research methodology to investigate the influence on clinical practice of pre- and post-registration nurse education which makes explicit use of experiential teaching and learning approaches. The primary aim of the research was to explore the use of a phenomenological research methodology to examine the students' understanding of experiential teaching and learning. The claims made for the use of experiential teaching and learning approaches in both pre- and post-registration nurse courses and how clinical practice is influenced by the experiential learning elements of pre- and post-registration nurse education were also examined. The first stage of the enquiry involved focused non-directive interviews with members of BSc Nursing Studies and MSc Mental Health Branch programmes. Both programmes claim to make use of experiential teaching and learning. The data were analysed using a technique developed by Giorgi. Previous experiences of experiential teaching and learning were probed, student interpretations differentiated, and the relationship between course-based learning using experiential approaches and the implications for it's influence on practice were examined. The second stage of the enquiry has followed up the initial findings, exploring the students' experience of experiential approaches on their courses both in the classroom and in work-based learning situations. The findings are presented and discussed in the context of other studies from both nurse and higher education. Throughout the paper methodological concerns arising are discussed. The paper concludes with the identification of methodological problems arising from the research strategy: the implications of the power nexus created when teachers research students, and issues relating to the use of a phenomenological methodology in a longitudinal study.


Available groundwater research work and data levels are very limited due to the wide territory of our country. Potential Groundwater resources need to be calculated by basin to implement Integrated Water Resources Management Plans. For this purpose, previously the calculations were done twice in the Orkhon River Basin. The last calculation was done 10 years ago, therefore Integrated Water Resources Management Plan needs to be redeveloped, using updated research work and data levels. The Orkhon River is one of the biggest rivers in Mongolia, rising from Khangai Mountain Range and flowing into the Selenge River. The Orkhon River Basin includes the Tuul, Kharaa, and Yeruu rivers basins which rise in the Khentii Mountains. For the first time, a hydrogeological structure map of the basin was developed which analyzed and systemized the hydrogeological structure, the morphostructure factors, and the hydraulic properties of the hydrogeological formations distributed in the Orkhon River Basin. There are two types of hydrogeological basins and three types of hydrogeological massifs in the basin. This paper presents the calculation of the Potential Groundwater Resources (PGR) in the Orkhon River Basin based on groundwater well data, reports of groundwater exploration and research works, and the hydrogeological maps at a scale of 1:500,000. As a result of this calculation, there are 1.99 km3 of PGR in this basin.The largest resources are found in the linear intermountain hydrogeological basin which occupies 98 percent of the total PGR. Further improvement of the quality and standards of water research remains an important issue for hydrogeologists today.


Discovered in 1950 by Belousov in the Soviet Union and further investigated by Zhabotinsky and his research group in the 1960s, the Belousov‐Zhabotinsky reaction soon came to the wider attention of scientists on both sides of the Iron Curtain and made an important contribution to consolidating Prigogine's theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Allowing scientists to study chaotic behavior in the laboratory, it also paved the way for further investigations of self‐organizing systems in biology and played an important part in the formation of the field of nonlinear science. Focusing on the period between 1950 and 1975, this paper explores the early history of this enigmatic reaction.


Filamentary enstatite crystals, formed by gas-solid condensation in the solar nebula, are found in chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles of probable cometary origin. We measured the oxygen isotopic composition of four filamentary enstatite grains from the giant cluster interplanetary dust particle U2-20 GCP. These grains sample both the 16O-rich solar (∆17O ≈ −30 ‰) and 16O-poor planetary (∆17O ≈ 0 ‰) isotope reservoirs. Our measurements provide evidence for very early vaporization of dust-poor and dust-rich regions of the solar nebula, followed by condensation and outward transport of crystalline dust to the comet-forming region very far from the Sun. Similar processes are likely responsible for the crystalline silicates observed in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks elsewhere in the Galaxy.


Harm reduction is an umbrella term for interventions aiming to reduce the problematic effects of behaviors. Although harm reduction was originally and most frequently associated with substance use, it is increasingly being applied to a multitude of other behavioral disorders. This article reviews the state of empirical research on harm reduction practices including alcohol interventions for youth, college students, and a variety of other adult interventions. We also review nicotine replacement and opioid substitution, as well as needle exchanges and safe injection sites for intravenous drug users. Dozens of peer-reviewed controlled trial publications provide support for the effectiveness of harm reduction for a multitude of clients and disorders without indications of iatrogenic effects. Harm reduction interventions provide additional tools for clinicians working with clients who, for whatever reason, may not be ready, willing, or able to pursue full abstinence as a goal.


The complexity and large variability of transport-emitted aerosols leads to necessity of comprehensive characterization of their physico-chemical and toxicological properties, remaining great uncertainties in health effect assessments. Particles produced by combustion of fossil diesel (B0), 20% rapeseed methyl ester in fossil diesel (B20), and pure rapeseed methyl ester (B100) were sampled from exhaust of an Opel Astra diesel engine using sulfated ash, phosphorous and sulfur (SAPS) lube oil with low and high ash content. Microscopic and chemical characterization is performed to quantify the common and specific properties of diesel/biodiesel exhausts. Hydrophobic saturated aliphatic dominate diesel particle chemistry. Oxygen and nitrogen-containing functionalities are specific for more hydrophilic biodiesel particles. A full range of chemical species for individual particles is grouped by clustering technique combined with water-soluble ion measurements. Analysis of group abundance shows carbonaceous particles (soot externally mixed with inorganic salts) and inorganic fly ash (metal oxides) in a structure of exhaust, in correlation with inorganic contaminations in fuel and lube oil. Quantification of particle types in terms of physicochemical relevance supports the identification of groups which may act as biomicromarkers discriminating between diesel and biofuel exhaust and micromarkers of using high ash lube oil, thus providing a basis for correlative toxicological assessment of diesel/biofuel engine emissions.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
Injuries are a serious medical and social problem, especially when accompanied by distant or deferred effects, often causing serious dysfunctions and permanent disability for life. The study aimed at presenting the incidence of injuries of urban and rural population treated in a district hospital in eastern Poland.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study was carried out in the Independent Public Health Care Institution in Kraśnik in 2011 among patients hospitalized in the Department of Trauma Surgery and Orthopedic Unit who sustained injuries. Medical records of 795 patients - 326 women and 469 men, aged 10-99 years, were analyzed.

RESULTS
During the period considered among those hospitalized due to injuries, men (59%), those aged 50-59 years (19.0%), and living in rural areas (72.7%) predominated. Injuries most commonly affected the head (18.87%), elbow and forearm (16.86%), knee and lower leg (16.60%), and the hip and thigh (13.96%). Average hospital stay was 5.65 days and was the longest for hip and thigh injuries (11.86 days).

CONCLUSIONS
Injuries occurred most frequently in the population of patients living in rural areas, often among men, usually on weekdays and in the morning.


Japanese pearl oysters (akoya oyster: Pinctada fucata martensii) are currently suffering mass mortalities from akoya-virus infection. In the present study, akoya oysters were injected with an anti-viral, recombinant feline interferon-omega) (rFeIFN-omega) in an attempt to confer resistance to this virus. In infectivity experiments, oysters were twice injected with rFeIFN-omega at 1 mega unit kg(-1) of the meat weight. They were challenged with a single inoculation of cultured akoya-virus and held for 20 to 30 d at 25 degrees C. Control oysters received only the viral challenge without rFeIFN-omega administration. In prophylactic experiments, oysters that were given the akoya-virus on Days 1 to 5 after rFeIFN-omega administration showed lower mortalities. Furthermore, the survivors had fewer muscular lesions resulting from the virus infection than the controls. In treatment experiments, the virus was inoculated on Days 1 to 3 before rFeIFN-omega administration. None of the treated oysters died within a 30 d experimental period. Survivors displayed repaired lesions with fibrous tissues that were produced by enhanced agranulocytes in the body musculature. Moreover, rFeIFN-omega) was not toxic to akoya oysters. Thus, rFeIFN-omega administration is efficacious in preventing mortality of akoya oysters with akoya-virus infection.


The authors treat the problem of robustness of output feedback controllers with respect to singular perturbations. Given a singularly perturbed control system whose boundary-layer system is exponentially stable and whose reduced order system is exponentially stabilizable via a (possibly dynamical) output feedback, they present a sufficient condition which ensures that the system obtained by applying the same controller to the original singularly perturbed control system is exponentially stable for sufficiently small values of the perturbation parameter. This condition, which is less restrictive than all those previously given in the literature, is always satisfied when the singular perturbation is due to the presence of fast actuators and/or sensors. Furthermore, it is claimed that, in the linear time-invariant case, if this condition is not satisfied then there exists an output feedback controller which stabilizes the reduced-order system but destabilizes the full-order system.<<ETX>>


Single-cell screening is used to sort a stream of cells into clusters (or types) based on prespecified biomarkers, thus supporting type-driven biochemical analysis. Reconfigurable flow-based microfluidic biochips (RFBs) can be utilized to screen hundreds of heterogeneous cells within a few minutes, but they are overburdened with the control of a large number of valves. To address this problem, we present a pin-constrained RFB design methodology for single-cell screening. The proposed design is analyzed using computational fluid dynamics simulations, mapped to an RC-lumped model, and combined with intervalve connectivity information to construct a high-level synthesis framework, referred to as cell sorter using multiplexed control (Sortex). Simulation results show that Sortex significantly reduces the number of control pins and fulfills the timing requirements of single-cell screening.


The incidence of umbilical hernias in adults ranges from 10% to 25% in the literature and is increased in females. Some predisposing factors for umbilical hernia development include pregnancy, obesity, ascites and large abdominal tumors leading to increased abdominal pressure. Although tension-free mesh repair is widely-accepted as the gold standard in the repair of ventral hernia, there are some controversies over the best approach especially for small defects in the umbilical region, women of childbearing age and obese patients. The aim of this review is to shed light on how and when to repair umbilical hernias in the face of the most recent publications, as well as to discuss unique situations such as pregnancy, cirrhotic patients and in the emergency setting.


Dr Robinson's letter highlighting the potential adverse reactions associated with Patent Blue V (Guerbet, Cedex, France) [1] is a useful reminder to anaesthetists of an adverse drug reaction that they may not have administered but will be expected to manage. The use of Patent Blue V dye is becoming more widespread since the publication of the ALMANAC trial [2]. We have been using Patent Blue V dye for almost 10 years and have managed many of the complications of its use [3, 4]. Over 3000 patients have been exposed to this drug and we have found 30 patients to date (approximately 1%) who have experienced severe anaphylaxis with cardiovascular collapse; this is similar to the 0.86% incidence from the ALMANAC and NEW START datasets [5]. The incidence of anaphylactic reactions during anaesthesia is estimated at between 1 in 3500 and 1 in 13000 [6]; with neuromuscular blocking drugs responsible for roughly 60% of reactions, followed by exposure to latex and antibiotics at around 15% each [7]. Our 1% rate of reaction therefore potentially makes Patent Blue V the most common drug causing severe anaphylaxis in the operating theatre environment. We have previously described a number of adverse effects [3, 4] including extreme pallor and the occurrence of large blue cutaneous wheals that may be a cause of concern, particularly to recovery nurses. However, it is the severe, life threatening cardiovascular collapse that we would particularly like to highlight. Whilst most anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions to anaesthetic drugs usually occur immediately after intravenous administration, we would stress that most reactions to Patent Blue V (which is administered subcutaneously or intra dermally by the surgeon) do not occur so quickly. Our experience is to find progressively severe hypotension occurring 20– 30 min after Patent Blue V injection. This delayed onset has on occasion led to significant delay in the correct diagnosis being made. Once the diagnosis has been made, intravenous adrenaline 1:10 000 is very effective at supporting the circulation. We have also found that the early administration of high-dose intravenous steroids (we use 1g methylprednisolone) is effective at reversing the cardiovascular collapse within 20 to 30 min of administration. Finally, although we have seen cutaneous blue wheals and cardiovascular collapse either in isolation or together, we have not seen any respiratory complications such as bronchospasm. In our experience, we have only ever seen these reactions following cutaneous injection, and interestingly never following the intra dermal injections for melanoma sentinel lymph node biopsy. We would be interested to hear whether other anaesthetists have had similar experiences when using this dye. N. Quiney C. Jones M. Kissin Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Guildford, U.K. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


We present an $S_3$-invariant extension of the SM which is able to account for the mixing both in the quark and the lepton sector. We focus here on the quark sector and present different realizations of the model, according to how many Higgs fields are involved. We then confront the models with the up-to-date values of masses and mixing in the quark sector.


We show how enzymatic activity can be harnessed as a tool to fashion complex nanoand micro-scale surface topographies on biodegradable substrates. Coordinated patterning and machining are accomplished by manipulating interactions between an enzyme, substrate, and protein inhibitor. In this way, we are able to construct nanochannels, microchannels containing embedded features templated by the substrate's crystalline morphology, and a membraneless filter capable of isolating rare cells from whole blood with throughput orders of magnitude greater than currently possible. In addition to enabling molecularly imprinted surface landscapes mimicking those in living systems to be fashioned via a straightforward process accessible in virtually any laboratory, considerable potential exists to exquisitely control the underlying biochemical interactions by employing enzymes and substrates with appropriately engineered properties.


Author(s): Ray, Kyle J; Wimsatt, Gregory W; Boyd, Alexander B; Crutchfield, James P | Abstract: All computation is physically embedded. Reflecting this, a growing body of results embraces rate equations as the underlying mechanics of thermodynamic computation and biological information processing. Strictly applying the implied continuous-time Markov chains, however, excludes a universe of natural computing. We show that expanding the toolset to continuous-time hidden Markov chains substantially removes the constraints. The general point is made concrete by our analyzing two eminently-useful computations that are impossible to describe with a set of rate equations over the memory states. We design and analyze a thermodynamically-costless bit flip, providing a first counterexample to rate-equation modeling. We generalize this to a costless Fredkin gate---a key operation in reversible computing that is computation universal. Going beyond rate-equation dynamics is not only possible, but necessary if stochastic thermodynamics is to become part of the paradigm for physical information processing.


Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008

B83

Previous studies from others and our lab have shown that activator protein 1 (AP-1) plays a pivotal role in tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. Expression of a dominant negative form c-Jun, TAM67, dramatically inhibits tumor promoter induced skin carcinogenesis. In this study, our goals are to identify target genes that are specifically induced by tumor promoter and inhibited by TAM67, and to investigate their functional significances in tumor promotion and progression. First, we demonstrated that Sulfiredoxin (Srx) is a novel target of AP-1 activation and TAM67 inhibition. In mouse epidermis, expression of Srx was upregulated by tumor promoter and inhibited by TAM67 as revealed by DNA microarray. This was further confirmed in mouse epithelial-derived JB6 cells by RT-PCR, Western blotting, luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays at transcript and protein levels. Next, we demonstrated that Srx is important for maintaining of cellular redox homeostasis through reduction of overoxidized Peroxiredoxins (Prxs). Knockdown of Srx led to a much slower reduction rate of overoxidized Prxs, whereas overexpression of Srx resulted in an increased reduction rate of overoxidized Prxs. Then we found that knockdown of Srx dramatically inhibited tumor promoter induced neoplastic transformation as indicated by anchorage-independent growth in soft agar. This effect was not due to the inhibition of cell proliferation as depletion of Srx stimulated cell proliferation under adherent conditions. Depletion of Srx also led to impaired AP-1 activation and increased cell death under oxidative conditions, which indicated that Srx might be involved in the regulation of AP-1 activity through a novel positive feedback loop. Finally, we examined the expression profiling of Srx in normal skin and tissues from patients with various skin diseases by tissue microarray. We found strong positive expression of Srx in skin malignant tumors. In summary, we identified Srx as a novel target of tumor promoter induced AP-1 activation and is inhibited by TAM67. We demonstrated that Srx is important for maintaining of cellular redox balance and is required for tumor promoter induced neoplastic transformation. We also found strong expression of Srx in human skin malignant tumors. Therefore, we propose that Srx can be used as a marker for skin malignancy, and manipulation of Srx expression may be of interest in cancer prevention and treatment.

Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B83.


Despite increasing social pressure to use new digital technologies, older people's adoption of them remains below other age groups. This article contributes a sociological dimension to exploring what facilitates learning and using digital technology in later life. We focus on the understudied group of older people who are frail, living in care homes and most likely to be digitally excluded or restricted. Drawing on data from a longitudinal mixed methods study of a co-designed communication app for older people, we explore how attempts to bridge the 'digital divide' unfold in time. Using the concept of affordances, we show how adoption of a new communication technology is shaped by its design, learning contexts and surrounding social actors. With this work we contribute to novel sociological understandings of technology adoption that are critical for digital inequality research.


The internal flow over a backward-facing step in the transitional regime (ReD = 6000) was studied based on direct numerical simulations. The predictions were carried out with the help of a finite-volume Navier–Stokes solver equipped with a co-visualization facility which allows one to investigate the flow dynamics at high temporal resolution. First, grid-induced oscillations were precluded by a careful grid design. Second, the strong influence of the velocity profile approaching the step was studied and outlined. The main objective, however, was to provide a comprehensive insight into the dynamic flow behaviour, especially oscillations of the reattachment length of the primary recirculation region. The origin of this well-known flapping behaviour of the reattachment line is not yet completely understood. In the present work, the mechanisms leading to the oscillations of the reattachment length were extensively investigated by analysing the time-dependent flow. Besides the oscillations of the primary recirculation region, oscillations of the separation and the reattachment line of the secondary recirculation bubble at the upper channel wall were also observed. The results clearly show that in the present flow case the flapping of the primary reattachment and the secondary separation line is due to vortical structures in the unstable shear layers between the main flow and the recirculation bubbles. Vortices emerging in the shear layers and sweeping downstream convectively induce small zones of backward-flowing fluid at the channel walls while passing the recirculation regions. In the case of the primary recirculation region, the rotational movement of the shear-layer vortices impinging on the lower channel wall was found to cause zones of negative fluid velocity at the end of the recirculation bubble and thus flapping of the reattachment line. In contrast, in the case of the secondary recirculation region, the shear-layer vortices moved away from the upper channel wall so that their rotational movement did not reach the boundary. In this case, the pressure gradients originating from local pressure minima located in the shear-layer vortices were identified as being responsible for the oscillations of the separation line at the upper channel wall. While moving downstream with the shear-layer vortices, the pressure gradients were found to influence the top boundary of the channel and create alternating zones of forward- and backward-flowing fluid along the wall. All of these unsteady processes can best be seen from animations which are provided on the Journal of Fluid Mechanics website: journals.cambridge.org/FLM.


African horse sickness (AHS) is a devastating disease of equids caused by an arthropod-borne virus belonging to the Reoviridae family, genus Orbivirus. It is considered a major health threat for horses in endemic areas in sub-Saharan Africa. African horse sickness virus (AHSV) repeatedly caused large epizootics in the Mediterranean region (North Africa and southern Europe in particular) as a result of trade in infected equids. The unexpected emergence of a closely related virus, the bluetongue virus, in northern Europe in 2006 has raised fears about AHSV introduction into Europe, and more specifically into AHSV-free regions that have reported the presence of AHSV vectors, e.g. Culicoides midges. North African and European countries should be prepared to face AHSV incursions in the future, especially since two AHSV serotypes (serotypes 2 and 7) have recently spread northwards to western (e.g. Senegal, Nigeria, Gambia) and eastern Africa (Ethiopia), where historically only serotype 9 had been isolated. The authors review key elements of AHS epidemiology, surveillance and prophylaxis.


The presence of ionospheric clutter in high-frequency over the horizon surface wave radar may extremely affect the performance of radar system and degrade the capability of detecting target. The characteristic analysis of ionospheric clutter is the foundation of studying method to suppress ionospheric clutter. By using the MUSIC algorithm to analyze plentiful radar echoes data, directivity characteristic of several major kinds of ionospheric clutter has been summarized and the superposition situation that two kinds of ionospheric clutter exist at the same altitude has been discussed, moreover, the pertinence between directivity characteristic of ionospheric clutter and the working frequency has been studied. All these works provide convenience for advancing and realizing ionospheric clutter suppression methods based on directivity characteristic of ionospheric clutter.