Thrombospondin is an extracellular matrix protein involved in modulating cell adhesion. Thrombospondin stimulates a rapid loss of focal adhesion plaques and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. The focal adhesion labilizing activity of thrombospondin is localized to the amino-terminal domain, specifically amino acids 17–35. Use of a synthetic peptide (hep I), containing amino acids 17–35 of thrombospondin, enables us to examine the signaling mechanisms specifically involved in thrombospondin-induced disassembly of focal adhesions. We tested the hypothesis that activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase is a necessary step in the thrombospondin-induced signaling pathway regulating focal adhesion disassembly. Both wortmannin and LY294002, membrane permeable inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity, blocked hep I-induced disassembly of focal adhesions. Similarly, wortmannin inhibited hep I-mediated actin microfilament reorganization and the hep I-induced translocation of α-actinin from focal adhesion plaques. Hep I also stimulated phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity approximately 2–3-fold as measured in anti-phosphoinositide 3-kinase and anti-phosphotyrosine immunoprecipitates. Increased immunoreactivity for the 85-kDa regulatory subunit in anti-phosphotyrosine immunoprecipitates suggests that the p85/p110 form of phosphoinositide 3-kinase is involved in this pathway. In32Pi-labeled cells, hep I increased levels of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate, the major product of phosphoinositide 3-kinase phosphorylation. These results suggest that thrombospondin signals the disassembly of focal adhesions and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton by a pathway involving stimulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity.


This paper explores the relation between Moldova's institutions, entrepreneurship, and poor economic performance 18 years after socialism. The prevailing local institutions determine the direction of entrepreneurship in society (North 1990, Baumol 1990, Olson 1996, Boettke 1998). Societies with a mix of institutions favorable to productive entrepreneurship experience sustained growth. Conversely, societies with institutions rewarding unproductive and destructive entrepreneurship experience economic stagnation. Using the conceptual frameworks of new institutional economics, Austrian market process theory, and interviews with local entrepreneurs, I explore the link between Moldova's institutional context and the local entrepreneurship and underdevelopment. For a better understanding of Moldova's poor economic performance after socialism, scholars and policy makers must investigate the existing underlying gap between the de jure and the de facto institutional barriers to productive entrepreneurship.


A new website from the Institute of Physics, physics.org, will now provide answers to many questions about physics. Here its developers describe the design and purpose of the site and look forward to forthcoming enhancements.


Serious problems caused by bolted joint fatigue breakage still occur. This is because working load evaluation and durability strength evaluation have been insufficient in the product design stage, in the test stage of machine lifetime prediction, in the trial production stage, in the prototype machine test stage, and so forth.In this paper, we propose a method for measuring and analyzing the load on bolted joints used in a machine under actual operation. Working load measurement under actual machine operation and the results of its analysis are shown as load frequency diagrams. This is very important information for realizing the concept of simultaneous multiple design. An example of the measurement analysis method of the load (three types of the loads; axial force, bending moment, and the torsional torque) added to the bolted joint shank which comes out at the time of the actual machine operation is shown.The reliability of assessing the strength and durability of bolted joints is considered from the viewpoint of limited-lifetime (finite-lifetime) design using Miner's rule with cumulative loosening damage models and fatigue limit (infinite-lifetime) design. As an example, we measured the working stress and evaluated the strength of a bolted joint of an actual machine to verify the usefulness of the proposed method. Also, examples of strength evaluation are shown to illustrate finite-lifetime and infinite-lifetime prediction.Moreover, the practical process and presumed example of fatigue life prediction are shown. It is considered as a contribution at the improvement of strength reliability and the load analysis method of the bolted joint of machine develop-ment stage and failure analysis stage. Our findings are also expected to eradicating accidents involving bolted joints in machines.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Abstract:  Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic disease in the United States caused by Babesia parasites. In 2009, the first case of babesiosis was documented in Tennessee. Environmental investigation at the reported site of tick exposure included collection of ticks and specimens from eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that were tested for piroplasms by molecular and serologic methods. One hundred and sixty-six Ixodes scapularis ticks and biological samples from 8 rabbits and 5 deer were collected. Ixodes scapularis were PCR positive for Babesia odocoilei (n = 7, 4%) and Theileria cervi (n = 24, 14%). Deer were seropositive for B. odocoilei and PCR positive for T. cervi. Rabbits were seropositive for B. odocoilei and Babesia sp. MO1, and 1 rabbit was PCR positive for Babesia sp. MO1. In summary, zoonotic Babesia sp. MO1 infection in rabbits is reported here for the first time in Tennessee as well as infection of deer and I. scapularis ticks with 2 other piroplasms of veterinary importance.


If this was a cooking show, and we were preparing to demonstrate how to create a complex dish that I'll call "The 2008 Financial Crisis," we would start out by assembling our various ingredients. In this case, our ingredients would include sophisticated financial products, rating agency discretion, investor rating mandates, borrower credit assessments, bank regulations, and opaque accounting practices. Many reformers today focus on one or more of these ingredients, calling for greater government oversight and regulatory reform, and governments have attempted to respond. But related in one way or another to each such factor is the volatile collateral pricing, which supported these extensions of credit in the first place. In assessing the repayment risk associated with making a mortgage loan, lenders evaluate two factors: credit and collateral. These factors are related. Although lenders look primarily to a borrower's ability and willingness to pay in order to assess the likelihood of loan repayment, sufficient collateral values can offset the risk of lending to lower-credit borrowers. When supported by valuable collateral, loans to riskier borrowers become less risky. When borrower credit fails, market evaluation of risk hinges on accurate real estate valuations. The "sharp corrections in housing markets" caused by over-estimation of property values provided a "trigger" for the financial crisis. No analysis of proposed legal solutions is complete without considering the ingredient of values and value perceptions.


In this paper multi-phase DC-DC converters are proposed for high voltage and high power applications. A generalized converter is configured such that the BHB cells and voltage doublers are connected in parallel or series to increase the output voltage and/or the output power. In addition to significantly reduced device voltage and current ratings the proposed converter has the following features : significantly reduced transformer turn ratio, ZVS turn-on of switches and ZCS turn-off of diodes, no additional clamping and start-up circuits required, high component availability and easy thermal distribution due to the use of multiple small components, flexibility in device selection resulting in optimized design. A design guideline of determining the optimum circuit configuration for given output voltage and power level is presented. Experimental results are also provided to validate the proposed concept.


Purpose - – China and India are two of the fastest growing economies in the world, and poverty reduction has been substantial in both countries through the past few decades. Yet they have very different profiles in terms of food security and undernutrition – while at the micro-level China has performed well in terms of undernutrition, India has not. The purpose of this paper is to examine linkages between poverty, food security, and undernutrition in both countries. Design/methodology/approach - – In this paper, the authors discuss the linkages between poverty, food security, and undernutrition at the micro level, describe the literature, and make inferences for targeting the remaining poor, food insecure, or undernourished in both countries. Findings - – In China, there is a need for better tools for targeting the poor or malnourished. In India, more effective state-level policies should be better understood by the central government and disseminated to less successful states. Originality/value - – In this paper, the authors describe data sources on poverty, food security, and undernutrition in both China and India, and correlates with changes in all three. The authors try to understand what factors appear to lead to reductions in all three, pointing out data gaps in both countries.


Abstract : This dissertation is a study of Sir Frederick H. Sykes, first Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force. It argues that historians have overlooked and misinterpreted Sykes and, therefore, have left a gap in the story of British flying during the First World War. Contrary to historiography, Sykes was not a secretive intriguer and not a tangential subject in RAF history. This dissertation describes Sykes's fundamental part in organizing and leading British aviation from 1912 to 1919--his visionary guidance and efficient administrative control of the fledgling service that was trying to survive infancy and contribute to victory. Sykes assumed command of the air staff at a critical time--the German spring offensives in 1918--when he worked harmoniously with the Air Minister, Lord William Weir, to maintain control of the air force and establish the strategic Independent Air Force. Sykes battled against fellow airmen, military traditionalists, and French commanders to lead an incipient air revolution in warfare by instituting 'air minded' use of new technologies to economize manpower and apply air power tactically, strategically, and independently from inefficient army and navy competitive control. Aircraft have transformed the modern battlefield, and Sykes was important to that revolutionary beginning.


BACKGROUND
Strengthening routine immunization is one of the four pillars of the global polio eradication initiative.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the magnitude and factors associated with vaccination coverage among children age 12 -23 months in Zone 4 of Afar Regional State, Ethiopia.

METHODS
A community based cross-sectional study using the WHO modified cluster sampling method was carried out in Zone 3 of Afar Regional State between January 01 and May 31, 2009. The calculated sample size was 762 and 740 were included in the analysis of vaccination status.

RESULTS
A total of 740 children aged 12-23 months were included in the study. Three hundred forty two (46%) respondents reported that their children were vaccinated at least once. Polio 3 coverage was found to be 35.0% and full immunization coverage was 20.6%. Respondents who could read and write had a higher likelihood of getting their children vaccinated compared to those who could not read or write [AOR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.08-0.34]. Similarly age of the mother, husband's attitude and joint decision making by husband and wife were significantly associated with child immunization adjusted for other factors.

CONCLUSION
The population immunity for polio measured by routine polio vaccine uptake in the study area indicated a high risk for wild polio virus outbreaks following importations, and the emergence and spread of circulating vaccine- derived polio virus. Literacy, positive attitude towards immunization and decision power are important factors to be addressed.


The authors describe an optical technique enabling patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency, at first to get used to assisted ventilation, then to control it, to obtain an active ventilation operated by machine corresponding to a particular shape of the pressure curve and the lesser haemodynamic repercussion.


In this work, the Johnson–Cook (JC), Hensel–Spittel (HS), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) constitutive models were applied to predict the flow behavior of H13-modified steel at the temperature range of 1173–1423 K and strain rate range of 0.01–10 s−1. The results show that the ANN model achieved superior accuracy in predicting flow stress, while the HS model decently correlated the predicted and experimental values and revealed significant temperature sensitivity of the flow stress values. Finally, the JC model significantly deviated from the experimental data, except for flow curves close to the reference temperature (1173 K) and the reference strain rate (0.01 s−1).


PURPOSE
This study examined right hemisphere (RH) neuroanatomical correlates of lexical-semantic deficits that predict narrative comprehension in adults with RH brain damage. Coarse semantic coding and suppression deficits were related to lesions by voxel-based lesion symptom mapping.

METHOD
Participants were 20 adults with RH cerebrovascular accidents. Measures of coarse coding and suppression deficits were computed from lexical decision reaction times at short (175 ms) and long (1000 ms) prime-target intervals. Lesions were drawn on magnetic resonance imaging images and through normalization were registered on an age-matched brain template. Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis was applied to build a general linear model at each voxel. Z score maps were generated for each deficit, and results were interpreted using automated anatomical labeling procedures.

RESULTS
A deficit in coarse semantic activation was associated with lesions to the RH posterior middle temporal gyrus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and lenticular nuclei. A maintenance deficit for coarsely coded representations involved the RH temporal pole and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex more medially. Ineffective suppression implicated lesions to the RH inferior frontal gyrus and subcortical regions, as hypothesized, along with the rostral temporal pole.

CONCLUSION
Beyond their scientific implications, these lesion-deficit correspondences may help inform the clinical diagnosis and enhance decisions about candidacy for deficit-focused treatment to improve narrative comprehension in individuals with RH damage.


The effect of potassium on the water potential, the osmotic potential and the pressure potential in younger and older leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris grown in hydroponic culture was studied. Inadequate potassium supply resulted in an increase of the osmotic potential. In the older leaves the water potential was raised, in the younger leaves the pressure potential was depressed in the treatment insufficiently supplied with potassium as compared with leaves with an adequate potassium supply. Cell size of the younger leaves was smaller in the treatment with the low K+ supply in comparison with the leaves well supplied with K+. Potassium had a beneficial effect on plant growth, especially on fresh matter production. The water status of leaves (water content, pressure potential, osmotic potential) responded more sensitively to potassium supply than dry matter production. Besides organic N and organic anions, K+ was the most abundant solute found in the press sap of the leaves. From the results it is concluded that K+ is indispensible for attaining an optimum potential (turgor) in young leaves which in turn has an impact on plant growth.


PURPOSE
In view of the increasing frequency of computed tomographic examinations the organ doses of the thyroid gland and the eye lenses in spiral CT examinations of the head and neck should be determined.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Standard CT-examinations of the neck, the paranasal sinuses in axial and coronal sections, and the mandibula were simulated by help of an Alderson-Rando phantom. Dose measurements were performed as well in 28 patients. The examinations were carried out in spiral mode ("Somatom AR.SP", "Picker PQ 2000", and "Toshiba Xpress SX") and conventional single slice technique ("Somatom Plus"). Three LiF-TLD were placed on each eyelid and three on the thyroid.

RESULTS
With direct exposure to the x-ray-beam the organ doses did not exceed 64 mGy. When exposed by scatter radiation only, doses may be reduced by a factor of up to 10. The measurements in 28 patients showed similar results.

CONCLUSIONS
The organ doses in spiral CT correspond with data known from conventional CT.


Gravity and Grace shows Weil's religious thoughts and ideas, drawn from many sources - Christian, Jewish, Indian, Greek and Hindu - and focusing on suffering and redemption. It brings the reader face to face with the profoundest levels of existence as Weil explores the relationship of the human condition to the realm of the transcendent.


An erratum was issued for: Magnetic Resonance-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Generated Hyperthermia: A Feasible Treatment Method in a Murine Rhabdomyosarcoma Model . The Authors section was updated from: Claire Wunker1,2 Karolina Piorkowska3 Ben Keunen3 Yael Babichev2 Suzanne M. Wong3,4 Maximilian Regenold5 Michael Dunne5 Julia Nomikos1,2 Maryam Siddiqui6 Samuel Pichardo6 Warren Foltz7 Adam C. Waspe3,8 Justin T. Gerstle3,9 Rebecca A. Gladdy1,2,10 1 Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto 2 2Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital 3 The Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Centre for Image-Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention, The Hospital for Sick Children 4 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto 5 Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto 6 Departments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary 7 Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto 8 Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto 9 Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Toronto 10 Department of Surgery, University of Toronto to: Claire Wunker1,2 Karolina Piorkowska3 Ben Keunen3 Yael Babichev2 Suzanne M. Wong3,4 Maximilian Regenold5 Michael Dunne5 Julia Nomikos1,2 Maryam Siddiqui6 Samuel Pichardo6 Warren Foltz7 Adam C. Waspe3,8 Justin T. Gerstle3,9 James M. Drake1,3,4,10 Rebecca A. Gladdy1,2,10 1 Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto 2 Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital 3 The Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Centre for Image-Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention, The Hospital for Sick Children 4 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto 5 Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto 6 Departments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary 7 Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto 8 Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto 9 Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Toronto 10 Department of Surgery, University of Toronto.


Adversarial training (AT) is a powerful regularization method for neural networks, aiming to achieve robustness to input perturbations. Yet, the specific effects of the robustness obtained from AT are still unclear in the context of natural language processing. In this paper, we propose and analyze a neural POS tagging model that exploits AT. In our experiments on the Penn Treebank WSJ corpus and the Universal Dependencies (UD) dataset (27 languages), we find that AT not only improves the overall tagging accuracy, but also 1) prevents over-fitting well in low resource languages and 2) boosts tagging accuracy for rare / unseen words. We also demonstrate that 3) the improved tagging performance by AT contributes to the downstream task of dependency parsing, and that 4) AT helps the model to learn cleaner word representations. 5) The proposed AT model is generally effective in different sequence labeling tasks. These positive results motivate further use of AT for natural language tasks.


The use of drugs that are less soluble in water will become clinically less efficient, this is caused by the low penetration of the drug into the body. A microemulsion is a dispersion system such as an emulsion that can increase the solubility of drugs that are sometimes difficult to dissolve in water. Microemulsions have long-term stability, clear, transparent, and good penetration capabilities. In this study, a microemulsion formulation with active ingredients griseofulvin and virgin coconut oil was conducted as an oil phase. The resulting microemulsion evaluates physical stability during 35 storage days. The results showed that the microemulsion preparation remained stable during storage time without changes in color, odor, and consistency, while the pH and dosage viscosity experienced less significant changes. The consequences of the centrifugation test at 3700 rpm for 5 hours and freezing tests for 24 days showed stable preparation and cannot be separated. The diffusion test results obtained by FG2 had the largest permeation percentages of 3.6136%, FG3 2.8724%, and the smallest FG1 2.0477%. Keywords: microemulsion, griseofulvin, stability, diffusion test


In handwritten document image processing, a handwritten document is scanned by a flatbed scanner or camera arrangement. Ideally, we require to retain only the image of the handwriting without the background. Unfortunately, in many cases, background detail is also present in the scanned image. There are several factors contributing to this. One factor is the nature of the paper; it may contain color, pictures or patterns, it may be thin so handwriting on the reverse side shows through. Another factor is the handwriting implement used to produce the handwriting. Other possible factors can be defects of the scanner and improper setting of the scanning parameters. A fuzzy based image enhancement technique to extract just the gray scale handwriting from a handwritten document image is presented. The technique is based on fuzzy if-then rules applied on two-fuzzy sets whose parameters are estimated. The technique has been tried successfully on images of handwriting with bright-colored handwriting media, color paper, very thin paper, and paper with colorful pattern. The technique is particularly useful to the application of document processing that deal with gray level images.


Purpose – Young people exhibiting serious behavior problems represent an enormous challenge for municipal child welfare services in Norway. In working with these youngsters, it is vital to create opportunities for them to participate in the decisions affecting their lives. The study aims to explore the dilemmas involving issues of participation on the one side and protection on the other: it is one where the child welfare worker is being required, on the one hand, to provide youths with an opportunity to participate in decisions affecting them while at the same time being required to protect those youths in their care from harming themselves in various ways. These two concerns of participation and protection are spelled out specifically in Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children of which Norway is a signatory.

Methodology – This study draws from a qualitative reanalysis of interview data from a 15-year longitudinal study of 85 child welfare clients in Norway. They were followed up at three points in time: first when they became clients (age 14–15), next when they were young adults (age 20), and finally when they were 30 years old. All of these 85 informants had initially come to the attention of child protection authorities owing to the severity of their behavior problems.

Findings – The chapter describes how these young people experienced both participation and protection of the child welfare services at the time they were provided and later on when they had become adults. One important finding of the study is that, as adults, their opinions had changed and they then believed that the protection usually in the form of guardianship earlier provided to them as youngsters had been beneficial to them.


Continual learning with an increasing number of classes is a challenging task. The difficulty rises when each example is presented exactly once, which requires the model to learn online. Recent methods with classic parameter optimization procedures have been shown to struggle in such setups or have limitations like non-differentiable components or memory buffers. For this reason, we present the fully differentiable ensemble method that allows us to efficiently train an ensemble of neural networks in the end-to-end regime. The proposed technique achieves SOTA results without a memory buffer and clearly outperforms the reference methods. The conducted experiments have also shown a significant increase in the performance for small ensembles, which demonstrates the capability of obtaining relatively high classification accuracy with a reduced number of classifiers.


The low-frequency oscillation (LFO) has been observed a positive or negative pike around 0.1 Hz, which is related to the specified brain function activities. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to simultaneously and noninvasively detect LFOs of multiple cerebral hemodynamics parameters. Based on local Fourier transform (LFT), we extract the amplitude of deoxy-Hb concentration signal at 0.1 Hz in the frequency domain and found a phenomenon which is correlated to that accuracy/respond time (accuracy/ RT) was stable when the deoxy-Hb concentration is at low level in the middle. Afterwards, we propose two feasible applications after doing some research: monitoring the fatigue driving level and evaluating the brain activity potential of human. This study observed LFOs in brain activities and showed a strong potential of LFOs in exploring brain functions.


The effects of irradiation by 48 MeV Li3+ and 150 MeV Ag12+ ion beams on the thermoluminescence (TL) of BaSO4 : Eu phosphor are studied. Samples in the form of pellets were exposed to different fluences in the range 1 × 109–5 × 1011 ions cm−2. The modifications in TL glow curves of the materials irradiated by lithium (Li) and silver (Ag) beams are essentially similar to those induced by γ-ray irradiation. There is a significant variation in the relative intensity between the main glow peak at 497 K and the small shoulder at 465 K. This variation is more dominant in the samples irradiated by Ag ions. This has been attributed to the change in the population of the luminescent/trapping centres (LCs/TCs) during the bombardment by high-energy heavy ions. The relative TL efficiency values of BaSO4 : Eu to 48 MeV Li and 150 MeV Ag ion beams have been measured relative to 0.662 MeV γ-rays of 137Cs and are found to be 0.374 and 0.0017, respectively. It is found that BaSO4 : Eu phosphor is suitable for recording irradiation from light ions (Li) as well as heavy ions (Ag) as it shows linearity in its TL responses over wide ranges of fluences of ion beams. It is linear in the ranges 1 × 109–1 × 1011 and 1 × 109–1 × 1010 ions cm−2 for Li and Ag ion beams, respectively. This property along with its low fading make BaSO4 : Eu phosphor a good candidate to be used as a dosimeter for cosmic rays and medical applications.


The present paper describes the method which is used to transform an elliptical curve for a random number generator. This method allows one to increase the number of generator inner states. The restoration of the generation law tends to get complicated as the number of inner states increases The spin-off of the present work is the obtained lower boundary of a pseudorandom bit sequence period.


Singh, A. K., Clarke, J. M., Knox, R. E., DePauw, R. M., McCaig, T. N., Cuthbert, R. D., Clarke, F. R. and Fernandez, M. R. 2014. AAC Raymore durum wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 1289 1296. AAC Raymore durum wheat [Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.] is adapted to the durum production area of the Canadian prairies. AAC Raymore is the first solid stem durum genotype registered for production in Canada for protection against wheat stem sawfly, and combines high grain yield, grain protein concentration, test weight, and low grain cadmium concentration. AAC Raymore has similar straw strength, plant height, and days to maturity as Strongfield. AAC Raymore is resistant to leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust, common bunt, is moderately susceptible to loose smut, and has improved resistance to common root rot compared with the check cultivars. AAC Raymore has end use quality suitable for the Canada Western Amber Durum class.


This review is an attempt to summarize relevant gastrointestinal surgical issues in the patient with cystic fibrosis. Many of the surgical treatments are standard and have remained unchanged for several years and are only briefly discussed. A few areas with new developments are meconium ileus and the implications of prenatal diagnosis of meconium peritonitis. In addition, new findings with hepatobiliary disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease associated with cystic fibrosis patients may change the manner in which these entities are approached because these patients are now living longer. Finally, we review the recent findings associated with fibrosing colonopathy.


This Norton Critical Edition is based on Hans Gabler's acclaimed text and is accompanied by his introduction and textual notes. John Paul Riquelme provides detailed explanatory annotations. "Backgrounds and Contexts" is thematically organized to provide readers with a clear picture of the novel's historical, cultural, and literary inspirations. Topics include "Political Nationalism: Irish History, 1798-1916," "The Irish Literary and Cultural Revival," "Religion," and "Aesthetic Backgrounds." "Criticism" begins with John Paul Riquelme's helpful essay on the novel's structural form and follows with twelve diverse interpretations by, among others, Kenneth Burke, Umberto Eco, Hugh Kenner, Maud Ellmann, Joseph Valente, and Marian Eide. A Selected Bibliography is also included.


As an in vitro model for the chemotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia with cytarabine (ARA-C), the cytotoxicity of this drug was investigated using a human promyelocytic cell line (HL-60) and different drug schedules. The continuous exposure to ARA-C was shown to be more cytotoxic than the intermittent exposures at identical concentrations or under conditions where the concentrations multiplied by time of exposure were the same. In a comparison of exposures, as the intervals between drug exposures were reduced, the cytotoxicity of ARA-C increased. Flow microfluorometric analysis of DNA content showed that a 3-hour exposure to ARA-C every 6 hours produced a greater accumulation of cells in S phase than the same exposure repeated every 12 hours. After a 3-hour exposure to 20 micrograms/ml of ARA-C, the cells recovered 38% and 85% of their capacity to synthesize DNA within 4 and 8 hours, respectively. These findings can be explained in part by the short half-life of the intracellular nucleotide pool of ARA-CTP in these cells (about 60 minutes). These data indicate that when there is a prolongation of the interval between exposures to ARA-C, a greater fraction of cells recover from the inhibitory effects of this drug and escape its cytotoxic action. These observations may be important with respect to the design of more optimal schedules of high-dose ARA-C therapy for the treatment of patients with acute leukemia.


Donors that provide aid to the Wanni region of Sri Lanka, which is controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), are promoting initiatives that seek to advance the national peace process. Under the rubric of post-conflict reconstruction, the actions of political forces and structural factors have led to the prioritisation of two different approaches to peace-building: community capacity-building projects; and support for the 'peace dividend'. Both of these approaches face challenges. Cooperation with civil society actors is extremely difficult due to intimidation by the LTTE political authority and the authoritarian nature of its control. Peace-building successes with respect to the peace dividend are difficult to measure, and must be balanced against the negative effects of misdirected funds. Aid organisations must be careful not to consider the tasks of peacebuilding, humanitarian relief and community empowerment as either interchangeable or as mutually reinforcing endeavours.


Language is the first carrier of culture.The article holds that the ethnic groups who speak Minnan dialect should be brought into the researchers' research vision in the research of the protection of Minnan culture ecology.In the ethnic groups of language families of Minnan dialect,the local studies on Minnan culture that develop its own regional subject research mainly consist of Quanzhou study,Chaozhou study and Wenzhou study in the West-strait Economic Zone.To strengthen the collaborative research of Quanzhou study,Chaozhou study and Wenzhou study is helpful to expand the academic vision of the research of Minnan culture ecology.


Two new and one known compounds were isolated from the methanol extract of Sesamum indicum leaves. By means of spectroscopic methods, their structures were elucidated and identified to be 3-epibartogenic acid (1), kaempferol 3-O-[2-O-(trans-p-coumaroyl)-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl]-β-d-glucopyranoside (2) and epigallocatechin (3). Compound 1 and 3 strongly inhibited α-amylase with the IC50 values of 146.7 and 303.9 μM, respectively, in comparison with acarbose (IC50 124.0 μM).


Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of oral care interventions on stroke patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Oral hygiene levels, periodontal health, and presence of Candida were evaluated in patients who received an oral care intervention and control patients who did not receive the intervention. Methods: In this study, 22 stroke patients who were admitted to the ICU between June 2011 and August 2012 underwent oral examinations and were provided with an oral care intervention that included tooth brushing with an interdental brush and the use of a chlorhexidine mouthwash (oral care group), while 21 patients who were admitted to the ICU during the same period did not receive the oral care intervention but underwent oral examination and served as controls (non-oral care group). In the oral care group, oral care was performed once a day for 1-5 weeks according to the general health of the patient. The patients in the oral care group underwent oral examination before and after the oral care intervention. Plaque index, gingival index, clinical attachment loss (CAL), and presence of Candida were evaluated in both the groups. Results: The plaque index and gingival index of the oral care group were significantly lower than those of the non-oral care group; however, no significant difference in CAL was observed. The levels of Candida in the pra; care group were ;ower than those om the non-oral care group. However, no significant intergroup difference was observed in the levels of Candida. Conclusions: Oral care interventions improved oral health, including oral hygiene and periodontal health, of stroke patients in the ICU. Therefore, this study showed that oral care interventions can be effectively used to improve the oral health of stroke patients in the ICU.


Lambda tomography (LT) is a well-known local reconstruction technology to reduce the radiation dose or accommodate a limited imaging geometry. After a theoretical analysis of the so-called Calderon operator (CO), the necessary conditions for exact LT reconstruction are presented in terms of the 2D and 3D COs. Based on our previous results on LT, a general scheme is proposed to construct exact LT formulae in terms of the 2D CO with multiple segment trajectories. Every 2D formula has a corresponding 3D cone-beam formula in the Feldkamp framework in terms of the 2D CO which was illustrated in a triple-segment case. Our simulation results verify the correctness and demonstrate the merits of the proposed scheme.


Radiation therapy is one of the most effective tools in cancer therapy. However, success varies individually, necessitating improved understanding of radiobiology. Three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroids are increasingly gaining attention, being a superior in vitro cancer model compared to 2D cell cultures. This in vitro study aimed at comparing radiation responses in 2D and 3D cell culture models of different human cancer cell lines (PC-3, LNCaP and T-47D) irradiated with varying doses (1, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 20 Gy) of X-ray beams. Radiation response was analyzed by growth analysis, various cell viability assays (e.g., clonogenic assay, resazurin assay) and amount of DNA damage (γH2AX Western Blot). Results showed decreasing cell proliferation with the increase of radiation doses for all cell lines in monolayers and spheroids of LNCaP and T-47D. However, significantly lower radiosensitivity was detected in spheroids, most pronounced in PC-3, evincing radiation resistance of PC-3 spheroids up to 8 Gy and significant growth inhibition only by a dose escalation of 20 Gy. Cell line comparison showed highest radiosensitivity in LNCaP, followed by T-47D and PC-3 in 2D, whereas, in 3D, T-47D showed highest sensitivity. The results substantiate the significant differences in radiobiological response to X-rays between 2D and 3D cell culture models.


The integrity of chromosomes during cell division is ensured by both trans-acting factors and cis-acting chromosomal sites. Failure of either these chromosome integrity determinants (CIDs) can cause chromosomes to be broken and subsequently misrepaired to form gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs). We developed a simple and rapid assay for GCRs, exploiting yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We used this assay to screen a genome-wide pool of mutants for elevated rates of GCR. The analyses of these mutants define new CIDs (Orc3p, Orc5p, and Ycs4p) and new pathways required for chromosome integrity in DNA replication elongation (Dpb11p), DNA replication initiation (Orc3p and Orc5p), and mitotic condensation (Ycs4p). We show that the chromosome integrity function of Orc5p is associated with its ATP-binding motif and is distinct from its function in controlling the efficiency of initiation of DNA replication. Finally, we used our YAC assay to assess the interplay of trans and cis factors in chromosome integrity. Increasing the number of origins on a YAC suppresses GCR formation in our dpb11 mutant but enhances it in our orc mutants. This result provides potential insights into the counterbalancing selective pressures necessary for the evolution of origin density on chromosomes.


Objectives: To systematically review literature and identify mother-to-child transmission rates of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus among pregnant women with single, dual, or triplex infections of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus in Nigeria. PRISMA guidelines were employed. Searches were on 19 February 2021 in PubMed, Google Scholar and CINAHL on studies published from 1 February 2001 to 31 January 2021 using keywords: "MTCT," "dual infection," "triplex infection," "HIV," "HBV," and "HCV." Studies that reported mother-to-child transmission rate of at least any of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus among pregnant women and their infant pairs with single, dual, or triplex infections of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus in Nigeria irrespective of publication status or language were eligible. Data were extracted independently by two authors with disagreements resolved by a third author. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model of DerSimonian and Laird, to produce summary mother-to-child transmission rates in terms of percentage with 95% confidence interval. Protocol was prospectively registered in PROSPERO: CRD42020202070. The search identified 849 reports. After screening titles and abstracts, 25 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 18 were included for meta-analysis. We identified one ongoing study. Pooled mother-to-child transmission rates were 2.74% (95% confidence interval: 2.48%–2.99%; 5863 participants; 15 studies) and 55.49% (95% confidence interval: 35.93%–75.04%; 433 participants; three studies), among mother–infant pairs with mono-infection of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus, respectively, according to meta-analysis. Overall, the studies showed a moderate risk of bias. The pooled rate of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus was 2.74% and hepatitis B virus was 55.49% among mother–infant pairs with mono-infection of HIV and hepatitis B virus, respectively. No data exists on rates of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus on mono-infection or mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus among mother–infant pairs with dual or triplex infection of HIV, hepatitis B virus and HCV in Nigeria.


For centuries, Western societies thought of wilderness as a barren, desolate place that harboured temptation and sin. Over the last hundred and fifty years, a marked shift has occurred in Western perception of this so-called savage place; it has become revered, protected, and even worshipped. What was once the Devil's playground is now thought to provide a locus of spiritual regeneration and hope for the future. In North America, this pronounced shift is thought to coincide with notions of the sublime and the frontier. This study explores the perceptions of wilderness among Chinese Canadian immigrants in British Columbia, people who have been less influenced by concepts of the sublime and frontier. It examines closely the idea that wilderness today is a self-evident construct that holds across most inhabitants of the province. Instead, ideas about wilderness held by people who have immigrated from China, similar to the ideas held by early immigrants from Europe, are influenced by tradition (especially Confucianism, Taoism, and, more recently, Maoism), space (i.e. coming from densely populated areas), and language. Through this study, it has become apparent that the language and discourse surrounding wilderness in Canada is markedly different from that of Chinese Canadian immigrants. While the language and meaning of wilderness, as referred to in Western society, is assumed relatively easily for interviewees, the identification with moral and aesthetic responses common to discussions of wilderness in North America is much less likely to manifest itself. Wilderness, which represented barrenness and desolation to interviewees when they lived in China, has come to represent forests, mountains, animals, and lack of human influence. What previously had different philosophical meaning, now, in a cognitive sense, represents beauty and, potentially, a locus of spirituality. The results of this study have important consequences for decision-making in cross-cultural environments. Policy surrounding wilderness or environmental preservation may be without meaning or relevance to new immigrants, who bring with them shared meanings and relationships to nature that may or may not be incongruous with Canadian environmental policy. In facing such debates, it is crucial to understand the perceptions of various players and how those ideas are linked to tradition, language, and the geography of the familiar. It is also critical to ask What is wilderness and why are we protecting it above all else?


This article addresses the origins and evolution of international organizations dedicated to international rail transport. From the beginning of rail history, most of the railway networks in Europe were built by numerous private companies, which continuously competed and collaborated with each other within domestic transport as well as international transport. European railway companies made connections across borders based on personal and financial network relationships and established various types of agreements and unions to make international traffic possible. This coalition allowed them to jointly operate member networks, including running direct trains and establishing tariff agreements. Since international transport has grown in size and complexity, international railway organizations have continuously evolved. This study proceeds as follows: the first section outlines the beginnings and development of international rail transport organizations. With the expansion of the rail network in Europe, international cooperation in the field of railways occurred early in the 19th century. This mainly took the form of bilateral or multilateral agreements or even treaties among the States. Initially, these agreements affected the establishment of international organizations. The second section draws out international organizations between the First World War and the Second World War. In the interwar period, the existing organizations continued to expand their scope of activities and new organizations were founded. The third section examines the impact of the Cold War on international rail organizations. During the Cold War, many organizations were established in Western Europe, with active international railway cooperation. In Eastern Europe, a new international organization was established under the influence of the Soviet Union. The fourth section explains changes in international organizations after the Cold War. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the existing organizations steadily adapted themselves to changes in the political, economic, social, cultural and technological environments. Because of these various changes, new international organizations also emerged.


Permeable pavements are a key Storm water management measure employed both to attenuate surface runoff in urban areas and to filter urban storm water pollutants. Existing permeable pavements (PP) are design with the specific percentage porosity whereby enabling excess rainwater to infiltrate
 through the system and acting as a depression storage at the same time. Depression storage basically refers to the volume of water trapped in the depression when the precipitation of a storm reaches the ground and filled up all the depression before it can flow over the surface. Cylindrical
 Detention Pond (CDP) is an alternative paving material that may alleviate many of the hydrological problems caused by urban runoff from developed areas. CDP consist of three basic component; top cover, bottom cover and hollow cylindrical at centre (300 mm thickness). The hollow cylindrical
 has approximate 50 percent porosity from the total solid of component, which is every 1 inch (25 mm) of pavement depth can hold 0.5 inches (12.5 mm) of rain in theoretical. In this study, the depression storage rate of CDP was investigated under three different rainfall intensity scenarios
 which are 77 mm/hr (low), 153 mm/hr (medium), and 230 mm/hr (heavy) respectively whereby it function to monitoring the analytical trend line. The experiment was conducted in model box in the laboratory under fully saturated condition. It found that the CDP can performed to detent the water
 until 180 min of excess rainfall for all 2 year ARI, 5 year ARI, 10 year ARI, 20 year ARI, 50 year ARI and 100 year ARI with different rates. CDP's able to reduce the runoff up to 77% of the total rainfall volume. The result was proved the hollow cylindrical at centre of CDP very effective
 in runoff volume reduction according to the different ARI trend line projection.


Multi-beam concurrent transmission is one of promising solutions for a millimeter-wave (mmWave) network to provide seamless handover, robustness to blockage, and continuous connectivity. Nevertheless, one of the major obstacles in multi-beam concurrent transmissions is the optimization of beam pair selection, which is essential to improve the mmWave network performance. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel heterogeneous multi-beam cloud radio access network (HMBCRAN) architecture which provides seamless mobility and coverage for mmWave networks. We also design a novel acquirement method for candidate beam pair links (BPLs) in HMBCRANs architecture, which reduces user power consumption, signaling overhead, and overall time consumption. Based on HMBCRANs architecture and the resulted candidate BPLs for each user equipment, a beam pair selection optimization problem aiming at maximizing network sum rate is formulated. To find the solution efficiently, the considered problem is reformulated as a non-operative game with local interaction, which only needs local information exchanging among players. A decentralized algorithm based on HMBCRANs architecture and binary log-linear learning is proposed to obtain the optimal pure strategy Nash equilibrium of the proposed game, in which a concurrent multi-player selection scheme and an information exchanging protocol among players are developed to reduce the complexity and signal overheads. The stability, optimality, and complexity of the proposed algorithm are analyzed via theoretical and simulation method. The results prove that the proposed scheme has better convergence speed and sum rate against the state-of-the-art schemes.


Long admired by nature lovers and marine scientists, the sea otter is extraordinarily well adapted to the sea, where it can spend its entire life span eating, sleeping, giving birth, and rearing its young without ever coming ashore. Richly illustrated, The World of the Sea Otter is both an authoritative natural history and a visual celebration of this playful creature. In the book's opening chapters, Stefani Paine explores the natural history of the smallest of sea mammals. We learn how its waterproof fur coat enables it to survive in the sea; how it uses tools to harvest mussels and mollusks; and how it cares for and educates its young. Paine also examines the sea otter's extensive range and skill at traveling great distances in the open sea. Later chapters describe this animal's unique relationship with humans - from the great fur hunts of the 1700s that nearly led to the extinction of the sea otter, to the early, unsuccessful attempts to return this creature to its vast ancestral range, and finally to its recent flourishing and slow return to once-highly populated areas. The lively, informative text is augmented by over 60 stunning full-color photographs by Jeff Foott. Together, text and photographs combine to capture the beauty and power of the coastal seas and to emphasize that we must take part to help ensure the continued prosperity of this fascinating creature.


Large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) experiments on three grades of LLDPE including one commercial film blowing resin showed an interesting transition in the shear stress response to LAOS. The shear stress response is initially a nonsinusoidal standing wave which then undergoes a transition to quasi-periodicity. Many line-broadened odd and even harmonics were found in the shear stress amplitude spectra of the quasi-periodic responses. The transition time depends on shear strain amplitude and frequency, but it did not correlate with the weight average molecular weight of the LLDPE's.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Migraine is a disabling neurovascular disorder characterized by increasing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress biomarkers. Curcumin and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) can exert neuroprotective effects through modulation of inflammation and oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the combined effects of nano-curcumin and CoQ10 supplementation on migraine symptoms and quality of life in migraine patients. Methods: One-hundred men and women (mean age 32 years) with episodic migraine based on the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria participated in this study. The subjects were randomly divided into four groups as (1) combination of nano-curcumin (80 mg) plus CoQ10 (300 mg), (2) nano-curcumin (80 mg), (3) CoQ10 (300 mg) and (4) the control (nano-curcumin and CoQ10 placebo included oral paraffin oil) beside usual prophylactic drugs for 8 weeks. Frequency, severity, duration of headache attacks, the headache diary results (HDR) and headache disability based on migraine-specific questionnaires were assessed at the baseline and end of the study. Results: Ninety-one of 100 patients completed the study. The results showed a significant effect of nano-curcumin and CoQ10 supplementation on frequency, severity, duration of migraine attacks and HDR compared to other groups (All P < 0.001). Nano-curcumin and CoQ10 group also had better scores in migraine-specific questionnaires at the end of the study compared to other groups (All P < 0.001). There were no side effects reported by the participants. Conclusions: These findings suggest a possible synergistic effect of nano-curcumin and CoQ10 on clinical features of migraine. Trial registration number: IRCT2017080135444N1.


The major pharmacological effects of heroin can be traced back to some structural properties of the morphine molecule. The analgesic effects of heroin derive from the two active metabolites, 6-O-acetylmorphine and morphine, which bind specifically to the mu-opioid receptors of the central nervous system. mu-receptors also mediate other pharmacological actions of heroin i.e. respiratory depression, euphoria and physical dependence. Heroin is more potent and faster acting than morphine as an analgesic drug. Presently, there is a considerable dispute whether heroin should be legalized for the treatment of pain in terminal cancer. Chronic administration of heroin results in the development of tolerance. It is characterized by a shortened duration and decreased intensity of the analgesic, euphoric, sedative and other CNS-depressant effects. Tolerance to opioids is due to increased adaptation of the cells which changes their receptor sites after chronic exposure to the drug. Toxicity of heroin depends markedly on the route of administration in animal studies. Variable composition of street heroin or sudden loss of tolerance can cause fatal heroin overdose of addicts. Respiratory arrest is the most common reason for death among heroin addicts.


BACKGROUND
Adjuvant therapy with aromatase inhibitors is associated with increased bone loss in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. We assessed changes in bone mineral density (BMD) from baseline to 24 months in patients receiving either tamoxifen (T) or exemestane (E).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 578 women randomly assigned to T 20 mg per day orally or E 25 mg/day orally enrolled in this substudy; baseline, 12-month, and 24-month BMD measurements of the femur and lumbar spine by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were planned. Women receiving bone antiresorptive agents were excluded. Mean BMD changes from baseline to 12 and 24 months were tested between the treatment groups using 2-sample t tests and both g/cm2 (as percent changes) and T scores (as differences from baseline).

RESULTS
A total of 167 women with all 3 imaging studies were evaluable and form the basis of this report (T=89, E=78). Using T scores, the mean difference from baseline was significant between the 2 groups at 12 months at both the spine (P=.0002) and the hip (P=.0004), and at 24 months only at the hip (P=.02).

CONCLUSION
More bone loss occurred during the first 12 months of treatment with E compared with T, but by 2 years the differences were less apparent and bone loss with E had slowed.


In this study, two mutual azo prodrugs were synthesized for colon targeting in a treatment of colonic diverticular disease. The first was synthesized by coupling sulfamethoxazole with salicylic acid; the second was synthesized by coupling one mole of trimethoprim with two moles of salicylic acid. In vitro kinetic studies of these mutual prodrugs in hydrochloric acid buffer (pH ١.٢) and in phosphate buffer (pH ٧.٤) were monitored. Hydrolysis of these mutual prodrugs was established in rat fecal matter. The release of ٥-aminosalicylic acid and sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim from these mutual prodrugs was almost complete and it followed first order kinetics. The prodrug approach to drug physicochemical properties modification based on enzyme specifications may offer a new approach for improving drug product efficacy and reducing most of its adverse effects.


The local changes in copper oxidation state and the corresponding resistance changes in Pt/CuOx/Pt nanoscale heterostructures have been investigated using x-ray nanoprobe spectro-microscopy and current-voltage characterization. After gentle electroforming, during which the current-voltage behavior remains non-linear, the low resistance state was reached, and we observed regions of 160 nm width that show an increase in Cu K-alpha fluorescence intensity, indicative of partial reduction of the CuOx. Analysis of the current voltage curves showed that the dominant conduction mechanism is Schottky emission and that the resistance state is correlated with the Schottky barrier height. We propose that the reversible resistivity change in these Pt/CuOx/Pt heterostructures occurs through local electrochemical reduction leading to change of the Schottky barrier height at the interface between Pt and the reduced CuOx layers and to change of the CuOx resistivity within laterally confined portions of the CuOx layer. The...


In this article we study a biased version of the naming game in which players are located on a connected graph and interact through successive conversations in order to select a common name for a given object. Initially, all the players use the same word B except for one bilingual individual who also uses word A. Both words are attributed a fitness, which measures how often players speak depending on the words they use and how often each word is spoken by bilingual individuals. The limiting behavior depends on a single parameter, φ, denoting the ratio of the fitness of word A to the fitness of word B. The main objective is to determine whether word A can invade the system and become the new linguistic convention. From the point of view of the mean-field approximation, invasion of word A is successful if and only if φ > 3, a result that we also prove for the process on complete graphs relying on the optimal stopping theorem for supermartingales and random walk estimates. In contrast, for the process on the one-dimensional lattice, word A can invade the system whenever φ > 1.053, indicating that the probability of invasion and the critical value for φ strongly depend on the degree of the graph. The system on regular lattices in higher dimensions is also studied by comparing the process with percolation models.


Commercial make-on-demand compound spaces have become increasingly popular within the past few years. Since these libraries are too large for enumeration, they are usually accessed using combinatorial fragment space technologies like FTrees-FS and SpaceLight. Although both search types are of high practical impact, they lack the ability to search for precise structural features on the atomic level. To address this important use case, we developed SpaceMACS enabling efficient and precise maximum common induced substructure (MCIS) similarity and substructure searches within chemical fragment spaces. SpaceMACS enumerates a user-defined number of compounds in a multistep procedure. First, substructures of the query are extracted and matched to all fragments of the space. Then partial results are combined to actual compounds of the space. In this way, SpaceMACS identifies common substructures even if they cross fragment borders. We applied SpaceMACS on three commercial fragment spaces searching for the 150 000 most similar analogs to a glucosyltransferase binder from literature. We were able to find almost all building blocks used for the synthesis of the 90 listed analogs and a plethora of additional results. SpaceMACS is the missing link to enable rational drug discovery on make-on-demand combinatorial catalogs. No matter whether initial compound suggestions come from a de novo design, an AI-based compound generation, or a medicinal chemist's drawing board, the method gives access to the structurally closest chemically available analogs in seconds to at most minutes.


CTGE 0900. Permanent Matriculation. (0 Credits) Students are admitted to doctoral degree programs on a provisional matriculation basis. During the semester in which provisional doctoral students expect to complete their 12th to 15th credit of doctoral work, they must apply for permanent matriculation status by enrolling in either ASGE 0900, CLGE 0900, CTGE 0900, or PSGE 0900. Students will be evaluated by the faculty of the appropriate division and will be continued in the program only on the recommendation of the faculty of the division and with the approval of the associate dean for academic affairs. Consult your adviser or division chair for additional information on permanent matriculation. CTGE 0901. Doctoral Comprehensive Exam/Assessment. (0 Credits) Part one of the doctoral comprehensive exam or assessment for programs in the Division of Curriculum and Teaching.


This Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum transceiver is designed to provide the secure communication the communication domain. This system is very popular because it is a secure communication model which utilizes the Pseudo Random Noise (PN) Sequence as a carries signal. And the communication channel used as Additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) Channel is preferred in this work. And at receiver side the data recovered as well as the Bit Error Rate is estimated at the receiver. The overall design is modeled and simulated using MATLAB-Simulink


Small planktonic marine copepods (< 1 mm in length) are the most abundant metazoans on Earth. Included are adults and copepodites of calanoid genera such as Paracalanus, Clausocalanus, and Acartia; cyclopoid genera such as Oithona, Oncaea, and Corycaeus; planktonic harpacticoids of the genus Microsetella; and nauplii of almost all copepod species. Despite the abundance of small copepods, they have historically been undersampled due to the use of nets with meshes > 200- 333 μm. Recent studies have shown, however, that when appropriate net meshes of 100 μm or less are used, small copepods vastly exceed the abundance and sometimes the biomass of larger ones. Failure to adequately account for small copepods may cause serious underestimations of zooplankton abundance and biomass, the copepod grazing impact on phytoplankton primary production, zooplankton-mediated fluxes of chemicals and materials, and trophic interactions in the sea. The feeding ecology of small copepods is less well-known than that of adults of larger copepod species, such as members of the genus Calanus. Further, most feeding information for small copepods is for coastal genera such as Acartia, rather than for offshore taxa. Although it is generally assumed that small copepods, including nauplii, feed primarily upon small-sized phytoplankton cells, most such information comes from rearing or feeding studies on limited laboratory diets. There have been few examinations of actual copepod feeding on mixed diets of natural phytoplankton and microzooplankton found in the sea, but some of those have produced surprises. For instance, some species of Oithona and Paracalanus and even nauplii of Arctic Calanus spp. may feed primarily as predators upon heterotrophic protists, rather than as grazers of phytoplankton. Also, nauplii of various tropical copepod species have been shown to feed upon bacterioplankton. Thus, numerous basic questions remain as to the feeding ecology and grazing/predation impact of small copepods in the sea. Despite limited knowledge of what small copepods eat, it is clear that many higher-trophic-level consumers eat them. Numerous studies have shown that copepod nauplii, Oithona spp., and other small copepods are important prey of fish larvae and other planktivores. Small copepods exhibit a variety of reproductive strategies to compensate for losses to their populations due to predation. These include having high fecundity and growth rates, when not limited by insufficient food; having high reproduction and growth rates at warmer temperatures; having limited motion and low respiration rates, allowing the investment of more energy in reproduction; and having extended longevity to maximize lifetime reproductive output. Thus, small copepods are important links in marine food webs, serving as major grazers of phytoplankton, as components of the microbial loop, and as prey for ichthyoplankton and other larger pelagic carnivores. Our present inadequate understanding of the true abundance, biomass, trophic ecology, and role of small copepods in biogenic fluxes precludes proper understanding of the ecology of the sea.


In the digital age, the integration of technology in education is gaining attention. However, there is limited evidence of its use in promoting historical thinking. Students need to develop critical thinking skills to address post-truth and fake news, enabling them to question sources, evaluate biases, and consider credibility. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), historical thinking becomes even more crucial, as chatbots appear capable of analysing, synthesizing, interpreting, and writing similarly to humans. This makes it more difficult to distinguish between human and AI-generated resources. This mixed study explores the potential of AI in developing an argumentative historical text compared to future teachers. After 103 preservice teachers were instructed in historical thinking, they assessed a text written by a human and an AI-written text without knowing their authors. The obtained results indicate that participants assessed the AI text better based on historical thinking skills. Conversely, when asked about the capability of AI to develop a similar text, they emphasized its impossibility due to the belief that AI is incapable of expressing personal opinions and reflecting. This highlights the importance of instructing them in the correct use and possibilities of AI for future historical teaching.


A database application called DFACS (database, forms and applications for cabling and systems) is described. The objective of DFACS is to improve the speed and accuracy of interconnection system information flow during the design and fabrication stages of a project, while simultaneously supporting both the horizontal (end-to-end wiring) and the vertical (wiring by connector) design stratagems used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) project engineering community. The DFACS architecture is centered around a centralized database and program methodology which emulates the manual design process hitherto used at JPL. DFACS has been tested and successfully applied to existing JPL hardware tasks with a resulting reduction in schedule time and costs.<<ETX>>


The mid-gut of third instar larvae of Sarcophag aegyptiaca was divided into anterior, middle and posterior mid-gut regions. A well-developed peritrophic membrane appeared in the apical part of the anterior and middle portions of mid-gut while it is absent from the posterior portion. The microvilli differs in 3 portions, appeared as apical membrane in the anterior portion, sparse in middle portion to long slender compact microvilli in posterior portion. Numerous organelles were observed throughout the cytoplasm of the 3 portions; lipid spheres, rough endoplasmic reticulum, seceretory vesicles and mitochondria. A large apically nucleus appeared in the 3 portion of mid-gut. A basal labyrinth was observed in both anterior and posterior regions of mid-gut while it was absent in middle portion of mid-gut. Thin basement membrane was observed in the 3 portions of mid-gut of third instar larvae of Sarcophag aegyptiaca.


Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are random optimization methods inspired by genetics and natural selection, resembling simulated annealing. We develop a method that can be used to find a meaningful tradeoff between the difficulty of the analysis and the algorithms' efficiency. Since the case of a discrete search space has been studied extensively, we develop a new stochastic model for the continuous n-dimensional case. Our model uses renewal processes to find global convergence conditions. A second goal of the paper is the analytical estimation of the computation time of EA with uniform mutation inside the (hyper)-sphere of volume 1, minimizing a quadratic function.


The objectives of this research are: to analyze prosecutors related to prosecutors 'demands in enforcing the narcotics crime law. To analyze the obstacles and solutions faced in making prosecutors' demands in enforcing the narcotics crime law.The method used by researchers isjuridical sociological approach to law and the specification in this research is including analytical descriptive. Based on the results of the research that the role of the prosecutor related to prosecutors' demands in enforcing the narcotics crime law has been fulfilled. The elements of a criminal act violating Article 127 paragraph (1) letter a of Act No. 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics and it was proven to be against the law because the defendant had the intention to use methamphetamine himself or his own interests, while drugs can only be used for the benefit of developing science and technology. The obstacle is that witnesses who are majority members of the police, when called to be witnesses at trial, often do not attend the trial because they are busy with their superiors, which makes the prosecution process take a long time. The modus operandi in narcotics convictions is because the perpetrators work very well. To overcome the obstacles prosecutors carry out an activity, one of which is holding knowledge sharing meetings between law enforcers and related agencies, to gain unity in perceptions in handling Narcotics crime cases. Then carry out management improvements, so as to minimize the opportunity for narcotics crime to occur. Starting from the practice of handling narcotics crime, the first origin of narcotics crime is from one of the weaknesses of management.


For the generalist spider Cupiennius salei, each particular predator-prey interaction could be related to obligatory behavioural patterns. The injection of venom by the spider was studied in relation to prey weight and time of injection. Single crickets (Acheta domesticus) of a given weight were offered successively to a spider at 10 min intervals. The prey items were removed 5, 60 or 180 sec after the beginning of the attack, and their state of activity recorded. Prey mortality was assumed to reflect the amount of venom injected. With relatively small prey items, the spider regulated this amount and venom glands were gradually emptied during successive bites. The injection was slow, lasting at least 3 min, possibly by a succession of discrete injections as a response to attempts by the prey to escape. In contrast, with larger prey items, the injection occurred within 1 min and mostly emptied the glands during the first bite. Bites experimentally reduced to 5 sec never allowed a spider to empty the venom glands completely. Only the first prey attacked usually received a lethal amount of venom. This suggested that an initial dose can be injected rapidly and could be morphologically segregated from the remaining venom.


Competing risks are common in clinical research, as patients are subject to multiple potential failure events, both diseases related and otherwise. Competing risks methodology is being increasingly applied to cause of mortality data as a way of obtaining real world probabilities of mortality broken down by specific causes. For example, cancer patients with cardiovascular and other comorbidities are at concurrent risk of multiple adverse events. Regression models are employed to understand and exploit the relationship between the lifetime variable and the covariates. The most widely used regression models in competing risks are proportional because specific hazard model and proportional sub distribution hazard model. These models are frequently used in literatures and many authors have tried to differentiate and interpret both the models in different way. Several modeling approaches are available to evaluate the relationship of covariates to cause-specific failures with competing risk. Depending on which model is used, a distinctly different picture of the relationship of covariates to outcomes may be seen. It is important to choose a modeling approach that addresses the question of interest and subsequently interpret the results accordingly. We compared cause specific hazard model and sub distribution hazard model with flexible regression model to analyze and predict competing risk data in clinical trial applications using R software. These models are useful for a detailed analysis of how covariate effects predict the cumulative incidence, and allows for a time-varying effect of the covariates. From the above comparison, we can say that the choice of method for competing risk data in clinical trial should be guided by the scientific question.


Interleukin (IL)‐33 is associated with vascular restenosis after carotid artery balloon injury. This work aims to investigate the involvement of IL‐33 in carotid artery balloon injury. We first constructed carotid artery balloon injury model in male Wistar rats. Then, we found that IL‐33 was highly expressed in the rats with carotid artery balloon injury 3, 14 and 21 days after surgery. Furthermore, IL‐33 treatment promoted inflammatory response and carotid artery intimal hyperplasia in the rats with carotid artery balloon injury, which was effectively improved by anti‐IL‐33 treatment. In addition, IL‐33 treatment enhanced proliferation, migration, inflammatory response and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in a concentration‐dependent way. In summary, our study demonstrates that IL‐33 treatment promotes the progression of vascular restenosis after carotid artery balloon injury by enhancing carotid artery intimal hyperplasia and inflammatory response. Thus, our findings suggest that IL‐33 maybe a valuable target for carotid artery balloon injury therapies.


The increasing prevalence of cyanobacteria-dominated harmful algal blooms is strongly associated with nutrient loading and changing climatic patterns. Changes to precipitation frequency and intensity, as predicted by current climate models, are likely to affect bloom development and composition through changes in nutrient fluxes and water column mixing. However, few studies have directly documented the effects of extreme precipitation events on cyanobacterial composition, biomass, and toxin production. We tracked changes in a eutrophic reservoir following an extreme precipitation event, describing an atypically early toxin-producing cyanobacterial bloom, successional progression of the phytoplankton community, toxins, and geochemistry. An increase in bioavailable phosphorus by more than 27-fold in surface waters preceded notable increases in Aphanizomenon flos-aquae throughout the reservoir approximately 2 weeks post flood and ~5 weeks before blooms typically occur. Anabaenopeptin-A and three microcystin congeners (microcystin-LR, -YR, and -RR) were detected at varying levels across sites during the bloom period, which lasted between 3 and 5 weeks. Synthesis and applications: These findings suggest extreme rainfall can trigger early cyanobacterial bloom initiation, effectively elongating the bloom season period of potential toxicity. However, effects will vary depending on factors including the timing of rainfall and reservoir physical structure. In contrast to the effects of early season extreme rainfall, a mid-summer runoff event appeared to help mitigate the bloom in some areas of the reservoir by increasing flushing.


We set out to investigate whether neckties worn by doctors are more likely to be contaminated with Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) compared to neckties worn by preclinical medical undergraduates who have never been exposed to a hospital environment. We discovered that more than half (52%) of neckties worn by doctors were contaminated with Staphylococcus and out of these, 62% of them were identified as MRSA. In contrast, none of the student's ties were contaminated with MRSA. Due to the high prevalence of staphylococcus detected on doctors' neckties, we recommend that health care workers do not wear neckties.


The present situation of parasitic zoonoses in Japan is reviewed. A total of 51 species, i.e., 6 species of protozoan parasites, 14 species of trematode parasites, 11 species of cestode parasites, 18 species of nematode parasites and 2 species of acanthocephalan parasites are potential zoonotic parasites. Most (11 species) of the zoonotic nematodes provoke larva migrans. Habitats of zoonotic parasites vary greatly depending upon individual species. Some parasites cause heterotopic parasitism (e.g., Paragonimus westermani) and metastasis (Entamoeba histolytica). In larva migrans, parasites migrate through various parts of body tissues, affecting multiple organs (gnathostomiasis and sparganosis mansoni). The majority of parasitic zoonoses are food-borne infections. Some of them are an arthropod-borne (or -mediated) infection (dirofilariasis, thelaziasis and moniliformiasis), or acquired by percutaneous infection with cercariae (schistosome cercarial dermatitis) or 3rd-stage infective larvae (hookworm diseases). The diagnosis of parasitic zoonoses, especially larva migrans, is difficult; although some unique clinical symptoms and the presence of eosinophilia and/or increased level of serum IgE antibody are frequently seen in larva migrans, the application of various immunodiagnostic methods is usually required. For the prevention and control of parasitic zoonoses, the ingestion of not only strange food (e.g., snakes, frogs, slugs, etc.) but also raw fish and cuttlefish (sashimi) must be prohibited. Fishes and the meat of wild animals (e.g., bear and wild boar) should be frozen or thoroughly cooked before eating. Pets and domestic animals play an important role as a direct or indirect source of infection with various parasitic zoonoses. The treatment of those animals and/or the eradication of intermediate hosts (or vectors) of the parasites are thus required.


Spatial models have been used in many fields of science where the data are collected in different locations, i.e. each observation is associated to a point in space. In particular, the analysis of spatial dispersion of the risk of occurrence of a certain event is in general performed via maps of incidence, where a set of areas is shaded according to the values of a variable of interest. The goal of this mapping is to infer the geographic distribution of the rates thus identifying areas of higher or lower incidence. In this work, maps of incidence rates will be constructed using a Bayesian approach. In particular, situations where the geographic units have small populations will be studied. The variability of the rates due to the differences among areas of underlying risk is separated from that due to random fluctuations via appropriate prior distributions. Some combinations of covariates will also be evaluated in order to check for possible influence of social factors on the incidence rates. The risks will be estimated via Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods and we select the most appropriate model among those analised via the Deviance information criterion (DIC). Key-words: Spatial analysis, Bayesian inference, MCMC, WinBUGS, Gibbs sampler, conditionally autoregressive models.


In this study, the performance of a high-frequency arc welding machine including a two-switch inverter is analyzed. The control of the system is achieved using two different control techniques ifuzzy logic control (FLC) iistate space averaging based sliding control. Fuzzy logic control does not need accurate mathematical model of a plant and can be used in nonlinear applications. The second method needs the mathematical model of the system. In this method the state space equations of the system are derived for two different "on" and "off" states of the switches. The derived state equations are combined with the sliding control rule considering the duty-cycle of the converter. The performance of the system is analyzed by simulating the system using SIMULINK tool box of MATLAB. The simulation results show that fuzzy logic controller is more robust and less sensitive to parameter variations. Keywords— Fuzzy logic, arc welding, sliding state space control, PWM, current control.


This study analyzes the border disputes of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, respectively. Both settled and unsettled disputes are encompassed. The study outlines the settlements reached and the remaining unsettled disputes. Furthermore, the broader trends in managing the border disputes are analyzed and remaining challenges, both in implementing agreements and in managing the unsettled disputes, are addressed. So are the implications for regional conflict management. The study displays that both Laos and Vietnam have made considerable progress in both managing and settling their existing border disputes, whereas Cambodia has thus far been less successful.


Dams are a conservation threat because they function as barriers to native fish movement; however, they may prevent the spread of invasive species. Invasive bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem and are advancing towards Lake Michigan via the Illinois River. Navigation dams on the Illinois River may deter bigheaded carps' upstream movement. We investigated the permeability of the Starved Rock Lock and Dam (SRLD), the most downstream gated Illinois River dam, to bigheaded carps' migration by examining the timing of individuals approaching and passing through SRLD in relation to gate openness, tailwater elevation, and water temperature. Using acoustic telemetry of (N = ~104 per year) tagged fish, 13 upstream passages of bigheaded carps occurred through SRLD between 2013 and 2016. Eleven passages occurred through the dam gates and 2 through the lock chamber, indicating deterrents (e.g., CO2) placed in SRLD lock chamber may only limit passage of a small proportion of all fish passing through the lock‐and‐dam structure. Passages were documented only in 2013 and 2015. Most of the dam gate passages occurred during high water when gates were completely out of the water. Timing of bigheaded carps approaching SRLD was positively correlated with rising water temperature and high tailwater elevation, and all fish approached during late March through mid‐September. Movement through dams is rare; modifying gate operations to reduce gate openness during late spring and summer could further reduce the permeability of gated dams such as SRLD to bigheaded carps, slowing their upstream advance.


Suboptimal hemodynamic performance, tissue calcification, and limitation in long-term durability have been encountered clinically after aortic valve replacement with currently available bioprostheses. It is believed that some of these problems may be caused, directly or indirectly, by the stents of the bioprostheses. To address these deficiencies, the authors undertook the development of the Edwards Prima Stentless Bioprosthesis. This study was designed to evaluate the hemodynamic performance of the Edwards Prima Stentless Bioprosthesis in a pulse duplicator system. The stented Carpentier-Edwards Porcine Bioprosthesis (Baxter Healthcare Corp., Irvine, CA), which has been used in United States clinics for more than 10 years, was used as a control device. The flow fields in the vicinity of the test bioprostheses were inspected with color Doppler flow mapping. The transvalvular pressure gradients were measured invasively with a catheter and calculated with the Doppler determined velocity using a simplified Bernoulli equation. Additionally, the leakage volumes were determined with an electromagnetic flowmeter. In the Doppler flow mapping study, during systole, a central flow was observed distal to the stentless and stented bioprostheses. The central flow distal to the stentless bioprosthesis was broader than that observed distal to its stented counterpart. During diastole, no regurgitation was detected by color Doppler flow mapping in either the stentless or stented groups. The Doppler determined transvalvular pressure gradients correlated well with those measured by catheter (r = 0.990). Moreover, it was learned that the transvalvular pressure gradients of the stentless bioprosthesis were less than those of its stented counterpart, especially for the smaller sizes. The leakage volumes determined by the electromagnetic flowmeter were minimal for both the stentless and stented bioprostheses. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that the hemodynamic performance of the Edwards Prima Stentless Bioprosthesis was superior to that of its stented counterpart, particularly in the smaller sizes.


Stein and Leventhal are regarded to have been the first investigators of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); however, in 1721 Vallisneri, an Italian scientist, described a married, infertile woman with shiny ovaries with a white surface, and the size of pigeon eggs. It was not until the early 1990s at a National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored conference on PCOS that formal diagnostic criteria were proposed and afterwards largely utilized. Many scientists tried to explain the pathophysiology of PCOS and many studies were made. It is now accepted that it is multifactorial, partly genetic; however, a number of candidate genes have been postulated. Insulin resistance has been noted consistently among many women with PCOS, especially in those with hyperandrogenism, but it is not included in any of the diagnostic criteria. Now there is strong evidence that cardiovascular disease risk factors and disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism are all increased in patients with PCOS compared to the healthy population. The criteria established by a group of experts during a conference in Rotterdam held in 2003 are obligatory (The Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM - Sponsored PCOS Consensus Workshop Group). The subsequent "Rotterdam criteria" incorporated the size and morphology, as determined by an ultrasound, of the ovary into the diagnostic criteria.


The main motivation for developing the MetaRing architecture was to increase the throughput of a ring-based local area network beyond its single link capacity by means of spatial bandwidth reuse. We describe and evaluate a protocol for integrating two types of traffic on the MetaRing architecture. Synchronous (reserved or real-time) traffic which is periodic and requires a connection set-up and will have guaranteed bandwidth and bounded delay, and asynchronous or bursty traffic with no real-time constraints that can use the remainder of the bandwidth in a fair manner. The integration mechanism is functionally equivalent to the timed-token function in FDDI, which is a shared media ring protocol. Simulation results are also presented to show the effects of the fairness and flow control signals on the performance of the network.


For a child in the great city of Venice in the thirteenth century, there could be nothing better than the stories of sailors. There were stories of strange animals, wonderful cities, sweet spices, and terrible wild deserts where a traveller could die. One young boy listened, waited, and dreamed. Perhaps one day his father and uncle would return. Perhaps he too could travel with them to great markets in faraway places. For young Marco Polo, later the greatest traveller of his time, a dangerous, exciting world was waiting...


Did towns return to early medieval Europe through political leadership or economic expansion? This paper turns the spotlight on a particular group of actors, the long-distance traders, and finds that they stimulated proto-towns of a special kind among the Vikings. While social and economic changes, and aristocratic advantage, were widespread, it was the largely self-directed actions of these intrepid merchants which created what the author calls 'the nodal points.' One can think of many other periods and parts of the world in which this type of non-political initiative may well have proved pivotal.


We investigate experimentally the performance of 42.7-Gb/s return-to-zero (RZ) differential quadrature phase-shift-keyed (DQPSK) channels in a dense wavelength-division-multiplexed transmission system having 10.7-Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) on-off keyed (OOK) channels. Cross-phase modulation (XPM) from the OOK channels is found to be a dominating nonlinear penalty source for copropagating DQPSK channels in a dispersion-managed transmission link with multiple standard single-mode fiber spans. It is also found that the XPM penalty strongly depends on channel occupancy and residual dispersion per span (RDPS). Large RDPS effectively mitigates XPM even for the worst-case occupancy where a 42.7-Gb/s RZ-DQPSK channel is amidst several 10.7-Gb/s NRZ-OOK channels on a 50-GHz channel grid.


Abstract Background Despite their large size, striking colouration and genital extravagance, the taxonomy of the European giant keelback slugs of the genus Limax is still poorly understood. Preliminary morphological and molecular data suggest that many unnamed or unrecognised species exist, especially in the Alps, the Mediterranean and the Balkans. New information We organised a citizen science expedition to Durmitor National Park in Montenegro and discovered a new species, genetically distinct, but morphologically similar to the sympatric L.cinereoniger Wolf 1803 and describe it as L.pseudocinereoniger.


Includes excerpts from the draft International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families, under consideration by the UN General Assembly.


A problem-based learning approach was chosen for a new senior elective in microsystems. The problem posed to the students was to design microrobots suitable for the new ldquonanogram leaguerdquo of the international RoboCup competition, which challenges teams of students and researchers to construct microscopic untethered robots that will compete against each other in soccer-related agility drills on a 2.5 mm by 2.5 mm playing field. The approach was shown to increase student interest and motivation. The course was considered a success and will be repeated with some modifications to increase the breadth of the course coverage.


Background: Peripartum depression (PPD) is identified globally as a major maternal morbidity. Stigma and underlying perceptions such as perceived threat which includes perceived severity and perceived susceptibility regarding PPD can interfere with timely identification, help seeking and, treatment acceptance, hindering efforts to control maternal mortality and morbidity due to this disease.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among pregnant women with a period of gestation more than 12 weeks attending field antenatal clinics in Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka. Multistage cluster sampling with probability proportionate to size was used for sampling. Self-completed questionnaire with a vignette describing a postpartum mother with symptoms of peripartum depression (part A) and accompanied suicidal ideation (part B) was given to participants. Based on the vignette, agreement on stigma and perception statements were marked in a five point likert scale. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on stigma statements. Including the factor scores, agreement to perception statements and selected socio-demographic variables, a logistic regression model was run to explain the perceived susceptibility.Results: Out of the 624 participants, 60.7% (n-379) perceived that they are not susceptible to develop a mental health problem during antenatal or postnatal period of the pregnancy. Though 86.2 % (n-525) had heard about PPD, its symptoms and even suicidal ideation were normalized by 55.9% (n-260) and 49.5% (n-280) of participants respectively. About 79.1% (n-468) thought that symptoms would resolve without treatment. By exploratory factor analysis on stigma statements (c2 80.376, p<.001), a two factor solution was achieved. Factors were interpreted as judgmental and nonjudgmental stigma. Mainly nonjudgmental stigma was evident among participants. Direct logistic regression for predicting the perceiving personal susceptibility to a perinatal mental illness (2 =31.474, p= 0.017, N = 329) revealed that only factor score for nonjudgmental stigma became statistically significant in the model (OR -0.691 p=0.029).Conclusion: Perceived threat from symptoms of peripartum depression and even suicidal ideation is low in this community. Presence of nonjudgmental stigma in this community also shows the need for social interventions to address these issues related to PPD and related morbidities.


The development of autonomy is one of the developmental tasks young adults are faced with, but for young adults with Down syndrome this presents an additional challenge. Rachels and Ruddick (1989) define autonomy as an important component of life from various viewpoints, which also applies to young adults with DS. They defend the opinion that freedom and autonomy are two important conditions for "someone to have their own life". "To have a life" means that individuals can autonomous plan their daily activities, choose their own circle of people to socialize with, in order to be satisfied and meet their own expectations. Experience has shown that young adults with DS are very much aware of these essential conditions for life and also use them to define their autonomy and freedom.

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the dimensions of autonomy in persons with DS. We were also interested in determining which protective factors affect the successful development of autonomy in young adults with DS and which risk factors hinder a more successful development of autonomy. Parallel to this, we studied the link between the protective and risk factors in different microsystems of persons with DS, as well as how a person with DS understands the influence of various factors on the development of autonomy. The purpose of this study was also to develop a typology of different types of autonomy in persons with DS. We used a qualitative method, which was carried out on the basis of an analysis of semi-structured interviews (multiple case study). We collected the data with semi-structured open interviews with persons with DS, their parents, with the key person and professional staff (four cases and eleven interviews conducted).

The results show that the maximum degree of autonomy can be observed in subjects with DS who are not included in an institution but are embedded in a wide social network of persons with a distinct development, and whom the parents allow to be adults to the optimum extent possible as they more or less successfully manage the risks of growing up autonomous. A lower degree of autonomy is observed in subjects with DS whose social network is restricted to institutional staff and the persons living in the institution. Other important persons living with the person with DS and having an ambivalent attitude towards the potential abilities of individuals with DS are one of the obstacles in the development of autonomy.

The dissertation concludes with the suggestion that the studied protective and risk factors of persons with DS and the environment should contribute to further consideration on how to develop different contextual conditions for individuals with DS to enable them to develop more autonomy. This is among others important due to the increase in the age structure of individuals with DS as well as other persons with developmental disorders. Due to the extending life expectancy of people with developmental disorders, such persons need to be trained or prepared for an autonomous living, because they will among others outlive their parents or guardians.


A one-dimensional model for the transport of vitamin D(3) in an osteoblast cell is proposed, from its entry through the membrane to its activation of RANKL synthesis in the nucleus. In the membrane and cytoplasm, the transport of D(3) and RANKL is described by a diffusion process, while their interaction in the nucleus is modeled by a reaction-diffusion process. For the latter, an integral equation involving the boundary conditions, as well as an asymptotic solution in the regime of small concentrations, are derived. Numerical simulations are also performed to investigate the kinetics of D(3) and RANKL through the entire cell. Comparison between the asymptotics and numerics in the nucleus shows an excellent agreement. To our knowledge, this is the first time, albeit using a simple model, a description of the complete passage of D(3) through the cell membrane, the cytoplasm, into the cell nucleus, and finally the production of RANKL with its passage to the exterior of the cell, has been modeled.


We consider a simple two-country model, where each country produces a consumption good from a single input. Production takes time, and the model is considered over two consecutive periods. There are three categories of economic agents, namely factor owners, entrepreneurs, and financial intermediaries. The latter offers credits to entrepreneurs and are funded by sale internationally transferable bonds. We assume that the national credit markets are monopolistic but that other markets are competitive. Exchange rate policy is introduced in two different ways, either as a market intervention by a government, sustained by intervention in the commodity market, and, more realistically, as a policy commitment by the monetary authorities, which in equilibrium is taken into consideration by the financial intermediary. The results of the simple model show that an increase in the value of the domestic currency from an equilibrium position will in most cases decrease aggregate welfare of the country, but it will improve welfare of the financial intermediaries. Thus, in the simple framework of our model, a specific sector – and one with a considerable influence on policy choices – stands to gain from this exchange rate policy.