Abstract. Fifty-six years (1961–2016) of daily surface downward solar irradiation, sunshine duration, diurnal temperature range and the fraction of the sky covered by clouds in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were analyzed. The main purpose was to contribute to the characterization and understanding of the dimming and brightening effects on solar global radiation in this part of South America. As observed in most of the previous studies worldwide, in this study, during the period between 1961 up to the early 1980's, more specifically up to 1983, a negative trend in surface solar irradiation was detected in Sao Paulo, characterizing the occurrence of a dimming effect. A similar behavior, a negative trend, was also observed for sunshine duration and the diurnal temperature range, the three variables in opposition to the trend in the sky cover fraction. However, a brightening effect, as observed in western industrialized countries in more recent years, was not observed. Instead, for surface downward irradiation, the negative trend persisted and still in consonance to the cloud cover fraction increasing trend. The trends for sunshine duration and the diurnal temperature range, by contrast, changed signal. Some possible causes for the discrepancy were discussed, such as the frequency of fog occurrence, urban heat island effects, aerosol changes and greenhouse gas concentration increase. Future studies on aerosol effect are encouraged, particularly with higher temporal resolution as well as modeling studies, to better analyze the contribution of each possible causes.


Accelerated by the rapid advancements of our understanding of the molecular and cellular pathology of diseases and of the components and mechanisms of cellular and humoral immune responses, new vaccination strategies are being developed and explored for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, cancer, autoimmune disorders and allergies. Many newly developed vaccination strategies are already in clinical trials, some with very promising results. Although most of these strategies are still at very early stages of their development, it is foreseeable that vaccination will evolve to play an important role in prevention, treatment and management of all the above classes of diseases.


A critical decision in the mammalian cell cycle is whether to pass through the restriction point (R-point) or enter the cell cycle. In this letter, we modeled the decision-making system of the mammalian cell cycle entry and the simulated circadian regulation of the R-point driven by external epithelial growth factor (EGF) patterns. Our conceptual model replicated key signaling behaviors observed experimentally, suggesting that the proposed network captured the essential system features. The model revealed the dramatic importance of the EGF dynamics on promoting cell proliferation, showed that the EGF signal duration was more important than the signal strength for driving cells past the R-point, and suggested that the loss of circadian control of the cell cycle entry could be associated with cancer development.


One dimensional Bi2S3 nanorods have been successfully synthesized by a very simple reflux method with different precursor concentration for 2 hours at 180 �C. The as-synthesized Bi2S3 powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM), high resolution transmission microscope (HRTEM), UV-Vis spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the resulting nanocrystals have an orthorhombic structure. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate a polycrystalline nature and the crystallite sizes seem increase with increase in the concentration. The HRSEM and HRTEM images reveal that the diameter of the nanorods increase with increasing concentration of the precursor. Morphological analysis reveals that the as-prepared Bi2S3 nanorods can be tuned to morphology by varying precursor concentration from 0.01 M to 0.001 M. The bismuth nitrate, which is known to be a linear polymer, plays a critical role as a precursor and a template for the growth of uniform Bi2S3 nanorods. Bi2S3 nanorods are good absorbents of solar radiation and hence can be used in solar cells.


We report the stereoselective copolymerization of amino-functionalized styrenic monomers, including p-N,N-dimethylaminostyrene (DMAS), p-N,N-diethylaminostyrene (DEAS) and p-N,N-diphenylaminostyrene (DPAS) with butadiene (BD) using a half-sandwich scandium catalyst system (C5Me4SiMe3)Sc(CH2C6H4NMe2-o)2/[Ph3C][B(C6F5)4]. The chain-transfer reaction was efficiently inhibited with the growing steric hindrance of the amino groups. The stereoregular multiblock DEAS-BD and diblock DPAS-BD copolymers were generated with adjustable polymer compositions, controllable molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions.


The most popular and most complete desktop reference book on Mac OS X now covers Tiger! Apple's Mac OS X operating system continues to capture the attention of consumers and programmers alike with its ability to run older Mac programs, classic Unix applications, and innovative open source software. And the latest and greatest version, Mac OS X 10.4--otherwise known as "Tiger"--is more powerful and versatile (not to mention easier to use, faster, and better looking) than ever before. With unparalleled, up-to-the-minute detail on Tiger, Mac OS X Tiger in a Nutshell is loaded with new and updated material on practically every page. Sure, Mac OS X Tiger in a Nutshell covers all the essentials and most-talked-about new features of Tiger, including big-ticket items such as Spotlight for effortless searching, iChat AV for video conferencing, and Dashboard for one-click access to a calculator, weather reports, stock prices, flight times, and more. But this fully updated edition also covers the hundreds of nips and tucks Tiger made to its underlying technologies and existing applications, including improvements to graphics and the Unix-based core and an easy way to automate time-consuming, repetitive manual or batch tasks. Mac OS X Tiger in a Nutshell offers a wealth of detail about the new user-interface elements, system and network administration, and scripting and development. It covers enhancements to the Finder, Safari RSS, Mail 2, and System Preferences. This indispensable guide also includes the most complete Unix command reference found in print--each command and option has been painstakingly tested and checked against Tiger. Even the manpages that ship with the system can't compete in accuracy! For longtime Mac loyalists as well as recent converts, for consumers, developers and programmers, this fully updated edition provides the perfect overview of Mac OS X and all the nitty-gritty hints and how-tos you need to make it your all-purpose, must-have Tiger guide.


Four squirrel monkeys were first exposed to a sequence of procedures that reliably generate responding maintained by brief response-contingent electric shocks arranged according to a fixed-interval schedule. After responding had become stable on the fixed-interval schedule, additional contingencies were added in tandem, whereby after completion of the interval, the spacing of responses affected shock delivery. In one procedure, responses had to be spaced more widely than their previous median value if shock were to be delivered. In the other procedure, responses had to be spaced more closely to produce shock. On the first of these procedures, decreased but stable responses rates would indicate that shock functioned as a positive reinforcer; on the second, increased response rates would indicate the positively reinforcing function. Instead, response rates accelerated on the procedure that targeted more widely spaced responses for shock delivery, and decelerated or ceased on the procedure that arranged for shocks to be produced by more closely spaced responses. Consistent with other recent findings, these results question the interpretation of performances maintained by response-contingent shock as engendered by positive reinforcement and are consistent with aversive-control interpretations. The details of that aversive control are not entirely clear, however, and these same procedures would be informative if applied to shock-maintained behavior that is generated in other ways.


Fibrocalculous pancreatitis diabetes (FCPD), a late stage of tropical chronic pancreatitis (TCP), is classified as a secondary cause of diabetes mellitus resulting from pancreatic exocrine dysfunction. The distinctive features of FCPD and TCP are young age at onset, presence of large intraductal pancreatic calculi, and reported mainly in tropical developing countries. Their etiology is still obscure, but the autodigestion due to aberrant intraductal activation of zymogens by trypsin is thought to be a primary common event. Recently, mutations in SPINKI gene encoding a pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor have been reported in association with an increased risk of pancreatitis. We describe a heterozygous mutation, IVS3+2 T>C, of SPINK1 gene in a young Thai female patient with typical presentation of FCPD. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the SPINK1 gene mutation in a FCPD patient in Southeast Asia.


We argue for the application of bibliometric indices to quantify the intensity of competition in sports. The Euclidean index is proposed to reward quality over quantity, while the rectangle index can be an appropriate measure of core performance. Their differences are highlighted through an axiomatic analysis and several examples. Our approach also requires a weighting scheme that allows us to compare different positions. The methodology is illustrated by studying the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League in the 16 seasons played between 2003 and 2019: club and country performances as well as three types of competitive balance are considered. All results are remarkably robust concerning the bibliometric index and the assigned weights. Inequality has not increased among the elite clubs and between the countries, however, it has changed within some national associations.


Thin films of polymer blend electrolytes comprising Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and Poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) and plasticized with a combination of ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC) for different lithium imide salt, LiN(C 2 F 5 SO 3 ) 2 , concentrations were prepared using the solution casting technique. The films were subjected to a. c. impedance measurements as a function of temperature ranging from -30 °C to 70 °C. The variation of ionic conductivity as a function of temperature and PVC content in the blend was analysed. The role of PMMA in the phenomena occurring at the interface between the plasticized polymer electrolyte and lithium electrode was also studied. The cast films were also subjected to TG/DTA and FT-IR studies which are discussed.


An experimenter-administered intervention involving prompts, self-monitoring, permanent product collection, rewards for plaque reduction, and corrective feedback was used to improve the flossing skills of four 7- to 11-year-old children. Parents were subsequently trained in the reward and feedback procedures to facilitate maintenance. In a multiple baseline across subjects design, all four subjects showed improvement in plaque between teeth during experimenter-administered intervention. Three subjects maintained low plaque levels during the 3- to 4-month parent-administered rewards and feedback follow-up condition. Improved plaque levels on nontargeted tooth surfaces also were observed. Pediatric dentistry applications are discussed.


Cloud computing offers numerous benefits including scalability, availability and many services. But with its wide acceptance all over the globe, new risks and vulnerabilities have appeared too. Cloud computing supplies facility of storing and accessing understanding and programs over the web without bothering the storage space on procedure. Storing the data on cloud eliminates one's worries about space considerations, buying new storage equipment or managing their data, rather they are able to access their data any time from any place provided they have internet access. However, the rising security issues have resisted the companies from connecting with cloud computing fully. Hence security risks have appeared as the main disadvantage of cloud computing. This paper involves the efforts to research the security risk and then proposes a framework to address these risk on the authentication and storage level in cloud computing. While addressing the security issues the first and the foremost thing is to classify what data needs security and what data needn't bother with security and hence data gets classified into two classes sensitive and non-sensitive. To achieve data classification, a data classification approach based on the confidentiality of data is proposed in this paper. Following that an efficient security mechanism must be deployed by means of encryption, authentication, and authorization or by some enhanced means of security techniques to ensure the privacy of data on cloud storage.


This study had the aim of analyzing the relation between the use of sustainable management strategies and the export performance in manufacturing companies of the gems and jewelry industry. Sustainable strategies were analyzed from the adaptation of the strategic model of the American Battelle Institute, introduced by Placet, Anderson and Fowler (2005), which addresses the interaction of economic, social and environmental aspects with the perspective of innovation, and impacts on the company and on the society. The export performance was analyzed based on the adaptation of the model of Papadopoulos and Martin (2010), which develops and tests a formative measure of the export performance, and identifies and quantifies the relative contribution of its consequences to the economic and strategic dimensions. The research is characterized as descriptive and quantitative, and was conducted through a survey. Therefore, it was highlighted that the sustainability dimensions are related to the export performance of companies in the gems and jewelry industry. Thus, it was suggested that sustainable business strategies can substantially contribute to the export performance, through the guidance towards economic, social and environmental results to the organization and its stakeholders. Keywords: Sustainable strategies. Export performance. Gems and jewelry industry.


For head and neck cancer, a recent meta-analysis of published randomized trial results showed that concurrent chemoradiotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy may increase absolute survival by 12.1%, 6.5%, and 3.7%, respectively. Initial response rates to first line chemotherapy are high, but this responsiveness does not appear to translate into a survival benefit. Thus, chemotherapy can be indicated as the standard therapy for a very limited range of advanced head and neck cancers. With the aim of prolonging survival, N stage advanced nasopharyngeal cancer is a good candidate for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Among a large number of randomized trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, organ function preservation studies showed the possibility of laryngeal preservation for locally resectable T2 and T3 laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy may be indicated for advanced T stage head and neck cancers, especially those with locally unresectable lesions. For N stage advanced pharyngeal cancer patients, adjuvant chemotherapy with applied after the standard therapy has a role in the treatment. With palliative treatment in advanced and/or recurrent disease, there is less benefit from chemotherapy and indications for chemotherapy should be selected for individual patients.


Purpose: To formulate and characterize indomethacin (IM) microspheres prepared with sugar cane wax microsperes. Methods: Microspheres were prepared by melt-emulsified dispersion and cooling-induced solidification method. The microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differntial scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as for drug loading, and in vitro and in vivo release in albino sheeps. Results: SEM images showed that the microspheres were spherical in shape and more than 98.0 % of the isolated microspheres were in the size range 345 - 360 μm. The C max , T max , AUC O - 24 and T1/2 values were 2123 ± 30 ng/ml, 3.1 h, 9734 ± 126 ng/ml h−1, and 2.68 ± 0.03 h−1 for the reference product, Microcid® SR, and 1989 ± 26 ng/ml, 3.0 h, 8013 ± 79 ng/ml h −1 , and 2.79 ± 0.12 h −1 , respectively, for the test formulation. Conclusion: Based on this study, it can be concluded that the developed indomethacin-loaded wax microsheres and Microcid® SR capsule are bioequivalent in terms of rate and extent of absorption. Keywords: Indomethacin, Bioavailability, Controlled release Sugarcane wax, Release kinetics.


Improving low energy beam performance has been one of the most important technological challenges for ion implanters in order to maximize the throughput for shallow junction applications. Major difficulties in obtaining high current beams at low energy can be attributed to high beam divergence due to the intrinsic emittance growth and high space charge at the extraction region. This paper identifies the various problems associated with low energy beam extraction and transport and proposes possible solutions in terms of source plasma, extraction optics and magnetic field.


The safety climate is becoming more and more important in the processes of subway operation safety management due to various accidents. The research objective of this study is to explore the effects of safety climate and personal factors on safety behavior in subway operation. First, a conceptual model is developed based on the literature review and expert experience. Then, data are collected from 352 workers in the Xuzhou subway operation company by questionnaire survey. Third, the structural equation model is employed to do model analysis based on SPSS and AMOS, and the final model is achieved through a serious of model tests and modification. At last, the quantitative effect of safety climate on worker's safety behavior in subway operation is obtained and analyzed. The results show that the descending order of total influence effect of safety climate on safety behavior is safety attitude (0.36), safety communication (0.265), safety policy (0.238), safety education and training (0.1), management commitment (0.099), and safety participation (0.073), respectively. The total influence effects of mediator variables (safety awareness and safety ability) are 0.242 and 0.194, respectively. This study would be beneficial by offering recommendations in regard to worker's safety behavior to raise the safety level in subway operation.


Demographic data regarding users and items exist in most available recommender systems data sets. Still, there has been limited research involving such data. This work sets the foundations for a novel filtering technique which relies on information of that kind. It starts by providing a general, stepby-step description of an approach which combines demographic information with existing filtering algorithms, via a weighted sum, in order to generate more accurate predictions. I-Demog is presented as an application of that general approach specifically on Item-based Collaborative Filtering. Several experiments involving different settings of the proposed approach support its utility and prove that it shows enough promise in generating predictions of improved quality. keywords: collaborative filtering, memory-based filtering, demographic data, personalization, prediction, recommender systems


A case of primary hemangiosarcoma of right atrium was reported. The patient was 43 years old female. She had the symptoms of tamponade due to massive bloody pericardial effusion. Echocardiography, computed tomography, NMR imaging and angiography revealed the precise delineation and extension of tumor, and also allowed diagnosis of hemangiosarcoma. Extirpation of tumor was performed under the cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient was died 3 months later after the operation for liver metastasis. The bloody pericardial effusion seems to be an important symptom of the primary malignant cardiac tumor, and early and precise diagnosis may allow successful operation and long survival of the patients.


Rapeseed oil was stored under different conditions such as in the dark, with UV treatment, and with prooxidants- cytochrome C and copper ion. The rapeseed oils stored at different temperatures were analyzed by a mass spectrometry- based electronic nose and discriminant function analysis (DFA). Volatile components in the rapeseed oil increased with storage time, and the discriminant function first score (DF1) moved from a positive position to a negative position as storage time increased. Changes in DF1 were higher under UV treatment than under the dark condition (DF1: r 2 =0.9481, F=307.03). The different DF1 values (F1) under the dark condition were 0.099, 0.187, and 0.278 as storage temperature increased. The different values under UV treatment were 0.554, 0.588, and 0.542, as storage temperature increased from 4 to 26 o C. As concentrations of prooxidants copper ion and cytochrome C increased, amounts of volatile components also increased. These were confirmed by DFA. Furthermore, changes in responses at each ion fragment agreed with reported results for GC/MS, which formed after rancidity of the oil, including pentane, pentanal, 1-pentanol, hexanal, n-octane, 2- hexenal, heptanal, 2-heptenal, decane, 2-octenal, undecane, and dodecane.


This research aims to represent a conceptual model aimed at evaluating the performance of Value Engineering Workshops (VEWs) in Iranian construction projects, given contextual and special conditions of the country. For this purpose four steps were taken; 1-identification of performance criteria for value engineering in construction projects based on literature. 2-application of factor analysis for extraction of main criteria of the performance assessment and recognition of the performance assessment concepts. 3-use of AHP method for comparison of factors. 4-evaluation and ranking of three VEWs. Through a questionnaire and using factor analysis finally 5 constructs and 27 important measures for performance assessment of VEWs were identified. The second questionnaire was designed based on AHP method in order to prioritize 3 VEWs given the criteria identified in first phase of the research and also ranked the same constructs. 4 experts that were working in 3 workshops answered this questionnaire. The results of analyses through Expert choose software showed the order of prioritization of workshops as follows; workshop 3 ranked 1, workshop 2 ranked 2 and workshop 1 in 3 rd place. Based on the proposed model, performance evaluation can be done on staff and designers of VEWs and the most important factor affecting workshops can be identified and analyzed.


Background Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence remains persistently high in many settings, with new or expanded interventions required to achieve substantial reductions. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 071 (PopART) community-randomised trial randomised 14 communities to receive the "PopART" intervention during 2014 to 2017 (7 arm A and 7 arm B communities) and 7 communities to receive standard-of-care (arm C). The intervention was delivered door-to-door by community HIV care providers (CHiPs) and included universal HIV testing, facilitated linkage to HIV care at government health clinics, and systematic TB symptom screening. The Tuberculosis Reduction through Expanded Anti-retroviral Treatment and Screening (TREATS) study aimed to measure the impact of delivering the PopART intervention on TB outcomes, in communities with high HIV and TB prevalence. Methods and findings The study population of the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial included individuals aged ≥15 years living in 21 urban and peri-urban communities in Zambia and South Africa, with a total population of approximately 1 million and an adult HIV prevalence of around 15% at the time of the trial. Two sputum samples for TB testing were provided to CHiPs by individuals who reported ≥1 TB suggestive symptom (a cough for ≥2 weeks, unintentional weight loss ≥1.5 kg in the last month, or current night sweats) or that a household member was currently on TB treatment. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) was offered universally at clinics in arm A and according to local guidelines in arms B and C. The TREATS study was conducted in the same 21 communities as the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial between 2017 and 2022, and TB prevalence was a co-primary endpoint of the TREATS study. The primary comparison was between the PopART intervention (arms A and B combined) and the standard-of-care (arm C). During 2019 to 2021, a TB prevalence survey was conducted among randomly selected individuals aged ≥15 years (approximately 1,750 per community in arms A and B, approximately 3,500 in arm C). Participants were screened on TB symptoms and chest X-ray, with diagnostic testing using Xpert-Ultra followed by culture for individuals who screened positive. Sputum eligibility was determined by the presence of a cough for ≥2 weeks, or ≥2 of 5 "TB suggestive" symptoms (cough, weight loss for ≥4 weeks, night sweats, chest pain, and fever for ≥2 weeks), or chest X-ray CAD4TBv5 score ≥50, or no available X-ray results. TB prevalence was compared between trial arms using standard methods for cluster-randomised trials, with adjustment for age, sex, and HIV status, and multiple imputation was used for missing data on prevalent TB. Among 83,092 individuals who were eligible for the survey, 49,556 (59.6%) participated, 8,083 (16.3%) screened positive, 90.8% (7,336/8,083) provided 2 sputum samples for Xpert-Ultra testing, and 308 (4.2%) required culture confirmation. Overall, estimated TB prevalence was 0.92% (457/49,556). The geometric means of 7 community-level prevalence estimates were 0.91%, 0.70%, and 0.69% in arms A, B, and C, respectively, with no evidence of a difference comparing arms A and B combined with arm C (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.67, 1.95], p = 0.60). TB prevalence was higher among people living with HIV than HIV–negative individuals, with an age-sex-community adjusted odds ratio of 2.29 [95% CI 1.54, 3.41] in Zambian communities and 1.61 [95% CI 1.13, 2.30] in South African communities. The primary limitations are that the study was powered to detect only large reductions in TB prevalence in the intervention arm compared with standard-of-care, and the between-community variation in TB prevalence was larger than anticipated. Conclusions There was no evidence that the PopART intervention reduced TB prevalence. Systematic screening for TB that is based on symptom screening alone may not be sufficient to achieve a large reduction in TB prevalence over a period of several years. Including chest X-ray screening alongside TB symptom screening could substantially increase the sensitivity of systematic screening for TB. Trial registration The TREATS study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03739736 on November 14, 2018. The HPTN 071 (PopART) trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under number NCT01900977 on July 17, 2013.


Generally, the sinusoidal cavity dither is adopted to ring laser gyroscope for eliminating the lock-in which is non-linear effect at the small rotation input. Despite this method, there are some remained errors which are generated at the dither turnaround, and those errors produce random walk which is a general character of a ring laser gyroscope. As one of the numerous research results for compensating these errors, there is a special lock-in compensation method which is the method of error estimation and compensation by comparing the beat signal periods of before and after the dither turnarounds. In this paper, by ring laser gyroscope modeling and numerical analysis, we verified the theoretical validity and confirmed the effectiveness of this method in expectation of the possible beat signal measurement time resolution. As a result, we confirmed the random walk decreases from a-half to a-third by this lock-in compensation method. So, it is expected to be a remarkable method for reducing the INS alignment time.


—Halanay's inequality in its standard form is a widely used tool for the analysis of systems with delays and uncertainties, but the assumptions needed to use it are sometimes too restrictive to cover applications of interest. This paper provides new generalizations of Halanay's inequality where, instead of the usual supremum in the gain term in standard versions of Halanay's inequality, we use a weighted sum of suprema over different intervals. This allows us to derive sufficient conditions for asymptotic and input-to-state stability. We apply our results to linear systems with switched delays and other examples that illustrate how our results are less restrictive than those of other contributions available in the literature.


The number of parameters influencing the plasma spraying process is very high. Only a part of these parameters can be controlled online; some of them such as gas flows, current, voltage and spraying distance can be controlled easily, others such as particle temperature and velocity can only be controlled with substantially higher effort. As differences from parameter values preinstalled or given at the start of the process, the noise factors affect the coating properties in different ways and show big effects on the coating quality. Nevertheless there is only little knowledge about the significance of several noise factors and about the influence of small process parameter fluctuations on the coating properties. Because some of these noise factors such as plasma torch degradation cannot be avoided, the aim of this work is to determine the sets of coating parameters, where the influence of noise factors is minimized. This should be achieved by using online diagnostic tools, that afford the observation of fast and easy controllable process characteristics. On the other hand process errors shall be identified in an early process stage using appropriate diagnostic methods.


Next-generation industrial fiber lasers enable challenging applications that cannot be addressed with legacy fiber lasers. Key features of next-generation fiber lasers include robust back-reflection protection, high power stability, wide power tunability, high-speed modulation and waveform generation, and facile field serviceability. These capabilities are enabled by high-performance components, particularly pump diodes and optical fibers, and by advanced fiber laser designs. We summarize the performance and reliability of nLIGHT diodes, fibers, and next-generation industrial fiber lasers at power levels of 500 W – 8 kW. We show back-reflection studies with up to 1 kW of back-reflected power, power-stability measurements in cw and modulated operation exhibiting sub-1% stability over a 5 – 100% power range, and high-speed modulation (100 kHz) and waveform generation with a bandwidth 20x higher than standard fiber lasers. We show results from representative applications, including cutting and welding of highly reflective metals (Cu and Al) for production of Li-ion battery modules and processing of carbon fiber reinforced polymers.


In the study we explore the evolution of the job structure in the Russian economy during the first 20 years of this century. Does it change through a consequent substitution of relatively worst (in terms of quality) jobs by better jobs? Or through a destruction of middle quality jobs? Or do we observe stagnation and conservation of the job structure? Any structural change of this sort is usually triggered by technological progress that shapes demand for labor of different quality and complexity. In search for clues to these questions, the authors use large data sets which cover two sub-periods divided by the 2008—2009 crisis. The estimates presented in the paper allow reject the polarization hypothesis, and they document a fast upgrade of the job structure during the first sub-period and a much lower upgrade during the second one. Apparently, the risks of job polarization are likely to be minimal until the economic growth is recovered and the movement to the technological frontier is accelerated.


Abstract in Undetermined A common finding of 30–40 years of family migration studies worldwide is that such migration primarily benefits the careers of men in couples but generally damages the women's careers. Findings have recently become more nuanced as the research focus has broadened, hinting that families returning to one spouse's region of previous residence might deviate from this general observation of men as gainers. The present research demonstrates that when families migrate to regions where one spouse has previously lived, it is the female spouse who tends to return, the male spouse (and children, if any) accompanying her as a trailing spouse. This result also holds when restricting attention to those few families in which the female spouse experiences the greatest income increase by moving. There is no evidence of a tradeoff between returning to a region of previous residence and career development. The findings suggest that women compensate for the slighter economic gains with greater non-monetary gains. (Less)


Chemotherapists have been fascinated for a long time with phenomenon of anti–cancer drugs. This editorial generally associated with anti-cancer compounds, now extends equally well to medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry . Despite this continuing very frequent use in the scientific literature, anti–cancer drugs like many other and useful and popular chemical concepts is non–reductive and lacks an unambiguous basis. It has no precise quantitative definition and is not directly measureable experimentally. In other words, anti– cancer compounds are a virtual quantity, rather than a physical observable. Hence, the chemistry of anti–cancer drugs has been attractive to chemotherapists. In addition, the interest to the chemistry of nanoparticles is due to the fact that nanoparticles are important synthetic materials in the preparation of anti–cancer compounds.


With an ever increasing regulatory and financial emphasis on solid form screening in the pharmaceutical industry, a knowledge-based method has been developed to assess crystal stability based on hydrogen bonding. An application is illustrated for the polymorphic drug ritonavir (Norvir™). The method quickly suggests a real threat of polymorphism in this compound by quantifying the likelihood of competing H-bonds, and strongly supports the relative stability of form II over form I. For the first time, H-bond geometry data are also reported following structure redeterminations deposited recently in the Cambridge Structural Database. The method's speed and versatility are emphasized, facilitating future application in assisting solid form selection of a diverse range of compounds.


Piezoelectric-based vibration energy harvesting is of interest in a wide range of applications, and a number of harvesting schemes have been proposed and studied { primarily when operating under steady state conditions. However, energy harvesting behavior is rarely studied in systems with transient excitations. This paper will work to develop an understanding of this behavior within the context of a particular vibration reduction technique, resonance frequency detuning. Resonance frequency detuning provides a method of reducing mechanical response at structural resonances as the excitation frequency sweeps through a given range. This technique relies on switching the stiffness state of a structure at optimal times to detune its resonance frequency from that of the excitation. This paper examines how this optimal switch may be triggered in terms of the energy harvested, developing a normalized optimal switch energy that is independent of the open- and short-circuit resistances. Here the open- and short-circuit shunt resistances refer to imposed conditions that approximate the open- and short-circuit conditions, via high and low resistance shunts. These conditions are practically necessary to harvest the small amounts of power needed to switch stiffness states, as open-circuit and closed-circuit refer to infinite resistance and zero resistance, respectively, and therefore no energy passes through the harvesting circuit. The limiting stiffness states are then defined by these open- and short-circuit resistances. The optimal switch energy is studied over a range of sweep rates, damping ratios, and coupling coefficients; it is found to increase with the coupling coefficient and decrease as the sweep rate and damping ratio increase, behavior which is intuitive. Higher coupling means more energy is converted by the piezoelectric material, and therefore more energy is harvested in a given time; an increased sweep rate means resonance is reached sooner, and there will less time to harvest before the switch occurs; finally, increased damping nominally reduces the response of the system, therefore less mechanical energy is present and less energy will be harvested.


Atypical femoral fractures occur at the subtrochanteric or diaphyseal area, unlike typical hip fractures. Characteristics of atypical femoral fractures include their location in the subtrochanteric region and the femoral shaft, transverse or short oblique orientation, minimal or no associated trauma, a medial spike when the fracture is complete, and absence of comminution. The incidence of atypical femoral fracture is very low, and several studies have reported statistically significant association of long-term bisphosphonate therapy with atypical femoral shaft fractures; however, this has not been proven. We review the epidemiology and clinical features of atypical femoral fracture in the literature, and also discuss the association between atypical femoral fracture and long-term use of bisphosphonate.


The effectiveness of non-drug interventions within the health care as well as the most effective means of inducing lifestyle modification are reviewed on the basis of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Health care is not the right place for intervening in the lifestyles of healthy people, but among those at risk or already affected with a disease significant effects can be achieved with relatively minor measures. Motivational interviewing is effective in view of the minor effort required. It suits for most patients and all lifestyles. Follow-up and provision of feedback as part of routine consultations will increase the effectiveness.


Apparel sector has a significant market structure which is affected from economical developments as well as changes rapidly. Then, fast fashion is especially for the recent 10 years has increased its effect on apparel sector. It started to be evaluated as a differentiation strategy and a business model applied by firms in order to create competitive advantage. It is obviously seen that in the structural processes and retail networks of brand marks, which are adopting fast fashion, significant changes are being noticed. In our country, Turkey, there are specific brands coming out by their fast fashion strategies. In this research, four Turkish brand marks, applying fast fashion retailing strategy, are investigated. Fast fashion business models in all processes; design, product development, supply chain, information systems, store operations are looked over relatively and Turkish apparel retailing has reviewed.


This article analyzes the import of consumer goods, social environment and the local ports, as elements that formed part of the merchant circuit in Santander, Colombia, between 1870 and 1900. First, examines the commercial movement between major foreign ports and the local Colombian ports. In second place are studied various forms of association adopted by the leading importers to venture into foreign trade. Finally, listed goods and luxury goods, introduced by these importers, and their incorporation into the various social groups are indicated. Employed sources are notarial protocols, consulates and customs records, judicial funds, the departmental Gazettes and official newspapers.


Abstract : Satellites in orbit are subjected to severe environmental extremes and an ever increasing risk of collision with resident space objects. Sensors are becoming necessary to observe and measure the proximity of a satellite to determine the risks posed from kinetically approaching manmade and natural hazards. Space offers a near-perfect vacuum to operate a passive or active sensor. Volume, mass and power on satellites is limited and risk management approaches tended to remove such sensors from satellite systems. However, with newer system engineering approaches, the traditional sensors used for navigation and measurement can be used to sense the environment for hazards. A few examples are developed to illustrate the approach to multiple usage sensors and the potential for obtaining more information from previously single function device.


There is considerable interest in assessing the role of genetic factors in the aetiology of addiction. This paper reviews the possible contribution of a new quantitative technique, termed DF analysis after its originators DeFries & Fulker. DF analysis provides a way of examining whether aetiological factors relating to addiction as a discrete disorder (manifest as extreme scores on a diagnostic instrument) are similar to or different from those that relate to it as a continuum. For example, it is possible to estimate the contribution of familial factors to the development of a clinical condition defined in terms of an extreme score on an instrument by examining the extent of regression towards the unselected population mean of siblings' scores on that instrument. At the same time it is possible to estimate familial influences on the full range of values by examining the correlation between the scores of siblings. Insofar as the two methods produce different estimates, it is possible to infer different levels of involvement of familial factors for extreme cases than for the continuum as a whole. Information provided by such analyses could be critical when constructing models of addictive disorders and help direct more specific studies isolating particular mechanisms.


Thirty years ago, my cervical smear result came back positive. Shaken, nervous, confused, I did what anyone of that era would do – traipsed off to the nearest library for help. When none was forthcoming, I repaired to the nearest bookshop. And the next bookshop. And the next. I never did track down either the information that my conscious mind was seeking nor the advice, reassurance and support that I subconsciously longed for. (In the end, I gave up on finding a book that addressed my concerns and wrote my own.)

Thirty years later, I wouldn't need to wear out my shoe leather. Nowadays, thankfully, I would be able to type in the words 'positive smear' and 'cervical cancer' on my laptop and get everything I needed in terms of information and consolation within a few seconds and in the comfort of my own home.

It was the realisation of just how dramatically things have changed in this respect that has led me, in this Consumer Correspondent article, to profile the second biggest health website in the world, NHS Choices. Hundreds of thousands of pages, 50 different service directories, 20 000 articles, 10 million users each month – concrete proof of the seismic shift in global health resources that has occurred in my own lifetime.

NHS Choices' starting point was in 2007, with the realisation by those involved in British health care that even after decades of activity on the web, of well-meaning projects, of brave attempts at in-depth coverage, there was still no single, comprehensive health website that gave the searching patient information, advice, guidance and a chance to choose the best services and influence the development of those services.

The website arguably couldn't have been initiated previously. Not only was the technology not sufficiently advanced, not only were …


SIR,—In his reply to Dr. G. Slater's contribution to the discussion on his paper on " Intrusive Rocks of the Shelve Area " (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc, c, 1944, p. 164), Dr. F. G. H. Blyth mentions fig. 8 of The Welsh Borderland in support of his opinion that " it is unlikely that the summit of Corndon was covered by the Pleistocene ice ". In thus citing this figure Dr. Blyth gives it an authority it was not intended and does not deserve to bear. It was intended merely to illustrate, in a generalized and composite manner, the distribution of ice-sheets and trends of icemovement in the Welsh Border region. In compiling it I was largely dependent, for the area south of the Shrewsbury Sheet of the geological map, upon the paper by A. R. Dwerryhouse and A. A. Miller in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for 1930. This paper, unfortunately, was not accompanied by any map of the glacial deposits and, so far as I am aware, no such map of the country around Corndon has ever been published. This caveat, however, should not be taken as implying any disagreement with Dr. Blyth's opinion that the summit of Corndon was probably not covered by the ice. Even if it was covered at the maximum it must have become bare at a relatively early stage of the deglaciation, for the development of Marrington Dingle as a marginal channel shows that the whole " Shelve country " must have been ice-free when the Camlad and Severn valleys were still choked with ice. Incidentally, without implying any disparagement of the pioneer work of Dwerryhouse and Miller, a detailed study of the drifts of the Shelve country and of their relation to those of the Camlad, Marton, and Severn valleys, may be commended to glacial geologists as a piece of work likely to produce rewarding results.


OBJECTIVE
Resilience is the ability to cope and function despite adversity, such as a cancer diagnosis, and has been conceptualized as the other end of a distress-resilience continuum. There are known associations among resilience, distress, depression, and anxiety-yet the nature of the associations is not well characterized. Less is known about the relationship among these variables for caregivers. We examined these associations in a convenience sample from a clinical setting with these hypotheses: (a) patients and nondyadic caregivers will report elevated, comparable levels of distress, depression, and anxiety, and (b) resilience will moderate the effect of distress on depression and anxiety.

METHOD
Participants were patients with a cancer diagnosis (n = 328) and nondyadic caregivers (n = 169). Participants completed a demographic/clinical questionnaire and self-report measures (National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System anxiety and depression measures, and Brief Resilience Scale). The statistical plan for this cross-sectional study included moderation analyses and various tests of association.

RESULTS
Patients and caregivers reported comparable levels of resilience and elevated distress; patients exhibited more severe depression and anxiety. There was no evidence for a moderating effect of resilience. For both groups, the model of distress predicting depression/anxiety exhibited improved fit when including resilience. Distress and resilience share variance in the prediction of depression/anxiety among patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Distress, depression, and anxiety are common in patients with cancer but also in cancer caregivers. Resilience appears to be an important variable to consider alongside distress and may enhance our understanding of the relationships among distress and depression/anxiety, especially for individuals with cancer. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Absolute charge capture cross sections from laser excited rubidium Rydberg atoms have been measured for projectile velocities between 0.05 and 0.6 atomic units, and for projectile charges of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 40. The results are compared with predictions of the Bohr - Lindhard model and classical trajectory Monte Carlo calculations. The data are also presented in a Knudsen plot, which demonstrates a convenient scaling law based on the Bohr - Lindhard model.


SUMMARY Traditional oral anti-diabetic agents for the treatment of diabetes mellitus include the sulfonylureas, metformin, and the á-glucosidase inhibitors. Insulin has traditionally been used in various forms with an aim to mimic physiological insulin secretion patterns. Combinations of any of these treatment classes have also been utilized for their additive effects. All of these options have specific advantages and disadvantages, making them ideal for certain patients and less ideal for others. Each of these treatment classes is briefly discussed with respect to mechanisms of action, clinical efficacy, side-effects and current controversies associated with their use. Newer agents (such as the thiazolidinediones, newer insulin secretagogues, and insulin analogues) will be discussed elsewhere.


Similar traits and functions commonly evolve in nature. Here, we explore patterns of replicated evolution across the plant kingdom and discuss the processes responsible for such patterns. We begin this review by defining replicated evolution and the theoretical, genetic, and ecological concepts that help explain it. We then focus our attention on empirical cases of replicated evolution at the phenotypic and genotypic levels. We find that replication at the ecotype level is common, but evidence for repeated ecological speciation is surprisingly sparse. On the other hand, the replicated evolution of ecological strategies and physiological mechanisms across similar biomes appears to be pervasive. We conclude by highlighting where future efforts can help us bridge the understanding of replicated evolution across different levels of biological organization. Earth's landscape is diverse but also repeats itself. Organisms seem to have followed suit. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Plant Biology, Volume 74 is May 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


In this paper authors analysed change in fruit consumption, and their final products in our country. Regional and socio-economic aspects of the fruit consumption was analysed. Time period of analyses is 1996-2002. Consumption per households is object of research. Other forms of consumption «so cold» institutional consumption is not covered. According research we can notice, that consumption is slowly growing, but still is pretty down in comparased to optimal value. There are important differens in the level of consumption by regions and category of households, depends of the purshaning power.


Regular elections are now the norm across most of sub-Saharan Africa, but repeated elections have not guaranteed the consolidation of democracy. Election legitimacy is crucial for democratisation. When losing political actors and their supporters are not satisfied with the electoral process, there is potential for growing political tensions. Fraudulent or controversial elections fail to confer legitimacy on the winners, and undermine the integrity of elections and democracy. Drawing on Afrobarometer data and media accounts, this paper focuses on the most recent elections held in three southern African countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. We show that when citizens believe that elections were not free and fair, there is a decline in their satisfaction with democracy and the trust they have in institutions such as electoral commissions and courts of law. The absence of political reforms to address disputed election outcomes increases the likelihood that future elections will not be contested fairly. This sets countries on a path of democratic decline rather than consolidation.


This study combines new estimates of occupational mortality with industry death rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to test for compensating wages associated with job hazards. The new estimates apply to 347 three-digit occupations in the United States. An unexpected result emerges: Evidence for compensating wages is apparent only when the BLS industry death rates are used; evidence is absent with the new occupational death rates.


Abstract A great number of contemporary studies are incorporating explicit consideration of spatial effects in the estimation of hedonic price functions. At the most basic level, interactive spatial regime models are employed to detect the presence of spatial heterogeneity in datasets. A full-scale spatial analysis would include determination and adjustments for spatial lag and spatial error dependences. However, there is still plenty of room for future research to help unravel the numerous modelling and practical issues associated with a comprehensive spatial examination, such as the specification of the spatial dependence structure or functional 'neighbourhoods'. Another important issue relates to the use of spatial multipliers to filter spatial bias particularly in models which use log-transformed variables. Estimation of a hedonic price function using Malaysian dataset of agricultural land sale values indicates spatial disaggregation and spatial dependence. However, diagnostic tests and actual estimation of spatial models do not always provide unambiguous conclusions while predicted errors do not vary all that much from those generated by simpler models. Despite the conceptual appeal of spatial analyses, the inefficiency attributable to spatial biases may not be large enough to cause critical errors in policy decisions.


ABSTRACT This introduction traces the disappearance of Chinese family businesses from 1949 to 1978, their revival since then, and their future challenges. It then summarizes the three papers included in this Special Issue and proposes an agenda for family business studies in China. The article first focuses on the nonmarket social and political network strategies that these family-centered business organizations have had to adopt in order to overcome the difficulties they faced in accessing opportunities and resources as a result of Chinese culture's traditional low esteem for merchants and the government's continuing preference for a state-dominated economy. Family firms have so far been able to grow disproportionately rapidly in China's economy because, by leveraging the shared interests and dedication of immediate and extended family members, they have been able to achieve lower cost and higher efficiency, respond quickly to market changes, and expand social and political networks. These nonmarket strategies, however, also have a dark side. Furthermore, as the liberalization of China's economy deepens, competition must rely critically on market strategies such as innovation, alliances, and internationalization. The proposed research agenda addresses these future challenges as well as some research questions unique to Chinese family businesses.


When people engage with information, they are often in social groups. This applies, for example, in the case of museum visits, where people typically attend the museum and view the exhibits in small groups. This paper describes a proposed system GM, Group Modeller, which will create group models from a set of individual user models. We discuss the approaches and challenges in terms of common sub-models, collective models, group interaction models, and knowledge-based reasoning across models.


Betel quid chewing has been in practice among people in many Asian countries since ages. It is the most widely used psychoactive substance and an important environmental risk factor for development of oral premalignant lesions and cancer. Arecoline, the major alkaloid of areca nut, has been known to cause cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in mammalian cells in vivo and in vitro and even contributes to carcinogenicity. It also increases the risk and severity of periodontal disease. This paper presents a case of betel nut chewing associated with severe periodontitis in a 32 year old male patient. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v12i1.11990 Health Renaissance 2014;12(1):57-60


Background: Ischemic stroke is a time-dependent disease, with early diagnosis and interdisciplinary and coordinated management between pre-hospital and in-hospital being key to patient management. Interprofessional training has incorporated various teaching technologies, such as simulation with standardized patients, virtual simulators, and telephone applications for tracking clinical processes. There are few publications regarding the impact of multimodal and interprofessional training on initial stroke management. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact on confidence, perception of knowledge and satisfaction of the participants of a multimodal workshop for interprofessional training in the initial management of stroke.Methods: A workshop was organized with pre-hospital and intra-hospital interprofessional groups, based on standardized patient simulation, virtual simulation and a telephone application for tracking clinical processes. A questionnaire was applied to the 26 participants to investigate the level of satisfaction with the simulation and the telephone application. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: The response rate was 67% (17/26). 100% reported a self-perception of increased confidence in their stroke management abilities, 100% feel that debriefing instances favor their learning and 93.4% believed that an app contributes to the improvement of prehospital management of patients.Conclusions: The use of multimodal simulation tools and technologies for process monitoring fosters the learning process and confidence of trained personnel in the initial management of time-dependent diseases such as stroke.


C45 Background: The approval of molecular therapies to treat cancer is changing the design of Phase I trials. Along with toxicity, multiple pharmacodynamic endpoints are being tested to determine response, select the optimal population, and select the optimal biological dose. Biomarkers analyzed in Phase I trials may be later validated in Phase II trials. To further elucidate the role biomarkers have in current early clinical trials, we describe the biomarkers tested in Phase I/II trials of biological therapies performed at our institution in the past 3 years.
 Materials and Methods: We reviewed the protocols that involve molecular targeted therapies in monotherapy, in combination with chemotherapy, and in combination with other targeted drugs. Drugs were classified by their pharmacological features (e.g. small molecules, antibodies, immunoconjugates, and antisense oligonucleotides) and by the targeted pathway (e.g. angiogenesis, signal transduction, apoptosis, immunotherapy). Biomarkers were classified as well by type of biospecimen, technique that was used, and by mechanistic class. Results: From 102 trials, 61 protocols involved targeted therapies utilizing a total of 44 different drugs (80.3% in monotherapy, 19.7% in combination; 75.4% PhI, 4.9% PhI/II, 18% PhII, 1.6% PhIII) from 36 different sponsors. Twenty-eight percent of the protocols did not include pharmacodynamic markers. When requested, the most common specimens used for analysis were blood (65.9%), tissue (19.9%) and imaging devices (10.3%). Immunohistochemistry was the most used technique (30.8%) followed by high-throughput techniques (13.3%). Unclassifiable biomarkers were also very prevalent (15.1%). Out of the 46 different drugs reviewed, currently 34 have a recommended dose for Phase II (12 are ongoing). Only 1 study had the dose recommendation based on biomarkers.
 Conclusions: In phase I studies of targeted therapies, biomarker analysis is frequently incorporated. A variety of techniques, specimens and biomarkers were examined, and when stratified by the two most targeted pathways (angiogenesis and signal transduction) we found no significant consistency among similar drugs. In the current state of clinical trials, biomarkers are rarely used in establishing the recommended dose of targeted therapies.


ABSTRACT The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens has generated a requirement for new treatment options. Avibactam, a novel non-β-lactam–β-lactamase inhibitor, restores the activity of ceftazidime against Ambler class A, C, and some class D β-lactamase-producing strains of Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The in vitro activities of ceftazidime-avibactam versus comparators were evaluated against 1,440 clinical isolates obtained in a phase 3 clinical trial in patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01499290). Overall, in vitro activities were determined for 803 Enterobacteriaceae, 70 P. aeruginosa, 304 Gram-positive aerobic, and 255 anaerobic isolates obtained from 1,066 randomized patients at baseline. Susceptibility was determined by broth microdilution. The most commonly isolated Gram-negative, Gram-positive, and anaerobic pathogens were Escherichia coli (n = 549), Streptococcus anginosus (n = 130), and Bacteroides fragilis (n = 96), respectively. Ceftazidime-avibactam was highly active against isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, with an overall MIC90 of 0.25 mg/liter. In contrast, the MIC90 for ceftazidime alone was 32 mg/liter. The MIC90 value for ceftazidime-avibactam (4 mg/liter) was one dilution lower than that of ceftazidime alone (8 mg/liter) against isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The ceftazidime-avibactam MIC90 for 109 ceftazidime-nonsusceptible Enterobacteriaceae isolates was 2 mg/liter, and the MIC range for 6 ceftazidime-nonsusceptible P. aeruginosa isolates was 8 to 32 mg/liter. The MIC90 values were within the range of susceptibility for the study drugs permitted per the protocol in the phase 3 study to provide coverage for aerobic Gram-positive and anaerobic pathogens. These findings demonstrate the in vitro activity of ceftazidime-avibactam against bacterial pathogens commonly observed in cIAI patients, including ceftazidime-nonsusceptible Enterobacteriaceae. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT01499290.)


The purpose of the study was to reveal the effects of a new electropolishing process carried out under a constant magnetic field, termed as magnetoelectropolishing (MEP). In this work we investigated Nitinol rotary endodontic instruments by surface and morphology change after MEP. The MEP process greatly affects both surface also mechanical properties like the bending and fatigue resistance. The investigation covered surface interferometry measurements, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) studies, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDAX studies referred to two groups of endodontic instruments: ready-to-use or as-received (AR) files, and magnetoelectropolished (MEP) instruments, in comparison with the instruments surface after a conventional electropolishing (EP). The treated surfaces of NiTi endodontic files were studied by interferometric method in view of getting multiple surface characteristics, together with digital data concerning the arithmetic mean height Sa and the maximum height of scale limited surface Sz. The investigation results obtained have indicated a considerable improvement of MEP surface in comparison with both AR and EP surfaces. Such a surface after MEP reveals several positive features, decreased roughness, elimination of metallic state (here Ni and Ti elements) in the surface film, much enriched with titanium oxides and diminished nickel oxides. The study results show that the contents of Ni compounds is higher after EP (18.3%) than after MEP (10.2%), whereas the contents of Ti compounds is higher after MEP (83.4%) than after EP (76.6%). The total Ti/Ni ratio indicates almost double surpass of titanium over nickel in the surface film after MEP in comparison with the total amount of that ratio after EP. The qualitative investigation of fatigue tests have indicated much better performance of NiTi endodontic file samples after MEP than those related to AR and/or after EP. We have proved that the magnetoelectropolishing process may further modify surface. The following studies are to be directed onto performance and specific mechanical properties of the endodontic files at work.


In order to review the empirical literature on subjective probability encoding from a psychological and psychometric perspective, it is first suggested that the usual encoding techniques can be regarded as instances of the general methods used to scale psychological variables. It is then shown that well-established concepts and theories from measurement and psychometric theory can provide a general framework for evaluating and assessing subjective probability encoding. The actual review of the literature distinguishes between studies conducted with nonexperts and with experts. In the former class, findings related to the reliability, internal consistency, and external validity of the judgments are critically discussed. The latter class reviews work relevant to some of these characteristics separately for several fields of expertise. In die final section of the paper the results from these two classes of studies are summarized and related to a view of vague subjective probabilities. Problems deserving addi...


Normal cells become tumor cells through the deregulation of multiple pathways. Nevertheless, there are some pathways that are altered in many tumors and the pRb pathway is one of the most important. pRb controls the cell cycle through its interaction with E2F transcription factors. These interactions are regulated during the cell cycle by a phosphorylation mechanism. In early and mid-G1, the protein complex D type cyclins/CDK4(6) and in late G1, cyclins E(A)/CDK2, gradually phosporylate pRb. Hyper-phosphorylated pRb releases E2Fs transcription factors and allows for the expression of genes that mediate S phase entry. Ser or Thr followed by Pro are major phosphorylation motifs in the proteins but their significance was obscured until the discovery of the PIN1 protein (protein interacting with NIMA (never in mitosis A)-1). PIN1 has a two-domain structures that consist of an N-terminal WW and the C-terminal PPIase domain. The WW domain binds only to specific phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro-motifs and the PPIase isomerase domain catalyzes the conformational switch of target proteins from cis to trans. This reaction is especially important because Pro-directed kinases and phosphatases are conformation-specific and act only on the trans isoform. Many PIN1 protein targets have now been discovered, most of which are involved in the control of G0, G1/S and M cell cycle phases. For instance, PIN1 controls Cyclin D1 mRNA levels and it is involved in the regulation of CyclinD1, c-MYC and Cyclin E protein stability. In order to clarify the role of PIN1 in the RB/E2F pathway, we generated a PIN1 knock down (kd) glioblastoma cell line. PIN1 kd cells proliferate at 25% less compared to normal cells as determined by XTT assay. PIN1 kd cells have 7.1% more cells in the G0/G1 cell cycle phase than normal cells. Since siRNA targeting PIN1 in LNCaP and PC3 prostate cancer cells increased cellular senescence and apoptosis, we tested if it is the case in our cell line. Caspase and β-galactosidase assays exclude the involvement of these pathways. In line with previously published data, pRb is hypo-phosphorylated in PIN1 kd cells and mRNA and total protein level did not change. To clarify if the CDK/cyclin protein complexes were altered we analyzed the protein levels by western blot and found that CDK2, CDK4, cyclin A, E, D1 levels are unchanged. Based on these results, we hypothesized that PIN1 and pRb directly interact. GST pull-down, Co-IP and FAR-western blot experiments confirmed that the two proteins interact and treatment of total protein lysate with CIP alkaline phosphatase demonstrated that the interaction is phosphorylation dependent. Finally, PIN1/pRb double knockdown cells rescued the cell proliferation defects observed in PIN1 kd cells. In addition, some E2F target genes are downregulated in PIN1 kd cells suggesting that pRb is the major PIN1 target to control transition from the G1 to S phase of the cell cycle. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1072.


Differences among nations in political, social, economic, legal and regulatory regimes cause differences in prices across countries, which, in turn, create oppor tunities for arbitrage or 'parallel trade. 'As with any form of arbitrage, one effect of parallel trade is to diminish the price differentials that gave rise to the arbitrage opportunity. At least four market situations exist in which parallel trade may reduce welfare and weaken the intellectual property rights of innovators. In these settings, a policy that restricts either parallel trade or incentives for parallel trade yields net economic benefit to society. This paper summarizes these situations.


Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a highly lethal malignancy and is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Next generation sequencing efforts have revealed KRAS mutations occur in over 99% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas and are thought to be the initiating mutation for pancreatic cancer. Despite the high prevalence of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer patients, murine models expressing endogenous levels of mutant Kras in pancreatic cells do not develop PDAC. A number of publications have revealed that acinar cells are more sensitive to early neoplastic lesion formation in the presence of Kras mutations than ductal cells. In these models, a second genetic hit (loss of tumor suppressor TP53, SMAD4 or CDKN) is required for the development of invasive PDAC, including transforming pancreatic ductal cells. Recent data has revealed a novel role for high levels of Ras activity in acinar cells in the tranformation of this cell type to PDAC (Ji, B., 2009). We hypothesized based on other preliminary data that high levels of Ras activity would transform ductal cells. To test this hypothesis, we studied the role of constitutively active high levels of Kras activity in acinar and ductal cells by expressing an inducible KrasG12V allele in Ptf1a:CreERT2 (acinar cell specific) and Hnf1b:CreERT2 (ductal cell specific) mice. Similar to previously published work, high levels of Ras activity in acinar cells resulted in PDAC and a remarkably low survival time of 10 days after mice were injected with tamoxifen. Mice with elevated Ras activity in ductal cells needed to be euthanized two weeks after tamoxifen injection and manifested a cancer cachexic phenotype. Histological analysis of these mice revealed high grade oncocytic intraductal neoplasia and the phenotype extended throughout the pancreatobiliary ducts. Western blot analysis of human PDAC and Cholangiocarcinoma tissue revealed similar levels of Ras activity to our murine models, confirming human equivalent high Ras expression to both animal models. Oncocytic tumors are characterized by an abundance of mitochondria. Thus, we are currently studying metabolic alterations and mitochondria accumulation in ductal and acinar cells expressing high Ras activity. Our goal is to determine how mitochondrial alterations play a role in progression or inhibition of tumors in ductal vs acinar cells. Citation Format: Kanchan Singh, Melissa A. Pruski, Wasim A. Dar, Kishore Polireddy, John S. Bynon, Mamoun Younes, Anirban Maitra, Craig D. Logsdon, Jennifer M. Bailey. High Ras activity promotes neoplasia in pancreatic ductal cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1837. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1837


Among British mathematicians of the Victorian age there may be others who are comparable with Sylvester in terms of scientific achievement, but surely none whose life story makes such fascinating reading. Any modern biographical memoir of this extraordinary man must obviously depend a great deal on the obituaries published following his death, just a century ago. Of these the two most important are that by Baker, for the London Mathematical Society, and that by MacMahon, for the Royal Society. The former, which was reprinted in the fourth volume of Sylvester's Mathematical Papers, is the longer and more detailed, but the latter is the primary source for most of the biographical material. As the centenary approached there has been a rekindling of interest in Sylvester's life and work. Notably Professor Parshall, of the University of Virginia, is preparing a full–scale biography. Sylvester's contributions to mathematical research are undergoing something of a reevaluation at present, and what is said about them here is therefore kept to a minimum. The account of his life that follows is drawn from various sources both old and new.


the S.S., acted like desperadoes, while the Partisans were also threatening to setde old scores. Events were repeating themselves. The Bishops of the Lombard towns, long before the Investiture Struggle, had been forced to assume the civil authority because all the officials had fled from the invading Barbarians. So too in 1945, this very monkish and withdrawn man was regarded as the one firm point in the tempest, mediating between Mussolini and the Partisans, making representations to the Germans for the sake of prisoners and hostages; channelling to the Jews relief received from their co-religionists through Switzerland; most important of all, strengthening and encouraging the harassed population of the Lombard capital from his own inner resources. All those studies of the lives of St Gregory and St Ambrose, read aloud to his novices at pauses for rest during their walks in the Campagna, had left him in no doubt as to what he now had to do, and he proved himself more than adequate to the challenge, invisibilem tamquam videns sustinuit. D A N ΠL REES


Until recently, inhalational anthrax was considered an infectious disease curiosity for medical specialists and veterinarians. This attitude abruptly changed following the intentional release of Bacillus anthracis spores via the US Postal Service in October 2001. Because of its rarity, few physicians were familiar with its clinical manifestations, treatment and prophylaxis. In this report, we try to fill this informational gap by reviewing these issues based on additional data culled from this recent bioterrorism-related epidemic. Moreover, we have purposely emphasized its clinical manifestations, searching for common findings that may alert the physician to suspect and rapidly diagnose this infection. To improve survival rates, prompt diagnosis of inhalational anthrax is crucial, since even a brief delay in therapy of this fulminating infection almost uniformly results in death.


The aim of this research was to identify new ways of attracting and stimulating the body to maintain the motor capacity of operational personnel in professional structures for emergencies, namely military firefighters using the game of football. The experiment tookplace on duty and had as subjects about 40 military personnel, to which the tactics and technique specific to the game of football were applied. After completing the motor training performed and carried out on the synthetic sports field inside the unit, as well as when the weather conditions are unfavorable or in the cold season, respectively in the car garage, we can say that the staff on duty keeps theirs's motor capacity at the normal parameters for the successful completion of the missions entrusted to him through the game of football.


In low-income settings, the most critical piece of information for electric utilities is the anticipated consumption of a customer. Electricity consumption assessment is difficult to do in settings where a significant fraction of households do not yet have an electricity connection. In such settings the absolute levels of anticipated consumption can range from 5-100 kWh/month, leading to high variability amongst these customers. Precious resources are at stake if a significant fraction of low consumers are connected over those with higher consumption. This is the first study of it's kind in low-income settings that attempts to predict a building's consumption and not that of an aggregate administrative area. We train a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) over pre-electrification daytime satellite imagery with a sample of utility bills from 20,000 geo-referenced electricity customers in Kenya (0.01% of Kenya's residential customers). This is made possible with a two-stage approach that uses a novel building segmentation approach to leverage much larger volumes of no-cost satellite imagery to make the most of scarce and expensive customer data. Our method shows that competitive accuracies can be achieved at the building level, addressing the challenge of consumption variability. This work shows that the building's characteristics and it's surrounding context are both important in predicting consumption levels. We also evaluate the addition of lower resolution geospatial datasets into the training process, including nighttime lights and census-derived data. The results are already helping inform site selection and distribution-level planning, through granular predictions at the level of individual structures in Kenya and there is no reason this cannot be extended to other countries.


This article is the third in a series of three in-depth literature reviews on diabetes. The first article (Vol 12(18): 1091-5) detailed the history of diabetes from the first recorded mention of the disease in the Ebers papyrus through to the discovery of insulin. The second (Vol 12(19): 1137-41) dealt with the history of insulin over the past 80 years and the development of possible alternatives. This final article in the series details the new classifications for diabetes and addresses the aetiology, pathophysiology and complications of the disease. While discussing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the article concentrates on the newly defined type 1 diabetes mellitus. An examination of the recently released National Service Framework for Diabetes: Delivery Strategy (DoH, 2003) is included, healthcare provision is discussed, as is the role of the diabetes specialist nurse. An insight is given into the challenges and opportunities available for healthcare practitioners to work in partnership to reform the way in which diabetes services are managed.


The aim of this article is to discuss the changes that have been observed on the market of qualified coal fuels (the so-called eco-pea coal) over the last few years. These changes are related to the markets of both the producers and the products they offer. Qualified coal fuels are produced from selected lots of high-calorific coal. They are characterized by strictly defined repeatable physico-chemical parameters (low sulphur content, ash content, and agglomerating capacity) and they are dedicated for use in modern, low-emission retort boilers. On the basis of multiannual observations, five groups of producers of qualified coal fuels have been identified, broken down by the origin of utilized coal. Initially, the production of eco-pea coal in Poland was limited to domestic coal mining companies only. However, in response to the growing demand for these fuels, smaller businesses (mostly dedicated to trading coal from major coal mining companies) have also engaged in production of these fuels. A part of them started producing eco-pea coal under licenses from large coal mining companies, and some of them created their own blends as well. In the years 2007-2015, the whole hard coal mining industry's eco-coal production was in the range of 0.4-1.1 million t/year. In terms of calorific value, almost all of the producer groups mainly offer eco-pea coal with values in the range of 24-26 MJ/kg. The ash content of the offered eco-pea coal is usually 5-10% Ai r, and sulphur content-in the range of 0.4-1.0%. The prices of eco-pea coal at fuel depots vary by region and are close to the price offers of coarse grain sizes. Compared to sales prices (ex-mine) of coarse grain sizes intended for the market of other domestic customers, they are usually higher by a dozen or so PLN/GJ. The growing number of eco-pea coal producers contributes to the increase in these fuels' price range. The difference between maximum and minimum price offer is a dozen or so PLN/GJ. In the years 2009-2016, the prices of eco-pea coal produced on the basis of domestic coal were changing within a range of 12-33 PLN/GJ, and for the product based on imported raw material-between 12 and 31 PLN/GJ.


Background The benefits of supplemental vitamin D3, marine omega-3 fatty acids, and a simple home exercise program (SHEP) on frailty prevention in generally healthy community-dwelling older adults are unclear. Objective To test the effect of vitamin D3, omega-3s, and a SHEP, alone or in combination on incident pre-frailty and frailty in robust older adults over a follow-up of 36 months. Methods DO-HEALTH is a multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2x2x2 factorial randomized clinical trial among generally healthy European adults aged 70 years or older, who had no major health events in the 5 years prior to enrollment, sufficient mobility and intact cognitive function. As a secondary outcome of the DO-HEALTH trial, among the subset of participants who were robust at baseline, we tested the individual and combined benefits of supplemental 2,000 IU/day of vitamin D3, 1 g/day of marine omega-3s, and a SHEP on the odds of being pre-frail and frail over 3 years of follow-up. Results At baseline, 1,137 out of 2,157 participants were robust (mean age 74.3 years, 56.5% women, mean gait speed 1.18 m/s). Over a median follow-up time of 2.9 years, 696 (61.2%) became pre-frail and 29 (2.6%) frail. Odds ratios for becoming pre-frail were not significantly lower for vitamin D3, or omega 3-s, or SHEP, individually, compared to control (placebo for the supplements and control exercise). However, the three treatments combined showed significantly decreased odds (OR 0.61 [95% CI 0.38–0.98; p=0.04) of becoming pre-frail compared to control. None of the individual treatments or their combination significantly reduced the odds of becoming frail. Conclusion Robust, generally healthy and active older adults without major comorbidities, may benefit from a combination of high-dose, supplemental vitamin D3, marine omega-3s, and SHEP with regard to the risk of becoming pre-frail over 3 years.


Distal radial artery aneurysms are an uncommon pathological entity in the field of surgery. Moreover, distal radial artery aneurysms of idiopathic etiology are even rarer. Herein, we present a rare case of idiopathic/atraumatic left radial artery aneurysm. A 73-year-old female patient presented with a chief complaint of a pulsatile mass located on her left wrist. Radiological imaging showed the presence of a distal radial artery aneurysm which was successfully surgically excised with subsequent ligation of the radial artery. Some of the etiologies and operative management of distal radial artery aneurysm in the anatomical snuffbox to what is in accordance with the literature are discussed. Distal radial artery aneurysms are rare. Hence, their misdiagnosis may lead to wrongful management and increase in morbidity. The appropriate management of distal radial aneurysm is almost always surgical.


This study prepared 25 sulfonylurea compounds to evaluate anti-tumor activity. Through experimental investigations in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, i.e., cell lines of breast carcinoma of human, we have concluded that some compounds can significantly suppress breast carcinoma cells from growing and proliferating. Moreover, the compound M's inhibitory effect on cells of breast carcinoma is concentration-dependent under a certain treatment time; and the inhibitory effect of the compound M on breast carcinoma cells is time-dependent under a certain concentration. In addition, we also found that the compound M can effectively suppress cells of breast carcinoma from migration and independent survival. The results can show the prospect of research and development of new breast carcinoma treatment drug.


We present GANcraft, an unsupervised neural rendering framework for generating photorealistic images of large 3D block worlds such as those created in Minecraft. Our method takes a semantic block world as input, where each block is assigned a semantic label such as dirt, grass, or water. We represent the world as a continuous volumetric function and train our model to render view-consistent photorealistic images for a user-controlled camera. In the absence of paired ground truth real images for the block world, we devise a training technique based on pseudo-ground truth and adversarial training. This stands in contrast to prior work on neural rendering for view synthesis, which requires ground truth images to estimate scene geometry and view-dependent appearance. In addition to camera trajectory, GANcraft allows user control over both scene semantics and output style. Experimental results with comparison to strong baselines show the effectiveness of GANcraft on this novel task of photorealistic 3D block world synthesis. The project website is available at https://nvlabs.github.io/GANcraft/.


There is no group of individuals more iconic of 1960s counterculture than the hippies – the long-haired, colorfully dressed youth who rebelled against mainstream societal values, preached and practiced love and peace, and generally sought more meaningful and authentic lives. These 'flower children' are now over sixty and comprise a significant part of the older population in the United States. While some hippies rejoined mainstream American society as they grew older, others still maintain the hippie ideology and lifestyle. This book is the first to explore the aging experience of older hippies by examining aspects related to identity, generativity, daily activities, spirituality, community, end-of-life care, and wellbeing. Based on 40 in-depth interviews with lifelong, returning, and past residents of The Farm, an intentional community in Tennessee that was founded in 1971 and still exists today, insights into the subculture of aging hippies and their keys to wellbeing are shared.


The charging models for telephony networks have been fairly the same since the introduction of the phone in the late nineteen century. Only today do we see more variety of forms of charging in telephony networks when the phone ceases to be merely a phone and takes on other tasks. The aim of this thesis is to implement and evaluate a new charging model for mobile networks called Mobile-Points. A charging model that incorporates a payment system for mobile phones as well as a customer reward system. Since the AAA accounting models are very similar these are examined and evaluated for usability. The concept of Mobile-Points is the invention of George Liu Dr. Tech. of Ericsson Research. The Mobile-Points system is implemented using the Ericsson developed Daemon system for distributed agent programming. The implementation takes in to account the many problems with payment systems such as security, trust, and non-repudiation. The Mobile-Points system is compared to the AAA DIAMETER system. The implementation shows that the Mobile-Points system is usable as a new charging model and payment system. Although many similarities between AAA systems and the Mobile-Points system they are not applicable without major modifications. The structure used for Mobile-Points have more similarities with a 3PK system than a AAA DIAMETER system. The evaluation shows that AAA DIAMETER systems are useable for payment systems in general, but the lack of current implementations makes them hard to incorporate. It also shows that it is the structure of the AAA DIAMETER system that makes it interesting for payment systems not the protocols.


We want to congratulate Rilling (June 1996) on his contribution to the history of chemical transfer experiments and the idea of the biochemical engram in psychology. However, we would like to add just two points. First, chemical transfer has not been totally forgotten, even within the field of invertebrate learning. Abramson's (1990) primer includes a planaria transfer experiment, presented as part of tradition and present ~lcfices. Second, Rilling' s (1996) description of James McConuell as being connected to the 1960s counterculture seems to be mistaken. Even as the 1960s recede in memory, there are enough memory engrams (and documents) to show that McConnell was actually opposed to the radical movements of the time and was recognized as a leading conservafive, or even a reactionary, voice in the application of psychology (Beit-Hallahmi, 1974). "We should reshape our society so that we all would be trained from birth to want to do what society wants us to do" (McConuell, 1970, p. 74). This was clearly McConneU's reaction to the upheavals of the 1960s, and it must be regarded as an expression of extreme authoritarianism. It is likely that McConnell's reactionary rhetoric was fed by what he, among others during the 1960s, regarded as the threat of a total breakdown of culture and society. Rilling (1996) came close to characterizing McConnell as a .reactionary. He referred to McConnell 's "antidemocratic rhetoric" and presented the relevant evidence, in the form of such rhetoric, but still did not draw the clear conclusion. We should remember McConuell as somebody who was creative, brilliant, flamboyant, and unconventional, but never countercultural.


By the neurological, electromyographic, anatomopathological and bacterioscopic examinations of 100 pacients with leprosy the following conclusions have been drawn: There was a high incidence of reflex abnormalities. The proprioceptive reflexes were abnormal in 64.5% and the superficial reflexes in 70.8% of the cases. According to the topography of the segments examined, the deep reflexes showed the following abnormal values: 25.3% in the cephalic segment; 69.1% in the upper limbs and 74.5% in the lower limbs. Of the 2,289 reflexes investigated, abnormalities were found in 773 superficial reflexes (70.8%), while in relation to the proprioceptive reflexes the figures rose to 901 (64.5%). In the early stages of the infirmity, the reflexes were normal in 41.2% of the cases examined, and in all the stages of the evolution of the disease those numbers were always high. Also in the first stage, whose average duration was of 4.9 years, several alternations were noted, although there was a predominance of brisk reflexes (25.1%) over diminished reflexes (17%), followed by hyperactive (8.6%) and absent reflexes (8%). In the final stage of the infirmity there was a decrease of normal reflexes, in contrast to absent and decreased reflexes, whose rates increased to 32.7% and 30.6% respectively. The disappearance of hyperactive reflexes and the clear decrease of brisk reflexes should also be noted. There was a high percentage of patients (31%) who suffered agression of the eighth nerve, 17 of which (54.8%) were found to suffer from neural deafness. The values related to hearing deficit were rarely in accordance with the histopathological and bacterioscopic positive results. The indexes of abnormalities found out in the examination of the fifth and of the seven nerve (7% and 5% respectively) were much lower in relation to the eighth nerve. These results are in contradiction with the ones stated in the literature. In some of the patients, hyperesthesia of the skin of the plantar region prognosticated the appearance of the infirmity. Among the objective changes, anesthesia of superficial sensibilities combined with deep hyperesthesia and anesthesia of superficial sensibilities with abolition of profound sensibilities were rarely observed. No case was found with exclusive alterations of deep sensibilities. Peripheral motor neuron lesions demonstrable by electromyography were observed in 82 patients (82%). The electric silence and the giant polyphasic potentials were the most frequently noted abnormalities. In a small number of cases pseudomyotonic alterations were registered. Among the patients with indicative signs of recent denervation, 50% presented negative bacterioscopic results. There was predominance of electromyographic abnormalities in the virchowian forms. In relation to the nerves investigated, there was greater injury of the ulnar, by comparision with the median and the deep peroneal nerves. The study of the average speed of conduction of motor fibers in the median, ulnar, and deep peroneal nerves gave the following results: 53.6; 48.1 and 50.3 meters per second, respectively. The averages of the distal and proximal latencies of the median nerve were 3.8 and 8.4 m/seg; in the ulnar nerve, 3.0 and 9.2 m/seg; in the deep peroneal nerve, 4.4 and 11.6 m/seg.


Converse Conversions: Two Danish Missionaries' Encounter with India in the First Half of the 20th CenturyAcknowledging that the concept of conversion has often been used in ways that misrepresent the nature of religious and cultural change, the article argues that, if rethought, the concept can still be fruitfully employed in analyses on the individual level. It illustrates this point through an analysis of the profound changes which two Danish missionaries experienced in the encounter with Indian cultures and religions in the first half of the twentieth century.The first part of the article probes different meanings of »conversion« and suggests a new definition of the concept. A distinction is made between conversion as a formal shift in religious identification and conversion as an internal transformation of beliefs. In the latter sense, »conversion« emerges as a creative, eclectic and more or less conscious process in which the convert negotiates and combines elements from two or more religious cultures, producing a radically altered worldview and set of spiritual values. The process can follow different patterns and may even be ongoing. Regardless of whether it is abrupt, gradual, or continual, conversion tends to result in the unification of a divided self. Conversion also involves a form of religious and cultural critique that may or may not be intentional.Using this concept of conversion, the second and major part of the article examines the changes experienced by the two Danish missionaries, Anne Marie Petersen and Esther Faering, during their stay in India. Upon their arrival in the early twentieth century, these missionaries shared largely negative, even contemptuous views of Indians and their religions and thereby reflected and reproduced the dominant racial and imperialist ideologies of their time. In Petersen's case it took several years, in Faering's only a few, before they began to feel attracted to elements in Hinduism and Indian culture. After this time, they both – selectively, critically, and creatively – incorporated Hindu elements into their beliefs. They also modified their perception of God, coming to believe that He could be worshipped anywhere and in multiple ways, including through Hinduism. This newly developed insistence on spiritual freedom laid the groundwork for contesting attempts by Christians to control the spiritual expressions of non-Christians, and men's efforts to restrain those of women. Finally, their conversions also served as an impetus to question the legitimacy of certain colonial categorizations and of European subjection of Indians to colonialism more generally.


This is the second of a series of three papers exploring the connection between the multiwavelength properties of AGN in nearby early-type galaxies and the characteristics of their hosts. We selected two samples with 5 GHz VLA radio flux measurements down to 1 mJy, reaching levels of radio luminosity as low as 10 36 erg s −1 . In Paper I we presented a study of the surface brightness profiles for the 65 objects with available archival HST images out of the 116 radio-detected galaxies. We classified early-type galaxies into "core" and "power-law" galaxies, discriminating on the basis of the slope of their nuclear brightness profiles, following the Nukers scheme. Here we focus on the 29 core galaxies (hereafter CoreG). We used HST and Chandra data to isolate their optical and X-ray nuclear emission. The CoreG invariably host radio-loud nuclei, with an average radio-loudness parameter of Log R = L5GHz / LB ∼ 3.6. The optical and X-ray nuclear luminosities correlate with the radio-core power, smoothly extending the analogous correlations already found for low luminosity radio-galaxies (LLRG) toward even lower power, by a factor of ∼ 1000, covering a combined range of 6 orders of magnitude. This supports the interpretation of a common non-thermal origin of the nuclear emission also for CoreG. The luminosities of the nuclear sources, most likely dominated by jet emission, set firm upper limits, as low as L/LEdd ∼ 10 −9 in both the optical and X-ray band, on any emission from the accretion process. The similarity of CoreG and LLRG when considering the distributions host galaxies luminosities and black hole masses, as well as of the surface brightness profiles, indicates that they are drawn from the same population of early-type galaxies. LLRG represent only the tip of the iceberg associated with (relatively) high activity levels, with CoreG forming the bulk of the population. We do not find any relationship between radio-power and black hole mass. A minimum black hole mass of MBH = 10 8 M ⊙ is apparently associated with the radio-loud nuclei in both CoreG and LLRG, but this effect must be tested on a sample of less luminous galaxies, likely to host smaller black holes. In the unifying model for BL Lacs and radio-galaxies, CoreG likely represent the counterparts of the large popula- tion of low luminosity BL Lac now emerging from the surveys at low radio flux limits. This suggests the presence of relativistic jets also in these quasi-quiescent early-type "core" galaxies.