In this paper a robust encoding scheme is proposed to improve the visual quality of HEVC decoded video when intra frames are lost along the streaming path. For this purpose, the encoding process includes frame loss simulation and subsequent error concealment, to find the most efficient method that should be used by a decoder to recover lost intra frames. In this novel scheme, each image is divided into partitions, which are associated with the error concealment method that achieves the lowest distortion. Then this information is signalled to the decoder through SEI messages in the coded stream. In order to efficiently use the signalling overhead, rate-distortion optimisation is used to achieve the best trade-off between the number of transmitted symbols and distortion of reconstructed frames. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method to enhance the quality of reconstructed intra frames under different packet loss ratios (PLR). For PLR=10%, the robust coding scheme is able to improve the average PSNR of all frames affected by errors, up to 1.50 dB and 3.44 dB in Low-Delay and Random-Access configurations respectively, at a maximum overhead cost of 0.24%.


Hydrographic data collected during a dedicated research cruise in the Agulhas Retroflection region in February/March 1987 are analyzed in conjunction with Geosat altimetry from December 1986 to December 1988. Estimates of the heat and salt anomalies of eddies and rings observed in this hydrographic survey, are combined with the altimetric tracking of these features to provide insight into and quantification of the climatically important interbasin exchanges occurring in this region. Over the 2-year period a total of 14 anticyclonic eddies were generated by the Agulhas Current, approximately 50% of these were observed in the satellite altimetry analysis not to migrate farther than 1500 km west or northwest of the Agulhas Retroflection region. Altimetry data show a number of eddies being shed south of the Agulhas Retroflection; all were observed ultimately to move westward rather than southward across the Subtropical Convergence. The estimated net heat fluxes (300 W m−2) and evaporative losses (1 cm day−1) to the atmosphere from eddies within the Agulhas Retroflection region in February–March 1987 were appreciably larger than the austral summer climatological means (25 to 100 W m−2 and 0.6 cm day−1, respectively) for this region. From the combined altimetric and hydrographic analyses, the volume flux of Indian Ocean water warmer than 10°C into the South Atlantic Ocean via the Agulhas eddy field is estimated to be 6.3 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1) and 7.3 Sv for water warmer than 8°C. Similarly, estimated fluxes of heat and salt into the Atlantic Ocean via the Agulhas eddy field are 0.045 PW and 78×1012kg per annum, respectively.


Reprogramming of the genetic code system is limited by the difficulty in creating new tRNA structures. Here, I developed translationally active tRNA variants tagged with a small hairpin RNA aptamer, using Escherichia coli reporter assay systems. As the tRNA chassis for engineering, I employed amber suppressor variants of allo-tRNAs having the 9/3 composition of the 12-base pair amino-acid acceptor branch as well as a long variable arm (V-arm). Although their V-arm is a strong binding site for seryl-tRNA synthetase (SerRS), insertion of a bulge nucleotide in the V-arm stem region prevented allo-tRNA molecules from being charged by SerRS with serine. The SerRS-rejecting allo-tRNA chassis were engineered to have another amino-acid identity of either alanine, tyrosine, or histidine. The tip of the V-arms was replaced with diverse hairpin RNA aptamers, which were recognized by their cognate proteins expressed in E. coli. A high-affinity interaction led to the sequestration of allo-tRNA molecules, while a moderate-affinity aptamer moiety recruited histidyl-tRNA synthetase variants fused with the cognate protein domain. The new design principle for tRNA-aptamer fusions will enhance radical and dynamic manipulation of the genetic code.


When an English nun entered a convent in exile in the 17th century, she was expected to leave behind once and for all 'the world, the flesh, the divill'. Until recently, that enclosure was one of the excuses for the banishment of nuns from historical research, reducing them to a faceless, agentless mass. The two other heads of the 'three-headed Cerberus' guarding the entrance into historiography, as Laurence Lux-Sterritt points out in English Benedictine Nuns in Exile in the Seventeenth Century (p. 252), are exile and sex. Though both exile and sex have long been an important topic for historians of the early modern period – see, for example, Nicholas Terpstra's Religious Refugees in the Early Modern World , the edited volume Religious Diaspora in Early Modern Europe: Strategies of Exile and Merry Wiesner-Hanks' Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (1) – it is the combination of the three 'heads' that has warranted historiographical amnesia concerning English nuns in exile. Gabriel Glickman omits the English convents entirely in The English Catholic Community, 1689–1745. Politics, Culture and Ideology (Woodbridge, 2009).(2) Brian C. Lockey's Early Modern Catholics, Royalists, and Cosmopolitans (3), for example, examines British Catholic and royalist exiles as cosmopolitans, while studies like Katy Gibbons' English Catholic Exiles in Late Sixteenth-Century Paris (4) have paved the way for a history of English Catholic exiles in particular.


Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is the most common type of spinal vascular malformation.~1 Surgical excision of SDAVF is the most effective treatment~(1,2) and the most often used procedure has been wide laminectomy,~(2,3) (which causes) instability of the spinal column. Therefore, we report the clinical results of 72 cases with SDAVF treated in our department by hemilaminectomy, which preserved the stability of the spinal column.


This study was designed to evaluate the role of heart rate, aortic pressure, and aortic flow in the development of coronary insufficiency following acute coronary stenosis. In dogs, each of these parameters was controlled at a predetermined level while the left anterior descending coronary artery was constricted with a small screw clamp. The critical coronary pressure (CCP), i.e. the pressure below which a rise of left atrial pressure could be detected, was determined at various levels of hemodynamic load. Increases in aortic pressure, elevation of the heart rate and an increase in aortic flow rate were all associated with an elevation of the CCP and an increase in tension-time index (TTI). The changes in CCP were most striking when TTI was increased by aortic flow rate change. These findings suggest that with high aortic pressure, further constriction of coronary artery is required to precipitate coronary insufficiency, that the level of pacing required to induce coronary insufficiency is a useful index in assessing the degree of coronary stenosis, and that an augmentation of aortic flow rate is an important factor in the initiation of coronary insufficiency.


Two bryozoan species are described from the Geirud Formation (Upper Devonian) of Central Alborz. The Geirud Formation is a sequence of nearly 340 meters of alternating silisiclastics and limestone and 1-2 andesitic lava units, with extensive exposures in the Central Alborz mountains. The study comprises the Type Section of the Geirud Formation in the Geirud valley and two sections in Zaigun and Lalun valleys near the Type Section, all in northern Tehran (Fig. 1). In some calcareous beds we found bryozoan species from Famennian. Trepostome Schulgina mutabilis TROIZKAYA, 1975 is known from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) of Central Kazakhstan. The Ascopora .sp. is the earliest known representative of habdomesine genus Ascopora TRAUTSCHOLD, 1876. This is the first study on the bryozoans of the Geirud Formation in Central Alborz.


Temperature variations in reefer containers with fruits regularly occur due to deviating airflow and cooling conditions (DACCs). There is little knowledge about whether DACCs affect only a small area or the complete container load. In seven tests in containers from Costa Rica to Europe since 2009, we observed a high level of spatial temperature variations. Banana pallets are neither in a perfect rectangular shape nor do they completely fit the inward container dimension, resulting in large variations of gap widths. The effect is enhanced by the biological variance of respiration activity. We set up a computational fluid dynamics simulation for the airflow and temperature in a container loaded with bananas to provide a better understanding of DACC effects because detailed experimental evaluation was not feasible in a commercial cold chain. The complex geometrics of a container with 960 boxes had to be reduced to a 2-dimensional model. Almost all DACCs had a predominant local effect. For the following DACCs cooling was slower only in some affected boxes: (a) blocking of a horizontal channel in one pallet and (b) narrow vertical gaps. Double heat generation by higher respiration activity in part of one pallet had also a predominant local effect. The temperature was between 1.7°C and 4.7°C higher than for the reference case with normal airflow conditions at 48 hours after the start of cooling. Only circulation bypasses by packing mistakes and a reduction of inlet air speed had a significant effect on the average container temperature of +0.6°C maximum. Quality problems and losses of full container loads, as regularly reported in ocean transport, cannot be explained by a single DACC according to our simulation results. A combination of at least two DACCs is necessary to cause severe quality problems.


_________________________________________________________________________________________ Purpose: Type 1 diabetes is a common disease in children and teenagers, but it can occur at any age. This study aimed to determine the awareness and knowledge of type 1 diabetes in parents' to diagnose early. Materials and methods: This study is a descriptive type. Data were collected from 1 April to 1 July 2020 date in Turkey. The study sample consisted of 214 parents who accepted to participate in the study and completed the questionnaire were included in the sample. Results: It was found that the knowledge level of the parents participating in the study about type 1 diabetes was close to medium level (6.10±1.89). The study's findings revealed that there are misperceptions about the incidence of type 1 diabetes in parents. Parents are often confused about the reasons for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: In this study, although the knowledge level of the parents about type 1 diabetes is close to medium level, it is below the intermediate level. It is important and necessary for families to know about type 1 diabetes and its symptoms, observe their child or children and diagnose the disease early.


MTGP is a new genetic programming system that uses the multithreading technology of the Java programming language for the parallel evolution of subpopulations of programs. The system runs as a Java applet within a standard web browser on a desktop PC, and utilises a linear program representation for a stack-based virtual machine. The individuals from four subpopulations are manipulated concurrently and these subpopulations exchange their best individuals at regular intervals during a run. MTGP incorporates novel variations on the traditional genetic operators used in genetic programming and in the inclusion of a 'do nothing' gene, in an attempt to produce better evolutionary performance. The basic procedures of the system will be used in the future development of a distributed, Internet-based genetic programming system that will provide large computational power needed to solve complex problems. In this report, the performance of MTGP on two symbolic regression problems is compared to that of four other genetic programming systems. MTGP shows improvement over these systems in terms of the computational effort needed to solve the problems and the accuracy of the solution produced.


Background. Some screening and treatment programs implemented to control Chlamydia trachomatis genital infections and their complications have shown initial reductions in infection prevalence, followed by increases to preprogram levels or higher. One hypothesis is that treatment shortens duration of infection, attenuates development of protective immunity, and thereby, increases risk of reinfection. Methods. A literature review was undertaken to assess evidence supporting the concept of protective immunity,its characteristics, and its laboratory correlates in human chlamydial infection. The discussion is organized around key questions formulated in preparation for the Chlamydia Immunology and Control Expert Advisory Meeting held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April 2008. Results. Definitive human studies are not available, but cross-sectional studies show that chlamydia prevalence,organism load, and concordance rates in couples decrease with age, and organism load is lower in those with repeat infections, supporting the concept of protective immunity. The protection appears partial and can be overcome after reexposure, similar to what has been found in rodent models of genital infection. No data are available to define the duration of infection required to confer a degree of immunity or the time course of immunity after resolution of untreated infection. In longitudinal studies involving African sex workers, a group presumed to have frequent and ongoing exposure to chlamydial infection, interferon-g production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to chlamydial heat-shock protein 60 was associated with low risk of incident infection.In cross-sectional studies, relevant T helper 1-type responses were found in infected persons, paralleling the studies in animal models. Conclusions. The data support the concept that some degree of protective immunity against reinfection develops after human genital infection, although it appears, at best, to be partial. It is likely that factors besides population levels of immunity contribute to trends in prevalence observed in screening and treatment programs.Future studies of protective immunity in humans will require longitudinal follow-up of individuals and populations,frequent biological and behavioral sampling, and special cohorts to help control for exposure.


Background and Aims: The risk of malaria re-introduction to Libya is increasing due to immigration to Libya from sub-Saharan countries where malaria is endemic. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of malaria-positive cases among illegal immigrants in the southern region of Libya. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and three illegal immigrants, with a mean age of 25.78 ± 5.92 years, from 12 different countries were included. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the presence of serum malaria antibodies. Results: One hundred and ninety-five (64.36%) of the participants tested positive for malaria antibodies. One hundred and seventy-two of the positive cases arrived in Libya within 1–10 months. The highest number of positive cases (70) came from Ghana, followed by (40) from Niger and (39) from Bangladesh. Conclusion: Illegal immigration issue should be treated urgently, combined by increasing the surveillance activities of infectious diseases to prevent malaria re-introduction to Libya.


Robotics has been a challenging subject for teachers to teach and for students to learn. One of the important aspects that make it difficult is the limited ability to perceive and visualize the concepts appropriately at the time of teaching. Most of the industrial robots are described geo- metrically by their Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) parameters, which are also difficult to perceive for students. Students will find the subject easier to learn if they are able to visualize in 3 dimensions. Tools that aid its learning have been developed by universities across the world as referred elsewhere. This paper proposes RoboAnalyzer, a 3D model based software that can be used to teach robotics subjects to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in engineering colleges in India and elsewhere. In the present implemen- tation, it can be used to learn DH parameters, forward kinematics of serial robots with revolute joints and allows 3D animation and graph plots as output.


Background: The increased use of computed tomography (CT) for lung cancer screening has led to an increase in the incidence of lung nodules. However, accurately localizing small or deep-seated nodules remains challenging and often requires image-guided techniques. CT-guided coil localization has emerged as a popular method for precise localization. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of patients who underwent CT-guided coil localization followed by surgical resection of lung nodules at the National University Hospital, Singapore, between 2015 and 2021. The study examined the rates of successful localization, procedural complications, and postoperative length of stay. Descriptive statistics were employed for data analysis. Results: This retrospective study included 55 patients with pulmonary nodules, of whom 76.4% had a history of previous malignancy. A total of 58 nodules were successfully localized using coil placement and distributed across various lung lobes. The average dimensions of the nodules were 8.4 ± 3.2 mm × 10.1 ± 4.0 mm, with an average distance of 10.9 ± 9.0 mm from the pleura. Surgical resection of the coiled nodules resulted in an average resected volume of 91.1 ± 76.0 cm3 and a resection margin of 9.5 ± 7.3 mm. Failed localization occurred in only 3.6% of cases. Procedural complications were observed in 21.8% of patients, including hemothorax, persistent air leaks, pneumothoraces, pleural effusion, pneumonia, and atelectasis, all of which were appropriately managed. The average length of postoperative hospital stay was 6.7 ± 15.9 days. Conclusion: Preoperative CT-guided coil localization is a reliable and safe technique for accurately localizing lung nodules before surgical resection. The high success rate of this approach enables precise intraoperative planning. Despite procedural complications, their manageable nature and the absence of major adverse events highlight the safety of this technique. Incorporating CT-guided coil localization into routine clinical practice can significantly enhance surgical planning, improve patient outcomes, and optimize resource utilization.


In this study, we develop a multiscale crystal plasticity model that represents evolution of dislocation structure on formation process of ultrafine-grained metal based both on dislocation patterning and geometrically necessary dislocation accumulation. A computation on the processes of ultrafine-graining, i.e., generation of dislocation cell and subgrain patterns, evolution of dense dislocation walls, its transition to micro-bands and lamellar dislocation structure and formation of subdivision surrounded by high angle boundaries, is performed by use of the present model. Dislocation patterning depending on activity of slip systems is reproduced introducing slip rate of each slip system into reaction-diffusion equations governing self-organization of dislocation structure and increasing immobilizing rate of dislocation with activation of the secondary slip system. In addition, we investigate the effect of active slip systems to the processes of fine-graining by using the pseudo-three-dimensional model with twelve slip systems of FCC metal.


Computationally inexpensive approximations describing electron-phonon scattering in molecular-scale conductors are derived from the nonequilibrium Green's function method. The accuracy is demonstrated with a first-principles calculation on an atomic gold wire. Quantitative agreement between the full nonequilibrium Green's function calculation and the newly derived expressions is obtained while simplifying the computational burden by several orders of magnitude. In addition, analytical models provide intuitive understanding of the conductance including nonequilibrium heating and provide a convenient way of parameterizing the physics. This is exemplified by fitting the expressions to the experimentally observed conductances through both an atomic gold wire and a hydrogen molecule.


Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the common causes of blindness in the world. Chronic hyperglycemia in diabetes causes progressive dysfunction of the retinal vasculature (microangiopathy) causing retinal hypoxia leading to expression of "Vascular endothelial growth factor" (VEGF) and "neovascularization". Laser photocoagulation is used to convert hypoxic areas into anoxic areas thus decreasing chances of release of VEGF and hence neovascularization. Aim: To study the visual outcome after laser retinal photocoagulation in DR cases. Material and Methods: The study was carried out on 80 eyes of 44 patients presenting at Department of Ophthalmology, P. D. U. Govt. Medical College, Rajkot who had DR and underwent laser retinal photocoagulation during period of November 2012 to September 2014. All patients underwent assessment for visual acuity, anterior segment examination, posterior segment examination with +90 Dioptre lens and fundus fluorescein angiography. (FFA). Then laser retinal photocoagulation was done. After laser treatment, patients were assessed for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) on 1week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months and the results were analysed. Results: 80% of the patients showed improvement in BCVA, 17.5% of the patient maintained same BCVA and 2.5% patients showed deterioration in BCVA which was statistically significant (paired t-test, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Diabetic retinopathy causes significant dysfunction of retinal vasculature and hence retina, hampering vision. Timely treatment with laser retinal photocoagulation prevents further dysfunction and salvages involved retina causing statistically significant improvement in vision and quality of life. Keywords: Diabetic Retinopathy, Visual Acuity, Laser retinal photocoagulation.


Abstract The genetic structure of small semiaquatic animals may be influenced by dispersal across both rivers and land. The relative importance of these two modes of dispersal may vary across different species and with ecological conditions and evolutionary periods. The Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) is an endemic mammal of the Iberian Peninsula with a strong phylogeographic structure and semiaquatic habits, thus making it an ideal model to study the effects of river and overland dispersal on its genetic structure. Thanks to different types of noninvasive samples, we obtained an extensive sampling of the Pyrenean desman from the northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula and sequenced two mitochondrial DNA fragments. We then analyzed, using an isolation‐by‐distance approach, the correlation between phylogenetic distances and geographical distances measured along both river networks and land to infer the relative importance of river and overland dispersal. We found that the correlations in the whole area and in a large basin were consistent with an effect of overland dispersal, which may be due to the postglacial colonization of new territories using terrestrial corridors and, possibly, a more extensive fluvial network that may have been present during the Holocene. However, in a small basin, likely to be less influenced by the impact of ancient postglacial dispersal, the correlations suggested significant overall effects of both overland and river dispersal, as expected for a semiaquatic mammal. Therefore, different scales and geographical regions reflect different aspects of the evolutionary history and ecology of this semiaquatic species using this isolation‐by‐distance method. The results we obtained may have crucial implications for the conservation of the Pyrenean desman because they reinforce the importance of interbasin dispersal for this species in the studied area and the need to protect the whole riverine ecosystem, including rivers, upland streams and terrestrial corridors between basins.


Over the years, many graph problems specifically those in NP-complete are studied by a wide range of researchers. Some famous examples include graph colouring, travelling salesman problem and subgraph isomorphism. Most of these problems are typically addressed by exact algorithms, approximate algorithms and heuristics. There are however some drawback for each of these methods. Recent studies have employed learning-based frameworks such as machine learning techniques in solving these problems, given that they are useful in discovering new patterns in structured data that can be represented using graphs. This research direction has successfully attracted a considerable amount of attention. In this survey, we provide a systematic review mainly on classic graph problems in which learning-based approaches have been proposed in addressing the problems. We discuss the overview of each framework, and provide analyses based on the design and performance of the framework. Some potential research questions are also suggested. Ultimately, this survey gives a clearer insight and can be used as a stepping stone to the research community in studying problems in this field.


The macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the sacroiliac joint from embryonic life until the eighth decade is presented to establish a baseline of normal anatomy for this joint. The literature concerning the anatomy of the joint was reviewed and found to be fragmentary and conflicting, particularly concerning the diarthroidial characteristics of the joint. From fetal life onward, the iliac cartilage surface is fibrocarti-laginous, while the sacral surface is hyaline cartilage. Degenerative arthrosis of the joint commences at an early age, affecting the iliac cartilage to a greater extent than its sacral counterpart. These early degenerative changes in the sacroiliac joint may very well be a more common cause of low-back pain than previously thought.


A report is made on an autopsy case of a 19-year-old man with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, who died in a traffic accident. The cause of death was acute massive haemorrhage from the lacerated liver. There was a bar of paraspinal ossifying lumps, which was hard, ramified throughout his back and restricted the movement of the thoracic vertebral column. Numerous hard swellings were palpable through the skin on the elbows, thighs, and lumbar and gluteal regions. Small bony masses were found in the muscles. According to his clinical records, radiographs and autopsy findings, he might suffer from the later stage of the disease. As a cause of the accident, though suicidal attempt by using the car or dosing was suspected, the influence of the disease itself was also considered. In connection with this case, it seemed that in the traffic death case with a rare disease, the careful investigation of the clinical symptoms and severity of the disease is very important.


OBJECTIVES
To identify groups of participants with high and low levels of stigma and to examine the influence of stigma on social support, social constraints, symptom severity, symptom interference, and quality of life (QOL).

SAMPLE & SETTING
62 individuals with lung cancer were identified and recruited from a comprehensive cancer center in the southeastern United States.

METHODS & VARIABLES
Participants completed a questionnaire that included demographic information and measures of stigma, symptom severity and interference, social support, social constraints, and QOL. IBM SPSS Statistics TwoStep Cluster Analysis was used to identify high- and low-stigma groups. Independent sample t tests were used to compare differences between the groups.

RESULTS
22 participants had a high level of stigma; they had significantly higher symptom severity on feeling distressed, problems remembering things, and feeling sad, and greater symptom interference related to mood, relations with others, and enjoyment of life. Participants also had significantly higher levels of social support and lower social constraints. Stigma was significantly related to lower levels of QOL.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Nurses should be aware that stigma may influence various factors throughout the disease trajectory; they can privately assess individuals with lung cancer for access to social supports, feelings of stigma, and QOL, and make appropriate referrals as needed.


Data exchange over the Internet and other access channels is on the rise, leads to the insecurity of consequences. Many experiments have been conducted to investigate time-efficient and high-randomized encryption methods for the data. The latest studies, however, have still been debated because of different factors. The study outcomes do not yield completely random keys for encryption methods that are longer than this. Prominent repetition makes the processes predictable and susceptible to assaults. Furthermore, recently generated keys need recent algorithms to run at a high volume of transactional data successfully. In this article, the proposed solutions to these two critical issues are presented. In the beginning, one must use the chaotic series of events for generating keys is sufficient to obtain a high degree of randomness. Moreover, this work also proposes a novel and non-traditional validation test to determine the true randomness of the keys produced from a correlation algorithm. An approximate 100% probability of the vital phase over almost infinitely long-time intervals minimizes the algorithms' complexity for the higher volume of data security. It is suggested that these algorithms are mainly intended for cloud-based transactions. Data volume is potentially higher and extremely changeable 3% to 4% of the improvement in data transmission time with suggested algorithms. This research has the potential to improve communication systems over ten years by unblocking decades-long bottlenecks.


In this study the author's experience of Parkinson Disease treatment with long-term Bromocriptine (Br) administration, is summarized. Br, which acts directly on dopaminergic receptors, was introduced in combination with L-Dopa and peripheral decarboxylase inhibitors (PDI). The reasons for this association were: 1) the reduced effectiveness of the current treatment (L-Dopa + PDI) 2) onset of AIM (abnormal involuntary movements). 3) patient's desire to try new drugs. Only the patients who had been on the triple association for at least a year, were considered. Therefore of 50 patients originally considered only 19 were included in this study. The addition of Br allowed a reduction of the mean daily dose of L-Dopa(30%) and the therapeutic efficacy of the drug remained unchanged even after more than 4 years treatment. The "on-off" effect and AIM, are reduced by Br especially in the first months of treatment. The triple association is regarded at present as the best treatment for Parkinson disease.


Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) is a very promising functional material but the lower strength of foamed carbon greatly limits its application range. In order to increase the strength of the reticulated vitreous carbon, we used to add graphene during the preparation process because of its high strength. The foams were manufactured by multiple replication of a polyurethane foam template structure using ethanolic solutions of phenolic resin and graphene. Then the foams of preparation were carbonized in an inert atmosphere 700oC-1000oC by polyurethane foam impregnated with phenolic resin precursor. The proper addition of graphene was sought by testing the mechanical properties of the reticulated vitreous carbon and observing its microstructure. The results show that the addition of graphene could improve the mechanical properties of reticulated vitreous carbon.


Effects of cefminox (CMNX) on hemostasis and blood coagulation system were studied. Adult in-patients admitted to 237 centers (310 clinics) nationwide in Japan during the period from April 1988 to March 1989 were followed up using a newly designed uniformed protocol. Case cards recovered were inspected by an evaluation committee and patients to be included in analysis were determined according to the protocol. Presence or absence of abnormalities in the hemostasis and blood coagulation system was examined objectively using criteria for evaluation prepared by the committee. Out of 1,374 patients included in analysis, 10 patients were judged as having abnormalities which were suspected to have causal relationships with CMNX. Prolongation in prothrombin time was observed in 4 cases (0.29%), prolongation in activated partial thromboplastin time in 4 cases (0.29%), and decrease in fibrinogen in 2 cases (0.15%). Decrease in platelet count was not detected in any of the cases. Cross-sectional analysis according to background factors in these 10 cases revealed that abnormalities of the hemostasis and blood coagulation systems were significantly higher (P less than 0.01) for the group positive for underlying disease or complications ("positive" group) than the "negative" group. Five out of 9 patients of the positive group had malignant neoplasm. Other than this factor, no items showed statistically significant differences. From these results it is considered that the administration of CMNX is nearly free of effects on the hemostasis and blood coagulation system and development of laboratory abnormalities is chiefly due to the patients' condition.


Abstract A well-planned rehabilitation approach helps agencies to optimise the allocation of annual investment in pavement rehabilitation programs. Currently, many agencies are struggling with the selection of an optimal time-based and cost-effective rehabilitation solution to address the long-term needs of pavements. This study offers the use of a mechanistic-empirical methodology to develop a series of time-based rehabilitation strategies for high traffic volume flexible pavements located in Oklahoma. Six different pavement family groups are identified in the state, and comprehensive evaluation of existing pavements are conducted through analysis of falling weight deflectometer data and performance measures available in Oklahoma Pavement Management System database. The inadequacy of performance measures to fully characterise the condition of existing pavements are indicated, and damage factor determined from FWD data are suggested as trigger factor to select rehabilitation candidates. Three levels of rehabilitation activities including light, medium and heavy are considered as potential alternatives for rehabilitation candidates. A mechanistic-empirical methodology is employed to obtain an estimate of the performance of rehabilitation and extension in service lives of pavements. Also, an assessment output matrix is developed, which can be served as a supplemental tool to help the decision-makers in the highway agency with the rehabilitation related decision-making process. Cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation alternatives is determined through life cycle cost analysis, and three time-based renewal solutions are developed for pavement family groups that are in need of rehabilitation.


Abstract : We are interested in mapping operational architectures to command and control and software architectures. In his poignant paper, Dekker proposed a "Taxonomy of Architectures" which provides an interesting spectrum of network centric operational configurations. The goal of this paper is to answer the following question: given the variety of architecture models presented by Dekker, what command and control model is appropriate for each, and what software architecture is appropriate for each? In particular, this research will examine if the German control free model applies to all of the different operational architectures and whether or not the service oriented architecture (SOA) is the appropriate software architecture solution for each of the models. Our gedanken experiment results show that the configuration of assets and how they were organized (commanded and controlled) actually increased their collective capabilities given an optimized hybrid SOA, MOMS (Message Oriented Middleware), and Agent Based software infrastructure. This means that any capability portfolio analysis or competency assessments which only focuses upon individual asset contributions, fails to account for the behavior of a team or the possibility of "collective swarm intelligence". This almost by definition will lead to procurement decisions detrimental to the basic capability of the DoD.


Paclitaxel is a highly effective chemotherapeutic agent used in a variety of solid tumors. Some paclitaxel-treated patients experience the intended therapeutic response with manageable side effects, while others have minimal response and/or severe toxicity. This variability in treatment outcome is partially determined by variability in drug exposure (pharmacokinetics) and by patient and tumor sensitivity (pharmacodynamics). Both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are dictated in part by common variants in the germline genome, known as SNPs. This article reviews the published literature on paclitaxel pharmacogenetics in cancer, focusing primarily on polymorphisms in genes relevant to paclitaxel pharmacokinetics and discusses preliminary work on pharmacodynamic genes and genome-wide association studies.


Abstract Objective: Menopause increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) which in part has been attributed to the rise in cholesterol and blood pressure (BP). This study examined the hypothesis that menopausal changes in body composition and regional fat depots relate to the change in CVD risk factors. Methods: A prospective recall study was designed to capture premenopausal women to be re-examined soon after menopause. A total of 97 women from the Oxford Biobank underwent dual x-ray absorptiometry, blood biochemistry, and BP readings pre- and postmenopause. Results: Despite minimal changes in body weight over the 5.1 ± 0.9 year follow-up period, there was an increase in total fat mass and a decline in lean mass, where the proportional change of regional fat mass was the greatest for the visceral fat depot (+22%, P < 0.01). Plasma ApoB (+12%, P < 0.01) and C-reactive protein (+45%, P < 0.01) increased as did systolic (+7%, P < 0.001) and diastolic BP (+5%, P < 0.001). Plasma nonesterified fatty acids decreased (−20%, P < 0.05) which may reflect on a change in adipose tissue function across the menopause. PCSK-9 decreased (−26%, P < 0.01) which suggests a compensation for the postmenopausal reduction in low-density lipoprotein receptor activity. Using multilinear regression analyses the changes in ApoB and diastolic BP were associated with visceral fat mass change, but this association was lost when adjusted for total fat mass change. Conclusion: The increase in CVD risk factor burden across menopause may not be driven by changes in body composition, rather by functional changes in end organs such as adipose tissue and liver.


The present article is about the study of Darcy-Forchheimer flow of Casson nanofluid over a linear stretching surface. Effects like variable Hall current, activation energy, Diffusion thermo is also incorporated for the analysis of heat and mass transfer. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) with convective boundary conditions are first converted into the nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with the help of similarity transformation, and then the resulting nonlinear ODEs are solved with the help of shooting method. The impact of different physical parameters like Activation energy, Diffusion thermo, Brownian motion, thermophoresis parameter, hall current, magnetic parameter, nonlinear radiative heat flux, Prandtl number, Lewis number, reaction rate constant, on Nusselt number, velocity, temperature and concentration profile has been discussed. It is viewed that the fluid velocity and concentration profile enhance with increasing hall parameter and Activation energy respectively.


First published in 1978, Helen Caldicott's cri du coeur about the dangers of nuclear power became an instant classic. In the intervening sixteen years much has changed--the Cold War is over, nuclear arms production has decreased, and there has been a marked growth in environmental awareness. But the nuclear genie has not been forced back into the bottle. The disaster at Chernobyl and the "incidents" at other plants around the world have disproven the image of "safe" nuclear power. Nuclear waste dumping has further poisoned our environment, and developing nuclear technology in the Third World poses still further risks. In this completely revised, updated, and expanded edition, Dr. Caldicott defines for the 1990s the dangers of this madness--including the insidious influence of the nuclear power industry and the American government's complicity in medical "experiments" using nuclear material--and calls on us to accept the moral challenge to fight against it, both for our own sake and for that of future generations.


This is a guide to SEFLIN membership area organizations' digitization plan status, strategies, and available content. This guide is intended to assist in creating connections between institutions and fostering collaborative partnerships. A list of institutions by how active their digitization projects are


Macrocystis pyrifera is a giant brown seaweed with high nutritional content, used as a dietary supplement in some farm animals. It contains fucoidan which has a pharmacological effect on lipids and glucose metabolism. Some brown seaweeds can bioaccumulate toxic elements in their cell wall, representing a problem if toxicity tests that guarantee the safety of their consumption are not done. M. pyrifera, does not present toxicological studies that guarantee its safety. This work aimed to perform the acute and subchronic toxicological evaluation of M. pyrifera in rodents as well as to determine its possible therapeutic effect. Fronds of M. pyrifera were collected in Baja California Sur, Mexico, for drying and obtaining algae flour. The acute toxicity test LD50 was performed in C57BL / 6 male mice (25 ± 3 g) for 7 days, finding an LD50 greater than 10 g kg-1. Subchronic toxicity was determined for 121 days in adult male Sprague Dawley rats (98 ± 2 g), during which the experimental animals showed no signs of toxicity, or changes in the hematological, biochemical and histopathological parameters of the organs. The reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation or glutathione ratio were not different from the control group. A therapeutic effect on the regulation of body weight and a hypolipidemic effect (triacylglycerides: 82.27 ± 5.55 mg dl-1, cholesterol: 98.61 ± 6.48 mg dl-1) were found. It is concluded that, under the conditions in which this study was developed, the consumption of M. pyrifera as a functional ingredient is safe.


In this study, an efficient affinity purification protocol for an alkaline metalloprotease from marine bacterium was developed using immobilized metal affinity chromatography. After screening and optimization of the affinity ligands and spacer arm lengths, Cu-iminmodiacetic acid was chosen as the optimal affinity ligand, which was coupled to Sepharose 6B via a 14-atom spacer arm. The absorption analysis of this medium revealed a desorption constant Kd of 21.5 μg/mL and a theoretical maximum absorption Qmax of 24.9 mg/g. Thanks to this affinity medium, the enzyme could be purified by only one affinity purification step with a purity of approximately 95% pure when analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The recovery of the protease activity reached 74.6%, which is much higher than the value obtained by traditional protocols (8.9%). These results contribute to the industrial purifications and contribute a significant reference for the purification of other metalloproteases.


As many read this, they will be preparing to travel to Amsterdam in May for the 4th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control. This will be a time to probe new and different approaches to current injury problems, to learn what works in one part of the world, and think how it might be adapted to your own corner of the earth. I always come away from these meetings with new ideas and renewed energy to carry them out.

The International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention (ISCAIP) will once again host a separate meeting on 21 May 1998, following the main conference, to explore particular challenges to the prevention of injuries to children and adolescents. Those of us planning this conference (our third) wanted to maximize participation and input by the members of ISCAIP and the audience. To do so, we are soliciting short (one page) comments by all members of …


This article attempts to answer the questions posed by many Europeans: 'Is the proposition for a European Central Bank workable or not?' In an attempt to provide an answer to such a complex question, the history associated with the idea of such an organisation is outlined as well as an exposition of its probable objectives and possible functions. JEL Codes: E58 Keywords: European Central Bank


To the Editor:— I was interested in the editorial, "If the Cat Scratches," inThe Journal, Aug. 13, page 1665. There is, however, one error, historically, in this editorial. It is stated that Foshay first prepared a skin-test antigen for the diagnosis of the disease. This is incorrect. When Dr. Frank MacMurray and I first became interested in this disease we had extensive correspondence with Dr. Foshay and with Dr. Franklin H. Hanger, Presbyterian Hospital, New York. In our paper, read before the Association of American Physicians, May 1, 1951, we covered the information concerning development of the antigen. This paper was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine , December, 1951, page 736. In that paper we stated that Dr. Hanger had a skin lesion on the finger which developed after gardening. There was a cat in the household, but Dr. Hanger had no history of scratch. He developed suppurative


The aim of this paper is to discuss the production of the first national census of Brazilian population, during the second half of nineteen century (1872, 1890 and 1990). In order to understand the construction of demographical categories to define and segment the population, we put focus on the data from Mato Grosso province/state. In this sense, we analyze the production and changes on two categories: racial composition and instruction, trying to show that demographic categories, more than an objective data constitutes a social and historical construction


Abstract Wamelink et al. (2002) calibrated Ellenberg indicator values for acidity and water availability against measured soil pH and measured mean spring groundwater level (MSL), respectively. Linear regression between indicator value and measured value of all the observations gave a poor fit. Regression lines per phytosociological vegetation class, on the other hand, generally described the observations well. In this article we demonstrate that this result is, at least partly, an artefact. First, because the data utilized are likely to contain systematic errors, and second, because a wrong regression model was applied. A sigmoid function for the relation between the indicator value for water availability and MSL gives a far better fit than a linear function does. 'Vegetation class' is not an obvious choice as an extra explanatory variable for the regression, as it is only a convenient label for vegetation and should not be used as if it were a real independent environmental variable. In general, indicator values of plant species should be calibrated against environmental variables with great care. This implies that researchers should have knowledge about the ecological demands plants make on their environment, as well as about the spatial and temporal variability of this environment. Abbreviations: F = water availability; MSL = Mean spring groundwater level; R = acidity; Wea = Wamelink et al. (2000).


Introduction: Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, gloves, face shields, goggles, facemasks and/or respirators, fall protection devices, personal warning devices, and full body suits, as well as the head, eye, and foot protection. The recent coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic has imposed the need of having low-cost production of PPE's. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to create an indigenous, cost effective, easy to make PPE gown for temporary use in neonatal intensive care unit during the COVID pandemic crisis and to assess the ease and comfort of working in the indigenously produced PPE gown. Materials and Methods: The PPE gown was made using readily available material such as biomedical trash disposal bags, adhesive tapes, and stapler pins. We used the larger bags, which measured 100 cm × 55 cm. The bags were sealed at the base and open on the top. Each bag has folds on each side to increase its capacity when opened up. A structured questionnaire that included 10 questions with responses on the Likert scale used the ease of use of the PPE gown. Results: There were a total of 30 participants including doctors and paramedical staff. There was good internal consistency between the responses in questions (Cronbach alpha = 0.88). The mean and median age of study participants were 30.2 years and 30 years, respectively. The response for various questions ranged from 56% to 80% with an overall mean score of 64.56±10. Conclusion: A simple low-cost innovative PPE gown that can be made from a trash bag was found comfortable on preliminary testing.


emerge in place of the present one-party system. The only significant weakness of this book is the scant treatment given to the political role of the Mexican military. The author recognizes that military men are active in public affairs but does not explore the nature and significance of this participation. Yet it is precisely the apolitical role of the military that differentiates Mexico from the bulk of the rest of Latin America, since they have given strong and consistent support to constitutional government for a quarter of a century. On a few minor points this reviewer must take issue. The figures for the PRI's sector membership, particularly labor, are rough estimates at best, and the discussion of how the opposition obtained its few seats in the 1958 Chamber of Deputies does not distinguish between seats won in the elections and seats granted by the Federal Electoral Commission because of fraud. On balance, however, this study achieves a high level of scholarship and is an outstanding addition to the growing number of studies of contemporary Latin America. The interest group approach used seems especially suitable for Mexico and could be applied profitably to other Latin American countries.—DAVID D. BURKS, Washington, D.C.


We consider the problem of tracking an intruder in a plane region by using a wireless sensor network comprising motes equipped with passive infrared (PIR) sensors deployed over the region. An input-output model for the PIR sensor and a method to estimate the angular speed of the target from the sensor output are proposed. With the measurement model so obtained, we study the centralized and decentralized tracking performance using the extended Kalman filter.


Abstract The Buzzard Field remains the largest UK Continental Shelf oil discovery in the last 25 years. The field is located in the Outer Moray Firth of the North Sea and comprises stacked Upper Jurassic turbidite reservoirs of Late Kimmeridgian–Mid Volgian age, encased within Kimmeridge Clay Formation mudstones. The stratigraphic trap is produced by pinchout of the reservoir layers to the north, west and south. Production commenced in January 2007 and the field has subsequently produced 52% over the estimated reserves at commencement of development, surpassing initial performance expectations. Phase I drilling was completed in 2014 with 38 wells drilled from 36 platform slots. Platform drilling recommenced in 2018, followed in 2019 by Phase II drilling from a new northern manifold location. The evolution of the depositional model has been a key aspect of field development. Integration of production surveillance and dynamic data identified shortcomings in the appraisal depositional model. A sedimentological study based on core reinterpretation created an updated depositional model, which was then integrated with seismic and production data. The new depositional model is better able to explain non-uniform water sweep in the field resulting from a more complex sandbody architecture of stacked channels prograding over underlying lobes.


Results obtained from studies using experimental animal model clearly showed that (1) A marker(s) for CCA does exist; 2) This marker is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 200 kDa; (3) It is produced and secreted in vitro by tumor cell lines; (4) It is highly immunogenic in mice and the MAb specific for this antigen is directed against the carbohydrate moiety; (5) This tumor antigen can be detected in serum and bile of tumor-bearing animals by a sandwich ELISA employing this MAb; (6) Kinetic studies show a gradual elevation of this antigen during tumor development; and (7) The elevation of this antigen can be detected at a time when no pathological changes have yet taken place, as judged by microscopic examination. Preliminary work from the human counterpart using human cholangiocarcinoma cell line showed promising results. CCA-specific antigen could be similarly identified and the MAbs produced were highly specific for this 160 kDa antigen.


Recent developments of higher teacher education in Tanzania have witnessed high student enrolments necessitating change of an emphasis from individual assessment to group-based assessment practices. In this context, informed by the constructivist philosophical perspective, this article reports on the pre-service teachers' voices regarding the prevalence, impacts and counteractive strategies of social loafing. The pre-service teachers are drawn from one higher education institution in Tanzania that serves as a case study. It draws on qualitative data collected from a sample of purposively selected undergraduate pre-service teachers. The study found social loafing tendencies to be commonplace and with far-reaching consequences amongst students as they engaged in group-based assessment tasks, hence calling for measures to redress them. Addressing social loafing in higher teacher education is crucial to avoid compromising the quality of assessment practices in the contexts of ever-rising student enrolments in many lower income countries


Building classification models from clinical data collected for past patients often requires additional example labeling and annotation by a human expert. Since example labeling may require to review a complete electronic health record the process can be very time consuming and costly. To make the process more cost-efficient, the number of examples an expert needs to label should be reduced. We develop and test a new approach for the classification learning in which, in addition to class labels provided by an expert, the learner is provided with auxiliary information that reflects how strong the expert feels about the class label. We show that this information can be extremely useful for practical classification tasks based on human assessment and can lead to improved learning with a smaller number of examples. We develop a new classification approach based on the support vector machines and the learning to rank methodologies capable of utilizing the auxiliary information during the model learning process. We demonstrate the benefit of the approach on the problem of learning an alert model for Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT) by showing an improved classification performance of the models that are trained on a smaller number of labeled examples.


Objectives To determine the effects of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist, candesartan cilexetil, on glomerular and systemic blood pressures and the development of renal injury in Lewis rat recipients of a single Fisher kidney (F334 → LEW transplantation), an established rat model of chronic renal allograft failure. Design Recent studies have shown that chronic injury of renal allografts in F334 → LEW rats may be virtually abrogated by supplying the Lewis recipients with two Fisher kidneys or, alternatively, by retaining a native kidney. These findings imply a major contribution from processes associated with nephron loss to the pathogenesis of chronic renal allograft failure, a notion supported by the observation that transplanting two kidneys also normalizes glomerular capillary pressure (PGC) in F344 → LEW rats. Thus, a pharmacological reduction in PGC' by blocking the effects of angiotensin II, should also lessen renal injury in F344 → LEW rats. Materials and methods Bilaterally nephrectomized F344 → LEW rats were treated with the angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan cilexetil (TCV-116) at 40 mg/l or with vehicle, administered in drinking water. Proteinuria and systolic blood pressure were assessed monthly, and histological studies were carried out after 24 weeks. The glomerular filtration rate and glomerular pressures were determined after 10 weeks in additional rats by clearance and micropuncture studies. Results Treatment with candesartan cilexetil lowered systemic blood pressure, normalized PGC at 10 weeks and greatly reduced proteinuria and allograft glomerulosclerosis at 24 weeks. Conclusions These data indicate that the development of renal injury in F344 → LEW renal allografts can be prevented by the pharmacological blockade of angiotensin II receptors using candesartan cilexetil. This suggests that angiotensin-dependent processes contribute significantly to chronic injury in this model of late renal allograft failure.


FER-1 is required for fusion of specialized vesicles, called membranous organelles, with the sperm plasma membrane during Caenorhabditis elegans spermiogenesis. To investigate its role in membranous organelle fusion, we examined ten fer-1 mutations and found that they all cause the same defect in membrane fusion. FER-1 and the ferlin protein family are membrane proteins with four to seven C2 domains. These domains commonly mediate Ca2+-dependent lipid-processing events. Most of the fer-1 mutations fall within these C2 domains, showing that they have distinct, non-redundant functions. We found that membranous organelle fusion requires intracellular Ca2+ and that C2 domain mutations alter Ca2+ sensitivity. This suggests that the C2 domains are involved in Ca2+ sensing and further supports their independent function. Using two immunological approaches we found three FER-1 isoforms, two of which might arise from FER-1 by proteolysis. By both light and electron microscopy, these FER-1 proteins were found to be localized to membranous organelle membranes. Dysferlin, a human homologue of FER-1 involved in muscular dystrophy, is required for vesicle fusion during Ca2+-induced muscle membrane repair. Our results suggest that the ferlin family members share a conserved mechanism to regulate cell-type-specific membrane fusion.


The study's purpose was to assess the safety, feasibility and efficiency of selective arterial embolization (SAE) using N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) glue before percutaneous cryoablation (PCA) of renal malignancies in patients whose tumor characteristics and/or comorbidities resulted in an unacceptable risk of bleeding. In this single-center retrospective study of 19 consecutive high-risk patients (median age, 74 years) with renal malignancies managed in 2017–2020 by SAE with NBCA followed by PCA, data about patients, tumor and procedures characteristics, complications, renal function and hemoglobin concentration before and after treatment, as well as recurrence were collected. Charlson comorbidity index was ≥4 in 89.5% of patients. Ten patients were treated by antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant therapy. Median tumor largest diameter was 3.75 cm (range, 1–6.5 cm) and R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score was ≥7 in 80%, indicating substantial tumor complexity. No major complications were recorded and minor complications occurred in 7 patients. No residual tumor was found at 6-week imaging follow-up in 18/19 patients. Tumor recurrence was visible in 1/16 patients at 6-month imaging follow-up. No significant difference was found for renal function after treatment (p = 0.07), whereas significant decrease in hemoglobin concentration was noted (p = 0.00004), although it was relevant for only one patient who required only blood transfusion and no further intervention. SAE prior to PCA is safe and effective for managing renal malignancies in high-risk patients.


The causes of epidemics are plainly not the pathogens alone as was initially assumed by Koch's school, predisposition and constitution of the population proved to be equally important. Ever since ancient times problems linked with the "constitutio epidemica" have been topical; the "physis", the "natura hominis" and the invironment of man play an increasingly important role in the symptomatology of disease, as can be gathered from such early documents as the "Corpus hippocraticum". Fracastoro distinguished between contagious and non-contagious epidemics. The casual organisms were considered to be miasmas -- noxious emanations -- or "contagia" i.e. likewise toxic substances. Questions concerning the origin of these miasmas turned attention to the environment (air, soil, water) and even led to astrological medicine. Not until the Renaissance were attempts made to differentiate the usual global words for epidemic, such as "loimos", "lues" and "pestis" with the result that a symptom was used more and more to designate a disease. For example, the symptom fever led to the designation "three-day fever" or "four-day fever", "typhus fever". This terminology made a differential diagnosis difficult to establish, thwarted selection measures to check epidemics and the medical world was thus helpless in explaining the causal agents and the phenomena of epidemics. This is illustrated by some epidemiological examples (ergotism, scurvy, yellow fever, English sweat, diphtheria and malaria). In this connection the "morbus novus", the transformation of the pathogen and the change of the pathogen is discussed. Many questions still left unanswered regarding the seasonal incidence, the fluctuation and disappearance of epidemics over decades or even centuries lead more frequently to sociomedical considerations with respect to the victims of epidemics, their predisposition, constitution and environment exposure term "hospital gangrene" with the modern term "hospitalism", we are not dealing with a transformation but a change of the pathogen. The impressive effects produced by antibiotics resulted in carelessness and along with the unprecedented advances in medicine and engineering we forgot to bear in mind that almost all great steps forward have an adverse side. Hygiene and practical medicine have only made a modest beginning in establishing the contact which should indeed be a matter of course in the hospital.


The manubrium of a primarily non-terminal ephyra is formed from the connecting tube between two ephyra rudiments. The proboscis of the polyp remaining arises in a manner similar to that of the manubrium of the non-terminal ephyra. The apical opening of an ephyra normally closes before liberation. The connecting strands are covered with endoderm. The longitudinal muscles of a polyp may be hollow and the cavities are not in communication with the peristomial pits. The formation of the peristomial pit is associated with the development of the manubrium. The gastral filaments are formed as paired outgrowths of the endoderm of the columella. They do not involve the longitudinal muscle in their production. They originate early in the history of an ephyra. There are definite currents over the ectoderm caused by flagellated ectoderm cells. The segments of a strobila may give rise to ephyrae or polyps and the oral disc may separate unchanged to continue its existence as a polyp.


As a result of global changes, shifts of alpine tree lines towards higher elevations have been recorded, but the role of the spatial variability of the snowpack and zonal‐pattern soil‐nutrient regimes is poorly understood. Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) is best suited to fertile soils, and hence we applied soil physical‐chemical and snow measurements and the age chronology of Norway spruce along an elevational gradient (380–557 m a.s.l.) to address a vertical soil zonality hypothesis on mafic Lommoltunturi fell in Finnish Lapland. With regard to increasing elevation, we found an increase in soil NTOT, CTOT and Al, but a decrease in soil Ca, Mg and Ca:Al ratio as well as in electrical conductivity (EC). In addition, the snowpack was significantly thicker in low‐elevation forest than in the tree line and open tundra. In the 1840s, spruce established on low‐elevation soils with a Ca:Al ratio of 2.2. Starting from the 1920s a significant shift of spruce occurred such that it took 60 years to expand the tree line by 55 m in elevation. The spruce tree line has advanced, and the age distribution indicates new colonization of spruce in closed forest up to tundra. The poor soil Ca:Al ratio of 0.02 on tundra apparently is a constraint for spruce. Spruce forest is young (<165 years), and hence we argue that spruce has expanded onto formerly tree‐free sites of this mafic fell. This paper demonstrates that vertical soil zonality is a potential driver for the diffuse tree line of Picea abies on mafic Fennoscandian fells.


Abstract Background. To determine the role of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) in breast cancer patients with T1-2 and N1 disease. Patients and methods. A total of 207 postmastectomy women were enrolled. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier estimates of locoregional recurrence rate (LRR), distant recurrence rate (DRR) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by different tumor characteristics. Multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results. With median follow-up 59.5 months, the 5-year LRR, DRR and OS were 9.1%, 20.3% and 84.4%, respectively. On univariate analysis, age < 40 years old (p = 0.003) and Her-2/neu over-expression (p = 0.016) were associated with higher LRR, whereas presence of LVI significantly predicted higher DRR (p = 0.026). Negative estrogen status (p = 0.033), Her-2/neu overexpression (p = 0.001) and LVI (p = 0.01) were significantly correlated with worse OS. PMRT didn't prove to reduce 5-year LRR (p = 0.107), as well as 5-year OS (p = 0.918). In subgroup analysis, PMRT showed significant benefits of improvement LRR and OS in patients with positive LVI. Conclusions. For patients with T1-2 and N1 stage breast cancer, PMRT can decrease locoregional recurrence and increase overall survival only in patients with lymphovascular invasion.


One impact of the Civil Rights Era was the development of American Indian Studies as an academic discipline. Native American college students were tired of the mundane courses regarding Indians and protested by demanding courses relevant to them as Indian people. As a result, the discipline was literally developed overnight with no structure regarding the discipline.

Nearly forty years later, what has American Indian Studies accomplished? The purpose of this research was to explore pertinent issues regarding the discipline and to offer potential reasons why the discipline has yet to develop a working hypothesis, definition, and research methodology.

Research methods were gathered via email survey and face-to-face interviews. Participants for the email survey were identified through individual AIS department web pages. Two-hundred and forty AIS Professors were sent a short five question survey with instructions requesting a reply within five weeks.

The interview criterion was based upon their contributions to the literature regarding the discipline, role of AIS Departmental Chairperson, and role as Professor of American Indian Studies.

The results from the research revealed information that both agrees and differs from the four hypotheses. The significant factor concerning the research was the low number of email survey replies. In addition, nearly one-third of the respondents wrote of their inability to provide answers suitable for the research design.

After the deadline of the email survey, respondents informed me of their reluctance to reply citing they generally do not reply to email surveys, did not have the time to reply, they could not provide sufficient answers, and they lack of interest in replying.

This data provided newfound information concerning the discipline and the instructors teaching AIS courses. In direct contrast to the data, some spiring information was found from the instruments. 11 Additional AIS venues for publication were identified as was a reason explaining why AIS does not have a paradigm. This research was designed to assist in the dialogue between AIS professors and AIS departments/programs and to point out the need for maintaining collaborations for the further develop of American Indian Studies.


Overlay transmissions in cognitive radio (CR) permit a secondary system to use spectrum concomitantly with a primary system, though adopting this spectrum sharing strategy presents a number of challenges, such as the requirement for a secondary user to have a priori knowledge as side information about the primary user. In this paper, a cognitive cellular network is proposed which uses an overlay approach to dynamically share its radio resource by incorporating cognition, leading to enhanced cell capacity. To compensate for the interference caused by the overlay, cognitive base stations use robust dirty-paper coding in combination with variable transmission powers, which are set depending upon the location of the mobile stations. A detailed performance analysis is presented to corroborate the improved spectrum utilization achieved using this technique.


Primarily, tempering is used in martensitic stainless steels with low carbon in order to change their mechanical properties. However, it also modifies the corrosion properties; usually depending on the temperature and duration of the heat treatment. This work investigated the impact of tempering on the corrosion of 13Cr4Ni0.02C and 13Cr1Ni0.15C (% weight) steels. Samples were tempered at 650o, 700o and 750oC, characterized by optical microscopy and cyclic anodic polarization tests in a synthetic marine environment. The results showed differences in the microstructure of the 13Cr4Ni0.02C tempered samples, which changed from lath to lamellar with precipitates in the prior austenite grain boundaries. On the other hand, tempering did not affect the 13Cr1Ni0.15C microstructure. The anodic polarization tests showed that the pitting potential of the 13Cr4Ni0.02C samples decreased with the tempering temperature increasing. Similar values of pitting potential were found with the 13Cr1Ni0.15C tempered samples, which were lower than the 13Cr4Ni0.02C samples after tempering. It shows that even though the corrosion resistance of the 13Cr4Ni0.02C reduces when the tempering temperature was increased, it is better than that presented by 13Cr1Ni0.15C.


The multi-agent research community is currently faced with a paradox. While promoting the use of agents as the silver bullet for various software engineering problems, it faces difficulties in presenting successful deployments. Despite the countless multi-agent prototypes that have been developed, the number of actually deployed and in use MAS is at best very small [1]. One reason for the noticeable absence of deployed multi-agent systems is their inability to scale. This paper reports about the use of a CORBA/Java middle-ware layer called DICE, which enables transparent access to the resources of different physical machines. Using this layer it becomes possible to build large multi-agent systems that require large numbers of concurrent threads and significant memory resources. Using DICE it becomes possible to build large agent societies consisting of complex agents defined in JESS.


This is a summary of a Cochrane review, published in this issue of EBCH, first published as: Dhiwakar M, Clement WA, Supriya M, McKerrow WS. Antibiotics to reduce post-tonsillectomy morbidity. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD005607. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005607.pub2.

Further information for this Cochrane review is available in this issue of EBCH in the accompanying Commentary and Characteristics and Key Findings Tables. Copyright © 2008 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The Cochrane Collaboration


The present study primarily investigated the role of mentoring for its effect on employee career growth. In this study descriptive research design was used and a quantitative research was conducted. The sample of this study was selected through non-probability convenience sampling. Data was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed to the employees of banking sector of Lahore, Pakistan. Moreover, research finding revealed that mentoring has a positive effect on employee career growth in the studied sector. Among the three mentoring functions, career functions play a vital role for providing career growth opportunities to the employees working in banks. Employee turnover intention could be reduced by providing mentoring to them. The current research also revealed that the role of mentoring program resulted significant increase in employees? job performance which consequently made them more committed and satisfied with their jobs. In the light of current research findings, it is recommended that banks managers should know the important benefits of mentoring, as it has considerable effect on the career growth of employees.


Abstract Objective To analyse the correlations between olfactory psychophysical scores and the serum levels of D-dimer, C-reactive protein, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase, procalcitonin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in coronavirus disease 2019 patients. Methods Patients underwent psychophysical olfactory assessment with the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test, and determination of blood serum levels of the inflammatory markers D-dimer, C-reactive protein, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase, procalcitonin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio within 10 days of the clinical onset of coronavirus disease 2019 and 60 days after. Results Seventy-seven patients were included in this study. D-dimer, procalcitonin, ferritin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio correlated significantly with severe coronavirus disease 2019. No significant correlations were found between baseline and 60-day Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test scores and the inflammatory markers assessed. Conclusion Olfactory disturbances appear to have little prognostic value in predicting the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 compared to D-dimer, ferritin, procalcitonin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. The lack of correlation between the severity and duration of olfactory disturbances and serum levels of inflammatory markers seems to further suggest that the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the loss of smell in coronavirus disease 2019 patients are related to local rather than systemic inflammatory factors.


This note describes the updated design and operation of an inspection system that provides ginners an instantaneous view of the dispersing cylinders in a cotton gin module feeder. Images are provided by network cameras installed in the back wall of a module feeder using a new adjustable housing design that allows for easier installation into various module feeder designs. We observed that when these systems are installed and operated, accumulation of plastic and other contaminants on dispersing cylinders is detected and removed more quickly than when the cylinders are manually checked between work shifts or during other pauses in gin operation. Gin crews are more responsive to plastic accumulation on the dispersing cylinders because they can see when it occurs and quickly remove the contaminants, thereby reducing the risk of plastic contamination in lint bales.


(1) Background: River health assessment provides the foundation for sustainable river development and management. However, existing assessments have no uniform standards and methods. (2) Methods: The combination weighting method was proposed, drawing on the advantages of subjective and objective weighting methods. To comprehensively investigate the river health level, an index system based on 16 indices selected from river morphology, river water environment, riparian condition, and social services level was established. The method and framework were applied to the Beijing section of Yongding River in China. (3) Results: The comprehensive weights of river morphology, river water environment, riparian condition, and social services are 0.1614, 0.3170, 0.4459, and 0.0757, respectively. The river health comprehensive index of Yongding River is 3.805; the percentages of excellent, healthy, sub-healthy, unhealthy, and sick river segments are 0%, 11%, 69%, 20%, and 0%, respectively. (4) Conclusions: The results indicate that Yongding River is in a sub-healthy state, and the riparian condition is the key factor that affects the river ecosystem health. Health level exhibited a remarkable spatial variation, mainly influenced by anthropogenic activities, and effective measures are needed to minimize the impact in fragile ecological areas.


Traffic safety is a major concern worldwide. Road accidents are the ninth leading cause of death in the world. Tunnel accidents are less common than road accidents. However, the severity of the accidents is more severe. One of the key factors in preventing accidents in road tunnels is proper lighting system. Failure to pay attention to this issue causes the phenomenon of black hole when approaching the tunnel, visual mismatch inside the tunnel and the phenomenon of glowing hole when leaving the tunnel. The creation of these factors has increased the risk potential at the entrance and exit of the tunnel up to 4 times the middle area of the tunnel. At the entrance to the tunnel, the reflection of sunlight from the surroundings and the lack of sufficient light usually cause some vision problems. It may lead to drivers' eyes not adapting to changing the brightness level at the tunnel entrance, thus increasing the risk of road accidents in this area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the lighting safety in very long road tunnels based on the visual adaptation of drivers in the tunnels. In this paper, first, generalities about tunnel safety are stated and using the CIE88-2004 standard, the required luminosity in the threshold, transition, interior and exit areas of the tunnel is designed. Finally, solutions are proposed to increase the safety of tunnels.


An electrically-alterable read-only-memory using silicon dioxide and silicon-rich silicon dioxide layers capable of being cycled ≳ 107times by minimizing electron charge trapping in the SiO2layers of the device by incorporation of small amounts of silicon is reported for the first time. Charge transfer to and from a floating polycrystalline silicon layer from a control gate electrode is accomplished by means of a modified dual-electron-injector-structure stack. This modified stack has the intervening silicon dioxide layer, which is sandwiched between silicon-rich silicon dioxide injectors, replaced by a slightly off-stoichiometric oxide containing between 1% and 6% excess atomic silicon above the normal 33% found in silicon dioxide. A brief discussion of a physical model which is believed to account for the observed phenomenon is given.


Potassium carbonate supplementation is known to improve milk fat synthesis and to modify milk mineral composition in dairy cows. The objective of the current experiment was to evaluate the effect of K2CO3 on production performance, biohydrogenation of fatty acids (FA), and mineral composition of milk in early-lactation dairy cows fed a high-concentrate diet with or without soybean oil (SBO), as a source of polyunsaturated FA. Twenty-eight ruminally fistulated Holstein cows were used in a randomized complete block design. The experiment lasted 33 d, including a 5-d pretreatment collection period used as a covariate. Experimental treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with 0 or 1.5% K2CO3 and with 0 or 2% SBO, and balanced to contain 40% forage (57% corn silage + 43% grass silage) and 60% concentrate. Preplanned orthogonal contrasts were used to assess the effects of K2CO3, SBO, and their interaction. Feeding K2CO3 did not affect milk yield, but tended to increase 4% fat-corrected milk and fat yield when combined with SBO. However, adding SBO to diets increased milk yield. Dietary K2CO3 supplementation did not affect milk fat concentration of trans-10 18:1 or any other identified biohydrogenation intermediates. Soybean oil supplementation decreased milk fat concentration of C16 and de novo synthesized FA, and increased preformed FA. Among the other effects of SBO supplementation observed, concentrations of cis-9,trans-11 18:2 increased, as well as most of the cis and trans isomers of 18:1 and 18:0. Milk urea N decreased in cows fed K2CO3 as compared with unsupplemented diets. A positive relation was established between milk Cl concentration and milk yield, suggesting that the equilibrium of this ion is linked to the efficiency of lactogenesis. The effect of K2CO3 on this mineral equilibrium in the mammary gland remains to be established. Overall, results have shown that potential effect of K2CO3 on milk fat synthesis is dependent on the levels of dietary polyunsaturated FA.


Particle size distribution and void ratio of a soil are considered as the direct information that can be used in a relatively easy manner for hydraulic conductivity estimation. Estimation of hydraulic conductivity from particle size distribution can be used to check permeability values obtained from other methods. Therefore, this paper attempts to relate the particle size distribution to hydraulic conductivity. The study was carried out on 24 soil samples which were collected from the embankment of an earth reservoir and subgrade at the toe. The investigation was carried out in accordance with the standard procedure given in BS1377. A series of hydraulic conductivity tests were carried out on optimum moisture content (OMC) compacted soil samples using the falling head method. The mean sizes of particles in each sample from particle size distribution curves were determined and used to generate regression models for the flow. Linear, exponential, polynomial and logarithmic models were used to test the validity; however, the best was adopted for this study. The findings of this study show that there is variability in the particle sizes of the soil material which in turn results to variation in the hydraulic conductivity. The hydraulic conductivity was found to increase with an increase in mean particle size. The relationship between mean particle size and hydraulic conductivity yielded coefficients of determination (R2 ) of stronger correlation when the plastic and non-plastic samples were separately analyzed. However, all values of R2 (0.9949, 0.9968 and 0.8918 for samples 1 to 16, 17 to 24 and 1 to 24 respectively) can be considered satisfactory. In addition, generalized models for the flow were generated for the plastic, non-plastic and the combined samples. The generated models can be used to predict the hydraulic conductivity of different soil samples.Keywords: Model, Hydraulic Conductivity, Mean Particle Size, Earth Reservoir


Metabolic syndrome is a group of heritable metabolic traits that are highly associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Classical interventions to T2DM include individual self-management of environmental risk factors, such as improving diet quality, increasing physical activity, and reducing smoking and alcohol consumption, which decreases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. However, it is poorly understood how the phenotypes of diabetes-related metabolic traits change with respect to lifestyle modifications at the individual level. In the analysis, we used 12 diabetes-related metabolic traits and eight lifestyle covariates from the UK Biobank comprising 288,837 white British participants genotyped for 1,133,273 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms. We found 16 GxE interactions. Modulation of genetic effects by physical activity was seen for four traits (glucose, HbA1c, C-reactive protein, systolic blood pressure) and by alcohol and smoking for three (BMI, glucose, waist–hip ratio and BMI and diastolic and systolic blood pressure, respectively). We also found a number of significant phenotypic modulations by the lifestyle covariates, which were not attributed to the genetic effects in the model. Overall, modulation in the metabolic risk in response to the level of lifestyle covariates was clearly observed, and its direction and magnitude were varied depending on individual differences. We also showed that the metabolic risk inferred by our model was notably higher in T2DM prospective cases than controls. Our findings highlight the importance of individual genetic differences in the prevention and management of diabetes and suggest that the one-size-fits-all approach may not benefit all.


Caffeine isthe mostwidely consumed and excreted psychoactive drug in the world. It is a ubiquitous tracer of urban wastewater, but its ecological effects are notwell understood. We hypothesized that caffeine exposure is associated with coral bleaching. Here we report the effects of caffeine on four species of coral algae endosymbionts belonging to three widely distributed clades: Clade A Symbiodinium microadriaticum (A), Clade B Symbiodinium sp. from Aiptasia pallida (B6), Clade B Symbiodinium sp. from Pseudoterogorgia bipinnata (B7), and Clade C Symbiodinium goreaui (C). To assess the effect of caffeine on algal physiology we used two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and peptide mass spectrometry to identify protein sensitive to caffeine exposure. The results show several upregulated and several downregulated polypeptides in all algae species tested. The heat-shock proteins are among the commonly affected proteins, suggesting that caffeine exposure associated with sewage discharge into natural waters may exacerbate the effects of stress from other environmental factors such as changes in ocean temperature and pH.


A sample of patients with chronic kidney disease on maintenance hemodialysis participated in a study to explore the relationship between illness perception and quality of life. Illness perception was examined based on the Common-Sense Model of Illness as described by Leventhal. Forty-two participants completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), the Index of Well-being (IWB) and a brief demographic form. All of the subscales of the IPQ-R and the IWB demonstrated adequate reliability (alpha levels > or = .70) except for the treatment control subscale (alpha = .46). More perceived consequences of kidney disease and higher scores on the emotional representation scale were negatively correlated with scores on the IWB. Future research is needed to assess the influence of factors such as coping strategies on illness representations and on well-being. Nephrology nurses are in an optimal position to identify the illness perceptions of patients on chronic hemodialysis and can introduce specific coping mechanisms to enhance overall well-being. As well nephrology nurses can function as part of the overall health care team to identify the resources available to minimize the perceived consequences of chronic kidney disease.


During mitosis, a bipolar spindle is assembled around chromosomes to efficiently capture chromosomes. Previous work proposed that a chromosome-derived Ran-GTP gradient promotes spindle assembly around chromosomes by liberating spindle assembly factors (SAFs) from inhibitory importins. However, Ran's dual functions in interphase nucleocytoplasmic transport and mitotic spindle assembly have made it difficult to assess its mitotic roles in somatic cells. Here, using auxin-inducible degron technology in human cells, we developed acute mitotic degradation assays to dissect Ran's mitotic roles systematically and separately from its interphase function. In contrast to the prevailing model, we found that the Ran pathway is not essential for spindle assembly activities that occur at sites spatially separated from chromosomes, including activating NuMA for spindle pole focusing or for targeting TPX2. In contrast, Ran-GTP is required to localize HURP and HSET specifically at chromosome-proximal regions. We demonstrated that Ran-GTP and importin-β coordinately promote HURP's dynamic microtubule binding-dissociation cycle near chromosomes, which results in stable kinetochore-fiber formation. Intriguingly, this pathway acts to establish proper spindle length preferentially during prometaphase, rather than metaphase. Together, we propose that the Ran pathway is required to activate SAFs specifically near chromosomes, but not generally during human mitotic spindle assembly. Ran-dependent spindle assembly is likely coupled with parallel pathways to activate SAFs, including NuMA, for spindle pole focusing away from chromosomes.


Fracture stiffness and flow properties have been measured in the laboratory using naturally fractured fault rock samples from the Little Grand Wash fault, Utah, USA. We compare fracture closure and related flow change during isotropic loading of two fractures which have been subject to various amounts of paleoreactive flow. The two tested fractures are described as (i) a small‐aperture fracture (0.1 mm) with negligible geochemical alterations of the fracture surface and (ii) a large‐aperture fracture (0.53 mm) where precipitates are observed on the fracture surface. X‐ray imaging is used for quantification of fracture aperture and fracture surface contact distribution. The petrographical characterization using scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray powder diffraction is performed pretest and describes burial and uplift diagenesis as well as pulses of reactive fluid flow within the fault. The stress‐dependent flow and deformation experiment provides new data on fracture stiffness and flow for naturally developed fractures in siliciclastic rock. Fracture stiffness is found to be highest for the small‐aperture fracture due to its high‐fracture contact ratio and well‐developed surface mating during closure. For the naturally altered and rougher, large‐aperture fracture, fracture stiffness is lower and a highly stress dependent decay in flow is observed during initial closure. The results illustrate that a natural fracture with high contact ratio and well‐mated surfaces will close during loading, whereas a fracture associated with high flow rates and affected by previous geochemical alteration maintains a high flow rate compared to the host rock during similar loading.


Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a rapidly expanding and largely untapped class of natural products with various biological activities. Linear azol(in)e-containing peptides (LAPs) comprise a subclass of RiPPs that display an outstanding diversity of mechanisms of action while sharing common structural features. Here, we report the discovery of a new LAP biosynthetic gene cluster in the genome of Rhizobium sp. Pop5, which encodes the precursor peptide and modification machinery of phazolicin (PHZ) – an extensively modified peptide exhibiting narrow-spectrum antibacterial activity against some symbiotic bacteria of leguminous plants belonging to the Rhizobiales. PHZ inhibits prokaryotic translation through the obstruction of the passage of the nascent peptide through the ribosome exit channel. The cryo-EM structure of the Escherichia coli ribosome with bound PHZ revealed that the drug interacts with the 23S rRNA and ribosomal proteins uL4 and uL22 and obstructs the exit tunnel in a way that is distinct from other compounds blocking the exit channel. We show that the sequence of uL4 ribosomal protein loop involved in PHZ binding determines the species-specificity of antibiotic interaction with its target. PHZ and its predicted homologs from other bacterial species expand the known diversity of LAPs and may be used in the future as biocontrol agents for the needs of agriculture.


Transplantation of whole organs and complex tissues is plagued by issues of inadequate donor sources and immunosuppression morbidity. Furthermore, there exists no treatment for the restoration of deceased tissue such as that incurred after myocardial infarction. The field of tissue engineering is concentrated on a multi-disciplinary effort to generate techniques that restore organ and tissue function. The field is young, but has already yielded many experimental and clinical successes. This article attempts to introduce the reader to the concepts of tissue engineering and provides examples of successes in the field. Clinicians should be aware of these technologies as they gain traction and are introduced into clinical care.


Background Sex workers (SWs) have been identified as a "high-risk group" and considerable effort has been invested in promoting "safer sex" among this group. However, their specific concerns and identities vanish in broader public health policy discussions related to treatment and particularly care. Ashodaya Samithi, a SWs organisation based in Mysore, Karnataka, has been providing extensive care and support (C&S) services to SWs and "non-SWs" living with HIV through their sub-wing organisation, Ashraya, since 2008. Considering the enduring stigma attached to SWs, what motivates individuals to seek health services from Ashraya? Methods 40 in-depth interviews (including 10 with non-SWs) were conducted with Ashraya members in 2011 to explore how Ashraya responds to the needs of its members in terms of C&S. Content analysis of the transcripts was completed to sort out themes. Results Analysis shows that in spite of scarce resources, the accessibility, effective outreach efforts, and commitment and reliability of Ashraya's volunteers are major components of its growing popularity. Conclusions In the near-absence of non-discriminatory, affordable C&S for people living with HIV/AIDS, Ashraya offers much needed relief to its members. The potential role of SWs community-based organisations in providing C&S, which goes beyond safer sex promotion, needs to be accounted for within national-level policy planning and in evaluating existing programs.


Abstract : Ideas matter, but before they do, they must first establish themselves. This dissertation explores how organizations come to embrace the ideas that they do. Its findings suggest that ideas stick within organizations not simply when they make sense, or when they further an organization's goals and objectives. On the contrary, in order to persist, ideas also need committed proponents, structures to adhere to, and resources for nourishment. Moreover, ideas stand a better chance of taking root and strengthening when they are congruent with the organization's external context. by short, this dissertation suggests that ideas emerge, permeate, and persist within organizations in the same way that institutions do within cultures. These broader findings spring from a case study that details the history of the aerospace concept a simple idea born and perpetuated within the United States Air Force in which "air" and "space" are seen as a single indivisible medium rather than as two different places. The concept has long been an official position of the Air Force, but it has never fully taken hold. This describes a paradox of sorts: on one hand, the aerospace concept is strong enough to persist as long as it has, but on the other, it is not strong enough to stick. To understand this apparent inconsistency, the dissertation evaluates the aerospace concept as if the idea was an emerging institution within the Air Force. First, it derives a hybrid institutionalization process model by bridging two disparate sources within institutionalism's literature.


The author applies the comparative method for the reconstruction of earlier aspectual systems in the Afro-Asiatic phylum of languages. Moving 'upstream' from the documented systems of Semitic, Berber and Old Cushitic the state of affairs during the common stage of Proto-Semito-Berbero-Cushitic is reconstructed. With the addition of Egyptian and Chadic data important conclusions regarding the elusive Proto-Afro-Asiatic are reached. Moving 'downstream' the trajectory of individual aspectual systems through their later stages is analyzed. A central piece of the monograph is the reconstruction of intermediate stages reflecting the long-term developments of aspectual and temporal categories of individual languages from the Old towards their Middle periods. The continuity and innovation in the aspectual systems towards the contemporary state of affairs in analytic (serial) constructions of Modern Aramaic and Arabic vernacular languages is explicated. The author demonstrates that it is imperative to work in a larger typological framework and that in the field of Afro-Asiatic linguistics valuable insights can be gained from the study of parallel phenomena in Indo-European languages. At the same time, Indo-Europeanists will profit from the study of typologically earlier aspect-prominent systems of Afro-Asiatic languages. The monograph offers important contributions to our understanding of universals and to the typology and diachrony of tense and aspect.