Many complex mechanical systems are simplified by considering them as multibody systems. In recent years, flexible multibody dynamics has become more and more in demand. In~\cite{simeon2013}, a weakly constrained joint model was presented, which in a well-defined way models the interconnection of an elastic and a rigid body by a massless rigid joint. However, the joint model assumes that the orientation of the joint-elastic body interface is unaffected by the displacement field of the elastic body. The aim of this study is to highlight the limitations of the joint model due to this assumption. In this study, the joint model was applied for two-body system of an elastic and a rigid body, connected by a small rigid joint. During deformation the joint-body interface was expected to rotate due to the displacement field of the elastic body. However, due to the assumption the interface stayed fixed which distorted the displacement field of the elastic body. This assumption could be avoided if the orientation of the interface during deformation was predicted, which would be possible by the use of observer points. (Less)


Background : Globally, Diabetes Mellitus is a common health problem that occurs as a systemic disease affecting vascular, nervous, skeletal, immune, and integumentary systems. The aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate and highlight on the management outcome of diabetic foot in AL-Hussein Teaching Hospital – Samawa / AL-Muthanna province and determine the risk factors adversely affecting the treatment prognosis. Patient and Methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) ulcer were included in this study. The lesions were managed by removing dead tissue, triple antibiotic therapy, avoiding weight bearing, and proper diabetes control. Results:According to gender, the percentage of DF was 34 (68%) and 16 (32%) for males and females, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that 22 (44%) and 28 (56%) display type I and type II DM, respectively. Also, 23 out of 50 (46%) patients were poorly controlled, and ten of these cases (43%) underwent amputation. According to Wagner Grading System; the patient's grade percentages were 2%, 30%, 20%, 22%, 14%, and 12 % for Grade 0, Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV, and Grade V, respectively. All non-responded patients were those treated at home, had poor cooperation, neglect, and out-patient follow-up refusal and were subjected to amputation. The poorly controlled or uncontrolled DM, Ischemic heart disease (IHD), leukocytosis, anemia, impalpable dorsalis pedis pulse/s, smoking, neuropathy, patient's neglection and traditional home treatment were the common factors that revealed significant adverse effects on conservative treatment. While hyperglycemia, hypertension and site of management (surgical, orthopedic, out-patient or emergency departments) factors that revealed less or non-significant adverse effects on conservative treatment. Conclusion: this study showed that type II DM was the most diabetic foot lesion. The study also approved that most patients were poorly controlled DM that ended with amputation, and most patients presented with Wagner's grade I.


Technologies of the 21st century have brought about a new crisis of significance, which is determined by materialism, expedient attitude, narrowness generated by the self-centeredness, lack of sense, and poverty of commitments. This state of affairs is also characteristic for the contemporary Higher Education, which is going through a decisive stage when it must rethink the communication schemes methodologies as well as the spiritual interaction of intelligence. Didactic processes are re-directed towards more interactive communication, learning spaces, and metacognitive strategies. University teachers, as the servant leaders of the successful education, have a special responsibility to develop competence for learning to learn and for social integration through a profession. Thus, the academics have a specific mission to demonstrate not only the deep knowledge, but also the spiritual intelligence. This chapter provides a novel model of spiritual intelligence raining of the Academic Staff. Conclusions and future research directions are provided.


This retrospective descriptive study aims to characterise and compare the clinical manifestations, course and outcome of 16 Oriental patients with adult-onset Still's disease diagnosed in the last 4 years with published data based on Western populations and another Oriental (Japanese) series. Like the Japanese, we found a female preponderance, an older age at onset, and fewer patients with abdominal pain, myalgia, sore throat and serositis compared to the Western series. A longer delay in diagnosis occurred in patients lacking either arthritis or rash at presentation. Most patients had mild hyponatraemia and 2 patients had overt syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone secretion. All patients showed a dissociation of elevated aldolase with normal to low creatine kinase levels. Over 50% relapsed within a year from diagnosis and needed slow-acting anti-rheumatic drugs as steroid-sparing agents. Two were given intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide therapy for progressive pneumonitis. Outcome was generally good with minimal functional impairment and no mortality.


Students majoring in Horticulture Landscape and Sportsturf Management take an introductory module in Landscape Design. During a seven week period through a series of lectures, studio based graphic and design exercises, and site visits students are introduced to landscape design principles. Following an introduction to garden history each student prepares a precedent study based on the work of an international landscape designer. Furthermore, they must prepare a domestic or commercial landscape design plan. In the last academic year the class was invited to develop landscape design proposals for Beech Hill College in Monaghan. Ordnance survey maps of the site were obtained in preparation for the site visit and meeting with the School Principal who outlined the specific requirements. The students were sub-divided into three working groups and assigned a specific area of the school campus to survey and evaluate existing vegetation. Each student created design proposals, drew cross sections and a planting plan for their areas. At the end of the semester each student presented their work to peers, staff and the School Principal and was given immediate feedback. Student response to the project was highly positive and in comparison to previous years, the design proposals were suitable for implementation. Students participated in individual and group work, developed critical thinking skills, presentation skills, and all transferable skills required of university graduates. Engaging in a 'live' project for a school campus emphasised their contribution to a local community. The students have been invited to return and to further develop the site.


Thespesia populnea Corr. floral extract has been shown to have anti-steroidogenic effect. Bark extract of Thespesia populnea has no toxicity as per the earlier reports of traditional medicine used by the tribal peoples of Indira Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary, Pollachi, South India. In the present study, anti-steroidogenic effect of Thespesia populnea (Malvacea) bark was evaluated in adult female mice (Mus musculus). Methanolic extract of Thespesia populnea bark (METP) was administered orally at the doses of 100, 250, 400 mg/kg body weight for a duration of 30 days, and normal saline (0.9%) to control group. There was significant reduction in the (P<0.05) wet weight of both ovaries. Cholesterol content in ovaries of METP treated mice was significantly increased (P<0.05). The two ovarian enzymes 3-,17-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase and serum estrogen and progesterone also decreased (P<0.05) significantly. Administration of METP in mice did not show any variation in the hematological and bio-chemical parameters. A certain number of adult female mice were ovariectomized (OVX) and tested for hormone levels with EDP and with EDP + Extract to confirm the antifertility effect of METP. It is concluded that antifertility effect of METP could be due to its antisteroidogenic activity.


Atomic resolution crystallographic studies of streptavidin and its biotin complex have been carried out at 1.03 and 0.95 Å, respectively. The wild-type protein crystallized with a tetramer in the asymmetric unit, while the crystals of the biotin complex contained two subunits in the asymmetric unit. Comparison of the six subunits shows the various ways in which the protein accommodates ligand binding and different crystal-packing environments. Conformational variation is found in each of the polypeptide loops connecting the eight strands in the β-sandwich subunit, but the largest differences are found in the flexible binding loop (residues 45-52). In three of the unliganded subunits the loop is in an `open' conformation, while in the two subunits binding biotin, as well as in one of the unliganded subunits, this loop `closes' over the biotin-binding site. The `closed' loop contributes to the protein's high affinity for biotin. Analysis of the anisotropic displacement parameters included in the crystallographic models is consistent with the variation found in the loop structures and the view that the dynamic nature of the protein structure contributes to the ability of the protein to bind biotin so tightly.


This study aims to describe the optimization of the application of the Madani Bintan Islamic boarding school in the implementation of educational accountability at Madrasah Aliyah Madani Bintan. The method used in this research is descriptive. The approach taken is a qualitative approach. The data collection tool used in this study consisted of three parts, namely observation, interviews and documentation. Based on the results of the research, it is known that: (1) Through the application, parents can monitor activities, the achievements are inputted by the operator every month to be reported to caregivers and parents. Parents can access the application. Then in the application, the profile of each student is entered and can be accessed by the parents of each student. In this application, parents can monitor their child's achievement. Even to the point of prayer, the offense was committed. (2) the results of interviews with several guardians of students can be concluded that the application of this Islamic boarding school is very useful and helps parents of students to make monthly payments for Islamic boarding schools. In addition, this application can help parents to monitor their children's activities while at the boarding school.


Introduction The determination of ventriculo-arterial coupling is gaining an increasing role in cardiovascular and sport medicine. However, its relevance in critically ill patients is still under investigation. In this study we measured the association between ventriculo-arterial coupling and oxygen consumption (VO2) response after hemodynamic interventions in cardiac surgery patients with acute circulatory instability. Material and Methods Sixty-one cardio-thoracic ICU patients (67 ± 12 years, 80% men) who received hemodynamic therapeutic interventions (fluid challenge or norepinephrine infusion) were included. Arterial pressure, cardiac output, heart rate, arterial (EA), and ventricular elastances (EV), total indexed peripheral resistances were assessed before and after hemodynamic interventions. VO2 responsiveness was defined as VO2 increase >15% following the hemodynamic intervention. Ventriculo-arterial coupling was assessed measuring the EA/EV ratio by echocardiography. The left ventricle stroke work to pressure volume area ratio (SW/PVA) was also calculated. Results In the overall cohort, 24 patients (39%) were VO2 responders, and 48 patients had high ventriculo-arterial (EA/EV) coupling ratio with a median value of 1.9 (1.6–2.4). Most of those patients were classified as VO2 responders (28 of 31 patients, p = 0.031). Changes in VO2 were correlated with those of indexed total peripheral resistances, EA, EA/EV and cardiac output. EA/EV ratio predicted VO2 increase with an AUC of 0.76 [95% CI: 0.62–0.87]; p = 0.001. In principal component analyses, EA/EV and SW/PVA ratios were independently associated (p < 0.05) with VO2 response following interventions. Conclusions VO2 responders were characterized by baseline high ventriculo-arterial coupling ratio due to high EA and low EV. Baseline EA/EV and SW/PVA ratios were associated with VO2 changes independently of the hemodynamic intervention used. These results underline the pathophysiological significance of measuring ventriculo-arterial coupling in patients with hemodynamic instability, as a potential therapeutic target.


Japanese manufacturing firms established in Britain have often been portrayed as carriers of Japanese corporate best practice for work and employment. In this book, the authors challenge these views through case study research, undertaken at several Japanese manufacturing plants in Britain during the 1990s. The authors argue that in actual fact production and employment regimes are adapted and 're-made' in a number of ways, responding to specific corporate and local contexts. In particular, they focus upon the ways in which Japanese and British managers have sought to construct distinctive work regimes in the light of their particular branch plant mandates and competencies, the evolving character of management-worker relations within factories and the varied product and labour market conditions they face. The book highlights the constraints as well as the opportunities facing managers of these greenfield workplaces, and the uncertainties that continued to characterize the development of management strategies. Ultimately the authors show how arguments about the role of overseas branch plants in the dissemination of management practices must take more careful account of the varied ways in which such factories are implicated in wider corporate strategies. The operations of international firms are embedded within intractable features of capitalist employment relations, especially as they are 're-made' in specific local and national settings. This book is an important intervention in contemporary debate about international firms and globalization, and will be of interest to teachers, researchers, and advanced students of this subject from disciplines including Business Studies, Organization Studies, Industrial Relations, Sociology, Political Economy, and Economic and Social Geography.


Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) has had serious social, economic, and health effects globally. The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2), which was first announced in December 2019 has resulted in more than 24 million infections. There is paucity of knowledge on the role of risk perception in the adoption of public health interventions needed to control the spread of COVID 19 infections within communities. This was a scoping review and documents how risk perception may be a major challenge for populations to adopt and implement different behavioral changes recommended to curtail the spread COVID- 19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa; and seeks to proffer solutions on how the identified challenges can be addressed drawing from lessons learnt from previous epidemics within the region. Database search of Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate among others were performed using related keywords to identify relevant journals and lists of primary articles. Culture, religious beliefs and poverty may influence how populations respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Risk strategies that focus only on biomedical approaches to control the COVID-19 pandemic may not mobilize the needed behavioral change. Lessons learnt from HIV and Ebola epidemics showed that involvement of communities could help transform weak adoption of public health measures when measures were framed in the relevant cultural context. An understanding of the factors influencing risk perception is needed to design appropriate risk communication strategies. Community engagement and reliance on local communication networks could promote mutual trust and increase the uptake of public-health interventions.


Human mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH-2) is expressed in man-mouse somatic cell hybrids as a dimeric molecule. The gene specifing this enzyme was observed to be syntenic with the mannose phosphate isomerase locus in the 56 primary man-mouse clones in this series. The human IDH-2 locus, therefore, may be assigned to chromosome 15.


Whatever the shrill voices of believers in conspiracy, the Yalta Conference decisions have long been understood by historians as the logical, if unsatisfying, conclusion of military events and high politics during the Second World War. Did Franklin Roosevelt suddenly "sell out" Eastern Europe in mistaken efforts to create a long-term cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union? Did Winston Churchill aght in vain to save Eastern Europe from Soviet domination? Did Iosif Stalin pull the wool over the eyes of an ailing Roosevelt and his "loyal lieutenant"? Plokhy's study of the conference supplants Diane Shaver Clemens's Yalta, published by Oxford University Press forty years ago. Others have skirted the edges with different interpretive conclusions, but none have approached Plokhy's detailed retelling of both speciacs and atmospherics. He brings more to the table than just detail. He captures the complex personal and political dynamic between the Big Three leaders. Using the snippets of new documentation coming out of the Presidential Archive (former Politburo Archive) in Moscow, he offers an intelligent and persuasive analysis of why Stalin acted. His analysis of Churchill's and Roosevelt's motives makes eminent sense. Plokhy's balanced and plausible portrait of Stalin is the book's most important contribution. Stalin comes across as implacable in his quest to gain control in Eastern Europe, speciacally Poland. How that would be done, and how that control would be exercised, were subsidiary issues. The security of the Soviet state, in Stalin's view, depended on arm control—this was his absolute sine qua non. If Churchill's federated Europe and Roosevelt's great-power system depended on Poland's being "free" in the sense of non-Soviet, then the Cold War was inevitable. Plokhy writes well. The book is long and detailed, but a good read. He has a sharp eye for clever anecdotes. That praise earned, two cautions should be noted: First, no matter how many caveats Plokhy offers, and no matter how many times he denies accepting the great Yalta myth—that it was the deanitive conference that created the postwar world—so tightly focused a study of the famous meeting does in fact tend to reinforce the myth. Although Plokhy summarizes the background for each of his thirty-odd chapters, those excursions stand alone, never pulled together to present a cohesive and comprehensive lead up to Yalta. This is not so much a criticism as a warning—a caveat lector. The book is so comprehensive about Yalta that you will


Background : Lye, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide has been used over the years in food preparation including the preparation of vegetables and dried meat products, washing or chemical peeling of fruits and vegetables, cocoa processing, caramel production, poultry scalding and cooking among others. Lye is believed to improve the organoleptic properties and also enhances the nutritional value to the products. Objective : To assess the effect of food grade lye on the levels of copper and iron in the raw, boiled and boiled-fried single vegetables and vegetable combinations treated with and without food grade lye. Methods : Single vegetables, Crotalaria occroleuca , Solanum scabrum , Vigna unguiculata and Amaranthus blitum and their combinations were cooled and kept in the fridge at 4oCs. Elemental analysis was done for the raw, boiled and boiled-fried samples using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) under standard conditions using wavelengths of 248.3nm for iron and 324.2nm for copper. Paired t-test was used to compare the iron and copper levels of the boiled and boiled-fried vegetables while the independent t-test was done to assess the levels of iron and copper in the raw, boiled and boiled fried samples. Results : Boiled-fried samples recorded higher content of iron and copper than the boiled ones. A combination of Amaranthus blitum-Crotolaria occloreuca boiled without lye boiled-fried with lye, and boiled-fried without lye had the highest copper contents of 1.66mg/100gram, 4.56mg/100gram, and 4.56mg/100gram respectively, compared to Amaranthus blitum alone (3.48mg/100gram) and Crotolaria occloreuca (0.42mg/100gram). A combination of Amaranthus blitum-Crotolaria occloreuca boiled in non-lye water, and those boiled-fried with and without lye had the highest extractable iron of 557mg/100g, 859.2mg/100g, and 859.2mg/100g respectively. Iron content was high in the Solanum scabrum (281.1mg/100g), and Crotolaria occloreuca (110/100g), Amaranthus blitum (108mg/100g) boiled-fried with lye. It was possible that iron was leached from the cooking utensils and absorbed by the vegetables. Conclusion : The results of this study clearly demonstrated that vegetable combinations of Amaranthus blitum-Crotolaria occloreuca had a higher content of copper. Vegetable combinations exposed to different treatments had higher levels of iron and copper. This could be attributed different nutrient-nutrient interactions between different vegetables combinations. Key Words : Food grade lye, Crotalaria occroleuca , Solanum scabrum , Vigna unguiculata , Amaranthus blitum , iron, copper.


Globally, the pharmaceutical industry is continuously driven in search of new anticancer drugs due to increasing rate of cancer patients. Clinical trials of Cisplatin has been explored, however, usage of Cisplatin as a drug is limited due to its various side effects, hence, alternative to platinum based complex drugs and its analogues are needed. Iridium complexes have been attracted widespread interests by virtue of their pharmacological and photo-physical properties; however the less number of complexes was reported in the literature. In this article, a new series of novel Iridium (III) complexes were synthesized using substituted quinoline Schiff Base (SB) ligands and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. The in- vitro cyto-toxicity assay showed that the Iridium (III) complex activity is equal to standard Cisplatin. In addition, computational docking studies have shown that the prominent binding sites for synthesized complexes against HeLa cell lines, which is comparable with standard Cisplatin drugs and other Ruthenium complexes.


Continuers —words like mm, mmhm, uhum and the like— are among the most frequent types of responses in conversation. They play a key role in joint action coordination by showing positive evidence of understanding and scaffolding narrative delivery. Here we investigate the hypoth- esis that their functional importance along with their conversational ecology places selective pressures on their form and may lead to cross-linguistic similarities through convergent cultural evolution. We compare continuer tokens in linguistically diverse conversational corpora and find languages make available highly similar forms. We then approach the causal mechanism of convergent cultural evolution using exemplar modelling, simulating the process by which a combination of effort minimization and functional specialization may push continuers to a particular region of phonological possibility space. By combining comparative linguistics and computational modelling we shed new light on the question of how language structure is shaped by and for social interaction.


In relation to the understanding and representation of everyday life and place, it is clear that many cultural geographers are beginning to explore what one might call "creative" qualitative research methods, the majority of which draw on the discipline of fine art. In particular, the use of film and sound within research is increasing, as are calls for conference submissions and journal articles relating to such work. Such developments within cultural geography mirror those across qualitative research within the broader social science arena, and for geographers the use of this type of media is perhaps a way to contend with the ongoing, relational nature of place and the representational challenge that brings. In contrast, the perception of the traditional medium of print seems to be that it is lacking the fluid nature of film or sound, only capable of generating representations of place that are too "static" or "fixed." However, this paper proposes that interdisciplinary collaboration between cultural geography and graphic design offers much with regard to the development of print-based creative methods for understanding and representing everyday life and place. It suggests that the form of the book offers an opportunity to develop geo/graphic work that engages both form and content in a holistic way, enabling the production of a space of interpretation and multi-sensory exploration for the reader. Such work engages with contemporary debates around representation, and positions the reader's interaction with the book as both cognitively and performatively embodied. For the researcher, the geo/graphic design process also functions as an analytical tool, one that, through the development of the material form of the work, re-situates them in place and enables further reflection and understanding.


Background: Although transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has shown promising therapeutic effects in various disorders, treatment responses still vary considerably. This could be due to the use of suboptimal target definition like the various gold-standard approaches including 5cm, EEGF3 and neuronavigation methods based on structural landmarks. Objective/Hypothesis: Functional MRI localisers using emotion-processing paradigms could be advantageous as they reveal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation clusters recruited in an individual. In this thesis, we compared conventional targeting approaches with regard to the spatial distance to the individual activation peaks obtained in fMRI. Methods: Fifteen healthy volunteers (7f/8m, mean age: 25.33 ± 2.9 years) participated in the study and performed facial emotion discrimination tasks (EDT). Euclidean distances to seven commonlyused DLPFC targets were calculated for each subject's EDT activation peak within the group-level DLPFC activation cluster. In addition, twenty-eight patients diagnosed with acute MDD (16f/12m, mean age: 28.7 ± 7.1) were examined for reproducibility of EDT paradigm and compared versus thirty-three healthy volunteers (15f/18m, mean age: 27.5 ± 6.8 years). The three most prominent targeting approaches were examined using concurrent TMS/fMRI setup on three healthy volunteers (2f/1m, mean age: 25.7 ± 0.3). Results: In line with previous findings, EDT processing caused statistically significant activation of bilateral DLPFC. Group-averaged distances of the different target definition approaches to the EDT maxima ranged from 16 to 40.59 mm. Targeting approaches that are generally considered less effective (such as the 5cm method and EEG-F3 targeting) showed the highest spatial distances to individual functional activation peaks. While functional localiser maxima varied considerably across the group, individual maxima showed high spatial reproducibility with 3.4mm and 5.4mm mean intra-session and inter-session distance, respectively. Comparable variability was found in the clinical sample. In addition, we show herein successful TMS stimulation using concurrent TMS/fMRI in three subjects. Decreased activity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an important region in major depressive disorder, was found only with the functional localiser targeting approach. Conclusion(s): We conclude that EDT may be used for obtaining single-subject activation clusters in DLPFC. Based on this, individually localised DLPFC with fMRI show considerable inter-subject variability and therefore using the same target for all subjects is suboptimal. We showed high reliability in patients and controls. Due to the functional specificity of EDT, we expect higher treatment response in comparison to previously used localisers and therefore suggest future usage of functional localisers for determining stimulation targets.


We designed a logic library friendly SRAM array. The array uses rectangular-diffusion cell (RD-cell) and delta-boosted-array-voltage scheme (DBA-scheme). In the RD-cell, the cell ratio is 1.0, and it reduces the imbalance of the cell ratio. A low supply voltage deteriorates the static noise margin, however, the DBA-scheme compensates it. Using the combination of RD-cell and DBA-scheme, a 32-kB test chip achieves 0.4-V operation at 4.5-MHz frequency and 140-/spl mu/W power dissipation and 0.9-/spl mu/A standby current.


Using detailed education data for 1996–2012 from the state of Florida, we examine whether pollution from local Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites affects student achievement and high-stakes accountability school rankings. Using event study and difference-in-differences designs, we compare students attending schools within one mile of a TRI site that opens or closes to students attending schools between one and two miles away. We find that being exposed to air pollution is associated with 0.024 of standard deviation lower test scores, increased likelihood of suspension from school, and increased likelihood that a school's overall high-stakes accountability ranking will drop.


In 211 bulboscopies 108 normal findings, 29 duodenal ulcers, 44 cases of scar bulb, 4 times erosions of the bulb and 26 times a bulbitis alone (macroscopically) were found. The macroscopic findings duodenitis were confirmed histologically in 85%, the macroscopic findings normal bulbous mucous membrane only in 30% of the cases. In patients with the histological findings duodenitis the bulbous mucous membrane was endoscopically regarded as normal in 70% of the cases. Patients with duodenitis more frequently have an antrum gastritis and less frequently a corpus gastritis than a control group corresponding to age without any macroscopic changes at the stomach and duodenal bulb. On account of its clinico-therapeutic importance is referred to the fact to demarcate the peptic corrosive bulbitis (bulbitis with bulboscopically probable lesion) from the bulbitis without bulboscopic lesion.


The effect of cooking on total protein digestibility and fractions content and structure of lenti l cultivars was investigated. Cooking significantly (P = 0.05) reduced the protein digestibility using pepsin and/or pancreatin. Pepsin digestibility of raw seeds ranged from 44.6 to 52.1% and that of both pepsin and pancreatin ranged from 81.8 to 99.9%. Cooking reduced the protein digestibility of the cultivars and was found to be range from 22.3 to 19.7% when pepsin was used and ranged from 77.1 to 88.2% when both pepsin and pancreatin were used. The major protein in lentil was albumin followed by globulin. Cooking significantly (P = 0.05) decreased the albumin content. The decrease was accompanied by significan t increment in the glutelin fractions. SDS-PAGE of cooked lentil protein fractions showed that lentil protein was altered quantitatively and qualitatively due to cooking. The number of subunits of total protein in lentil cultivars before cooking was found to range from 17 to 19 bands. However, after cooking they decreased and ranged from 13 to 16 bands. The effect of cooking was most pronounced in the prolamins fractions and its subunits were reduced from 4 to 2 with a higher molecular weight of 56.0kDa.


Collective animal behaviors are paradigmatic examples of fully decentralized operations involving complex collective computations such as collective turns in flocks of birds or collective harvesting by ants. These systems offer a unique source of inspiration for the development of fault-tolerant and self-healing multi-robot systems capable of operating in dynamic environments. Specifically, swarm robotics emerged and is significantly growing on these premises. However, to date, most swarm robotics systems reported in the literature involve basic computational tasks—averages and other algebraic operations. In this paper, we introduce a novel Collective computing framework based on the swarming paradigm, which exhibits the key innate features of swarms: robustness, scalability and flexibility. Unlike Edge computing, the proposed Collective computing framework is truly decentralized and does not require user intervention or additional servers to sustain its operations. This Collective computing framework is applied to the complex task of collective mapping, in which multiple robots aim at cooperatively map a large area. Our results confirm the effectiveness of the cooperative strategy, its robustness to the loss of multiple units, as well as its scalability. Furthermore, the topology of the interconnecting network is found to greatly influence the performance of the collective action.


Democracy and federalism are commonly viewed as complementary components of a political system. Conversely, a long-standing discourse claims the incompatibility of inevitable intergovernmental coordination in federalism with democracy, the former being viewed as an impediment or disruption to democratic governing. However, neither are the two inherently compatible nor inevitably incongruous. Instead, research and practice of democratic federations show that their relationship is one of multiple tensions. These may generate conflicts and impasses, yet can equally prove to be productive. To delineate these tensions, but also how different federal systems deal with them, this article examines federalism and democracy as two discrete, but interdependent institutional dimensions. Building upon this framework, we depict variants of coupling between institutions of federalism and democracy-based on selected cases. We demonstrate that particular modes of multilevel governance and intergovernmental relations are essential for linking the logics of federalism and democracy in loosely coupled, flexible patterns. Moreover, federal democracies can effectively cope with these tensions by continuously balancing power established in the two institutional dimensions.


Background. In-vivo neural recordings from primates require to install implants on the skull of the animal. Despite some improvements, current routines still risk predisposition to infection and failure or impose constant discomfort by placing heaviness on the top of the head. New Methods. Using a custom-designed imaging adapter, MR and CT imaging of the head region were obtained. Then, based on reconstructed model of skull the implants were designed and constructed by CNC machine. During the surgical operation, the position of each implant was sketched on the skull and implants were slipped onto their predicted site and followed their sketched boundaries without any manual reshaping. Results. We have performed this procedure on two monkeys. After surgery, location of implants has been verified by CT imaging. The recovery period was without significant complications with minimal infection. Comparison with Exiting methods.Our experiment showed that through the application of image-guided design, it is possible to better utilize the skull area to gain access to brain regions. At the same time, our method reduced the possibility of gap formation between implant and skull, open skin margins, and reduced the time and cost of operation which altogether results in a reduced overall chance of infection and failure and provides animal friendly operational surgery procedure. Conclusion. Despite some improvements, more refinements of methodology are still required. Here, we propose and report an improvement for the design and installation of biocompatible implants in low cost providing access to at least three brain regions.


Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) is concerned with the modularization of crosscutting functionalities. Such functionalities are problematic, in particular, for the development of concurrent applications, such as graphical user interfaces or multithreaded server applications. However, few approaches address this problem: there is, in particular, no general model for concurrent AOP that enables coordination among concurrently-executing aspects as well as coordination of concurrent aspects and base applications. In this paper, we discuss general requirements for such models, briefly present a specific instance meeting these requirements, and propose a set of general composition operators for the construction of concurrent applications using concurrently executing advice.


The multipropellant resistojet thruster design initially was characterized for performance in a vacuum tank using argon, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen, with gas inlet pressures ranging from 13.7 to 310 kPa (2 to 45 psia) over a heat exchanger temperature range of ambient to 1200 C (2200 F). Specific impulse, the measure of performance, had values ranging from 120 to 600 seconds for argon and hydrogen respectively, with a constant heat exchanger temperature of 1200 C (2200 F). When operated under ambient conditions typical specific impulse values obtained for argon and hydrogen ranged from 55 to 290 seconds, respectively. Performance measured with several mixtures of argon and nitrogen showed no significant deviation from predictions obtained by directly weighting the argon and nitrogen individual performance results. Another aspect of the program investigating transient behavior, showed responses depended heavily on the start-up scenario used. Steady state heater temperatures were achieved in 20 to 75 minutes for argon, and in 10 to 90 minutes for hydrogen. Steady state specific impulses were achieved in 25 to 60, and 20 to 60 minutes, respectively.


Fibrillin-1 and fibrillin-2 constitute the backbone of extracellular filaments, called microfibrils. Fibrillin assembly involves complex multistep mechanisms to result in a periodical head-to-tail alignment in microfibrils. Impaired assembly potentially plays a role in the molecular pathogenesis of genetic disorders caused by mutations in fibrillin-1 (Marfan syndrome) and fibrillin-2 (congenital contractural arachnodactyly). Presently, the basic molecular interactions involved in fibrillin assembly are obscure. Here, we have generated recombinant full-length human fibrillin-1, and two overlapping recombinant polypeptides spanning the entire human fibrillin-2 in a mammalian expression system. Characterization by gel electrophoresis, electron microscopy after rotary shadowing, and reactivity with antibodies demonstrated correct folding of these recombinant polypeptides. Analyses of homotypic and heterotypic interaction repertoires showed N- to C-terminal binding of fibrillin-1, and of fibrillin-1 with fibrillin-2. The interactions were of high affinity with dissociation constants in the low nanomolar range. However, the N- and C-terminal fibrillin-2 polypeptides did not interact with each other. These results demonstrate that fibrillins can directly interact in an N- to C-terminal fashion to form homotypic fibrillin-1 or heterotypic fibrillin-1/fibrillin-2 microfibrils. This conclusion was further strengthened by double immunofluorescence labeling of microfibrils. In addition, the binding epitopes as well as the entire fibrillin molecules displayed very stable properties.


IR transmission and visible photoluminescence (PL) were studied in raw nanoporous aluminum oxyhydroxide (NOA) and in samples after thermal treatment at different temperatures. Structural and chemical modifications of the NOA sample were related to the water content and adsorption/desorption process at the surface. The differences observed in the FTIR spectra in vacuum and after ageing of the samples can be explained by the effects of molecular water and OH− groups on the stability of the low-temperature phases of NOA. A considerable increase in PL intensity and spectrum expansion to longer wavelengths were observed in all NOA samples after water desorption. This was accompanied by strong changes in the PL decay kinetics. Quenching of the fast luminescent decay and low-energy transitions in aged samples were observed after ageing of the samples. Partial passivation of the NOA surface and defective sites under ambient conditions is discussed.


Acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) is associated with an unacceptably high mortality rate. Despite the identification of the modality, timing and intensity of dialysis, membrane biocompatibility, hollow fiber and catheter properties as potential modifying factors, there is little convincing evidence for the superiority of one over the other. However, the available data suggest that the early initiation of RRT may be beneficial. A focused review of clinical trials and meta-analysis of clinical trials of RRT is provided.


In this paper we develop array algorithms for H-infinity filtering. These algorithms can be regarded as the Krein space generalizations of H-2 array algorithms, which are currently the preferred method for implementing H-2 biters, The array algorithms considered include typo main families: square-root array algorithms, which are typically numerically more stable than conventional ones, and fast array algorithms which, when the system is time-invariant, typically offer an order of magnitude reduction in the computational effort. Both have the interesting feature that one does not need to explicitly check for the positivity conditions required for the existence of H-infinity filters, as these conditions are built into the algorithms themselves. However, since H-infinity square-root algorithms predominantly use J-unitary transformations, rather than the unitary transformations required in the H-2 case, further investigation is needed to determine the numerical behavior of such algorithms.


The region from Sakhalin in Russia to the eastern margin of the Japan Sea has been regarded as a convergent plate boundary zone between the Eurasia and the North America Plates because large earthquakes and active crustal movements are prominent in this zone. These activities along the eastern margin of the Japan Sea to southern Sakhalin are almost consistent with the expected relative plate motion deduced from the Euler pole which is estimated from the magnetic anomaly lineations in the Atlantic Ocean, but the modern tectonic aspect in northern Sakhalin is inconsistent; e.g., 1995 Neftegorsk Earthquake is one of the typical events.As a result of a structural and tectonic study in northern Sakhalin, the NE-SW compressive tectonic feature since the Late Miocene was clarified. In the northernmost area of the Schmidt Peninsula, the early Cretaceous ophiolite thrusts upon the Late Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. The ophiolite has an overturned sequence: serpentinites, gabbros, basaltic rocks, and hemipelagic sediments in descending order. The Cretaceous sediments form a map-scale and NW vergent synclinorium. All the deformation structures in outcrop scale, such as micro-folds, minor reverse and normal faults, axial plane cleavages and bedding slips, are consistent with a large scale folding. These structural relationships suggest only one event of deformation, which appears to be linked to overthrusting of the ophiolitic rocks.A structural investigation of the southeastern part of the Schmidt Peninsula revealed that the Middle Miocene sediments composed of siltstone and sandstone are folded with wavelength of several tens to several hundred meters. Their fold axes trend in the NW direction, which indicates that deformation under the NE compression is the same as the deformation in the northernmost area. The thickness of sedimentary layers are constant everywhere in folding. This fact indicates that the timing of the deformation is after sedimentation, that is, after the Middle Miocene. This deformation event is consistent with modern activity in northern Sakhalin. Therefore, the modern tectonic framework might have started in the Late Miocene time.A plate tectonic model indicates that the modern relative motion between the Eurasia and the North America Plate started at about 11 m. y. ago. The Late Miocene onset of the modern tectonic framework in northern Sakhalin occurred at almost the same time. The most reliable model to explain the discrepancy of sense of movement from the Eurasia-North America retative motion, may be the "extrusion" of the Okhotsk Block toward the Pacific Ocean. The dextral extrusion boundary in northern Sakhalin may be traced along theeastern coast of Sakhalin to the northern edge of the Kuril Basin, where active seismicityhas been observed although a detailed study of focal mechanisms and other tectonic aspects is needed in the future.


During the 19 century feminism was an attempt to understand the lack of equality and to defend the right of the individual-within-society to it. Though contemporary feminism does not focus on emancipative claims of equality regarding a citizen model, the idea of women as individuals in need of liberation is still the background of every feminist action. There is no questioning that women's liberation, in as much as they are women, is an every woman's task. Nevertheless, the question remains as for this liberation having only an individual side and the perspective of individual's liberation being universal. This needs a clear statement regarding the starting point and the intention to work with a feminist approach on a concept of world that has been questioned in political reflection and epistemology fields.


Separating the individual from the social effects of incentives has been challenging, because of the possibility of synergies in team production. We observe a unique natural experiment in a South Korean e-commerce company, in which a switch from pay-for-performance to fixed (but different) salaries took place in a staggered and effectively random manner across employees. In this case, social and individual effects perspectives make opposing predictions, enabling a critical test. We find evidence consistent with social effects of incentives, particularly as predicted by goal framing theory. The results have implications for the design of incentives to foster collaboration, organizational learning, and organizational performance.


The site effects in East of Iran have been studied using Iranian Accelerograph Network data recorded at 50 stations. The geological and geotechnical investigations have been conducted to determine the characteristics of soil profiles in the 20 sites. The horizontal to vertical ratio (HVSR) have also been employed in order to recognize the site transfer function. The dominant frequencies of the site transfer functions calculated based on the 1D model were found to be in agreement with those identified by horizontal to vertical spectral ratio. Additionally, a good correlation has been found between the dominant frequencies with averaged S-wave velocity over the upper 30m. Based on the identified dominant frequency, average of shear wave velocity in upper 30m of soil and geological condition, a site classification is proposed for the stations under study.


Higher education in Ireland has undergone a rapid expansion in past decades, with an associated increase in research funding and enterprise engagement, but this has been more recently undermined by austerity measures resulting from the economic recession in the end of the last decade. Discussion around the restructuring of the Irish Institutes of Technology (IoT) sector began following the OECD review of Irish higher education (2004), which recommended enhancing research infrastructure and noted the cost implications of maintaining a large number of smaller-sized higher education institutions. The National Strategy for Irish Higher Education to 2030 (2011), also referred to as the Hunt Report, was set out in the context of austerity and proposed merging the Irish Institutes of Technology (IoTs) into a smaller number of stronger institutions, followed by the potential establishment of Technological Universities (TUs).
As Ireland enters a period of economic recovery, rationalisation measures are becoming secondary to the efforts aimed at enhancing the IoT sector and enabling it to better respond to the needs of the modern society. Potential Technological Universities would take on additional functions, including building research capacity – an aim reflected in the Technological Universities Bill 2015. This paper provides a review of some of the reasons behind the restructuring internationally, and how IoTs' main characteristics compare with institutions of similar standing in other European countries. The role of higher education today is reviewed, along with the progression of research development in Ireland.
Some implications of Technological Universities are discussed, including their potential contribution to fostering research and development in Ireland, particularly in the field of applied research – but also the potential drift of vocational mission in the TUs, challenges associated with TU's additional functions, and how academic work may be changing in the newly formed institutions. It is argued that further consideration of these and other implications in developing the TUs is needed through engagement with stakeholders, to enhance the outcomes for the students, regional communities, and society as a whole.


Techniques for reducing ammonia toxicity in freshwater sediments were investigated as part of a project to develop toxicity identification and evaluation (TIE) procedures for whole sediments. Although ammonia is a natural constituent of freshwater sediments, pollution can lead to ammonia concentrations that are toxic to benthic invertebrates, and ammonia can also contribute to the toxicity of sediments that contain more persistent contaminants. We investigated the use of amendments of a natural zeolite mineral, clinoptilolite, to reduce concentrations of ammonia in sediment pore water. Zeolites have been widely used for removal of ammonia in water treatment and in aqueous TIE procedures. The addition of granulated zeolite to ammonia‐spiked sediments reduced pore‐water ammonia concentrations and reduced ammonia toxicity to invertebrates. Amendments of 20% zeolite (v/v) reduced ammonia concentrations in pore water by ≥70% in spiked sediments with ammonia concentrations typical of contaminated freshwater sediments. Zeolite amendments reduced toxicity of ammonia‐spiked sediments to three taxa of benthic invertebrates (Hyalella azteca, Lumbriculus variegatus, and Chironomus tentans), despite their widely differing sensitivity to ammonia toxicity. In contrast, zeolite amendments did not reduce acute toxicity of sediments containing high concentrations of cadmium or copper or reduce concentrations of these metals in pore waters. These studies suggest that zeolite amendments, used in conjunction with toxicity tests with sensitive taxa such as H. azteca, may be an effective technique for selective reduction of ammonia toxicity in freshwater sediments.


The paper reports the views of carers on transition
to employment, college or other services for young
people with learning disabilities (LD). The research
draws on interviews with 87 carers in six areas of
the U.K. conducted over a period of 12 months. The
research found that advice to carers from careers
services did not successfully cover employment as an
option, whereas advice from employment services did.
Carers did aspire to their young people getting a paid
job as a next step, but follow-up interviews showed
the majority went to college. The results suggest that
employment organizations need to be involved earlier
in the transition process if young people and carers
are to be fully informed of their options.


Glycopeptides were isolated from bovine fetuin after digestion with Pronase, aminopeptidase M, and carboxypeptidase Y. The glycopeptides were derivatized with tert-butyloxycarbonyltyrosine and separated on the basis of peptide by using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Using 400-MHz 1H NMR, the asialotriantennary oligosaccharides at each of the three N-linked glycosylation sites were found to be combinations of the following two structures in which the third branch is either Gal beta(1,4)GlcNAc or Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc: (formula; see text) The asialotriantennary glycopeptides containing all beta(1,4)-lactosamine as the branches were designated Gal beta(1,4)GlcNAc-TRI while triantennary glycopeptides containing beta(1,3)-lactosamine as branch III were termed Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc-TRI. The Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc unit was localized predominantly to the branch III arm on the basis of a downfield shift (-0.027 ppm) in the H-1 and upfield shift (0.01 ppm) in the NAc methyl signals from the branch III GlcNAc resulting from Gal beta(1,3) instead of Gal beta(1,4) substitution. Revised assignments are proposed for the H-1's of Gal residues 6 (delta 4.464) and 8 (delta 4.471) [Vliegenthart, J. F. G., Dorland, L., & van Halbeek, H. (1983) Adv. Carbohydr. Chem. Biochem. 41, 209-373] in a Gal beta(1,4)GlcNAc-TRI. The proportion of Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc-TRI glycopeptides from the Asn-Asp, Asn-Gly, and Asn-Cys sites was found to be 40%, 60%, and 20%, respectively. Analysis of the binding of these glycopeptides, containing from 20% to 60% Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc as branch III, to rabbit hepatocytes revealed that the greater the proportion of Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc, the lower the affinity of the mixture. The Kd for Gal beta(1,4)GlcNAc-TRI was found to be between 3.6 and 5.4 nM (P = 0.10) with a mean of 4.4 nM from binding data analyzed by using the LIGAND program [Munson, P. J., & Rodbard, D. (1980) Anal. Biochem. 107, 220-239] and computer simulations of the binding of two ligands as a mixture to one receptor site. The Kd of Gal beta(1,3)GlcNAc-TRI oligosaccharide, prepared by hydrazinolysis, was found to be 305 nM from inhibition studies.


shift to one ofthe other modes of definition, as in the transition from myxoedema to hypothyroidism, or from Down's syndrome to trisomy 21. Unfortunately, many doctors remain blissfully unaware of this logical structure and continue to be influenced by outmoded realist assumptions. One still hears eminent physicians say, "X isn't a disease, it's only a syndrome"; psychiatrists still say, "I'm sure he's a schizophrenic even though he doesn't yet show any of the typical symptoms"; and chest physicians still argue whether a patient has chronic bronchitis (a clinical syndrome) or emphysema (a structural abnormality). As an empirical cflscipline medicine has always been suspicious of anything that smacks of philosophy, but this attitude may be a luxury we cannot afford where our own most fundamental concept is concerned. If for no other reason, Moran Campbell and Scadding's study is welcome as evidence that sociologists are no longer the only people with an interest in the meaning of the term disease.


Fatigue design of deepwater riser system in a sour environment is a challenging task in a project cycle. More often, the challenge is in identifying an appropriate project specific fatigue curve using accurate environmental representation, and establishing a crack growth curve to confirm the acceptance criteria of the welds. Conventional practice in industry is to use a knock down factor (KDF) to capture the effect of corrosion fatigue, rather than taking an effort in executing detailed test/qualification program. A KDF approach can turn out to be very unreliable, specifically, for mild sour environment where significant test data are not available. As a result, there can be several impacts, including delivery of an under-designed system with potential operational risks.
 This paper presents comprehensive findings from a sour service qualification program executed in a project cycle. The sour environment is mild, and is slightly above NACE limit (0.1psi ppH2S, pH ∼ 6). The program included a detailed scope of work consisting of in-air and in-environment fatigue test as well as limited scope in understanding fatigue crack growth rate in the same environment. The material used is API 5L X65 seamless pipe with mechanized GMAW girth weld. The results show the unpredictable side of corrosion fatigue, especially in this kind of mild sour environment, which is not well understood.


In this investigation we discuss two different aspects of weak interaction theory. The results of weak interaction experiments are described in a current-current picture to lowest order. From a fundamental point of view, such a description entails many problems. It is interesting to observe whether aspects of these difficulties can be studied within models which retain the basic features, while at the same time being, sufficiently simple to trace the implications of certain relevant assumptions. In the first part we study the underlying structure of the Feinberg-Pais approach of peratization. This approach aims to include higher order terms in the weak, interaction matrix element. We point out that the parameter independent Feinberg-Pais results are obtained by an analytic continuation to the value zero of a regularizing parameter. In sect 2 of part 1 we describe the context within which we calculate explicitly such a limit transition. We explicitly show that the imaginary part of the amplitude vanishes after the analytic continuation has been carried out. In sect 3 and 4 we analyze this phenomenon in detail and we point out that major physical objections exist against the result. The main conclusions have been summarized in sect 6. The peratization scheme of Feinberg and Pais turns out to be highly questionable. In part 2 we discuss the weak decay of mesons within the quark model. This physical model suggests to ascribe the interaction between hadrons and leptons the interaction between leptons and elementary quark constituents. We describe the bound states by means of relativistic Bethe-Salpeter amplitude The description of the general current matrix elements is given in chapter 1. It appears that this approach leads to an interesting symmetry relation for the current matrix elements. We concentrate on the information that can be obtained from this symmetry relation together with the requirement of normalization of the BetheSalpeter amplitudes of the pseudoscalar octet mesons. In chapter 2 we compare various approaches for normalizing the Bethe-Salpeter amplitude. In chapter 3 we discuss the K l2 and K l3 decay within the quark model. We derive the Ademollo-Gatto theorem and comment on a pattern which gives the Callan-Treiman relation.


【In this paper, we propose more efficient implementation architecture for realizing combination of heterogeneous routing protocols in wireless mesh routes. For realizing heterogeneous routing protocol in wireless mesh router, the following should be considered; which position in OS platform protocols should be implemented, how to define the common API for multiple routing protocols, how to provide architecture for providing high data transfer throughput and for supporting multi platform, and finally how to verify the throughput of protocol by using simulator. For solving those consideration, we propose HRPC(Heterogeneous Routing Protocol Coordinator) and describe the method for testing the protocols.】


Image quality is a nebulous concept with different meanings to different people. To quantify image quality a relative difference is typically calculated between a corrupted image and a ground truth image. But what metric should we use for measuring this difference? Ideally, the metric should perform well for both natural and scientific images. The structural similarity index (SSIM) is a good measure for how humans perceive image similarities, but is not sensitive to differences that are scientifically meaningful in microscopy. In electron and super-resolution microscopy, the Fourier Ring Correlation (FRC) is often used, but is little known outside of these fields. Here we show that the FRC can equally well be applied to natural images, e.g. the Google Open Images dataset. We then define a loss function based on the FRC, show that it is analytically differentiable, and use it to train a U-net for denoising of images. This FRC-based loss function allows the network to train faster and achieve similar or better results than when using L1or L2-based losses. We also investigate the properties and limitations of neural network denoising with the FRC analysis.


Social Work: A Critical Turn is both an introduction to critical social work and an examination of current theory and practice. This volume features contributions from an international group of scholars who define the main theoretical underpinnings of a critical approach to social work and examine innovative practice methods using this approach. Social Work: A Critical Turn situates critical social work within a theoretical context, comparing it with postmodernist, radical, feminist, anti-racist and structural approaches. It also reviews key issues that require further development in critical social work theory, practice and research


Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of death. Along with lifestyle factors, poor medication adherence is one of the causes. This study was planned to find out the level of adherence in post-MI patients and its related factors. Objectives: Monitoring medication adherence in patients of MI attending cardiac outpatient department and to reveal causes of nonadherence to drug therapy in them. Methods: One hundred and one newly diagnosed MI patients were included in the study. Data collected were patient characteristics, habits, comorbidities, and drugs prescribed. Morisky 8 item scale was used to find out the medication adherence at the end of 1 st and 6 th month of cardiac event. Data were analyzed using McNemar test, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. Results: Most common preventive cardiovascular drugs given were aspirin, clopidogrel, and statins, 98%, 88.1%, and 90%, respectively. Medication adherence at 6 th month post-MI was significantly decreased compared to 1 st month (P < 0.0001). Factors which were related to good adherence were associated comorbidities such as hypertension (P = 0.017), age group of 56-65 years (P = 0.049), higher education (P = 0.045), employees (P = 0.008), and nonsmoker (P = 0.023). Determinants associated with poor adherence were affordability (P = 0.02) and medication complexity (P = 0.03). Conclusion: Medication adherence in post-MI subjects of our study was seen to be reducing over 6 months due to factors such as low monthly income and low educational status of the subjects. Employed, higher educated, and those with comorbidities showed good adherence.


Situation awareness is a critical element of military decision superiority in a wide variety of operational contexts. Improved situation awareness can benefit operational effectiveness by facilitating the planning process, improving the quality and timeliness of decisions, and providing better feedback about the strategic and tactical consequences of military actions. The military coalition environment presents a number of challenges to situation awareness research; not only in terms of the technical approaches used to enhance situation awareness, but also in terms of the models and conceptual frameworks used to analyse situation awareness. This paper outlines an approach to enhancing situation awareness that is grounded in the use of Semantic Web technologies. We describe the challenges to both individual and team situation awareness presented by coalition military environments, and we discuss ways in which semantic technologies might be used to address these challenges. We suggest that an approach featuring domain ontologies, reasoning capabilities, semantic queries and semantic integration techniques provides the basis for an integrated framework for improving situation awareness in military coalition contexts. We provide an example of our approach in the form of the InfoGlue framework for adaptive, context-aware information retrieval.


The article presents the estimation of the present mammal fauna situation in the Mocchau district, Sonla province, which includes 81 species and subspecies belonging to 56 genera, 24 families and 8 orders of mammals in Vietnam now. On those basics, we appreciate the actuality and suggest some methods to protection. The abundance of this mammal population are shown in 5 levels as follows. In the numerous level, there are 10 species which make up 12.35% of the mammal species number in the district: in the medium level, there are 16 species (19.75%); in the little level, there are 37 species (45.68%); in the rare level, there are 15 species (18.52%) and in the extinct level, there are 6 species (7.41%). There are 29 precious and rare mammal species and subspecies which make up 37.66% of the mammal species number in the district; among them, there are 93.1% species which have the abundance under the medium level. In general, the Mocchau mammal fauna is not rich, with 67.9% species which have the number under the medium level and 7.41% species which are extincted. So, it needs to protect this fauna timely and effectively.


It has been widely recognized that future computer-aided control system design (CACSD) environments will consist of a sophisticated graphical man-machine interface for system model construction, a toolkit of well-designed numerical algorithms for analysis and simulation, graphics output support and report generation, and an underlying core-data model to support the various stages of the design process. In addition, some workers have suggested that there is a need for an intelligent advisor capability in CACSD systems, and work has been done on using expert systems in this role. The authors suggest that there is also a need for an intelligent symbolic data management system to complement the work of the other features of the future CACSD environment, and they describe the features of some preliminary work on the use of Prolog in this role.<<ETX>>


Blood pressure variability over a 24-hour period was compared between subjects with labile and those with established hypertension. For this purpose, a computer analysis of the blood pressure tracings, obtained with continuous unrestricted monitoring, was adopted, which characterizes the blood pressure variability in a quantitative manner. The following parameters were employed: the mean, the standard deviation, the coefficient of variation, the indexes of skewness and of kurtosis. No significant differences could be found between the two groups except for the mean value of the blood pressure. It is concluded, therefore, that the term 'labile hypertension' in inappropriate.


The origins of human speech are obscure; it is still unclear what aspects are unique to our species or shared with our evolutionary cousins, in part due to a lack of a common framework for comparison. We asked what chimpanzee and human vocal production acoustics have in common. We examined visible supra-laryngeal articulators of four major chimpanzee vocalizations (hoos, grunts, barks, screams) and their associated acoustic structures, using techniques from human phonetic and animal communication analysis. Data were collected from wild adult chimpanzees, Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Both discriminant and principal component classification procedures revealed classification of call types. Discriminating acoustic features include voice quality and formant structure, mirroring phonetic features in human speech. Chimpanzee lip and jaw articulation variables also offered similar discrimination of call types. Formant maps distinguished call types with different vowel-like sounds. Comparing our results with published primate data, humans show less F1–F2 correlation and further expansion of the vowel space, particularly for [i] sounds. Unlike recent studies suggesting monkeys achieve human vowel space, we conclude from our results that supra-laryngeal articulatory capacities show moderate evolutionary change, with vowel space expansion continuing through hominoid evolution. Studies on more primate species will be required to substantiate this. This article is part of the theme issue 'Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)'.


Recent advances in the field of infrared focal planes provide the detector array technology needed to manufacture monolithic and hybrid detector arrays containing large numbers of detectors with buffer amplifiers and multiplexing on a single LSI chip. Infrared focal planes of the future will require the integration of these detector/multiplexer arrays together with support electronics into a manufacturable, testable, reliable, and maintainable IFPA. The IFPA must efficiently interface with cryogenic systems, optics, mechanical structures, and signal processing electronics. Hughes Aircraft Company has conducted a study to determine what technologies are needed to support the assembly of large infrared focal planes. This paper discusses the results of this IFPA study and the progress being made in developing such technologies. Cyrogenic chip carriers, high-density electrical interconnects, multilayered electrical interconnects, and high-density cables are discussed in terms of an architectural approach as it relates to the manufacture, test, and assembly of IFPAs. An integrated focal plane array design is presented to exemplify the validity of this IFPA design approach. The example IFPA design includes, identification of critical test methodologies, assembly techniques, and electrical interconnect requirements that will challenge the state of the art of focal plane assembly and manufacture. Large IFPAs of the next decade will pose new challenges in focal plane architecture, cryogenic high-density cables, and electrical interconnects as well as in cryogenic thermal design and test. This paper presents a modular IFPA design approach that provides solutions to these challenges.


abstract:"Scorpion, Parts 1 & 2" examines humanity, hybridity, and monstrosity through several lenses, ultimately deciding that remaining human is both desired and important enough that monstrous behavior is accepted to preserve it. In 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the Borg, a monstrous, hybrid species that swept through the galaxy assimilating all other species into their single-minded existence. The Borg reigned as the ultimate monster of the franchise until Star Trek: Voyager, when Species 8472 fought its way into the picture. When Voyager confronted this new species, the crew had to decide where its safety lay—did they join forces with their enemy, the Borg, to defeat this new threat, or should they find another way to avoid destruction? While the Voyager crew considered the Borg and Species 8472 as monsters, this episode painted the crew and thus, humanity, alongside the aliens as equally monstrous because of the lengths they went to survive. Humans and aliens are held to different standards in this text when it comes to judging their behavior as monstrous or appropriate, unacceptable or acceptable, but become as monstrous as the species they attempt to escape.


This paper concerns the effect of a thin overcoating layer on the temperature increase in heat-assisted magnetic recording disk structure induced by laser heating. The optical absorption model, which derived from Maxwell's equation, is applied to quantify local energy absorption by the media. The numerical simulations indicate that the presence of a 2-nm overcoating layer results in additional 5% temperature increase in the disk, compared with the same media structure without overcoating layer. This temperature increase is resulted from the laser energy absorbed by the overcoating layer and the low thermal conductivity of the overcoating layer. The temperature difference between the overcoating layer and its neighbor layer is negligible small. This paper indicates that besides its mechanical properties, the thermal and optical properties of the overcoating material are important design factors.


In antislide structures with continuous ladders (ASCLs), horizontal and vertical reinforced concrete antislide members connected in continuous ladders, head to tail, are set along the slip surfaces of slopes. The antislide members are connected with each other and anchored in the solid bedrock from the sliding mass to the sliding zone to resist the landslide thrust and replace the soft materials in the sliding zone. The effects of ASCLs, which are complex and hyperstatic mechanical systems, are calculated by using different numerical simulation software programs and compared with engineering practice experience. However, these effects are uncertain and the use of other analysis methods is required to verify them. In this paper, first, the antislide mechanism of these structures was proposed. Second, the slip surfaces were taken as boundaries, and the ASCL of the Houzishi landslides was taken as an example. Third, the stress models of the structures and load effects were simplified, and then, an ASCL stress calculation method was established to obtain the expressions for structural stress analysis by using the displacement method of structural mechanics, elastic foundation beam method, and boundary constraints. A comparison of the results of the structural stress from the analytical methods and numerical simulation methods indicated that the whole displacement of the structures exhibited a domino effect, which was downwards to the right. The trends of the structural stress determined with the analytical methods and numerical simulation methods were similar. The ultimate results of the analytical methods and the ultimate results of the numerical simulation methods were also similar. The conclusions proposed that the ultimate results of the analytical methods exhibited a hysteretic effect, unlike the ultimate results of the numerical simulation methods. The ultimate results of the analytical methods and numerical simulation methods were adopted for the design of structural stress based on the principle of internal stress envelope diagrams.


The modified Lennard-Jones potential, which simplifies the numerical simulations and maintains the realistic behavior of its parent, is proposed to a role of the standard interaction model for both the experimental and theoretical studies. The virial coefficients of this model up to the seventh order have been calculated for the range of temperatures kT/ɛ = 0.3-70. In the computations, a technique has been used, that combines the quadrature integration and Mayer Sampling Monte Carlo method (MSMC). Unlike the original MSMC, this technique does not require the reference coefficients of another potential and can be used in a wide range of temperatures for various interaction models.


Muscle strength in 23 patients with Duchenne dystrophy was tested against gravity and manual resistance during an 8-year period. The data show striking linearity in rate of loss of strength with age for any given patient. The tempo does not appear altered during growth spurts, bracing, or loss of ambulation. Variability in disease severity was documented clearly by 7 years of age and appears to be related to earlier age at onset of symptoms. This long ignored method of muscle strength assessment provides a precise measure of disease progression and, since the technique is widely used by physical therapists, it should be incorporated in clinical studies and therapeutic trials.


Today, a significant proportion of Australian secondary school students have some level of access to digital technology through one-to-one or BYOD programs. This ubiquitous access to devices connected through wireless network can create a technology-enabled learning environments (TELE). The teacher-student connectivity of a TELE has the potential to facilitate more collaborative and responsive learning experiences in modalities that may have not been possible before. Despite these significant changes, many students occupy classroom spaces that have changed little in configuration, structure and operation. This paper reports on the first stage intervention of a three stage quasi-experimental study. The study explored the synergy between technology-enabled and responsive learning spaces and its effects on teaching and learning in a Secondary school setting. The stage one intervention sought to determine if a causal relationship existed between particular layouts and how teachers' and students' perceived the incidence in usage and the influence and effectiveness of one-to-one technology. A single-subject research design (SSRD) measured the effect of two types of classroom layouts through an explanatory mixed method design. Results from quantitative analyses over a one-year period indicated a more responsive and dynamic physical learning space did have a positive effect on student perceptions of the effectiveness and influence of oneto- one technology on their learning. These quantitative findings were corroborated through thematic analysis of teacher focus groups. Collectively this evidence suggests that the arrangement of the physical learning space can assist teachers to better integrate the affordances of technology into their pedagogical practice.


As part of an on-going programme to study the high pressure structural behaviour of hydrated small molecular systems, sodium formate dihydrate has been studied using high pressure single crystal X-ray and neutron powder diffraction methods. A new phase was initially identified at 17 kbar by X-ray diffraction and high level quantum mechanical calculations completed the structure, allowing definitive hydrogen atom positioning. The resulting structure compared favourably with that found subsequently by high pressure neutron diffraction. The neutron diffraction study also revealed that the deuterated form, NaDCO(2).2D(2)O, is stable in a different structural form to that of the non-deuterated material at ambient pressure. The structure of this phase is related to that of the high pressure phase via a simple translation of the molecular layers.


Acute lung injury (ALI) and its more severe form acute respiratory distress (ARD) can result from infectious agents, including several strains of influenza A virus. Recent evidence suggests that excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a major contributor to ALI caused by influenza. We evaluated the effects of TG6-44, a novel inhibitor of ROS production, in in vitro and in vivo models of influenza A virus infection. In vitro, using the monocytic cells (THP-1) and human PBMC infected with influenza A virus (X31), we found that TG6-44 treatment decreased virus-induced ROS and inflammatory markers in THP1 (IL6, IFNγ , MCP1, TNFα , MIP1β) and in PBMC (IL6, IL8, TNFα , MCP1). Also, in influenza A virus-infected THP1 cells, TG6-44 treatment led to a reduction in virus-induced cell death as evidenced by decreased Caspase3 activation, decreased proportion of Annexin V+/PI+ cells, and increased Bcl2 phosphorylation. Notably, TG6-44-treatment decreased the proportion of THP1 cells expressing viral nucleoprotein and delayed its translocation into the nucleus. Moreover, mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza A virus (PR8) and given TG6-44 had both reduced levels of virus-induced inflammatory markers in lungs and a higher survival rate compared to controls. Taken together, our results demonstrate anti-inflammatory and anti-infective effects of TG6-44, and suggest ROS-inhibitors as valuable adjunct therapeutics to reduce ALI/ARD caused by influenza A virus infection.


With the ever increasing volume of data and the ability to integrate different data sources, data quality problems abound. Duplicate detection, as an integral part of data cleansing, is essential in modern information systems. We present a complete duplicate detection workflow that utilizes the capabilities of modern graphics processing units (GPUs) to increase the efficiency of finding duplicates in very large datasets. Our solution covers several well-known algorithms for pair selection, attribute-wise similarity comparison, record-wise similarity aggregation, and clustering. We redesigned these algorithms to run memory-efficiently and in parallel on the GPU. Our experiments demonstrate that the GPU-based workflow is able to outperform a CPU-based implementation on large, real-world datasets. For instance, the GPU-based algorithm deduplicates a dataset with 1.8m entities 10 times faster than a common CPU-based algorithm using comparably priced hardware.


Coral communities are threatened by an increasing plethora of abiotic and biotic disturbances. Preventing the ensuing loss of coral coverage and diversity calls for a mechanistic understanding of resilience across coral species and populations that is currently lacking in coral reef science. Assessments into the dynamics of coral populations typically focus on their long-term (i.e. asymptotic) characteristics, tacitly assuming stable environments in which populations can attain their long-term characteristics. Instead, we argue that greater focus is needed on investigating the transient (i.e. short-term) dynamics of coral populations to describe and predict their characteristics and trajectories within unstable environments. Applying transient demographic approaches to the evaluation and forecasting of the responses of coral populations to disturbance holds promise for expediting our capacity to predict and manage the resilience of coral populations, species, and communities.


This article addresses several longstanding misconceptions concerning Koopman operators, including the existence of lattices of eigenfunctions, common eigenfunctions between Koopman operators, and boundedness and compactness of Koopman operators, among others. Counterexamples are provided for each misconception. This manuscript also proves that the Gaussian RBF's native space only supports bounded Koopman operator corresponding to affine dynamics, which shows that the assumption of boundedness is very limiting. A framework for DMD is presented that requires only densely defined Koopman operators over reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, and the effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated through reconstruction examples.


Undernutrition is an extensive problem among patients in community care services. The literature identifies several barriers that hinder health professionals in identifying nutritional problems and providing nutrition interventions. We developed Appetitus, a tablet application (app) focused on nutrition for older adults. Patients used the app, advised by healthcare professionals. In this study with qualitative design, we explored experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals who used Appetitus when providing home care. We interviewed 24 healthcare professionals individually and in focus groups. We subjected the data to qualitative content analysis. Healthcare professionals used Appetitus as a mediator in dialogues with patients about nutrition. Giving the older adults an active role in nutrition assessment afforded opportunities to strengthen their involvement in care. Registrations of food and drink consumption gave the healthcare professionals insight into patients' situations and revealed problems of which the healthcare professionals had not been aware. Based on their experience with Appetitus, healthcare professionals suggested using electronic tools to assess and document the nutritional situation of a larger patient group in home care. In future use of Appetitus, healthcare professionals' levels of knowledge and confidence when advising patients about nutrition must be emphasised and addressed. Barriers such as time constraints and limited continuity of care are also areas that require attention when new nutrition practices are implemented.


Astaxanthin has great potential commercial value in the feed, cosmetics, and nutraceutical industries due to its strong antioxidant capacity. In this study, the Escherichia coli strain CAR026 with completely balanced metabolic flow was selected as the starting strain for the production of astaxanthin. The expression of β-carotene ketolase (CrtW) and β-carotene hydroxylase (CrtZ), which catalyze the conversion of β-carotene to astaxanthin, was coordinated, and a bottleneck was eliminated by increasing the copy number of crtY in CAR026. The resulting strain Ast007 produced 21.36 mg/L and 4.6 mg/g DCW of astaxanthin in shake flasks. In addition, the molecular chaperone genes groES-groEL were regulated to further improve the astaxanthin yield. The best strain Gro-46 produced 26 mg/L astaxanthin with a yield of 6.17 mg/g DCW in shake flasks and 1.18 g/L astaxanthin after 60 h of fermentation under fed-batch conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest astaxanthin obtained using engineered E. coli to date.


OBJECTIVES
To describe the clinical and epidemiological profile of young infants reporting to a hospital and assess previously proposed simple clinical signs for their value in enabling health workers to detect young infants with severe illness warranting hospital admission.

METHODS
Observational study of infants less than 2 months of age presenting consecutively to a large public hospital in South Delhi who were evaluated by a health worker (nurse), on a standardized list of signs and symptoms, and the ability of these were evaluated against the need for hospital admission which was assessed by an independent pediatrician.

RESULTS
Of the 1624 young infants triaged, 878 were enrolled into the study. Of these 100 (11%) were below 7 days of age, for whom the common reasons for seeking care were jaundice (52%), not feeding well (6%) and fever (5%). The remaining 778 (89%) were 7-59 days of age with respiratory symptoms as the main presenting complaints (29.1%). The primary clinical diagnoses in infants with serious illness needing admission to hospital in the age group <7 days (n = 66) were hyperbilirubinemia (56%) and sepsis (21%). In those between 7-27 days of age (n = 60), primary diagnoses were sepsis (27%), pneumonia (13%), diarrhea, dysentery or dehydration (10%), while in the age group 28-59 days of age (n = 47) pneumonia (40%), sepsis (19%) and diarrhea or dehydration (13%) were the common primary diagnoses. Signs that had at least a prevalence of 5% and were strong predictors for all the age categories studied were history of difficult feeding (OR 6.8 for 0-6 days, 15.1 for 2-27 days and 6.2 for 28-59 days age groups), not feeding well on observation (OR 13.7, 27.6 and 20.9 respectively for the 3 age groups), temperature > 37.5C (OR 21.8, 14.6 and 30.0 respectively for the 3 age groups) and respiratory rate > 60 per minute (OR 6.8, 15.1 and 21.0 respectively for the 3 age groups). Additional strong predictors with > 5% prevalence were history of convulsions (OR 7.9, only in 0-6 day age group), lethargy (OR 26.1, only in 7-27 day age group), and history of diarrhea (OR 3.0 for 2-27 days and 2.2 for 28-59 days age groups).

CONCLUSIONS
Simple clinical signs are useful in hands of health worker for identifying neonates with serious illness warranting hospital admission. These will be of use in the further development of clinical algorithms for the national integrated management of childhood illnesses.


Abstract:  The relationship between germination and melatonin applied during osmo‐ and hydropriming was studied in cucumber seeds. The proportion of nuclei with different DNA contents, the mean ploidy and the (2C + 4C = 8C)/2C ratio in unprimed and primed, dry and imbibed at 10°C seeds were established by flow cytometry. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and protein oxidation were also estimated. Melatonin and indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) concentrations in the seeds were determined using high‐performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Being sensitive to chilling stress, seeds that germinated well (99%) at 25°C showed only 30% germination at 15°C, and almost no germination (4%) at 10°C. Hydropriming in water improved seed germination to 50–60% at 15°C and the addition of melatonin (25–100 m) also increased the rate of germination. Osmopriming in polyethylene glycol increased germination at 15°C to 78%, and 98% when combined with 50 m melatonin. Osmoprimed seeds germinated even at 10°C and reached 43%, and 83% when 50 m melatonin was applied. None of the treatments induced DNA synthesis, although during the first 24 hr of imbibition at 10°C the mean ploidy and the (2C + 4C = 8C)/2C ratio increased, which is indicative of the advanced Phase II of germination. Hydro‐ and osmopriming slightly decreased IAA content in the seeds in most of the cases; only hydropriming with 100 and 500 m melatonin increased it. Melatonin protected membrane structure against peroxidation during chilling, but excessive melatonin levels in cucumber seeds (∼4 μg/g fresh weight) provoked oxidative changes in proteins. There is still lack of information explained clearly the role of melatonin in plant physiology. This molecule acts multidirectionally and usually is alliged to other compounds.


Abstract Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease, the pathogenesis of which is thought to involve interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory cytokine. This is based on findings of its concentration in patient serum, the results of an IL-6 suppression experiment in an animal model, and the results of a pilot study using IL-6 receptor antibody. However, it appears that a number of factors are involved in the pathology of SSc depending on the state of disease progression. In addition, the degree of involvement of IL-6 differs depending on the difference of organs within particular severe symptoms. Based on the findings from measurements of patient serum, the influence of IL-6 on the pathogenesis of SSc is greater in patients at a relatively early phase of the disease and in patients with lung lesions. Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is one of pro-fibrotic factors, and it is afraid that SSc patients with higher IL-13 have already lost the influence of IL-6. Therefore, although a clinical trial using the anti-IL-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab is underway, it is important to recognize the state of SSc patients prior to selecting treatment.


The (CMSS) Manual of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery is so richly illustrated that it fits as well on a coffee table at home as on the shelf of a surgeon's library. The artist, Floyd E. Hosmer, used light lines in shading to create color pictures of the esophagus and stomach in various states of dissection and reconstruction. The result is an unusually attractive surgical atlas that draws the reader's eye to the illustrations long before the text is read. Despite the beauty and detail of the artwork, several illustrations were confusing. An example is the view of gastric resection on page 15. The drawing shows the division of vessels of the lesser curvature of the stomach. Because of the distortion of the fundus by position in traction, it requires a moment or two of study to become oriented to the anatomic perspective. Except for this and one or two other drawings,


The transient properties of thin glassy polymer films in the vicinity of the glass transition are investigated. We compare the differences and similarities between sorption and temperature induced glass transitions, referred to as Pg and Tg, respectively. The experimental technique used is in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry, which allows for a very precise dynamic measurement of the changes in the thickness and the refractive index of the thin films. It is shown that significant differences exist between the penetrant- and temperature-induced transitions. The Tg is relatively well-defined with a sharp change in polymer dynamics, causing a well-known curvature change, a kink, in the dilation curve. In contrast, the relaxations in the vicinity of Pg do not show a sharp change. In particular, the large degree of matrix deformation associated with the Pg may actuate additional relaxation processes that are not probed during transversing the glass transition via temperature scans. The interplay between various polymer relaxation modes can even lead to a slope change, a kink, in the dilation curve that cannot be interpreted as true glass transition. In fact, significant polymer relaxations are manifested upon slight desorption of penetrants from an excessively swollen system, which can be considered a quasi-equilibrium liquid. The important practical implications of the findings are discussed.


Author(s): Fan, Winnie | Advisor(s): Brody, James P | Abstract: Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States and melanoma is considered the deadliest form of skin cancer. Although the environmental causes of melanomas are known, the molecular mechanisms involved are still being researched. Melanomas present more often on the left side of the body, but explanations for this laterality are conflicting and largely focused on epidemiological factors. In this thesis, both epidemiological and genetic factors affecting melanoma laterality are analyzed to explore how tumor laterality and patterning may arise in general. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were used to analyze clinical cases of melanoma. Data analysis was conducted by calculating a laterality ratio of asymmetric melanomas and comparing how these ratios differ in epidemiological and genetic variables. A machine learning algorithm was also applied to predict which variables or groups of variables may determine laterality. Results showed that, as established, melanomas tend to exhibit left-sided laterality, but epidemiological factors alone are not good indicators of where tumors present. Genomics analysis revealed several genes and targets of interest. Genes involved in cell adhesion were consistently significant, but there was no conclusive evidence that a specific gene or set of genes causes left-sided patterning. Although results did not reveal specific genetic targets as determinants of melanoma laterality, they prove that the methods used can be tools for analyzing tumor laterality in general and can help in predicting what variables are important in molecular mechanisms indicating laterality.


Abstract Observers of international courts (ICs) note that several ICs carry out a broad range of non-judicial activities, ranging from legal training workshops and public seminars to visits with public officials. Despite the growing prominence of these activities, they have received little attention from scholars. Seeking to fill this gap, this article examines these activities as a form of 'judicial diplomacy', asking how and why ICs employ judicial diplomacy. The article argues that ICs use judicial diplomacy as a means of legitimation. They seek to boost institutional legitimacy through their judicial diplomacy by targeting the public and communicating norm-referential narratives about their processes and outcomes. This argument bears out in case studies on the judicial diplomacy of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights and the Caribbean Court of Justice. Both courts are shown to have judicial diplomacy that is public-oriented and people-centred. This argument has important implications for literature on international courts and the legitimacy of international institutions.


Transcription factors of the MarR family respond to internal and external changes and regulate a variety of biological functions through ligand association with microorganisms. MepR belongs to the MarR family, and its mutations are associated with the development of multidrug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, which has caused a growing health problem. In this study, a Bacillus cereus MepR-like transcription regulator, BC0657, was crystallized. The BC0657 crystals diffracted to 2.05 Å resolution and belonged to either space group P6(2)22 or P6(4)22, with unit-cell parameters a = 110.57, b = 110.57, c = 67.29 Å. There was one molecule per asymmetric unit. Future comparative structural studies on BC0657 would extend knowledge of ligand-induced transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in the MarR family and would make a significant contribution to the design of antibiotic drugs against multidrug-resistant bacteria.


In this paper, we show existence of white noise solutions for weak formulations of modified Surface Quasi-Geostrophic (mSQG) equations. Based on previous results ([10]) on white noise solutions for mSQG equations on the torus T, we show a similar result for the whole space R by letting the volume of the torus go to infinity and applying compactness methods (Skorokhod's theorem).


The agriculture annulus in Pakistan aid 21% towards GDP of the country with mainly agriculture based economy. This ambit represents 45% of the country's labor force. Rivers are the main essence of water in Pakistan. This accounts for agriculture, commercial and domestic use. The veer in the availability of water of Rivers not only affects the economy but also the climate of the country. Water of these Rivers, directly or indirectly affects the lives of people in Pakistan. Indus River is the radical river which flows through the whole country until the brink of Arabian Sea. Indus Basin commences via Tibet flow from Jammu and Kashmir (India) to Pakistan. This paper is a descriptive study of water flow in the three giant rivers of Pakistan and conspicuously illustrate the past flow history, present condition and unborn recognition of water resources in the realm. The historical scansion and the unborn prediction of the attainment of water in the kingdom along with its consequences on the economy is also the ingredient of this inquest. The fright of critical water shortage is utterly tedious for Pakistan so there is a heinous exigency of ingenuous endeavors from the governance bodies to cope with these challenges. Notions to address this issue are also presented in this paper.


It was found in acute experiments on white rats that injection of Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide activates renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and causes oligohydruria form of acute renal failure (ARF). Enalapril, angiotensin-converting enzyme, being injected simultaneously with endotoxin, increases diuresis, glomerular filtration rate, electrolytes excretion and reabsorption by proximal tubules, decreases proteinuria and blood nitrogen-down to the normal. Thus, RAAS takes part in endotoxemia ARF induction and enalapril has protective effect.