This research was carried out to study the effect of plants on the wetted area for two soil types in Iraq and predict an equation to determine the wetted radius and depth for two different soil types cultivated with different types of plants, the wetting patterns for the soils were predicted at every thirty minute for a total irrigation time equal to 3 hr. Five defferent discharges of emitter and five initial volumetric soil moisture contents were used ranged between field capacity and wilting point were utilized to simulate the wetting patterns. The simulation of the water flow from a single point emitter was completed by utilized HYDRUS-2D/3D software, version 2.05. Two methods were used in developing equations to predict the domains of the wetting pattern. The principal strategy manages each soil independently and includes plotting, fitting, and communicating relevant connections for wetted zone and profundity, maximum error did not exceed 31.2%, modeling efficiency did not less 0.95, and root mean square error did not surpass 1.43 cm. The second strategy additionally treated each soil independently yet used electronic programming that uses different relapse methods for wetted territory and profundity, the maximum error did not exceed 15.64 %, modeling efficiency did not less 0.98, and root mean square error did not surpass 1.18 cm. a field test was directed to quantify the wetted radius to check the outcome acquired by the software HYDRUS-2D, contrast the estimation and the reproduced by the software. The after effects of the conditions to express the wetted radius and depth regarding the time of water system, producer release, and initial soil moisture content were general and can be utilized with great precision.


In this paper we consider the fuzzification of ideals in the sense of W. A. Dudek in BCC-algebras. We discuss the relations among fuzzy BCK-ideal, fuzzy BCC-ideal and fuzzy g-ideal. We state fuzzy characteristic g-ideals, and also discuss fuzzy relations on BCC-algebras.


Statement of the Problem: Porcelain laminate veneer is an esthetic restoration used as an alternative to full veneer crowns and requires minimal tooth preparation. In restoration with porcelain laminate veneers, both the longevity of the laminate and conservation of the sound tooth structure are imperative. Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the shear bond strength of porcelain laminates to prepared- and unprepared- anterior teeth in order to compare their longevity and success rate. Materials and Method: Thirty extracted maxillary central incisors were randomly divided into 3 groups regarding their preparation methods. The preparation methods were full-preparation in group A, full-preparation and finishing with fine diamond bur in group B, and no-preparation, only grinding with diamond bur in group C. After conditioning the teeth, ceramic veneers (IP S e.max) were silanated and then cemented with DuoLink luting cement. The shear bond strength was measured for each group and failure mode was determined by stereomicroscopic examination. Results: Group C exhibited the highest shear bond strength. The shear bond strength was significantly different between groups C and B (p< 0.05). However, the difference between group A and C was insignificant, as was the difference between group A and B (p> 0.05). Adhesion failure mode was found to be more common than the cohesive mode. Conclusion: Regarding the shear bond strength of unprepared anterior teeth to porcelain laminate veneers yielded by this study, no-preparation veneers might be used when the enamel is affected by wearing, trauma, or abrasion. It can also be used in patients who refuse the treatments which involve tooth reduction and preparation.


Abstract : The physical and mental strain on combat soldiers is often high. They are exposed to a combination of factors that all contribute to the work load. These factors may include: sustained operations (up to 72 hours of continuous work), changing climatologically circumstances, different terrains (e.g. altitude), sleep deprivation, shift-work, nutritional shortage, and physical and chemical threats. Ambulant (real-time) monitoring of the strain to which soldiers are exposed may help prevent acute health problems (e.g. heat casualties) and overreaching / overtraining injuries; while also contributing to the prediction of the physical and cognitive performance of soldiers. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the level of cognitive performance of soldiers during sustained operations and to explore different methods to monitor the amount of strain (environmental, stress, work, sleep) soldiers experience during these operations. Methods: Seventeen soldiers who participated in the Air Mobile Brigade training were measured during week 1, 3 and 5 of the training course. Cognitive performance (memory, logical reasoning and vigilance) was tested 5 times each week. Ambient temperature, WBGT, humidity, rain fall and wind speed were continuously measured by a weather station. Body weight and fat percentage measurements were performed at the start of each week and at the end of the training course. The soldiers wore a system that measured heart rate, skin temperature and core temperature. GPS systems were used to monitor the walking and running distance and speed. Military instructors rated the physical and mental strain of the training course and the soldiers filled out questionnaires about vigour, affect, need for recovery, perceived exertion, mental effort and sleep. Results: Cognitive performance was significantly decreased as compared to baseline levels during the 3 test weeks.


The reaction mechanism of the pozzolanic reaction of metakaolin (MK) from the atomic point of view has not yet been explored. To explain the process and mechanism of the pozzolanic reaction from the atomic point of view, molecular insight into the pozzolanic reaction of MK and calcium hydroxide (CH) was analyzed through the reaction molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results show that the pozzolanic reaction of MK and CH can be essentially regarded as the CH decomposition and penetration into MK. Also, the structure evolution after the pozzolanic reaction shows that the water molecules cannot penetrate the MK structure till the participation of Ca2+ and OH- ions of CH. The Ca2+ and OH- ions have strong interaction with MK and drill into the MK structure, followed by the destruction of a part of the MK structure and water penetration. The final structure of CH removed by MK can be regarded as the precursor of the CASH gel structure.


In many countries, social security insures firms against their workers' sickness absences. The insurance may create a moral hazard for firms, leading to inefficient monitoring of absences or to an underinvestment in the prevention of absences. We exploit an administrative threshold in the Austrian social security that defined whether a firm had to pay a deductible for its blue-collar workers sicknesses or not. The quasi-experimental situation around the threshold provides causal evidence on the extent of moral hazard induced by the deductible. We apply a regression discontinuity design to estimate the differences in the incidences and durations of sicknesses for firms that faced the deductible and those who did not. We find that the deductible did not lead to different sickness outcomes and conclude that relatively low deductibles have little impact on forms' management of sicknesses.


Diminished insulin sensitivity is a characteristic feature of type 2 diabetes. Inhibition of insulin action, resulting in reduced skeletal muscle glucose uptake, is mediated in part through stimulation of RhoA activity. One regulator of RhoA activity is leukemia-associated Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (LARG). The LARG gene maps to a region on chromosome 11q23-24 that shows genetic linkage to BMI and type 2 diabetes in Pima Indians. Because of its role in RhoA activation, the LARG gene was analyzed as a positional candidate gene for this linkage. Sequencing of the LARG gene and genotyping of variants identified several polymorphisms that were associated with in vivo rates of insulin-mediated glucose uptake, at both physiological and maximally stimulating insulin concentrations, among 322 nondiabetic Pima Indians who had undergone a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. The strongest association with rate of glucose uptake was found with a Tyr1306Cys polymorphism (P < 0.0001, adjusted for age, sex, percent body fat, and nuclear family membership). In transient transfection studies in NIH3T3 cells, the LARG(Cys1306) protein had reduced activity compared with LARG(Tyr1306) protein (P < 0.05). We propose that the Tyr1306Cys substitution in LARG, through its differential activation of RhoA, increases insulin sensitivity in nondiabetic Pima Indians.


OBJECTIVE
To test Goodman's theoretical 5-factor model of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in an analysis of the Norwegian parent (P) and teacher (T) versions of the questionnaire.

METHOD
The T-SDQ was analyzed for 8,999 (95.4% of all) children in primary school grades 2-4 in Bergen, Norway, whereas the P-SDQ was examined for 6,430 children (68.2%). Main analyses were exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

RESULTS
The analyses supported a modestly modified version of Goodman's 5-factor model for both the P-SDQ and the T-SDQ. The correlations between latent factors were high, particularly when the conduct problem factor was involved, reflecting a high level of overlap between the problem areas. Cross-informant correlation between parents and teachers was moderate to high for the problem subscales and considerably higher than the corresponding correlation between subscales that has been found in earlier studies.

CONCLUSIONS
None of the alternative models derived from the exploratory factor analysis fitted the data better than a slightly modified version of Goodman's 5-factor model, which showed acceptable goodness of fit.


Geographic visualizations are, due to the limited need for vertical navigation, suitable for touch tables. In this poster we consider the design of interaction design for selection and manipulation through touch on the screen used for the display of 3D geographic visualization-in our case the visualization of and interaction with drone traffic over rural and urban areas-focusing on moving from a monoscopic to a more immersive, stereoscopic touch table, and how this move affects the interaction design. With a monoscopic display our stereoscopic vision uses the graphics to perceive the location of the surface, and touch interaction can naturally and intuitively be performed on top of 3D objects. Moving to stereocopic display, for increased sense of immersion, the graphics no longer provide visual cues about the location of the screen. We argue that this motivates modification of the design principles, with an alternative interaction design as a result.


Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a groundbreaking treatment modality for severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis. Despite the rapid progression in indications to include intermediate-risk patients, the risk of peri-procedural stroke remains, with a higher incidence rate than previously reported. Accurate assessment of peri-procedural stroke rates requires selection of careful and meaningful trial endpoints during evaluation of neuroprotective devices. In this article, we review recommendations and stroke definitions from academic research consortiums along with device trial results.


Outbreak of classical swine fever (CSF) results in high mortality and thus causes severe economic losses in the swine industry. Single-domain antibody (sdAb) is the smallest antigen-binding molecule derived from camelid heavy-chain antibodies and has the potential to be used as a molecular probe for detection of CSF virus (CSFV). In this study, two sdAb fragments against the E2 antigen of CSFV were obtained, expressed in vitro. The functional characteristics analysis indicated that the recombinant sdAbE2-1 and sdAbE2-2 have excellent binding activity, specificity, and high affinity with equilibrium constant value of 3.34 × 10−7 and 1.35 × 10−8 M to E2 protein. Then, sdAbE2s were conjugated with quantum dots (QD)/AF488 to synthesize two molecular probes for imaging CSFV distribution in cells. The sdAbE2-1 was also labeled with carboxyl-magnetic beads to construct immunomagnetic nanobeads (IMNBs) able to capture CSFV virions and recombinant E2 protein. QD/AF455-sdAbE2s probes colocalised with CSFV virions in swine testis cells, and IMNBs were used as a detection template and proved to bind specifically with CSFV virions and E2 protein. The selected sdAb fragments and sdAb-based molecular probes may be used for the rapid identification of CSFV during field outbreaks and for research on CSFV and host interactions.


This work aims at the theoretical description of EphA2-ephrin A1 inhibition by small molecules. Recently proposed ab initio-based scoring models, comprising long-range components of interaction energy, is tested on lithocholic acid class inhibitors of this protein–protein interaction (PPI) against common empirical descriptors. We show that, although limited to compounds with similar solvation energy, the ab initio model is able to rank the set of selected inhibitors more effectively than empirical scoring functions, aiding the design of novel compounds.


The central paradigm of molecular population genetics is selective sweeps, where targets of selection have independent effects on the phenotype and quickly rise to fixation. In quantitative genetics, many loci contribute epistatically to adaptation and subtle frequency changes occur at many loci. Since both paradigms could result in a sweep-like genomic signature, additional criteria are needed to distinguish them. Using the framework of experimental evolution, we performed computer simulations to study the pattern of selected alleles under both paradigms. We identify several distinct patterns of selective sweeps and polygenic adaptation in populations of different sizes. These features could provide the foundation for development of quantitative approaches to differentiate the two paradigms. Author's summary The selective sweep model assumes an independent frequency increase of favorable alleles and has been the basis of many tests for selection. While, polygenic adaptation is typically modelled by small frequency shifts in many loci. Recently, some theoretical and empirical work demonstrated that polygenic adaptation, similar to sweep, could also results in pronounced allele frequency changes. These results suggest that other distinct features need to be identified. Using computer simulations, we identified distinctive features for each paradigm that can be used to differentiate the sweep model from polygenic adaptation. Features such as allele frequency trajectories, time-series fitness, distribution of selected alleles on haplotypes, and parallelism among replicates can be used for development of suitable tests to distinguish between different adaptive architectures. These features provide the basis for theoretical modeling, design of selection experiments and data analysis.


This study had the purpose on feasibility judgment through performance forecast of wind power generation system using the cross flow vertical type wind power turbine for the situation of domestic small size wind power technology development. Wind power generation system uses the principle of venturi tube that gathers the wind through the first guide vane, and second guide vein changes the angle of the wind simultaneously by playing the role of venturi tube. After this, wind got out from the second guide vane spins the wind power turbine and has the meaning of judging on the aspect of numerical interpretation the feasibility for the small size wind power generation through wind power generation system that comes out from the back.


A toxicogenomics approach was used to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the gene expression changes in human and rat primary hepatocytes exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Hepatocytes from five individual rats and five individual humans were exposed for 24 h to 11 concentrations of TCDD ranging from 0.00001 to 100nM and a vehicle control. Gene expression changes were analyzed using whole-genome microarrays containing 13,002 orthologs. Significant changes in expression of individual orthologs at any concentration (fold change [FC] ± 1.5 and false discovery rate < 0.05) were higher in the rat (1547) compared with human hepatocytes (475). Only 158 differentially expressed orthologs were common between rats and humans. Enrichment analysis was performed on the differentially expressed orthologs in each species with 49 and 34 enriched human and rat pathways, respectively. Only 12 enriched pathways were shared between the two species. The results demonstrate significant cross-species differences in expression at both the gene and pathway level. Benchmark dose analysis of gene expression changes showed an average 18-fold cross-species difference in potency among differentially expressed orthologs with the rat more sensitive than the human. Similar cross-species differences in potency were observed for signaling pathways. Using the maximum FC in gene expression as a measure of efficacy, the human hepatocytes showed on average a 20% lower efficacy among the individual orthologs showing differential expression. The results provide evidence for divergent cross-species gene expression changes in response to TCDD and are consistent with epidemiological and clinical evidence showing humans to be less sensitive to TCDD-induced hepatotoxicity.


This article reviews the principles that govern the combined transport of spin, heat, and charge. The extensive thermodynamic quantity associated with spin transport is the magnetization; its Onsager-conjugate force is in general the derivative of the free energy with respect to the magnetization. Spins are carried in one of two ways: (1) by spin-polarized free electrons in magnetic metals and doped semiconductors, or (2) by spin waves (magnons) that reside on localized electrons on unfilled d- or f-shells of transition metal or rare-earth elements. The paper covers both cases in separate chapters. In both cases, it is possible to define a spin chemical potential whose gradient is the more practical conjugate force to spin transport. The paper further describes the anomalous Hall, spin Hall, and inverse spin Hall effects in magnetic and non-magnetic solids with strong spin-orbit coupling because these effects are used to generate and measure spin fluxes. Spin transport across interfaces is described next, and includes spin pumping and spin transfer torque. The final chapter then puts all these concepts together to describe the spin-Seebeck, spin-Peltier, and magnon-drag effects, which exist in ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and even paramagnetic solids. Magnon-drag, in particular, is a high-temperature effect that boosts the thermopower of metals by an order of magnitude and that of semiconductors by a factor of 2 or 3 above the electronic diffusion thermopower. This is the only example where a spin-driven effect is larger than a charge-driven effect. Magnon drag leads a simple binary paramagnetic semiconductor, MnTe, to have zT > 1 without optimization. This shows how adding spin as an additional design parameter in thermoelectrics research is a new and promising approach toward the quest for high-zT materials.


OBJECTIVE
To study the role of nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide pathway in the pathophysiological process of intussusception (IN).

METHODS
The IN model of rat was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The content of NOx in plasma and the NOS activity in colic smooth muscle tissues were measured. The content of cGMP was determined by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS
LPS (10 mg/kg, i.p.) induced IN in up to 40% of the rats 6 hours after treatment with LPS. The incidence of IN was significantly increased by 58.3% (P < 0.05) and by 66.8% (P < 0.01) in L-arginine (L-Arg)-treated rats (2% in drinking water) and in sodium nitroprusside (NSP)-treated rats (1 mg/kg, i.p.), respectively, but it is significantly decreased by 66.8% (P < 0.01) after administration of M-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 15 mg/kg, i.p.), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. Furthermore, LPS increased total NOS activity, NOx production and cGMP levels in plasma or in colic smooth muscle tissues. These parameters in LPS-IN rats were significantly elevated by 38.8%, 50.7%, and 48.7% respectively (P < 0.01) compared with LPS-non-IN rats.

CONCLUSION
NOS/NO pathway plays an important role in the process of IN, and inhibition of NO production may serve as a possible approach to prevent IN.


Here we describe the recombinant production and purification of a novel anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protein, cyanovirin-N (CV-N), in Escherichia coli. Initial attempts to express CV-N using a vector containing an ompA signal peptide sequence resulted in production of an intractable mixture of the full-length (101 amino acid residue) protein and a truncated form lacking the first two N-terminal amino acids. The truncated protein was observed regardless of the host cell line, culture conditions, or induction time. These observations suggested that an as yet unidentified protease or peptidase was responsible for proteolytic cleavage between the second and third N-terminal amino acids of CV-N when presented as an ompA-CV-N fusion protein. When the ompA signal peptide sequence was replaced by a pelB signal peptide sequence, CV-N was produced in high yield as a single, homogeneous protein. This was confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and N-terminal sequencing. This expression system provides a basis for large-scale production of clinical grade CV-N for further research and development as an anti-HIV microbicide.


An adult female of the guitarfish Rhinobatos percellens with a total length of 550 mm was captured with a bottom trawl net on the southern coast of Brazil. This female bore five developing embryos, one of which had two heads and pectoral fins separated from the heads. This malformation is described here as the first instance for R. percellens .


Hollow-core fibers have demonstrated record performance in applications such as high-power pulse delivery, quantum computing, and sensing. However, their routine use is yet to become reality. A major obstacle is the ability to maintain the polarization state of light over a broad range of wavelengths, while also ensuring low attenuation and single-mode guidance. Here we simulated, fabricated and characterized a single-mode polarization-maintaining anti-resonant hollow-core fiber. The birefringence was achieved by introducing resonators of different thicknesses, thereby creating reduced symmetry in the structure. The measured group birefringence of 4.4x10-5 at 1550 nm is in good agreement with the calculated group birefringence from the simulations. This corresponds to a phase birefringence of 2.5x10-5 at 1550 nm. The measured loss of the fiber was 0.46 dB/m at 1550 nm. With its simple structure, low loss, and broadband operation this polarization-maintaining anti-resonant hollow-core fiber is a serious contender for applications in gas-based nonlinear optics and communications.


The vacuum vessel of the HT-7U superconducting tokamak will be a fully-welded structure with a double-wall. The space between the double-wall will be filled with borated water for neutron shielding. Non-circular cross-section is designed for plasma elongating. Horizontal and vertical ports are designed for diagnosing, vacuum pumping, plasma heating and plasma current driving, etc. The vacuum vessel consists of 16 segments. It will be baked out at 250°C to obtain a clean wall. When the machine is in operation, both the hot wall (the wall temperature is around 100°C) and the cold wall (wall temperature is in normal equilibrium) are considered. The stress caused by thermal deformation and the electromagnetic (EM) loads caused by 1.5 MA plasma disruption in 3.5 T magnetic field have to be taken into account in the design of the HT-7U vacuum vessel. Finite element method was employed for structure analysis of the vacuum vessel.


Malaria is a life‐threatening infectious blood disease affecting humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans belonging to the Plasmodium type especially in developing countries. The gold standard method for the detection of malaria is through the microscopic method of chemically treated blood smears. We developed an automated optical spatial coherence tomographic system using a machine learning approach for a fast identification of malaria cells. In this study, 28 samples (15 healthy, 13 malaria infected stages of red blood cells) were imaged by the developed system and 13 features were extracted. We designed a multilevel ensemble‐based classifier for the quantitative prediction of different stages of the malaria cells. The proposed classifier was used by repeating k‐fold cross validation dataset and achieve a high‐average accuracy of 97.9% for identifying malaria infected late trophozoite stage of cells. Overall, our proposed system and multilevel ensemble model has a substantial quantifiable potential to detect the different stages of malaria infection without staining or expert.


The purpose of this paper is to present the PhD thesis research plan, which aims to design, integrate and evaluate educational activities mediated by ICT resources and programmable educational robots, in initial education students, obtaining collaborative learning and Training of computational thinking skills. The research will be developed through a mixed methodology, with the intention of being able to carry out a more complete analysis and evaluation of the subject, obtaining data from different sources (teachers, students and coordinators of educational level). Various instruments such as interviews, questionnaires and participant type observation will be used, focusing on teachers and students. In addition, a rubric will be used to evaluate students' performance in the development of learning activities, through the sequential programming of educational robots. The results that will be obtained with this research will allow to carry out a proposal of technological educational action of great quality, based on the benefits and limitations of the integration of ICT resources and programmable Robots, contributing in a significant way to the implementation of new approaches for the Teaching-learning curriculum content from an early age and empowering participants in the development of computational thinking skills and collaborative learning.


With the rise of Web-based applications, it is both important and feasible for human-computer interaction practitioners to measure a product's user experience. While quantifying user attitudes at a small scale has been heavily studied, in this industry case study, we detail best Happiness Tracking Surveys (HaTS) for collecting attitudinal data at a large scale directly in the product and over time. This method was developed at Google to track attitudes and open-ended feedback over time, and to characterize products' user bases. This case study of HaTS goes beyond the design of the questionnaire to also suggest best practices for appropriate sampling, invitation techniques, and its data analysis. HaTS has been deployed successfully across dozens of Google's products to measure progress towards product goals and to inform product decisions; its sensitivity to product changes has been demonstrated widely. We are confident that teams in other organizations will be able to embrace HaTS as well, and, if necessary, adapt it for their unique needs.


Pulsed infrared thermography is a NDT method for evaluating polymer reinforced structures. As our former research was performed on advantageous cooled middle-wave camera, in this contribution gradient based image processing method has been applied on long-wave bolometric cameras. Different wavelengths and camera sensitivities have been compared on prefabricated specimen. To demonstrate the capability of approach, examples from floating vehicles industry have been presented.


A wheat stay-green mutant, tasg1, was observed to exhibit significantly delayed senescence in the late developmental stage. The photosynthetic capacity of the flag leaf was greater in tasg1 than in wild type (WT) plants. In addition, the grain volume of tasg1 was significantly higher than that of WT at the early filling stage. The content of various cytokinins (CKs) in the grain was significantly higher in tasg1 than in WT and was accompanied by an upregulated expression of some cell cycle-related genes. Examination of the metabolism of soluble sugars in tasg1 and WT revealed that the concentrations of glucose (Glu), fructose (Fru), and sucrose (Suc) were higher in the flag leaves and grains of tasg1 than in WT plants. The activities of sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS), sucrose synthase (SuSy), and cell wall invertase (CW-invertase) were higher in tasg1, suggesting an altered metabolism and transport of soluble sugars. Furthermore, when tasg1 was treated with the CK inhibitor lovastatin, the activity of invertase was inhibited and was associated with premature senescence phenotype. However, the activity of invertase was partially recovered in tasg1 when treated with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The trend of change in the concentrations of Glu, Fru, and Suc was similar to that of invertase. Our results suggest that CKs might regulate the stay-green phenotype of tasg1 by regulating the invertase activity involved in Suc remobilization.


This system is being used to build structure data for the HEARTH digital collection and to manage the collection under the DLXS system. It allows student workers or unskilled employees to build structure metadata from scanned images for both monographs and serials, and manages the process of delivering the titles under DLXS once prepared. It allows supervisors to manage the work, simplifying tasks like reassigning the in-progress work of graduated students.


The geochemistry of Li and Li isotopes is a promising tracer of chemical weathering processes for both modern and ancient times. Therefore, accurate and precise determination of the isotopic composition of Li is required for a large variety of complex geological samples with different Li concentrations and matrix/Li ratios. Especially, geochemical studies of precious geological samples with ultra-low lithium content and high matrix. In this study, the accuracy and the precision corresponding to Li isotopic measurements of low-level samples using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) with membrane desolvation introduction system was evaluated. The method of MC-ICP-MS with membrane desolvation and a high-sensitivity X-skimmer cone, together with a simple one-step column separation enabled the high-precision isotopic analysis of Li quantities as small as 2 ng. The long-term instrumental external reproducibility of δ7Li values for the L-SVEC and SPEX-Li were 0.0 ± 0.1‰ (n = 20) and 12.1 ± 0.4‰ (n = 20), respectively. Based on the measurements on a series of international reference materials over the last two years. The measured δ7Li values for the standards with a variety of matrices, including BHVO-2, AGV-2 and seawater (NASS-6). The δ7Li values of BHVO-2 (4.58 ± 0.35‰), AGV-2 (6.85 ± 0.40‰) and NASS-6 (30.88 ± 0.20‰) are in agreement with the published data within the uncertainty. We also present analytical results for South China Sea surface seawater water, meteorite, limestones and rain water. These results demonstrate the validity of the method for obtaining highly precise and accurate outcomes.


Since the Social Development Summit in Copenhagen in 1995, there has been a progressive search for mechanisms to incorporate the social dimension systematically in the development agenda. Three core themes have marked the debate. First, is the persistence of poverty and inequity during a period of economic growth and increased liberalization of markets. Second, is the imbalance between macroeconomic reforms and social policies that have primarily focused on the mitigation of crisis and not on the existing inequity both in the global system and national societies. Third is the need to strengthen democratic governance both on the public administration and in reaffirming citizen's rights. The six chapters comprising this report are authored by regional specialists who aim at reinventing the social dimension, or the social sphere, of development. The chapters center on themes and challenges the Social Development Unit of the World Bank has identified as priorities and arise from the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. The first three chapters deal with general aspects. The first chapter discusses the agenda of social development and its demands on public policies in the Latin American region in the next few years. The second chapter revolves around the issue of social development indicators. The third chapter analyzes the issue of citizenship and its links to development. The next two chapters are more specific in approach, and essential in their consequences for the region's social development. The fourth chapter is analyzes the question of development from the perspective of youth, particularly concerning the generation of opportunities for social mobility that demand short term fiscal resources but reap observable yields in the medium and long term. The fifth chapter elaborates on urban violence, one of the major threats to Latin Americans' quality of life. The volume concludes by examining the possibilities of governance for the States in the region and its implications for achieving better thresholds of social development and welfare.


Humans can seamlessly reason with circumstantial preconditions of commonsense knowledge. We understand that a glass is used for drinking water, unless the glass is broken or the water is toxic. Despite state-of-the-art (SOTA) language models' (LMs) impressive performance on inferring commonsense knowledge, it is unclear whether they understand the circumstantial preconditions. To address this gap, we propose a novel challenge of reasoning with circumstantial preconditions. We collect a dataset, called PaCo, consisting of 12.4 thousand preconditions of commonsense statements expressed in natural language. Based on this dataset, we create three canonical evaluation tasks and use them to examine the capability of existing LMs to understand situational preconditions. Our results reveal a 10-30% gap between machine and human performance on our tasks, which shows that reasoning with preconditions is an open challenge.


number of the common anomalies; he then proceeds to the anatomy of the bronchial tree, using the classification of Jackson and Huber. This is perhaps a little unfortunate in view of the recent introduction of the standard international nomenclature. Short sections on bronchial blood vessels, lymphatics, and innervation make useful but not outstanding reading. Then follows a well-illustrated section on congenital heart disease depicting the type of case which can be treated successfully by surgery. The section on abnormal pulmonary vessels gives nearly all the variations that have been encountered and affords a useful reference to any surgeon who may come across one of these unusual cases; there is also a short account of experimental surgery of the pulmonary vessels. Turning again to the bronchial tree, the author gives a good description of excision and grafting of the trachea and bronchi and of the various operations that have been used with limited success in asthma. The final chapters are concerned with pulmonary resection and give a detailed catalogue of the various methods commonly employed. Dr. Birnbaum at the outset admits that he was aiming to produce an atlas of pulmonary vessels, and he has included an illustrated appendix giving the anatomy of the vessels based on a study of fifty adult lungs. The book, however, exceeded this boundary, and as a series of descriptive essays on individual subjects it makes interesting reading and affords a valuable source of reference. T. HOLMES SELLORS.


This paper presents an evaluation of the Swedish pension system, using performance measures that accounts for higher moments of the distribution. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between the classical Sharpe ratio and more sophisticated measures, while specifically focusing on the outcome of the default fund in the system. These additional measure consists of the ASSR which accounts for relative skewness preference and the GR which is based on the Gini coefficient as the method for measuring risk. This is accomplished by calculating various ratios for all funds with a PPM history dating back to at least 2010 and dividing them into subcategories in order to get a more accurate representation of fund performance within a certain category. The default fund is then benchmarked against its own category and against all other equity funds in the sample. Correlation between measures is determined by firstly assigning ranks to each performance measure and secondly calculating the rank correlation using Spearman's rho. For the data set used in this study, the results show that the default fund meets its explicit goal of achieving a long term return at least as good as the average of all PPM-funds, given its level of risk. The highest rank correlation is seen between the SR and the ASSR while the lowest correlation is seen between the SR and the GR, a result which fits perfectly in line with what we would expect in theory.


Distributed measurement and control is a large field which has been receiving much attention in the past years. This is the topic of this paper in which the development and implementation of a low-cost measurement network is discussed. While not based on new technologies, this paper brings forth some novel aspects such as the securing of the communications on the industrial network as well as the reduction in cost by implementation on embedded processors. Most systems that have been developed are aimed at large companies with equally large budgets, whereas the systems described here is aimed at the small business and cost-conscious consumers.


Abstract This article provides an overview of the pharmacological management of traumatic brain injury (TBI). A basic introduction to key pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles is used to guide the reader. The goals of the pharmacological management of TBI are explained starting with mild TBI. The main medications used for each medical condition are described with a primary emphasis of effects that may interfere with the role of speech-language pathology (SLP). Some medications may interfere with cognitive, motor, and neuromuscular functions, and others may cause ototoxicity. A basic overview of the pharmacological management of moderate to severe TBI is included because the SLP practitioner may encounter patients with TBI during the recovery phase. The importance of assessment of swallowing evaluations is discussed because the oral route of administration of medications is preferred once the patient is stable.


Early-weaned littermate piglets were acclimated to cold for 3 wk and then housed for 6 wk at a room temperature of 10 degrees C in individual cages. Half the littermates (OP) could switch on a heater and thus adjust temperature within a cage; the other half (CP) had access to a source of light only. Food was available ad libitum. It was found that when the room temperature was 10 degrees C OP maintained cage temperature at 17.3 degrees C, whereas that of CP was at 10.4 degrees C (P less than 0.001); rectal temperature of OP was 0.4 degree C (P less than 0.01), and locomotor activity 19.9% (P less than 0.001) higher than in CP. Oxygen consumption measured at 25 degrees C was 12.5% lower (P less than 0.05) in OP than CP, but did not differ when measured at 10 degrees C. There were no differences in food intake and growth rate, but the food conversion ratio was improved by 10.9% (P less than 0.01) in OP in comparison with CP. By the end of the experiment CP had shorter bodies, tails and snouts and smaller heads and ears than CP. No difference in distribution of tissues, size of internal organs, or dry matter and energy content in tissues was observed between the groups. The role of autonomic vs. behavioral thermoregulation in maintaining a mammal's energy balance and thermal homeostasis is discussed.


To examine and evaluate for providing the guidelines of insulation design in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices, the samples prepared by etching insulation gaps measured from 5 to 40 μm were investigated in this paper. The pre-breakdown current-voltage curves and relationships between breakdown voltages and gap widths were obtained on test samples fabricated with aluminum film electrodes in standard MEMS processes. Combined with observation of electrode surface by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), breakdown mechanism of MEMS planar electrode structures was discussed. Results show that the pre-breakdown current lies between 1 nA and 100 nA, and Fowler-Nordheim plot verifies that field emission don't dominate the breakdown process, which don't agree with many studies. Instead Townsend avalanche mechanism could still be used to explain the gap breakdown in the range of 5 μm to 40 μm, but the minimum breakdown voltages need to be modified for micro scale electrodes. SEM analysis shows that the breakdown damage is crater-like and anode surface suffers more damage. Paschen's curves for describing the electric breakdown phenomena of gaseous dielectrics needs to be re-examined for designs and operations of MEMS to avoid or to encourage breakdown.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background. The 2014 pancreas allocation system (PAS) intended to decrease geographic variability in listing practices for simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplant and define eligibility criteria for those with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Our primary aims were to evaluate geographic disparities in access to SPK and assess T2DM SPK listings in the pre- and post-PAS eras. Methods. Adult listings for SPK and kidney transplant (pre-PAS, January 2010 to October 29, 2014; post-PAS, October 30, 2014, to June 2, 2017) were identified in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Multivariable logistic regression models tested associations of geography and/or diabetes mellitus type on the likelihood of SPK versus kidney transplant listing pre- and post-PAS. Competing risk models tested the likelihood of SPK transplantation within 2 years of listing for SPK. Results. Among 41 205 listings (27 393 pre-PAS; 24 439 T2DM), univariate analysis showed reduced percentages for SPK post-PAS (22.1%–20.8%; P = 0.003). After adjusting for patient and center characteristics, geographic disparities declined slightly but persisted post-PAS (era by region interaction P < 0.001). The era by type of diabetes mellitus interaction effect was statistically significant (P = 0.039), reflecting that the proportions of SPK listings for T2DM increased in the post-PAS era (3.4%–3.9%; univariate P = 0.038), while those for type 1 diabetes mellitus remained statistically stable (47.9%–48.4%; univariate P = 0.571). Among people listed for SPK, geographic disparities in the cumulative incidence of transplantation within 2 years declined and the overall likelihood of transplantation increased in the post-PAS era (both P < 0.001). Conclusions. Geographic disparities in access to SPK declined slightly but persisted post-PAS. With new allocation change proposals and elimination of listing criteria for T2DM, further monitoring is warranted.


This research is conducted to describe how puppet toys is implemented in teaching vocabulary to the fourth year of SDN 1 Kedungharjo Ngawi, the result of teaching vocabulary through puppet toys and the student's comments of teaching
vocabulary through puppet toys. This research is a classroom action research, which is taken as a result of reflection on phenomena done by the writer, and it arises from some specific problems or issues. In this research the writer faces some problem, such as the students have low motivation in joining teachinglearning process, they are difficult to memorize the meaning and pronounce the words. In addition they are not interested in studying English because they fell bored with the teacher's technique. Here the writer chooses puppet toys as the medium of the teaching vocabulary. To overcome this problem, this research
consists of three cycles, each cycle consists of four steps namely planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting the action. The data are taken from the event, documents and informants.
The result of the study shows that teaching vocabulary by using puppet toys can increase the student's ability in mastering vocabulary. By using puppet toys the students are able to express their idea. It can be evaluated that puppet toys in language teaching are able to build the student's motivation. The result of the test showed that the number of students who increase their vocabulary achievement is 20 students or 86, 95% and 3 students or 13, 04% who has static
achievement. The writer find that the mean of the students vocabulary mastery before the action was 50, 52 and the mean after the action was 80, 86. It means that the implementation of teaching vocabulary through puppet toys is appropriate and useful for the student's vocabulary mastery.


Rationale: Aortic dissection (AD) is caused by functional disorder of cells in the aortic wall, which is largely attributed to vascular remodeling. Therapeutic strategies for AD remain limited due to our incomplete understanding of the role of endothelial cells (ECs) in AD pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify the regulatory role of miR-27a in AD and provide a mechanistic basis for a non-invasive treatment of AD. Methods: We harvested aortas from normal and AD patients to explore the expression of miR-27a. In vitro and in vivo assays were preformed to explore the biological effects of differential expression of miR-27a in ECs and its regulatory effect on AD. Results: MiR-27a was lower in intima of AD samples than in healthy individuals. Downregulation of miR-27a in EC was due to up-regulated expression of fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD) and the activation of apoptosis pathway, which led to apoptosis of ECs. Migration of vascular smooth muscle cells was promoted by EC after downregulation of miR-27a due to enhancement of growth/differentiation factor 8 (GDF8) and repression of matrix metalloproteinase-20 (MMP20) in the co-culture system supernatants. Increase in FADD and apoptosis of ECs to induce AD was shown using mouse models of AD in which miR-27a was stably knocked-down by antagomir. Up-regulation of miR-27a by agomir led to a protective effect on AD. Conclusion: Treatment with miR-27a activator that targets apoptosis of ECs strongly diminished occurrence of AD, providing a new strategy for this disease.


The aim of this research was to enhance the flux of transdermal drug delivery by using penetration enhancers DMSO. Skin penetration enhancers have been used to improve bioavailability and increase the range of drugs for which topical and transdermal delivery is a viable option which penetrate into skin to reversibly decrease the barrier resistance. Penetration enhancing activity of dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) at 5% w/w and 10% w/w concentration were determined in aqueous solution of ACV and in microemulsion formulations though calculation of transdermal flux of ACV with Keshary Chein Frenz Diffusion cell by using wistar albino rat skin. The transdermal flux of formulations PD, PD5D, PD10D, ME1 and ME10D was found to be 2.47, 50.7529, 119.7691, 238.1432 and 266.6721μg/cm2/h. The flux of microemulsion formulation ME10D was found 266.6721± 8.49 μg/cm2/h. Which showed highest value and skin flux of the drug could be enhanced up to 107 fold compared to its aqueous solution by preparing microemulsion ME10D. DMSO in microemulsion formulation is safe to the skin at 10% DMSO w/w. Keywords: DMSO, Penetration enhancer, Ethanol, Transdermal Microemulsion, Acyclovir (ACV)


The identification of complex disease susceptibility loci has been accelerated considerably by advances in high-throughput genotyping technologies, improved insight into correlation patterns of common variants and the availability of large-scale sample sets. Linkage scans and small-scale candidate gene studies have now given way to genome-wide association scans. In this review, we summarize insights gained from the past, highlight practical issues relating to the design and analysis of current state-of-the-art GWA studies and look into future trends in the field of human complex trait genetics.


We modify the theory of nanoscale patterns produced by ion bombardment with concurrent impurity deposition to take into account the effect that the near-surface impurities have on the collision cascades. As the impurity concentration is increased, the resulting theory successively yields a flat surface, a rippled surface with its wavevector along the projected direction of ion incidence, and a rippled surface with its wavevector rotated by 90°. Exactly the same morphological transitions were observed in recent experiments in which silicon was bombarded with an argon ion beam and gold was co-deposited [Moon et al., e-print arXiv:1601.02534].


In The Chinese Worker after Socialism, William Hurst employs subnational comparison to explain different outcomes for workers in the process of reform of state-owned industry in China. In particular, Hurst provides in-depth analysis of regional variation of the sequencing and volume of layoffs, how the local state attempted to handle unemployment, actual outcomes in re-employment, and the dynamics of worker protest. By taking subnational regions as the unit of analysis, we see that the process of "smashing the iron rice bowl" has not been a unified and coherent project but rather one that has been messy, uneven, and subject to great variation in timing and outcomes. This variation is explained by differences in the political economy of each region.


Two cases of ruptured intracranial aneurysm associated with neurogenic pulmonary edema are described. One patient, a 53-year-old female, was Hunt and Kosnik grade 4 on admission and was expressing pinkish, foamy sputum. A ruptured aneurysm in the anterior communicating artery was clipped 3 hours later. The second patient, a 55-year-old female, was also grade 4 on admission and she, too, exhibited signs of pulmonary edema. A ruptured aneurysm at the junction of the right internal carotid-posterior communicating arteries was clipped 4 hours later. In both cases, intraand postoperative respiratory maintenance with positive end-expiratory pressure was successfully carried out. Both patients were discharged without major neurological deficits. The optimal timing of surgery for ruptured cerebral aneurysms associated with neurogenic pulmonary edema has not been clearly determined. In these two cases, very early surgery combined with aggressive management of the pulmonary edema was successful. The importance of early diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary edema is stressed, and the timing of surgery after subarachnoid hemorrhage is discussed.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate radiological sacroiliac abnormalities in IBD patients without musculoskeletal symptoms and to determine the clinical and familiar differences between IBD patients with and without radiologic sacroiliac joint (SIJ) abnormalities. Subsequently, the patients with x-ray alterations were followed for 3 years in order to assess the onset of chronic inflammatory back pain (IBP).

METHODS
81 patients (55 Crohn-CD- and 26 ulcerative rettocolitis-UC) with remittent and low active IBD, from a tertiary referral centre of Gastroenterology Unit, were studied using SIJ x-rays. Differences in IBD clinical variables (activity and duration of CD and UC, extra-intestinal involvement, treatment with surgery and not, ESR and CRP levels), familiarity (for psoriasis, IBD, spondyloarthritis, coeliac syndrome), between patients with SIJ x-ray findings and without were investigated. Patients with radiological sacroiliac joint abnormalities were followed up clinically for 3 years and the onset of symptoms of chronic (higher than 3 consecutive months) IBP was investigated.

RESULTS
22/81 patients (27.1%) showed radiological SIJ abnormalities at baseline: isolated sclerosis in 17/22 (77.3%) and localised erosions in 12/22 (54.5%). Radiological SIJ involvement did not correlate with IBD clinical and familial variables. All patients were HLA B27 negative. At 3 years, 4/22 patients (18.1%) presented chronic IBP symptoms with bone oedema at MRI.

CONCLUSIONS
In IBD, occult radiological SIJ alterations might precede the onset of axial symptoms but, in the absence of clinical signs, it is not possible to identify some IBD features or familiar predisposition that might be more frequent when SIJ abnormalities are involved. Clinical follow-up might be useful in these patients for a diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis onset.


Diffraction theory is applied to analyze the torque exerted by a Gaussian wave-field on elliptically shaped silver nanocylinders with a size of approximately 20 nm in the spectral domain between 300 nm and 450 nm. For that purpose the Multiple Multipole Method is employed to calculate the field distribution across the surface of the particle rigorously and the torque is subsequently determined by employing Maxwell's stress tensor. The particles support as a function of the axis ratio two distinguishable plasmon resonances. It is shown that the particles align with the major axis perpendicular to the optical axis for illumination wavelengths smaller than the plasmon wavelength that is associated with the major axis. For larger illumination wavelengths a flip appears due to a change in the sign of the polarizability and the particles align in the opposite direction, with the major axis parallel to the optical.


Abstract The Oriental manuscript collection of the Marciana National Library in Venice amounts to nearly 300 volumes of texts written in Asian languages ranging from Chinese to Indian and Hebrew. The bulk of the collection consists of Turkish, Persian and Arabic manuscripts that came to the library in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including 100 manuscripts that are still bound according to the Islamic tradition. In 2008, a project was carried out to re-house, examine, record and treat these manuscripts. Each volume was dry cleaned then placed in a phase box with custom-made internal supports where necessary. A survey of condition and technical information was carried out and details of construction and materials were studied and recorded. Storage of the results in a database allows easy queries and comparisons to be made. Minimal repairs were made to some volumes, using techniques and materials compatible with the Islamic bindings.


Importance Excessive screen time is associated with delays in development; however, it is unclear if greater screen time predicts lower performance scores on developmental screening tests or if children with poor developmental performance receive added screen time as a way to modulate challenging behavior. Objective To assess the directional association between screen time and child development in a population of mothers and children. Design, Setting, and Participants This longitudinal cohort study used a 3-wave, cross-lagged panel model in 2441 mothers and children in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, drawn from the All Our Families study. Data were available when children were aged 24, 36, and 60 months. Data were collected between October 20, 2011, and October 6, 2016. Statistical analyses were conducted from July 31 to November 15, 2018. Exposures Media. Main Outcomes and Measures At age 24, 36, and 60 months, children's screen-time behavior (total hours per week) and developmental outcomes (Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition) were assessed via maternal report. Results Of the 2441 children included in the analysis, 1169 (47.9%) were boys. A random-intercepts, cross-lagged panel model revealed that higher levels of screen time at 24 and 36 months were significantly associated with poorer performance on developmental screening tests at 36 months (&bgr;, −0.08; 95% CI, −0.13 to −0.02) and 60 months (&bgr;, −0.06; 95% CI, −0.13 to −0.02), respectively. These within-person (time-varying) associations statistically controlled for between-person (stable) differences. Conclusions and Relevance The results of this study support the directional association between screen time and child development. Recommendations include encouraging family media plans, as well as managing screen time, to offset the potential consequences of excess use.


Various subunit antigens of varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus were examined for complement-fixing (CF) activity with sera from homotypic infections and from herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in which a CF antibody titer rise was demonstrated with crude V-Z antigen. The subunit antigens included nucleocapsids, envelopes, a soluble antigen produced from infected culture fluids by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, a soluble antigen produced by reducing the volume of clarified infected culture fluids, a soluble antigen derived from infected cell lysates, a "viral" antigen consisting largely of enveloped particles with a few nucleocapsids, and a cell membrane-associated antigen. None was more suitable than crude V-Z antigen for serodifferentiation of V-Z virus and HSV infections. The envelope antigen, cell membrane antigen, and the soluble antigen prepared by density gradient centrifugation showed little reactivity with sera from varicella and HSV infections, but gave high antibody titers with sera from zoster infections, suggesting that a secondary V-Z virus infection is required to produce an antibody response to these subunit antigens. Patients with varicella and zoster infections and the selected patients with HSV infections all showed significant CF antibody responses to the other V-Z subunit antigens.


Aims: Physical activity (PA) is an emerging protective factor
against cognitive deterioration. The 150 min a week of
at least moderate intensity activity has been mainstream
public health recommendation for PA, including for older
adults. This study describes the pattern of PA in a group of
non-demented older adults with memory complaints and
examines whether they achieve the suggested targets. Methods: Cross-sectional baseline PA data over a week
were collected in 108 volunteers with clinical risk factors
for chronic disease participating in the AIBL Active study.
Self reported questionnaire (CHAMPS), pedometer records
and functional tests were examined. Results: Close to 60% of women and 80% of men were
overweight or obese and the pattern varied with age. More
men met clinical classification of metabolic syndrome
(35% vs 23%) with women showing less abdominal obesity
and better lipid profiles. About 64% met the PA guideline
of 150 min/week. Pedometer records indicated that
most performed 3000–10,000 steps/day while 16%
achieved >10,000 steps/day. Men achieved higher total
caloric expenditure/week (p < 0.05). Both sex reported
minimal participation in vigorous activity. The guideline
adherence was not associated with BMI categories or clinical
risk factors. Conclusion: While our participants find it challenging to
meet adequate PA targets, these findings are comparable to
that of the general older Australians.


BACKGROUND
Testing for microalbuminuria (MA) is an important tool for detection of the earliest clinical manifestation of diabetic nephropathy Dipstick test for MA is commonly used for screening MA but this dipstick test has not been validated in Thai patients with DM.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the dipstick test for MA in random spot urine samples of type 2 diabetic mellitus patients, using urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) as the reference standard method.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
Type 2 diabetic mellitus patients from the out-patient department of seven public hospitals were recruited. Random spot urine samples from all patients were screened for microalbuminuria by Combi-Screen dipstick test and UACR.

RESULTS
A total of 6,223 urine samples from 899 diabetic patients were screened for MA. From UACR criteria, these urine samples were classified as normoalbuminuria (4,016 samples, 64.5%), MA (1,795 samples, 28.8%) and macroalbuminuria (412 samples, 6.6%). The dipstick test for MA had an overall sensitivity of 83.7%, specificity of 92.6% with a positive predictive value of 83.4% and a negative predictive value of 92.7%. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of the dipstick test for MA is 0.9427.

CONCLUSION
The dipstick test for MA may be a useful method to initially screen for MA in Thai patients with type 2 DM.


Halobacterium salinarium responds to blue light by reversing its swimming direction. Fumarate has been proposed as one of the molecular components of this sensory system and is involved in the switching process of the flagellar motor. In order to obtain chemical proof for this role of fumarate, cells were stimulated with a pulse of blue light and lysed by rapid mixing with distilled water. The lysate contained fumarate in free and bound form, which were separated by ultrafiltration. The fumarate concentration in the low‐molecular‐mass fraction (<5 kDa) of the lysate was assayed enzymatically and a light‐induced increase was observed. Additionally, the total cellular fumarate content decreased in response to light, indicating that fumarate was released from a cellular pool rather than being formed by de novo synthesis. The light‐induced release was not detected in a mutant defective in sensory rhodopsin‐l and ‐II. Therefore it is concluded that photoreceptor activation rather than a direct effect of light on the activity of metabolic enzymes causes fumarate release. For each photoactivated sensory rhodopsin‐II molecule at least 350 molecules of fumarate were liberated demonstrating efficient amplification. The rate of light‐induced fumarate release is at least 10‐times faster than the fumarate turnover number of the citric acid cycle which was estimated as approximately 4300 per cell and second. Therefore this metabolic process is not expected to be part of the signal transduction chain in the halobacterial cell.


The Minnesota Geological Survey, which was in danger of being closed down due to lack of funding, recently had their $1,075 million budget restored for fiscal 1993. Governor Ann Carlson signed the new bill into law on January 17.

"Enactment of this legislation has effectively removed the threat of closure that has hung over our heads since the veto on June 4, 1991," according to MGS director Priscilla Grew. Carlson vetoed the line item of the 2-year University of Minnesota budget that funds the MGS. The MGS is funded under Minnesota's Higher Education bill, rather than as a state agency.


Effects of irradiance and temperature on the Mediterranean red algae Eupogodon spinellus and Eupogodon planus were tested. Growth of both species was saturated at an irradiance of 10–20 μmol m−2 s−1, which is in accordance with their sublittoral habitat. Eupogodon spinellus and E. planus survived permanently at temperatures between 8 and 30 °C. The temperature optimum for growth was 25 °C with suboptimal growth occurring at (10−)15 and 30 °C in both species. At their collection locality (Corsica), potential monthly growth yields would be highest in summer and in winter would be only about 20% of the maximum. Reproductive requirements could be determined only in E. planus. Gametophytes reproduced both in long and in short days but only at 20 °C. Tetrasporophytes reproduced at 15–20 °C but only in short days. Geographic distribution boundaries are not set by growth or survival limits. However, the reproductive requirements of E. planus did account for its restricted distribution in the Mediterranean and on ...


of the calcium blood content. It was evident, therefore, that amenorrheea might tend to produce a double auto-toxaemia, due on the one hand to the existence of an altered or diminished internal secretion of the ductless glands, including the absence of the primary products of lutein formation, and on the other hand to retention of the substances normally excreted by the uterine glands at menstruation. Pathological chemists had not yet discovered what these toxic substances were, and it had not yet been scientifically proved that they caused. insanity. This suggestive paper would lead to careful study of the subject.


Satellite radar altimetry observations are used to derive short wavelength gravity anomaly fields over the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, where in situ and ship-borne gravity measurements have limited spatial coverage. In this study the retracking algorithm 'Extrema Retracking' (ExtR) was employed to improve sea surface height (SSH) measurements that are highly biased in the study regions due to land contaminations in the footprints of the satellite altimetry observations. ExtR was applied to the waveforms sampled by the five satellite radar altimetry missions: TOPEX/POSEIDON, JASON-1, JASON-2, GFO and ERS-1. Along-track slopes have been estimated from the improved SSH measurements and used in an iterative process to estimate deflections of the vertical, and subsequently, the desired gravity anomalies. The main steps of the gravity anomaly computations involve estimating improved SSH using the ExtR technique, computing deflections of the vertical from interpolated SSHs on a regular grid using a biharmonic spline interpolation and finally estimating gridded gravity anomalies. A remove–compute–restore algorithm, based on the fast Fourier transform, has been applied to convert deflections of the vertical into gravity anomalies. Finally, spline interpolation has been used to estimate regular gravity anomaly grids over the two study regions. Results were evaluated by comparing the estimated altimetry-derived gravity anomalies (with and without implementing the ExtR algorithm) with ship-borne free air gravity anomaly observations, and free air gravity anomalies from the Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM2008). The comparison indicates a range of 3–5 mGal in the residuals, which were computed by taking the differences between the retracked altimetry-derived gravity anomaly and the ship-borne data. The comparison of retracked data with ship-borne data indicates a range in the root-mean-square-error (RMSE) between approximately 1.8 and 4.4 mGal and a bias between 0.4062 and 2.1413 mGal over different areas. Also a maximum RMSE of 4.4069 mGal, with a mean value of 0.7615 mGal was obtained in the residuals. An average improvement of 5.2746 mGal in the RMSE of the altimetry-derived gravity anomalies corresponding to 89.9 per cent was obtained after applying the ExtR post-processing.


&NA; A retrospective review of clinical outcomes was performed to determine the clinical utility and morbidity associated with the use of porous polyethylene facial implants. Three hundred seventy implants were placed in 162 consecutive patients, in 178 operations performed in 11 years. The number of patients, the number of implants used, and the average follow‐up period were categorized according to the cause of the deformity. The resultant distribution was as follows: acquired (tumor‐related), 17 patients, 39 implants, and 30 months; congenital, eight patients, 31 implants, and 92 months; aesthetic, 39 patients, 97 implants, and 24 months; secondary posttraumatic, 48 patients, 139 implants, and 37 months; and acute trauma (internal orbit reconstruction), 50 patients, 64 implants, and 9 months. The distribution of implants according to location was as follows: frontal, 21; temporal, 30; internal orbit, 145; infraorbital rim, 28; malar, 58; paranasal, 29; nasal, 13; mandible, 24; and chin, 22. The combined average follow‐up period per patient was 27 months (range, immediate postoperative period to 11 years). All implants were placed in the subperiosteal plane, and the majority were fixed with titanium screws. Antibiotics were administered perioperatively. No implants were extruded or migrated, formed clinically apparent capsules, or caused symptoms attributable to bioincompatibility. The overall reoperation rate was 10 percent (n = 16), which included operations to remove implants because of acute infections (2 percent, n = 3) or a late infection (1 percent, n = 1), to remove implants causing displeasing contours (2 percent, n = 3), and to improve contours (6 percent, n = 9). Porous polyethylene implants have biomaterial properties favorable for facial skeletal augmentation. Screw application of the implants to the skeleton allows precise predictable contouring, thus limiting the need for revisional surgical procedures. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 111: 1818, 2003.)


There is increased concern about the effects of sleep deprivation on physician performance. We administered four standard tests of cognitive function to 23 university hospital house staff. Each physician served as his or her own control, and the tests were administered at rest, after a night on call, and after a night of sleep for recovery. The study was designed so that normal learning would minimize any deterioration in the post-on-call test performance. Statistically significant deterioration occurred in 3 of the 4 tests after a night on call. Even physicians acclimated to sleep deprivation on a regular, every-third-or-fourth-night basis showed functional impairment. The results have implications for patient care under conditions where house staff are stressed by sleep deprivation and prolonged fatigue.


Background Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is an x-linked, ultra-rare neuromuscular condition affecting 1 in 3600–6000 live male births. Life expectancy is increasing thanks to targeted intervention and advancing medical treatment. Longer survival and advancing age means a greater dependence on family, friends and the wider community, and increasing social and health care costs. However, little is known about quality of life (QoL) in adults with DMD. Aim To investigate and explore quality of life in men living with DMD in the West of Scotland. Methods This was a qualitative interview study using the 'Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of life – Direct Weighting' (SEIQoL-DW) tool, an interview based instrument which allows the assessment of elements that contribute to an individual's QoL. Men over the age of 25 and living in the West of Scotland were identified and recruited through the Scottish Muscle Network – a multidisciplinary clinical network. The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically applying descriptive labels to the data. Results Six men were recruited and interviewed. A number of themes were characterised as key to good QoL: strong personal relationships providing support and advocacy; meaningful connection with the world through hobbies and on-line communities; being in control of physical and mental well being, supported by knowledgeable and approachable health care professionals; continued independence through use of essential equipment both in and out of the adapted accessible home; and a positive, resilient attitude to life with a disability. Conclusions Key improvements could improve QoL in this 'forgotten' group of adults: upskilling and support for all care givers; lifelong input from physiotherapy; timely access to psychological support; improved access to respite facilities; better co-ordinated holistic multidisciplinary care; and proactive advance care planning.


The value of organically produced maize (Zea mays L.) is increased as traits such as nutrient content are improved (Berzonsky, 2000). For example, maize with high methionine and lysine concentrations, both critical to egg, meat and general bird health, may have the potential to reduce at least some fraction of synthetic additives (Moore et al., 2008; Adeyemo, 2012). In most grain crops, the protein component is lower than what is needed to meet dietary requirements of humans and most other non-ruminants (Peterson, 2000). Modern maize breeding and selection for large starchy kernels may have contributed to reduced concentration of essential amino acids (Jaradat, 2013). For people in developing countries, plant products with dietary provitamin A carotenoids such as β-carotene, βcryptoxanthin, and α-carotene are the major sources of vitamin A (West and Darnton-Hill, 2008). Organically produced nutrient-quality maize (NQM) may help alleviate human malnutrition and reduce the cost of organic feed. However, even if nutritional quality valueadded traits such as protein and carotenoids are determined to be stable in a genotype, the crop must be high yielding in order to compete in the marketplace. In this study we evaluated twenty genotypes of maize to determine if there is a correlation between protein, carotenoids and yield in hybrid and open pollinated (OP) varieties. Six of the twenty genotypes were hybrids developed under a pedigree breeding program for developing parent lines for organic corn production. The breeders selected specific germplasm from open-pollinated landraces as well as elite stiff stalk cultivars for performance, short season, high carotenoid and high protein content when grown under organic conditions. This group of genotypes is labeled as High Nutrient Hybrids (HNH). Seven of the twenty genotypes are high-yielding, certified organic commercial hybrid (CH) varieties grown in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The last seven genotypes are open-pollinated varieties (OPV) selected for either their high yielding or high nutrient (protein and/or carotenoid) potential. We examined the variation in all twenty genotypes for carotenoid content, protein, starch, oil, density and grain yield in a replicated field trial experiment. New insights involving the relationship between pedigrees and yield were made. The HNH and OPV were found to contain a significantly higher protein content than the CH. The OPV Dziekuie contains a total-beta carotene content of two times the amount than the next highest in this study. CH genotype Viking® .90-.91, HNH pedigree PHK05.Ngor X LH119.LH123.11-2-2-4-2-1, and CH genotype Master Choice® 4050 hybrids performed highest for yield.


Uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery has grown in popularity in recent years, becoming the treatment of choice for minimally invasive resections of mediastinal lesions. The many advantages of video-assisted thoracic surgery, including decreasing postoperative pain, morbidity and length of hospitalization, have increased its utilization for optimal patient care. In our case, this approach was used on a 55-year-old female patient who presented with a retrotracheal mass protruding through the thoracic inlet. The resection was performed through the chest via a uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery technique with an unremarkable operative and postoperative course.


In this study the question whether or not and to what extend ventilation and air cleaning can contribute to the reduction of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the hospitality industry is answered. First a literature review on ventilation and air cleaning technologies has been executed. Unfortunately, only a few papers reporting experimental data from the hospitability industry were available to answer the proposed question. Therefore a model describing the effect of different ventilation systems and building layouts has been set up. With smokers and non-smokers in the same room reductions around 98% are predicted for application of displacement ventilation. By separation of smokers and nonsmokers considerable higher reductions can be obtained. Air cleaning is relatively unimportant in these cases. In the second part local displacement ventilation systems have been installed and tested in a discotheque, a dining pub and a drinking pub. The reduction of gaseous compounds in relation to the existing situation was 95, 94 and 98% respectively. The fine dust reduction in the discotheque was 92%, in the pubs the reduction was lower. Most probably, this is caused by the fact that other sources of fine dust then tobacco smoke such as clothing were relevant.


Dept. of Architectural Engineering, Dan-kook University, Yongin 448-701, KoreaABSTRACT Hysteretic steel damper has been applied mainly to steel buildings. However, the usage in RC buildings is rapidlyincreasing recently. In order to apply the steel hysteretic damper in RC buildings, supporting elements of the damper should havesufficient strength and stiffness suitable for transferring damper forces to beams and walls. But due to the inevitable damage inreinforced concrete elements due to cracking, identification of the load transfer mechanism from damper to supporting element andhysteretic characteristics of the supporting element are extremely important in evaluating the damper behavior. Experiments werecarried out on connection details between RC walls and supporting elements of the steel plate typed damper such as EaSy damper.The test results showed that fracture patterns of all specimens were almost identical except in the crack number and pattern asso-ciated with shear loading condition. Among the specimens, HD-3 shoed a well distributed cracks patterns along with good per-formance with respect to energy dissipation capacity, stiffness deterioration, and strength degradation.Keywords : hysteretic damper, energy dissipation, stiffness degradation, steel fiber reinforced concrete


The second virial coefficients of binary mixtures of chloroform with methyl formate, n-propyl formate, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate and diethylamine have been measured in a 'Boyle's law apparatus' at temperatures between 50 and 95 °C. The measured values are consistently higher than predicted by the theory of corresponding states, and a quantitative interpretation is proposed, based on the hypothesis that the esters and amine are partially dimerized and are involved in association with the chloroform by hydrogen bonding. A linear relation is shown to exist between the heats and entropies of association for the various mixtures, and the theoretical significance of this is discussed. There is some evidence that hydrogen bonds are formed through the alkoxyl oxygen by formate esters and through the carbonyl oxygen by acetate esters. The paper includes data on the second virial coefficient for the pure esters and for ethyl formate and methyl propionate.


Xerostomia, dry mouth due to loss of functional salivary gland, is caused by Sjogren's syndrome, radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, medications and aging, leading to patients' suffer from difficulties in swallowing and speech, as well as oral diseases. Stem cell therapy is considered a potential therapeutic alternative. However, combinatory approaches including not only salivary gland stem cells but also supportive cells and appropriate extracellular matrix are necessary to form a functional salivary gland. Like tooth formation, the development of salivary gland requires epithelium interacting with neural crest-derived mesenchyme. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) isolated from murine dental pulp is neural crest-derived. Herein, we used the human salivary gland (HSG) cell line as a model to study the effects of DPSC on salivary gland differentiation. Upon in vitro differentiation on Matrigel, HSG alone and HSG cocultured with Wnt1-Cre/R26R-LacZ derived DPSC (HSG+DPSC) differentiated into acinar-like structures. However, HSG formed more mature (higher expression of LAMP-1 and CD44), larger and increased numbers of acinar structures in HSG+DPSC. In vivo subcutaneous co-transplantation of HSG and DPSC with hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel after 2 weeks was evaluated by Q-RT- PCR, morphological and immunohistological assessment. Compared to HSG transplants which only showed undifferentiated tumor-like cells, HSG+DPSC demonstrated (1) higher expression of murine mesenchymal marker Fgf-7 (2) higher expression of mature human salivary gland differentiation marker alphaamylase- 1 AMY-1 (3) higher expression of murine endothelial, vWF, neuronal, NF-200, and angiogenic markers, Vegfr-3 and Vegf-C; (4) mucin-secreting acinar- and duct-like structures with abundant blood vessels at the interface with DPSC; and (5) more mature glandular structures double-positive for salivary gland differentiation markers CD44 and LAMP-1. These results indicate that DPSC supported and enhanced HSG differentiation into functional salivary gland tissue. This study illustrates the potential of DPSC as inductive mesenchyme for salivary gland regeneration, repair, and tissue engineering.


A numerical model for a hydraulic wave energy converter power take-off is developed in this study. The system architecture is described and the mathematical model for each component is presented. The accumulators are not used as energy storage devices. Instead, they are used to reduce the stiffness of the system, increase the response time, and improve the controllability. The numerical model was implemented using MATLAB/Simulink. The design variables selected for this study are the maximum displacement in the hydraulic motors, and the shaft inertia. The effect of these design variables on system performance is studied using latin-hypercube sampling to generate the cases to be simulated. The displacement in the hydraulic devices is used as a control input to adjust the pressure in the hydraulic cylinder and then change the force acting on the floating body. The desired force is calculated by a high level controller that estimates the force value to achieve impedance matching in the WEC. The torque in the electric generator is used to control the shaft speed. The system was designed to actively use reactive power flow to maximize the electric power output in the generator. The model developed in this study is a complete wave-to-wire model based on a co-design approach that considers the effect of all the different subsystems on the dynamic behavior of the whole WEC system. Twelve different wave conditions were tested. The most critical metric for this study is the electric power in the generator, which is the objective function of the optimization that was performed for all the wave conditions defined as case study. The wave-to-wire efficiency, which includes the complete wave energy to electrical energy conversion chain, is also calculated in this work.


Abstract The article reports on some preliminary findings of an ongoing research initiative investigating the pragmatics of daily interaction, cross-culturally and trans-nationally. Phase one of the initiative looks into the specifics of how cultural differences impact on cultural values, social categories and, ultimately, communicative styles, focusing initially on address forms (Larina et al. 2011). More specifically, the article looks into the current status of the ideology-based address form comrade, its pragma-semantic profile and rules governing its usage in post-Communist Eastern-European societies, looking primarily into selected instances of public communication and media language in modern-day Serbia. Having identified and contextualised key usage patterns of the ideology-based forms of address clustering around the title comrade (in Serbian: drug, m. and drugarica, f.) and the set of options associated with it, the article concludes by suggesting future parameters of research.


The European Union's enlargement process raises the problem of the definition of Europe and its limits, but even more so that of its representations. This paper presents the method and main results of a survey on the representation of Europe by researchers and political representatives involved in European spatial planning in the ESPON programme. It aims not to propose a limit to the European space but to show a vision of Europe from the viewpoint of a specific group and to try to explain it. This survey shows that the traditional school definition plays an important role in the definition of Europe, and furthermore that spatial proximity facilitates the perspective of the enlargement.


We evaluated the correlation between hypoplasia of the circle of Willis detected by MR angiography and ischemia of the white matter in patients with Binswanger-type cerebrovascular disease. We defined P1 hypoplasia as the condition in which the posterior cerebral artery at P1 protein was narrower than the posterior communicating artery, and A1 hypoplasia as that in which the ratio of the one anterior cerebral artery to the other at A1 portion was 1:2 or less. Of 68 patients with this disease. 33 (48.5%) had P1 hypoplasia and 23 (30.9%) had A1 hypoplasia. These incidences were significantly higher than those of patients with lacunar infarction (138 cases), where P1 and A1 hypoplasia were 29.0% and 18.1% respectively. P1 hypoplasia tended to be found more frequently in patients with lacunar infarction having advanced periventricular hyperintensity than in those having mild one. The large intracranial vessels, as seen by MR angiography, were less stenotic, and the serum concentration of apolipoprotein A-I was higher and B/A-I was lower in hypoplasia cases suffering from Binswanger-type cerebrovascular disease than in non-hypoplasia cases. In summary, hypoplasia of the circle of Willis was considered to precipitate the onset or progression of this disease without any relationship to arteriosclerosis.


An investigation has been made into hybrid systems which include stochastic and deterministic optimization. This thesis aims to provide new and relevant insights into the design of the nature-inspired hybrid optimization paradigms. It combines evolutionary and gradient-based methods. These hybrid evolutionary methods yield improved performance when applied to complex global optimization tasks and recent research has shown many of such hybridization policies.The thesis has three broad contributions. Firstly, by examination of stochastic optimization, supported by case studies, we utilised the Price's theorem to formulate a new population evolvability measure which assesses the dynamical characteristics of evolutionary operators. This leads to the development of a new convergence assessment method. A novel diversity control mechanism that uses heuristic initialisation and convergence detection mechanism is then proposed. Empirical support is provided to explicitly analyse the benefits of effective diversity control for continuous optimization.Secondly, this study utilised research relevance trees to evolve hybrid systems which combine various evolutionary computation (EC) models with the sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm in a collaborative manner. We reviewed the convergence characteristics of various numerical optimization methods, and the concept of automatic differentiation is applied to design a vectorised forward derivative accumulation technique; this enables provision of accurate derivatives to the SQP algorithm. The SQP serves as a local optimizer in the deterministic phase of the hybrid models. Through benchmarking on stationary and dynamic problems, results showed that the proposed models achieved sufficient diversity control, which suggests improved exploration-exploitation balance. Thirdly, to mitigate the challenges of 'inappropriate' parameter settings, this thesis proposes closed-loop adaptive mechanisms which dynamically evolve effective step sizes for the evolutionary operators. It then examines the effect of incorporating a derivative-free algorithm which extends the hybrid model to a flexible and reusable algorithmic framework.


AIMS
The incidence and prevalence of Type 1 diabetes is increasing internationally. There is, however, no current estimate of the prevalence of Type 1 diabetes in young New Zealanders. We therefore aimed to estimate prevalence in 0 to 24 year olds.

METHODS
The point prevalence of Type 1 diabetes was determined in a geographically defined area, namely the Canterbury District Health Board catchment area, by comparing data from multiple clinical and research sources. The New Zealand prevalence, stratified by age and ethnicity, was then estimated using 2001 population census data.

RESULTS
There were 353 people with diabetes aged 24 years and less, residing within the catchment area at the time of study. Of these 353 people, 330 had Type 1 diabetes, giving a prevalence of 227 per 100,000 children and young adults. The estimated number of New Zealanders with Type 1 diabetes in this defined age group, adjusted for ethnicity, was 2,540. An estimated 2,158 were of European descent.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the prevalence of Type 1 diabetes is lower in non European New Zealanders compared to European New Zealanders, the changing demographics of children and youth in New Zealand means that there are increasing numbers of Maori, Asian, and Pacific peoples with Type 1 diabetes.


Laser-induced fluorescence and wavelength resolved emission spectra of the à (2)Σ(+) - X̃ (2)Π(i) electronic transition of the jet-cooled nitrous oxide cation have been recorded. The ions were produced in a pulsed electric discharge at the exit of a supersonic expansion using a precursor mixture of N(2)O in high pressure argon. Both spin-orbit components of the 0(0) (0) band were studied at high resolution and rotationally analyzed to provide precise molecular constants for the combining states. Emission spectra were obtained by laser excitation of the 0(0) (0), 2(0) (1), 3(0) (1), and 2(0) (2) absorption bands, providing extensive data on the ground state bending, stretching, and combination vibrational levels. These data were fitted to a Renner-Teller model including spin-orbit, anharmonic, and Fermi resonance terms. The observed energy levels and fitted parameters were found to be comparable to those in the literature predicted from an ab initio potential energy surface.


Visualization research often seeks designs that first establish an overview of the data, in accordance to the information seeking mantra: "Overview first, zoom and filter, then details on demand". However, in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), as well as in other domains, there are many situations where such a spatial overview is not relevant or practical for users, for example when the experts already have a good mental overview of the data, or when an analysis of a large overall structure may not be related to the specific, information-driven tasks of users. Using scientific workflow theory and, as a vehicle, the problem of viscous finger evolution, we advocate an alternative model that allows domain experts to explore features of interest first, then explore the context around those features, and finally move to a potentially unfamiliar summarization overview. In a model instantiation, we show how a computational back-end can identify and track over time low-level, small features, then be used to filter the context of those features while controlling the complexity of the visualization, and finally to summarize and compare simulations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach with an online web-based exploration of a total volume of data approaching half a billion seven-dimensional data points, and report supportive feedback provided by domain experts with respect to both the instantiation and the theoretical model.


Throughput, power consumption, signal integrity, pin count and routing complexity are all increasingly important interconnect issues that the system designer must deal with. Recent advances in integrated optical devices may deliver alternative interconnect solutions enabling drastically enhanced performance. This paper begins by outlining some of the more pressing issues in interconnect design, and goes on to describe system-level optical interconnect for inter- and intra-chip applications. Inter-chip optical interconnect, now a relatively mature technology, can enable greater connectivity for parallel computing for example through the use of optical I/O pads and wavelength division multiplexing. Intra-chip optical interconnect, technologically challenging and requiring new design methods, is presented through a proposal for heterogeneous integration of a photonic "above-IC" layer followed by a design methodology for on-chip optical links. Design technology issues are highlighted and the paper concludes with examples of the use of optical links in clock distribution (with quantitative comparisons of dissipated power between electrical and optical clock distribution networks) and for novel network on chip architectures.


Carcinoma of the urinary bladder appears to arise, in at least some cases, from carcinoma in situ developing in a field of atypical epithelial proliferation. There is both a spatial and temporal relationship between invasive and in situ bladder cancer, although the exact relationship between the noninvasive flat and papillary types of tumors is not known. Prenoeplastic bladder lesions are defined as irreversible, although not necessarily progressive, and an experimental animal model of the disease has been developed. The appearance of pleomorphic microvilli on the luminal surface of epithelial cells of the urinary bladders of Fischer rats is correlated with the irreversibility of hyperplastic epithelial lesions induced by feeding N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] formamide (FANFT) to the test animals. This alteration can be visualized by scanning electron microscopy of cytologic and histologic preparations.


ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the planning competences required to enact a managed transition to sustainability at the municipal level for cities facing population, economic and employment decline. Drawing on the 'shrinking cities' literature, we argue consolidation of the built environment can become a focal point for sustaining citizen welfare when transitioning cities that are facing decline, especially those previously reliant on resource industries. We evaluate the former coal mining city of Yubari, Japan, which is developing a consolidated urban form with the aim of creating a 'sustainable' future city. Findings from interviews and content analysis of Yubari's planning policy indicate, however, that to translate 'shrinking' a city into a managed transition, spatial planning must be accompanied by a wider range of social policy measures and strong cross-sectoral engagement. We also caution that the unique geographical and political context of Yubari mean its model may not be directly replicable in other contexts.


Background: Most medical teaching takes place in the academic hospital setting and students continue to have little exposure to community-based medicine. Description: The Goldman School of Medicine of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is a 6-year program. The 6-week family medicine clerkship takes place in the 5th year. It includes experience with home care, patient and family centered care, ongoing comprehensive responsibility, common office clinical skills, and specific organization of practicing in the community. At the end of the clerkship, students are asked to complete anonymous feedback forms to evaluate the clerkship, its formal curriculum, and the teachers. Evaluation: Over the last 3 years, 157 general course evaluation forms were returned (84.4% compliance). The mean general evaluation and satisfaction score was 3.4 out of 4, ranking it very high compared to other clerkships in our medical school. In the same time period, 176 specific teachers evaluation forms were returned, with a mean score of 4.6 (2 = weak; 5 = excellent), compared with a mean score of 4.5 in 1,485 teachers evaluation forms from other clinical clerkships. Conclusions: As the focus of patient care shifts to the community, the focus of medical teaching should follow the same route. We hope that our experience will help in promoting this change and in developing new ideas for teaching family medicine and primary care.


Editor,—Ocular trauma is recognised as a major cause of visual impairment. Though estimates of incidence vary, it clearly constitutes a major worldwide health problem. The majority of injuries are sustained by active and productive individuals with inevitable consequences on their future lifestyle and on society as a whole.1 .

Blunt ocular trauma or "closed globe"2 injury caused by compressed air blasts resulting in substantial ocular damage3 4 is well recorded. However, since much of the literature relates to battlefield explosions, it is often difficult to prove that no other agent was involved. More recently, injuries from automobile air bags have been described.5-7 Such injuries are ascribed to the high velocity at which the air bag lining strikes the occupant (up to 320 km/h) and to objects trapped between the eye and air bag, often spectacles.8

In discussions with one local balloon manufacturer, it was identified that a number of complaints are made each year to manufacturers regarding incidents involving party balloons, the majority of which relate to incidents that occur while playing with or misusing balloons. As far as we are aware, however, no injuries are reported to have resulted from direct trauma to the eye from the balloon.

We have recently seen three patients from the Wessex region who suffered significant closed globe ocular trauma following the bursting of such balloons and are aware of a fourth case …


Electron microscope technique was used to investigate the passage across the endothelial monolayer by murine tumor lines. After the initial adhesion, cancer cells induce a retraction of endothelium and migrate under vascular intima. Subsequently they spread on basement membrane showing a flattened shape, meanwhile endothelial cells reconstitute the monolayer. The four tumor lines show a similar behaviour being able to induce endothelial retraction and exposure of extracellular matrix and cross through the monolayer. The technique appears useful to study in details this multi-step process.