The Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) opened in Kings Cross in May 2001. This paper examines whether there have been (a) increases in the volume of robbery, property crime and drug offences in Kings Cross Local Area Command, or (b) increases in the proportion of Kings Cross drug offences occurring in the immediate vicinity of the MSIC, which could be attributed to the MSIC. Method: The volume of crime was indicated by the number of criminal incidents of robbery, property crime and selected drug offences recorded by NSW Police between January 1999 and March 2010. We computed the trends in these offences in Kings Cross LAC from May 2001 to March 2010 and compared the results to the equivalent trends for the rest of Sydney SD. Spatial analyses were used to determine whether drug arrests were concentrated around the MSIC site. Police recorded incidents of possession and dealing of narcotics, cocaine and amphetamines were geocoded and mapped with the results inferred by descriptive statistics and visual inspection. Results: With a few minor exceptions the incidence of robbery and property offences have fallen in the Kings Cross Local Area Command since 2001. This pattern is consistent with the rest of Sydney. Of the six drug offences considered, five have been stable in Kings Cross since 2001. The exception was cocaine possession which increased in both Kings Cross and the rest of Sydney. The spatial analyses showed no pattern of increased drug offences around the MSIC. Conclusion: No evidence was found that the MSIC has had a negative impact on robbery, property crime or drug offences in Kings Cross LAC.


This work presents a novel approach for dynamically rendering annotations attached to a 3D scene. We formulate the problem as a general optimization under constraints, accounting for certain desirable properties. To approximately solve the NP-hard optimization problem in real-time, we present a particular heuristic that greedily places labels while maintaining constraints. Typical greedy label placement algorithms do not pay particular attention to the order of placement and, as a result, suffer from the fundamental limitation that successive labels get progressively more difficult to place. We use algorithmic and mathematical tools that compensate for the drawback of typical greedy approaches. In addition, they are well suited for GPU implementation, because they are completely image based. As a result, we can place tens of labels in real-time, as demonstrated in this paper.


Healthy seropositive adults aged < 40 (n = 15), 40-64 (n = 15), and > or = 65 (n = 17) years were parenterally immunized with trivalent subvirion influenza virus vaccine, and their cellular and humoral immune responses were compared. Vaccination resulted in a significant enhancement of class I human leukocyte antigen-restricted influenza A cross-reactive cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) memory. Elderly subjects had significantly lower baseline and peak postvaccination mean percentages of specific lysis of influenza A virus-infected autologous targets but nonetheless mounted CTL responses to vaccine that were comparable in magnitude to those of younger adults. Serologic responses and nasal IgG responses to each of 3 vaccine strains were reduced in magnitude and frequency with advancing age. Parenteral immunization was ineffective at inducing nasal wash IgA antibodies. Between 2 and 12 weeks after vaccination, serum and nasal antibody titers decreased modestly, although the rate of decline was comparable between age groups. The ability of elderly adults to mount CTL responses after influenza vaccination suggests that T cell effector mechanisms may be an important determinant of vaccine-induced protection against serious illness in this age group.


Prihatini J, Iskandar J, Partasasmita R, Nurjaman D. 2018. The impacts of traditional homegarden conversion into the commercial one: A case study in Sukapura Village of the Upstream Citarum Watershed, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 1926-1940. In the past, rural homegardens in West Java were planted with various annual and perennial crops. As a result, the vegetation structure of traditional homegardens in rural areas of West Java, Indonesia was very complex, similar to that of forest vegetation. Nowadays, however, due to rapid development of market economic system in rural areas, many traditional homegardens in West Java have been converted into the commercial ones. Consequently, the structure and functions of the homegardens have drastically changed. For example, the vegetation structure has become simpler and dominated by commercial crops, and the gardens serve mostly economic function instead of providing various ecological, socio-economic and cultural functions. The aim of this study was to elucidate: (i) the ecological history of traditional homegardens, (ii) the changes of structure and functions of the homegardens converted from the traditional into the commercial one, and (iii) the positive and negative impacts of conversion of the traditional homegardens into the commercial ones in the Village of Sukapura, the Subdistrict of Kertasari, the District of Bandung, Upstream Citarum Watershed, West Java. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were used, while some techniques, including observations, and in-depth interviews with competent informants were applied in this study. The results of study showed that initially the traditional homegardens in Kertasari Village had been predominantly cropped with various annual and perennial crops. However, due to market economic development, the homegardens have been drastically changed. For example, the commercial vegetable crops, including Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum L), carrot (Daucus carota L) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata) have been predominantly cultivated in the commercial homegardens. Consequently, the household income of the village people who own the commercial homegardens increased, however, some ecological and socio-cultural functions of the commercial homegardens drastically decreased. In addition, some negative impacts of the commercialization of the homegardens have occurred. We suggest that to develop the sustainable village homegardens for the future, the diversity of plants must be maintained to provide ecological function or ecosystem services and the economic production must be improved to increase the income of the rural people.


A function named analyse baSAR() was written
using the statistical programming language
R and its code is now available within the R
package 'Luminescence'. The function allows
the application of the Bayesian hierarchical
model 'baSAR' proposed by Comb`es et al.
(2015) and comes with additional features to
analyse luminescence data in a straight forward
way. Example scripts are provided showing the
possible numerical and graphical outputs.


The relationship between blood levels of N-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) or pentosidine and the severity of microangiopathy was investigated in patients with type 2 diabetes. Blood CML and pentosidine levels were measured by ELISA in 97 type 2 diabetics (46 men and 51 women). CML and pentosidine levels were significantly higher in patients with chronic renal failure than in those with normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, or macroalbuminuria (all p < 0.05). Among the diabetics without nephropathy (n = 49), blood CML levels were significantly higher in the patients who had proliferative diabetic retinopathy than in those without retinopathy or those who had background retinopathy (both p < 0.01). In contrast, blood pentosidine levels showed no significant differences among the three retinopathy groups. These findings suggest that the blood level of CML is related to the severity of both nephropathy and retinopathy, while the pentosidine level is only related to the severity of nephropathy.


th , 2012; revised December 11 th , 2012; accepted December 22 nd , 2012 Over the past twenty years, the scientific community and politicians in consolidated democracies have been regularly alarmed by political and electoral participation, portrayed as undergoing a brutal and linear decline. Each election is now scrutinized in terms not only of its results but also of its level of electoral turnout. This paper deals with two important issues—the reality of changes in electoral turnout in Europe and the impact of the institutional constraint of compulsory voting in voter turnout levels—through an analysis of 402 elections held in thirty-five States from 1944 until December, the 31st 2009. We do observe a contemporary erosion of voter turnout but at this stage voters are not so impossible to find as some claim they are. Furthermore, the assumption that interest in, and the importance of, compulsory voting as an institutional constraint encouraging voter turnout is confirmed.


Objectives Qualitative research suggests that young women's relationships with the biological fathers of their children (BFRs), known colloquially as 'baby daddy' relationships, enable risk for pregnancy and STI/HIV. Our study compared partner characteristics and sexual risk within dyads based on BFR, among a sample of young women in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Methods We conducted secondary analysis of survey data collected in 2011–2013 from heterosexually experienced youth ages 15–24 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Analyses are limited to women with at least one recent (past 6 months) sex partner (n=171 participants, reporting on 271 relationships). Using generalised estimating equations with logit function for correlated binary responses, we evaluate associations of BFR with partner characteristics, sexual risk behaviour and contraceptive non-use. Results At least one BFR partner was reported by 25.2%. Male partners in BFRs were more likely to have been incarcerated or arrested. BFRs were more often characterised by women as 'main' versus 'casual' partners (adjusted OR (AOR) 3.92, 95% CI 1.19 to 12.9). In adjusted analyses, BFR was associated with condom non-use for vaginal (AOR 12.3, 95% CI 3.92 to 38.7) and anal (AOR 3.32, 95% CI 1.34 to 8.22) intercourse. While BFR was associated with contraceptive non-use (AOR 2.21, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.84), this association attenuated to non-significance after adjusting for partnership type (AOR 2.06, 95% CI 0.91 to 4.67). Conclusions While few differences in BFR partner characteristics emerged, significantly greater risk for unprotected intercourse was identified within BFR relationships. Findings suggest that the relationship context of a shared child heightens sexual risk for the young women most affected by STI.


Abstract Tumours in the oral cavity and oropharynx differ in presentation and prognosis and the detection of spread of tumour from one subsite to another is essential for the T-staging. This article reviews the anatomy and describes the pattern of spread of different cancers arising in the oral cavity and oropharynx; the imaging findings on computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are also described. Brief mention is made on the role of newer imaging modalities such as [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography, perfusion studies and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.


Perinatal bonding disorders have been advocated by Brockington and he developed the semistructured Stafford Interview which contains a specific section to assess these disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a fully described clinical case by using the interview. A 29-year-old primiparous mother gave birth to a healthy girl, but visited our clinic because of depression at one month postnatally and received pharmacotherapy. Despite improvement of her depression, at around 7 months postnatally, she felt distressed by childcare. The Stafford Interview was conducted and it manifested evidences of anger and rejection to her infant: she screamed at her infant because of anger towards her infant, and had desire to escape from the baby care and then temporally transferred the care to her mother (grandmother of the baby). The evidence of maternal feelings by using the Stafford Interview is practically useful for treating mothers with bonding disorders.


In this work, AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on silicon with slant field plate have been successfully fabricated using deep-UV lithography. By using an angle exposure technique, submicron T-shaped gates with slant sidewalls were achieved. The 0.6 × 100μm2 slant-field-plated AlGaN/GaN HEMT on silicon substrate exhibited a peak value of transconductance of 214 mS/mm and a breakdown voltage of 122 V. Through high-frequency measurements, the device revealed a current gain cutoff frequency (fT) of 24 GHz, a maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) of 49 GHz and an output power density of 5.0 W/mm at X-band.


The alimentary canal contents of 360 Barbus luteus caught from MOD between January 2010 to December 2010 were examined. The phyto-plankton, zooplanktons, detritus, diatoms, insects and unidentified digestive food were identified in the alimentary canal of fish. The results of diet analysis showed that the B. luteus was omnivorous. The species of fish tended to consume more plant origin food. The aquatic plants and tissues were the main part of thier food followed by chlorophyta and cyanophyta. The results revealed that the species obtained or fell their food item from the bed of rivers or near to it.


Previous results indicate that the pattern of capsaicin‐induced degeneration in the rat central nervous system is age‐related. Experiments utilizing capsaicin's selective neurodegenerative effects to study the function of central neural circuits will therefore require a detailed understanding of capsaicin's central neurotoxicity in rats of different ages. The goal of this experiment was to characterize the degeneration induced in the rat brain by systemic treatment with capsaicin at different ages (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 75 days, or 11 months), using a cupric silver stain to label degenerating neurons. Results revealed degenerating cell bodies in the ventromedial brainstem in capsaicin‐treated rats of all age groups, though they were more numerous in adult rats than in pups. In addition, many areas contained capsaicin‐induced nerve terminal degeneration both in rat pups and in adult rats. These areas were the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord dorsal horn; the solitary tract; the nucleus of the solitary tract, visceral portion; the area postrema; the trigeminal nerve and spinal trigeminal nucleus; the medial nucleus of the inferior olive; the rostral, dorsomedial and dorsolateral interpeduncular subnuclei and overlying interfascicular nucleus; the supramammillary area; the lateral septal nucleus; the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, anterior medial portion; the optic nerve and tract; the suprachiasmatic nucleus, ventroposterolateral portion; the magnocellular subnucleus of the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus; the intergeniculate leaf; the medial pretectal nucleus and the olivary pretectal nucleus. In several, but not all of these areas, the apparent density of degenerating terminals was significantly less in adult rats than in pups. In other brain sites, capsaicin‐induced degeneration was observed only in rats younger than 30 days of age. These areas were the lateral habenula, medial part; the sphenoid nucleus; and the stria medullaris. Still other brain sites lost their sensitivity to capsaicin sometime between 30 and 75 days of age. These areas were the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial posteromedial part; the medial preoptic nucleus, central part; the septohypothalamic nucleus; the ventral reuniens area; and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Adult rats 75 days and 11 months of age did not differ detectably in their response to capsaicin. Thus, loss or attenuation of capsaicin sensitivity is not progressive; throughout life. It does not occur in all capsaicin‐sensitive sites. Where it does occur, loss of sensitivity occurs prior to adulthood and follows a distinct and reproducible time course that may differ for different sites.


A commonplace among English historians today is the importance of English ties with Aquitaine during the later Middle Ages. For some three centuries, historical events came to link the destinies of these two countries and peoples who otherwise differed strikingly in economy, language and culture in general, with lasting consequences for both. It has long been taken for granted by both English and French historians that this association came about abruptly in the 1150s as a result of the ascent to the English throne of Henry of Anjou who, through his marriage to Eleanor, heiress of the duchy of Aquitaine, became the sovereign of that enormous territorial principality. Till the present no one has suspected that any significant ties existed between the Anglo-Saxons and Aquitanians prior to that time. To be sure, the Anglo-Saxons had been in contact with the late Carolingian kings in the tenth century and with the Normans in the eleventh, but those were purely northern French phenomena. So too were the important Anglo-Saxon relations with the monks of Fleury-sur-Loire in the later tenth and early eleventh centuries, but these were not known to have had any repercussions in Aquitaine far to the south.


One of today's most important national concerns is the projected bankruptcy of Social Security some time in the next few decades and its consequent inability to pay full benefits on time. Yet despite two decades of warnings about this, nothing is being done. The saying that Social Security is the third rail of American politics - touch it and you die - still holds true. In Social Security: False Consciousness and Crisis, John Attarian argues that the major cause of the current impasse is the misleading manner in which the program has been depicted to the public and the beliefs about Social Security which prevail as a result.


This paper deals with the macrocell and microcell corrosion of steel bars in cracked concrete exposed to a marine environment. For this, short-term accelerated laboratory and long-term exposure tests were carried out. Test items include electrochemical and physical evaluations of corrosion, chloride ion content in concrete, and oxygen permeability through concrete. Analyses by scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalyzer were also carried out to confirm the deposit in the healed cracks. For an unhealed crack, the portion of the steel bar located at the root of the crack acts as an anode and other portions as a cathode. Also, microcell corrosion at the cracked region is higher than the uncracked region. Macrocell corrosion process and the degree of macro and microcell corrosion are significantly influenced by the water/cement. In a natural marine environment, narrower cracks heal due to the deposition of ettringite, calcite, and brucite in the crack. This reduces the corrosion rate significantly at the cracked region.


Using a proofs-as-programs correspondence, Terui was able to compare two models of parallel computation: Boolean circuits and proof nets for multiplicative linear logic. Mogbil et. al. gave a logspace translation allowing us to compare their computational power as uniform complexity classes. This paper presents a novel translation in AC0 and focuses on a simpler restricted notion of uniform Boolean proof nets. We can then encode constant-depth circuits and compare complexity classes below logspace, which were out of reach with the previous translations.


Bone scanning, performed within 1 week postoperatively, is valuable in predicting the survival of revascularized composite flap grafts. Conventional planar scintigraphy is limited by a two-dimensional representation of three-dimensional structures. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a technique in which a gamma camera rotates around the patient, acquires multiple projections, and with the aid of a computer, reconstructs three-dimensional representations. We wished to evaluate the potential advantages of SPECT in the assessment of mandibular graft viability and to compare it with planar scanning. These noninvasive methods of assessing the vascular supply are critical to patient management in the early postoperative period because the presence of or inability to exclude vascular compromise commands surgical exploration of the anastomosis for graft salvage. Fifteen patients who underwent mandibular reconstruction with revascularized free grafts were studied by both planar and SPECT scintigraphy. Long-term follow-up data were correlated with the outcome predicted by the scanning.


Following a few comments regarding the historical development, preliminary definitions and early studies on battered child syndrome, the Authors give an overall clinical semeiological picture, focusing on the anatomo-radiological characteristics of the most common bone and non-bone lesions. In addition traditional (X-ray) and more advanced methods of image diagnosis (ultrasonography, CT, RM) are examined and their utility in the study of the battered child is evaluated.


Excitons in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are formed at K and K' points at the boundary of the Brillouin zone. They acquire a valley degree of freedom, which may be used as a complementary platform for information transport and processing. In a different context, metasurfaces consisting of engineered arrays of polarizable inclusions have enabled the manipulation of light in unprecedented ways, and found applications in imaging, optical information processing, and cloaking. Here, we demonstrate that, by coupling a MoS2 monolayer to a suitably designed metasurface consisting of asymmetric grooves, valley polarized excitons can be sorted and spatially separated even at room temperature. Emission from valley excitons is also separated in K-space, i.e., photons with opposite helicity are emitted to different directions. Our work demonstrates that metasurfaces can facilitate valley transport and establish an interface between valleytronic and photonic devices, thus addressing outstanding challenges in the nascent field of valleytronics.


Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) at the frequency of 2f1-f2 were measured in one or both ears of 12 young adults during 4 test sessions over a 6-week period. The purpose was to determine the variability in DPOAE amplitudes and 'detection thresholds' over repeated measurements using a computer-based time-averaging system. DPOAEs were generated with f1 and f2 relative to (f1f2)1/2 in two basic paradigms: (a) fixed levels of L1 = L2 of 70 and 55 dB SPL over a stimulus range from 0.8 to 8 kHz in 0.2-octave intervals; (b) input-output functions in stimulus regions of 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4 and 6 kHz, L1 from 35 to 70 dB SPL changing in 5-dB steps and L2 at 6 dB below the amplitude of L1. The mean variability of DPOAE amplitudes with equilevel stimuli was 1.8 dB (SD = 1.8) for L1 = 70 dB SPL and 2.9 dB (SD = 2.7) for L1 = 55 dB SPL. It was 1.7 dB (SD = 1.7) and 2.4 dB (SD = 2.0) for comparable levels of L1 with L2 at 6 dB below L1. Variability in amplitude of the DPOAEs for the fixed-level condition was greatest overall above 6 kHz and below 1 kHz and in the 2-kHz region for one third of the subjects. Neither individual differences in emission amplitudes nor the presence of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions had a significant influence on the amount of amplitude variability within ears. Variability was not influenced by the length of time between measurements from 1 to 6 weeks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This item includes a segment of an a student interview in a Writing Intensive course in Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The interview was conducted in 2014 and in this clip the interviewee is describing writing a song as a final project.


Purpose. In 2012, Russia became the world's second-largest exporter increasing its potash exports from 1996 to 2012 more than two times. The top five countries control more than 50 % of the world's exports, particularly 53.4 % (38.0 mln MT) for nitrogen, 73.4 % (3.5 mln MT) for phosphate and 90.8 % (35.5 mln MT) for potash. The objective of this study is to analyse the market structure and market concentration of the Russian export company in the international fertiliser market, and to develop hypotheses about the oligopolistic market behaviour. The empirical part of this study tests the hypotheses by employing econometric models to provide evidence for market power and price discrimination in the international fertiliser market.
Methodology / approach. The empirical analysis in this study relies on the theoretical framework of pricing-to-market (PTM) pioneered by Krugman (1986, 1987). Following Krugman's groundbreaking approach, Knetter (1989) developed an empirical model testing the PTM hypothesis. The major advantages of the Knetter's model are that the pricing behaviour of the export country towards the import countries can be estimated with public statistical data for the export statistics of the export country and bilateral exchange rates between the currencies of the export and import countries.
Results. This study presents empirical evidence for the behaviour of Russian exporters in the international fertiliser market. The estimation results indicate that market power in the export market for nitrogen fertilisers is exercised by Russian exporters in more than two-thirds of the destination countries and in the export market for potash fertilisers in eight out of nine countries. The exercising market power in the export market for potash fertilisers is much more pronounced than in the nitrogen fertiliser export market.
Originality / scientific novelty. Primarily against the background of increased market concentration by the companies in the fertiliser markets and regarding the aforementioned cartel dispute, this study constitutes a first attempt to close the research gap in the empirical literature and to promote empirical research on the market behaviour of export companies in the international markets for nitrogen and potash fertilisers.
Practical value / implications. This study uses econometric techniques to examine the collapse of the potash cartel on the use of price discrimination and the exercising of market power in the international fertiliser market by Russia. The descriptive analysis shows that Russia plays an important role in the export of nitrogen and potash on the world market and many importing destinations. Often Russia in addition to the high market share also has no or few competitors in the various destinations, which supports speculation of exercising market power.


Despite achieving promising treatment results in patients with lymphoma, there is still a significant proportion of patients who relapse or have refractory disease. Salvage therapy followed by high dose treatment with autologous stem- cell transplantation is the standard of care in many of them. The role allogeneic stem- cell transplantation, especially after reduced intensity conditioning, is under extensive investigation. This review article presents current knowledge and recommendation in the salvage treatment of relapsed/ refractory lymphomas.


This essay is concerned with study abroad experiences as opportunities for student cognitive development, using the interpretive lens of educational psychologist William G. Perry. A standard and often valuable assignment in courses on world religions is a site visit to a religious institution in one's local area. This may concretize otherwise abstract materials and help students reflect on ways in which the lived experience of religion differs from its presentation in course texts and other academic materials. Increasingly, study abroad trips are being offered as extended and more intensive ways of bringing this material to life, offering students opportunity to see lived religion within another cultural framework. At the heart of this paper is the contention that such study abroad experiences function not simply as longer, more intense versions of site visits but, rather, as experiences that invert the subject and object of study. The worldview of the student becomes a primary object of study, which is examined, as it were, by the particulars of the religion(s) under investigation and the cultures of which said religion(s) are a part. Where site visits offer students an opportunity to visit the strange amidst the familiar, study abroad trips provide opportunities for students to become the strange within a recalibrated familiar. The subject becomes the object and is interrogated by the context of study. While local, stateside site visits can offer a degree of such dislocation, their brevity, together with some degree of assimilation to the larger culture flows on the part of the local religious institution being visited, most often mitigates any significant inversion. Students generally see such institutions as either mildly or wildly exotic, but always within their frame of reference, which constitutes the norm. When abroad, the normative experience of students is often subverted in ways that lay bare the assumptions behind such views and makes possible another world in which to live. Simply put, the subject and object of study change places. If this inversion is carefully attended to, it can provide rich insight into not only the topics nominally being studied but also occasion opportunity for real cognitive development on the part of the student. This essay is published alongside of six other essays, including a response from John Barbour, comprising a special section of the journal (see Teaching Theology and Religion 18:1, January 2015).


OBJECTIVE
To express the early prosthodontic treatment strategies for severe oligodontia patients with or without a syndrome and to share details of their experiences of the long-term follow-up.

METHODS
Patients with severe oligodontia (excluding the third molars, and with six or more congenitally missing permanent teeth) who had finished prosthetic rehabilitation between 2001 and 2014 and who had undergone at least 1-year follow-up at the Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School of Stomatology were included in the study. The general and oral characteristics were determined and examined, interdisciplinary plans were provided, and the prosthodontic treatment conditions were described and evaluated.

RESULTS
In total 26 subjects were included. Twenty males and six females, whose first dental visit occurred between the ages of 2 years and 9 months old, and 31 years old were recorded, of which, 12 (46.2%) subjects had non-syndromic oligodontia and 14 (53.8%) had oligodontia with different syndromes. The number of congenitally missing teeth (excluding the third molars) was between 7 to 28 (mean = 18), with 14 and 21 teeth in the non-syndromic and syndromic oligodontia patients, respectively. Most of the patients accepted conventional prostheses and two had implant-supported crowns or bridges. The age of the first prosthesis delivery ranged from 3.5 to 31 years old. The follow-up period ranged from 15 months (1 year and 3 months) to 162 months (13.5 years), with a mean of 108 months (9 years).

CONCLUSION
Early treatment for young patients and long-term follow-up greatly benefits patients. Interdisciplinary treatment ensures more satisfactory results.


In a study of 5 hypertensive patients (under strict metabolic conditions) it was observed that when sodium intake was moderately restricted (50 mEq/day about 3 gm. of sodium chloride) and dietary potassium was near average (50 mEq/day), 50 mg. of hydrochlorothiazide daily produced a satisfactory decline in blood pressure without causing problems of electrolyte imbalance. When dietary sodium was increased to 100 mEq/day, it was necessary to increase hydrochlorothiazide to 100 mg/day to maintain a comparable satisfactory antihypertensive response, but this dosage produced a deficiency of potassium which was offset by increasing dietary potassium to 100 mEq/ day. Thus, the desirable program for treatment of uncomplicated hypertension appears to be low doses of hydrochlorothiazide, moderate salt restriction, and a potassium-enriched diet.


ABSTRACT: This article presents a "second-generation" rational choice explanation for voluntary regional governance. It identifies the interests that motivate interlocal collaboration and argues that voluntary agreements emerge from a dynamic political contracting process in which benefits exceed the transaction costs of bargaining an agreement. Explanations are presented for how specific community characteristics and formal and informal institutional arrangements reduce transaction costs of information/coordination, negotiation, enforcement, and agency. Based on the logic of this framework, sets of propositions are presented regarding how these contextual factors influence the transaction costs of cooperative actions. Evidence supporting these propositions is reviewed, followed by a discussion of implications of this second-generation rational choice theory for the study and practice of regional governance.


The seismic performance of a structure designed without consideration of seismic loading can be effectively enhanced through seismic rehabilitation. The appropriate level of rehabilitation should be determined based on the decision criteria that minimize the anticipated earthquake-related losses. To estimate the anticipated losses, seismic risk analysis should be performed considering the probabilistic characteristics of the hazard and the structural damage. This study presents the decision procedure in which the probabilistic seismic demand model is utilized for the effective estimation and minimization of the total seismic losses through seismic rehabilitation. The probability density function and the cumulative distribution function of the structural damage for a specified time period are established in a closed form, and are combined with the loss functions to derive the expected seismic loss. The procedure presented in this study could be effectively used for making decisions on the seismic rehabilitation of structural systems.


Teacher as a curriculum developer has to be able to translate, explain and transform the values involved in the curriculum to his/her students. To develop the curriculum, a teacher can do the following activities, they are: planning, implementing and evaluating the curriculum. Through planning the curriculum, the teacher can predict what he/she want to achieve in the learning process. After planning, he/she should implement it. There are some steps the teacher can do in teaching such as preparing his/her students, explaining the material, assessing students and getting feedback to know the successful of teaching.


The study aims to examine the impact of education on the economy as an essential input of civilization by comparing the two major groups of countries in the world, Islam and the West. These two major groups of countries that are often opposed, including in terms of the economic system implemented in both groups of countries. Since it is argued that Islamic nations apply a specific system of financial in the economy, namely the Islamic financial system, hence this research investigated the effect of both group nations (Islamic or non-Islamic) comparatively to the economy. The research method used in this research is quantitative approach by using statistical analysis, multiple linear regression, as the method of data analysis, in order to obtain results that can be drawn conclusions as a result in this study. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that education has a positive and significant impact to the economy, as an input of civilization, although there are no different economic conditions between the Islamic (OIC member) Countries and non-Islamic one. Keywords: education, economics, civilization JEL Classification: H52; Z13


Introduction
 Lymphoid malignancies are a risk factor for severe COVID-19. Vaccination with BNT162b2 protects the general population from severe disease, but recent studies have shown limited seroconversion after vaccination in patients with lymphoid malignancy. This reduced response is likely related to disease and treatment factors altering both humoral and cellular immunity. Assessing response in patients with the indolent lymphomas, Waldenström's Macroglobulinaemia (WM) and Follicular Lymphoma (FL), including cohorts on differing treatment regimens, may help elucidate some of these factors. Australia has had low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection to date, affording a unique opportunity to assess efficacy to vaccination without the confounding impact of endemic infection.
 Methods
 Patients with WM and FL and controls were enrolled in a prospective study of immune response after two doses of BNT162b2 administered 21 days apart. The study had Human Research Ethics Committee approval and all patients gave informed consent prior to participation. Recruitment was targeted to obtain comparable proportions of controls to treatment cohorts. PBMC and sera were collected from participants immediately prior to the first dose (T1), at day 21 immediately prior to the second dose (T2), and day 49 (+/- 7d) (T3). Immune response was measured by: flow cytometric detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies (ASAb), performed using our recently validated flow cytometric live cell assay (Tea et.al. PLoS Medicine 2021) with increased sensitivity compared to currently available commercial ELISAs; live virus neutralisation to a panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern; and CD4+and CD8+ antigen-specific T cell responses. Statistical analysis of medians between cohorts were compared by the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test using Graphpad Prism. Initial ASAb IgG data for T1 and T2 is presented here. Complete immune response data at all time points will be available for the ASH meeting.
 Results
 Eighty-five participants received their first dose of BNT162b2 from 18 May 2021 to 7 June 2021 with a second dose 21 days later: 72 lymphoma patients (WM and FL) and 13 age-matched healthy volunteers (controls). Of 37 with WM [19 (51.3%) female, median 71 years (IQR 63-74)] 9 were treatment naïve (WMN), 15 had received rituximab-chemotherapy (WMT), and 13 were currently treated with a Bruton Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor (BTKi): 5 ibrutinib, 8 zanubrutinib (WMB). Of 35 patients with FL [16 (45.7%) female, median 65 years (IQR 54-71)], 11 were treatment naïve (FLN), and 24 had received rituximab-chemotherapy (FLT). Of the 13 controls 8 (61.5%) were female, median age 72 years (IQR 57-74)].
 No participants had detectable ASAb at T1, confirming no prior SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Figure 1 shows ASAb results at T2. The median mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of healthy controls: 60802 (IQR 17565 -78443), is higher than all WM: 0 (IQR 0 - 15010) p<0.0001, and all FL patients: 1687 (IQR 0 - 25421) p=0.002, Fig 1A. The median MFI of controls was higher than WMN (p=0.036), but not higher than FLN (p=0.28). The median MFI of WMN: 20074 (IQR 5421 - 35695), is higher than WMB: 0 (IQR 0 - 4217) p=0.018, but not significantly higher than WMT: 0 (IQR 0 - 14356) p=0.13, Fig 1B. Median MFI of FLN: 31476 (IQR 19351 - 51317), is higher than FLT: 0 (IQR 0 - 32849) p=0.01, Fig 1B.
 Conclusion
 These early serological data show measurable ASAb in all healthy controls 21 days post first dose of BNT162b2 vaccination. Treatment naïve patients had a better response than treated patients, and this did not differ significantly to healthy controls in the FL cohort. In WM, patients on BTKi had a significantly reduced response compared to treatment-naïve patients. This same reduction was not observed in the chemotherapy-rituximab cohort, but the characteristics of early responders versus non-responders, including time since last therapy, is being analysed. FL patients treated with chemotherapy-rituximab had a significantly reduced response compared to the treatment-naïve cohort.
 Time constraints before the abstract submission deadline prevented reporting of all mature vaccination response data. Measurement of ASAb one month after second vaccination, live virus neutralisation to a panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, and CD4+ and CD8+ antigen-specific T cell responses at T1, T2 and T3, to fully characterise the immune response to BNT162b2, will be reported at the ASH meeting.

 Figure 1

 Disclosures

 Rankin:
 Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals: Other: Travel reimbursement to attend haemophilia academy. Kelleher:
 CSL/Sequiris: Honoraria; Aegros and CSL: Consultancy; Merck: Speakers Bureau; Aegros, CSL, Merek: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Brilot:
 Novartis: Research Funding; Biogen, Merck: Honoraria. Trotman:
 beigene: Research Funding; roche: Research Funding; PCYC: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; TAKEDA: Research Funding; JANSSEN: Research Funding.


Our purpose in undertaking this research is to methodically map the labour market circumstances of the main immigrant groups in Greece. We classify all of the Districts of Greece into three categories (Diverse, Mixed and Unmixed) according to the ethnic composition of each District. We measure how the employment status of the immigrants varies (1) according to the ethnic group and sex of the immigrant, and (2) according to the ethnic composition and economic structure of a District. In general, the majority of immigrants exhibit lower unemployment and higher economic activity rates than the indigenous Greeks. Three immigrant groups (Albanians, Bulgarians and "Other"), which make up two-thirds of the foreign-born population of Greece, have lower unemployment rates than the national average, and lower rates than Greeks as well. The poorest labour market outcomes are observed in Unmixed and Mixed Districts, whereas Diverse Districts are better off. At the regional level, the most disadvantaged Geographical Department is the Ionian Islands, since it presents the highest unemployment rates for the general population for both sexes. With regard to sex-differential unemployment across immigrant groups, we found that women exhibit higher unemployment than men in almost every ethnic group.


We previously established a non-smoking-related lung cancer mouse model employing an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) L858R transgenic mouse using an SP-C promoter. The mice developed pulmonary atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH), multifocal adenocarcinoma, and died due to multiple invasive lung tumors at 4, 7, and approximately 40 weeks of age, respectively. We demonstrated the marked chemopreventive effect of gefitinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in a non-smoking-related lung cancer mouse model and presented a novel concept of molecular targeted chemoprevention of lung cancer in non-smokers. In this study, we focused on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) -2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a non-smoking-related lung cancer mouse model. Surprisingly, we found that VEGFR-2 and EGFR were activated in the transgenic mice at 3 weeks of age by Western blotting, before the histological detection of AAH and adenocarcinoma. And fluorescent immunostaining of lung tissues in transgenic mice showed activation of VEGFR-2 occurred in tumor cells themselves or cells in an initial stage of carcinogenesis, not only in vascular endothelial cells. We also found that VEGFR-2 was activated in the lung cancer cell lines (PC-9, H3255) harboring EGFR mutation, and that EGFR-L858R transfected 293T cells expressed more phosphorylated VEGFR-2 than non-transfected 293T cells. EGFR-L858R-transfected 293T cells were more sensitive than non-transfected 293T cells to cediranib (Recentin), a pan-VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. In this mouse model, cediranib (5 mg/kg/day, 5 days/week, 12 weeks, p.o.) inhibited surface lung tumors (long axis diameter >1 mm, 0 ± 0.4 versus 4.9 ± 3.2, p If VEGFR-2 is activated during an early phase of carcinogenesis due to EGFR mutations, these data suggest that inactivation of VEGFR-2 may be effective in preventing carcinogenesis of non-smoking-related lung cancer. These findings provide t the new concept of VEGFR-2 role in chemoprevention. Recentin (cediranib) is a trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3681. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3681


INTRODUCTION
It is difficult to successfully suction the left bronchial tree. We evaluated the success rate of left bronchial cannulation with a new closed-suction directional-tip catheter (Trach Care directional-tip catheter, TCDT, Ballard Medical Products, Midvale UT). Success rates were compared in patients with endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes. We also studied the effects on success rate of (1) the distance of the endotracheal tube from the carina, (2) the tube's bevel orientation, and (3) the tube's position in the patient's mouth.

METHOD
At the time of the routine daily chest radiograph, 75 attempts at left bronchial cannulation were made in 45 patients. With the head maintained in a midline position, the TCDT catheter was advanced with the radiopaque blue line in the 1 o'clock position. The radiograph was evaluated for correct placement of the TCDT catheter.

RESULTS
Due to lung pathology and x-ray technique, catheter placement could not be interpreted in 17% of the radiographs. In the remainder, overall success rate was 71% (79% with tracheostomy tubes and 67% with endotracheal tubes, not significantly different, with p > 0.3). Tube distance from the carina and bevel orientation did not significantly affect success rates. Success rates for tubes located in the left and central positions of the patient's mouth were significantly better (p < 0.002 and p < 0.03, respectively) than for tubes located on the right side of the patient's mouth. With the endotracheal tube on the left side of the patient's mouth, the success rate was 89%.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that the TCDT catheter successfully combines the features of a closed-suction system with those of a directional-tip catheter that allows selective bronchial cannulation, a large percentage of the time.


An Al-Cu alloy developed for applications requiring an alloy of moderate strength, weldability and good resistance to sea water, it is an excellent, versatile alloy ideal for many applications. The results obtained show that the level of spring back is strongly related to the imposed boundary conditions. If he is conceivable to overcome this problem by a "practical" tool for single curvature panels, it seems more delicate for double tooling curvature. In conclusion, if the prospects offered by this type of process seem attractive, a vast campaign of digital investigations must be considered in order to define more precisely the limiting radii of curvature that can be achieved without causing problems with spillage or buckling of the stiffeners, especially for double curvature applications. The boundary conditions considered should be able to be reproduced experimentally during shaping. For high strain rate testing, the only usable method to obtain information about the distribution of strains in the specimen is the use of high-speed photography. This method is used to visualize the location of deformations and fracture and also to measure the deformations of the specimen. The use of ultra-fast photography for large-scale tests strain rates can be performed in order to qualitatively study the behavior of materials. The proposed new geometry for the specimen will be modified by the use of high-speed photography.


ABSTRACT After a two-thirds hepatectomy, normally quiescent liver cells are stimulated to reenter the cell cycle and proliferate to restore the original liver mass. One of the most rapidly and highly induced genes and proteins in regenerating liver is insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1), a secreted protein that may modulate the activities of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) or signal via IGF-independent mechanisms. To assess the functional role of IGFBP-1 in liver regeneration, mice with a targeted disruption of the IGFBP-1 gene were generated. Although IGFBP-1−/− mice demonstrated normal development, they had abnormal liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, characterized by liver necrosis and reduced and delayed hepatocyte DNA synthesis. The abnormal regenerative response was associated with blunted activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) and a reduced induction of C/EBPβ protein expression posthepatectomy. Like cell cycle abnormalities observed in hepatectomized C/EBPβ−/− mice, cyclin A and cyclin B1 expression was delayed and reduced in IGFBP-1−/− livers, whereas cyclin D1 expression was normal. Treatment of IGFBP-1−/− mice with a preoperative dose of IGFBP-1 induced MAPK/ERK activation and C/EBPβ expression, suggesting that IGFBP-1 may support liver regeneration at least in part via its effect on MAPK/ERK and C/EBPβ activities. These findings are the first demonstration of the involvement of IGFBP-1 in the regulation of in vivo mitogenic signaling pathways.


Intermediality and special effects (FX) enjoyed a privileged status in the science fiction 'cinema of attractions' in the 1990s. Intermediality designates the interactions, mutual refashioning or remediation, and the conceptual fusions occurring between various media in a given cultural production or between several media elements, forms and techniques in a single medium. This article examines the transfers, transformations and fusions between analogue (photographic-based) cinema, photography, 2-D animation, computer animation and digital cinema in two cyberpunk films: Oshii Mamoru's Ghost in the Shell ( Kokaku kidotai , 1995) and Larry and Andy Wachowski's The Matrix (1999). My analysis also explores the gender fantasies and peculiar transitional imagination generated by special effects in the two films. A careful examination of intermedial processes in Ghost in the Shell reveals that its reinvention of cyberpunk, and of analogue and new media produces a new paradigm for the history of cinema that reinstates animation as the pivotal structural dynamics, unconscious and conceptual architecture of cinema. The Matrix rewrites the history of cinema as the story of FX technologies, and of the fantasies constitutive of, or made possible by, special effects techniques. What might be called the fantasy of the feminine sublime in Ghost in the Shell allows the film to redefine female creativity as the central libidinal, technological and aesthetic drive in twentieth-century visual culture. The fantasy of the tesseract (a four-dimensional geometric figure that came to be regarded as the structural operating principle of cinema, animation and the digital morph) is enlisted in Oshii's anime to express animation's longing for the fourth dimension. In The Matrix the subversive potential of this fantastic figure serves mainly to articulate the crisis of analogue cinema in a period of transition to computer culture.


Background Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a widely disseminated lymphotrophic herpes virus implicated in a lot of benign and malignant disorders. In transplant patients, EBV load is enhanced because of immunosuppressive drugs (cyclosporine) and in a few cases, it can lead to lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD). An EBV load higher than 500 copies per 500 ng of DNA is a predictive factor of post transplant lymphoma [1,2] Similarly, immunity against EBV is particular in RA patients: the level of antibodies against EBV is higher in RA than in healthy controls [3], RA patients have a defective EBV specific supressor T cell function [4].The risk to develop a lymphoma is higher in RA patients than in controls. We have previously shown that: 1/ EBV load is 10 fold higher in RA patients than in controls [5] and 2/ Methotrexate and TNF alpha antagonists (immunosuppressive drugs used in RA patients) do not increase EBV load in RA [6]. Objectives Here, we monitored EBV load over 3 years in patients with RA treated by 2 more recent biologics, Abatacept (CTLA4 Ig) a T cell activation inhibitor, or Tocilizumab, an anti IL6 receptor antibody. Methods EBV load in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 55 patients under Abatacept (+/− Methotrexate) and 35 patients under Tocilizumab (+/− Methotrexate) was monitored from 6 months up to 3 years, by real time PCR. The influences of treatment duration and disease activity score 28 (DAS28) index on EBV load were analyzed. Results Neither Abatacept nor Tocilizumab significantly enhanced EBV load over time. None of our patients developed EBV associated lymphoma. Conclusions Long term usage of Methotrexate with Abatacept or Tocilizumab in patients with RA does not significantly influence EBV load in PBMCs. References Baldanti F et al. High levels of Epstein Barr virus DNA in blood of solid organ transplant recipients and their value in predicting postransplant lymphoproliferative disorders. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 38: 613–619, 2000 Morito M,et al. Quantitative analysis of Epstein Barr virus load by using a real time PCR assay. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 37: 132–136, 1999 Alspaugh M et al. Elevated levels of antibodies to Epstein Barr virus antigens in sera and synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Clinical Investigation 67: 1134–1140, 1981 Tosato G et al. Defective EBV specific suppressor T cell function in rheumatoid arthritis. New England Journal of Medicine 305: 1238–1243, 1981 Balandraud N et al. Epstein-Barr Virus Load in the peripheral blood of patients with Rheumatoid arthritis. accurate quantification using re[2] Kimura H, al time Polymerase chain reaction. Arthritis and Rheumatism 2003;48:1223–1228. Balandraud N et al. Long-term treatment with methotrexate or tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors does not increase epstein-barr virus load in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism 57(5): 762–767, 2007 Acknowledgement This work was supported by AORC AP-HM, INSERM and Chugai. Disclosure of Interest E. Massy: None declared, O. Muis-Pistor: None declared, M. Martin: None declared, I. Auger: None declared, M.-C. Guzian: None declared, S. Guis: None declared, J. Roudier: None declared, T. Pham: None declared, N. Balandraud Grant/research support from: This work has been partially supported by Chugai group


1. The temperature dependence of diffusional permeability to water was studied in freshwater-adapted and seawater-adapted eels. The pattern of temperature acclimation is discussed. 2. The ratio of water permeability to sodium permeability is approximately 3 at 25°C, but falls to 1 at 5°C. This drop is mainly due to a diminution of the water permeability, the temperature coefficients being much higher for water than for sodium. 3. The relatively independent variations of water and sodium permeabilities in the seawater-adapted fish probably indicate a certain dissociation between water movements and salt movements. 4. In the freshwater-adapted eel the osmotic permeability is considerably higher than the diffusional permeability, which supports the previously advanced hypothesis concerning the presence of water-filled channels in the branchial epithelium. 5. In the seawater-adapted eel the osmotic permeability is lower than the diffusional permeability, this difference being greater the lower the temperature. This surprising result must signify either that the osmotic pressure difference between blood and sea water does not represent the true osmotic gradient across the membrane, or that a reabsorption of water linked with a movement of solutes occurs in a specialized region of the gill.


The growing complexity and fragmentation of the architectural design process, largely due to stricter regulations, new technologies and increasing specialization, has led to an important rise in the number of design support tools available to designers today. These tools, ranging from simple checklists to complex simulation software, are intended to facilitate different aspects of the design process. While there are numerous studies available that provide a possible classification, most studies focus on specific design aspects, for instance sustainability or user-centered design; there is no general outline of tools available. However, researchers and design tool developers need this general information about the way designers incorporate tools into their design process, and about the kind of support designers need in the different stages of the design process, in order to improve available tools or to develop new tools. In this paper a classification is composed, based on a representative number of design tools, derived from literature. The proposed classification defines six types of design tools according to the role they play in the design process: knowledge – based tools, communication tools, modeling tools, presentation tools, structuring tools and evaluation & analysis tools. A tool can belong to one or more categories. These categories provide the framework for a survey. Aim of the survey is to gain insight into the use of these types of tools by Flemish designers in architectural practices, as well as the phase in the design process in which they are used or most needed. The collected data show the kind of support designers need in the different stages of the design process. This may help researchers and tool developers to develop design support tools accordingly, to maximize their usability.


The paper presents a methodology for the simulation of massive number of device-level transient faults. Fault injection locations and the gate around those locations are extracted and evaluated with SPICE. The extracted sub-circuits are exercised exhaustively while fault-injections are performed. Faulty behavior at the outputs of each sub-circuit is recorded in a dictionary, along with the associated input vector, fault-injection time, and location. The recorded logical errors are injected concurrent transient simulator is developed to allow simultaneous evaluation of a massive number of fault-injections, in a single simulation pass. The methodology is illustrated by a case study of MC68000 microprocessor.


We consider an infinite server resequencing queue, where arrivals are generated by jumps of a semi-Markov process and service times depend on the jumps of this process. The stationary distribution of the sojourn time, conditioned on the state of the semi-Markov process, is obtained both for the case of hyperexponential service times and for the case of a Markovian arrival process. For the general model, an accurate approximation is derived based on a discretisation of interarrival and service times.


The potential energy surfaces and the nature of transition structures for the decomposition of three N8 isomers (octaazapentalene, azidopentazole, and diazidodiimide) into 4 N2 are investigated using ab initio methods. These isomers are all high-energy species, relative to molecular nitrogen, but are much lower in energy than the previously studied cubic structure. Second-order perturbation theory (MP2) predicts that the dissociation of octaazapentalene proceeds via isomerization to a linear molecule. The dissociation reaction of azidopentazole prefers ring breaking, at a cost of less than 20 kcal/mol, to breaking a bond in the side chain. The cis isomer of diazidodiimide is found to be slightly more stable than that of the trans isomer at the highest levels of theory used here. The coupled cluster (CCSD(T)) diazidodiimide dissociation barrier is computed to be about 20 kcal/mol. This barrier is only marginally sufficient to make this high energy density molecule metastable. Disciplines Chemistry Comments Reprinted (adapted) with permission from Journal of Physical Chemistry A 104 (2000): 5647, doi:10.1021/ jp0004361. Copyright 2000 American Chemical Society. This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/chem_pubs/405 An Ab Initio Study of Potential Energy Surfaces for N8 Isomers Gyusung Chung,† Michael W. Schmidt, and Mark S. Gordon* Department of Chemistry, Iowa State Uni Versity, Ames, Iowa 50011 Recei Ved: February 3, 2000; In Final Form: April 3, 2000 The potential energy surfaces and the nature of transition structures for the decomposition of three N 8 isomers (octaazapentalene, azidopentazole, and diazidodiimide) into 4 N 2 are investigated using ab initio methods. These isomers are all high-energy species, relative to molecular nitrogen, but are much lower in energy than the previously studied cubic structure. Second-order perturbation theory (MP2) predicts that the dissociation of octaazapentalene proceeds via isomerization to a linear molecule. The dissociation reaction of azidopentazole prefers ring breaking, at a cost of less than 20 kcal/mol, to breaking a bond in the side chain. The cis isomer of diazidodiimide is found to be slightly more stable than that of the trans isomer at the highest levels of theory used here. The coupled cluster (CCSD(T)) diazidodiimide dissociation barrier is computed to be about 20 kcal/mol. This barrier is only marginally sufficient to make this high energy density molecule metastable.


The estimation of GPS repeater jamming plays an important role in modern military applications. In this paper, based on the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method, a new approach for the estimation of GPS repeater jamming using Kalman filtering with coloured observation noise is proposed. The state equation and observation equation of the Kalman filter with the coloured observation noise are deduced and the generation process explained. The recursive formula for the Kalman filter used to iteratively filter for the MLE output is also derived. Experimental results show that the new design has a better performance than the MLE; hence it can be used for the precise estimation of repeater jamming signals under the condition that the carrier-to-noise density ratio is below 20 dB-Hz.


Purpose To explore patients' preferred treatment outcomes during their first two years with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and Methods A qualitative, longitudinal, multicenter study with interviews at two time points was performed in Sweden. Individual interviews were conducted at time point 1 with 31 patients with RA, defined as disease duration of ≤1 year and treatment for 3–7 months. Seven focus group interviews and five individual interviews were conducted at time point 2 with 22 patients 12–20 months after treatment initiation. The interviews were analyzed using the Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven. A core category with four related concepts emerged. Results The core finding of patient-preferred treatment outcomes was "mastering a new life situation". Patients preferred to experience control of the disease by controlling the symptoms and by experiencing absence of disease. To experience autonomy by regaining former activity level, experiencing independence, and being empowered was another preferred outcome. Patients preferred to regain identity through being able to participate, experience well-being, and regain former self-image. To experience joy in everyday life through vitality and believing in the future was another preferred outcome. Patients' preferences developed over time from the acute phase of controlling the symptoms and wanting to return to the life they lived prior to diagnosis, to a more preventive way of self-management and empowerment to master the new life situation. Conclusion The patients' preferred treatment outcomes during the first two years with RA were to master their new life situation and changed from a preference to return to a life lived prior disease onset, to a preference of living with quality of life, despite RA. This study increases the understanding of patients' preferred treatment outcomes in the early disease course and can be a foundation for tailoring interventions to be more person-centered and to improve long-term treatment outcomes.


The research carried out so far in detecting abusive content in social media has primarily focused on overt forms of hate speech. While explicit hate speech (HS) is more easily identifiable by recognizing hateful words, messages containing linguistically subtle and implicit forms of HS (as circumlocution, metaphors and sarcasm) constitute a real challenge for automatic systems. While the sneaky and tricky nature of subtle messages might be perceived as less hurtful with respect to the same content expressed clearly, such abuse is at least as harmful as overt abuse. In this paper, we first provide an in-depth and systematic analysis of 7 standard benchmarks for HS detection, relying on a fine-grained and linguistically-grounded definition of implicit and subtle messages. Then, we experiment with state-of-the-art neural network architectures on two supervised tasks, namely implicit HS and subtle HS message classification. We show that while such models perform satisfactory on explicit messages, they fail to detect implicit and subtle content, highlighting the fact that HS detection is not a solved problem and deserves further investigation.


Here, we report the results of a set of numerical simulations of the system formed by Neptune, Galatea, dust ring particles, and hypothetical co-orbital satellites. This dynamical system depicts a recent confinement mechanism formed by four co-orbital satellites being responsible for the azimuthal confinement of the arcs. After the numerical simulations, the particles were divided into four groups: particles that stay in the arcs, transient particles, particles that leave the arcs, and particles that collide with the co-orbital satellites. Our results showed that the lifetime of the smaller particles is 50 yr at most. After 100 yr, about $20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the total amount of larger particles are still present in the arcs. From our numerical simulations, the particles should be present in all arcs after 30 yr. Analysis of the dust production ruled out the hypothesis that small satellites close to or in the arc structure could be its source.


Stroke is a medical emergency also known as Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) or "brain attack". Nowadays, this health problem is increasing tremendously day by day in developing country like Nepal.This study follows with an objective to assess the knowledge on stroke among middle aged adult. A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to assess the level of knowledge on stroke among (40-65) years of aged group in a community of Ratuwamai, Morang. Non probability purposive sampling method was used to select respondents where sample size was 117. Semi-structured interview questionnaire was used for data collection and data was analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16.The study showed that among 117 respondents, 62.1% were above 50 years (Mean±SD = 53.53±7.169), 32.9% had achieved secondary level of education, 97.4% gave correct response as stroke is a brain problem, similarly 100% of respondents reported high risk is above 45years of age, 91.5% identified hypertension leading to stroke, 96.6% thought that sudden onset of dizziness as warning signs of stroke. This study found that overall knowledge regarding stroke was average (65.8%). Relationship of ethnicity (p=0.045) and level of education(p=0.000)were found to be associated with level of knowledge. A widespread awareness program is required to improve the knowledge of community people regarding stroke, which in turn might improve the control of risk factors, early treatment and better outcomes.


Hypersensitivity to etoposide phosphate has rarely been documented. We report a case of severe hypersensitivity reaction to etoposide phosphate in an old man. The patient experienced anaphylactic shock and has been hospitalized in intensive care unit. Vigilance is required regarding potential severe reactions with etoposide phosphate formulation.


In order to cater for communications users' needs in terms of high speed, high bandwidth and error free reception, researchers have focused their attention towards B-ISDN/ATM in recent years. Since the major efficiency of ATM networks depends on the ATM switching, we have focused our attention towards high throughput in an ATM switch architecture. The banyan switch architecture is taken for our study. We have simulated an 8/spl times/8 banyan architecture with the proposed scheme of using RS coder and decoder. The performance of the proposed architecture in terms of cell loss and average delay versus the cell arrival rate is presented.


In the context of Smart Cities digital transformation, the field of 3D city modelling has attracted a growing interest for representing the city digital twin. This paper presents a method for producing a 3D city model with photorealistic rooftop textures extracted from aerial images, as well as the integration of the 3D city model into an open-source Smart City framework. The proposed solution provides a smart visualization of 3D city entities integrated with a large variety of Smart City data (coming, for instance, from IoT Devices which generate time-series data, heatmaps, geometries and shapes related to traffic flows, bus routes, cycling paths etc.). The proposed method for rooftop detection and alignment follows a deep learning approach based on U-Net architecture, and it has been validated against a manually created ground-truth of 50 buildings scattered uniformly on the covered area. The solution is implemented in the open-source Snap4City Smart City platform.


Purpose of review Evaluation of the child with acute abdominal pain is challenging because of the wide range of potential diagnoses. Presenting symptoms, clinical examination, and laboratory findings can guide selection of diagnostic imaging. Recent findings Intussusception and intestinal malrotation are potentially serious causes of intestinal obstruction, which are best evaluated by ultrasound and upper gastrointestinal series, respectively. Ultrasound has diagnostic importance in the evaluation of multiple diseases, including appendicitis, by potentially decreasing the need for inpatient observation, cholecystitis and complications of gall stones such as pancreatitis, and ovarian diseases. Pelvic inflammatory disease should be considered in evaluation of a teenage girl with lower abdominal pain. Less common causes of acute abdominal pain include ingested foreign bodies, infected congenital anomalies, and perforated peptic ulcer disease. Summary Presenting symptoms and physical examination findings can narrow the number of potential diagnoses in pediatric acute abdominal pain and thereby guide diagnostic imaging selection. Abdominal/pelvic ultrasound, rather than computed tomography scan, is the preferred modality for initial evaluation of many potential causes of pediatric abdominal pain.


. Air-sea fluxes of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and methanethiol (MeSH) from surface seawater in the remote 20 Southern Pacific Ocean were measured in three Air-Sea Interface Tank (ASIT) experiments during the Sea2Cloud voyage in March 2020. The measured fluxes of 0.78 ± 0.44 ng m -2 s -1 and 0.05 ± 0.03 ng m -2 s -1 for DMS and MeSH, respectively, varied between experiments reflecting the different water mass types investigated, with lowest fluxes with subtropical water and highest with biologically-active water with sub-Tropical water and highest from the sub-Tropical Front. Measured DMS fluxes were consistent with calculated fluxes from a two-25 layer model using DMS concentration in the ASIT seawater. The experiments also determined the influence of elevated ozone, with one ASIT headspace amended with 10 ppbv ozone while the other provided an unamended control. Elevated ozone resulted in a decrease in DMS flux, corresponding to decreased conversion of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) to DMS in the seawater. The MeSH:DMS flux range was 11-18% across experiments, in line with previous observations, indicating that MeSH represents a significant contribution to the 30 atmospheric sulfur budget. Using the ASIT results in combination with ambient seawater concentrations during Sea2Cloud, significant linear correlations were identified for both DMS and MeSH fluxes with nanophytoplankton cell abundance (r DMS = 0.73 and r MeSH = 0.86), indicating an important role for this phytoplankton size class, and also its potential as a proxy for estimating DMS and MeSH emissions in chemistry-climate models.


The periodontal status of 1688 inhabitants of eastern Germany (former GDR) was investigated between July 1991 and March 1992, using the CPITN. The results show that only 1.4% of those examined have a healthy periodontal apparatus, whereas 40.1% had some signs of severe periodontitis (CPITN 4). This implies a very high therapy requirement in all age-groups, with 93.1% of 15- to 19-year-olds in need of peridontal treatment (CPITN 1 + 2 + 3 + 4). A comparison between educational qualifications and frequency of brushing or routine dental checks reveals a better level of prophylaxis in the more educated classes. As expected, the CPITN code with good oral hygiene and regular dental checks was significantly lower than with poor oral hygiene and infrequent dental checks. The high prevalence of periodontal disease lends urgency to the development of an extensive prevention concept introduced in childhood.


STEKOM College which has branch campuses in several places. Employee performance appraisals are carried out by superiors and branch campus coordinators using Ms. Excel. The results of the performance assessment are sent to the staffing department via e-mail. The personnel department will recap the results of the performance appraisal to be conveyed to the leadership. This assessment process takes a long time and tends to be inefficient. In this study, a web-based Employee Performance Appraisal System was developed that can be accessed online by relevant appraisers at the central campus and STEKOM branch campuses. The System Development Method uses a Research and Development (R&D) approach. Assessment elements include 6 (six) aspects, namely: Service Orientation, Integrity, Commitment, Discipline, Cooperation and Leadership. The results of the performance appraisal of educators (lecturers) apart from being used internally as a measurement of lecturers' work behavior, can also be used externally for the assessment of work behavior when the lecturer makes Employee Performance Targets (SKP), as well as being used to assess the performance of education personnel. System modeling uses the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Making the source code program using the Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) programming language with a web-based MySQL database using Notepad ++ software. The results obtained from the use of the employee performance appraisal system, performance reports can be obtained more quickly, making it easier for the staffing department to obtain data on employee performance appraisals effectively and efficiently.


The Spanish-speaking population in the United States has grown substantially over the past several decades, yet survey participation levels among Spanish-speakers have not kept pace. In random-digit-dialed (RDD) surveys in particular, Spanish-speakers are often under-represented, potentially limiting the validity of and increasing the bias associated with survey estimates. While the use of advance letters has been shown to improve overall response rates in telephone surveys, their utility within the Hispanic community is unclear. Typically, advance letters contain a Spanish language translation of a letter originally developed in English, but rarely is the letter content initially developed for a non-English speaking population. Here, we pilot the use of tailored Spanish language advance letters for persons in areas thought to be primarily Spanish-speaking and compare the results to a group who received a standard English language letter with Spanish translation and a control group who did not receive a letter. A pilot study was conducted as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in four states (Arizona, Texas, Florida, and New York) during 2005. The content of the tailored letter was developed based on information obtained from focus groups conducted with speakers of different Spanish dialects. For the survey, likely Spanish-speaking households were sub-sampled from the regular BRFSS monthly samples in each state based on either reverse matching telephone numbers with a Hispanic surname list or telephone numbers in a telephone exchange in which more than half of the households were believed to be Hispanic based on Census information. These telephone numbers were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: tailored Spanish language letter, English with Spanish translation letter, or no letter. In the analysis, we compare response rates, respondent demographics, and selected survey estimates obtained across these three groups.


Purpose
To correlate visually evoked functional and blood flow changes in the rat retina measured simultaneously with a combined optical coherence tomography and electroretinography system (OCT+ERG).

Methods
Male Brown Norway (n = 6) rats were dark adapted and anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine. Visually evoked changes in the retinal blood flow (RBF) and functional response were measured simultaneously with an OCT+ERG system with 3-μm axial resolution in retinal tissue and 47-kHz image acquisition rate. Both single flash (10 and 200 ms) and flicker (10 Hz, 20% duty cycle, 1- and 2-second duration) stimuli were projected onto the retina with a custom visual stimulator, integrated into the OCT imaging probe. Total axial RBF was calculated from circular Doppler OCT scans by integrating over the arterial and venal flow.

Results
Temporary increase in the RBF was observed with the 10- and 200-ms continuous stimuli (∼1% and ∼4% maximum RBF change, respectively) and the 10-Hz flicker stimuli (∼8% for 1-second duration and ∼10% for 2-second duration). Doubling the flicker stimulus duration resulted in ∼25% increase in the RBF peak magnitude with no significant change in the peak latency. Single flash (200 ms) and flicker (10 Hz, 1 second) stimuli of the same illumination intensity and photon flux resulted in ∼2× larger peak RBF magnitude and ∼25% larger RBF peak latency for the flicker stimulus.

Conclusions
Short, single flash and flicker stimuli evoked measureable RBF changes with larger RBF magnitude and peak latency observed for the flicker stimuli.


Various dogmata have been broken as a consequence of the evolution of knowledge in the area of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation. The following is now clear: for the successful engraftment of allogeneic HSC, bone marrow ablation of the recipient is not required; HSCs create their own space through graft-versus-host reactions; several malignancies can be eradicated by the graft-versus-tumour effect; HSC allografting can be conducted on an out-patient basis; HSC allografting can be done in aged or debilitated individuals; HSC allografting can be achieved without transfusion of blood products; and the costs of the allografting procedures can be substantially diminished. Despite the fact that HSC allografting with reduced intensity conditioning may be related to several disadvantages, such as mixed chimaerism and relapse of the malignancy, breaking these dogmata has resulted in availability of HSC allografting to a larger number of individuals worldwide, thus offering true curative therapeutic options to patients who otherwise would not qualify to be given these opportunities.


Introduction: The androgen receptor is a key driver of prostate cancer progression. During progression of prostate cancer alterations to the extracellular matrix occur, including changes in expression of the heterotrimeric glycoprotein laminin (LM), which may alter signaling through the androgen receptor. Purpose: To determine if altered expression of laminin chains affects prostate cancer cell behavior and whether, in androgen receptor (AR) positive lines, AR-regulated transcription is affected by different matrices. Methods: We exposed prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, LNCaP C4-2, PC3, and DU145) to different extracellular matrix proteins (fibronectin, collagen I and IV, and laminin 111) as well as to mixed matrices (Matrigel™–LM111 and col IV; and LM-rich prostate cancer derived matrices–LM332, 511 and the LM alpha 4, alpha 4 beta 2, or beta 2 chains). We measured adhesion and proliferation on these different matrices and as well as changes in mRNA expression for AR-regulated genes in the LNCaP lines following exposure to the various matrices. Results: Initially we examined what endogenous laminins the prostate cancer cell lines produced and deposited to determine what they might contribute to the exogenous ECMs tested. When grown on uncoated plastic, we found no expression of LM332 by any of the prostate cancer lines used. Cytoplasmic expression of the LM β1γ1 chains was detected in the lines, but deposition of these laminin chains did not occur. We concluded that these lines are not significantly contributing laminins to the ECM. When exposed to the test ECMs, these prostate cancer lines demonstrated increased adhesion to LM-rich PCa-derived matrices, compared with MatrigelTM, fibronectin, or collagen. An inhibitory integrin beta 1 antibody blocked adhesion to LM-rich PCa-derived matrices by 90%, suggesting that additional integrins are involved in adhesion to the LM-rich PCa-derived matrices. When these prostate cancer lines were grown on ECM from LM-rich PCa-derived matrices, increased proliferation resulted compared with proliferation on other ECM components. Exposure of the AR positive LNCaP cells to the different ECM components altered expression of AR-regulated genes, including PSA, TMPRSS2, and IGF-IR. The LM-rich PCa-derived matrices increased expression of these genes compared with exposure to fibronectin, collagen, Matrigel™, and uncoated wells. Summary: Alterations in laminins during progression of prostate cancer affect cancer cell adhesion and proliferation. Further, exposure to LM-rich matrices increased expression of growth promoting AR-regulated genes, which may, in part, modulate cancer cell migration and proliferation. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1526. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1526


The primary objective of this article is to examine the possibility of a path emergent transition from division to unification on the Korean peninsula. The term "path emergence" is presented as a theoretical apparatus to examine the proposition that transition from division to unification exhibits emergent properties as unintended consequences. Thus, path emergence is defined as causal sequences which unfold emergent properties within a complex social system. The path emergence approach highlights four causal sequences: morphogenetic fields, self-organized criticality, resonance and co-evolution. These causal sequences serve as a conceptual linchpin for the case analysis of the "German Question" and also the "Korean Question." This study shows that the German Question is a historical example of path emergence. From the hindsight provided by the German case, it is argued that path emergence on the Korean peninsula is likely to occur under certain specific conditions.


Uric acid (UA) is the end product of purine metabolism in humans due to the loss of uricase activity by various mutations of its gene during the Miocene epoch, which led to humans having higher UA levels than other mammals. Furthermore, 90% of UA filtered by the kidneys is reabsorbed, instead of being excreted. These facts suggest that evolution and physiology have not treated UA as a harmful waste product, but as something beneficial that has to be kept. This has led various researchers to think about the possible evolutionary advantages of the loss of uricase and the subsequent increase in UA levels. It has been argued that due to the powerful antioxidant activity of UA, the evolutionary benefit could be the increased life expectancy of hominids. For other authors, the loss of uricase and the increase in UA could be a mechanism to maintain blood pressure in times of very low salt ingestion. The oldest hypothesis associates the increase in UA with higher intelligence in humans. Finally, UA has protective effects against several neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting it could have interesting actions on neuronal development and function. These hypotheses are discussed from an evolutionary perspective and their clinical significance. UA has some obvious harmful effects, and some, not so well-known, beneficial effects as an antioxidant and neuroprotector. High plasma uric acid (UA) is a precipitating factor for gout and renal calculi as well as a strong risk factor for Metabolic Syndrome and cardiovascular disease. The main causes for higher plasma UA are either lower excretion, higher synthesis or both. Higher waist circumference and the BMI are associated with higher insulin resistance and leptin production, and both reduce uric acid excretion. The synthesis of fatty acids (tryglicerides) in the liver is associated with the de novo synthesis of purine, accelerating UA production. The role played by diet on hyperuricemia has not yet been fully clarified, but high intake of fructose-rich industrialized food and high alcohol intake (particularly beer) seem to influence uricemia. It is not known whether UA would be a causal factor or an antioxidant protective response. Most authors do not consider the UA as a risk factor, but presenting antioxidant function. UA contributes to > 50% of the antioxidant capacity of the blood. There is still no consensus if UA is a protective or a risk factor, however, it seems that acute elevation is a protective factor, whereas chronic elevation a risk for disease.


SUMMARY: Bacterial cultures in media with a low (0.38%, w/v) initial glucose concentration showed much smaller pH changes during growth than cultures grown in media with excess (1.25%, w/v) glucose. Increasing the concentration of the phosphate or volatile fatty acid salt (VFA salt, i.e. acetate, propionate or butyrate) in the media had no beneficial effect on cultures of Streptococcus bovis or Lactobacillus plantarum which had only minor falls in pH during growth (final pH ≧ 6.0), but increased the dry weight yield (but not the molar growth yield) of cultures which had major pH falls (final pH ≦ 4.6) during growth. The improvements in dry weight yield could be correlated with increases in the pH buffering capacity of media caused by the increased phosphate or VFA salt concentration.
The response of Bacteroides ruminicola to increases in the phosphate concentration of media was qualitatively similar to that of S. bovis. However, VFA salts (particularly acetate) always decreased both dry weight and molar growth yield. The effects of VFA salts on three other rumen bacteria, Butyrivibrio fibrisol-vens, Megasphaera elsdenii and Veillonella alcalescens, were varied. The possible mechanisms and ecological implications of the effects of these compounds are discussed.


Murine monoclonal antibodies (mAb) of IgM and IgG subclasses that do not bind to canine cells have been used to detect the expression of Fc receptors on canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the cell line MAXEY-DH82. Murine Ig of IgG2a and IgG3 isotypes bound specifically to canine peripheral blood monocytes and to MAXEY-DH82, whereas Ig of IgG1, IgG2b, and IgM did not. No other cell types, including resting and activated peripheral blood lymphocytes, expressed this canine Fc receptor (cFcR) specific for murine IgG2a and IgG3. MAXEY-DH82 was used to characterize this Fc gamma 2a/gamma 3 receptor. Binding of murine IgG2a and IgG3 is trypsin sensitive and partially suppressed by phosphatidyl inositol-phospholipase C (PI-PLC) treatment, indicating that this cFc gamma 2a/gamma 3 receptor is a lipid-anchored protein. Preincubation of MAXEY-DH82 with canine sera or canine IgG prevented the binding of murine gamma 2a/gamma 3 Ig, demonstrating that this receptor is a cFc receptor for canine IgG. The cFc gamma R expressed on canine monocytes and on MAXEY-DH82 is probably the analog of the murine and human Fc gamma RI. The specific expression of this analog by canine cells could be used in identifying and purifying canine monocytes.


The regulation of HCS secretion on placenta cultures in the presence of [3H] leucine was studied. When Eagle's medium containing 0.0055 M of glucose per liter is used, it is noted that the HCS increases regularly in the culture medium, whereas it diminishes in the explants. [3H] HCS represents about 50% of the [3H] proteins, and among these proteins HCS is preferentially secreted in the culture medium. The absence of glucose in the medium provokes a decrease in all of the cellular metabolism as well as a decrease in protein and HCS secretions, with an accumulation of preformed HCS in the tissues. An increase in the glucose level in the medium 0.011 and 0.027 M provokes a selective decrease of HCS secretion with an accumulation of preformed HCS in the tissues, determing a long term decrease in HCS synthesis. Insulin added in the mediums (60 microU/ml) does not change the results significantly. The use of structural analogues of the glucose shows that the point of impact of the HCS secretion regulation by the glucose is membranous; however, it seems that at a second stage one or some glucose metabolites also interven. There is no self regulation of HCS secretion in vitro.


All four-day old Swiss mice whose dams were seronegative to rotavirus developed diarrhea 72 h after oral infection with EDIM rotavirus (HP strain). Electron microscopy of infected small intestine showed rotavirus particles of different sizes and morphology in the intestinal absorptive cells. In these cells rotavirus particles of 30 to 60 nm representing the various steps of virus maturation were visualized in viroplasm near the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). Mature rotavirus particles of 70 nm approximately were observed inside the RER of the intestinal absorptive cells. In the lamina propria rotavirus particles of approximately 30 nm and tubules were observed in phagosome-like structures of subepithelial phagocytes and were probably destroyed by lysosomal enzymes. The absence of signs of viral replication in phagocytes of lamina propria suggests that this may be the mechanism for viral antigen presentation to the host immunological system and may be one of the reasons for the fact that rotavirus infection is limited to the intestine.


Philip Thiel believes that environmental design and research should be based on the eye-level experience of the users in the course of their movement through the environment. He also argues that design should be primarily concerned with the self-identified and clearly specified needs and preferences of the users. He presents here a progress report on his forty years of work on the development of new tools and procedures necessary for the implementation of this approach in environmental design and behavioral research. Thiel describes a user-oriented participatory process of environmental planning, design, and management. Named "envirotecture," it identifies and profiles the prospective users and flow-charts their proposed activities on site, in the context of their day. It then employs a representative sample of these users as consultants for the formulation of "experiential performance specifications" as part of the project program. Design development then proceeds with reference to the responses of these user-consultants to alternative designs in the form of simulated environmental sequences. This book brings together a social awareness, a knowledge of environmental perception and cognition, and an operational design method in an unprecedented synthesis. It focuses on the central and critical concerns of socially responsible designers, as well as on the interests of researchers in environmental psychology, sociology, and anthropology.


Middle Triassic carbonate buildups of the Dolomites were high in relief (500–1000m) and small in size (one to a few square kilometres in area). A paradox results from the carbonate platform model that invokes the platform top, including reef rims, as the carbonate factory and flanking beds as talus deposits. Most buildups consist largely of clinoforms (inclined at 10-50°) whereas massive reef rocks and stratified buildup interiors are poorly developed or absent. Facies and modal analysis of 323 thin sections from buildups of the Marmolada indicate that clinoforms are: (i) predominantly composed of in situ boundstones (56% of all samples); (ii) primarily made up of early cements (37 vol.%), microbial crusts (17 vol.%), micritic intraclasts (10 vol.%) and Tubiphytes (8 vol.%); and (iii) contain diagnostic shallow water grains (dasyclads, coated grains) that are less abundant by 1-2 orders of magnitude compared with buildup interior facies. These data suggest that the clinoforms themselves were the main carbonate factory of the Triassic buildups. Stratified buildup interior rocks and massive reef rocks were apparently not a prerequisite for buildup growth and clinoform progradation.


Extending the ideas of Koba-Nielsen-Olesen (KNO) and combining them with the data on deep inelastic muon-proton scattering at the cms energy √s1/2 from about 4 up to 20 GeV, we are led to the conclusion that the KNO scaling might reveal oscillations. Data on the scattering of muons on deuterons (while 8 ≤ √s ≤ 30 GeV) as well as on the proton-proton and proton-antiproton collisions (in the range of √s from about 11 up to 900 GeV) are also compatible with that phenomenon.


A new approach for multi-objective robust design optimization was proposed and applied to a practical design problem with a large number of objective functions. The present approach is assisted by response surface approximation and visual data-mining, and resulted in two major gains regarding computational time and data interpretation. The Kriging model for response surface approximation can markedly reduce the computational time for predictions of robustness. In addition, the use of self-organizing maps as a data-mining technique allows visualization of complicated design information between optimality and robustness in a comprehensible two-dimensional form. Therefore, the extraction and interpretation of trade-off relationships between optimality and robustness of design, and also the location of sweet spots in the design space, can be performed in a comprehensive manner.


Nonpersistent contaminants represent thousands of chemicals used as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, additives, etc. Because of this diversity, the assessment of the environmental risks they may pose for the environment represents a formidable task. Identification of target organs is key information needed to orient further research on newly-investigated organic xenobiotics. We used whole-body autoradiography to visualize the distribution of 14 C-labelled atrazine, methoxychlor, glyphosate, and bisphenol-A in goldfish (Carassius auratus) and identify target organs. Fish were exposed for 2 days (glyphosate and bisphenol-A) and 7 days (atrazine and methoxychlor) to the radiolabelled compounds at a concentration of 15 nM. They were then frozen, embedded in carboxymethylcellulose gel, 20-μm-thick cryosections were collected, freeze-dried, and exposed to phosphor screens to visualize the tissue distribution of radioactivity. Goldfish did not accumulate glyphosate. The three other compounds were accumulated, mostly in the gall bladder. Nevertheless, unforeseen accumulation sites were observed; atrazine accumulated in the uveal tract of the eye, high levels of radioactivity were found in the cerebrospinal fluid of goldfish exposed to methoxychlor, and an important accumulation of bisphenol-A was seen in urine, oral mucosa, esophagus, and intestinal lumen. The potential toxicological consequences of the accumulation of these chemicals at very specific locations within the fish body are discussed and further research suggested.


In China, there is a renewed interest in traceability systems as an efficient tool to guarantee pork safety. One of the pathways through which a traceability system can benefit consumers is by easing information asymmetry. However, past literature on the traceability system in China pays more attention to theoretical analysis and less to empirical analysis. Using a large-scale survey of pig farms in China, we investigate the effects influencing farmers' participation in the traceability system. Findings show that a traceability system can influence the safety of pork indirectly through its impacts on farmers' production behaviors. Another important finding is that unsafe pork is a result of non-standard use of veterinary drugs, and the traceability system works well for farmers by pushing them to take stricter safety measurements.