Abstract The genus Tarema Schaus, 1896 is revised. The species Tarema fuscosa Jones, 1908 and Tarema rivara Schaus, 1896 are redescribed, the female of the former is described and figured for the first time, and the genitalia of both sexes for each species are figured for the first time. The lectotype of Tarema macarina Schaus, 1928, syn. n. is determined to be the female of Tarema rivara. Tarema bruna sp. n. is described from São Paulo, Brazil. Lectotypes for Tarema fuscosa, Tarema rivara, and Tarema macarina are here designated.


A method is shown for approximating the significance of color television-receiver errors to color reproduction. For representative colors, the deviations in chromaticity caused by errors in various signals are evaluated in terms of MacAdam's unit of equal noticeability. An experimental investigation of viewer tolerances is reported.


Many data processing installations are confronted with the problem of data conversion. Some of the conversion problems are conversion of files foreign to the installation, conversion of files into a data base management system format, and conversion of all data to upgrade hardware or software. Simple file organizations pose few conversion problems, while logically and physically complex data bases emphasize many conversion problems. The current approach of writing specific translation programs is time consuming and frequently inaccurate; a new approach is desirable. To address these conversion problems, The University of Michigan Data Translation Project has developed a generalized translation methodology. This methodology has been applied in the development of several prototype data translators. These translators have progressively advanced the physical transformation capabilities (reformatting) and the logical transformation capabilities (restructuring). The reformatting capabilities of the translators include the ability to access and modify the physical storage structures which support sequential, indexed sequential, and network organizations. The restructuring capabilities allow complex restructuring of lists, trees, and networks. Future extensions to the translation methodology include the decomposition of the translation process into small, but specific steps. Languages would be developed to address each of these small translations, and could lead to a generalized accessing mechanism and a data interchange form.


Introduction: Hemangioma is a benign, rapidly growing solitary lesion, occur in the skin and mucous membrane. Etiology of such a lesion is unknown, but it could be due to trauma and hormonal factors. According to several reports, a common site of such a lesion is oral cavity. Rarely, it involves the nasal cavity. Symptoms caused by such a lesion are bleeding and nasal obstruction.
Presentation of case: A 44-year-old female presented with progressive right-sided nasal obstruction and off and on epistaxis. Examination of nasal cavity physically combined with endoscopic examination revealed a large, reddish color mass in the nasal cavity on the right side. CT scan of the nose and paranasal sinuses also showed a soft-tissue mass originating from the anterior part of the nasal septum. (CT scan was asked to rule out the possibility of bony erosion that can be found at the base of the lesion and also hemangiomas capture the contrast in the bright lobular region.) Complete excision carried out along, with attached nasal septal mucosa and perichondrium under general anesthesia. Preoperative embolization or perioperative transfusion was not required. The histopathology reported as a benign vascular proliferative lesion, consistent with lobular capillary hemangioma. The patient's recovery was uneventful. Patient attended regular OPD follow up for more than six months. During this period no recurrence of the lesion seen and finally the patient discharged from OPD.
Discussion: Use of MRI as an investigation tool is indicated especially if the lesion is extremely large and originate from nasal roof in order to rule out any intracranial relation. Excision of lesion confined to the anterior nasal septum is recommended endoscopically as there is no need of preoperative embolization or perioperative blood transfusion.


The invention relates to a quick connect coupling (15) for connecting hydraulic lines, especially in earth moving machines and the interchangeable add-on devices and tools thereof. the quick connect coupling (15) comprises a first and a second connecting part (15a or 15b) which can be releasably coupled along a coupling axis to transfer a hydraulic liquid. In order to avoid axial forces during coupling, the hydraulic liquid to be transferred, in the coupled state, emerges from the one connecting part (15a or 15b) at a right angle to the coupling axis and enters the other connecting part (15b or 15a) at a right angle to the coupling axis.


Background: Genome-wide association studies have identified several colorectal cancer (CRC) genetic risk factors. However, these studies have been performed primarily in individuals of European descent and none include African Americans (AAs). Determining CRC genetic risk factors in AAs is important because CRC incidence and mortality rates are highest of all US populations. Aim: To validate genome-wide CRC genetic risk factors, we tested single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations in ten chromosome (chr) regions in AAs and European-Americans (EAs). Methods: We genotyped 22 SNPs in 1725 AA and 883 EA CRC cases and controls using Sequenom iPLEX. Ancestry estimates were obtained using STRUCTURE 2.1. We tested for allelic association and calculated odds ratios and confidence intervals using logistic regression adjusting for ancestry, age and gender. Results: Association results are shown in the Table. In AAs, rs10795668 (chr 10) and rs10318 (chr 15) were significantly associated with CRC. rs7014346 (chr 8) and rs355527 (chr 20) trended toward significant associations. In EAs, three SNPs on chr 8 were significantly associated with CRC. In addition, two chr 11 SNPs (rs3802842 & rs1074997) and rs1862748 (chr 16) were significantly associated with disease in EAs. SNPs on chr 15 and chr 16 are located in or near genes GREM1 and CDH1 respectively. SNPs on chr 8, 10, 11 and 20 are in gene deserts. Conclusion: This is the first study to validate genome-wide SNP associations in AAs. We also confirm several associations in EAs. SNPs on chr 15 & 16 are located in genes involved in TGFβ signaling (GREM1 & CDH1) which has been implicated in CRC pathogenesis, while those on chr 8, 10, 11 and 20 are in gene deserts. Future fine-mapping in these regions is warranted to identify functional variants. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4734.


We study the dissociation of sodium chloride in an environment of simple point charged model waters using a stochastic transition path sampling method. The method is able to analyze the structure and dynamics (including transition states) of rare events without any a priori assumption. After an ensemble of reactive paths between stable states has been constructed, a set of transition state configurations can be derived. Technical details of the simulation are discussed. We observe that the structure found from the ensemble of transition state configurations is qualitatively equal to the structure obtained when the interionic distance is assumed as the reaction coordinate. We also discuss energetic aspects of the ion pair dissociation: A free energy profile of the dynamical process reveals the contribution of solvent degrees of freedom to the reaction barrier.


In the grain samples of five malting barley varieties harvested in 2011, the amount of basic components as well as physiological characteristics of barley were determined. These samples were micromalted and resulting malt was analyzed mainly according to the European Brewery Convention (EBC) and the Mitteleuropäische Brautechnische Analysenkommission (MEBAK) methodologies. The same samples of malting barley grain and also samples of malt were placed in polyethylene bags, from which the air was exhausted and they were further stored at 4 °C until 2016. In 2016, grain and malt samples were subjected to the same analyses as in 2011. Results were statistically evaluated by t-test of dependent samples. Most of the monitored parameters has remained at the same level as in 2011 or has slightly improved. The exception was statistically very highly significant decrease (P ≤ 0.001) of friability and increase of amount of whole and partly unmodified grains. Under conditions described, long-term storage of malting barley grain has not significantly negatively affected its germination. Long-term storage of malt has had not a significant negative impact on its quality too.


Introduction: Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is one of the medicinal plants being used to prevent and manage stroke in Persian Medicine. Current findings support its anti-inflammatory, radical scavenging and neuroprotective characteristics. In this study, we aimed to evaluate role of black pepper on functional and histopathological outcomes of stroke in an animal model of MCAO. Materials and Methods: Black pepper powder was extracted using hydroalcoholic solvent and drying by rotary evaporated apparatus. Black pepper suspension was then produced by suspending the powder in distilled water. Stroke was modeled by 70-80 min intraluminal filament occlusion of right middle cerebral artery in two groups of male adult Wister rats weighing 300-350 g (n:5 each group). The suspension was gavaged to one of the groups twice a day to a total dose of 200 mg (of the dry extract)/kg/d. After about 24 h, animals were tested using neurological severity and object recognition tests. Then brains were extracted and infarct volume, as well as edema, were evaluated using Triphenyl Tetrazolium Chloride staining. Results: Infarct volume showed significantly smaller amounts (260.8 +/99.28 mm3) in pepper-treated group compared to control group (MCAO without treatment) (506.6 +/84.27 mm3; p<0.05). Edema was also significantly less in pepper treated (51.8 +/29.89 mm3) versus control group (145.7 +/26.40 mm3; p<0.05). We didn't measure significant difference in Neurological Severity Scores and object recognition indices between two groups. Conclusion: Black pepper as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective plant could be considered a helpful adjuvant treatment in stroke, protecting brain from expansion of infarct size and increasing edema. Lack of significant influence on rat function by pepper might be due to the small size of the groups and limited time of follow-up after stroke. Further research with larger animal groups and longer durations of treatment is suggested.


The present study aims to investigate the phenomenon of water absorption scattering mechanisms and biocomposite kinetics by the immersion of different HDPE matrix reinforced with different amounts of Washingtonia �lifera (WF) �bers (10, 20, and 30% by mass) in distilled water at room temperature. The response surface methodology (RSM) and arti�cial neural network (ANN) models were examined by considering WF �ber content and immersion time in the water absorption of HDPE/WF biocomposite. In this study, the central composite design (CCD) model of RSM was used to perform test design, modelling, and optimization. The process of water absorption was revealed to be tracking the diffusion mode of Fickian. The results obtained show that the addition of WF �bers to HDPE matrix reduced diffusivity. The results also reveal that ANN models were highly accurate in the prediction of water absorption with the training, validation, and test correlation coe�cients of 0.9955, 0.9999, and 0.9915, respectively. The optimal conditions for maximum absorption were a �ber content of 29.88% and an immersion time of 752 hours. Moreover, a highly appropriate model to predict HDPE/WF biocomposites water absorption suitable for various industrial applications is proposed.


OBJECTIVE
To document patients' practices and management of DM2, their satisfaction with diabetes care and their quality of life and functional status.

DESIGN
Anonymous questionnaire completed by 467 patients recruited by 204 GPs in 124 practices in the Perth metropolitan area.

RESULTS
Patients reported an adequate amount of monitoring for stable DM2. However, they lacked awareness of diabetes risk factors and complications from which they already suffered. Some 90% of patients reported a high level of satisfaction with GP care and only 2.4% of patients had more than a moderate degree of functional disability.

CONCLUSION
Patients have a high level of satisfaction about the diabetes care received from their general practitioner. However, they lack awareness of their risk factors and complications of diabetes. A simple strategy is proposed to improve these deficits and to share the responsibility for diabetes care between patient and doctor.


Effective student assessment measures the rigor, effectiveness and quality of learning and teaching. There is a persistent concern among higher education practitioners about the accuracy and quality of academic supervision and assessment, particularly in areas of experiential learning. The purpose of this study was to critically evaluate practitioner conceptions on the effectiveness of supervision and assessment practices of industry-based learning in enhancing quality academic practices carried out at five universities in Zimbabwe. This paper analyses stakeholder views, reflections and understandings on student supervision and assessment processes in industry-based learning programs in Zimbabwe universities.  Through interviews, focus group discussions, and open and closed questions in structured questionnaires, the participants in the mixed methods study, drawn from universities and their workplace partner organizations, give insights into their activities that characterize the dominant student supervision and assessment practices. The research results show that the participants were moderately satisfied with the overall assessment processes, raising concerns on quality issues, supervisor qualities and competencies, assessment visits by lecturers, and student guidance in the workplace. It is evident that the assessment systems in the work-integrated learning program in the affected universities not only compromised the desired confidence and trust of the students in their assessors but unsettled the assessors themselves, a situation that would naturally invite appropriate corrective action. Participative assessment, an approach where the facilitator seeks to directly involve and share the responsibility for assessment with learners is compatible with industry-based learning approaches because students can engage in self-regulation and intrinsically sanctioned learning.


Private information and limited enforcement are two frictions that impede the provision of first best insurance against income risk. To mitigate these frictions, societies make costly investments into technologies such as auditing and enforcement systems. The implicit assumption throughout most of the literature is that either or both of these technologies is either costless or infinitely costly. I consider a model of efficient insurance in which at each point in time the principal can choose a level of enforceability that inhibits an agent's ability to renege on the contract and a level of auditing that inhibits his ability to conceal income. The dynamics of the optimal contract imply an endogenous lower bound on the lifetime utility of an agent, strictly positive auditing at all points in the contract and positive enforcement only when the agent's utility is sufficiently low. Furthermore, the two technologies operate as complements and substitutes at alternative points in the state space, uncovering dynamics that differ dramatically from the case in which the technologies are studied separately.


PURPOSES : A finite difference model considering snow melting process on porous asphalt pavement was derived on the basis of heat transfer and mass transfer theories. The derived model can be applied to predict the region where black-ice develops, as well as to predict temperature profile of pavement systems where a de-icing system is installed. In addition, the model can be used to determined the minimum energy required to melt the ice formed on the pavement. METHODS : The snow on the porous asphalt pavement, whose porosity must be considered in thermal analysis, is divided into several layers such as dry snow layer, saturated snow layer, water+pavement surface, pavement surface, and sublayer. The mass balance and heat balance equations are derived to describe conductive, convective, radiative, and latent transfer of heat and mass in each layer. The finite differential method is used to implement the derived equations, boundary conditions, and the testing method to determine the thermal properties are suggested for each layer. RESULTS: The finite differential equations that describe the icing and deicing on pavements are derived, and we have presented them in our work. The framework to develop a temperature-forecasting model is successfully created. CONCLUSIONS : We conclude by successfully creating framework for the finite difference model based on the heat and mass transfer theories. To complete implementation, laboratory tests required to be performed.


Marked effect of imposed low frequency oscillations with amplitudes of 6.6 × 10 −4 −11.6 × 10 −4 during creep of pre-aged Al-40 wt.% Zn alloy samples under constant stress at 423 K, was observed. Increasing the frequency or amplitude at a certain temperature, increased both n and but decreased β values. The value of the ratio γ (0.75−0.77) shows the high dependence of the steady creep on the transient creep stage. The results were explained in view of the nature of the thermally induced structures during aging and their mode of interaction with lattice defects generated by the applied stress and the imposed oscillations. Grain boundary sliding and grain boundary diffusion of Zn and Al are suggested as the rate controlling mechanisms for both the transient and steady creep stages, respectively.


The article raises the relevant problem of the popularity of social democratic values in Russia and the difficulties of their ontologization in the modern political process. The modernization project of Russian statehood needs further theoretical development of the social-democratic idea in relation to Russian conditions. The axiological proximity of the social-democratic ideology to the needs of Russian society is, however, possible with regard to the pluralism of the argumentation of the basic values - freedom, social justice, equality, democracy, solidarity. The axiological pluralism makes Russian specificity acceptable in interpreting the values of social-democracy taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian historical path and the spiritual state of society. The "third way" for modern Russia is real in implementing the transformation of Russian statehood on the basis of the values of democratic socialism (social justice, equality, freedom, solidarity) and the concrete political, historical and cultural dimension of the nature of modern power.


Turmeric (Curcuma longa), a flowering plant in the ginger family, is widely used as a food coloring in curry powder. Turmeric has long been used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine an anti-inflammatory, to treat digestive disorders and liver problems. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, which have been the various medicinal properties. To extract the curcumin, best variety should be selected. The ultimate aim of any programme is to obtain the high yield with quality and studies like correlation and path coefficient analysis to understand the association different characters and their final effect on the yield. The present study was attempted in this direction to analyze the association of different character on yield in Turmeric.


The incubation of the Black Swan Cygnus atratus is exceptional for two reasons: this swan is the only anseriform bird, besides the aberrant genera of Anseranas and Dendrocygna, in which males obligatorily share in incubation. Secondly, Black Swans tend to breed at all seasons of the year. In Vienna, some pairs incubated even at temperatures below minus 20 degrees C. We investigated the pattern of incubation in the course of the year. All observations were performed on a free-living colony o f Black Swans at the Wasserpark of the River Danube in Vienna. The birds bred on an island which is not accessible to the public. At any time of the year, between 10 and 30 pairs were simultaneously incubating their eggs on this island during the observation period. All behaviour of breeding males and females was recorded at and around the nest. We aimed at obtaining continuous information on the incubation pattern of each pair. For each pair and week we have at least one full day recording of both pair members at the nest. Seventy-two broods o f 37 different pairs were recorded during one year (start of September 1988 to end of August 1989). Clutches and egg weights/measures were monitored. Weights of breeding birds were taken and the egg and nest temperatures sampled in some of the nests. The results show that males expend over 50% more time incubating than females do (P <0.005, Wilcoxon test): on average, males incubatedfor about 55 % of total incubation time, females 35% and for the remaining 10% the eggs were uncovered. This relatively large amount of inattentiveness is mainly due to the early phases of incubation: when the first one or two eggs are laid, there is virtually always one pair member present, but the amount of actual incubation is very variable. Preliminary analyses suggest that the sharing of tasks between males and females does not vary systematically between seasons. By shaking eggs or exchanging natural eggs with plaster dummies the natural incubation period of an average 5 1/2 weeks may be prolonged to 10 months or even more. Therefore, the incubation pattern of one particular pair may be investigated for influences of incubation time and, especially, seasonal effects. Generally, the incubation effort of males as compared to their partners increased with time during breeding (P <0.01). Seasonal influences on the sharing of tasks between long-time incubating pair members are currently analysed.


The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is the most talked topic in social media platforms in 2020. People are using social media such as Twitter to express their opinion and share information on a number of issues related to the COVID-19 in this stay at home order. In this paper, we investigate the sentiment and emotion of peoples in the United States on the subject of reopening. We choose the social media platform Twitter for our analysis and study the Tweets to discover the sentimental perspective, emotional perspective, and triggering words towards the reopening. During this COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have made some analysis on various social media dataset regarding lockdown and stay at home. However, in our analysis, we are particularly interested to analyse public sentiment on reopening. Our major finding is that when all states resorted to lockdown in March, people showed dominant emotion of fear, but as reopening starts people have less fear. While this may be true, due to this reopening phase daily positive cases are rising compared to the lockdown situation. Overall, people have a less negative sentiment towards the situation of reopening.


In this paper we present the usage of the distributed environment model (DEM) to supply a proactive sensor system. The proactive sensor-system is a novel approach which combines low-resolution range sensors with high-resolution range sensors. Its aim is to achieve a better cost-benefit ratio on getting accurate knowledge about the environment of a car. We describe the main concepts of the DEM and of the proactive sensor system. Furthermore, we show synergistic effects of the DEM environment knowledge base combined with the efficient object classification done by the proactive sensor system. Finally, an evaluation of the DEM and the proactive sensor system in real traffic scenarios is presented.


Pulmonary emphysema and bronchiolar abnormalities are the most characteristic histological lesions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Hypoxemia and hypercapnia are mainly due to ventilation-perfusion mismatching. Under stable clinical conditions, both intrapulmonary shunt and limitation of oxygen transport from the alveoli to the capillary do not play a critical role in the observed arterial oxygen pressure. During acute exacerbations, ventilation-perfusion inequality worsens, and some cases show mild to moderate shunting. Under these conditions extrapulmonary factors such as breathing pattern, cardiac output, and oxygen uptake have a crucial role in influencing the arterial oxygen pressure.


BACKGROUND
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain can negatively affect work life and quality of life (QoL).

OBJECTIVE
This study characterizes the QoL of workers in Saudi Arabia and compares it between adults of working age with and without MSK pain.

METHODS
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The Short Form-36 (SF-36) instrument was used to measure eight domains that describe QoL among workers with and without MSK pain. Descriptive statistics and parametric tests enabled comparisons between the two sets of workers.

RESULTS
A total of 2042 workers participated in the study. The majority of them had experienced MSK pain during the last 12 months. In addition, the results for most SF-36 domains varied significantly across age and gender groups. Workers who lacked MSK pain over the last 12 months reported higher means for all SF-36 domains, with the exception of the physical function domains.

CONCLUSION
This study found that the majority of workers experience MSK pain. In all bodily regions, neck and back pain are the most frequently reported areas of discomfort for these employees. Workers without MSK pain experience better QoL. This observation suggests the need for managers to pay closer attention to workers with MSK pain, as these employees experience significantly lower QoL. To prevent or reduce MSK pain, workers should undergo routine medical examination and early intervention for MSK pain. These preventative measures can help to increase workers' QoL.


It may take up to one year to see the final results of a single hair transplant procedure. When multiple procedures are needed, as is often the case, it may take even longer to see the true final results of a specific technique. This is unlike other plastic surgery procedures where results are seen in a matter of weeks. This leads to a longer learning curve since a greater length of time is needed to see a sufficient number of results and to make the required adjustments in technique. Long-Learning Curve


Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) from different endemic regions of China expresses different clinic and epidemiological features, and traditionally is classified as hilly, plain and desert types/foci. We concentrated our review on whether the pathogens from those foci were different at molecular level, if so, whether there are were molecular markers readily identifiable by molecular technologies. This was a review of a 20-year search for such markers by using kinetoplastic DNA (kDNA), nDNA hybridization, PCR-SSCP, RAPD and sequence analysis of SSU rDNA variable regions and LACK gene. The results showed that heterogeneities at molecular level exist in Leishmania isolated from different foci of China, which could be used as markers for different types of Leishmaniasis in China.


Zero-Shot Learning (ZSL) aims to recognize unseen classes by generalizing the knowledge, i.e., visual and semantic relationships, obtained from seen classes, where image augmentation techniques are commonly applied to improve the generalization ability of a model. However, this approach can also cause adverse effects on ZSL since the conventional augmentation techniques that solely depend on single-label supervision is not able to maintain semantic information and result in the semantic distortion issue consequently. In other words, image argumentation may falsify the semantic (e.g., attribute) information of an image. To take the advantage of image augmentations while mitigating the semantic distortion issue, we propose a novel ZSL approach by Harnessing Adversarial Samples (HAS). HAS advances ZSL through adversarial training which takes into account three crucial aspects: (1) robust generation by enforcing augmentations to be similar to negative classes, while maintaining correct labels, (2) reliable generation by introducing a latent space constraint to avert significant deviations from the original data manifold, and (3) diverse generation by incorporating attribute-based perturbation by adjusting images according to each semantic attribute's localization. Through comprehensive experiments on three prominent zero-shot benchmark datasets, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our adversarial samples approach in both ZSL and Generalized Zero-Shot Learning (GZSL) scenarios. Our source code is available at https://github.com/uqzhichen/HASZSL.


The 5th generation wireless ICT eco-system is being standardized with 3 important pillars of innovation: (a) Low latency, (b) Enhanced gigabits wireless broadband and (c) massive machine type communication. SG is expected to transform the way humans and devices communicate and exchange services and automation of industry. The aim of this paper is to extend recent research in unlicensed wireless technologies, including current SG research activities to develop use cases and associated technologies to address the requirements of affordable wireless broadband. The ITU broadband commission clearly indicates the need for affordable broadband connectivity and provision of ICT based societal services in emerging markets and specifically rural communities. The three aspects are spectrum sharing including unlicensed spectrum networks, energy efficiency including green networking and the promise of network infrastructure cost reduction by SDN/NFV technologies. In this paper the first aspect on spectrum sharing for 5G and affordable networks will be discussed with a network test-bed developed as proof of concept Finally the paper will conclude with a challenge to existing and future research in technology standards for 5G to contribute towards the achievement of universal affordable broadband for the next billion customers.


This thesis has the objective to analyse and propose the development of an
environment where devices (e.g. mobile phones, digital cameras etc.) can
communicate between them, share experiences and adjust depending on information
that receive from different "things". Based on the idea of Internet of Things (IoT),
where all objects will be equipped with diminutive tracking devices or identifiers
machines which will convert our daily life by making her easier, this thesis achieved to design
an environment where different objects-things can share experiences. According to
this theory (IoT theory) and the utilization of existing ontologies the question about
how it can develop an application based on specific ontology which will enable
experiences sharing and with the prospect of future development in the context of a
Smart City, became more understandable and help to develop a representative
paradigm of a Smart City.


Spleen is an unusual location for hydatid cyst. Here we report a case of primary splenic hydatid cyst in a 41-yr-old Iranian woman from Yasuj, southwest of Iran. The patient had been admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital because of abdominal pain. Abdominal sonography revealed a hypoechoic lesion of 150 X 130 mm in the spleen, suggestive of hydatid cyst. Splenectomy was performed for the patient and surgical interventions revealed a hydatid cyst occupying most of splenic parenchyma. She was discharged on the 5 day of her operation. Postoperative diagnosis and confirmation of hydatid cyst was done by histopathological, molecular and serological approaches. Histopathological evaluation revealed the classical laminated layer of hydatid cyst. DNA was extracted from a part of cyst and PCR amplified. Sequencing and analysis of PCR product revealed that the isolate has the most similarity with G1 strain of Echinococcus granulosus. Patient's serum was positive for IgG anti-hydatid cyst antibodies, using antigen-B ELISA.


Kantian political philosophies stress that a state ought to be "neutral" (Rawls), "minimal" (Nozick), or "public" (Ripstein's Kant), as part of its duty to respect its citizens' freedom to pursue whatever ends these citizens find valuable. States are under duty merely to secure citizens' independence from each other and from the state. In contrast, Kantian morality contends that individuals are subject to a duty to pursue certain "obligatory" ends, viz., ends that emerge from the intrinsic value of personhood and autonomy. In some cases, hindering one's freedom is necessary for promoting these ends. This essay describes circumstances in which a legal right to interfere with one's property and body in promoting obligatory ends is justified, even though such a right compromises states' neutrality. This description sheds a new light on the relation between the optimal legal system ("Right") and morality ("Virtue") and between justice and truth.


Professional skills are scarce in Mozambique, even by the standards of low-income countries. The solution, however, is not necessarily to create more Mozambican training institutions but to address market-specific problems. Where skills are already the binding constraint (for example, in auditing and engineering), policy action is indeed needed to remedy supply-side problems: capital market imperfections that inhibit investment in training institutions by entrepreneurs and in education by individuals; weakness in upstream school education, which handicaps Mozambican students in their pursuit of higher education; inadequacies in professional education and training, including curricula not attuned to industry needs; and a fragmentation of the regional education market by regulatory and language differences that prevent the emergence of regional institutions that can exploit economies of scale.Where skills may be limited but are not yet the binding constraint, the priority is to stimulate demand for appropriate skills. In this respect, the emergence of professional guilds offers opportunities, but also creates risks. The guilds can design, with government support, a regulatory framework, for example, in accounting and basic engineering, which is more attuned to the needs of Mozambican firms. They can also help make firms more aware of the benefits of professional help, for example, in accounting and information technology. The risk is that guilds will create unnecessary regulatory barriers to entry, particularly for foreign or foreign-trained professionals. Greater coherence between policies affecting professional services and international migration policy can help deal with both supply-side and demand-side problems.


SUMMARY Goats have an important place in the Indian economy. There is a need for proper description anid evaluation of existing genetic resources and determining the need for their conservation. The paper explains the philosophy of progeny testing in goats for production of proven bucks. It contains the observations on existing selection programmes and recommendations for an improved system to provide the knowledge required to adapt record keeping and progeny testing technology to the unique Indian environment. SUMMARY The Grazalema Merino and Lebrija Churro Sheep and the Andalusian White and Andalusian Black goat breeds, previously chosen as priority breeds in need of conservation, were considered as having priority for this study. In order to define the genetic as well as the phenotypic profiles the following characters were used: head profile, ear size, ear orientation, ear consistency, horns, pigmentation of mucous, hoofs, udder, ñneness of fur, hair or wool, length of hair or wool, presence of wattles and goatee bear, supernumerary nipples·, udder shape, orientation and pigmentation of nipple, and peculiarities of coat. The allelic frequencies for each system were calculated to obtain the genetic profiles of each breed. In the two goat breeds and in the Grazalema Merino breed, the majority of the loci were genetically in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, but this was not true of the Lebrijan Churro breed which seems to indicate that the latter was either subjected to natural or artificial selection for these genes or crosses with outside breeds had taken place. The profiles of the breeds were compared with foreign breeds considered traditional or unmodified by man. The profile of the Andalusian White has already been studied by Rodero and they reached the conclusion that this breed can be considered traditional, completing the studies made on other breeds from the Mediterranean area. The data on the Andalusian Black seems to indicate that this breed might be considered traditional or subtraditional with strong polymorphism in most of its characters. Although less markedly than in the latter breed, the same is true of the Lebrijan Churro. In this breed the deñning characters of Archaism fit well within those common to an archaic breed. The Grazalema Merino is more standardised than the above mentioned not as ñxed than the precocious ones. Phenotypic Profiles, Genetic Profiles, Grazalema Merino, Lebrija Churro, Andalusian White, Andalusian Black


Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% to 95% of all diabetic cases with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders particularly at risk. The purpose was to assess the effects of a cognitive–behavioral intervention (CBI) on diet and exercise among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with type 2 diabetes. Using a double-blinded, two-arm randomized clinical trial (n = 207), data on diet and exercise were analyzed before and after a 6-week CBI. Over time, treatment group showed a decrease in kcals and increase in steps compared with control group; however, results were not statistically significant. Treatment group had lower kcals of trans-fat, saturated fat, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and dietary fiber compared with the control group. Older subjects and females had significantly lower caloric intake (p < .01). Females exercised less and took fewer steps compared with males (p < .05). CBI may be effective in lowering calorie intake and increasing physical activity among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with type 2 diabetes. Significant differences in gender and age point to the need for individualized research and treatment targeting this group.


In two normal subjects, the effect of changing lung volume on the uniformity of pulmonary diffusion (uniformity of Dl/Vl) was studied using the breath-holding and equilibration methods. Nonuniformity of diffusion, as indicated by deviation from a true exponential in the disappearance of carbon monoxide from alveolar gas, was seen to increase with increasing lung volume. Over-all Dl increased significantly with increasing lung volume. When lung volume was controlled, equilibration and breath-holding diffusion methods yielded similar over-all Dl and similar variation in Dl/Vl throughout the lung.

Submitted on January 29, 1959


Confidence intervals (CIs) depict the statistical uncertainty surrounding evolutionary divergence time estimates. They capture variance contributed by the finite number of sequences and sites used in the alignment, deviations of evolutionary rates from a strict molecular clock in a phylogeny, and uncertainty associated with clock calibrations. Reliable tests of biological hypotheses demand reliable CIs. However, current non-Bayesian methods may produce unreliable CIs because they do not incorporate rate variation among lineages and interactions among clock calibrations properly. Here, we present a new analytical method to calculate CIs of divergence times estimated using the RelTime method, along with an approach to utilize multiple calibration uncertainty densities in these analyses. Empirical data analyses showed that the new methods produce CIs that overlap with Bayesian highest posterior density (HPD) intervals. In the analysis of computer-simulated data, we found that RelTime CIs show excellent average coverage probabilities, i.e., the true time is contained within the CIs with a 95% probability. These developments will encourage broader use of computationally-efficient RelTime approach in molecular dating analyses and biological hypothesis testing.


Expression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) provirus can be stimulated by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection; the stimulation occurs at the level of transcriptional activation of the HIV long terminal repeat (LTR) and is mediated by both cellular and HSV-1-encoded transactivators. We have shown in this study that HSV-1 immediate-early gene ICP0 cooperates effectively with the HIV-1-encoded transactivator, Tat, in the stimulation of HIV-1 LTR-directed transcription. The cooperation between ICP0 and Tat is specific for the HIV-1 LTR and was not observed with other promoters (e.g., ICP0) that can be transactivated by ICP0 but not by Tat. Analyses of HIV-1 LTR deletion mutants have shown that ICP0 not only transactivates an HIV-1 LTR mutant that is unresponsive to NF-kappaB and Tat-mediated transactivation, such as the HIV-1 LTR with the enhancer deleted (-83 LTR) and TAR deleted (+20 to +81), but also restores responsiveness to Tat. ICP0 also showed cooperation with Gal4-Tat fusion protein-mediated transactivation of Gal4-HIV-1 LTR with TAR deleted. Enhancement of the transcriptional activation of ICP0 by Tat requires both the cysteine-rich and core domains of Tat and is inhibited by RO5-3335. ICP0 stimulates transcription of not only the HIV-1 LTR but also the TAR-defective HIV-1 provirus. We suggest that ICP0 can (i) recruit Tat to the vicinity of the HIV-1 promoter, thereby providing an alternative binding site for Tat, and (ii) substitute for the enhancer-binding proteins that are required for efficient Tat transactivation in T cells.


Tachyarrhythmias are common rhythm disturbances in infants and children. Despite the availability of diagnostic criteria arrhythmias are sometimes commonly misdiagnosed. Recent reports suggest that an endogenous purine nucleoside, adenosine, has a diagnostic effect in narrow QRS complex tachycardias, in addition to terminating supraventricular tachycardia involving the atrioventricular node. This report reviews the authors' experience with the use of adenosine for diagnosis of narrow and wide complex tachyarrhythmias in children. Adenosine was administered to 43 patients with several types of tachyarrhythmias (mean age, 8.3 ± 5.24 years). Nineteen patients had structural or acquired heart disease. Of the 43 patients there were 28 (65%) several different types of narrow QRS complex tachycardia and 14 (33%) ventricular arrhythmias. One patient (2%) had long QT. Adenosine terminated supraventricular tachycardia, in 11 of 12 patients (92%), ventricular tachycardia in five of eight patients (63%), and transiently terminated premature ventricular contractions in two of six patients (33%). The diagnostic ability of adenosine was perfect in eight supraventricular tachycardia. In these eight cases the tachycardia mechanism was unclear before the administration of adenosine, which demonstrated three cases of sinus tachycardia, three of atrial flutter, one of atrial fibrillation and one of atrial fibrilloflutter. Confirmation of the primary diagnosis by adenosine was perfect in five tachyarrhythmias including three cases of atrial flutter, one of atrial fibrillation and one of ectopic atrial tachycardia. The average effective dose of adenosine was 212 μg/kg (range, 100–400 μg/kg). There were no serious side‐effects except transient dyspnea, chest pain and flushing. These findings demonstrate adenosine to be helpful and safe in the diagnosis of tachyarrhythmias.


PurposeDuring world price spike periods, the government is more likely to apply trade distortions to stabilize domestic prices, but the trade distortions would amplify fluctuations of international market prices. Which type of policy may stabilize the domestic market price, but not disturb the international market? This paper answers the question by taking public storage policy as a case study in the context of trade policy. Specially, this paper tries to identify the effect of domestic public storage on the world market price.Design/methodology/approachThis article extends a standard theoretical model of trade policy through incorporating domestic public storage policy and makes the model more applicable in the context of China. The extended model is then applied to analysis how domestic public storage policy affects the international market price in the context of trade policy. Finally, a properly identified structural vector auto-regression technique is applied to test the effect of domestic public storage on the world market price by using cotton data from China.FindingsThe theoretical model indicates that China's public storage policy could stabilize the international market price. In order to test the working mechanisms, China's soaring public storage between 2010 and 2014 is employed to identify the effects of China's cotton storage on the volatility of the world price. The empirical findings show that China was able to stabilize the international price of cotton to a non-trivial extent through alteration of its public stockpile.Originality/valueThe first contribution is that this paper extends a standard theoretical model of trade policy to incorporate domestic public storage policy, which enables us to explore the effects of domestic public storage policy on the world price in the context of China. The second major contribution is that this paper provides evidence that, as a large player in the world market, China's public storage policy could stabilize the international agricultural price to a substantial degree.


The production of autoantibodies against nuclear antigens is a hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The 33.C9 anti-dsDNA antibody is of immunoglobulin G (IgG) isotype and derived from a SLE patient. Three somatic mutations of the 33.C9gl antibody are necessary and sufficient for the binding to DNA, nucleosomes and histones as the reversion of the somatic mutations to germline sequence abolished binding to all of these antigens. The same somatic mutations that generate dsDNA binding also led to binding of apoptotic cells. The authors propose that the nuclear material from apoptotic cells accumulates in the germinal centre due to a phagocytosis defect of macrophages and selects anti-DNA B cells. These data led us to the hypothesis that autoreactive B cells are generated from non-autoreactive B cells during germinal centre reactions. Then the newly generated autoreactive B cells are positively selected on nucleosomes on follicular dentritic cells. The authors want to test this hypothesis in mice, which express the 33.C9 germline variant antibody as B cell receptor (BCR) (33.C9 gl mice). To obtain mice, which express the 33.C9 germline variant antibody as BCR the authors targeted the BCR heavy- and light chain loci to obtain 33.C9gl heavy chain and 33.C9gl light chain double knockin mice. As expected, B cells expressing the revertant BCR are developing normally and show no evidence for tolerisation. Upon immunisation with a surrogate phage antigen the transgenic B cells form germinal centres and undergo somatic hyper mutation. The three critical somatic hyper mutations, which are necessary and sufficient for the acquisition of high affinity anti-dsDNA binding, were not observed in a large collection of sequences analysed. In accordance with this, anti-DNA autoantibodies do not develop, even after repetitive immunisations and when Follicular dendritic cells were MFG-E8 deficient. These results strongly suggest a self-tolerance checkpoint by deletion of autoreactive clones during or after the germinal centre reaction.


Flexible rotors in journal bearings can exhibit large vibration amplitudes during the passage of bending critical speeds. To reduce these vibrations, a two-lobe journal bearing with adjustable gap geometry is presented. By an adjustment of the gap height, stiffness and damping properties of the bearing and as a consequence the damping ratio of the rotor system can be varied during the operation. When the system passes a critical speed in a run-up process, a large gap is adjusted for higher damping. After the resonance pass through, the gap height is reduced to increase the load carrying capacity and to enlarge the stability margin. Investigating the Jeffcott rotor in adjustable journal bearings demonstrates the basic effects. For a validation, a test rig is set up and a related mathematical model is created. Various experiments are made and compared with numerical results.


This discussion paper led to an article in Applied Geography (2014). Volume 49(SI), pages 24-36. The strong world-wide urbanisation trend calls for a repositioning of cities, especially the large cities with a global impact. These cities tend to become economic, logistic and political powerhouses and are increasingly involved in a competition on their integral performance. The present paper aims to trace to what extent and why some cities outperform others. Starting from an extensive database on many important characteristics of global cities, this paper offers a multi-criteria methodology for identifying the relative position of various important cities on the basis of distinct assessment criteria. The explicit consideration of the perceptions of important classes of stakeholders on the performance outcomes of the various cities involved allows for a enhanced policy analysis. From a technical assessment perspective, the applied part of the paper employs the MAMCA and PROMETHEE multi-criteria methodology, which have proven their analytical power in various mu lti-criteria evaluation problems over the past years. The paper concludes with some policy perspectives and lessons.


This review article introduces a new classification of congenital hand anomalies. It then considers the classification of congenital thumb hypoplasia and describes the the authors indications for surgery. Specifically, attention is directed towards surgical techniques and problems encountered in the reconstruction of grade 2 hypoplastic thumbs and in pollicisation of the index finger for grades 3, 4 and 5 thumb hypoplasia.


This study was conducted to compare extruded pellets (EP) and soft extruded pellets (SEP) with a raw fish-based moist pellet (MP) diet on the growth and flesh quality of Korean rockfish Sebastes schlegeli. Three groups of 20,000 fish (initial mean weight 133 g) per net-cage (6×12×7 m) were fed commercial EP, SEP or MP for 16 months. The survival of fish fed SEP was higher than those of fish fed EP or MP. The highest growth performances were observed in the mean weight gain, total weight gain, and feed efficiency of fish fed MP, followed by those fed EP and SEP. Among the fish fed on extruded pellets, the total weight gain of fish fed SEP was higher than that of those fed EP, while fish fed EP grew faster than those fed SEP. No notable differences in body composition, sensory scores or textural properties of the dorsal muscle were observed in fish fed on EP,SEP or MP. Thus, it is suggested that extruded pellets, rather than raw fish-based moist pellets, could be fed to Korean rockfish without compromise-ing flesh quality.


The study of soil microarthropod biodiversity is illustrative of problems that are related to other soil organisms (fungi, for instance) or that can be found in other environments (canopy, oceanic sediments, hosts accommodating parasites, etc.). Indeed, the contribution of the soil fauna to global biodiversity remains an enigma even though, in recent years, it has received considerable attention. Our contention is that the debate on soil biodiversity will remain open - and even sterile - as long as adequate sampling methodologies are not set up, critically evaluated and largely used. First, a critical review of the sampling strategies used for soil microarthropods is presented. In addition to an extensive compilation of publications on extraction method efficiency, articles from two journals devoted to soil biology are compared for two five-year periods (before and after Erwin's papers and before and after Rio). The most frequently used extraction methods (over 90% of studies) have a poor numerical efficiency (e.g. 7-26% for the Berlese-Tullgren funnels) and also are selective with respect to their efficiency for certain taxa (variable taxonomic and functional efficiency), 75% of studies are restricted to the upper 10 cm of soil and therefore overlook largely the microarthropod populations. some groups are often neglected, however diversified they are, and the taxonomic resolution tends to become impoverished in recent years. In the second part of our study, the importance of bias induced by inadequate or restricted sampling strategies on biodiversity estimates is evaluated: densities are dramatically underestimated (down to 14 times less); conversely species aggregation, a factor advocated to explain the existence of numerous soil species, is overestimated; some functional groups may be quite overlooked; the species distribution along a gradient deduced from the sampling may be rather different from that really existing in the soil and interfere with the evaluation of beta-diversity; species richness is often crudely underestimated (down to 50%). Overall, at most 10% of soil microarthropod populations have been explored and 10% of species described. Obviously, much has still to be done to evaluate soil microarthropod biodiversity and a fortiori understand the mechanisms underlying it. Improving and renewing the soil sampling strategy is thus a prerequisite to any real advance in our knowledge of this fascinating and obscure domain.


Channel information at the transmitter can simplify the coding scheme and increase the achievable data rate over a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fading channel. Feedback from the receiver can be used to specify a precoding matrix, which selectively activates the strongest channel modes. We evaluate the sum data rate per receive antenna when the precoding matrix is quantized with a random vector quantization (RVQ) scheme, assuming a matched filter, or linear minimum mean squared error (MMSE) receiver. Our results are asymptotic as the number of transmit and receive antennas increases with fixed ratio, for a fixed number of feedback bits per dimension. Numerical results show that given a target spectral efficiency, the amount of feedback required by the linear MMSE receiver is only slightly more than that required by the optimal receiver, whereas the matched filter can require significantly more feedback. We also compare these results with a simpler reduced-rank scheme for quantizing the precoding matrix.


Red phosphorus (RP) as an elemental semiconductor photocatalyst has been employed for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production owing to its relatively narrow band gap (about 1.72 eV), excellent absorption features in the visible region, and favourable band structure. In this work, cobalt phosphide (Co2P) as a noble-metal-free co-catalyst was first loaded on two-dimensional microporous RP nanosheets by a one-step in situ hydrothermal method. The investigations demonstrated that the introduction of Co2P nanoparticles could facilitate the separation and migration of photogenerated charge carriers and provide numerous catalytic active sites for photocatalytic H2 evolution. Besides, the stability of the composites was greatly enhanced by the formation of Co–P bonds between RP and Co2P. As expected, 2% Co2P/RP showed the highest H2 evolution rate of 5997.5 μmol h−1 g−1, which was 7.0 times and 2.4 times higher than those of pristine RP (857.6 μmol g−1 h−1) and Pt/RP (2469.9 μmol g−1 h−1), respectively. Moreover, the one-step solution-phase synthesis technology can be extensively applied for other transition-metal-phosphide-based photocatalysts.


This manuscript deals with a dataset of multimodel hydrological projections across the UK. It presents in a detailed way how this dataset has been produced, but it lacks a description of the dataset itself. I would therefore recommend a major revision for the authors to bring in an overview of what's actually in this (otherwise important) dataset. I would therefore also appreciate more detailed comments on how to use it, notably for interpreting hydrological projections where models have been calibrated against anthropogenically disturbed streamflow observations.


As online reviews provide essential information to guide customers in their prospective purchases. As more such reviews accumulate overtime, one would suspect that complete information becomes available about product and almost no customers should be disappointed in their purchases. Yet, we provide empirical evidence over a large dataset of reviews that negative reviews seem to be arriving at an accelerated rate later on in the lifetime of a product. To better understand this inconsistency, we frame the problem at hand as an information revelation problems. Using a novel approach, we then segment each review as an aggregation of aspects for which the reviewer provides weights, in line with how much she values those aspects, and corresponding experiences vis-à-vis those aspects, which range from positive to negative. We show that this segmentation better explains the review process and better explains the polarity of reviews.


We examined the effect of LPS-induced differentiation on surface and secreted IgM in a cloned BCL1 in vitro cell line. Incubation of this cell line with LPS resulted in a decrease in the amount of membrane IgM, measured by both immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation, and an increase in IgM secretion, measured by plaque-forming cells (PFC). Activation to high rate secretion was independent of cell cycle in synchronized cells and was independent of DNA synthesis because PFC formation was not inhibited by hydroxyurea. Almost all cells in the in vitro line were shown to contain large quantities of intracytoplasmic IgM before LPS activation. Thus, it would appear that the in vitro cell line represents a partially activated stage of differentiation compared to normal resting B cells or to the in vivo line of BCL1. Analysis of the two forms of mRNA coding for membrane and secreted IgM showed that, at least for cells at the level of differentiation examined here, the control of membrane IgM expression is post-transcriptional. The differentiation of resting B cells to the plasma cell level appears to consist of multiple stages of differentiation. The present data suggest that LPS provides at least two signals of activation. One induces the resting cell to synthesize cytoplasmic IgM, increase surface IgM, and to begin cell division. The second induces the secretion of intracytoplasmic IgM associated with a decrease in surface IgM.


Basic overview of several tools (both open source such as Tesseract and commercial such as Adobe Acrobat) that perform optical character recognition (OCR).


The increase of energy efficiency of vehicles in the course of rising energy costs and the limited range of electric vehicles can be realized with ecological driver assistance systems. Based on preview information these systems can assist the driver in providing energy efficient driving and operating strategies. But, many of these systems directly focus on specific functional approaches and do not consider a comprehensive system architecture. Thus, functional extensions and adoptions to other vehicle and propulsion concepts are hereby complicated.In this paper a generic system architecture is introduced which represents a framework for present and future for assistance systems for ecological optimization. The framework provides hereby the overview of the necessary core modules and the interfaces between them. The innovative aspect of the introduced framework is the modularization in a vehicle independent optimization module and a vehicle dependent energy conversion model. This approach promotes a vehicle independent and efficient system development. The system architecture aims to provide a basis for assistance systems that are robust towards functional extensions and adoptions to other vehicle and propulsion concepts.In an exemplary use case the application of the generic system architecture is demonstrated and the portability is discussed.© 2014 ASME


Local anesthesia is advocated for cortical mapping in certain neurological procedures. Occasionally, however, a modified general anesthetic is necessary. We describe a technique of balanced anesthesia in which the arm opposite to the craniotomy is selectively isolated from the effect of the neuromuscular blocking agent and hence preserves its motor response to cortical stimulation. The technique secures complete immobility of the patient during mapping of the brain, shortens the stimulation time, facilitates the localization of the motor cortex, precludes the development of full-blown seizures, increases safety and is well tolerated.


A group signature is a digital signature that allows a group member to sign messages anonymously on behalf of the group. Recently, Tseng and Jan proposed a group signature scheme which uses self-certified public keys. The authors show that the newly proposed group signature scheme is linkable because, given two signatures, it can be easily decided if both signatures are generated by the same group member.


Climate change is influencing some environmental variables in the Southern Ocean (SO) and this will have an effect on the marine biodiversity. Peracarid crustaceans are one of the dominant and most species-rich groups of the SO benthos. To date, our knowledge on the influence of environmental variables in shaping abundance and species composition in the SO's peracarid assemblages is limited, and with regard to ice coverage it is unknown. The aim of our study was to assess the influence of sea ice coverage, chlorophyll-a, and phytoplankton concentrations on abundance, distribution and assemblage structure of peracarids. In addition, the influence of other physical parameters on peracarid abundance was assessed, including depth, temperature, salinity, sediment type, current velocity, oxygen, iron, nitrate, silicate and phosphate. Peracarids were sampled with an epibenthic sledge (EBS) in different areas of the Atlantic sector of the SO and in the Weddell Sea. Sampling areas were characterized by different regimes of ice coverage (the ice free South Orkney Islands, the seasonally ice-covered Filchner Trough and the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula including the Prince Gustav Channel which was formerly covered by a perennial ice shelf). In total 64766 individuals of peracarids were collected and identified to order level including five orders: Amphipoda, Cumacea, Isopoda, Mysidacea, and Tanaidacea. Amphipoda was the most abundant taxon, representing 32% of the overall abundances, followed by Cumacea (31%), Isopoda (29%), Mysidacea (4%), and Tanaidacea (4%). The Filchner Trough had the highest abundance of peracarids, while the South Orkney Islands showed the lowest abundance compared to other areas. Ice coverage was the main environmental driver shaping the abundance pattern and assemblage structure of peracarids and the latter were positively correlated with ice coverage and chlorophyll-a concentration. We propose that the positive correlation between sea ice and peracarid abundances is likely due to phytoplankton blooms triggered by seasonal sea ice melting, which might increase the food availability for benthos. Variations in ice coverage extent and seasonality due to climate change would strongly influence the abundance and assemblage structure of benthic peracarids.


The paper examines the significance of political crises (seditiones, certamina civilia, secessiones) in the history of the Early and Late Republic. Its main contentions are as follows. (1) The plebeian organization, created by a part of the 'hoplite class' (classis) as a syndicate of self-defence against what they considered persecution by the state authorities, became the champion of the Roman poor only after the viritane assignation of the ager Veientanus Capenas, which, by depriving the great landowners, i.e. the patricians, of the client labour force made debt-slavery an acute socio-political problem. Tribunes' auxilium offered in 380 to the insolvent debtors led to a prodigious growth of the plebeian organisation which by 367 broke the patricians' monopoly on political power. (2) The military revolt of 342 and the resulting upheaval of 341–339 fixed the democratic formula of the Republic' empire, the principle of constant participation of the whole community in profits it generated, thus making possible the acceptance of horrible losses which went with continuous imperial expansion. (3) The third secession of 287/286 was a part of a revolutionary period when the plebeian organisation reverted to its original position of a counter-state, inherently antagonistic to the state institutions, winning for the tribunes unrestrained political initiative (lex Hortensia) and giving them an instrument for paralysing actions of state authorities aiming at thwarting it or putting in peril social, economic and political gains of the preceding century (re-formulation of the tribunes' intercessio as their right to veto actions of the magistrates and resolutions of the senate they found harmful to the plebs' interests).


A dual-stage servo system which utilizes a high-bandwidth secondary actuator has been proposed for magnetic hard disk drives. Microfabricated actuators are promising candidates for this secondary actuator, since they offer the benefits of extremely small size and weight and may be batch fabricated for reduced production cost. This paper presents the design of an electrostatic microactuator which produces sufficient output force to move a 1.6-mg picoslider from a conventional disk drive at frequencies above 2 kHz. A linear second-order actuation model is developed and fit to experimental data. The prototype device is shown to have an open-loop resonance frequency of 532 Hz when loaded with the picoslider, and a DC-voltage-to-position gain of 0.12 /spl mu/m/V. A closed-loop bandwidth of 2.5 kHz is achieved using a simple PD controller.


The fashion business is regarded as one of the most important industries in the world and contributes significantly to the world economy's benefits. In the era of technology, applying the right management techniques for advertising is very important to succeed among commercial competitors in competitive markets. Even though advertising has so many positive effects, it also has a negative side, such as it could create unrealistic beauty and body standards due to the marketers using attractive, slender, and tall models which promotes the ideal body image in culture. The purpose of this research is to determine how impactful body diversity in advertising affects consumers' attitude toward advertisements and their desire to buy clothes, to determine what kind of models to utilize in fashion goods commercials to strengthen consumer perceptions of advertisements and buy intent, and to explore the effects of size inclusivity as the moderating variable of diversity in advertising and attitude toward the advertisements. The methodologies used in this study were qualitative and quantitative. As a result, the purpose of this study is to determine whether or not advertising that promotes body positivity has an impact on how consumers feel about advertisements and their intentions to buy from fashion retailers, which type of model's body, a larger or slimmer one, has a greater effect on the consumer's perception of the advertising and their desire to purchase according to the customer's body type and sizes, and how size inclusivity becomes the moderating variable between advertisements and purchases.


Economic and social problems and issues need to be set within the wider context of the environment, not the other way around, as traditional in public policy. Although knowledge of the composition and dynamics of the Earth's surface are fundamental to environmental planning and management, geoscience data and concepts are commonly ignored. One way for geoscientists to contribute to sustainability is through the application of geoindicators, a concept developed recently by the lUGS Commission on Geological Sciences for Environmental Planning. Geoindicators can help to assess changes in ecosystems and landscapes from some earlier condition . They focus on earth processes that can induce significant change in terrestrial environments in less than 100 years . Geoindicators can help to counter the common belief that nature left alone is stable and unchanging and that only humans perturb some sort of natural balance. Failure to recognize the importance of natural change can lead to environmental policies that miss the mark by attempting to manage changes that cannot or should not


An analysis of the nonmonotonic dependence of the mean-free-passage time on the frequency of a periodic signal [stochastic resonance (SR)] for diffusion on a segment with one absorbing and one reflecting end point shows that SR exists only for some restricted values of parameters. SR always exists if the periodic telegraph signal is replaced by a random one. The latter case is considered in detail.


It is customary for presidential addresses before surgical societies to deal with philosophical aspects of the profession and with the training of the young surgeon. The discourse is usually introduced with some quotation from the writings of the ancients and derives from it certain basic truths as applicable today as they were in ancient times. Not to be outdone by my predecessors, I, too, shall revert to the ancients for inspiration and shall take as my cue the signature of one of our professional ancestors whose true significance in medicine is still a matter of controversy. Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, otherwise and usually known as Paracelsus, remains today an enigma in scientific history, and the judgment, of the English-speaking peoples at least, has been, in general, unsympathetic to him. The theme of my discourse is taken from his signature—Beider Artznei Doktor, or, Doctor of Both Medicines. He was among the


An attempt has been made to identify the population groups in India with high fertility and fertility differentials so as to analyze the socioeconomic factors responsible for them. This article is based on the record of the Urban Health Centre Suraj Kund, Meerut, collected from 619 registered families during 1980. Results in the following areas are presented in tabular and narrative form: crude birth and death rates and infant mortality, fertility and age of woman, caste, type of family, literacy of husband and wife, socioeconomic status, parity. The marital fertility rate of this area was high in comparison to the urban area of U.P. and for India. High fertility was noted in the group aged 25-29 years. Fertility had a negative correlation with education (especially that of the wife) and socioeconomic status.


Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) account for approximately 30% of all deaths globally. The most important cause of CVD is atherothrombosis, in other words, narrowing of the arteries as a result of the deposition of cholesterol and other lipoid substances within the arterial wall. Several endocrine disorders have been linked to this pathological state. Recent clinical and experimental studies have suggested that prolactin, a pleiotropic pituitary hormone, may potentially contribute to CVD, either through direct modulation of local cellular processes within atherosclerotic plaques/thrombi and/or through influencing conventional cardiovascular metabolic risk factors. However, the precise role of prolactin in the pathology of CVD remains largely unknown. Here, the authors speculate whether prolactin-lowering treatment may become a future therapeutic approach in patients with elevated prolactin levels and concomitantly presenting with coexisting vascular disease or a significantly elevated risk for premature atherothrombotic vascular disease. Awareness of these new developments may also change our clinical opinions about therapeutic strategies in patients with prolactinomas.


Many studies rely on traditional web survey methods in which all contacts with sample members are through email and the questionnaire is administered exclusively online. Because it is difficult to effectively administer prepaid incentives via email, researchers frequently employ lotteries or prize draws as incentives even though their influence on survey participation is small. The current study examines whether a prize draw is more effective if it is divided into a few larger amounts versus several smaller amounts and compares prize draws to a small but guaranteed postpaid incentive. Data are from the 2019 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct. Sample members include 38,434 undergraduate and graduate students at a large Midwestern university who were randomly assigned to receive: a guaranteed $5 Amazon gift card; entry into a high-payout drawing for one of four $500 prizes; or entry into a low-payout drawing for one of twenty $100 prizes. Results indicate the guaranteed incentive increased response rates, with no difference between the prize draws. While results from various data quality outcomes show the guaranteed incentive reduced break-off rates and the high-payout drawing increased item nonresponse, there were no differences across incentive conditions in rates of speeding, reporting of sensitive data, straightlining, or sample representativeness. As expected, the prize draws had much lower overall and per complete costs.


In the frame of the Kerr–Schild approach, we obtain a generalization of the Kerr solution to a nonstationary case corresponding to a rotating source moving with arbitrary acceleration. Similar to the Kerr solution, the solutions obtained have geodesic and shearfree principal null congruence. The current parameters of the solutions are determined by a complex retarded-time construction via a given complex worldline of source. The real part of the complex worldline defines the values of the boost and acceleration while the imaginary part controls the rotation. The acceleration of the source is accompanied by lightlike radiation along the principal null congruence. The solutions obtained generalize to the rotating case the known Kinnersley class of the 'photon rocket' solutions.


Existing knowledge distillation methods typically work by imparting the knowledge of output logits or intermediate feature maps from the teacher network to the student network, which is very successful in multi-class single-label learning. However, these methods can hardly be extended to the multi-label learning scenario, where each instance is associated with multiple semantic labels, because the prediction probabilities do not sum to one and feature maps of the whole example may ignore minor classes in such a scenario. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-label knowledge distillation method. On one hand, it exploits the informative semantic knowledge from the logits by dividing the multi-label learning problem into a set of binary classification problems; on the other hand, it enhances the distinctiveness of the learned feature representations by leveraging the structural information of label-wise embeddings. Experimental results on multiple benchmark datasets validate that the proposed method can avoid knowledge counteraction among labels, thus achieving superior performance against diverse comparing methods. Our code is available at: https://github.com/penghui-yang/L2D


Post-irradiation bone lesions of the pelvis, rare but grave functionally, may appear from few months to some years after irradiation. The most severe lesions occur in the hip, with necrosis, fracture or cartilaginous lesions. Radiological appearances may be dissociated, giving a false impression of progression. Undisplaced fractures may consolidate. In other cases an arthroplasty is indicated, often total, but the bad quality of the bone receiving the prosthesis explain certain poor results caused by loosening.


Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients suffer from cardiovascular morbidity, which is the leading cause of death in this disease. Based on our previous work with transformed cell lines and primary rat cardiomyocytes, we determined that upon incubation with sera from pediatric OSAS patients, the cell's morphology changes, NF-κB pathway is activated, and their beating rate and viability decreases. These results suggest an important link between OSAS, systemic inflammatory signals and end-organ cardiovascular diseases. In this work, we confirmed and expanded these observations on a new in vitro system of beating human cardiomyocytes (CM) differentiated from human embryonic stem cells (hES). Our results show that incubation with pediatric OSAS sera, in contrast to sera from healthy children, induces over-expression of NF-κB p50 and p65 subunits, marked reduction in CMs beating rate, contraction amplitude and a strong reduction in intracellular calcium signal. The use of human CM cells derived from embryonic stem cells has not been previously reported in OSAS research. The results further support the hypothesis that NF-κB dependent inflammatory pathways play an important role in the evolution of cardiovascular morbidity in OSAS. This study uncovers a new model to investigate molecular and functional aspects of cardiovascular pathology in OSAS.


The establishment of porcine pluripotent ES cell lines would be an exciting and novel tool for animal biotechnology, such as cloning and transgenesis. Furthermore, it would represent a useful model for biomedical research, cell therapy, xenotransplantation as well as developmental biology research. However, in spite of several studies, no conclusive results have been obtained and a number of technical questions are still to be answered in order to derive genuine ES cells in the pig. Here we report the results obtained in our laboratory aimed at comparing IVF v. parthenogenetic embryos as a source for the establishment of putative ES cells. Oocytes were divided in two groups and subjected to IVF or parthenogenetically activated with ionomicyn and 6-DMAP. They were cultured in NCSU for 7 days and then subjected to immuno-surgery. Inner cell mass were plated onto inactivated STO feeder cells and outgrowth formation was monitored. Cells were passaged to a new STO monolayer every 7 days. Assessment of pluripotency markers was carried out both by RT-PCR and immunocytochemical analysis at every passage for up to 22 passages. Telomerase activity was measured every 5 passages. The results indicate that parthenogenetic embryos, although less resilient than IVF embryos to immuno-surgery, have a significantly greater ability to generate outgrowths and stable cell lines. Moreover, 77% of the 39 parthenogenetic lines derived v. only 33% of the IVF ones expressed pluripotency markers and displayed high telomerase activity. Altogether our findings are consistent with data obtained in the human where the efficiency to derive hES cell lines from parthenogenetic blastocysts appears greater as compared with regular blastocysts from IVF embryos (Cheng L 2008 Cell Research 18, 215–217). Table 1. Supported by: Prin 2005, 2006.


Smoking influences the immune system in different ways and, hypothetically, effects on pulmonary effector and regulatory T cells emerge as potentially detrimental. Therefore, we characterized the frequencies and characteristics of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets in the blood and lungs of young tobacco smokers. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and peripheral blood were obtained from healthy moderate smokers (n = 18; 2–24 pack-years) and never-smokers (n = 15), all with normal lung function. Cells were stimulated ex vivo and key intracellular cytokines (IFNγ, IL-17, IL-10 and TNFα) and transcription factors (Foxp3, T-bet and Helios) were analyzed using flow cytometry. Our results indicate that smoking is associated with a decline in lung IL-17+ CD4+ T cells, increased IFNγ+ CD8+ T cells and these alterations relate to the history of daily cigarette consumption. There is an increased fraction of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells being Helios- in the lungs of smokers. Cytokine production is mainly confined to the Helios- T cells, both in regulatory and effector subsets. Moreover, we detected a decline of Helios+Foxp3- postulated regulatory CD8+ T cells in smokers. These alterations in the immune system are likely to increase risk for infection and may have implications for autoimmune processes initiated in the lungs among tobacco smokers.


Plant or perish. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as cited by ehe World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA), reports a substantial loss in diversity of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. In the same document, Germany is cited to have experienced a 75% loss in cultivated plants in agriculture and horticulture. The livestock world is no different. Says FAO, at present, livestock breeds currently face a worldwide 28% risk of extinction. Genetic resources need not perish. Because the goal of agrobiodiversity is to provide a rich genetic pool from traditional/indigenous crops that have high resistance to diseases, high poor soil, and water tolerance, some current works are being done by various organizations.


The museum is the place through which the visitor can roam through time through various civilizations. It is a permanent headquarters for the service and development of society. It is open to the public. It collects, preserves and stores archaeological artifacts and then displays them to the visiting public, for the purpose of study, education, and entertainment. It is also an institution focused on Its role is to contribute to the development of societies scientifically, culturally, ethically and other functions, as the Setif Museum has a huge collection of holdings, and accordingly this research paper came to introduce the National Museum of Antiquities in Setif, whose visit is a journey through time in which the visitor summarizes the history and culture of the city through its corridors, as well as showing the most important holdings that are available on it and the most important museum display methods that it uses in presenting its museum holdings?. Key words: Setif National Archeology Museum, Museum Holdings.


Cotyledonoid dissecting leiomyoma is a benign smooth muscle neoplasm with an unusual growth pattern that is characterized by intramural dissection within the uterine corpus and often a placental-like appearance macroscopically in its extrauterine component that may be alarming to the surgeon. All cases reported to date have been nonaggressive. We report a case in a 33-yr-old woman who had a history of prolonged uterine bleeding. She was operated upon for uterine leiomyomas, and the diagnosis of cotyledonoid dissecting leiomyoma was made at the time of intraoperative consultation. To maintain fertility, the intrauterine tumor was resected by myomectomy and the extrauterine tumor by excision. However, persistent uterine bleeding that eventually became intractable and continued growth of the neoplasm in the uterus necessitated hysterectomy 5 yr later. She was living and well 2.5 yr after hysterectomy with no evidence of disease.


Introduction The use of a stethoscope is essential to the delivery of continuous, supportive en route care during aeromedical evacuations. We compared the capability of 2 stethoscopes (electronic, Litmann 3000; conventional, Litmann Cardiology III) at detecting pathologic heart and lung sounds, aboard a C135, a medical transport aircraft. Methods Sounds were mimicked using a mannequin-based simulator SimMan. Five practitioners examined the mannequin during a fly, with a variety of abnormalities as follows: crackles, wheezing, right and left lung silence, as well as systolic, diastolic, and Austin-Flint murmur. The comparison for diagnosis assessed (correct or wrong) between using the electronic and conventional stethoscopes were performed as a McNemar test. Results A total of 70 evaluations were performed. For cardiac sounds, diagnosis was right in 0/15 and 4/15 auscultations, respectively, with conventional and electronic stethoscopes (McNemar test, P = 0.13). For lung sounds, right diagnosis was found with conventional stethoscope in 10/20 auscultations versus 18/20 with electronic stethoscope (P = 0.013). Conclusions Flight practitioners involved in aeromedical evacuation on C135 plane are more able to practice lung auscultation on a mannequin with this amplified stethoscope than with the traditional one. No benefit was found for heart sounds.


In the past two years, the Bush Administration, members of Congress and a few senators, such as Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and others have put pressure on China to abandon her peg the Chinese Yuan to the U.S. Dollar. These efforts finally succeed. On July 21, 2005, Peoples Bank of China announced that the Chinese Yuan is no long pegged solely to the U.S. dollar, instead, the Yuan is now linked to a basket of currencies, including Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the Korean Won and other currency from any country that had at least $10 billion trade with China. In this paper we ask the questions: what is the impact of China Yuan revaluation decision? Does this means that China no long stockpile U.S. Treasury Bills? The American consumers can no longer benefit from the low-priced consumer goods manufactured in China? And in what way the U.S. economy will be affected, if at all?


Background: Bone marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) have been identified as multipotent non-hematopoietic progenitor cells that can differentiate into osteoblasts, myocytes, chondrocytes and adipocytes. MSC also play an important role for the normal hematopoiesis and bone marrow insufficiency goes along with an increase of fat involution, which might origin from MSC. One important factor that regulates later stages of adipogenesis is the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBP-alpha). Whereas most insights into the regulation of adipogenesis come from the analysis of murine cell lines or human preadipoyctes under the influence of adipogenic hormonal growth medium, data on primary human MSC under the influence of a single adipogenic transcription factor are lacking - especially without hormonal enhancement. In this study, we examined, if ectopic expression of C/EBP-alpha is able to induce adipogenic differentiation of primary human MSC.

Methods / Results: Transient overexpression of C/EBP-alpha was performed in primary human MSC from bone marrow aspirates after two culture passages. MSC were cultured in DMEM medium (+10% FCS) without hormonal substitution. Total RNA was prepared from different time points (12h, 24h, 48h, 72h) and the expression of C/EBP-alpha as well as adipose genes (PPAR-gamma, FABP-4) was analyzed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. MSC transfected with the empty control vector had no detectable amounts of C/EBP-alpha, PPAR-gamma or FABP-4. In contrast, MSC under ectopic expression of C/EBP-alpha expressed FABP-4 after 48 hours with further increase over the time, whereas PPAR-gamma expression could be detected first after 72 hours. These MSC showed only slight morphologic changes without distinct intracellular lipid drops. Red Oil-O staining for fat cells was negative in all groups. Furthermore, permanent lentiviral overexpression of C/EBP-alpha for 7 to 14 days showed no significant morphological changes from MSC to adipocytes, when grown in normal culture medium. Adipogenic growth medium (Insulin 10ug/ml, Dexamethason 10uM, Indomethacin 200uM, Isobutylxanthine 500uM) was added after 3 days of C/EBP-alpha overexpression and led to terminal differentiated adipocytes after 3 further days, whereas in the control group the amount of differentiated adipocytes increased only after 7 days. The expression of C/EBP-alpha, PPAR-gamma and FABP-4 was determined again by semiquantitative RT-PCR and showed an earlier and higher upregulation of all factors in the C/EBP-alpha group compared to the control. Red Oil-O staining showed a significant higher amount of terminal differentiated adipocytes in the C/EBP-alpha group.

Conclusion: This work shows that ectopic expression of C/EBP-alpha in primary human Mesenchymal Stem Cells is able to determine MSC only to preadipocytes, which do not undergo morphologic terminal differentiation until other factors like PPAR-gamma are upregulated. Moreover, ectopic expression of C/EBP-alpha in primary human MSC accelerates the process of terminal adipogenic differentiation dramatically as soon as other factors are induced by hormonal enhancement.


The starting point of the project is the observation that new information and communication technologies (ICT) are often introduced without taking into account the requirements of elderly and/or disabled users, resulting in products and services that are hardly usable by those users. A method for identifying enablers for future e-Services is described. In short it identifies usability problems with future interaction technologies and map these future interaction technologies to e-Services. The results of investigations using this method allow stakeholders in different stages of the research and development lifecycle e-Services to spot potential difficulties in the design of user interfaces which could cause elderly or disabled users to experience usability issues.


Efficient light absorption is the most crucial factor for high spectral responsive photodetection phenomenon. Nanopillars for photodetection constitute a great opportunity in enhancing the light absorption efficiency along with reducing the electrical cross-section of the device. Here an analytical investigation of a proposed periodic GaAs material based half octagonal cut based vertically oriented hexagonal nanopillar array deployed over a 5um x 5um front detector's surface has been done for attaining an optimum light absorbance by reducing the surface reflectivity of the incoming photons. The geometrical analysis of the proposed model exhibits a 0.999 absorbance and 0.97A/W photoresponsivity along with 86% EQE at 1um operating wavelength.


Effectiveness of the rear seat in protecting occupants of different age groups in frontal crashes for 2000-2009 model years (MY) of vehicles was estimated and compared to 1990-1999 model years of vehicles. The objective was to determine the effectiveness of the rear seat compared to the front seat for various age groups in newer model year vehicles. The double paired comparison method was used to estimate relative effectiveness. For belted adults of the 25-49 age group, the fatality reduction effectiveness of the rear seat compared to the right front seat was 25 % (CI 11% to 36%), in the 1990-1999 model year vehicles. The relative effectiveness was -31% (CI -63% to -5%) for the same population, in the 2000-2009 model year vehicles. For restrained children 0-8 years old, the relative effectiveness was 55% (CI 48% to 61%) when the vehicles were of the 1990-1999 period. The level of effectiveness for this age group was reduced to 25% (CI -4% to 46%) in the 2000-2009 MYs of vehicles. Results for other age groups of belted occupants have followed a similar trend. All belted adult occupants of 25+ years old were significantly less protected in rear seats as compared to right front seats in the 2000-2009 model years of vehicles. For unbelted occupants however, rear seats were still a safer position than front seats, even in the 2000-2009 model years of vehicles.


As much as some Christians may want to distance themselves from secularism, they find themselves immersed in a cultural environment that draws attention not only to their physical condition, but also to their body image. Particularly in the United States, where being "overweight" is often interpreted as a sign of lack of will and determination, an expression of psychological disorders, and a sure cause of health problems, Christians have been looking for viable solutions to their health and fitness conundrums while maintaining their religious identity and their practices. It seems only natural that they turn to the highest source of authority: God and his word, the Bible. In this paper I focus on the dieting plans and approaches that have developed using the Bible, and in particular the Hebrew Bible as their blueprint. Through a semiotic and discourse analysis of examples in print and on the Internet, I argue that very contemporary worries about the individual self are at the center of the immense popularity of faith-based diets in evangelical Christian, often U.S.-based, communities.


This chapter discusses the current state of archaeological research on the Champa culture of central Vietnam. Although recognized since the late nineteenth century, Champa is still far better known for its architecture and sculpture than for its archaeology in a broader sense. Excavations at Tra Kieu and Go Cam have revealed the importance of Han China to the emerging polities of central Vietnam, such as Linyi, during the first half of the first millennium AD. Sanskrit and Cham-language inscriptions can also be used to link the historical and archaeological heritage, revealing a localized development of Hindu-Buddhist temple architecture and the design of defensive enclosures or citadel sites. Our understanding of the ceramic sequence after the fourth century AD however remains very limited, restricting the dating and identification of domestic sites, but there is great potential for ethno-archaeology.


Barrett's oesophagus (BE) is the pre-cancerous condition that leads to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC). The progression of BE from intestinal metaplasia (IM) to dysplasia and OAC occurs in only a few patients. Once dysplasia and intramucosal cancer (IMC) has developed, these patients carry a significant risk of developing OAC. Despite significant advances in treatment modalities in the past decade, there still remains a high mortality rate with only a small number of patients alive at five years from diagnosis. Successful intervention at an early stage of the disease has been shown to have desirable outcomes. Historically, surgical intervention with oesophagectomy in patients with early disease has shown to achieve curative outcomes. Oesophagectomy by experienced surgeons in high volume tertiary referral centres still carries a significant mortality rate (2-3%). The development of minimally invasive endoscopic therapeutic modalities such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA), endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) have revolutionised the management of patient with early oesophageal neoplasia with great outcomes and acceptable complication rates. These modalities have now been endorsed by various international guidelines; however despite current treatment modalities there still exists a group of patients that do not respond adequately to available treatment modalities and therefore this thesis and the chapters that follow will examine the new treatment modalities for the management of patients with early oesophageal neoplasia and will test the hypothesis that patients with early oesophageal neoplasia can be successfully treated with minimally invasive endoscopic therapy. This thesis will outline the use of a new endoscopic resection modality (EMR Captivator device) with a new ablative technique (Cryoablation) that utilises cold therapy rather than the conventional heat therapy (RFA). This thesis will also outline new quality indicators in endoscopic therapy of early oesophageal neoplasia, which was developed, in order to unify endoscopic therapy in the UK. It is well known that endoscopic therapy can result into adverse events such as bleeding during or/and after the procedure. Currently haemostatic modalities exits but not always effective and limited by the site of the bleed and skills of the operator. Hemospray, is a new haemostatic powder that is increasingly used internationally. This thesis will outline the creation and development of the international Hemospray registry, and study Hemospray in various pathologies.


This fascinating autobiography and multifaceted case history in neuroscience research is accessible to laymen and potentially instructive to working scientists. Kandel takes the reader through his thought processes as he describes experiments that led to some of the past decades' major neuroscience discoveries (some highlights of which are summarized in the review's Appendix), and eventually to his Nobel Prize. The review analyzes some of the terminological and conceptual issues that have often inhibited communication between behavior analysts and neuroscientists, with special attention to some of Bennett and Hacker's admonitions viewed from the perspective of language evolution and linguistics. The review then discusses opportunities for behavior analysts to collaborate with neuroscientists by applying behavioral contingency analysis to help specify the independent variables of neuroscience experiments described by Kandel. Finally, it examines Kandel's provocative heuristics for locating important research problems, and the lessons that can be gleaned from the book regarding the attributes of potentially great achievers.