The phrase "Find True North" evokes the idea of movement in the right direction, but sometimes the phrase acquires a more metaphoric meaning of understanding where we are and where we are going. For the fields of Soviet history and post-Soviet studies, the expression is meaningful in both literal and metaphorical senses. In recent years, the number of publications devoted to the history of the Russian North has been growing steadily, although not as spectacularly as the political science works on Arctic geopolitics. Even taken together, however, these studies represent only a small fraction of the scientific literature and media accounts ballooning since the last International Polar Year, held in 2007–2008.


With the popularity and the increasing of web services, how to composite automatically web services by request of user has become a challenge. Presents a way of dynamic composition of web services based on domain ontology. This way generates a web services composition graphics that is based on domain ontology by using domain ontology and semantic technology, according to graphics can support automatic discovery, dispatch, compositions of web services. This way considers synthetically semantic support, domain characteristic and automatic composition of web services. In the last, validates the availability of this way.


The innovations introduced in the Italian Health Care System by the legislative decrees No. 502/92 and 517/93 are remarkable, drawing on managerial methods and organizational structure of hospitals. To face this kind of change, in 1995 the "Policlinico A. Gemelli" prepared a five-year Strategic Plan that gave strategical lines and targets to be pursued. This plan has isolated 3 main strategical projects to be implemented with the participation of all medical and managerial professionals operating in the "Policlinico". The most complex project is that of the reengineering of management processes, we expect to end during 1998. The main target is to check the fundamental factors involved with the aim of achieving patient satisfaction as well as a cost-effective management.


Improving the quality of long-term care has been central to the agenda of successive UK Governments since the late 1980s and a number of mechanisms have been introduced to achieve this end. The quality assurance framework that exists in England is comprehensive and supported by legislation. It is also supported by a number of national quality measures, including performance indicators from administrative systems to user surveys and composite measures of quality. There is close interaction between the quality assurance system and the collection of data for quality measures; additionally, the measures are used to support quality assurance activities. This relationship has consequences for the accuracy and validity of the measures.


We calculate the Ds1(2536)+ decays into D*K channels, including the decay Ds1(2536)+ → D+π−K+ through a virtual D*0 in a constituent quark model. Widths and S/D amplitudes ratio are in agreement with the recent Belle and BABAR data, being the results sensitive to 1P1 and 3P1 mixture.


We study the sequences generated by neuronal recurrence equations of the form x(n) = 1[ ∑k j=1 ajx(n − j) − θ], where k is the size of memory (k represents the number of previous states x(n − 1), x(n − 2), . . . , x(n − k) which intervene in the calculation of x(n)). We are interested in the number of steps (transient length) from an initial configuration to the cycle. We propose a method of construction of transient from a cycle generated by neuronal recurrence equation. We apply this method to build a neuronal recurrence equation with inhibitory memory of size (s + 1)6m, whose dynamics contains an evolution of transient length (s + 1)× (5m + 2 + lcm(p0, p1, . . . , ps−1, 3m − 1)) and a cycle of length (s + 1) × lcm(p0, p1, . . . , ps−1, 2m + 1) where lcm denotes the least common multiple, and p0, p1, . . . , ps−1 are prime numbers lying between 2m and 3m. MIRAMARE – TRIESTE November 2005 Regular Associate of ICTP.


. We study tilings of polygons R with arbitrary convex polygonal tiles. Such tilings come in continuous families obtained by moving tile edges parallel to themselves (keeping edge directions fixed). We study how the tile shapes and areas change in these families. In particular we show that if R is convex, the tile shapes can be arbitrarily prescribed (up to homothety). We also show that the tile areas and tile "orientations" determine the tiling. We associate to a tiling an underlying bipartite planar graph G and its corresponding Kasteleyn matrix K . If G has quadrilateral faces, we show that K is the differential of the map from edge intercepts to tile areas, and extract some geometric and probabilistic consequences.


The paper provides a theoretical and analytical review of modern methods of diagnosing anxiety states and personal anxiety, which have been used by Russian scientists in recent years. The paper presents the arguments of scientists about the nature and psychological and pedagogical characteristics of personal anxiety as a property of personality, mental state and character traits. The paper describes the scientific apparatus and methodological tools of diagnostic procedures. The methods used in the study (observation, survey, analysis of the products of educational activity, Spielberg-Khanin's method of personal and situational anxiety, the J. Taylor's method of measuring the level of anxiety, the method "Multidimensional assessment of child anxiety" (MACA), statistical methods of data processing are highlighted and the empirical results are discussed. The results  indicat that it is necessary to separate the scientific concepts of anxiety and uneasiness as non-fundamental and having a different psychological and physiological basis.


CSD2007-0022, INGENIO 2010 Deliverable D1.1 (WP1, Task 1.1) Up to half a page describing the essential results contained in the deliverable Keyword list: keywords useful for document classification and information retrieval Copyright c © 2010 The contributors Document Identifier AT/2008/D5.2.1/v1.0 Project CSD2007-0022, INGENIO 2010 Task T5.2 Version v1.0 Date December 31, 2008 State final Distribution public Agreement Technologies Consortium This document is part of a research project funded by the Consolider Programme of the Ministry of Science and Innovation as project number CSD2007-0022, INGENIO 2010. Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC) Institut d'Investigació en Intel·ligència Artificial (IIIA) Coordinator Campus UAB 08193, Bellaterra Catalonia Spain Contact person: Carles Sierra E-mail address: email@example.com Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) Centre for Intelligent Information Technologies (CETINIA) Campus de Móstoles C/ Tulipán s/n E-28933 Móstoles (Madrid) Spain Contact person: Sascha Ossowski E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) Departament de Sistemes Informàtics i Computació Camino de Vera s/n 40622 València Spain Contact person : Vicent Botti E-mail address: email@example.com Work package participants The following partners have taken an active part in the work leading to the elaboration of this document, even if they might not have directly contributed to writing parts of this document: IIIA-CSIC, Bellaterra Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid Universitat Politcnica de Valncia, Valncia


A new collective band with high dynamic moment of inertia in 158Er at spins beyond band termination has been found in addition to the two previously reported ones. The measured transition quadrupole moments (Qt) of these three bands are very similar. These three bands have been suggested to possess a triaxial strongly deformed shape, based on comparisons with calculations using the cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky model and with tilted axis cranking calculations using the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock model. In addition, three collective bands with similar high dynamic moments of inertia, tentatively assigned to 157Ho, have been observed. Thus, it is suggested that all these structures share a common underlying character and that they are most likely associated with triaxial strongly deformed minima which are predicted to be close to the yrast line at spin 50 – 70ℏ.


SUMMARY – In this article, we outline the latest guidelines published by the American Heart Association on sexual activity in patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, structural heart diseases, arrhythmias, implanted pacemakers or cardioverter defibrillators, as well as on treatment options of sexual dysfunction. Sexual activities are similar to mild/moderate physical activity during a short period. Most patients are recommended to involve in sexual activity after prior comprehensive evaluation of physical condition. Those with stable cardiac symptoms and good functional capacity are at a low risk of adverse cardiovascular events, and others require treatment or stabilization before involving in sexual activity. Stress testing is useful in evaluating safety of sexual activity in patients with questionable or undetermined risk. Treatment of sexual dysfunction includes counseling of patients and their sexual partners, and drug treatment with phosphodiesterase inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil) which have been demonstrated to be safe and effective, in men, and with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (flibanserin) and local vaginal estrogen administration in women. In conclusion, in routine clinical practice, patients should be approached individually and multidisciplinarily in order to detect and eliminate the factors that interfere with normal sexual activities and disturb the quality of life.


The subdivision based halftoning algorithm works in a statistical way. Analysis of its output shows that, error accumulation and rounding operation may produce big quantization error, and there may be artifacts in its output. Some improvements have been proposed. First, a procedure is added to find cases with big quantization error, and to solve the problem. Second, instead of propagating error sequentially as in the algorithm, propagating error along random directions has been tested to reduce the artifacts in the output. Third, propagating error along a direction, in which the quantization error of each subpart is the minimum, has also been tested to improve the output quality. Halftoning tests show that the improved algorithm produces clearer output than the original.


We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first all-fiber frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) device based on cross-phase modulation in chalcogenide glass. The amplitude and phase of pulses as short as 390 fs at femtojoule energy levels are accurately characterized without direction-of-time ambiguity in the retrieved pulse. A measurement sensitivity of 18  mW2 is achieved from the strong nonlinearity of a 10 cm long chalcogenide microwire.


Microcystins (MCs) are a group of monocyclic heptapeptide toxins produced by species of cyanobacteria. Since MCs exhibit acute and chronic effects on humans and wildlife by damaging the liver, they are of increasing concern worldwide. In this study, we investigated the ability of the phthalocyanine compound (ZnPc-TiO2-SiO2) to degrade microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in the presence of visible light. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS) were utilized to characterize the crystalline phase and the absorption behavior of this catalyst. According to the results, XRD spectra of ZnPc-TiO2-SiO2 powders taken in the 2θ configuration exhibited the peaks characteristic of the anatase phase. UV-Vis DRS showed that the absorption band wavelength shifted to the visible range when ZnPc was supported on the surface of TiO2-SiO2. Subsequently, several parameters including catalyst dose, MC-LR concentrations and pH were investigated. The MC-LR was quantified in each sample through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The maximum MC-LR degradation rate of 80.2% can be obtained within 300 minutes under the following conditions: catalyst dose of 7.50 g/L, initial MC-LR concentration of 17.35 mg/L, pH 6.76 and the first cycling run of the photocatalytic reaction. Moreover, the degradation process fitted well with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model.


In this study, the fatigue life of fiber reinforced composite (FRC) materials system was investigated. A nano-filler was used to increase the service life of the composite structures under cyclical loading since such structures require improved structural integrity and longer service life. Behaviour of glass fiber reinforced composite (GFRC) enhanced with various weight percentages (1 to 5 wt. %) of Cloisite 30B montmorillonite (MMT) clay was studied under static and fatigue loading. Epoxy clay nanocomposite (ECN) and hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates were characterised using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The mechanical properties of neat GFRC and hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates were evaluated. Fatigue study of the composite laminates was conducted and presented using the following parameter; matrix crack initiation and propagation, interfacial debonding, delamination and S–N relationship. Residual strength of the materials was evaluated using DMA to determine the reliability of the hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates. The results showed that ECN and hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates exhibited substantial improvement in most tests when compared to composite without nanoclay. The toughening mechanism of the nanoclay in the GFRC up to 3 wt. % gave 17%, 24% and 56% improvement in tensile, flexural and impact properties respectively. In the fatigue performance, less crack propagations was found in the hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminates. Fatigue life of hybrid nanoclay/GFRC laminate was increased by 625% at the nanoclay addition up to 3 wt. % when compared to neat GFRC laminate. The residual strength of the composite materials revealed that hybrid nanoclay/GFRC showed less storage modulus reduction after fatigue. Likewise, a positive shift toward the right was found in the tan delta glass transition temperature (Tg) of 3 wt. % nanoclay/GFRC laminate after fatigue. It was concluded that the application of nanoclay in the GFRC improved the performance of the material. The hybrid nanoclay/GFRC material can therefore be recommended mechanically and thermally for longer usage in structural application.


Background Intestinal protozoa infection consists of infection from Giardia lamblia and Blastocystis hominis. The occurrence is linked with poor personal hygiene, poor sanitation facilities and low education level. Previous studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the prevalence of intestinal protozoa infection. However, the prevalence of intestinal protozoa infection in the urban area of Indonesia has yet to be performed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal protozoa infections in urban region of Indonesia and the contributing sociodemographic factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed among 278 healthy inhabitants in Depok from January to March 2012. Screening for protozoa infection was done through stool sample analysis, in which positive results are indicated by finding cysts or trophozoites. Results Among the 278 subjects, the overall prevalence of protozoa infections was 12.59%, 88.57% of which was due to Blastocystis hominis. The sociodemographic factor that is significantly associated with the occurrence of intestinal protozoa infection was low BMI level. The normal BMI and obese BMI subjects were at a 0.417 and 0.174 risk of presenting with protozoa infection, respectively, compared to low BMI. The underlying mechanisms include increased bowel permeability and impairment of bowel barrier function, lower IgA antibody level, and villous atrophy. Conclusions Low BMI level was correlated with increased prevalence of protozoa infection in urban region of Indonesia, Depok.


flora associated with overgrowth and contributing to carriage.6 Quinolones are more selective. Consideration of the above data should lead to a new approach to the management of salmonellosis. Firstly, in the case of an outbreak we recommend that all of those affected receive an oral quinolone to treat the infected focus (inflammation of the gut) and to prevent development of the carrier state. After a few days food handlers can return to work (V pamjenovic and others, unpublished work). Secondly, in the event of a food handler (such as a butcher, baker, or cook) being shown to be a salmonella carrier oral ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin are very likely to clear the carrier of salmonella excretion and hence his or her professional problem within a few days. The legal and economic implications are considerable. Dr Cruickshank states that microbiological follow up is not required for the following reasons. Results from single stool examinations are often misleading because of intermittent salmonella excretion. Random sampling in people without symptoms yields so few positive results as to make any benefit very expensive. Now with the use of both enrichment and selective culture to detect low concentrations of salmonella in stools we may be able to overcome the often misleading impression gained by using limited techniques and subsequent underestimated carriage. Moreover, the availability of an effective treatment makes the microbiological surveillance of faecal samples useful and even mandatory. These new insights do not replace good hygiene and education through training programmes, the importance of which Dr Cruickshank so rightly emphasised, but the selective decontamination of the digestive tract by oral quinolone is a worthwhile addition to the traditional measures.


The usual inverse problem in petroleum reservoir engineering seeks rock permeability and porosity distributions from data on fluid property, well pressure and production rate. A simple, but potentially useful, specialisation considers flow of a single fluid phase along radial lines to a single well. An approach to this diffusion problem is presented, following an analogy to an existing one for wave propagation problems. This development is based on a parallel to the progressing wave expansion and may also be considered a transformation to the corresponding inverse problem for a wave equation. Several equivalent formulations are possible. All are severely affected by data errors. In fact, for some small deviations from correct data, the coefficient identification problem for diffusion has no reasonably smooth solution.


This essay explores the author's engaged research trajectory into several agro-industrial enclaves in contemporary Italy. Stemming from solidarity work in support of migrant laborers living in slums and camps, and of their demands for legal recognition and better living and work conditions, the essay shows how the interrogation of these spaces' multiple, layered pasts helps to better understand and contrast forms of containment, extraction, and racialized and gendered violence in the present. In particular, the essay pits narratives that portray such agro-industrial enclaves and the people that inhabit them as anachronistic residues against deep genealogies of racial capitalism and of the rhetorical tropes that sustained them. Carceral-like containment and, more generally, spatial segregation are shown to run through and thus be foundational in the history of capitalist agriculture, across geographies that link Italy to global flows.


Due to the lack of potential organs, hepatocellular transplantation has been considered for treating end-stage liver disease. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are reverted from somatic cells and are able to differentiate into hepatocytes. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying iPSC differentiation to hepatocytes. GSE66076 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus; this database includes data from 3 undifferentiated (T0), 3 definitive endoderm (T5), and 3 early hepatocyte (T24) samples across hepatic-directed differentiation of iPSCs. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between T0 and T5 or T24 samples were identified using the linear models for microarray data package in Bioconductor, and enrichment analyses were performed. Using the weighted correlation network analysis package in R, clusters were identified for the merged DEGs. Cytoscape was used to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks for DEGs identified to belong to significant clusters. Using the ReactomeFI plugin in Cytoscape, functional interaction (FI) networks were constructed for the common genes. A total of 433 and 1,342 DEGs were identified in the T5 and T24 samples respectively, compared with the T0 samples. Blue and turquoise clusters were identified as significant gene clusters. In the PPI network for DEGs in the blue cluster, the key node fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) could interact with bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2). Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) was demonstrated to have the highest degree (degree=71) in the PPI network for DEGs in the turquoise cluster. Enrichment analysis for the common genes, including hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4A) and epidermal growth factor (EGF), in the FI network indicated that EGF and FGF2 were enriched in the Ras and Rap1 signaling pathways. The present results suggest that FGF2, BMP2, CDK1, HNF4A and EGF may participate in the differentiation of iPSCs into hepatocytes.


BACKGROUND
The presence, types, disclosure rates, and effects of conflicts of interest (COIs) on autism early intervention research have not previously been studied. The purpose of this study was to examine these issues.

METHODS
This study is a secondary analysis of a comprehensive meta-analysis of all group-design, nonpharmacological early intervention autism research conducted between 1970 and 2018. We coded reports for the presence/absence of COI statements, the types of COIs that were disclosed, and for 8 types of COIs, including (a) the author developed the intervention, (b) the author is affiliated with a clinical provider, (c) the author is employed by a clinical provider, (d) the author is affiliated with an institution that trains others to use the intervention, (e) the author receives payment or royalties related to the intervention, (f) the study was funded by an intervention provider, (g) the study used a commercially available measure developed by the author, and (h) proceeds of the intervention fund the author's research. Frequencies and proportions were calculated to determine prevalence of COIs and COI disclosures. Meta-analysis was used to estimate summary effects by COI type and to determine if they were larger than for reports with no coded COIs.

RESULTS
Seventy percent of reports were coded for ≥ 1 COI, but only ~ 6% of reports contained COI statements fully accounting for all coded COIs. Metaregressions did not detect significant influences of any COI type on summary effects; however, point estimates for each COI type were larger than for reports with no coded COIs.

CONCLUSIONS
Conflicts of interest are prevalent but under-reported in autism early intervention research. Improved reporting practices are necessary for researcher transparency and would enable more robust examination of the effects of COIs on research outcomes.


Background: Platinum-based therapy continues to be one of the pillars of the treatment of different types of cancer. However, many times the responsible clinician renounces its use after the appearance of a hypersensitivity reaction.Objective: To assess the value of skin tests (ST) in clinical practice to address the treatment of patients with suspicion of immediate hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) to platinum salts.Methods: Single-center retrospective study performed for 3 years. Adult patients treated with any platinum salt who experienced HSR symptoms and for whom an oncologist requested ST, were included. ST with cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin were performed. Results: Twenty-two patients were included. ST were positive in 12 patients (54.5%), of which 4 (33%) presented cross-reactivity to another platinum salt. Fifteen patients continued platinum-based chemotherapy: 9 patients with positive ST (4 continued by desensitization and 5 with another platinum) and 6 patients with negative ST, of which 1 repeated an HSR. A NPV of 0.91 was calculated. Conclusion: ST allowed accurate identification of platinum allergy patients and the resumption of platinum-based therapy in many patients for whom no suitable therapeutic alternative was clinically acceptable.


The science community is making a concerted effort to improve the reliability of dispersion models for the forecasting of volcanic ash plumes. Toward this end, it has been observed that the assimilation of diverse, accurate and frequent surface, airborne and satellite observations of the source and distal ash plumes may hold the key. Various international research organizations and operational agencies make these observations using a variety of active and passive remote sensing systems and use them to initialize atmospheric trajectory and dispersion models. These observation systems range from surface LIDAR and ceilometers, to airborne radiometers and nephelometers, to satellite radiometers, multi-spectral imagers, LIDAR and UV-photometers. None of these systems alone is a panacea, however, their synergistic application holds great promise toward solving this complex problem. Additionally, the aeronautical and science communities are working to better understand the quantitative thresholds and tolerances of aviation systems to volcanic ash to better inform scientists of the accuracy requirements for dispersion model forecasts. A number of the most recent and promising efforts in all of these area are discussed in this presentation.


This work is interested in the study of the passage of a long gravity wave above an immersed vertical barrier. The latter is placed at a right angle in the middle of the occupied fluid domain which is limited vertically by both a free surface and an impermeable horizontal bottom. We want to determine the field velocity and the local disturbances in the vicinity of the barrier. For this, we use the generalized theory of shallow water and complex variables method. For illustration, we consider a solitary wave as an emitted long wave.


Biological rhythms are ubiquitous being demonstrable of any level of organization in living matter. However, the myriad of biological oscillators in peripheral organs are organized and synchronized by special structure, i.e., biological clocks, mostly located in central nervous system. Neural pacemakers show intrinsic properties which are illustrated and discussed. Understanding the meaning and function of neural oscillators is fundamental for those who wants to know how the biological structure of time is processed in living systems.


Multiplexed detection assays that analyze a modest number of nucleic acid targets over large sample sets are emerging as the preferred testing approach in such applications as routine pathogen typing, outbreak monitoring, and diagnostics. However, very few DNA testing platforms have proven to offer a solution for mid-plexed analysis that is high-throughput, sensitive, and with a low cost per test. In this work, an enhanced genotyping method based on MassCode technology was devised and integrated as part of a high-throughput mid-plexing analytical system that facilitates robust qualitative differential detection of DNA targets. Samples are first analyzed using MassCode PCR (MC-PCR) performed with an array of primer sets encoded with unique mass tags. Lambda exonuclease and an array of MassCode probes are then contacted with MC-PCR products for further interrogation and target sequences are specifically identified. Primer and probe hybridizations occur in homogeneous solution, a clear advantage over micro- or nanoparticle suspension arrays. The two cognate tags coupled to resultant MassCode hybrids are detected in an automated process using a benchtop single quadrupole mass spectrometer. The prospective value of using MassCode probe arrays for multiplexed bioanalysis was demonstrated after developing a 14plex proof of concept assay designed to subtype a select panel of Salmonella enterica serogroups and serovars. This MassCode system is very flexible and test panels can be customized to include more, less, or different markers.


A 10-ps, 263-nm (4ω) laser is being built to probe plasmas produced on the OMEGA EP [J. H. Kelly, L. J. Waxer, V. Bagnoud, I. A. Begishev, J. Bromage, B. E. Kruschwitz, T. E. Kessler, S. J. Loucks, D. N. Maywar, R. L. McCrory et al., J. Phys. IV France 133, 75-80 (2006)]. A suite of optical diagnostics (schlieren, interferometry, and grid image refractometry) has been designed to diagnose and characterize a wide variety of plasmas. Light scattered by the probe beam is collected by an f/4 catadioptric telescope and a transport system is designed to image with a near-diffraction-limited resolution (~1 - μm full width at half maximum) over a 5-mm field of view to a diagnostic table. The transport system provides a contrast greater than 1 : 10(4) with respect to all wavelengths outside of the 263 ± 2 nm measurement range.


To address the lack of knowledge on the quantitative effects of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the small occupant, 55 drop tower tests were conducted and the resulting responses were evaluated. A previous technical publication evaluated the results of drop tower testing of twelve models of blast energy-attenuating seats1. That study assessed the data recorded from three sizes of anthropomorphic test devices, or ATDs, including the Hybrid III 5th percentile female, the Hybrid III 50th percentile male, and the Hybrid III 95th percentile male. The forces, moments, and accelerations from the ATDs were compared to Injury Assessment Reference Values (IARVs) to validate the drop tower methodology and to evaluate the appropriateness of the IARVs developed for the three occupant sizes. The data review revealed that the maximum lumbar compression loads recorded by the ATDs was an effective "go/no-go" criteria for judging seat performance, and that the 5th percentile female ATD, or small occupant, was the most difficult to pass the corresponding lumbar compression IARV. Additionally, the 5th percentile female ATD exceeded its corresponding IARV for upper neck compression, leading to the motivation for this study; the data set from the previous technical publication was used in this study.Historically, blast mitigation seats are designed to accommodate the average sized occupant, or 50th percentile male. Moving forward, there is a new emphasis on extending the protection afforded to the full military population, including the small female. The data presented in this paper seeks to determine the effect of PPE on the lumbar compression and upper neck loads for the small occupant.© 2015 ASME


Times are changing in the electric utility industry and public groups are taking a more active role in the integrated resource planning (IRP) process by presenting their advice and consultation on matters of public concerns as evidenced in this paper's abstracts that summarize the panel session held during the 1994 Summer Power Meeting in San Francisco, California. Each panelist presented a different perspective on public participation in the IRP process with examples of how their companies developed and implemented this process. This paper summarizes the individual presentations and discussions.


Small-molecule modulators of neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1), a class A G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), has emerged as promising therapeutic agent for psychiatric disorders and cancer. Interestingly, a chemical group substitution in NTSR1 modulators can launch different types of downstream regulation, highlighting the significance of deciphering the internal fine-tuning mechanism. Here, we conducted a synergistic application of a Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics simulation, a conventional molecular dynamics simulation, and Markov state models (MSM) to investigate the underlying mechanism of 'driver chemical groups' of modulators triggering inverse signaling. The results indicated that the flexibility of the leucine moiety in NTSR1 agonists contributes to the inward displacement of TM7 through a loosely coupled allosteric pathway, while the rigidity of the adamantane moiety in NTSR1 antagonists leads to unfavorable downward transduction of agonistic signaling. Furthermore, we found that R3226.54, Y3196.51, F3537.42, R1483.32, S3567.45, and S3577.46 may play a key role in inducing the activation of NTSR1. Together, our findings not only highlight the ingenious signal transduction within class A GPCRs but also lay a foundation for the development of targeted drugs harboring different regulatory functions of NTSR1.


Group A Streptococcus pyogenes has surface-located fibronectin (Fn)-binding proteins known to be a major virulence factor, which adheres to and invades host cells. We present a novel Fn-binding protein of group A streptococcus serotype M3 and M18 strains isolated from patients with toxic shock-like syndrome (TSLS). By searching the whole genome sequence of an M3 strain from a TSLS patient, an open reading frame was found among the putative surface proteins. It possessed an LPXTG motif and Fn-binding repeat domains in the C-terminal region and was designated as FbaB (Fn-binding protein of group A streptococci type B). The fbaB gene was found in all M3 and M18 strains examined, although not in other M serotypes. Furthermore, FbaB protein was expressed on the cell surface of TSLS strains but not on non-TSLS ones. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and ligand blotting revealed that recombinant FbaB exhibits a strong Fn-binding ability. An FbaB-deficient mutant strain showed 6-fold lower adhesion and invasion efficiencies to HEp-2 cells than the wild type. Moreover, mortality was decreased in mice infected with the mutant strain in comparison to the wild type. These data suggest that FbaB is etiologically involved in the development of invasive streptococcal diseases.


The pair heterogeneous mean-field (PHMF) model has been used extensively in previous studies to investigate the dynamics of susceptible-infectious-susceptible epidemics on complex networks. However, the approximate treatment of the classical or reduced PHMF models lacks a rigorous theoretical analysis. By means of the standard and full PHMF models, we first derived the equivalent conditions for the approximate model treatment. Furthermore, we analytically derived a novel epidemic threshold for the PHMF model, and we demonstrated via numerical simulations that this threshold condition differs from all those reported in earlier studies. Our findings indicate that both the reduced and full PHMF models agree well with continuous-time stochastic simulations, especially when infection is spreading at considerably higher rates.


This paper aims to demonstrate to what extent Australian stock market is correlated with those of 18 frontier markets of five different regions. We also investigate the long-run relationship between these markets. Empirical results of AGDCC GARCH model reveal that the correlations of Australian stock market with those of frontier markets are changing over time. Results show that Australia has weak correlations with all the frontier markets that are considered. Further, our analysis confirms that the effect of the GFC on stock markets' interdependence is limited to only few markets. The cointegration test results display that there is no evidence of long-run relationship between Australia and frontier markets. Empirical findings of our study suggest that Australian stock market is weakly correlated with those of frontier markets. Therefore, our study findings suggest that the Australian investors can diversify their portfolios into these frontier markets for gaining higher risk-adjusted returns.


The Authors take into consideration some of the laryngocele cases which came to their observation and do some considerations about diagnosis and surgery of this non-frequent disease of the larynx. They explain the various surgical techniques for the exeresis of the three types of the laryngocele: external, internal and mixed. They describe a new technique for the removal of the internal laryngocele through direct mycrolaryngoscope endoscopy by electric dissection. Such method, when correctly practicable, offers some important advantages in respect of external surgery techniques.


This study collates compositional analysis of seaweeds data with information generated from in vitro gas production assays in the presence and absence of seaweeds. The aim was to assess and rank 27 native northern European seaweeds as potential feed ingredients for use to reduce methane emissions from ruminants. It provides information for use in future in vivo dietary trials concerning feed manipulation strategies to reduce CH4 emissions efficiently from domestic ruminants based on dietary seaweed supplementation. The seaweeds H. siliquosa and A. nodosum belonging to phylum Phaeophyta displayed the highest concentration of phlorotannins and antioxidant activity among the macroalgae giving anti-methanogenic effect in vitro, while this explanation was not valid for the observed reduction in methane when supplementing with C. filum and L. digitata in this study. D. carnosa and C. tenuicorne belonging to phylum Rhodophyta had the highest protein content among the macroalgae that reduced methane production in vitro. There were no obvious explanation from the compositional analysis conducted in this study to the reduced methane production in vitro when supplementing with U. lactuca belonging to phylum Chlorophyta. The strongest and most complete methane inhibition in vitro was observed when supplementing with Asparagopsis taxiformis that was used as a positive control in this study.


Concrete pavements are well known for long structural life. The major challenge, however, is to provide a durable surface with adequate skid resistance for economy and safety. This paper examines the long-term frictional performance of eight different surface textures on 197 sections of concrete pavements within the long-term pavement performance (LTPP) program database. Analysis shows that tined and (or) grooved textures maintain consistently higher skid resistance over time and the surface friction of concrete pavements is less sensitive to ambient temperature. Cumulative traffic passes are more sensitive to longevity of friction than the cumulative axle loads. Five alternative models have also been successfully developed for prediction of the long-term skid resistance of concrete pavements as a function of texture type, cumulative traffic passes, speed, and concrete compressive strength. These models were shown to be statistically significant at 95% confidence levels with reasonable prediction accuracy.


During the 1990s a number of trials were implemented in the summer-rainfall region of South Africa to determine both the short- and long-term impacts of competing vegetation on eucalypt growth. Trial sites were selected across different physiographic regions such that a range of altitudinal, climatic and environmental gradients were represented. Although the understanding gained from these trials allowed for the development of vegetation management standards, their operational and economic viability needed to be tested on a commercial basis. Five eucalypt trials were thus initiated to test the applicability of these standards when utilised on a commercial scale. One of the trials was situated at a lower-altitude site (65 m above sea level [asl]), two at mid-altitude sites (878 and 1 262 m asl), and two at higher-altitude sites (1 469 and 1 590 m asl). Several vegetation management treatments developed to suit the predicted vegetation load at each site were implemented and varied according to either weeding intensity (high, moderate and low), or the area around the tree that was kept free of vegetation (no vegetation control, a row weeding and complete vegetation control). Following tree crown closure at each trial, tree growth was linked to the level of vegetation management in each treatment and its associated total cost up to canopy closure, allowing for the development of different cost-benefit comparisons. The intensity of vegetation management required to produce significant growth benefits decreased with increasing altitude, as did the area that needed to be kept free from competing vegetation. In contrast to the two higher-altitude sites, where tree growth did not benefit from vegetation management, a significant increase in tree growth occurred for the high- and moderate-intensity vegetation management operations at the three mid- and lower-altitude sites. Besides demonstrating the commercial applicability of research results, this series of trials has shown that site-dependent vegetation management is viable on a commercial scale and will allow the South African forest industry to adjust their weed control budgets on a regional basis (linked to altitude).


NAFLD is an emerging problem in Asia, with raising prevalence and strong impact on the health care system. More and more people will suffer from not only the liver impairment of NAFLD but also the associated metabolic diseases e.g. DM and hypertension. The incidence of DM, hypertension, coronary heart diseases (CHD) and stroke will increase together with the prevalence of NAFLD and the health service expenditure will rise in coming decades. However the prevalence of and the metabolic diseases associated with NAFLD are not well studied in Asian populations. The objective of this project is to systematically review the articles related to NAFLD.


Main shock and aftershock accelerograms from the Loma Prieta earthquake sequence are analyzed to study relative ground amplification at sites in the city of San Francisco. Main shock spectra are estimated for those stations that recorded only aftershocks by comparing their records to those from stations that recorded both. The ratios of the spectra with respect to a stable bedrock station located at Fort Mason show distinct spectral shapes that are strongly correlated with the rock type underlying the site. Earthquake damage is quantified using estimates of the Modified Mercalli Intensity at the recording sites and safety tags issued by the City of San Francisco Building Department. These intensities are compared with ground amplification in three frequency bands and with the intensities at the same sites from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. There is sufficient correlation to show that site amplification is one of the controlling factors in damage distribution.


The disappearance rate of intravenously injected Evan's Blue dye from the circulation (EBDR) has been studied in 21 normotensive primigravidae and 23 primigravidae with proteinuric pre-eclampsia. The EBDR is faster in those with pre-eclampsia and results in differences in plasma volume in pre-eclamptics depending on the method of calculation. The EBDR correlates with serum albumin concentration and total body water in pre-eclamptics, but not in normotensive pregnancies.


Serum C-peptide immunoreactivity (CPR)/immunoreactive insulin (IRI) molar ratio was determined in 136 subjects without renal, hepatic and thyroid disorders, at fasting, and during the initial period of 75 g-oral glucose tolerance test. The subjects were divided into 4 groups based on their body weight and age; Group A, young (< 55 years) and normal body weight (body mass index [BMI, kg/m2] < or = 25) subjects; Group B, young and overweight (BMI > 25) subjects; Group C, aged (> or = 55 years) and normal body weight (BMI < or = 25) subjects; Group D, aged and overweight subjects. Fasting CPR/IRI ratio and absolute CPR level negatively correlated in Groups B and D but not in A and C. After oral glucose load with elevation of insulin, CPR/IRI ratio invariably declined in all groups and significant negative correlation between CPR/IRI and CPR was found in Groups A, B and D but not in C. Slope of the regression lines obtained for correlation between CPR/IRI ratio and CPR were significantly steeper at fasting compared to the post-stimulation phase. CPR/IRI ratio is affected by hyperinsulinemia and oral glucose load but not by obesity alone. Assuming that CPR/IRI ratio reflects hepatic extraction of insulin, the insulin clearance at fasting is progressively reduced with increasing insulin secretion in overweight subjects: failure to detect such phenomenon in normal body weight subjects may be due to a narrower CPR range in this population. Insulin metabolism at fasting and during glucose stimulation is likely to be regulated by distinct factors.


Education and research in the field of telecommunications and networking can prove problematic without the proper resources and tools on the most relevant issues, trends, and advancements. Selected Readings on Telecommunications and Networking supplements course instruction and student research with quality chapters focused on key issues concerning the planning, design, maintenance, and management of telecommunications and networking technologies. Containing over 30 chapters from authors across the globe, these selected readings in areas such as collaborative technologies, virtual teams, and wireless systems depict the most relevant and important areas of classroom discussion within the categories of Fundamental Concepts and Theories; Development and Design Methodologies; Tools and Technologies; Application and Utilization; Critical Issues; and Emerging Trends.


Abstract The ways in which anorexia nervosa (AN) has been described and explained has differed drastically over time, although since it was first named in 1874 it has been primarily associated with women and girls, it is argued in this paper that it came to be more fundamentally associated with femininity due to certain disciplinary changes in the psy sciences. The influential psychiatrist Hilde Bruch lamented the loss in clarity of the clinical picture that was the result of psychoanalytic interpretations, to remedy this she reformulated AN into a pathology that was the result of the individual being too determined by external influences. Bruch's changes increased the emphasis that psychiatrists placed on the relationship between women and their social context and the lack of individual autonomy that many felt. Feminist writers adapted Bruch's theory to suggest that patriarchal culture was colonizing the lives of women and that social rather than individual change needed to occur. Psychiatrists subsequently developed scales for assessing gender identity which switched the emphasis back onto individuals and rendered gender as an individualised, quantifiable, manipulable object. When reified and individualised in this fashion it became more legitimate to discuss femininity as causative of, and masculinity as a protection against, AN.


Accretion of muscle mass is dependent upon faster rates of protein synthesis than degradation. When an animal is deprived of dietary protein, loss of body weight and negative nitrogen balance ensue. Likewise, refeeding accelerates protein synthesis and results in resumption of positive nitrogen balance. Amino acids and anabolic hormones both interact to maximally enhance rates of protein synthesis acutely during refeeding through an acceleration of the messenger RNA (mRNA) translation initiation. The review will illuminate the molecular mechanisms responsible for increasing mRNA translation initiation in striated muscle. The hastening of mRNA translation initiation most likely results from a stimulation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) acting through its downstream effector proteins eukaryotic initiation factors (eIF)4E binding protein1 and possibly eIF4G to enhance assembly of eIF4G with eIF4E and 70-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase1. Amino acids and leucine in particular are as effective as a complete meal in stimulating mRNA translation initiation by targeting these specific signal transduction systems. The physiologic importance lies in the potential ability of amino acids as specific nutrients designed to counteract the accelerated host protein wasting associated with a number of disease entities, including cancer, HIV infection, sepsis, and diabetes, and to improve nutrition to maintain muscle mass in aging populations and ensure muscle growth in neonatal populations.


A novel folate conjugate of desacetylvinblastine monohydrazide (DAVLBH), herein referred to as EC140, was designed and evaluated for biological activity against folate receptor (FR)-positive cells and tumors. EC140 was produced by coupling a peptidic analogue of the vitamin folic acid to DAVLBH via an acylhydrazone bond. This water-soluble conjugate was found to retain high affinity for FR-positive cells, and it produced specific, dose-responsive activity in vitro. Initial in vivo tests confirmed EC140's activity in both syngeneic and xenograft models. Hence, enduring complete responses were observed in animals bearing established, subcutaneous tumors prior to therapy using regimens that produced minor toxicity. In contrast, treatment with the unconjugated DAVLBH drug produced nominal efficacy when dosed at its MTD. Overall, EC140's performance in vitro and in vivo warrants further preclinical study before this novel targeted chemotherapeutic is considered for clinical investigation.


OBJECTIVE
Renal cell carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor to involve the kidneys; however, a number of other entities--called renal pseudotumors--may mimic renal neoplasms on imaging. This article presents the imaging features and pathologic correlation of some of the common and uncommon renal pseudomasses.

CONCLUSION
Many renal lesions look similar to renal cell carcinoma on radiologic imaging. The imaging features of renal pseudotumors presented in this article will help radiologists to identify them and to triage these patients for appropriate management.


BACKGROUND Spermatocytic tumor is a rare, malignant neoplasm of the testes. Since the prognosis for this tumor type is favorable, accurate diagnosis and differentiation from other malignant testicular neoplasms (classic seminoma and lymphoma) are crucial. To add to the existing literature on the diagnosis of spermatocytic tumor, herein we report the detailed clinical and histopathologic findings for a case that we encountered. CASE SUMMARY A 60-year-old Chinese man presented with a solid mass in the right scrotum. The mass was surgically removed and spermatocytic tumor was diagnosed. On microscopy, the tumor cells displayed an unusual arrangement in lobules, presenting a pseudo-glandular appearance. To summarize and compare the diagnostic features of this tumor and those of the differential diagnoses, we report our case findings and those mentioned in the literature for various testicular tumors. Although imaging methods can detect masses early in development, their diagnostic capabilities are limited. Biopsy, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry are necessary for confirmatory diagnosis. CONCLUSION It is important to identify and review the key diagnostic features of spermatocytic tumor.


This article examines the relationship between the artist Ernst Barlach and the so-called conservative revolution, an overlooked aspect of his life and career. Of particular interest are Barlach's friendship with Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, an antiacademic and antibourgeois writer who became a leading political thinker on the right, and an important essay on Barlach published in 1935 by the prominent "young conservative" art critic Paul Fechter. Though Barlach was never politically engaged, the article suggests the degree to which his work and career were shaped by, and appealed to, such intellectuals.


The number of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) continues to decline due to parasitic mite pests and other factors. Honey bees and bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson) were therefore compared for their effects on the seed set of watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] in a 2-year field experiment. The experiment was a 2 x 4 + 2 factorial, comparing bee type (honey bee or bumble bee) at four visitation levels (1,6, 12, and 18 bee visits) to pistillate flowers, with two controls: a no-visit treatment and an open-pollinated treatment. Bee visitation level had a strong positive influence on seed set (P ≤ 0.0001). All flowers bagged to prevent insect visitation aborted, demonstrating the need for active pollen transfer between staminate and pistillate watermelon flowers. Flowers visited by B, impatiens consistently contained more seed than those visited by A. mellifera, when compared at equal bee visitation levels (P ≤ 0.0001). We conclude that bumble bees have great potential to serve as a supplemental pollinator for watermelon when honey bees available for rental are in limited supply.


Abstract Accurate interpretation of human genetic data is critical for optimizing outcomes in the era of genomic medicine. Powerful methods for testing genetic variants for functional effects are allowing researchers to characterize thousands of variants across disease genes. Here, we review experimental tools enabling highly scalable assays of variants, focusing specifically on Saturation Genome Editing (SGE). We discuss examples of how this technique is being implemented for variant testing at scale and describe how SGE data for BRCA1 have been clinically validated and used to aid variant interpretation. The initial success at predicting variant pathogenicity with SGE has spurred efforts to expand this and related techniques to many more genes.


In order to develop favorable textures for deep drawing of Al-Mg-Si and Mg-Al-Zn alloys that are promising as automotive body panels, we have adopted the symmetric/asymmetric combination rolling (SACR) process consisting of conventional symmetric rolling and subsequent asymmetric rolling at relatively low reduction. The combination of symmetric cold rolling and asymmetric warm rolling for AA6022 sheets leads to the formation of "TD-rotated β-fiber texture", resulting in the evolution of {111} recrystallization texture after solution treatment at a high temperature. The SACR processed and solution-treated sheets show a high average r-value with small in-plane anisotropy, and consequently the limiting drawing ratio increases significantly, compared to that of the cold-rolled and solution-treated sheets. In the case of AZ31 magnesium alloy, the SACR process by hot rolling causes the formation of a unique texture, which shows two (0001) poles with tilt angles of 0 and −40 degrees from the normal direction (ND) toward the rolling direction (RD). In addition, subsequent annealing weakens intensity of the double-peak texture, so that the drawability is greatly improved in comparison with that of the conventional warm-rolled sheets with a strong basal texture. At the same time, yield strength decreases to some extent, but the SACR processed and annealed sheets exhibit a good balance of strength and formability due to a mixed texture with basal and tilt components.


Differences in the intra-party balance of power explain variation in social democratic responses to the economic crisis of the late 1970s. This article evidences this claim by analysing the case of welfare state retrenchment by social democratic parties. Welfare state retrenchment is electorally risky for social democrats and often contrary to their principles. Therefore cases of welfare state retrenchment by social democrats provide an excellent case study of the difficult trade-offs parties have to make between office, policy and vote pay-offs. The article claims that leadership-dominated parties advance office-seeking strategies and are therefore responsive to economic conditions and public opinion. Conversely, activist-dominated parties advance policy-seeking strategies and therefore support traditional social democratic policy platforms or seek more radical solutions. By comparing seven social democratic parties (Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK) between 1980 and 2005, this article explains variation in when social democrats introduced welfare state retrenchment.


BackgroundAngiotensin II promotes growth of vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro via the autocrine production of growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and transforming growth factor-β. Furthermore, experimental studies have demonstrated that angiotensin infusion can enhance smooth muscle proliferation after balloon injury in vivo. Consistent with this, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have been shown to prevent myointimal proliferation. The origin of vascular angiotensin that participate in this process is of interest. We have demonstrated the presence of angiotensinogen messenger RNA (mRNA) in the adventitial and medial layers of the rat aorta and have speculated that local angiotensinogen production may play an important role during myointimal proliferation. To provide further evidence toward this hypothesis, we compared the localization and expression of angiotensinogen mRNA in control and balloon injured vessels using in situ hybridization. Methods and ResultsAbdominal aorta of Sprague-Dawley rats were studied before or after injury with a balloon catheter. Neointimal hyperplasia developed as documented morphologically by a progressive increase in the ratio of neointimal to medial thickness from 0.17 at 1 week to 1.17 at 6 weeks after injury. Angiotensinogen mRNA was detected clearly in the adventitia and media of control and injured aorta. However, at 1 week after injury, the medial-to-adventitial angiotensinogen mRNA ratio was higher in the injured aorta, suggesting increased gene expression in the media compared with control. Of potential importance, angiotensinogen mRNA was also detected in the neointima of the injured aorta, and this was also highest at 1 week after injury. ConclusionsThese data are consistent with the hypothesis that balloon injury leads to activation of the vascular renin-angiotensin system, which may participate in the myointimal proliferation.


The anthropocentric treatment of Nature has exacerbated the environmental abuse and thus has provided a rationale for interdisciplinary research and deliberation of human-nature intersection in different ways. The notion of human connectivity in relation to environmental consciousness is being analyzed in metaphorical and multifaceted manifestations. Often dubbed as atmospheric prose, the environmental narratives, own a significant space in narrating the (un)conscious desires of human beings for reconnecting to nature as well as demonstrate autocratic rule over nature thereby resulting in characters' ambivalent biophilic tendencies. Ecopsychology, a recent interdisciplinary field of inquiry centers on the belief that for the maintenance of psychological and physical health and sustainable societies, the notion of wholeness can only be achieved in an alliance with nature. Taking insights from the lens of ecopsychology, the current study provides understanding into the ways in which our psychic lives can cultivate a better understanding of biophilia, on one hand, and biophobia on the other hand. The role of Nature and environment as an unconscious healer, in Pakistani atmospheric prose, is an underexplored domain which demands literary investigations. Aamer Hussein, a famous short story writer from Pakistan delineates his artistic creation of atmosphere and characters through experimental atmospheric narratives. Taking Aamer Hussein's The Swan's Wife as a sample, the current study provides a window to the relationship between human subjectivity and the ways in which Nature serves as an unconscious domain of self-recognition and fulfillment. The story through the parallel treatment of humans in their complex relationships and Nature in multiple roles in the hands of humans provides some pertinent ecopsychological perspectives. The study offers insights into how self-society-nature nexus is a fruitful connoting mechanism for many psychological rifts of modern society. The study is significant as it shows that our connection with Nature and living in harmony with the natural systems is integral for our own wellbeing. Keywords: Anthropocentric; Biophilia; Biophobia; Environmental consciousness; Ecopsychology


Microscopy after Geimsa staining remains the gold standard technique for detection of malaria parasites while Acridine is a common fluorescent stain that enhances the visibility of parasites. Combination of both stains could further enhance the performance of microscopy technique. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of staining with mixture of Acridine and Giemsa and modified Quantitative Buffy Coat technique in detection of plasmodium parasites. Five hundred and seventy (570) volunteered students attending the Kwara State University Health Center Malete with history malaria fever and tested positive for malaria parasite were re-examined with the two methods being investigated. Two millilitres of the blood sample from each subject was collected into EDTA container and mixed properly. Thick smears were made in duplicate from each sample and properly labeled, stained by Giemsa and Acridine-Giemsa techniques and examined under x100 objective of the microscope while the remaining blood samples were also tested by Modified QBC. The study assessed the Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value and Negative Predictive Value of both techniques with respect to Giemsa microscopy as a gold standard. Findings from the investigation showed that modified QBC and Acredine-Giemsa techniques recorded sensitivity of 100% and 99.7% respectively. Concentrated Acridine-Giemsa stain recorded higher specificity (90.7%) than modified QBC with 82.5% using Geimsa staining as a gold standard. The Positive Predictive Value (PPV) for Modified QBC and Acredine-Giemsa techniques were 96.8% and 96.5% respectively whereas the Negative Predictive Value (NPV) for both methods were 100% and 98.7% respectively. In conclusion, the finding depicts a keen competition between Acridine-Giemsa staining method and Modified QBC technique for detection of malaria parasites and there was no significant difference in the efficacy of both methods with respect to detection of malaria parasite. © 2019 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved Keywords: Acridine-Giemsa, Modified QBC, Efficacy, Microscopy, Gold standard


Acrylamide levels in Arabica coffee at various roasting temperatures have been determined. Coffee beans are roasted at 160°C, 180°C, and 210°C for 8 minutes. Analysis was carried out using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with C-18 reversed-phase, mobile phase using methanol and 0.1% phosphoric acid solution (5:95), flow rate 1 mL/min, UV-Vis detector 198 nm wavelength. Acrylamide levels in Arabica coffee are 160°C of 14.665 ppm, 180°C of 15.973 ppm, and 210°C of 18.501 ppm. Based on the results of the acrylamide content in Arabica coffee, the higher the roasting temperature, the greater the acrylamide content. ANOVA test regarding the normality test sig value of 0.637, 0.463, and 0.637 normally distributed. Based on the homogeneity test, it was found that the variation between groups was the same or homogeneous. The results of the ANOVA test stated that there were differences in the acrylamide levels of Arabica coffee in the roasting temperature difference group and the results of the post hoc Bonferroni test found that the average differences in the roasting temperature of Arabica coffee were significantly different 160°C-180°C and 160°C-210°C.


Referrals for inadequate progress of labour from the Midwife Obstetric Units (MOUs) to the referral hospitals are responsible for a significant part (approximately 5%) of the workload of these institutions in the Peninsula Maternal and Neonatal Service Region in Cape Town. It is essential for the maintenance of community credibility in the MOUs that patients who develop complications are timely and speedily transferred to the appropriate referral hospital. A sample of 251 patients, who were transferred from the MOUs to the referral hospitals for inadequate progress of labour in the first half of 1992, was analysed. The study showed that midwives in the MOUs had largely adhered to the Departmental referral criteria for that potentially serious complication of labour and had kept excellent records. The referrals, in terms of eventual outcome for the patients and their infants, had been largely appropriate. Several areas of concern were identified. These included incomplete assessment of the stage of labour on admission and inadequate monitoring of the fetal heart in a number of patients. Provision of analgesia in labour was generally inadequate. Ambulance delay was disturbingly common. Recommendations for measures to redress these management deficiencies are presented.


An instrument includes a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions (40) and a light source (10) comprising more than one individual light source. The light source is capable of illuminating more than one of the plurality of reaction regions with excitation beams (25). The individual light sources are arranged in groups and different groups of individual light sources are configured to emit different excitation frequencies. Each group of individual light sources is configured to provide excitation beams that illuminate one or more of the plurality of reaction regions simultaneously.


This paper studies the influence of three different calculation methods of the second-order low frequency (LF) wave-force quadratic transfer functions (QTFs) for a single point mooring (SPM) tanker system in relatively shallow water region. The multivessel-mooring hawser coupled dynamic analysis is used to simulate the floater relative motions and mooring and hawser tensions. Because the SPM tanker is deployed in shallow water region and the slowly varying drift motions are to be dominant in typical operational conditions, the accurate calculation of LF wave-force QTFs become important especially for mooring and hawser-tension prediction. The practically popular Newman's approximation and another approximation excluding complicated free-surface integrals are used to calculate the LF QTFs on the offloading tanker and they are compared with the complete QTF results. Further comparison is carried out by calculating the resulting LF wave-force spectra and motion time histories and analyzing their impacts on hawser and mooring line tensions. Through the example studies, the limitation of the Newman's approximation in the case of shallow water and longer period irregular waves is underscored.


Introduction:
 Hypertension affects nearly half of adults in the U.S. and is more prevalent in non-Hispanic black and Hispanic people than other groups. HEDIS now includes blood pressure readings from remote monitoring devices that are digitally stored and transmitted to the provider. Digital interventions used to support self-management of hypertension are effective in reducing blood pressure. Healthcare policies that support adoption of innovative digital interventions can positively impact groups with greater health disparities.

 Hypothesis:
 We tested the hypothesis that systolic blood pressure (SBP) change observed after 6 months in a smartphone-based hypertension self-management program would demonstrate similar outcomes across subgroups and not be impacted by known health inequities based on sex, language or race.

 Methods:
 A cohort study of individuals who enrolled in a digital-only hypertension self-management program without live coaching was used to evaluate SBP change at 6 months and its association with age, sex, language (English/Spanish), and race. Because race information was only available in a subset of the cohort who shared electronic medical records, the largest sub-groups (432 white and 127 non-Hispanic black adults) were compared.

 Results:
 15,361 (age 57 ± .8y, 37% female) people uploaded SBP data at both time points. A reduction in SBP was observed (t = 15.1, p<.01), and the majority (62.3%) reduced SBP. 83.6% (4139 of 4947) of those with stage 2 hypertension (SBP ≥ 140 mm Hg) at program start reduced SBP, with an average reduction of 16.6 ± 0.18 mm Hg. No difference in SBP change was found based on age, race, or preferred language (all ps > .05). Females had a greater reduction in SBP than males (1.5 ± 0.19 mm Hg, p<.01).

 Conclusions:
 This study supports the use of a smartphone-based hypertension program incorporating AI driven, digital-only self-management and lifestyle coaching to reduce SBP similarly across age, race, and preferred language groups. Results indicate that digital self-management tools have the potential to bridge health inequity gaps. Future studies could assess whether digital behavioral change coaching leads to reduced SBP across disadvantaged groups based on Area of Deprivation Index (ADI).


ABSTRACT El Cerro de los Batallones is one of the most important fossil sites of the Miocene. The quantity and preservation of its fossil remains have allowed us to describe many new mammal species. One of these is Hispanomys moralesi, a derived species of the Tribe Cricetodontini, a wide group of rodents with great importance in the faunal assemblage during the Miocene. Unlike most fossil micromammals in this fossil site, we have obtained skull remains that preserve never recorded anatomical structures in this time interval. Due to the fragility of the material, it could only be studied in detail using X-ray micro-computed tomography (µ-CT Scan). With this technique, we obtained three-dimensional models of 12 skulls of Hispanomys moralesi, in which different osteological parts have been described. In this way, we compared the morphological variation of the skull with other fossil cricetids and concluded that Batallones' species is an opisthodont rodent, with a relatively elongated rostrum, a robust base of zygomatic arches and big-sized tooth rows. Opisthodont incisor characterises omnivore and herbivore diets in rodents. Therefore, these new findings of Hispanomys moralesi could allow us to describe the dietary affinities of this extinct species.


INTRODUCTION
The study aimed to assess the perceived quality of life (QOL) and to estimate the prevalence of depression among infertile couples as well as to study the congruence of the outcome among both partners. The sociodemographic factors influencing these outcomes were also examined.

METHOD
A prospective, cross-sectional study of 130 infertile couples over 1 year at a tertiary level teaching hospital. Couples were requested to complete the WHOQOL-BREF instrument and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Data was analyzed using paired t test, 1-way multivariate linear variance analysis, and regression, and correlation models.

RESULTS
Mean QOL scores between men and women showed a strong agreement within psychological, social, environmental, and physical domains (r = .70, .67, .69, and .59 likewise). The presence of depressive symptoms was associated with significantly impaired QOL scores through all domains. Depression was present in 30.6% of female partners and 27.2% in male partners. Pearson correlation between female partner BDI scores and male partner scores was highly statistically significant with a correlation coefficient of .745. The presence of depression was not found to be significantly associated with sociodemographic and clinical parameters.

CONCLUSIONS
QOL and depression scores of 1 partner were reflected in the scores of the other partner. Henceforth, screening and psychoeducation should be couple based considering the couple as 1 unit which is likely to improve the mental wellbeing of the couple. The presence of depression is not influenced by the sociodemographic profile of couples therefore all infertile couples should be screened and offered counseling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


The demand for a design paradigm which enables better decisions through a dynamic process of a product life-cycle (design to decommission) is flourishing the System Engineering community. The reason for this significance is that a product, which meets the design requirements, does not consistently provide the most successful solution for the producers, customers, and consumers. The systems engineering community has attempted to address this gap by establishing the attributes of decision makers and their utilities to produce design merits of the product. Most literatures outline the principle of VCD and perhaps provide an oversimplified example to help explain the concept. However, none of those provide a comprehensive exploration of the actual design philosophy with the support of a relevant design example backed by real data. Therefore, the detail exploration and the linkage of the building blocks within the VCD framework is not described anywhere. As a consequence, this paper attempts to explore VCD to show the linkages of the building blocks within the framework through the support of a product life cycle as a design example. Moreover, discusses how the utility links to the overall design value.


Acrometastases are rare and often misdiagnosed or overlooked. When it involves the feet, it generally attacks the larger bones containing the higher amounts of red marrow. The patient may or may not have a known history of cancer, which makes diagnosis much more difficult. The symptomatology is generally vague and can mimic other conditions, such as osteomyelitis, gouty rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, Paget's disease, osteochondral lesions, and ligamentous sprains. Therefore, the physician must consider metastatic disease in the differential diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, the prognosis is poor and treatment is limited to pain relief and maintaining function.


An anatomic and endoscopic study of 48 cadaveric heads (96 sphenoid sinuses) was undertaken to describe the anatomy of the sphenoid sinus in Asians. Sellar type of sphenoid sinus is the most common, present in 53 out of 96 sides (55%). Forty‐five of the 48 heads had a dominant sphenoid cavity, of which 11 contained vital structures from both sides of the sphenoid sinus. The incidence of accessory septae, carotid artery, optic nerve, maxillary nerve, and vidian nerve bulges were 70.8%, 67.7%, 69.8%, 61.5%, and 64.6%, respectively. There is a significantly higher number of overriding ethmoid sinuses in Asian cadavers (46/96 sides) compared to western studies (P < 0.0005). Seven (15%) of these 46 sides were also Onodi positive. The rest of the overriding ethmoid cells were Onodi negative. Surgeons should be aware of the significantly higher number of overriding posterior ethmoid cells in Asian populations during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). The optic nerve is at risk during FESS surgery if the sphenoid sinus is sought behind the deepest point of these posterior ethmoid cells. These overriding posterior ethmoid cells may also confuse the unwary surgeon that he has entered the sphenoid sinus where in fact he is still operating in the posterior ethmoid cells. Clin. Anat. 20:745–750, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This is the Table of Contents and Introduction for the edited collection of essays on the first decade of Public Law jurisprudence under Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada. Chief Justice McLachlin assumed the chief justice's mantle in January 2000 and has now served in that role for over a decade. In this book, leading Canadian public law scholars reflect upon the court's contributions to various areas of the law. The book includes contributions by David Mullan, Lorne Sossin, Peter Oliver, Nathalie Des Rosiers, Thomson Irvine, Marie-Claire Belleau, Anik Lamontagne, Rebecca Johnson, Susan Gratton, Freya Kristjanson, Constance Macinstosh, Lori Sterling, Peter Landmann, Nathalie Des Rosiers, Daniel Proulx, Thomas Kuttner, Don Stuart and John H. Currie. La plupart des chapitres sont en anglais, mais plusieurs sont en francais. Most of the chapters are in English but several are in French. English chapters have french abstracts and French chapters have English abstracts.The book also includes an address given by Chief Justice McLachlin on the occasion of a conference to mark the 10th anniversary of her chief justiceship held in June 2009 in Ottawa.


Among the issues discussed at this year's meeting on prostate cancer in Vail, Colorado, were several that specifically relate to the patient with advanced disease. Dr. E. David Crawford addressed the issue of the timing of hormone therapy, specifically reviewing several important trials that give a glimpse at the potential outcome of aggressive treatment in stage D1.5. The efficacy of antiandrogens, flutamide, bicalutamide, and nilutamide, when combined with chemical or surgical castration, was reviewed. Dr. Arturo Mendoza-Valdes reviewed the rationale behind intermittent (versus continuous) total androgen blockade, especially as related to quality of life. Dr. Paul Miller gave an update on the role of bisphosphonates as adjuvant therapy for prostate cancer. Also discussed was an important new agent for androgen deprivation, Abarelix, a sustained-release GnRH antagonist with low histamine-releasing potential which avoids testosterone and other hormone surge and flare.


An optimization control problem for a hyperbolic equation is considered. The system is nonlinear with respect to the state derivative. The regularization technique for the state equation is applied. The necessary conditions of optimality for the regularized control problem are proved. It uses the extended differentiability of the control-state mapping for the regularized equation. The convergence of the regularization method is proved. Thus the optimal control for the regularized problem with a small enough regularization parameter can be chosen as an approximate solution of the initial optimization problem.


A handbook of PC-DOS and MS-DOS written for both novices and experienced users. This new edition has been updated to include information on the DOS shell, the new graphical user interface which lets users visually organize their hard disk files. Other features covered in the book include: managing files and directories on a floppy or hard disk system; working with printers, monitors and modems; automating frequently performed tasks with batch files; using the built-in text editor and database; complete version-specific reference to DOS commands with examples of each; 20 additional enhancements and utilities that enable MS-DOS 4 to support new monitors, hardware advances and foreign language translations.


Chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) remains a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). It significantly decreases survival and quality of life. The present study demonstrates retrospective data on extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) in children with cGVHD. A total of 42 children with steroid-refractory cGVHD were enrolled in the study. The majority of patients had acute leukemia (n = 32, 76%). All patients received ECP as second (n = 18, 43%) or third (n = 24, 57%) line of therapy. Initial ECP schedule consisted of bimonthly regimen for two consecutive days with possibility of further tapering according to response. Any concurrent treatment administered before ECP could be continued if considered necessary. Complete response to ECP was registered in seven (17%) patients and partial response in 24 (57%). Overall response according to organ involvement was as follows: skin (n = 24, 75%), mucous membranes (n = 16, 73%), liver (n = 8, 80%), gut (n = 4, 80%), lungs (n = 2, 22%) and joints (n = 2, 67%). Five-year overall, progression-free and failure-free survival was 57%, 56% and 30%, respectively. Non-relapse mortality at 5 years was 14%. We didn't observe any clinically significant complications in children that could be attributed to the procedure. ECP remains important and safe treatment option in children with cGVHD.


UNLABELLED
BACKGROUND AND ISSSUES: Ginkgo biloba-extracts are often used in therapy of patients with dementia. In this study, benefit and structure of Ginkgo biloba-extract EGb 761 in treatment of patients with dementia was examined.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
For the assessment of quality of life of care-taking relatives and patients as well as treatment costs were documented. The study was conducted as a non-randomised, two-armed cohort study with an open design for 683 slightly or moderately demented patients, aged between 65 and 80 years. Society's perspective was taken. Barthel-Index and MMST were also documented. Because of significant differences at inclusion of both cohorts, a matched-pairs-analysis and multiple regression analysis conducted.

RESULTS
According to PLC a significant improvement in quality-of-life of care-taking relatives (p < 0.001) and patients (positive mood p = 0.018, negative mood p < 0.001) was only observed in the Ginkgo-cohort. Also Barthel-Index indicated an improvement in the Ginkgo-cohort (p < or = 0,001). MMST-scores increased significantly only in the Ginkgo-cohort (p < 0.001). Average total cost per patient amounted to 3.614,75 euro in the standard-cohort, whereas these costs per patient in the Ginkgo-cohort amounted to 3.031,78 euro (p = 0.067). Results were confirmed by matched-pairs-analysis.

RESULTS
Ginkgo treatment has a valid place in caretaking structure of health services. Gingko attributes to a higher quality of life for both care-takers and patients, the progression of disease is slowed down and treatment costs are lower.


Different perspectives on determining the first day of the months in Islamic calendar especially in Ramadhan and Syawwal bring complex problems for Muslims in Indonesia. Such different perspectives are mainly due to different understandings of Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) and political point of views. The major consequence for this month beginning difference is the inconcurrency times of doing prayers so that the harmony and confraternity of Muslims as a whole society is disrupted. For Indonesians whom the majority is Muslims, dealing with this problem of inconcurrency requiress long time and until recently it has not come to terms yet. As a matter of fact, this concern is crucial to be solved not only for Muslims in Indonesia but also and in the world. In the Indonesian context, the root of this problem is dissimilarity in possitionality among Indonesian Islamic organization. In dealing with this problem, the Indonesian government has tried to unite the Islamic calendar.Efforts such as doing researches, conferences, trainings, workshops, and even meetings that are aimed to facilitate unity in calendar have been undergone. However, the Indonesian government has not successfully united the calender. This is because of a common critiqueamong different Muslims group to the Indonesian Ministry of Religionon its inability to accomodate different people aspirations. Consequently, there are numbers ofIndonesian Muslims in Indonesia who do not follow the result of annual itsbat meeting held by government's. Based on the above description, the author focuses this paper on investigating Islamic law in terms of Muslims obligation to their government, especially in Itsbat meeting decision. To begin the discussion, the author provides the origin of different opinions among people in groups or Islamic organizations in deciding the start of qamariyah month in Indonesia. Afterwards, verses in Qur'an and Hadist that address Muslim's obligation in obeying legal government especially on virtuous deeds will be cited. Keywords: Lunar Calendar, Islamic Civilization


This paper introduces an alternative formalism for deriving the Dirac operator and equation. The use of this formalism concomitantly generates a separate operator coupled to the Dirac operator. When operating on a Clifford field, this coupled operator produces field components which are formally equivalent to the field components of Maxwell's electromagnetic field tensor. Consequently, the Lagrangian of the associated coupled field exhibits internal local gauge symmetry. The coupled field Lagrangian is seen to be equivalent to the Lagrangian of Quantum Electrodynamics. Received: 8 November 2016,  Accepted: 4 January 2017;  Edited by: D. Gomez Dumm;  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4279/PIP.090002 Cite as: B J Wolk, Papers in Physics 9, 090002 (2017) This paper, by B J Wolk , is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 .


Given the changing role of patents within enterprises, this study aims to investigate the linkage between patent management (PM) and technological innovation performance (TIP) from a resource-based perspective. According to 252 valid samples collected from 106 high-tech enterprises, the analysis results show that patent acquisition (PA) has positively effect on patent protection (PP) and patent commercialization (PC); PP has positively effect on PC and PA; PA and PC have positively effect on TIP. Therefore, the key factors to enhance the linkage between PM and TIP are effective PA and subsequent commercialization. This study not only expands the academic research fields on PM and TIP, but also provides practical underpinning to the enhancement of TIP in Chinese high-tech enterprises through committing targeted patent management under open innovation.


The UIE/IEC flicker characteristics of a three-phase power system which includes resistance welders are evaluated in this paper. Welder operation produces cyclic flicker which leads to customer complaints. An adaptive VAr compensator (AVC) has been installed to reduce flicker. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the AVC and to set the stage for the analysis of alternative control strategies, a detailed computer model of the given power system, including the AVC, has been developed. The model also includes a simulation of the UIE/IEC flickermeter to determine the effectiveness of the AVC in an objective manner. The simulated system response is compared with actual system measurements revealing excellent agreement. The modeling methodology set forth provides an efficient and convenient means of evaluating complex flicker resulting in a simple measure of human irritability.


Recent studies have shown that graph neural networks (GNNs) exhibit strong biases towards the node degree: they usually perform satisfactorily on high-degree nodes with rich neighbor information but struggle with low-degree nodes. Existing works tackle this problem by deriving either designated GNN architectures or training strategies specifically for low-degree nodes. Though effective, these approaches unintentionally create an artificial out-of-distribution scenario, where models mainly or even only observe low-degree nodes during the training, leading to a downgraded performance for high-degree nodes that GNNs originally perform well at. In light of this, we propose a test-time augmentation framework, namely GraphPatcher, to enhance test-time generalization of any GNNs on low-degree nodes. Specifically, GraphPatcher iteratively generates virtual nodes to patch artificially created low-degree nodes via corruptions, aiming at progressively reconstructing target GNN's predictions over a sequence of increasingly corrupted nodes. Through this scheme, GraphPatcher not only learns how to enhance low-degree nodes (when the neighborhoods are heavily corrupted) but also preserves the original superior performance of GNNs on high-degree nodes (when lightly corrupted). Additionally, GraphPatcher is model-agnostic and can also mitigate the degree bias for either self-supervised or supervised GNNs. Comprehensive experiments are conducted over seven benchmark datasets and GraphPatcher consistently enhances common GNNs' overall performance by up to 3.6% and low-degree performance by up to 6.5%, significantly outperforming state-of-the-art baselines. The source code is publicly available at https://github.com/jumxglhf/GraphPatcher.


The vicissitudes of State funding for the performing arts are interwoven with the reorganisation of institutional jurisdictions, at the level of general statutory rules and the administrative rules that govern the disbursal of financial aid. The article accordingly addresses the different types of funding, first and foremost the FUS-Unified Performing Arts Fund, through which the State participates in performing arts activities, focusing on its development (including at the regulatory level) and dimensions. In the second part of the article, the author reflects on the prospects and new proposals that are being developed by the members of the AGIS-General Italian Association for the Performing Arts, in order to address the need for revision, together with the FUS, of the policies, terms and conditions for disbursal of public funding and defining new operating models and procedures for performing arts institutions.


The kinetics of the vapour-phase chlorinations of CH4, CF3H and C2F5H have been studied using a competitive technique. For the reactions, Cl+CF3H→HCl+CF3(3) Cl+CH4→HCl+CH3(4) Cl+C2F5H→HCl+C2F5(5) we obtain, k4/k5=(12.4±0.7) exp (1,450±40)/RT, k5/k3=(1.16±0.11) exp (3,080±70)/RT. The activation energy differences are combined with other data to give D(CF3—H)= 106.4±0.5 kcar mole–1 at 298°K. This agrees with the value D(CF3—H)= 106.2±0.8 kcal mole–1 from oul previous bromination work. These results are compared with other estimates of D(CF3—H) in the literature.
 The data on the pre-exponential factors of reactions (3) and (4) are combined with data on the reverse reactions to obtain the entropy of the CF3 radical. A similar calculation is made using the reactions, Br+CF3H⇌HBr+CF3. The results agree reasonably well with estimates of [graphic omitted] based on spectroscopic data. The preexponential factors of reactions (3) and (4) have been calculated by means of transition state theory.


This paper analyzes the requirements and describes a system designed for retaining records and ensuring their legibility, interpretability, availability, and provable authenticity over long periods of time. In general, information preservation is accomplished not by any one single technique, but by avoiding all of the many possible events that might cause loss. The focus of this system is on preservation in the 10 to 100 year time span—a long enough period such that many difficult problems are known and can be addressed, but not unimaginable in terms of the longevity of computer systems and technology. The general approach focuses on eliminating single points of failure single elements whose failure would cause information loss combined with active detection and repair in the event of failure. Techniques employed include secret sharing, aggressive "preemptive" format conversion, metadata acquisition, active monitoring, and using standard Internet storage services in a novel way.


Papaya leaf extract could be used as an organic corrosion inhibitor. Corrosion inhibitors were used as a method to reduce corrosion rate. The most corrosive environment was the marine environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the best concentration of papaya (Carica papaya) leaf extract inhibitor which could reduce the corrosion rate of low carbon steel in a 3.56% NaCl solution environment. The maceration process was carried out for 24 hours with 70% ethanol solvent with a solute:solvent ratio of 1:8 (w/v) at room temperature. Inhibitor extracts were analyzed qualitatively with the phytochemical method. The addition of FeCl3 was carried out on the inhibitor extract from papaya leaves. The color change occurred from blackish brown to greenish black which indicated the presence of tannin compounds in the papaya leaf extract. Corrosion testing was carried out with hot stream temperature setting at 45⁰C to 55⁰C and concentrations of inhibitor extracts at 300, 600, and 900 ppm. The test was conducted for 36 hours with a span of metal mass every 6 hours. Corrosion rate calculation is done by weight loss method. The results showed that papaya leaf extract inhibitors positive contained corrosion inhibitor and could reduce the corrosion rate in 3.56% NaCl solution. The corrosion rate without inhibitor is 1.023 mmpy. Corrosion rates with inhibitor concentrations of 300, 600, and 900 ppm were 0.755, 0.585, and 0.438 mmpy, respectively.


In the wake of the war and occupation of Iraq, 2003–2004, international legal scholars struggled to understand and adequately describe the event and the law surrounding it. This study takes that situation of uncertainty as its point of departure, and it unfolds through an analysis of the material conditions and linguistic–rhetoric and affective–psychic registers through which the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) of occupied Iraq emerged as a legal subject in response to the international law of belligerent occupation and related law and policy. While pursuing the broader aim of theorizing the subject in international law, the study tells the story of how the Administrator of the CPA formulated a position for itself within the contemporary international law of belligerent occupation: the Lieber Code position. A historical source of law – domestic legislation regarding warfare and occupation originating from 1863 and the American Civil War – thus resurfaced as part of an international legal argument during the occupation of Iraq. Through an analysis of the occupation of Iraq I seek to understand how the Administrator was subjectified, what consequences this subjectification had, and how this example of subjectification alters our understanding of international law (if it does at all). This study seeks to understand the position that subjects like the Administrator occupy in international law. In doing this, I make a case for understanding international law and subjects as co-constituive. This is a subject who does not necessarily possess international legal personality but nonetheless thinks and produces international law through its everyday life and in doing so constitutes the substratum of what international law is and does. In terms of theory and method, the study draws on feminist legal jurisprudence and philosophy, psychoanalysis, and international law and its histories. It employs as its material the legal acts of the CPA in conjunction with a wide range of documents relating to the international law of belligerent occupation and related fields of law and policy specific to the occupation of Iraq. The main motivation and aim of the study is to engage critically with the field of the international law of belligerent occupation, scholarly debates related to it, and with the occupation of Iraq in order to make a contribution to the understanding of that event and its law. Moreover, its aim is to contribute to a jurisprudence of the subject in international law: to point to the importance of attending to subjects – as distinct from entities with international legal personality – when we, as international legal scholars and practitioners, struggle to understand, adequately describe, and respond to the events and the laws of our time.


A BENEFICIAL METHOD: Heart failure combines with peripheral vascular and muscular abnormalities that can be effectively improved by rehabilitation. The data in the literature appears to demonstrate the efficacy and excellent tolerance of such exercise. Regarding functional results and improved quality of life, rehabilitation is as equally efficient as the medical treatment that it completes. It can currently be proposed to the majority of patients exhibiting left ventricular systolic dysfunction and who are are only partially improved with medical treatment alone. MODALITIES: The rehabilitation of heart failure must, optimally, be set-up in ambulatory settings, notably within the context of a health care network. Its modalities remain to be specified in on-going studies and its impact on prognosis has to be determined.


The destruction of hydrocarbon in deep carbonate diagenetic environment is one of problems on the formation of oil and gas. Organic-inorganic reactions in the process of TSR(Thermochemical Sulfate Reduction) are the main reason to make disappearance of the hydrocarbons. The work in this field has often been the subject of much research work in recent years. In this paper, the thermodynamics of CH4-CaSO4 and H2S-Fe2O3 systems is discussed to investigate the possibility of reactions. It is found that these two reactions can proceed spontaneously. Increasing temperature is favorite for CH4-CaSO4 system but disfavorite for H2S-Fe2O3 system. Thermal simulation experiments were carried out using autoclave at high temperature and high pressure. The properties of the products were characterized by microcoulometry, FT-IR and XRD methods. On the basis of the experimental data, a reaction kinetic model is developed and kinetic parameters are determined.


Algebra instruction should help students navigate the transition from executing procedures to a more robust understanding of algebra. There is little empirical evidence, however, linking promising instructional practices to such understandings. The Algebra Teaching Study seeks to develop tools for measuring connections between algebra teaching and students' learning outcomes. To demonstrate the use of these tools, we present a comparison of two algebra classrooms, where instructional differences were related to differences in student outcomes.


The energy consumption of desktop personal computers was studied at three Canadian Federal Government sites, and the potential for energy savings through power management investigated. The power draw of computers and their peripherals was measured using a portable meter, and use profiles were recorded using custom software. The measured plug loads were considerably lower than nameplate ratings. Use profiles from 94 computers indicated that there were long periods during both night and day when the computers were turned on but not being used, and it was predicted that significant energy savings could be achieved if electricity consumption was more closely tailored to actual usage. Two methods of realizing these savings were tested in the field. Stickers reminding users to switch off computers when they were not being used produced reductions in mean computer energy consumption of 14% over an eight week period. However, these savings diminished with time. An automatic power management system designed to switch off computers and peripherals after a user-specified period of inactivity produced reductions in mean computer energy consumption of 63%, while visual display unit mean energy consumption was reduced by 82%. These savings were maintained over an eight week period. >