Background The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mechanisms by which chronic unpredictable mild stress (CMS) might induce cardiovascular disease. Methods Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats (weighing 180–250 g) were divided into the CMS group (CMS for 3 weeks) and control group (n = 10/group). Sucrose solution consumption, sucrose solution preference rate, and the open field test (horizontal and vertical movements) were used to confirm the establishment of the CMS model. Heart rate was determined in Langendorff-perfused hearts, and field action potential duration (FAPD) was measured in cardiac atrial tissue, cardiac ventricular tissue, and thoracic spinal cord segments 1–5. The expressions of serotonin (5-HT) and growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) in cardiac ventricular tissue were analyzed using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Results Compared with the control group, sucrose solution consumption, sucrose solution preference rate, horizontal movement, and vertical movement were significantly lower in the CMS group (P < 0.01). The CMS group exhibited significant decreases in atrial and ventricular FAPDs (P < 0.05), as well as significant increases in heart rates (P < 0.05) and T1–5 spinal cord FAPD (P < 0.01), as compared with the control group. The expressions of 5-HT and GAP-43 in cardiac ventricular tissue were significantly higher in the CMS group than in controls (P < 0.01). Conclusions CMS causes cardiac and T1–5 spinal cord electrophysiological abnormalities as well as increased cardiac expression of 5-HT and GAP-43, indicating that CMS could potentially increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.


Schedules for immunization against childhood infections have been issued periodically by select committees from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Public Health Service. These schedules are especially appropriate for public health clinics, but the private physician may have reasons of his own to set up alternative patterns. In The Hazards of Immunization , Wilson 1(p2) defended freedom to oppose majority opinions and believed that long-adopted practices should periodically be critically scrutinized "lest the accumulated weight of precedent is allowed to obscure the need for their discontinuance." Immunizations have greatly decreased the incidence of several common diseases in childhood; there is the possibility that some have only been deferred to adult years. The effectiveness of each agent cannot be compared directly with others, nor can any new agent be instantly accepted because of its resemblance to one that has been proved effective. Moreover, no vaccine should be inviolate of scrutiny and


Abstract Water levels between rivers and nearby wells have been observed to be related to each other. However, usually these studies usually involve wells nearby to the river within a few meters to hundreds of meters. The question to consider is there a connection between a large river, the Mississippi River, and wells potentiometric levels and oxbow lake levels for lakes or wells a few kilometers to tens of kilometers from the Mississippi River as a result of the Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer, which is highly conductive. The area of study includes portions of eastern Arkansas, northeastern Louisiana, northwestern Mississippi, southeastern Missouri, and western Tennessee. Water levels in oxbow lakes (Lake Saint John near Waterproof, Louisiana; Lake Washington near Marathon, Mississippi; and Reelfoot Lake near Tiptonville, Tennessee) and wells (near Barton, Cash, Fisher, Rice Research Center, UAPB Lonoke Farm, and Watson, Arkansas; and in Bolivar and Sunflower counties, Mississippi; and East Prairie, Sikeston, and Steele, Missouri) were considered in relation to Mississippi River water levels. Correlations between well or lake water level and the Mississippi River water level at nearby observations points are completed. There appears to be a statistically significant correlation between peaks and toughs for lake levels or potentiometric levels in wells relative to Mississippi River peaks and toughs of water level at nearby sites including Helena and New Osceola, Arkansas; Hickman, Kentucky; Greenville, Natchez, and Tunica River Park, Mississippi; and Birds Point and Caruthersville, Missouri, were determined.


This paper presents a comparison of two chaoized PWM algorithms for motor drives in the electric vehicle (EV), which are the chaotic sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) and the chaotic space-vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM). The SPWM scheme can be chaoized by three modulation methods, including the chaotically amplitude modulated frequency modulation (CAFM), the chaotically position-modulated position modulation (CPPM), and the hybrid chaotic frequency modulation (HCFM), while the chaotic SVPWM can be fulfilled by the chaotically frequency-modulated frequency modulation (CFFM) and the CAFM methods. The performance indexes used in the comparative analysis are the electromagnetic interference (EMI) and the mechanical resonance (MR). The chaotic PWM algorithm is designed and implemented to increase the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and the mechanical performance for EV motor drives, and the aforementioned performance indexes are compared for the practical applicability.


Stomatal density (SD) and stomatal conductance (gs) can be affected by an increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration. This study was conducted on 17 species growing in a naturally enriched CO2 spring and belonging to three plant communities. Stomatal conductance, stomatal density and stomatal index (SI) of plants from the spring, which were assumed to have been exposed for generations to elevated [CO2], and of plants of the same species collected in a nearby control site, were compared. Stomatal conductance was significantly lower in most of the species collected in the CO2 spring and this indicated that CO2 effects on gs are not of a transitory nature but persist in the long term and through plant generations. Such a decrease was, however, not associated with changes in the anatomy of leaves: SD was unaffected in the majority of species (the decrease was only significant in three out of the 17 species examined), and also SI values did not vary between the two sites with the exception of two species that showed increased SI in plants grown in the CO2‐enriched area. These results did not support the hypothesis that long‐term exposure to elevated [CO2] may cause adaptive modification in stomatal number and in their distribution.


The purpose of the article is the formation of proposals to improve the institutional support of milk productive subcomplex. The main aspects of a favorable economic environment by improving the institutional support of milk subcomlex are discussed. The main problems that hinder the successful transformation of agriculture into agribusiness in the dairy sector are identified and the system of measures for reform of the institutional infrastructure of milk subcomplex are proposed. To ensure the effective functioning of the system «production - processing of milk» it is necessary to debug the normal functioning of the institution of business partnership and implementation of measures to eliminate the institute of mediation, improve the functioning of the institution and the right pricing and overcome the negative effects of informal institutions. The particular attention in the article is focused on improving governance subsystems as the main institute of the institutional infrastructure of milk subcomplex.


In 21st century, subordinated relationship of fashion from the body has been disappearing, and fashion is understood as variable and creative field. This research aims at analysis about the relationship between the body and fashion depending on the theories about the authority and the desire. So, this utilizes between theoretical study and empirical analysis. For concentrated study, research period limits from 2000 to the present time 2010. Contemporary body and fashion have being changed into various forms and values, become complex and de-territory. Especially, body is symbol of ambivalence eroticism that gives point to sexual property, and the object of fetishism and machine having a desire. This study's purpose draw a parallel with between the limits of contemporary body that couldn't be rid of the capital and desire, and the liberty of fashion that escape from the body's influence has being changed independent and fluid space. This research's results are as follow as; contemporary de-territory fashion is expressed as 1) symbol of the object and physical material property, 2) self-transcendental instrument fashion, 3) independent spatial molding, 4) de-centering fashion.


a religious or particularly Lutheran component in this regard. The in-depth analysis indicates that court procedures were perfectly commonsense and included mental aspects but seldom religion – and no magic.


To understand the families of offspring with Down syndrome, this article begins by describing the change in orientation--from "negative" to "stress-and-coping" perspectives--in studies of families of offspring with disabilities. In reviewing the existing studies, mothers, fathers, and siblings cope slightly better than family members of persons with other disabilities, a phenomenon called the "Down syndrome advantage." Beyond this more general finding, however, much remains unknown. Most studies examine only parental or sibling levels of stress or coping, leaving unknown the marital, occupational, health, educational, and other "real-world" outcomes for these family members. Increased research attention is needed to understand the life-span needs of families of persons with Down syndrome and the impact of cultural and sociocultural diversity on family outcomes. It will also be important to relate family outcomes to differences in the offspring's behaviors, development, relationships, medical conditions, psychopathology, and the presence (and effectiveness) of needed support services. Although these families have received some research attention over the past several decades, we now need to make family research in Down syndrome more concrete, more life-span, and more tied to characteristics of the individual with the syndrome and the family's surrounding support system.


Programmable materials have the power to bring to life inert materials in the world around us. Exoskin, provides a way to embed a multitude of static, rigid materials into actuatable, elastic membranes, allowing the new semi-rigid composites to sense, react, and compute. In this thesis, we give an overview of our motivations, design space, and molding architecture that together answer the when, where, and how of Exoskin's use. We then use Exowheel, an automotive steering wheel, as a case study illustrating the concrete benefits and uses of texture change as a multi-modal, bi-directional interface. By incorporating Exoskin, Exowheel is able to transform its surface dynamically to create a customized grip for each individual user, on-the-fly, as well as to adapt the grip during the drive, as the car moves from congested city driving to rougher rural roads. Finally, we introduce the idea of membrane-backed rigid materials as a broader, more versatile platform for introducing texture change and sensing into a variety of other products as well. By deeply embedding soft materials with more-static materials, we can break down the divide between rigid and soft, and animate and inanimate, providing inspiration for Human-Computer Interaction researchers to design more interfaces using physical materials around them, rather than just relying on intangible pixels and their limitations. Thesis Supervisor: Hiroshi Ishii Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Program in Media Arts and Sciences


Dichotomous poverty is defined by taking an arbitrary standard of consumption capability as a dividing line between rich and poor. An investigation into dichotomous poverty below the 2000 dollar level will be worthwhile, since, in 1953, the Planning Board announced as a goal the attempt to lift all families above this margin. In 1953, 78 percent o the families had an income below the 2000 dollar dichotomous poverty threshold. Forty-six percent did not reach it in 1963, and 39 percent did not reach it in 1969. The reduction in the percentage of dichotomous poor from 1963 to 1969 was not sufficient to keep up with the population. Between 1963 and 1969, population grew faster than economic progress. Continuous poverty classifies as poor those who fall in a specified bottom percentage of the population in terms of capability to consume. In terms of the distribution of income, the greater the inequality, the greater the amount of continuous poverty. While between 1953 and 1963 the poor earned more, the rest of the society earned even more than proportionately more. Agricultural workers, slum dwellers, families with unemployed or subemployed heads, and recipients of welfare are the groups who have progressed at the lowest rates--the lowest groups have progressed at the slowest rate. [Several pages in this document are not clearly printed and contain editorial markings.] (Author/JM) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO. DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG. INATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN. IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU. CATION POSITION OR POLICY.


We develop a wireless system that can (partially) substitute the wired infrastructure underlying Building Automation and Control Networks (BACnet) of the Building Management System (BMS). There are efforts (e.g. from ZigBee alliance) in developing the wireless components for BMS, they build from bottom up which may lead to change and re-standardization of a new BACnet protocol. There are also entirely new infrastructure proposed (e.g. sMAP) to collect physical information, however, these schemes require a longer time to be adopted. Our system is designed to support BACnet without any modification. We believe that our design experience is useful for other applications where wired infrastructure and upper layer protocols that are complete and well established, and is considered to be cost-effective in converting the system to (partially) wireless. Our experience shows that a direct replacement of wires into wireless links does not work. There are a number of difficulties, including the strict and harsh time constraints for frames to be transmitted before the system consider it as timeout. Our solution is to propose an asynchronous-response framework so as to keep the control flow of the upper layers protocol intact. In this demo, we will 1) bring the physical devices and explain our system on-site and 2) play a experiment video of our system that recorded in real environment.


There are many kinds of organisms living in different environments in the world. They had a physique according to the environment in which they lived and had food habits for their respective environments. Just as on land, there are living creatures in the water. In the Sangam age, there were more species living in Sangam age than in today's time. They have been studied very carefully by the Sangam scholars and expressed through their songs. Thus, one of the Sangam texts, Natrinai, describes the life of the ancient Tamils who lived in harmony with nature. In the book, there are five types of land mentioned: Kurinji, Mullai, Marudham, Neithal, and Paalai. The five lands have water bodies in the names of spring, waterfall, wild river, lake, pond, small pond, reservoir, the mouth of a river, pit, well, and trough. Marutham land is a well-watered area with water bodies such as Natural Pond and Pond, and adjoining fields and muddy areas mixed with water and land. They are called the freshwater area. Therefore, the species that live there are called freshwater living organisms. The saline water found in the Neithal Land is called brackish water. These areas are composed of water bodies such as the sea, coastal sands, and lagoons. The organisms that live there are called brackish water organisms. Thus, there are many aquatic organisms in Natrinai. Among them are freshwater fishes such as swordfish, butterfish, catfish, brackish water fish such as sharks, fish that live in both fresh and brackish water bodies such as mackerel, horse fish, and prawns, and fish that live in both water bodies. This article explores and explains species such as crocodiles and crabs.


We investigated the life time characteristics of OLED device with aluminium oxide (AlO ) passivation film on glass substrate and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate by RF magnetron sputtering for the transparent barrier film applied to flexible OLED device. Basic buffer layer was determined as Alq (500 nm)LiF(300 nm)-Al(1200 nm), and the most suitable aluminium oxide (AlO ) film have been formed when the partial volume ratio of oxygen was 20% and the sputtering power was 100 watt and the minimum thickness of buffer was 2 µm. AlO /epoxy hybrid film was also used as a effective passivation layer for the purpose of improving life time characteristics of OLED devices with the glass substrate and the plastic substrate. Besides, the simultaneous deposition of AlO /epoxy film on back side of PET could result in better improvement of life time.


We investigate the association between voluntary disclosure and the risk-related discount investors apply to price. First, we study the association between (endogenous) disclosure choice and the discount in price induced by changes in the underlying model parameters: this informs empirical research that ignores endogeneity of disclosure by, for example, omitting the exogenous determinants of disclosure and the discount in price from the regressions employed. Second, we investigate the incremental effect of disclosure on the discount in price: this informs empirical research that controls for the direct effect of exogenous factors on the discount in price by, for example, including the exogenous variables in regression models employed. Finally, we examine the incremental effect of disclosure on the discount in price when changes in disclosure are not induced by changes in underlying exogenous parameters: this further informs empirical research that controls for the effect of exogenous factors on both the discount in price and disclosure, and focuses on the association between 'unexplained disclosure' and the discount.


Background To determine whether saliva is a good means of evaluating concentrations of oxidative stress biomarkers, analyzing the correlation between concentrations in saliva and in follicular tissue, and to compare biomarker concentrations in patients with one asymptomatic mandibular impacted third molar (MITM) (before extraction) with a healthy control, and to determine how biomarkers are modified by extraction. Material and Methods 80 patients with one asymptomatic MITM and 80 healthy controls were included. Saliva samples were collected from all subjects (before extraction in the study group) to evaluate Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Follicular tissues were obtained during surgery to measure biomarkers. One month after extraction, saliva samples were collected to assess changes of oxidative stress. Results Salivary MPO and MDA showed positive correlation with concentrations in follicular tissue (MPO: correlation coefficient=0.72, p=0.025; MDA: =0.92, p=0.001). Patients with asymptomatic MITMs showed higher salivary concentrations of oxidative stress biomarkers than healthy control subjects, with statistical significance for both MPO (p<0.001) and MDA (p<0.001). One month after extraction, salivary biomarkers decreased significantly in the study group (p<0.001). Conclusions Salivary MPO and MDA are higher among patients with one asymptomatic MITM, but these levels decrease significantly one month after surgical extraction. The large decrease in oxidative stress biomarkers could justify third molar extraction despite the absence of symptoms. Key words:Oxidative stress biomarkers, myeloperoxidase, malondialdehyde, impacted third molar, surgical extraction.


We report experiment results from the collaborative participation of UIUC and MUSC in the TREC 2005 Genomics Track. We participated in both the adhoc task and the categorization task, and studied the use of some mixture language models in these tasks. Experiment results show that a structured theme-based language modeling approach is effective in improving retrieval effectiveness for the ad hoc taks and the Latent Dirichlet Allocation method is effective in dimension reduction for the categorization task.


Fibromuscular dysplasia is a non-inflammatory angiopathy that occurs predominately in young to middle-aged females,2 affecting most commonly the renal (60-75%) and cerviocranial (25-30%) arteries.2 During pregnancy and the puerperium the incidence of stroke can increase threefold to thirteen fold.3 Only isolated case reports describe carotid artery dissections in post partum women following caesarean section.4 5 This case report describes the dilemmas in the antenatal treatment of a patient with a previous middle cerebral artery infarction and carotid artery dissection with underlying fibromuscular dysplasia on life long Aspirin. A recent MRI reported an abnormal right Internal Carotid Artery with distal ectasia and pseudo-aneurysm. The key areas of management dilemmas included antenatal as well as intrapartum anticoagulation, mode of delivery and recurrent stroke. There is no documented evidence that the uterine artery is involved in fibromuscular dysplasia and thus fetal growth and well-being should not be compromised. Expert opinion was sought from stroke physicians, haematologists and neurologists regarding anticoagulation with varying advice given. We commenced the patient on Heparin with her Aspirin at 18 weeks gestation. There is however inadequate evidence in the literature regarding the definitive thromboprophalaxis in pregnancy in such situations.6 She was scheduled for an elective caesarean section, thereby avoiding the "Valsalva manoeuvre" induced risk of stroke in active 2nd stage. However, the patient went into spontaneous preterm labour at 34 weeks and had a Neville-Barnes Forceps with no maternal effort. She received 6 weeks of postnatal heparin and continues with her regular daily Aspirin.


Oxidation resistant gas diffusion layers (GDLs) for PEM fuel cell membrane-electrode-assemblies (MEAs)GDLs are integral to PEM fuel cell MEAs. Traditional carbon or graphite based GDLs are very susceptible to oxidation under certain operating conditions in the pure oxygen environment of space fuel cell systems. This results in MEA degradation and shortened life. Proposals addressing the development of oxidation resistant GDLs that remain stable to oxidation in a pure oxygen environment, and provide improved performance and longer life are desired.


A major objective of systems biology is to quantitatively integrate multiple parameters from genome-wide measurements. To integrate gene expression with dynamics in poly(A) tail length and adenylation site, we developed a targeted next-generation sequencing approach, Poly(A)-Test RNA-sequencing. PAT-seq returns (i) digital gene expression, (ii) polyadenylation site/s, and (iii) the polyadenylation-state within and between eukaryotic transcriptomes. PAT-seq differs from previous 3′ focused RNA-seq methods in that it depends strictly on 3′ adenylation within total RNA samples and that the full-native poly(A) tail is included in the sequencing libraries. Here, total RNA samples from budding yeast cells were analyzed to identify the intersect between adenylation state and gene expression in response to loss of the major cytoplasmic deadenylase Ccr4. Furthermore, concordant changes to gene expression and adenylation-state were demonstrated in the classic Crabtree–Warburg metabolic shift. Because all polyadenylated RNA is interrogated by the approach, alternative adenylation sites, noncoding RNA and RNA-decay intermediates were also identified. Most important, the PAT-seq approach uses standard sequencing procedures, supports significant multiplexing, and thus replication and rigorous statistical analyses can for the first time be brought to the measure of 3′-UTR dynamics genome wide.


Introduction: Cytological examination of pleural fluid is of paramount importance, it reveals information about inflammatory conditions, and malignant and metastatic pleural effusions.
Materials and Methods: This study on pleural fluid cytology, was done over a period of two years and 100 cases of pleural effusion with relevant clinical data were obtained.
Results: Females had predominance of malignant effusions (53.84%) compared to males (46.15%) with M:F ratio of 1:1.2. 84% 0f the samples are exudative and 16% of samples are transudative effusions Among samples received maximum number of samples had a clinical diagnosis of Tuberculosis (52%) Pneumonia (25%), and Malignant effusion (10%).
Conclusion: Pleural fluid cytology is the most useful tests in establishing the diagnosis of pleural effusion. Cytological examination of body fluids is a complete diagnostic modality which aims at pointing out the etiology and prognosis of effusion. The technique is simple, safe, cost-effective and reproducible even in resource limited settings.

Keyword: Pleural fluid, Cytology, Tuberculosis, Pneumonia


The aim of this paper is to explore the role of customer involvement in the service production and its possible effects on the quality of service delivery. The study includes four service provider cases: a general contractor, a chemical process engineer, a software developer and a language institute as well as a service buyer case- the National Petrochemical Company. The results show that even-though co-production of the customers with the service provider is a must, however, it has different effects on the quality of service produced depending on the situation and the nature of services offered. In the cases of the complex engineering services- general contractor and chemical engineering- that service requirements and technical specifications were provided by the customers, and service providers were chosen by open bidding process there were instances where the co-production could lead to malfunction of the service. This was evident in the instances when the inappropriate technical specifications and requirements were provided by the customer hindering the service provider to deliver services smoothly. On the other hand, in the cases of new software development process and language institute, it had been evident that the involvement of customers–with a sound customer involvement management-has tremendous positive effects and lead to greater productivity and customer satisfaction. In the case of petrochemical company and international service providers, educating the suppliers by the buyer, to a large extend, could solve the service quality problems in terms of on time delivery, costs and technical conformity as stressed by buyers.Furthermore, for an efficient co-production and the right quality of services, it is mandated to build relationship and trust amongst the customers and service providers, draw a borderline between customer "involvement" and impertinent "customer intervention". The study shows the importance of building cooperative culture between customers and service providers by replacing "blaming culture" where each side blames the other side for the problems that occur; with a "problem solving culture" where both parties actively co-operate to overcome the problems.


Recent discussions in ecclesiology have highlighted the difference between abstract models and concrete ethnographic studies. It is all too common for these two different approaches to be self-contained without any interaction between them. In the light of this context, this study considers recent Pentecostal ecclesiology and identifies two strands of thought, namely, ecumenical and retrieval approaches. Both of these approaches are classified as blueprint approaches and neither of them draws upon concrete studies of congregations. In order to address this weakness, and make a constructive proposal, the discussion draws on studies of congregations to provide empirical perspectives with which to engage. The outcome is a recommendation that renewal ecclesiology should be understood as a distinct strand that includes four core features, namely: the location of pneumatology as central rather than peripheral, the importance of relationality, the rediscovery of sacramentality, and the impact of doxology for mission.


Using a standard Javal keratometer, we obtained central corneal curvature measurements in 19 patients before and after the administration of local anesthesia. We noted flattening of mean average keratometry which approached statistical significance, along with an increase in overall astigmatism. Decreased intraocular pressure was not found to be a factor.


In the first major critical reading of Italian American narrative literature in two decades, Fred L. Gardaphe presents an interpretive overview of Italian American literary history. Examining works from the turn of the twentieth century to the present, he develops a new perspective variously historical, philosophical, and cultural by which American writers of Italian descent can be read, increasing the discursive power of an ethnic literature that has received too little serious critical attention. Gardaphe draws on Vico's concept of history, as well as the work of Gramsci, to establish a culture-specific approach to reading Italian American literature. He begins his historical reading with narratives informed by oral traditions, primarily autobiography and autobiographical fiction written by immigrants. From these earliest social realist narratives, Gardaphe traces the evolution of this literature through tales of the godfather and the mafia; the reinvention of ethnicity in works by Helen Barolini, Tina DeRosa, and Carole Maso; the move beyond ethnicity in fiction by Don DeLillo and Gilbert Sorrentino; to the short fiction of Mary Caponegro, which points to a new direction in Italian American writing. The result is both an ethnography of Italian American narrative and a model for reading the signs that mark the self-fashioning inherent in literary and cultural production. Italian Signs, American Streets promises to become a landmark in the understanding of literature and culture produced by Italian Americans. It will be of interest not only to students, critics, and scholars of this ethnic experience, but also to those concerned with American literature in general and the place of immigrant and ethnic literatures within that wide framework.


Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades have important functions in plant growth, development, and response to various stresses. The MAPKK and MAPKKK gene families in tomato have never been systematically analyzed. In this study, we performed a genome-wide analysis of the MAPKK and MAPKKK gene families in tomato and identified 5 MAPKK genes and 89 MAPKKK genes. Phylogenetic analyses of the MAPKK and MAPKKK gene families showed that all the MAPKK genes formed four groups (groups A, B, C, and D), whereas all the MAPKKK genes were classified into three subfamilies, namely, MEKK, RAF, and ZIK. Evolutionary analysis showed that whole genome or chromosomal segment duplications were the main factors responsible for the expansion of the MAPKK and MAPKKK gene families in tomato. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that the majority of MAPKK and MAPKKK genes were expressed in all tested organs with considerable differences in transcript levels indicating that they might be constitutively expressed. However, the expression level of most of these genes changed significantly under heat, cold, drought, salt, and Pseudomonas syringae treatment. Furthermore, their expression levels exhibited significant changes in response to salicylic acid and indole-3-acetic acid treatment, implying that these genes might have important roles in the plant hormone network. Our comparative analysis of the MAPKK and MAPKKK families would improve our understanding of the evolution and functional characterization of MAPK cascades in tomato.


A high-throughput microfabricated all-glass microchip, lipid biochip, was created and used to measure fluorescently tagged antibody binding to dinitrophenol (DNP) haptens in planar supported phospholipid/cholesterol lipid bilayers as a function of cholesterol-to-lipid molar ratio (X(CHOL)). Multiple parallel microchannels etched in the lipid biochip allowed simultaneous measurement of antibody binding to hapten-containing and hapten-free lipid bilayers, for a range of aqueous antibody concentrations. Specific and nonspecific antibody binding to the supported lipid bilayers was determined from the internally calibrated intensity of the surface fluorescence using total internal reflectance fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. The TIRF intensity data of the specific antibody binding were fitted to the Langmuir isotherm and Hill equation models to determine the apparent dissociation constant K(d), the maximum fluorescence parameter F(infinity), and binding cooperativity n. As X(CHOL) increased from 0 to 0.50, K(d) exhibited a minimum of approximately 4 microM and n reached a maximum of approximately 2.2 at X(CHOL) approximately 0.20. However, F(infinity) appeared to be insensitive to the cholesterol content. The nonspecific binding fraction (NS), defined as the ratio of the TIRF intensity for hapten-free bilayers to that with hapten, showed a minimum of approximately 0.08 also at X(CHOL) approximately 0.20. The results suggest that cholesterol regulates the specific binding affinity and cooperativity, as well as suppresses nonspecific binding of aqueous antibody to a planar supported lipid bilayer surface at an optimal cholesterol content of X(CHOL) approximately 0.20. Interestingly, for X(CHOL) approximately 0.40, NS reached a maximum of approximately 0.57, suggesting significant packing defects in the lipid bilayer surface, possibly as a result of lipid domain formation as predicted by the lipid superlattice model. We conclude that cholesterol plays a significant role in regulating both specific and nonspecific antibody/antigen binding events on the lipid bilayer surface and that our lipid biochip represents a new and useful high-resolution microfluidic device for measuring lipid/protein surface binding activities in a parallel and high-throughput fashion.


In this study, a simulated annealing algorithm with mutation operator is proposed to solve the manufacturing cell formation problem considering multiple process routings for part. The proposed algorithm is designed mainly to explore solution regions efficiently and to expedite the solution search process. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested by a range of test problems from the literature. The comparative study shows that the proposed algorithm is capable of obtaining quick and favorable solutions.


We present a real-time visual-inertial localization approach directly integrable in a wearable immersive system for simulation and training. In this context, while CAVE systems typically require complex and expensive set-up, our approach relies on visual and inertial information provided by consumer monocular camera and Inertial Measurement Unit, embedded in a wearable stereoscopic HMD. 6-DOF localization is achieved through image registration with respect to a 3D map of descriptors of the training room and robust tracking of visual features. We propose a novel efficient and robus t pipeline based on state-of-the-art image-based localization and sensor fusion approaches, which makes use of robust orientation information from IMU, to cope with camera fast motion and limit motion jitters. The proposed system runs at 30 fps on a standard PC and requires very limited set-up for its intended application.


OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of polysaccharide sulfate 916 (PS916) on neutrophil-endothelial cell adhesion.

METHODS
Cell adhesion was evaluated by testing neutrophil myeloperoxidase activity. Expression of adhesion molecule in human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) was measured by ELISA. The neutrophil activation rate induced by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) was tested by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction.

RESULTS
Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha, 50 - 800 U/ml) increased the adherence of neutrophil to TNFalpha-stimulated HUVEC in a concentration and time dependent manner. PS916 (0.01 - 1.0 mg/ml) dose-dependently inhibited the adherence of neutrophils to TNFalpha-stimulated HUVEC. fMLP increased the activation rate of neutrophils independent of concentration. PS916 also inhibited the adherence of fMLP-activated neutrophils to HUVEC. Moreover, PS916 inhibited adhesion molecule expression in TNFalpha-stimulated HUVEC.

CONCLUSIONS
PS916 inhibited neutrophil-endothelial adhesion. The mechanism of its action was partially related to suppressing the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1).


Today, with the help of modern echocardiographic techniques we are able not only to describe the characteristic changes when a HOCM is present and to determine the intracavitary pressure gradient, but also recognize the functional irregularities typical for the HOCM. Thus, the methodical progress of the echocardiography has essentially enlarged our knowledge about the pathophysiology of this clinical picture. Today, the echocardiography is the method of choice for the diagnostics of the HOCM and for the judgment of the functional consequences of therapeutic interventions.


Network representations of systems from various scientific and societal domains are neither completely random nor fully regular, but instead appear to contain recurring structural building blocks. These features tend to be shared by networks belonging to the same broad class, such as the class of social networks or the class of biological networks. At a finer scale of classification within each such class, networks describing more similar systems tend to have more similar features. This occurs presumably because networks representing similar purposes or constructions would be expected to be generated by a shared set of domain specific mechanisms, and it should therefore be possible to classify these networks into categories based on their features at various structural levels. Here we describe and demonstrate a new, hybrid approach that combines manual selection of features of potential interest with existing automated classification methods. In particular, selecting well-known and well-studied features that have been used throughout social network analysis and network science and then classifying with methods such as random forests that are of special utility in the presence of feature collinearity, we find that we achieve higher accuracy, in shorter computation time, with greater interpretability of the network classification results.


In this paper a new methodology for building up filters for the JPEG2000 standard is presented. The proposed filter architectures can be applied efficiently for both 1D forward and inverse wavelet transform implementations. They are characterized by reduced memory accesses, area, power, and the capability of progressive computation. The illustrated VLSI implementation synthesis results prove that the introduced architectures can be embedded in systems which are used in real time applications.


SUMMARY
Background: Carcinoid tumours are a very rare malignancy
most frequently arising in the gastrointestinal tract. The
method of choice for detection of these tumours is
somatostatin receptors scintigraphy (SRS). The aim of the
present study was to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity and
accuracy of this technique in the detection of gastroenteropancreatic
carcinoid tumours and their metastases in
comparison with conventional imaging methods.
Methods: In 24 patients with confirmed carcinoids and 7
under investigation SRS was performed. The results were
compared with those of conventional imaging methods
(chest X-ray, upper abdominal US, chest CT, upper and
lower abdominal CT) and other combinations.
Results: SRS visualized primary or metastatic sites in 71.0%
of cases vs 61.3% of conventional imaging. The diagnostic
sensitivity of the method was higher in patients with
suspected lesions (85.7% vs 57.1%). SRS was less sensitive
in the detection of metastatic sites (78.9% vs 84.2%). The
metastatic sites undetectable by SRS were all in the liver.
Between several imaging combinations, the combinations
chest X-ray/upper abdominal CT/SRS and chest CT/upper abdominal CT/SRS showed the highest sensitivity (88.75%)
in terms of the number of detected lesions. The combinations
chest X-ray/upper abdominal US/SRS and chest CT/upper
abdominal US/SRS yielded a similar sensitivity (82%).
Conclusions: SRS imaging is a very sensitive method for
the detection of gastroenteropancreatic carcinoids but is
less sensitive than US and CT in the detection of liver
metastases. Between several imaging combinations, the
combination chest x-ray/upper abdominal CT/SRS showed
the highest sensitivity.
Key words: Somatostatin receptors scintigraphy, gastroenteropancreatic
carcinoids, cost effectiveness


Abstract The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) thanks to geostationary satellites covers an area of whole Europe, including Baltic and North Sea. It allows to fix the coordinates of object position with typical absolute accuracy of 1,5 m. Previous research have shown that relative accuracy is usually higher than absolute one [Nowak A., 2010; Nowak A., 2011], so probably it could be possible to use EGNOS to determine direction in space. The research described in the paper concerned relative accuracy of three homogeneous EGNOS receivers, in context of the ability to determine the ship's hull spatial orientation. Theoretical basis, the process of the experiment and the results of recorded data analysis were described. The research were conducted in the summer of 2014. Three homogenous Leica Viva series receivers were used. They were configured to receive a differential messages of the EGNOS system. Recorded data were analyzed in context of fixes relative accuracy. On the basis of achieved results, a conclusion about the possibility of construction the measurement system for the automatic determination of the ship's hull spatial orientation angles in real time was drawn. The further research directions were pointed out, too.


Purpose: Circulating cell-free DNA in the blood of cancer patients harbors tumor-specific aberrations. Here, we investigated whether this DNA might also reflect the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC). Experimental Design: To identify the source of cell-free DNA in blood, plasma derived from 81 patients with prostate cancer was examined for CTCs and cell-free DNA. An epithelial immunospot assay was applied for detection of CTCs, and a PCR-based fluorescence microsatellite analysis with a panel of 14 polymorphic markers was used for detection of allelic imbalances (AI). Results: The plasma DNA levels significantly correlated with the diagnosis subgroups of localized (stage M0, n = 69) and metastasized prostate cancer (stage M1, n = 12; P = 0.03) and with the tumor stage of these patients (P < 0.005). AI was found on cell-free DNA in plasma from 45.0% and 58.5% of M0 and M1 patients, respectively. Detection of CTCs showed that 71.0% or 92.0% of the M0 and M1 patients harbored 1 to 40 CTCs in their blood, respectively. The occurrence of CTCs correlated with tumor stage (P < 0.03) and increasing Gleason scores (P = 0.04). Notably, significant associations of the number of CTCs with the AI frequencies at the markers D8S137 (P = 0.03), D9S171 (P = 0.04), and D17S855 (P = 0.02) encoding the cytoskeletal protein dematin, the inhibitor of the cyclin-dependent kinase CDKN2/p16 and BRCA1, respectively, were observed. Conclusions: These findings show, for the first time, a relationship between the occurrence of CTCs and circulating tumor-associated DNA in blood, which, therefore, might become a valuable new source for monitoring metastatic progression in cancer patients.


SIR,-It was a thrill for me to read the article 'Chronic orbital inflammatory disease: parasitisation of orbital leucocytes by mollicute-like organisms' by Wirostko, Johnson, and Wirostko.' Their thesis in an important series of papers is that cell wall defective bacterial forms may play some role in human ocular pathology. Some years ago I also published a series of papers on this topic, two of which23 were submitted as a thesis to the American Ophthalmological Society (but not accepted). I continue to believe that the last word has yet to be written and that other researchers such as Dr Wirostko and colleagues may well vindicate the bibliography below. It is interesting that my coworker, Carolyn Barth, successfully defended a PhD thesis on this same work at Wayne State University. At the time I felt, and to a certain extent still do, that pure scientists are more receptive to ideas which contest their preconceived notions than are my senior ophthalmological colleagues.


Routine serological diagnosis of toxoplasmosis provides high sensitivity, but not high specificity. The high sensivity combined with high specifity offered by PCR-TaqMann as well as the degree of infection led us to investigate the presence and levels of T. gondii DNA in amniotic fluid, maternal and neonatal blood in cases of pregnancy where infection with this agent was suspected. Samples of amniotic fluid and blood were taken from pregnant women. Postnatal blood samples were also taken from their infants. Presence and levels of toxoplasma DNA was investigated using PCR-TaqMann. PCR products were detected by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. The PCR-TaqMann test is highly sensitive, specific and useful method allowing detection of the parasite genome and assessement of its level.


Himalayan region is highly susceptible to natural hazards particularly those that are triggered by the action of water. Due to the vast topographical diversity, events of 'peak runoff' pose various risks to small villages located at the watershed's foot area. In this study, for the purpose to estimate flash flood risk along the Gagas River in Kumaun lesser Himalaya, high-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) coupled with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were utilised. The region experiences frequent storm events especially in the monsoon season. The river basin is also an evolving HELP basin endorsed by UNESCO as part of its global efforts for restoration of languishing river systems. Variability in the climatic conditions has imposed undue pressure on the livelihoods for survival. Relevant morphometric, topographic parameters and maximum runoff of the sub-watersheds of Gagas river watershed were computed in the GIS environment and were analysed to understand the drainage basins susceptibility to the flash flood hazards. These measurements allowed prioritising the sub watersheds in the presence of a series of rainstorms that generate unusual runoff volumes. Map representing hazard zones of sub-watersheds were identified and classified into four susceptibility groups (very high, high, moderate and low). The knowledge of flash flood susceptibility is important in mitigating the losses incurred to agriculture, irrigation systems, watermills, and recreational activities; and in the proper management of water resources.


Purpose A planning study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of non-coplanar volume modulated arc therapy (ncVMAT) for locoregional radiotherapy of left-sided breast cancer with internal mammary nodes. Methods and materials Ten patients with left-sided breast cancer after breast conserving surgery were retrospectively studied. The planning target volumes (PTV) were contoured encompassing the whole breast/chestwall, internal mammary nodes (IMN) and supraclavicular nodal (SCN) region. For each patient, ncVMAT plan with 4 partial arcs composing of two coplanar arcs and two non-coplanar arcs with couch rotating to 90˚ was generated. The prescription dose was normalized to cover 95% of PTV with 50 Gy delivering in 25 fractions. For each ncVMAT plan, dosimetric parameters were compared with coplanar VMAT (coVMAT) plan optimizing with identical coplanar beam angle arrangement. Results With ncVMAT, the mean conformity index of the whole PTV increased from 0.82±0.02 to 0.86±0.01 (p=0.005), and there was no significant difference for the homogeneity index. The mean coverage of internal mammary target volume (PTVimn) with ncVMAT increased from 88.77±3.07% to 91.67±3.84% comparing with coVMAT (p=0.005). Meanwhile, the V55 in PTVscn and PTVimn decreased significantly from 5.76±6.03%, 13.73±7.77% to 2.94±3.93%, 3.75±3.36%, separately (p<0.01). For organs at risk, the average V30, V20, V10, V5 and Dmean of heart decreased from 5.13±3.22%, 12.18±7.29%, 33.98±15.73%, 72.03±16.79% and 10.47±2.97 Gy to 4.86±2.54%, 9.35±5.43%, 25.16±12.42%, 62.27±13.18% and 9.08±2.34 Gy, separately (p<0.01). Furthermore, ncVMAT significantly reduced the mean V20, V10, V5, Dmean of left lung, and V10, V5, Dmean of contralateral lung (p<0.01). A better sparing of LAD descending coronary artery and right breast were also shown with ncVMAT (p<0.01). Conclusions Compared to coVMAT, ncVMAT provides better conformity, lower V55 in PTVscn and PTVimn, better coverage of PTVimn, better dose sparing in heart, bilateral lung, LAD and right breast for locoregional radiotherapy of left-sided breast cancer with internal mammary nodes, which potentially increase the local control in IMN and reduce the risk of deleterious effects.


This paper is to identify the characteristics of sustainable waterfront residential quarters based on the cases in Germany. The study places the focus on conditions of location, arrangement of buildings, land use, specific plan for each phase, partition of residential districts, and types of residences in accordance with their relations to water. Results of the analysis pointed out that there are the principles which should be complied to construct waterfront residential quarters. First, it is necessary to redefine waterfront from the viewpoint of city and culture. Second, the project should be approached with a long-term vision and detailed plans. Third, cooperation between residents, government, and construction companies is required. Forth, heritage and identity for sustainability should be maintained. Fifth, it should be open to the public. The findings of this study suggest that sustainable waterfront residential quarters is desirable for occupants' comfort and health as well as for conservation of nature, improved views of cities and vitalization of communities.


The data of the literature demonstrate the poor global results of surgical treatment of the principal gastrointestinal cancers: oesophagus, stomach, bile ducts, liver, exocrine pancreas, colon and rectum. Surgery which was thought to be curative all too frequently proves to be simply a palliative procedure. The risk of failure is so high that a strategy should now be systematically adopted, combining surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and symptomatic treatments. The rigor of this multidisciplinary approach is based on comparative studies confirming the prospective series and measuring the quality and duration of survival. Some protocols provide considerable improvement, for example preoperative radiotherapy of cancers of the rectum, or propose an interesting alternative such as the combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer of the oesophagus. The participation of surgeons in multicentre prospective studies should validate and improve current oncological practice while also evaluating the contribution of a new method such as laparoscopic surgery. This commitment includes a definition of therapeutic objectives, definition of the reference treatment, selection of the criteria of the quality of the procedures involved in this treatment and objective assessment of the results.


In this article, we analyze headscarf debates that unfolded in the first decade of the twenty-first century in France, the Netherlands, and Germany. Through a socio-historical overview looking at newspaper articles and policy and legal documents, we show how the headscarf has become a site for negotiating immigrant-related, postcolonial difference. We argue that certain feminist understanding of gender liberation and postcolonial difference in the headscarf debates reveal the continuity of control mechanisms from the colonial to the postcolonial era. We highlight the possibilities for decolonial thought and practice by centering the situatedness of headscarf. This allows us to show how Muslim citizens are active participants in producing contemporary Western European histories even as some of their practices face overt rejection.


The authors outline an a priori model relating clinical and informatics competencies. They discuss the implications for both informatics training and governance, suggesting areas for research, and recommend a joined-up approach to assessment and delivery.


The Authors compare the results of general balanced anaesthesia and propofol in the anaesthetic management of closed-chest ablation of A-V junction. The best results were obtained with propofol because of the lower incidence of cardiovascular complications. Therefore propofol is a suitable agent in the anaesthetic management of closed-chest ablation of the A-V junction.


The premise of this study is that the physical environment, spatial form, and user's behavior, in the interchange subway station, should affect the passenger movement.With the four interchange patterns deduced from the premise,obseruation survey and questionaire survey are to be taken, and the result of the analysis is that the island platform type in the subway has more effect on the passenger movement of the interchange space than any other platform type, and the movement program necessitates the cross-form interchange pattern that is the shortest flow, and requires the distinctly separate interchange mevement.


Innovative coal combustors were developed, and measurement and simulation of gas-particle flows and coal combustion in such combustors were done in the Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University. LDV/PDPA measurements are made to understand the behavior of turbulent gas-particle flows in coal combustors. Coal combustion test was done for the non-slagging cyclone coal combustor. The full two-fluid model developed by the present author was used to simulate turbulent gas-particle flows, coal combustion and NOx formation. It is found by measurements and simulation that the optimum design can give large-size recirculation zones for improving the combustion performance for all the combustors. The combustion test shows that the nonslagging coal combustor can burn 3-5mm coal particles with good combustion efficiency and low NO emission. Simulation in comparison with experiments indicates that the swirl number can significantly affect the NO formation in the swirl coal combustor.


Although post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bPD have important relationships with trauma and a high lifetime co-occurrence, they are not entirely overlapping diagnoses.2 How should we classify those patients who develop borderline symptomatology in the absence of developmental trauma if we re-formulate bPD as a variant of PTSD? Also, approximately 20% of children who suffer extreme abuse and neglect grow up psychologically healthy.3 So rather than taking a dichotomous view, it is probable that bPD results from trauma in persons with certain temperamental dispositions.4 It is also the case that trauma is not unique to bPD; it is common in antisocial, dependent and histrionic personality disorders. Would Walker and Kulkarni also move these diagnoses to the trauma spectrum? Or would they dissolve the concept of personality disorder altogether?


Abiotic peptide synthesis is one of key steps in prebiotic chemistry. Peptides are building block of proteins and also play a role as a catalyst to form other biomolecules (e.g., [1]). Although varieties of mechanisms for abiotic peptide synthesis in terrestrial environments have been proposed, extraterrestrial contribution, that is, cometary and asteroidal impacts has attracted little attention. Considering that the frequency of the extraterrestrial impacts on the early Earth was greater than present day and comets and chondrites contain amino acids (e.g., [2] [3]), extraterrestrial impacts could be a candidate for peptide synthesis. In order to examine the feasibility of abiotic peptide synthesis by comet impacts, we conducted shock experiments on frozen mixtures of amino acid, water ice and silicate (forsterite) at cryogenic condition (77 K). In the experiments, the frozen amino acid mixture was sealed into a capsule and put into a container filled with liquid nitrogen to be kept at 77 K during the shock experiments. A vertical propellant gun was used to give impact shock. The amounts of remaining amino acid and synthesized peptides in the recovered shocked samples were analyzed with gas chromatographs after the extraction and the derivatization. The results showed that amino acid was oligomerized into peptides up to tripeptide by impact shock. Furthermore, the yield of linear dipeptide was much higher than that of cyclic diketopiperazine. These results were contrasting to the results of shock experiments at room temperature, in which they resulted in the formation of comparable amount of cyclic peptides to linear peptides [4]. These results indicate that the cryogenic condition at impact shock is a key for the formation of linear peptide. Linear peptides are more useful than cyclic peptides for further elongation of peptide chain. Thus, comet impacts might have played an important role in chemical evolution by delivering linear peptides to the early Earth. [1] Barbier et al. (1993) J. Mol. Evol. 37, 554-558. [2] Elsila et al. (2009) Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 44, 1323-1330. [3] Burton et al. (2012) Chem. Soc. Rev. 41, 5459-5472. [4] Blank et al. (2001) Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 31, 15-51 Provided by European Association of Geochemistry


The paper considers the implications of recent changes in the EC relationship with the Central & Eastern European Countries (CEECs) for the EC's traditional links with ACP countries. After reviewing some important aspects of the trade regime implemented by the Lome Convention, the paper analyzes the Europe Agreements signed in 1991 between the EC and the CEECs, showing that they give only marginal trade preference to the CEECs. The paper also considers FDI and aid flows and argues that there is up to now little evidence of a massive redirection of the flow of funds from the EC to the CEECs and away from the ACPs.


— Building upon Dyson's fundamental 1962 article known in ran dom-matrix theory asthe threefold way , we classify disordered fermion systems with quadratic Ham iltonians by their unitary and antiunitary symmetries. Impor tant physical examples are afforded by noninteracting quasiparticles in disordered met als and superconductors, and by relativistic fermions in random gauge field backgrounds. The primary data of the classification are a Nambu space of fer mionic field operators which carry a representation of some symmetry group. Ou r approach is to eliminate all of the unitary symmetries from the picture by transferri ng to an irreducible block of equivariant homomorphisms. After reduction, the block dat a specifying a linear space of symmetry-compatible Hamiltonians consist of a basic vec tor spaceV, a space of endomorphisms in End (V ⊕V∗), a bilinear form onV ⊕V∗ which is either symmetric or alternating, and one or two antiunitary symmetries that may ix V with V∗. Every such set of block data is shown to determine an irreducible classi c l compact symmetric space. Conversely, every irreducible classical compact symmetri c space occurs in this way. This proves the correspondence between symmetry classes an d symmetric spaces conjectured some time ago.


Purpose: To determine the antioxidant activity of methanol extract (ME) and solvent fractions of Avrainvillea erecta as well as their total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Methods : The antioxidant activities of ME as well as its chloroform, butanol, and aqueous fractions (CF, BF and WF, respectively) of A. erecta were evaluated via 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) scavenging assays as well as ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined spectrophotometrically. Results: CF and BF possessed equally high DPPH scavenging activity with half-maximal effective concentration (EC 50 ) of 535 and 532 mg/ml, respectively. CF had stronger NO scavenging activity (EC 50 743 μg/mL) than ME and BF, although weaker compared with quercetin (EC 50 279 μg/ml). CF also produced the highest FRAP value (451 μmol Fe 2+ /g) among all samples examined. Notably, H 2 O 2 scavenging activity was only found in CF (EC 50 387 μg/ml), which was as strong (p > 0.05) as that of gallic acid (EC 50 456 μg/mL). BF had the highest total phenolic content while CF had the highest total flavonoid content. Conclusion : CF of A. erecta , which has the highest flavonoid content of all the extracts evaluated, is a potential source of natural antioxidants, especially hydrogen peroxide scavengers. Keywords : Antioxidant, Avrainvillea erecta , Flavonoid, Macroalga, Phenolic


Starting from the chitin obtained from the lobster carapace, chitosan was obtained. This polymer, due to its high biodegradability, biocompatibility and mucoadhesivity, has a wide use in the pharmaceutical and food industry. Currently, it has great importance in the development of biomaterials for the regeneration of bone and cartilaginous tissues. However, its applications are limited by the insolubility at pH greater than 6. To increase its solubility, different methodologies have been reported. The intensive methylation of the chitosan has been one of the methodologies that have been studied in the last years, generating the N,N,N-trimethylchitosan. This molecule has the characteristic of having permanent positive charges in the chain as a consequence of the quaternization of the amino groups present in the structure of chitosan. Previous studies showed the influence of the agitation rate and the reaction time on the methylation process of the chitosan, using as an alkylating agent the dimethyl sulfate. This allowed to establish a technological process to transform the chitosan. The aim of this work was to obtain N,N,N-trimethylchitosan chloride from chitosan obtained chitin from lobster carapace bench scale. Infrared spectroscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Intrinsic viscosity were used to characterize the product obtained. The results of the analysis by Infrared spectroscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance showed that the methylation process of the chitosan proposed in this work was effective to obtain the desired product. The degree of quaternization, degree of dimethylation and degree of acetylation were 49.2%, 57.5% and 13.3%, respectively. While the value of the intrinsic viscosity [ɳ] of the sample was 78.5 cm3/g. The results corroborate the possibility of modifying chitosan by applying the methodology proposed in this work.


Expert Level The award to the experts who have made outstanding contributions to advancing in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Healthcare. It is the most prestigious award of the whole conference and is tagged as scientific service Achievement award. The eligibility criteria for achieving this award is that one should have minimum of 20+ years of experience in the relative field in public or private sector. The receiver of this award should have a dedicated fascination and should take initiative in researching the recent trends and developments towards the related subjects. You can nominate deserving of the award through online.  Professional Level The Award for professional or academic research activity acquired in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Healthcare research field in the public or private sector for experts having research knowledge at 10+ years in the field of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Healthcare with most relevant accomplishments. Part-time research experience would be counted as pro-rata. It is calculated starting from the date when you obtained the (first) degree entitling you to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited), even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged. You can nominate deserving of the award through online.


Video Surveillance Services is increasingly becoming important part in daily live. For traditional distributed Video Surveillance Services, each video catcher will store its streaming data to server. It will create a great volume of data daily. The approach obviously incurs some problems in keeping daily data into the data center (DC), such as limited bandwidth to DC, limited space of DC, overloading to DC, reliability, scalability, and so on. In this paper, we propose a novel architecture based on well-developed peer to peer technology and emerging cloud computing for solving the issues. The architecture exploits inherent characteristics of P2P and Cloud computing to provide an economic, scalable, reliable and efficient approach to store video data. We present the architecture, components, its operation flow, and depict the implementation issue in this paper. We believe that the architecture can improve significantly issues.


The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator project will require an accuracy of a few parts in 10/sup 6/ in the control of the current to the superconducting magnets. A new infrastructure for calibration is being built at CERN based on DC current reference standards rather than voltage. The paper describes the rationale, the infrastructure, the transfer methods, and the performance.


La Casa de Harriet/Harriet's House grew out of a series of 10-minute plays that Tara Goldstein wrote about the world of transnational adoption. Tara's research for these plays came from a variety of written narratives by adoptive families. One of these plays, Seder, won the American Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)'s 10-minute playwriting contest. After completing four 10-minute plays in her "global families" series, Tara wanted to explore some of the issues facing adoptive families more deeply. Using the language of the visual arts, Tara saw her 10-minute play series as set of sketches that were now able to inform a bigger painting she wanted to create. The sketches gave Tara the issues and characters she wanted to bring to life within a full-length play. In creating Harriet's House, Tara conducted interviews with adoptive families to deepen the narrative research she had already undertaken. A four-day workshop exploring the characters, themes and politics of Harriet's House was undertaken by Gailey Road Productions last summer (July 13-16, 2009). Then the post-workshop draft of the script was given a public reading at the International Women's Playwright Conference in Mumbai, India, in November 2009.


Past research about social entrepreneurial intention has centered on the impact of bright personalities; however, dark personalities such as the dark triad are also considered to have advantages. This study explored the relationship between the dark triad and social entrepreneurial intention by focusing on the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of empathic concern and perspective taking. Based on a sample of 491 undergraduates and 412 students in a master in business administration program in China, the dark triad was found to be negatively related to social entrepreneurial intention through moral disengagement. Moreover, high levels of empathic concern and perspective taking weakened the direct effect of the dark triad on moral disengagement, as well as the indirect effect of the dark triad on social entrepreneurial intention. Our study extends the research in the field of personality and entrepreneurship. Given the findings on the role of moral disengagement, empathic concern, and perspective taking, education efforts may assist in decreasing the negative effects of the dark triad on social entrepreneurial intention.


Presents the results of an assessment process carried out in the department of Safety-Critical Systems & Systems Engineering inside the Institute of Flight Systems of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for selecting the technological foundation to be used on future airborne intra-aircraft wireless applications. This paper provides an overview of the state of the art in wireless data transmission technologies by describing the different physical principles which enable transmitting data without the need of wires or fibers; as well as by providing a summary of the wireless data communication standards currently available. The work presented here as a part of the research work accomplished in DLR has determined that a more in depth analysis of the airborne applications and of the wireless technologies must be made before their technology foundation can be accurately selected.


Class IV Lupus Nephritis is a difficult medical situation requiring aggressive management. Many patients do not respond to conventional cyclophosphamide (CPM) therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of cyclosporine (CsA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in the treatment of CPM refractory class IV Lupus nephritis. The study was conducted at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and Cantonment General Hospital (CGH) of Dhaka over a period of 8 years (from January 2000 till December 2008). CPM refractory Class IV Lupus nephritis patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups cyclosporine (4mg/kg/day) and mycophenolate mofetil (1000-2000mg/day). Thirty one patients completed at least one year follow up and were included in the study. Sixteen patients were included in cyclosporine group and 15 patients in mycophenolate mofetil group. CsA treated patients had a remission rate of 87.5% which was 80% in MMF group. The average remission time was 16.21 weeks in CsA and 20.91 weeks in MMF group. The urinary total protein(UTP) and creatinine clearance (CCr) values  were  similar in both groups, 0.54 gm vs 0.66 gm & 81 vs 86 ml/min. The systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) was 9.56 and 9.2 in CsA and MMF group which came down to 1.92 and 1.83 in the same groups after remission. In this study It was found that both cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil were very effective in the treatment of CPM refractory class IV Lupus nephritis with slight better response with cyclosporine. Key words: Lupus Nephritis, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporine. DOI: 10.3329/jafmc.v5i2.4575 JAFMC Bangladesh Vol.5(2) (December) 2009, pp.8-13


We investigate the behavior of turbulent systems in geometries with one compactified dimension. A novel phenomenological scenario dominated by the splitting of the turbulent cascade emerges both from the theoretical analysis of passive scalar turbulence and from direct numerical simulations of Navier-Stokes turbulence.


In the last 15 years the concept of radicalisation has come to prominence as a means of explaining the process by which individuals become attracted to extremist ideology and endorse the actions of terrorist groups. Post 9/11, radicalisation has gained traction in policy, political and media circles in Britain, being commonly connected to the threat of 'home-grown' terrorism. In this article, we critique the understanding of radicalisation outlined in the UK Government's PREVENT strategy. We focus specifically on how particular understandings of radicalisation are constructed, evidenced and operationalised in PREVENT and the way in which these understandings align with party political worldviews. It is posited that an unremitting focus on the role of religious ideology in the process of radicalisation within PREVENT mutes recognition of otherwise important material grievances expressed by individuals involved in violent extremism. At a broader level, our analysis adds to growing concerns around the deleterious impacts of the securitisation of social policy.


Earth's biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, in what some have dubbed the "sixth mass extinction" that life has faced in the history of our planet (1). This rapid decline of biodiversity, the realization that some of its components, such as fungi, remain relatively poorly known, and limited resources are rendering the process of prioritizing conservation efforts more challenging. The expression "agony of choice," put forward by Vane-Wright et al. (2) to describe the context in which these decisions have to be made, has become even more pertinent. In this time of urgency and scarce resources, conservation practitioners have been seeking methods and indices that can accelerate the selection of species and areas, which are to be the focus of conservation actions. These approaches include the identification of surrogates, which can either mirror the distribution patterns of other features that are less readily accessible, but potentially more informative or relevant in a particular context, or more easily represent biodiversity as a whole. Surrogates are expected to save time and resources compared with more conventional methods and have attracted increasing interest among conservation planners. These surrogates are generally of two broad types, taxonomic and environmental (3). Taxonomic surrogates are using a particular group of organisms and extrapolate the patterns observed in this group as representing overall biodiversity (e.g., ref. 4). Environmental surrogates usually comprise an amalgam of physical and biological information, such as ecological classifications (e.g., ref. 5), which have been widely employed in conservation planning as they are assumed to represent adequately groups of species, communities, and ecosystems.

Selecting species or identifying areas harboring the greatest amount of diversity to be prioritized for conservation is an important element of conservation planning. Equally important is ensuring that the overall variability within a given species is also adequately protected. One typical …

[↵][1]1Email: f.forest{at}kew.org.

 [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1


Abstract This article identifies the principal myths and misconceptions surrounding the Chinese language and, by means of discourse analysis, shows how they have been expressed and become entrenched in the academic world, both in China and in the West, despite the evidence which undermines the premises on which these myths are founded. We also show how these views originated from applying a Western linguistic model to descriptions and reforms of the Chinese language, thus, reinforcing the orientalist discourse on Chinese that still persists and has permeated the Chinese language teaching. We tackle these issues from a Spanish perspective at a time when the country is experiencing important educational changes at three levels. First, there is an increase in courses on Chinese Studies. Second, European university curricula are undergoing a process of homogenisation. And, third, a new policy to standardise language learning, teaching and assessment at all stages of education is being implemented all over Europe. We are concerned about this policy because the model designed for European languages is also being applied to non-European languages. We believe that this new context is an ideal occasion to question existing discourses and bring forth new approaches towards the production and reproduction of knowledge related to the Chinese language.


A close scrutiny of how theatre companies operate is an often neglected aspect of theatre life in Africa, yet, as companies profiled here grapple with the issues of 'creativity and collaboration' much is revealed about the way theatre companies across the continent face the challenges of financial constraints, the political complications of sponsorship and funding, the need for creative or intellectual freedoms, the intricacies of contracts and the crucial decisions about venues and audiences. Volume Editor: JAMES GIBBS, University of the West of England. The contributors include: DEXTER LYNDERSAY, FOLUKE OUGUNLEYE, SIRI LANGE, ALLY MKUMBILA, BRACCO CHITOSA, MANFRED LOIMEIR, LUCY RICHARDSON, CHRISTINE MATZKE, VICTOR S. DUGGA, PATRICK-JUDE OTEH, BASIL JONES, MICHAEL WALLING, BRITISH COUNCIL, JOS REPERTORY THEATRE.


This report develops part of the framework for a paired numerical and experimental model consisting of synthetic alternatives to study the effects of blast loading on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). A method using aluminium and polyurethane foam projectiles fired from a gas gun shows promise to produce simulated blast loading for the study of such injuries. To understand the suitability of synthetic alternatives, compression testing on three bone candidates was completed to compare their relative biofidelity. Bonesim proved to be the most viable bone candidate and was therefore used along with a skin simulant and Sylgard 527 gel moulded into a clear acrylic tube to successfully view pressure wave propagation through the resulting synthetic 'head section'. This configuration may provide the capacity for new insights into the mechanisms of TBI and a robust test system for novel protection systems.


The objective of this study is to standardize the calculation method of Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the three Drought Management Agencies (DMA) in south Korea, and to evaluate the PDSI applicability. For comparison and review of the method, the code and input data of PDSI are collected from each DMA. The calculation method is the same, but the used input data (number of meteorological stations, normal year period, Available Water Capacity (AWC) of the soil) are different. Through discussions with drought experts and literature review, the standardized method is determined. 61 stations which have the data period more than 30 years are selected. Also the normal year is fixed for 30 years and updated every 10 years. The observed AWC is utilized using GIS data. Empirical equation of PDSI is re-estimated according to domestic climate characteristics. For evaluating the standardized PDSI, past drought events are investigated and drought indices including the existing SPI and PDSI are used for comparative analysis. As results, although the accuracy of standardized PDSI through ROC analysis is lower than SPI, the newly standardized PDSI is better than existing PDSI from DMA, Also it reasonably explain the spatial drought situation through the spatial analysis.


Summary. Seismic anisotropy observed in the upper mantle is primarily due to the partial alignment of crystallites of olivine and pyroxene, which have orthorhombic crystallographic symmetry. In this paper, the crystallite orientation distribution function is used to derive expressions for the anisotropy of elastic wave velocities in a partially aligned aggregate of orthorhombic crystallites. The coefficients Wl,, of a series expansion of the crystallite orientation distribution function in generalized spherical harmonics can be obtained to order 1= 2 from the angular variation of the elastic wave velocities. This corresponds to the specification of the distribution function by its first few moments.


Background COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The symptoms of COVID-19 vary from mild-to-moderate respiratory illnesses, and it sometimes requires urgent medication. Therefore, it is crucial to detect COVID-19 at an early stage through specific clinical tests, testing kits, and medical devices. However, these tests are not always available during the time of the pandemic. Therefore, this study developed an automatic, intelligent, rapid, and real-time diagnostic model for the early detection of COVID-19 based on its symptoms. Methods The COVID-19 knowledge graph (KG) constructed based on literature from heterogeneous data is imported to understand the COVID-19 different relations. We added human disease ontology to the COVID-19 KG and applied a node-embedding graph algorithm called fast random projection to extract an extra feature from the COVID-19 dataset. Subsequently, experiments were conducted using two machine learning (ML) pipelines to predict COVID-19 infection from its symptoms. Additionally, automatic tuning of the model hyperparameters was adopted. Results We compared two graph-based ML models, logistic regression (LR) and random forest (RF) models. The proposed graph-based RF model achieved a small error rate = 0.0064 and the best scores on all performance metrics, including specificity = 98.71%, accuracy = 99.36%, precision = 99.65%, recall = 99.53%, and F1-score = 99.59%. Furthermore, the Matthews correlation coefficient achieved by the RF model was higher than that of the LR model. Comparative analysis with other ML algorithms and with studies from the literature showed that the proposed RF model exhibited the best detection accuracy. Conclusion The graph-based RF model registered high performance in classifying the symptoms of COVID-19 infection, thereby indicating that the graph data science, in conjunction with ML techniques, helps improve performance and accelerate innovations.


Introduction: Acute cellular rejection (ACR) is a continuous challenge in intestinal transplantation despite the advent of potent immunosuppressive drugs. Most of the traditional drugs used to treat ACR destroy specific cell lines with important systemic side effects. Migration of the activated recipient lymphocytes (T Cells) to the mucosal surface can trigger ACR in intestinal transplant. It has been demonstrated in a murine model of intestinal transplantation that during ACR allografts are infiltrate by large numbers of α4β7 T cells and the treatment with a blocking antibody specific for β7 significantly reduces the cellular infiltrate and inhibits ACR. Vedolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to the α4β7 integrin, inhibiting T lymphocytes from binding to adhesion molecules (MAdCAM-1), which are expressed mainly in the small bowel and colon. Consequently, vedolizumab can be considered a specific intestinal immunosuppressant, making it especially attractive in intestinal transplantion. Vedolizumab could provide specific down-modulation of the mucosal inflammatory response that is characteristic of IBD and allograft intestinal rejection, thereby allowing re-establishment of homeostasis in the intestinal immune system. Methods: Our group is reporting, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of using Vedolizumab for the treatment of severe ACR in intestinal transplantation. Results: 25 years old, female, with history of Crohn's disease received an intestinal and colon transplant. After 6 months of follow up patient started missing clinical appointments and presenting undetectable immunosuppressant levels. Eleven months after the transplant patient presented to the ER critically ill. Scope with biopsy was performed showing severely inflamed mucosa, absence of villi, diffuse bleeding and ulcers. All the viral studies were negative. Alemtuzumab 30 mg X 2, Rituximab and steroids were given. After 2 weeks without improvement of symptoms another endoscopic evaluation was performed. Areas of moderate to severe erythematous mucosa without villi, severe friability and active bleeding was found. Patient was overimmunosuppressed and we opted to treat with Vedolizumab (x3). After 10 days from the first dose, a new scope was performed showing regeneration of villi, improved friability and no active bleeding. New scopes showed continuosly improvement of the mucosa followed by resolution of symptoms. PN was weaned and patient was discharged without parenteral support. Conclusions: Vedolizumab was successfully used to rescue a patient with severe rejection after failure of other therapies. It acts specifically in the intestinal mucosawith amuch safer side-effect profile. More studies are necessary but it may become an excellent choice to treat or prevent rejection in intestinal transplantation.


Polyglucosan bodies (Lafora bodies) were identified in a juvenile gray-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) with neurological signs. The structures were only noted in the brain stem, and no associated degenerative changes were present. These structures have not been previously identified in any species in the order Chiroptera.


Career confusion can inhibit confidence in determining the goals of future plans. Information on the characteristics of self-efficacy career decision making is needed as an effort to develop one's behavior and skills. Self-efficacy is the individual's trust in his ability to do something. The process of identifying previous journals through searches in the last 16 years (2000-2017) through electronic media, books, Google Scholar, Elsevier, and Sage. The results showed the characteristics of self-efficacy career decision making in adolescents were self-assessment, job information, goal selection, planning, and problem solving. The results of this study could be one of the references of knowledge for students, teachers, and parents in making career decisions in adolescents.


Understanding how morphology relates to function and how the two change across species in different environments and regions can provide clues to the drivers of speciation and diversity within a clade. Locomotion is a vital trait for most animals to function, and locomotor adaptations should involve morphological changes that maximize fitness in specific environments. We focus on the Pyxicephalidae, a speciose sub-Saharan anuran family with remarkable morphological and ecological diversity, and hypothesize that morphological differences among these species affect locomotor performance and that these represent adaptations to their surrounding environment. We tested 215 individuals across 25 species for various aspects of locomotor performance by filming frogs jumping and swimming, inducing sustained movement around a circular track and rotating a non-stick surface until adhesion failure. We then used Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models to determine whether species showed trait selection between different environments. We found that some morphological traits were significantly correlated with aspects of locomotor performance between species. Microhabitats showed separate selective optima for both morphology and locomotor performance, specifically between combinations of semi-aquatic, fossorial, semi-arboreal and terrestrial species. Our study shows how ecological conditions coincide with morphological and locomotor differences within a continental arena, generating a remarkably diverse African frog family.


The temporal frequency of synaptic activation is a decisive factor in the regulation of perceptual detection thresholds following high or low frequency sensory stimulation. However, surprisingly little is known about the neuronal and circuit level responses to distinct temporal parameters of sensory input. Here we demonstrate that the temporal frequency of a visual stimulus determines the locus of expression and specificity of visual response potentiation. Repetitive high frequency stimulation (HFS, 20 Hz), but not low frequency stimulation (LFS, 2 Hz), suppresses the activity of fast-spiking interneurons, and primes ongoing gamma oscillatory rhythms for visually-evoked phase reset. Accordingly, visual stimulation subsequent to HFS induces a non-stimulus specific response potentiation that is expressed in all cortical layers. In contrast, LFS induces a stimulus specific response potentiation that is specifically expressed in layer 4. This generalized response potentiation induced by HFS is coincident with an improved performance in a visual detection task that generalizes to novel visual stimuli.


the Division disagree; prestimably the latter is to have the deciding voice, or there is not miuch ])Oiplt in referri-ing the matter to it. The great majority of the memnbers of each Division habitually abstain from attenidinig the miieetings; they have n-o experience of medico-legal problems as seen in meldical defence work; they have nio expert adviser to put the case before them succinctly anid impartially; those who do vote on suclh a referenice will almost certainly do so on personal grounids rather than on pr inciples. Wlhat utter chaos such a fantastic proposal involves! The procedure, in addition, would involve a delay of aniythlinlg up to thlree monitlhs before a decision could be arrive(d at whether a member should be assisted or not, whereas it is a common expelrience of the defeace societies to make such decisions at short niotice if they are to be of any use at all. I am by no means sure that a better case than this for British Medical Association interventioni cannot be made out; all that Dr. Manson has done is to strenigthen verv greatly my not absolutely fixed belief that the Biritish Medical Association will do well to let this miiatter quite alone.-I am, etc.,


Background With the improvement of clinical treatment outcomes in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the high rate of relapse in DLBCL patients is still an established barrier, as the therapeutic strategy selection based on potential targets remains unsatisfactory. Therefore, there is an urgent need in further exploration of prognostic biomarkers so as to improve the prognosis of DLBCL. Methods The univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were employed to screen out gene signatures for DLBCL overall survival (OS) prediction. The differential expression analysis was used to identify representative genes in high-risk and low-risk groups, respectively, where student t test and fold change were implemented. The functional difference between the high-risk and low-risk groups was identified by the gene set enrichment analysis. Results We conducted a systematic data analysis to screen the candidate genes significantly associated with OS of DLBCL in three NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. To construct a prognostic model, five genes (CEBPA, CYP27A1, LST1, MREG, and TARP) were then screened and tested using the multivariable Cox model and the stepwise regression method. Kaplan–Meier curve confirmed the good predictive performance of this five-gene Cox model. Thereafter, the prognostic model and the expression levels of the five genes were validated by means of an independent dataset. High expression levels of these five genes were significantly associated with favorable prognosis in DLBCL, both in training and validation datasets. Additionally, further analysis revealed the independent value and superiority of this prognostic model in risk prediction. Functional enrichment analysis revealed some vital pathways responsible for unfavorable outcome and potential therapeutic targets in DLBCL. Conclusion We developed a five-gene Cox model for the clinical outcome prediction of DLBCL patients. Meanwhile, potential drug selection using this model can help clinicians to improve the clinical practice for the benefit of patients.


Aripiprazole is an investigational atypical antipsychotic that received an approvable status from FDA in September 2002 for the treatment of schizophrenia. The decision on approval could be made as early as the end of this year. Aripiprazole offers a unique mechanism of action as a dopamine system stabilizer. Aripiprazole has been found to be effective in both short-term (4-6 wk) and long-term (26-52 wk) treatment trials. It appears to produce less hyperprolactinemia, weight gain, and extrapyramidal symptoms than other antipsychotics. Aripiprazole is metabolized via the cytochrome P450 system; however, no drug interactions are known at this time.


Egypt underwent many and continuous attempts to reform its administrative system since the fifties of the last century when it sought to adopt the recommendations mentioned in the American Expert Paul Sinker's Report which embraced legislative and reorganizing tools to reform the bureaucratic system then (Kassem et al, 1996:18).  This paper is a trial to investigate how far Fred Riggs Model- that have been widely used to explain the development of communities- could be used to explain and evaluate the endeavors to reform the government and related public sector in the case of Egypt; i.e., calling attention to the importance of Riggs Model implications in the field of administrative reform. F. Riggs Model –known as the Prismatic Society Model- provides ideas and dimensions for classifying developed and developing communities. The study aims at utilizing these dimensions to judge the maturity of the administrative reforms endeavors that took place during two decades (1990-2010). The main finding of the study is that the reform programs adopted during this period were supposed to be promising; nonetheless, the lack of integration amongst them was the main reason behind the persistent failure witnessed in the Egyptian administrative system till now. Keywords: Administrative Reform, F. Riggs Model, Reform Programs, Egypt.


Scandinavia has historically been known for high levels of social justices. Universal and tax-funded social security and health systems, state pension and free basic as well as higher education became fundamental elements in creating more equal societies. Moreover, housing sectors based on use value rather than exchange value have historically been key to the development of Scandinavian welfare states. In this tradition, housing is seen as an essential necessity rather than only a commodity that can be exchanged for individual gains, encompassing two major forms: Cooperatives and common housing. The paper's focus is on housing in Denmark and Sweden, which many continue to see as examples of countries representing a measure of social justice and solidarity. Both countries have histories of housing forms based on some notion of use value. We outline these alternatives to market-based housing and discuss the transformation processes that have either undermined or challenged them. In essence, cooperatives and particularly common housing became common inheritances of social (rather than individual) wealth. However, the development in Denmark and Sweden demonstrates how easily housing commons for the many can be appropriated and turned into sources of exchange value for the few. This is very evident in the histories of Swedish and Danish cooperatives, where use-rights to common property with a few legislative changes became market commodities, subject to price inflation. For common housing, in both countries, if most clearly in Sweden, challenges partly derive from changes to the legal context of common housing, which broadly follows wider political shifts from 'classic' social democracy to neoliberalism. Danish common housing has so far most successfully resisted this transformation. In important respect, this is because ownership of Danish common housing is located in strong organisations outside the neoliberalising state, while Swedish common housing generally is owned by the (local) state. In both countries it will take a concerted effort to sustain and develop common housing as a collective and non-commodified good. (Less)


For many companies, budgets are a key instrument to control behaviour, relying on individual target-setting and performance evaluation based on accounting performance measures. However, in perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) situations, budgeting faces two difficulties: setting realistic objectives in a poorly predictable context while at the same time achieving a fair performance evaluation when uncertainty has affected results and their controllability. Based on prior accounting literature and Simons' framework (1990, 1995), we explore the use of budgets in PEU situations in a qualitative study. We conducted a field-based study and interviewed 14 senior sales and marketing managers from various industries, using projective techniques imported from psychological research. Our field results confirm an interactive use of budgets in PEU situations and highlight two practices: (1) intense interactive debate and dialogue at all organisational levels, both at target-setting time and throughout the year; and (2) additional use of non-accounting, more subjective performance evaluations. However, we also find that beyond this interactive use, budgets remain important for short-term performance evaluation and achieving the company's global budgetary objectives. Work-based arrangements facilitate this "dual use" of budgeting. Our findings suggest that a process of mutualisation--risk- and effort-sharing--takes place, emphasising achievement of the company's overall budgetary objectives promised to the shareholders. This process fosters a more collective, global management of uncertainties while simultaneously allowing individual performance evaluation.


If I had been a Frenchman-with such a public to write for, such rewards to win, and such actors to interpret me, as the French Stage presents-all the stories I have written from "Antonina" to "The Woman in White" would have been told in the dramatic form. Whether their success as plays would have been equal to their success as novels, it is not for me to decide; But [sic] if I know anything of my own faculty, it is a dramatic one.'


The sociological questions in the gerontological research-plan 'Our future selves', developed in the USA for stimulating and co-ordinating the research in this field, are shortly summarized. It concerns demographic studies, age as dimension of the social structure, social-cultural comparative studies, social roles and social networks and the aging problems in different sectors of the society. After this summary some critical remarks are made and some points are mentioned that seem more or less fundamental in this field, namely the societal orientation on youth, the long term orientation that is needed because of the changing demographic structure, the problem of the 'social construction' of aging and the interdependency between the development of the sciences and characteristics of modern society (especially for the situation of old people).