The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) as an energy conversion device is considered as a promising technology due to its high operating efficiency, fuel flexibility and relatively low emissions. However high operating temperature related issues such as availability and durability of the materials to operate at that high temperature and for long-time thermal cycling need to be understood and overcome. These are vital areas for research to ensure availability and durability measures are maximised subject to minimising SOFC system cost. To obtain the desired power output, especially for industrial applications, several cells are linked together to form a stack and the stacks are linked together to form a SOFC power generating system. There are two ways to overcome these issues, first; to reduce the operating temperature and second; to have better thermal management of the systems. Decreasing the operating temperature however can lead to a reduction in overall performance of the system due to an increase in the resistance in the cell as well as the electrodes becoming less active. Thus, thermal management of SOFCs is significant for minimising performance losses and maximising cell/stack lifetime. [Continues.]


Temperature-dependent powder neutron diffraction has been used to investigate the structure of the superionic compound Ag3SI in the region of the γ-β phase transition at Tγ-β = 157 K. On cooling through Tγ-β the structure changes from cubic to rhombohedral as the three silver ions per unit cell preferentially occupy six of the twelve sites which are randomly occupied in the cubic phase. This is accompanied by a slight distortion of the anion sublattice along one of the threefold axes. Cooling below Tγ-β produces a further gradual ordering of the silver ions with each silver ion on a single site and an increased distortion of the anion sublattice. This behaviour is used to interpret the observed ionic conductivity of Ag3SI and to resolve the ambiguity over the nature of the phase transition.


A randomized controlled trial, 113 school children with Giardia intestinalis infection were treated with albendazole or tinidazole. Albendazole 400 mg once a day x 3 days and tinidazole 50 mg/kg single dose were given orally to 62 and 51 children, respectively. Parasitological cure was documented when there were > or = 2 times negative stool examination for G. intestinalis at 1-2 weeks after therapy. Thirty-one of 62 (50%) children treated with albendazole and 49 of 51 (96.1%) children treated with tinidazole had parasitological cure (p < 0.001). No major side effects were observed except one case in tinidazole group had severe headache for 30 hours. Albendazole appears to be safe and produced a moderate cure rate for G. intestinalis infection when a 3 day anthelmintic regimen is given.


Disability policy has always been deeply immersed in questions relating to the relationships between disability and poverty. Ever since the Poor Laws of eighteenth century England there has been a constant effort to separate disability from poverty. This effort has been enhanced with the rise of the modern welfare state during the nineteenth century and has culminated in the 20 years that have passed since the enactment of the ADA. It is time, I argue, to reexamine the nexus between disability and poverty and attend to their co-constitutive relationships. I suggest a reconstructive reading of disability allowances as a locus of the transition from an understanding of disability and poverty as two overlapping categories to an emphasis on the constitutive relationships between them; a transition from a heavily civil rights based discourse to a social welfare oriented discussion that internalizes the actual needs of disabled people who live in poverty. These issues have generally gone unnoticed in the literature, rendering the understanding of the politics that surround disability allowances incomplete. Focusing on the construction and negation of disability allowances, the paper identifies and traces the roots of a fundamental tension that underlies disability politics with regard to disability allowances: Are cash benefits an archaic and outdated form of assistance to disabled people, or are they still a relevant mode of response to their systematic marginalization and exclusion? Based on a field study of the Israeli disability community the paper shows that while disability rights advocates tend to reject disability allowances as fundamentally wrong and to support the transformation of society's social structures, welfare activists tend to view disability allowances as a response to a pressing necessity, an expression of social responsibility, and a means to provide economic security for disabled people. The paper employs a disability legal studies framework to analyze the study's findings, attending primarily to questions of power and difference, and offering a framework that considers both perspectives as two authentic voices that express genuine concerns. At the same time, the analysis maintains that both approaches lack a more complex understanding of the relationships between disability and poverty, within which the meanings of disability allowances are negotiated. It concludes with a call to re-conceptualize disability allowances, as a form of compensation that redresses disabled people – individually and collectively – for society's past and present continuing practices of exclusion and discrimination. The struggles of disabled people over rights and allowances become a fascinating site from which to draw the critical lessons that disability activism has to offer to social theory.


We report an effective and simple method to further enhance the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) by silver (Ag) nanoparticles (AgNPs) self-assembling into the nanogaps of an Ag nanoisland (AgNIs). The AgNIs prepared by dewetting of Ag film created a nanorough surface, which induced the Ag nanoparticles to regularly deposit into the nanogaps. AgNPs and AgNIs samples were also prepared for comparative analysis. Their SERS activities were investigated theoretically and experimentally. Experimental enhancement factors (EFs) for AgNPs, AgNIs, and AgNPs decorated AgNIs substrate (AgNPs-AgNIs) were ∼107, ∼106, ∼108, respectively, with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 66.1%, 12.9%, and 13.2%. Remarkable enhancement (EF≈108) and excellent reproducibility (RSD=13.2%) indicated the AgNPs-AgNIs had a high potential in practical application. Electromagnetic simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics demonstrated that the additional enhancement of the SERS effect could be mainly attributed to the improvement of the local electromagnetic field. Moreover, the deposition process of Ag nanoparticles was analyzed in detail to understand the reproducibility of AgNPs-AgNIs.


A high-sensitivity electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was conducted to detect carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Nanocomposites of graphene oxide/carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotubes/gold/cerium oxide nanoparticles (GO/MWCNTs-COOH/Au@CeO2) were used as antibody carriers and sensing platforms to modify on glassy carbon electrodes (GCE). CeO2 nanoparticles were first exploited as an ECL luminescent material and the possible ECL mechanism was proposed in this work. GO/MWCNTs-COOH was used as a loading matrix for CeO2 nanoparticles because of the superior conductivity and large specific surface area. Au nanoparticles were further deposited on this matrix to attach anti-CEA and enhance the sensitivity of immunosensor. The proposed sensing platform showed excellent cathodic ECL performance and sensitive response to CEA. The effects of experimental conditions on the ECL performance were investigated. The proposed immunosensor showed the broad linear range (0.05-100 ng/mL) and the low detection limit (LOD, 0.02 ng/mL, signal-to-noise ratio = 3) according to the selected experimental conditions. The excellent analysis performance for determination of CEA in the human serum samples simplied this immunosensor displayed high sensitivity and excellent repeatability. More importantly, this conducted immunosensor broadens the use scope of CeO2 nanoparticles.


The colloque of Poissy, September–October 1561, was an important incident in the history of the Reformation, and a dramatic incident in the career of the cardinal of Lorraine. This subject was first studied in detail by H. O. Evennett in his book The Cardinal of Lorraine and the Council of Trent, published in 1930. More recently, Evennett provided the inspiration for Donald Nugent in his study Ecumenism in the Age of the Reformation: The Colloque of Poissy. It is upon these two important works that any reassessment must necessarily be based. In a concluding chapter on 'the case of the cardinal of Lorraine', Nugent wrote: 'while the sources would seem to argue for a better view of Lorraine and his conduct at Poissy, an element of ambiguity remains'. This cautious comment refers to the introduction by Lorraine of the confession of Augsburg and a Lutheran formula on the eucharist. For Nugent, the 'critical role of the enigmatic cardinal of Lorraine has never been resolved'. In order to concentrate on his subject, the colloque itself, Nugent skipped briefly over its historical background. This he believed to have been fully treated by others—doubtless Evennett in particular. It is, however, still necessary to study this historical background more precisely in order to clarify how and why the colloque arose. Only then does it become possible to interpret the all-important role of Lorraine.


System identification of a dynamic environment using a robotic device utilizes physical perturbations in the form of displacement or force. To obtain an accurate system model, physical perturbations must be informative, which can be characterized by their spectral properties. The process of generating physical perturbations by using a robotic device often leads to spectral property degradation in the high-frequency region due to the dynamics of robot motion control and discrete-time signal processing. Spectral flatness is a metric applicable to quantifying the fidelity of the robotic system and quality of physical perturbations on an external object. This letter introduces a new metric named Band-limited Spectral Flatness Gain (BLSFG) to evaluate the physical perturbation quality relative to the input reference over a frequency band of interest. Motion control of a manipulandum that generates pseudorandom position perturbations for human sensorimotor system identification is considered as a representative example. The closed-loop system dynamics of the position control is characterized and optimized based on the BLSFG. Results suggest that a certain underdamped closed-loop property is advantageous to improve the spectral flatness of a degraded continuous-time pseudorandom reference. A high BLSFG is achieved when the resonance frequency of the closed-loop system is close to the update frequency of the pseudorandom sequence.


This collective biography of the 731 Russian Orthodox bishops consecrated between 1721 and 1917 explores the episcopate's regional and social origins, education, and career patterns and compares these with other European ecclesiastical elites. Apart from supplying extensive data on the Russian Orthodox episcopate, the article finds that by the end of the eighteenth century the regional heritage of a bishop ceased playing a role in shaping his identity. Likewise, from the mid-eighteenth century onward almost all bishops were from the clerical estate and the difference in social background stopped being a contested issue. Thus in the early nineteenth century the episcopate coalesced into a cohesive elite group, distinct from the caste-like clerical estate that it was drawn from and should logically have been closest to. Rather than attributing (as in the perception of the parish clergy and existing scholarship) the rift between episcopate and parish clergy to the frequent transfers of bishops from one diocese to another, this article argues that episcopate and parish clergy parted ways during the stratifying seminary years and that mobility--from home parish to seminary, from seminary to academy, and from diocese to diocese--came to characterize an episcopal career early on.


The main aim of this study is to investigate correlations between the impact of an external mechanical force on the molecular framework of fluorophores and the resultant changes in their fluorescence properties. Taking into account previous theoretical studies, we designed a suitable custom-tailored oligoparaphenylenevinylene derivative (OPV5) with a twisted molecular backbone. Thin foils made of PVC doped with 100 nM OPV were prepared. By applying uniaxial force, the foils were stretched and three major optical effects were observed simultaneously. First, the fluorescence anisotropy increased, which indicates a reorientation of the fluorophores within the matrix. Second, the fluorescence lifetime decreased by approximately 2.5% (25 ps). Finally, we observed an increase in the emission energy of about 0.2% (corresponding to a blue-shift of 1.2 nm). In addition, analogous measurements with Rhodamine 123 as an inert reference dye showed only minor effects, which can be attributed to matrix effects due to refractive index changes. To relate the observed spectroscopic changes to the underlying changes in molecular properties, quantum-chemical calculations were also performed. Semiempirical methods had to be used because of the size of the OPV5 chromophore. Two conformers of OPV5 (C(2) and C(i) symmetry) were considered and both gave very similar results. Both the observed blue-shift of fluorescence and the reduced lifetime of OPV5 under tensile stress are consistent with the results of the semiempirical calculations. Our study proves the feasibility of fluorescence-based local force probes for polymers under tension. Improved optical sensors of this type should in principle be able to monitor local mechanical stress in transparent samples down to the single-molecule level, which harbors promising applications in polymer science and nanotechnology.


Gravity resistance is a response that enables the plants to develop against the gravitational force. We have analyzed the nature and mechanisms of gravity resistance using both hypergravity conditions produced by centrifugation and microgravity conditions in space. As the final step of gravity resistance, plants develop a short and thick body and increase the cell wall rigidity in response to the magnitude of the gravitational force. Prompt reorientation of cortical microtubules is involved in the modification of body shape. The regulation of the cell wall rigidity is brought about by modification of the metabolisms of anti-gravitational cell wall polysaccharides and changes in the pH of cell wall fluid. Plants may perceive the gravitational force independently of the direction of stimuli by mechanoreceptors on the plasma membrane in gravity resistance. The development of gravity resistance may serve an important function in the transition of plant ancestors from an aquatic environment to a terrestrial environment. ©2010 Jpn. Soc. Biol. Sci. Space; Article ID: 102403010


Biomass co‐firing with coal is a near‐term option to displace fossil fuels and can facilitate the development of biomass conversion and the build‐out of biomass supply infrastructure. A GIS‐based modeling framework (EU‐28, Norway, and Switzerland) is used to quantify and localize biomass demand for co‐firing in coal power plants and agricultural and forest residue supply potentials; supply and demand are then matched based on minimizing the total biomass transport costs (field to gate). Key datasets (e.g., land cover, land use, and wood production) are available at 1,000 m or higher resolution, while some data (e.g., simulated yields) and assumptions (e.g., crop harvest index) have lower resolution and were resampled to allow modeling at 1,000 m resolution. Biomass demand for co‐firing is estimated at 184 PJ in 2020, corresponding to an emission reduction of 18 Mt CO2. In all countries except Italy and Spain, the sum of the forest and agricultural residues available at less than 300 km from a co‐firing plant exceeds the assessed biomass demand. The total cost of transporting residues to these plants is reduced if agricultural residues can be used, as transport distances are shorter. The total volume of forest residues less than 300 km from a co‐firing plant corresponds to about half of the assessed biomass demand. Almost 70% of the total biomass demand for co‐firing is found in Germany and Poland. The volumes of domestic forest residues in Germany (Poland) available within the cost range 2–5 (1.5–3.5) €/GJ biomass correspond to about 30% (70%) of the biomass demand. The volumes of domestic forest and agricultural residues in Germany (Poland) within the cost range 2–4 (below 2) €/GJ biomass exceed the biomass demand for co‐firing. Half of the biomass demand is located within 50 km from ports, indicating that long‐distance biomass transport by sea is in many instances an option.


The oxygen isotopic composition of the pore waters from the sediments and the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of carbonate veins from basalts of Leg 121 were analyzed. The pore-water data document the extent of the alteration of volcanic ashes and basalt. The influence of an increase in the isotopic composition of deep water as a result of the growth of polar ice caps over the last million years can also be detected in the pore waters of the upper 100 m of the sediments. Temperatures of formation of carbonate veins from basalts from sites located on the Ninetyeast Ridge increase northward along the ridge along with the increased age of the crust and depth of sediments. The temperatures calculated for carbonate veins from Site 758 indicate that a thermal event occurred at some time in the past.


This study analyses the feasibility of removing Direct Blue 71 from aqueous solution by different adsorbents such as activated carbon (TPAC) and Poly pyrrole polymer composite (PPC) prepared from Thevetia Peruviana. Batch mode adsorption was performed to investigate the adsorption capacities of these adsorbents by varying initial dye concentration, temperature, agitation time and pH. The performance of TPAC was compared with PPC. Among the adsorbents, PPC had more adsorption capacity (88.24%) than TPAC (58.82%) at an initial concentration of 50 mg/L and at 30°C. The experimental data best fitted with pseudo second order kinetic model. The adsorption data fitted well for Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters for the adsorbents were also evaluated. The carbon embedded in conducting polymers matrix show better adsorptive properties than activated carbon.


Tumor suppressor protein p53 (p53) is a master transcription factor that plays key roles in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, senescence, and metabolism, as well as regulation of innate immunity during virus infection. In order to facilitate their replication and spreading, viruses have evolved to manipulate p53 function through different strategies, with some requiring active p53 while others demand reduction/inhibition of p53 activity. However, there are no clear-cut reports about the roles of p53 during the infection of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), the causative agent of a highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) of cloven-hoofed animals. Here we showed that p53 level was dynamically regulated during FMDV infection, being degraded at the early infection stage but recovered to the basal level at the late stage. Cells depleted of p53 showed inhibited FMDV replication and enhanced expression of the immune-related genes, whereas overexpression of p53 didn't affect the viral replication. Viral challenge assay with p53 knockout mice obtained similar results, with viral load decreased, histopathological changes alleviated, and lifespan extended in the p53 knockout mice. Together, these data demonstrate that basal level p53 is required for efficient FMDV replication by suppressing the innate immunity.


This chapter describes how architects and artists develop their work through looking at nature and finding role models for proto-architectural applications. Artistic research methodologies are being used to transfer growth strategies in nature into concepts for a new living architecture. The chapter also describes the example of the artistic research project GrAB - Growing As Building, which was conducted between 2013 and 2016 at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna with an interdisciplinary and international team of architects, artists, engineers and scientists. The project was funded through the Austrian Science Fund, a funding institution for fundamental scientific research in Austria. The programme of developing and enhancing the arts is part of the FWF services and represents a unique opportunity to develop research in an artistic context. GrAB emerged from another artistic research project funded by the FWF: Biornametics – Architecture Defined by Natural Patterns explored a new methodology to interconnect scientific evidence with creative design in the field of architecture. GrAB took this exploration further and specifically looked at growing structures with focus themes on explorative growth, material systems, technological transfers and closed-loop systems. The investigations were multifaceted and broad at the beginning and were narrowed down to biological role model research which could be conducted in a biolab established at an art school (Figure 9.1). The slime mould was investigated as part of the theme of explorative structures. Looking at the slime mould through an artistic lens, informed by renowned biologists yielded new insights into the interpretation of its behaviour and proto-applications for architecture and the arts.


Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has increased in conjunction with obesity. The accuracy of risk factors for detecting NAFLD in obese adolescents has not undergone a formal evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate predictors of NAFLD among Egyptian female obese adolescents. The study included 162 obese female adolescents. All were subjected to anthropometry, biochemical analysis and abdominal ultrasongraphic assessment. Metabolic syndrome (MS) was diagnosed according to the IDF criteria. Significant association between presence of MS and NAFLD was observed. Obese adolescents with NAFLD had significantly higher levels of ALT, triglycerides, fasting glucose, insulin, blood pressure and HOMA-IR, whereas decreased HDL-C levels as compared with obese cases without NAFLD. Receiver– operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis shows that ALT is a sensitive predictor for NAFLD, confirming that ALT can be used as a marker of NAFLD. Keywords—Adolescents, Egyptians, obesity.


Macroalgae are considered bioindicators for marine pollution, because they have the ability to quickly react to changes in their environment. In consequence, macroalgae populations fluctuate, according to species characteristics and adaptive strategies. Their cell wall polysaccharides contain sulfate groups that are capable of retaining and accumulating heavy metals. In addition to traditional contaminants, emerging pollutants are being recognized in aquatic environments. Herein, emerging pollutants have been identified after being desorbed from the macroalga Dichotomaria marginata, collected from Fortaleza Beach, Ubatuba, Brazil. Based on that algal polysaccharide networks have the potential of forming hydrogen bonds with polar compounds, it was hypothesized that these pollutants would be bound to sugar polymers. Compounds present in the D. marginata samples were identified using both gas and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS and HPLC/MS), assisted by computational methods. It was possible to unequivocally identify 22 emerging contaminants with GC/MS, and 16 substances with HPLC/MS.


Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare and disabling central nervous system disorder with no satisfactory treatment. Muscle rigidity, sporadic muscle spasms, and chronic muscle pain characterize SPS. SPS is strongly correlated with autoimmune diseases, and it is usual to find high titers of antibodies against acid decarboxylase (GAD65). Due to its highly disabling nature and complicated treatment, we aim to create a treatment protocol through a narrative review of currently available treatments that show efficacy. We expect to facilitate management based on treatment responses ranging from first-line medication to refractory medication. We conducted a medical subject heading (MeSH) strategy. We used the term SPS with the subheading treatment: "Stiff-Person Syndrome/Therapy" [MeSH]. An initial data gathering of 270 papers came out with the initial research. After using the inclusion criteria, we had 159 articles. We excluded 31 papers for being either systematic reviews, literature reviews, or meta-analysis. From the 128 remaining articles, we excluded another 104 papers because the extraction of the data was not possible or the study outcome did not meet our demands. There are two main treatments for SPS: GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acid) therapy and immunotherapy. For treatment, we suggest starting with benzodiazepines as first-line treatment. We recommend adding levetiracetam or pregabalin if symptoms persist. As second-line therapy, we recommend oral baclofen over rituximab and tacrolimus. We also suggest rituximab over tacrolimus. For patients with refractory treatment, we can use intrathecal baclofen, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), or plasmapheresis. We conclude that intrathecal baclofen and IVIG are more effective than plasmapheresis in patients with refractory symptoms. Propofol may be used as a bridge - temporary therapy before initiating a permanent treatment.


This work presents results of research related to an emergency control for distribution systems. The problem is formulated within the fiamework of a fuzzy transportation network problem. An effective fuzzy integer programming model is proposed with solution based on satisfaction of operational levels. The proposed methodology has been applied to a realistic power distribution system based on a primary distribution network. The results demonstrate that the approach provides not only the convincing satisfaction of the actual requirements of the power distribution system, but also offers more information to the decision maker to improve decision making quality.


Summary The formation of ilmenite from titanomagnetite frequently shows separate generations of production. The ilmenite products can be combined with the magnetite host to represent the intermediate stages in this development. Use of the Buddington and Lindsley (1964) geothermometer in conjunction with this method provides a number of points in the temperature and oxygen-fugacity history of a single, complex magnetiteilmenite grain. Application of the method is illustrated by an example from the Freetown layered gabbro. A titanomagnetite exsolved granular ilmenite whilst cooling and this process ceased at 930° and an oxygen fugacity of log ƒ O2 = −11·5. Further cooling and exsolution continued until the grain reached 662 °C and log ƒ O2 = −19·0, producing distinct ilmenite lamellae.


In many middle-income countries financial protection for health is segmented and fragmented, and hence inefficient and inequitable. These countries are also experiencing epidemiological and demographic transitions that place escalating pressures on health care finance -for both families and systems. An obvious symptom is that families face economic ruin and impoverishment from financing their health care through out of pocket payment. To address these challenges, the 2003 structural reform of the Mexican health system extends financial protection by offering subsidized, publicly-provided health insurance - Popular Health Insurance -- to the 50-million Mexicans who lack social security and are concentrated among the poor. One of the key expected outcomes of the reform is a reduction in out-of-pocket, and especially catastrophic and impoverishing,health spending. The first part of the anlaysis focuses on trends, spanning more than a decade, in the evolution of catastrophic and impoverishing health spending and the poverty gap from health spending. The econometric analysis considers differences among families with and without insurance coverage, including family composition, remittances, level of education, place of residence and insurance status. This part of the research is based on multiple rounds of the Mexican National Household Income and Expenditure Surveys spanning 1992 to 2005. The second part of the research focusses on measurement issues by analyzing limitations in existing indicators of catastrophic and impoverishing health spending, and particularly differences across surveys. Using a one-year, longitudinal survey of a city, the study compares several over-time measures of household health spending. The results highlight opportunities and challenges for health systems to reduce impoverishment and protect households during periods of individual and collective financial crisis. The work also suggests directions for future studies, many of which can be applied in the context of new, regional research iniatives.


The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated four areas in Texas as having unacceptable ozone levels in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) limits, leading to a designation as non-attainment areas. One of those areas is Austin, a City already known for its environmental zeal. Austin owns its municipal power provider, Austin Energy (AE). Together, they have embarked on many programs to reduce greenhouse gases while maintaining service levels and providing the best return on capital. Of the stationary emissions, a large percentage is sourced to buildings that have driven Austin to adopt "above code" standards for new buildings. Austin, with assistance from the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL), extended the IECC 2006 to further strengthen building codes. Funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) has provided an opportunity for Austin Energy to team with ESL to implement a two-year project called the "Texas Climate Vision" (TCV). The mission of TCV is to realize 20%-40% above code homes using a combination of better codes, improved processes, inspection, and information technology. This paper provides an overview of the permitting process of a singlefamily house and how the web-based software collects, calculates and certifies above-code compliance for each home, while aggregating data and providing value to builders, inspectors and Austin Energy.


The objective signal-to-noise performance of component colour video signals is analysed in this paper for FM and AM-VSB video transmission systems. In the analysis, the effect of splitting the composite video signal into its components, by subcarrier demodulation and colour decoding, is taken into consideration. The effect of non linearity of the display is also included in the analysis. An expression for objective component signal-to-noise ratio is derived for both the transmission systems. A relationship between the conventional composite video SNR and the component video SNR is established. Effective noise transfer, between the input and various stages of video signal processing, is discussed in detail. Noise spectral density analysis, for fully saturated primary colours, is evaluated quantitatively for a PAL-I video system. Finally, SNR performance of various hues at constant luminance is evaluated, and the results obtained are compared with the subjective noise visibility tests first carried out in 1957. >


Injury to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) stimulates a finely regulated regenerative response that generally leads to some recovery of function. In contrast, the response to injury in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is abortive and adult CNS neurons do not normally regenerate. We used a microarray approach to identify putative regeneration-associated changes in gene expression in the L4 dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in rat models of PNS and CNS injury.
Our models included crush injury to both branches of the bifurcating axon of sensory neurons with cell bodies in the DRG (DRGNs). Injury to the peripheral branch at the level of the spinal nerve (SN) results in axonal regeneration and reinnervation. Crush injury of the central branch in the dorsal root (DR) results in active regeneration up to the point of CNS entry at the DR entry zone (DREZ) and subsequent arrest of further growth, while transection injury within the CNS at the level of the dorsal columns (DC) results in abortive and unsuccessful regeneration attempts. These DRGN injury models therefore allowed us to compare the gene expression programmes elicited during active, arrested and abortive regeneration.
Following a pilot microarray experiment to optimize experimental parameters and tract tracing and electrophysiological experiments to confirm time points for harvest of DRGs after DR and SN injury, respectively, male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent an L4 SN crush, an L4 DR crush or a bilateral DC transection at the L3/L4 spinal segment boundary. L4 DRGs were collected at 2 weeks (active regeneration) and 6 weeks (arrested regeneration) after DR crush. DRGs were harvested at 6 weeks after SN crush and 2 weeks after DC transection. DRGs harvested from naive rats served as a control group.
Microarray analysis (Affymetrix Rat genome 230 2.0 array) identified several hundred genes showing differential expression (5% FDR) in comparisons of regenerating with non-regenerating conditions. Selected genes were chosen for validation by qRT-PCR. These genes could represent putative regeneration-associated genes and may suggest novel therapeutic interventions to encourage regeneration of the spinal cord following injury. Additionally, we have identified genes upregulated in the DR active regeneration state relative to DR arrested state, which have relevance to root avulsion injury and may provide insight into the mechanisms that prevent regeneration of DR axons through the DREZ to re-enter the spinal cord. We also present evidence that a transcriptional programme consistent with regeneration is mounted within the DRG following DC transection. This lends support to the idea that CNS neurons have intrinsic regenerative capability and that manipulations of the CNS environment may be sufficient to permit regeneration of CNS axons.


Observations on the aphid number were carried out in the years 2001-2003, simultaneously in four different sites. In each of these three shrubs were marked: of park rose 'Grandhotel', rugosa rose, multiflorous rose and five shrubs of border roses of various cultivars. The purpose of these study was to conduct a quantitative analysis of the aphid fauna colonizing roses growing in various types of city green areas. As a result of studies conducted the occurrence of 10 aphid species was found out on the analyzed shrubs. No significant differences were observed in the species composition of aphids colonizing roses growing in various types of city green areas. The studies showed signifi- cant differences in the aphid number between the analyzed sites. The road and street sites on the one hand and the road and housing estate ones on the other were most similar re- garding the number of aphids.


A case of congenital renal arteriovenous malformation (AVM), presenting with profuse haematuria in the second trimester of pregnancy is reported. Selective embolisation with polyvinyl alcohol particles and absolute alcohol successfully ablated the lesion and a healthy infant was delivered at term five months later. Renal angiography at three years showed no evidence of the lesion.


The prevalence of accessible depth sensing and 3D laser scanning techniques has enabled the convenient acquisition of 3D dynamic point clouds, which provide efficient representation of arbitrarily-shaped objects in motion. Nevertheless, dynamic point clouds are often perturbed by noise due to hardware, software or other causes. While a plethora of methods have been proposed for static point cloud denoising, few efforts are made for the denoising of dynamic point clouds with varying number of irregularly-sampled points in each frame. In this paper, we represent dynamic point clouds naturally on graphs and address the denoising problem by inferring the underlying graph via spatio-temporal graph learning, exploiting both the intra-frame similarity and inter-frame consistency. Firstly, assuming the availability of a relevant feature vector per node, we pose spatial-temporal graph learning as optimizing a Mahalanobis distance metric $\mathbf{M}$, which is formulated as the minimization of graph Laplacian regularizer. Secondly, to ease the optimization of the symmetric and positive definite metric matrix $\mathbf{M}$, we decompose it into $\mathbf{M}=\mathbf{R}^{\top}\mathbf{R}$ and solve $\mathbf{R}$ instead via proximal gradient. Finally, based on the spatial-temporal graph learning, we formulate dynamic point cloud denoising as the joint optimization of the desired point cloud and underlying spatio-temporal graph, which leverages both intra-frame affinities and inter-frame consistency and is solved via alternating minimization. Experimental results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms independent denoising of each frame from state-of-the-art static point cloud denoising approaches.


Background

Internet-based self-management (IBSM) programs improve asthma control and asthma related quality of life in adults and adolescents. Education and monitoring of asthma control are important components of the IBSM intervention. Perception of symptoms seems crucial for adequate self-monitoring.

Aims

We hypothesized that improvement in asthma control and asthma related quality of life by IBSM is positively related to education, frequent monitoring and adequate perception.

Methods

Subgroup analysis of the intervention group of adolescents (12-18yr) with not well-controlled asthma who participated in a randomized controlled trial of IBSM (SMASHING). Asthma control (Asthma Control Questionnaire, ACQ) and asthma related quality of life (Pediatric Asthma Related Quality of Life Questionnaire, PAQLQ) were measured at baseline and 12 months.

Results

Adolescents attending education sessions had a significant and clinical relevant improvement in ACQ (difference -0.6, p=0.03), but not in PAQLQ (difference -0.45, p=0.15). Frequent monitoring alone did not improve ACQ and PAQLQ significantly, but the combination with education did improve ACQ (difference -0.88, p=0.02). There was no difference in outcomes between normo- and hypo-perceivers.

Conclusion

Education, especially in combination with frequent monitoring is an important determinant for asthma control in internet-based self-management programs for adolescents with not well-controlled asthma, whilst level of perception seems not a issue.


Objective:To establish the allele specific polymerase chain reaction(AS-PCR)technique for the detection of 6 normal mutations of cholesterol ester transfer protein(CETP)gene.Methods:Designed the AS-PCR system according to the 6 mutations of CETP gene,TaqIB(G→A),I405V(A→G),D442G(A→G),R451Q(G→A),A373P(G→C)and I14A(G→A).Detected the mutations in Li and Han nationalities of Hainan province by the designed method and sequenced partial mutation samples.Results:3 genotypes were successfully detected in TaqIB(G→A)mutation site which were GG,GA,AA,3 genotypes were successfully detected in I405V(A→G)mutation site which were AA,AG and GG,and 2 genotypes were successfully detected in D442G(A→G)mutation site which were AA and AG,while only the wild genotype could be detected separately in R451Q(G→A),A373P(G→C)and I14A(G→A)mutation sites which was GG.All the results above provided by the AS-PCR were exactly consistent with the sequencing results.Conclusion:The AS-PCR with advantages of stability and simplify is an effective method for investigation of the mutations of CETP gene.


The coherent third-order nonlinear response of monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors, such as MoSe2 is dominated by the nonlinear exciton response, as well as biexciton and trion resonances. The fact that these resonances may be spectrally close together makes identification of the signatures, for example in differential transmission (DT), challenging. Instead of focusing on explaining a given set of experimental data, a systematic study aimed at elucidating the roles of intravalley and intervalley long-range electron-hole (e-h) exchange on the DT spectra is presented. Previous works have shown that the e-h long-range exchange introduces a linear leading-order term in the exciton dispersion. Based on a generalized Lippmann-Schwinger equation, we show that the presence of this linear dispersion term can reduce the biexciton binding energy to zero, contrary to the conventional situation of quadratic dispersion where an arbitrarily weak (well-behaved) attractive interaction always supports bound state(s). The effects of spin-scattering and the spin-orbit interaction caused by e-h exchange is also clarified, and the DT lineshape at the exciton and trion resonance are studied as a function of e-h exchange strength. In particular, as the exciton lineshape is determined by the interplay of linear exciton susceptibility and the boundstate two-exciton resonance in the T-matrix, the lineshape at the trion is similarly determined by the interplay of the linear trion susceptibility and the bound-state exciton-trion resonance in the T-matrix.


Dynamic events in a multiagent environment can be a source of conflict. We model the network of inter-agent commitments as a constraint graph. Conflicts arise when an event prevents fulfillment of a commitment, resulting in an infeasible constraint graph. Constraint relaxation directed by a mediating agent is used to reconfigure the commitment graph. We investigate this general approach in the domain of supply chain management and present a schema for constraint relaxation algorithms. Experimental results on Partial Constraint Satisfaction Problems (PCSPs) and schedule optimization are given along with a sketch of the conflict recovery protocol in development.


The presence of marine gas hydrates is routinely inferred based on the identification of bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) in common-depth-point (CDP) seismic images. Additional seismic studies such as amplitude variation with offset (AVO) analysis can be applied for corroboration. Although confirmation is needed by drilling and sampling, seismic analysis has proven to be a cost-effective approach to identify the presence of marine gas hydrates. Single-channel far-offset seismic images are investigated for what appears to be a more reliable and cost-effective indicator for the presence of BSRs than traditional CDP processing or AVO analysis. A nontraditional approach for processing seismic data is taken to be more relevant to imaging the gas/gas hydrate contact. Instead of applying the traditional CDP seismic processing workflows from the oil industry, we more carefully review the significant amount of information existing in the data to explore how the character of the data changes as offset angle increases. Three cases from different environments are selected for detailed analysis. These include (1) stratigraphy running parallel with the ocean bottom, (2) a potential BSR, running parallel to the ocean bottom, and cross-cutting dipping reflections, and (3) a suspected thermal intrusion without a recognizable BSR. This investigation considers recently collected multichannel seismic data from the deep waters of the central Aleutian Basin beneath the Bering Sea, the preprocessing of the data sets, and the methodology for processing and display to generate single-channel seismic images. Descriptions are provided for the single-channel near- and far-offset seismic images for the example cases. Results indicate that BSRs related to marine gas hydrates, and originating due to the presence of free gas, are more easily and uniquely identifiable from single-channel displays of far-offset seismic images than from traditional CDP displays.


An optical data transfer system has been designed by analyzing an equivalent-circuit model for a silicon photonic chip to determine how to enhance the system gain and suppress intersymbol interference (ISI). This robust system uses three-valued logic (3VL), which is achieved by using a 1-bit delay in the Tx portion and a set-reset (SR) latch in the Rx portion. Use of the 3VL protocol results in less ISI than use of the conventional two-valued one at high bit rates. The system is also robust against internal ac coupling.


Spt4/5 and its bacterial homologue NusG are the only known universally conserved RNAP- associated transcription elongation factors. In the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, Spt5 comprises an N-terminal NGN domain and a C-terminal KOW domain, and is bound at its NGN domain by Spt4. NusG and Spt5 increase the processivity of RNAP by binding to the RNAP clamp via the NGN domain. This maintains the RNAP clamp in a closed conformation, thereby enabling RNAP to remain bound to the template DNA. The NusG KOW domain interacts with ribosomes, thereby coupling transcription to translation. The functions of Spt4/5 in archaea are less well characterised. The work contained within this thesis demonstrates that in the context of M. jannaschii cell extract, Spt4/5 is found in the same fractions as ribosomes and RNAP, and therefore has the potential to couple transcription and translation. Furthermore, data obtained by microscale thermophoresis suggests that the KOW domain of Spt5 interacts with purified ribosomes. Electron paramagnetic resonance was performed on Spt4/5, demonstrating that Spt5 is conformationally flexible, and that the presence of Spt4 restricts its mobility. Limited proteolysis and thermofluor assays support the notion that Spt4 stabilises the Spt5 NGN domain. In E. coli, NusA binds to RNAP as a component of the antitermination complex, along with NusG, NusB, and NusE. This enables RNAP to enter a pause and termination-resistant state. M. jannaschii NusA consists of two KH domains. Mutational analysis identified the contribution of the two KH domains to RNA binding and identified additional residues involved in the interaction. Archaeal NusA does not coelute with RNAP, raising the possibility that archaeal NusA does not have antitermination functions. In summary this thesis argues that Spt4/5 likely couples transcription and translation in archaea and indicates that archaeal NusA binds to RNA via a novel binding site.


There are conflicting reports in the literature concerning whether the Scandinavian languages use prepositional passives as in English. Maling & Zaenen (1985) showed that Icelandic does not have the construction; instead the Icelandic data should be analyzed as topicalization of the complement of a preposition in impersonal passives. They suggested that the same account would be appropriate for Danish and Swedish, whereas Norwegian is reported to have a rather productive prepositional passive (Lødrup 1991). In order to find out to what extent and in what ways prepositional passives are actually used, we carried out a series of investigations in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish contemporary text corpora, analyzing over 3600 potential prepositional passives, with a balance of periphrastic and morphological passive forms. We have found that prepositional passives are indeed used in all three languages, but rather infrequently, ranging from 3.4 per million words (3.4/mw) in Swedish, 5/mw in Danish to 16/mw in Norwegian. The majority of the prepositional passives are periphrastic bli(ve)-passives. The passive subject is typically animate, a person or an animal, who is psychologically affected by the action, or the lack of action, expressed by the participle. The notion of affectedness that is relevant for these languages thus differs from what has been described for English. Prepositional s-passives are found in coordinated structures and in infinitival complements of modal verbs, a context known to favour s-passive.


THROMBOENDARTERECTOMY and synthetic arterial substitution are the two methods of operative therapy currently used for aortoiliac arterial occlusive disease. This study was undertaken to assess the relative effectiveness of these methods of treatment among patients operated on for symptoms of aorto-iliac occlusive disease in the same institution. Material and Methods Two hundred and six patients underwent 216 operations for aorto-iliac arterial occlusive disease in the Barnes Hospital from January 1957 through December 1965. Synthetic arterial substitution was employed in 57 of the operative procedures and thromboendarterectomy in 159. The operations were performed by both the attending and resident staffs. No rigid criteria were used to determine the operative procedure used on a particular patient. The choice was dependent for the most part upon the experience and preference of the surgeon. The endarterectomies were performed at a uniform annual frequency throughout the entire period of study. Synthetic grafts were first used


The extracellular calcium regulation of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion is mediated by a cell surface G-protein-coupled calcium receptor (PCaR). The abnormal calcium sensing in renal failure could be the result of abnormalities of the PCaR. However, PCaR gene expression has been shown to be unaffected by 5/6 nephrectomy in the rat. Whether factors that enhance secondary hyperparathyroidism in renal failure affect the PCaR gene expression is not known. We studied normal rats (sham) (n = 40) and renal failure rats (3/4 nephrectomy) (n = 40). Half of the rats in each group received standard (0.6% calcium, 0.6% phosphorus) and half high phosphorus (0.6% calcium, 1.2% phosphorus) diet. Compared to the standard diet, the high phosphorus diet induced secondary hyperparathyroidism both in sham and in renal failure rats (intact PTH: 22.3 +/- 2.03 vs 54.3 +/- 7.6, P < 0.01, and 26.2 +/- 3.9 vs 178.7 +/- 23.2 pg/ml, P < 0.01, respectively). After the cloning of a rat PCaR cDNA fragment corresponding to the extracellular domain which showed an 89% homology with its bovine counterpart, a probe for Northern blot analysis was obtained. No differences in the PCaR mRNA/18s RNA ratio in high phosphorus compared to the standard diet group were observed, both in sham and in renal failure rats. In conclusion, PCaR gene expression is not involved in the genesis of the secondary hyperparathyroidism induced by a high phosphorus diet. An alternative means of increasing PTH secretion by phosphorus loading could be an alteration of the sensitivity of the PCaR to activation by extracellular calcium.


Agroforestry system with judicious mixing of trees, crops and grasses and/or animals meet all basic requirements of mankind and his livestock. therefore, there is a great need to identify the suitable agricultural and horticultural crops, which can grow well along with tree species with limited solar energy available undereath the trees and also depend on the characteristics of perticular tree species. so Agroforestry is an important landuse system in the present world scenario of global climate, pressure on natural forests, requirement of various tangible and intangible returns from trees etc.


In first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of the mechanically induced ring-opening of substituted benzocyclobutene we observe both con- and disrotatory ring-opening reactions. We show that this finding does not contradict the fundamental principle that the orbitals develop continuously in time. However, it constitutes an exception from the principle of the conservation of orbital symmetry and thus is indeed an exception from the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. In contrast, the ring-opening of unsubstituted cyclobutene proceeds in a conrotatory fashion. This shows that the breaking of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules is significantly facilitated by the substituents.


Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) as the third rank of Indonesian non polytechnic universities in 2017 requires new students to join the General Competency Education Program (PPKU) for two semesters to improve the quality of human resources. Student achievement success can be determine from the student's academic status, where the student's academic status is divided into two, which are Drop Out (DO) and not DO. Only 1% of PPKU students who are drop out.. This means there is a data imbalance. One of the method used to handled that is Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) method. Classification analysis used is the Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) method to identify the factors that influence the success of  PPKU students. The application of SMOTE to the 2016/2017 PPKU student data was able to improve the ability of classification trees with the average values of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity to 0.718, 0.575, and 0.72. The factors that influence the success of IPB's PPKU students are the entry point, gender, and regional origin.


This Armed Forces & Society forum concentrates on broadening the perspective on military cohesion. This introduction, and the five articles that it acts as a preamble to, argues for the need to widen the scope of the recent debate on military cohesion, which in part took place in this very journal. This debate narrowly focused on Western state militaries during the 20th and 21st centuries and even then on the microlevel. The articles in this issue contribute to this broadening by exploring military cohesion in non-Western or nonmodern contexts, as well as through new methods, thus individually and collectively suggesting new ways forward to further our understanding of military cohesion.


Stimulation of Flt3 receptor tyrosine kinase through its cognate ligand expands early hematopoietic progenitor and dendritic cells (DCs) in humans and mice. The exact developmental stages at which hematopoietic progenitors express Flt3, are responsive to its ligand, and subsequently develop to DCs, are not known. Here we show that common lymphoid and common myeloid progenitors, as well as steady state DCs in thymus, spleen, and epidermis, express Flt3. The receptor is down-regulated once definitive B cell, T cell, and megakaryocyte/erythrocyte commitment occurs, and Flt3 is not detectable on other steady state hematopoietic cell populations. Upon in vivo Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) administration, Flt3+ progenitor cells and their progeny DCs are expanded, whereas Flt3− downstream progenitors are not, or are only slightly increased. Transplantation of common lymphoid and common myeloid progenitors and subsequent Flt3L injection increases progeny DCs of both precursor populations. These findings provide a definitive map of Flt3 expression in the hematopoietic hierarchy and directly demonstrate that Flt3L can drive DC development along both the lymphoid and myeloid developmental pathways from Flt3+ progenitors to Flt3+ DCs.


Tanzania has reduced the rates of infant and under-five mortality to below the national goals of 50/1,000 and 70/1,000. However, current rates are still high by international standards, and maternal mortality and fertility rates are high. Tanzania parents have a fatalistic mental attitude towards birth and death. The presence of a commons in child rearing helps to make parents view it rational to add more children to the commons. The existence of the moral economy in subsistence is related to a commons, and has the same impact. The theory of the tragedy of the commons is drawn from Lloyd, and is used to show how parents' faith in the commons leads to the tragedy of high infant and child mortality. Infant and child mortality is a complex question for parents but their reasoning tends to be fallacious as they answer it with more births and more deaths. The conclusion is that although infant and under-five mortality rates are declining, given the current conditions in Tanzania, parents may continue to attribute false causes to infant and child mortality and many children may continue to be born and die.


This study determined the association between serum sialic acid (SSA) and metabolic risk factors in Ghanaian Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with and without micro vascular complications. This cross-sectional study recruited 150 T2DM out-patients visiting the diabetic Clinic at the Tema General Hospital, Ghana. Fasting blood samples were collected and analyzed for Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG), Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c), SSA and C-Reactive Protein. SSA levels were significantly higher in diabetics with retinopathy (210.12 ± 85.09mg/dl) compared with those with nephropathy and those without complication (p-value= 0.005). Body adiposity index (BAI) (r= -0.419, p-value = 0.037) and Triglyceride (r= -0.576, p-value = 0.003), had a moderate negative correlation with SSA levels. In a One-Way Analysis of Covariance (Adjusted for TG and BAI), SSA could distinguish between diabetics with retinopathy and those without complications (p-value = 0.004) but not nephropathy (p-value = 0.099). Within group linear regression analysis showed that Elevated serum sialic acid was found in type 2 diabetic patients with retinopathic micro-vascular complications. Therefore, estimation of sialic acid levels may help with the early prediction and prevention of microvascular complications occurring due to diabetes, thereby decreasing the mortality and morbidity.


Fusarium species are the most destructive phytopathogenic and toxin-producing fungi, causing serious diseases in almost all economically important plants. Sporulation is an essential part of the life cycle of Fusarium. Fusarium most frequently produces three different types of asexual spores, i.e., macroconidia, chlamydospores, and microconidia. It also produces meiotic spores, but fewer than 20% of Fusaria have a known sexual cycle. Therefore, the asexual spores of the Fusarium species play an important role in their propagation and infection. This review places special emphasis on current developments in artificial anti-sporulation techniques as well as features of Fusarium's asexual sporulation regulation, such as temperature, light, pH, host tissue, and nutrients. This description of sporulation regulation aspects and artificial anti-sporulation strategies will help to shed light on the ways to effectively control Fusarium diseases by inhibiting the production of spores, which eventually improves the production of food plants.


Korean ginseng(Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) roots have long been known as the best medicinal plant and its pharmaceutical bio-activities have been proven by scientific analyses of their components - ginsenosides, acidic polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, fatty acids and organic acids etc. Ginseng hairy roots and callus have been cultured in vitro for stable supply of ginseng material. In this study, the amount of ginsenosides, fatty acids, acidic polysaccharides, phenolic compounds and organic acids in ginseng hairy roots and callus were compared. Higher amount of ginsenoside was found in ginseng hairy roots than ginseng callus. Higher amount of saturated fatty acid (palmitic acid) was found in callus and higher amount of unsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid) was found in hairy roots. Acidic polysaccharide and phenolic compounds were contained by the same amount in both hairy roots and callus. Organic acids were found more in hairy roots.


On November 11, 2001, China finally acceded to the WTO in Doha, Qatar, at the 4th Ministerial Conference, which also launched the first negotiating Round of the new trade body since its establishment. As China is the largest country that has ever acceded to the WTO, many commentators predicted that its accession would change the dynamics of the negotiations. However, the commentators differ in their interpretations on how such change will affect the multilateral trading system. Some viewed this in a more positive light, pointing out that China would strengthen the developing country bloc and make the WTO a more balanced institution. Others, however, were not so optimistic. Instead, they argued that the Chinese accession would upset the existing power structure of the WTO and make it more difficult to conduct negotiations and reach decisions.

Now in its tenth year of WTO membership, how has China changed the dynamics in the global trade negotiations? This chapter will address the impact of China in relation to the WTO negotiations. It commences with a brief discussion on how trade negotiations are conducted in the WTO, followed by an examination of China's participation in the Doha Round so far. As this chapter reveals, China started as a reluctant player in the negotiations, and only gradually made its way into the core decision-making group of the WTO rather late during the Round. Even though now China has been accepted as a member of the G-7, the most powerful group in the WTO, it has been playing only a supportive rather than a leading role. Judging from its behavior so far, we can see that China doesn't really challenge the status quo. Instead, its modus operandi has largely been in conformity with the existing paradigm.

The chapter explains the reasons for such low profile approaches, and also examines the value of the Chinese proposals so far from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. It then seeks to explain China's choice of particular negotiation approaches, and concludes by considering China's behavior in future negotiations, and the broader implications of China's growing power on the WTO as a whole.


During af six year period 16 patients were treated for an axillary or brachial artery trauma. The vascular injury was caused by fracture in nine cases, contusion in four and penetrating injury in three. Concomitant nerve or tendon lesion occurred in five cases. Five of the 16 events were industrial accidents. Only one case was due to violence. Four patients appeared to be intoxicated with alcohol. Fifteen patients were treated surgically, 12 with vascular reconstruction. One patient was treated conservatively. At the time of discharge all extremities were assessed as having normal arterial supply. At follow-up at median 28 months all extremities were preserved. However, two-thirds had minimal to disabling sequels. Four out of 10 who were professionally active before the trauma had lost this ability.


Cervical mucus is composed of a network of mucinous filaments in a solution of proteins, predominantly serum proteins. Plasma cells infiltrating the cervical mucosa produce immunoglobulins. The bacteriolytic and bacteriostatic actions of lysozyme and lactoferrin (produced by the neutrophil leucocytes) complement the immunological defense mechanisms. The most likely explanation of the cyclical changes in cercical mucus consistency is the theory that hormone action changes the proportion of mucins produced, altering the balance between mucins and soluble proteins.


It is not clear why large diameter logs generally host saproxylic beetle assemblages that are different from those of small diameter logs. In a study in Tasmanian wet eucalypt forest, two size-classes of Eucalyptus obliqua logs (>100cm and 30-60cm diameter) were destructively sampled to assess their beetle fauna and the associations of this fauna with decomposing wood. Ninety species were collected as adults from 42 logs; at least 19 species were also collected as larvae. The two log size-classes differed in beetle assemblage composition. These differences could be explained by the observation that certain beetle species were associated with specific successional phases of decomposing wood (rotten wood types). Those that were preferentially found in brown rotted heartwood, which was common in large logs, were rare or absent in small logs. This rotten wood type seems to be a relatively stable microhabitat and accordingly, the four most strongly associated species (in the genera Cossonus, Dryophthorus, Prostomis and Pycnomerus) seem likely to have low dispersal ability. Although relatively common in this habitat, each belongs to a genus whose European counterparts have undergone drastic range reductions. Our research highlights the importance of a level of landscape planning in Tasmanian forestry, which would maintain sufficient large diameter logs in the landscape over the long term.


The interband cascade laser (ICL) concept provides robust and efficient emission in the midwave infrared spectral band. While the geometry is somewhat analogous to that of a quantum cascade laser employing intersubband transitions, the ICL implementation exploits the type-II band alignment of the GaSb-based material system. A semimetallic band overlap at the boundary between the electron and hole injector regions automatically generates carriers with densities tunable by quantum confinement. Electrical injection then replenishes the carriers already present rather than creating the population inversion. In this paper, we describe and analyze the physical principles governing ICL operation, and discuss specific modifications to the active region, electron injector, hole injector, and waveguide designs that demonstrably improve the performance. The pulsed I- V and L-I characteristics of devices processed from over 50 wafers provide a statistically meaningful confirmation of the established trends.


. We show that one can force the Measuring principle without adding any new reals. We also show that it is consistent with the large continuum. These results answer two famous questions of Justin Moore.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the shaping quality in curved canals of two single-file technique systems with other two traditional full-sequential systems.

METHODS
Eighty mature molar canals with the curvature between 20 and 45 degrees were randomly divided into four groups. Specimens in each group were prepared to size 25 at working length using A (Reciproc), B (OneShape), C (MTwo) and D (Revo S), respectively. Each canal was scanned by micro-computed tomography before and after preparation. Parameters including changes in dentine volume, percentage of uninstrumented area, degree and tendency of transportation were analyzed. The operating time was also recorded.

RESULTS
In full canal length, there was no difference in canal dentine removal, instrumented percentage and transportation degree among four groups (P > 0.05). In the apical 4 mm region, group A removed more dentine [(2.14±0.76) mm(2) of canal surface area and (0.38 ± 0.15) mm(3) of canal volume] than groups B and C(P < 0.05). At 1 mm level, median of transportation degree of group A was 0.05 (0.03)mm, which was smaller than other groups (P < 0.05). Groups A and B took (86.3±24.6) s and (85.9±21.3) s, while groups C and D took (147.4±28.3) s and (126.3±27.7) s srespectively to finish preparation. Single file techniques were significantly faster than the two full-sequential systems (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
Compared with the continuous rotary systems, the reciprocating single-file system A showed better apical shaping ability. Both single-file techniques were more efficient than full-sequential systems for curved canal preparation. Single-file techniques appear to be the effective and efficient method for curved canal preparation.


AIM
Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) mutant of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the important factors that result in immune escape and cause failure of immunization. In this study we reported and characterized a novel HBV mutant with A-to-G at nt551 and intended to provide theoretical data for prevention of HBV infection in China.

METHODS
A methodology comprising polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying, M13 bacteriophage cloning and nucleotide sequencing was used to analyze the sera of the pediatric patient who was hepatitis B (HB) immune failure. Expression plasmids containing the mutant S gene and a wild-type (adr) S gene were constructed respectively and the recombinant HBsAg were expressed in COS-7 cells under the regulation of SV40 early promoter. The recombinant proteins were investigated for their immunological reactivity with different monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against "a" determinant and vaccine-raised human neutralizing antibodies.

RESULTS
It was found that there was a new point mutation at nt551 of the HBV (adr) genome from A to G, leading to a substitution of methionine (Met) to valine (Val) at position 133 in the "a" determinant of HBsAg. Compared to the wild-type HBsAg, the binding activity of the mutant HBsAg to mAbs (A6, A11 and S17) and to vaccine-raised human anti-hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) decreased significantly.

CONCLUSION
According to the facts that the patient has been immunized with HB vaccine and that the serum is anti-HBs positive and HBsAg negative, and based on the nucleotide sequence analysis of the mutant HBV S gene and its alteration of antigenicity, the HBV is considered to be a new vaccine-induced immune escape mutant different from the known ones.


Electric-powered personal vehicles have been used as a convenient transportation device. A front-drive-type personal vehicle STAVi, that is easy for elderly but also disabled persons, to climb on from a bed has been focused on. However, front-drive-type personal vehicles are difficult to operate because their over-steering characteristic is strong owing to free casters. If the vehicle can be driven by an easy joy-stick operation, it will be a comfortable function for all users. In previous studies, we proposed a simple modeling error compensator which achieves a desired driving characteristics using a simple reference model, and the effectiveness was evaluated by simulations. In this paper, we propose a control system for STAVi using a modeling error compensator with a non-linear reference model to realize a comfortable under-steering characteristics. At first, the advantage of proposed controller is summarized. The STAVi's over-steering characteristic is modified to be under-steering one by proposed controller. As an experimental result, the additional assistance is necessary for a beginner. The phase-lead compensator for beginners is designed to adjust the maneuverability depending on the skill level. The maneuverability is evaluated by driving experiments on the slope.


Derivatisation is an integrated part of many analytical workflows to enable separation and detection of the analytes. In CE, derivatisation is adapted in the four modes of pre‐capillary, in‐line, in‐capillary, and post‐capillary derivatisation. In this review, we discuss the progress in derivatisation from February 2015 to May 2017 from multiple points of view including sections about the derivatisation modes, derivatisation to improve the analyte separation and analyte detection. The advancements in derivatisation procedures, novel reagents, and applications are covered. A table summarising the 46 reviewed articles with information about analyte, sample, derivatisation route, CE method and method sensitivity is provided.


In building a culture of privacy, an organization must clearly articulate privacy as an organizational priority; communicate key privacy and security messages; educate across the organization; raise awareness of the importance of registering privacy incidents and breaches; build privacy into the fabric of the organization's activities; and make privacy information and guidance readily accessible. Accomplishing these objectives provides a framework to create or reinforce a privacy culture. In 2003, the province of Ontario, Canada, created the smart systems for health agency (SSHA) to connect healthcare professionals across the province.


Olive ridley sea turtles ( Lepidochelys olivacea ) distribute widely throughout Eastern Pacific (EP) waters. During reproduction these animals aggregate near coastal waters where they may be exposed to industrial or agrochemical environmental pollutants that may disrupt the endocrine system of these reptiles. One group of compounds of concern is the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), some of which have been detected in Costa Rican waters. Some of these POPs, such as polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT and its metabolites, exhibit estrogenic activity in reptiles. It is unknown whether olive ridleys are exposed to endocrine disruptive doses of these POPs throughout their life in EP waters. Consequently, this study was conducted to determine whether there is evidence of exposure of male olive ridleys to estrogenic compounds. During the study a total of 35 males were hand-captured while mating off the coast of Ostional, Costa Rica, a major nesting beach for this species. The captured turtles were brought aboard a small boat, and blood samples taken with a hypodermic syringe. Turtles were carefully released in the water after the blood samples were taken. In the laboratory, blood collected from these males was analyzed by Western blot using an antibody developed against red-eared slider turtle vitellogenin. Vitellogenin is a female-specific protein that is induced by estrogen during gonadal recrudescence. Estrogenic compounds have been shown to induce this protein in reptilian species. Results of this study indicate the lack of evidence of vitellogenin in the blood of olive ridley males as shown by Western blot analysis. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the slider's vitellogenin antibody to detect the presence of the protein in the olive ridley sea turtle, L. olivacea . Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (Suppl. 4): 49-57. Epub 2009 June 30.


Background and Purpose: Prevalence of mucormycosis is growing with the increase of the population at risk. Current recommendations for its management are mostly based on retrospective studies. 3 study aimed to present the cumulative experience of an Infectious Diseases Department from a Portuguese hospital in the management of mucormycosis and discuss the potential gaps in the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches of this infection. Materials and Methods: For the purposes of the study, the electronic hospital database was searched for adult patients with mucormycosis from 1996 to 2019 based on the definition provided by the Consensus Definitions of Invasive Fungal Disease. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and outcome data were collected and compared to what had been described in the related literature. Results: In total, 15 cases of mucormycosis were found, including 11 cases with sinus involvement (10 with central nervous system involvement), two pulmonary, and two gastrointestinal infections. Diabetes mellitus (n=7) and corticosteroid therapy (n=7) were frequent risk factors. Median duration of symptoms before the suspicion of diagnosis was 26 days (3-158). The diagnosis was confirmed in 12 patients mostly by histopathology (n=9); the culture was positive only once. Systemic antifungals and surgical debridement were the backbones of treatment; however, side effects, the need for therapeutic drug monitoring, and the anatomical location of lesions added complexity to management. Overall, seven patients died, two of them before the consideration of clinical suspicion. Conclusion: More medications are becoming available for the treatment of mucormycosis. Nevertheless, we believe that its prognosis will only significantly change through the increase of awareness and reduction of the time to diagnosis. An effective multidisciplinary approach among surgeons, infectious diseases specialists, radiologists, microbiologists, and anatomopathologists is critical to the achievement of this goal.


The pivotal role of data security in mobile edge-computing environments forms the foundation for the proposed work. Anomalies and outliers in the sensory data due to network attacks will be a prominent concern in real time. Sensor samples will be considered from a set of sensors at a particular time instant as far as the confidence level on the decision remains on par with the desired value. A "true" on the hypothesis test eventually means that the sensor has shown signs of anomaly or abnormality and samples have to be immediately ceased from being retrieved from the sensor. A deep learning Actor-Criticbased Reinforcement algorithm proposed will be able to detect anomalies in the form of binary indicators and hence decide when to withdraw from receiving further samples from specific sensors. The posterior trust value influences the value of the confidence interval and hence the probability of anomaly detection. The paper exercises a single-tailed normal function to determine the range of the posterior trust metric. The decision taken by the prediction model will be able to detect anomalies with a good percentage of anomaly detection accuracy.


BACKGROUND
Despite the lack of evidence for efficacy, an annual health examination has been advocated for the general population by the Japanese government. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to understand the attitudes of Japanese physicians toward the annual examinations.

METHODS
In October 2003, a questionnaire was mailed to 1971 physicians registered with Aichi Prefecture Medical Association as internists. The survey was designed to determine their opinions about the effectiveness of the periodic health examination and each of its components.

RESULTS
The response rate was 37%. Eighty-five percent believed that a periodic health examination was effective. Nearly 80% believed that height and weight should be measured, and more than 90% supported blood pressure measurements. Nearly 70% supported a physical examination of chest and abdomen. About half believed that vision and hearing tests should be performed for all ages. More than 90% considered performing a variety of laboratory tests valuable. Three-quarters supported hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C antibody determinations. Seventy to eighty percent valued the screening tests for lung, stomach, colon, breast and cervical cancer.

CONCLUSIONS
Most Japanese primary care physicians believe that a comprehensive annual health examination as currently endorsed by public health authorities is effective.


"The song of Moses and the Lamb" (Rev 15:3-4) is a good example of the legacy preserved in the biblical texts on the cultural, social, political and religious contexts in which they were composed. The author of the Book of Revelation is particularly interested in motivating readers to adopt a different perspective to what they were living and to act accordingly with this new point of view, which should be born of the faith in the slaughtered Lamb. Facing the propaganda and terror imposed by the Roman Empire, Christians took countercultural options. This "fascinating and suggestive" song testifies to the ability of Christians to proclaim that the Lamb has made them all a new people, that of those who have been victorious over the beast.


We have discovered a new, rare triple-mode RR Lyr star, EPIC 201585823, in the Kepler K2 mission Campaign 1 data. This star pulsates primarily in the fundamental and first-overtone radial modes, and, in addition, a third non-radial mode. The ratio of the period of the non-radial mode to that of the first-overtone radial mode, 0.616 285, is remarkably similar to that seen in 11 other triple-mode RR Lyr stars, and in 260 RRc stars observed in the Galactic bulge. This systematic character promises new constraints on RR Lyr star models. We detected subharmonics of the non-radial mode frequency, which are a signature of period doubling of this oscillation; we note that this phenomenon is ubiquitous in RRc and RRd stars observed from space, and from ground with sufficient precision. The non-radial mode and subharmonic frequencies are not constant in frequency or in amplitude. The amplitude spectrum of EPIC 201585823 is dominated by many combination frequencies among the three interacting pulsation mode frequencies. Inspection of the phase relationships of the combination frequencies in a phasor plot explains the 'upward' shape of the light curve. We also found that raw data with custom masks encompassing all pixels with significant signal for the star, but without correction for pointing changes, is best for frequency analysis of this star, and, by implication, other RR Lyr stars observed by the K2 mission. We compare several pipeline reductions of the K2 mission data for this star.


Regarding the article published in the Ann Transl Med (Nicola King. "On vs . off pump coronary artery bypass grafting: the next chapter". 2017;5:116). The author concluded that no significant difference in hard clinical outcomes following either off- or on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) at 30 days, 1 year and 5 years post-operation.


Assays of specific activities and electrophoretic separations of multiple forms of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and peroxidase in cotton resistant and susceptible to Meloidogyne incognita were conducted 6 days after inoculation. Specific activities were greater in infected than in uninfected roots and also were greater in the resistant cultivar, 'Clevewilt 6-3-5,' than in the susceptible culti.var, 'M8.' In uninfected roots, peroxidase activity was greater in Clevewilt roots than in M8 roots, but activity of 6-phosphoglueonate dehydrogenase was the same. Multiple forms of peroxidase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were separated and resolved by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These experiments demonstrated the occurrence of altered metabolism upon infection and differences in enzyme activity between resistant and susceptible cultivars.


Poverty is a rather complex phenomenon combining several dimensions. One of the best approaches to define poverty is perhaps just to ask ordinary people how they would define it and list what features they perceive as most important. Many studies have been made about customer behavior, but few have dealt with the bottom of the pyramid. The World Bank defines extreme poverty is living on less than $1.90 per day, whereas poverty is defined as living $2–$5.5 per day. According to data from the World Bank over 2016 published in its recent Migration and Mobility report, 5.8% of the Albanian population lives in extreme poverty, while 34% live in poverty. About 25% of Albanians are living with less than US$ 2 per day. On a daily basis, the poorest people (representing 5% of the total population) struggle to eat adequately. More than half the population also lives in rural areas, where the poverty rate is 66% higher than in the capital – Tirana. Such a situation is partly explained by the lack of non-farm job opportunities. To cut the effects of poverty, the state provides economic aid to this category of people. The full amount of family economic assistance, regardless of its composition, can not be higher than 8,000 lek or US $ 65 per month. In our study, we focused only on one city of Albania (Permet). From the data of the institution dealing with the registration of the poor and the distribution of economic aid, 244 families received economic assistance at this institution. 45 questionnaires were conducted, out of which 40 were valid and were further studied to get a descriptive approach about the behaviors and habits of these consumers. The questionnaire consists on 21 closed questions, mainly about purchasing decisions and habits using Likert's scale (5 scales) according to which: 1-not important to 5-extremely important. Data analyses point out the main factors affecting purchasing decisions for BOP customers, such as: the place where they usually buy the products, the frequency of purchase and the most purchased type of food. Most BOP consumers do not adapt to the new products, they do not want to read the instructions on the packaging or reluctant to try new products because they underestimate yourself. Respondents give priority to the senses of touch, sight and wind in purchasing food products and, unlike other consumers do not focus on packaging and product advertising, but want to have on hand and see the product. The main criteria for buying a food product for these customers are the quality and the price. This means that the survival consumers seeking affordable products but are not willing to sacrifice quality. Respondents do not feel a bond or strong brand loyalty. It is assumed that the poor can not afford being loyal to the brands but they just want to satisfy their basic food needs and tend to give priority to price and quality. So the brand's impact is not important in choosing food products for survival customers.


Single phase Li5NBr2 was prepared by the reaction of Li3N and dry, OH-free LiBr under inert gas at 430 °C. In the quasi-binary system Li3_2*Ni_ vBrir, Li5NBr2 is the second most nitride rich compound after Li10N3Br. Following unit cell indexing using laboratory X-ray powder data the previously unknown structure of Li5NBr2 was solved from neutron powder diffraction data recorded at the flat-cone and powder diffractometer E 2 at the rebuilt reactor BER II in Berlin. The title compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Immm (No. 71), a = 603.79(4), b 1181.3(1), c = 390.14(3) pm with two formula units per unit cell. The Li-N-sublattice comprises linear chains of vertex sharing Li6N-octahedra which are aligned along the short c-axis and are separated by chains of bromine atoms. The N -B r arrangement may be regarded as an ordered A X 2 variant of a cubic close packing involving two kinds of atoms. Lithium atoms occupy the tetrahedral holes formed by one nitrogen and three bromine atoms, as well as the N N edges of the N2Br2 tetrahedra.


Epidemic growth rates and the enormous cost of dialysis pressure end-stage renal disease (ESRD) delivery systems around the world. Payers of dialysis services can constrain costs through (1) limiting access to dialysis, (2) reducing the quality of dialysis, and (3) placing constraints on modality distribution. In order to secure the necessary resources for ESRD care, we propose that the nephrology community consider the following suggestions: First, future leaders in dialysis should acquire additional advanced training in innovative pathways such as health care economics, business and health care administration, and health care policy. Second, the international nephrology community must strongly engage in ongoing advocacy for accessible, high quality, cost-effective care. Third, efforts should be made to better define and then implement optimal dialysis modality distributions that maximize patient outcomes but limit unnecessary costs. Fourth, industry should be encouraged to lower the unit cost of dialysis, allowing for improved access to dialysis, especially in developing countries. Fifth, research should be encouraged that seeks to identify measures that will reduce dialysis costs but will not impair quality of care. Finally, early referral of patients with progressive renal disease to nephrology clinics, empowerment of informed patient choice of dialysis modality, and proper and timely access creation should be encouraged and can be expected to help limit overall expenditures. Ongoing efforts in these areas by the nephrology community will be essential if we are to overcome the challenges of ESRD growth in this new decade.


Context
Anti-mitochondrial antibody M2+ (AMA-M2+) primary bile cholangitis (PBC) is difficult to diagnose, and early diagnosis is the key to ensure effective treatment and the safety of patients.

Objective
The study intended to investigate the role of T helper type 17 (Th17) cells and their transcription factors in the early diagnosis of AMA-M2+ PBC to provide an effective guarantee of the ability to predict the prognosis of patients in the future.

Design
The research team designed a prospective controlled study.

Setting
The study took place at the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University in Baoding, Hebei, China.

Participants
Participants were 30 patients with AMA-M2+ PBC at the hospital between November 2020 and August 2021 and 30 healthy controls who concurrently underwent physical examinations.

Outcome Measures
The study measured liver function (LF) and secretion of Th17 and its transcription factors-forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) and RAR-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγt)-and inflammatory factors-interleukin-17 IL-17 and IL-22-in participants' peripheral blood. The study also evaluated Th17 and its transcription factors in AMA-M2+ PBC, determined the expression of phosphorylated proteins using Western blotting, and analyzed the relationship between Th17 and LF.

Results
The Th17 in the intervention group's peripheral blood was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < .05), and the sensitivity and specificity of the AMA-M2+ PBC were 63.33% and 96.67%, respectively. The expression of Foxp3 and p-Foxp3 proteins for the intervention was significantly lower (P < .001), while RORγt and P-ROR γ T were significantly higher (P < .001). The levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-22 for the intervention group were significantly higher than those for the control group. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed that alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were positively correlated with Th17 cells, RORγt, IL-17, and IL-22 and negatively correlated with Foxp3.

Conclusions
Th17 plays an important role in the early diagnosis of AMA-M2+ PBC, and Th17 and its transcription factors are highly effective for the early diagnosis of AMA-M2+ PBC, which is expected to be a breakthrough in the future diagnosis of the disease.


During the last decades, X-ray micro CT has become a well established technique for non-destructive testing in a wide variety of research fields. Using a series of X-ray transmission images of the sample at different projection angles, a stack of 2D cross-sections is reconstructed, resulting in a 3D volume representing the X-ray attenuation coefficients of the sample. Since the attenuation coefficient of a material depends on its density and atomic number, this volume provides valuable information about the internal structure and composition of the sample.

Although much qualitative information can be derived directly from this 3D volume, researchers usually require more quantitative results to be able to provide a full characterization of the sample under investigation. This type of information needs to be retrieved using specialized image processing software. For most samples, it is imperative that this processing is performed on the 3D volume as a whole, since a sequence of 2D cross sections usually forms an inadequate approximation of the actual structure.

The complete processing of a volume consists of three sequential steps. First, the volume is segmented into a set of objects. What these objects represent depends on what property of the sample needs to be analysed. The objects can be for instance concavities, dense inclusions or the matrix of the sample. When dealing with noisy data, it might be necessary to filter the data before applying the segmentation. The second step is the separation of connected objects into a set of smaller objects. This is necessary when objects appear to be connected because of the limited resolution and contrast of the scan. Separation can also be useful when the sample contains a network structure and one wants to study the individual cells of the network. The third and last step consists of the actual analysis of the various objects to derive the different parameters of interest. While some parameters require extensive calculations, others can be obtained easily.
The different parameters which can be obtained are related to the size, shape and orientation of the objects. Additionally, the connectivity of a network can be analysed by comparing the set of objects before and after separation.
The size of each object can be characterized by its volume, equivalent diameter and the diameter of the maximum inscribed sphere. The surface can be determined by extracting a polygonal mesh from the volume data. Calculation of Feret's diameter reveals information about the objects elongation. Additionally, the moments of inertia can be calculated to obtain the axes of an equivalent ellipsoid. This data can be used to determine the main axis and therefore the orientation of the object within the sample.
Feret's diameter and the equivalent ellipsoid are representative for the basic shape of the object. Additionally, using a routine that fills concave regions, the convex hull of an object can be retrieved to quantify the convexity. Different ratios can be defined, which compare the surface area with the volume of the object (sphericity) or the volume of the convex hull. These ratios and the convexity characterize the objects roughness and shape.

The described parameters are used to characterize volcanic deposits found in the area west of Lac Pavin (lake in Auvergne, France). The samples are taken from the most recent 'red scoria' layer, which is believed to be the result of the latest eruption in Western-Europe. There is however, ambiguity on the origin of the layer in terms of age and placement. The aim is to fingerprint this layer in such a way that the various eruptions in the area can be distinguished from one another. Measurements of the vesicle density, volume and connectivity of the investigated deposits provide information about the intensity of the eruption. Additionally, vesicle geometry can be related to the magmatic permeability, which is essential to the dynamics of the eruption.


In this study, pullout tests were carried out to evaluate pullout characteristics of waste fishing net (WFN), which added into bottom ash for recycling both bottom ash and WFN. Three different mesh size of WFN (WFN20:20 mm × 20 mm, WFN30:30 mm × 30 mm, WFN40:40 mm × 40 mm) and geogrid were added as a reinforcement. Pullout characteristics of waste fishing net were compared with those of the geogrid. Pullout test results showed that pullout strength and stiffness of WFN20 are a little less than those of geogrid. However, the pullout friction angle of WFN20 is similar to that of geogrid due to bearing resistance induced from transverse rib because thickness of WFN20 is greater than geogrid. Pullout test results also indicated that distribution of residual strain along reinforcement after test depends on overburden stress. Residual strain at the tip of reinforcement increased with an increase in overburden stress due to concentration of pullout force on the tip of reinforcement.


In this paper, a 3 phase 60 MVA high temperature superconducting (HTS) transformer was designed with YBCO coated conductor windings and its characteristics were analyzed. First, an automatic calculation program for HTS transformer design was developed, in which the Ic-B characteristics of HTS tape was considered. Using the calculation program, basic dimensions of windings and iron core were determined and electromagnetic field analysis was performed for the loss computation. Finally, efficiency, weight and wire length of HTS transformer with coated conductor winding were calculated. The efficiency was over 99.9%, which is higher than that of any conventional transformer. The weight of the HTS transformer was about 16.6 tons and the length of HTS wire was about 47 km when the voltage per turn is 89.7234. Moreover, the magnetization AC loss of coated conductor winding was very small compared with that of BSCCO-2223 winding. To reduce the AC losses, we introduced the low current density winding method in all windings and the magnetization loss was reduced to about 66% of that of general winding.


The Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine (KSCCM) has introduced the Subspecialty System for Critical Care Medicine in Korea under the auspices of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) in March 2008. Nine medical societies that included the Korean Association of Internal Medicine, the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, the Korean Society of Anesthesiology, the Korean Neurological Association, the Korean Neurosurgical Society, the Korean Surgical Society, the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine, the Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Korean Pediatric Society participated to the new critical care subspecialty. The Board of Critical Care should be certified again every 5 year after achieving the required qualification by the KSCCM. This paper summarizes the Subspecialty Certification System for Critical Care Medicine in Korea.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on public service failure and develop a research agenda for studying public service failure alongside private service failure. The general services management literature has devoted relatively little attention to public services, whereas developments in the private service management literature have not reached public management.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper drawing on the public management literature. Different failure types and causes are discussed, including service failures that are specific to public sector settings. This is linked to the specific public context within which public services operate. Customer reactions to public service failure are then introduced, as well as service recovery.

Findings

Service failures in a public and a private context are different. There are different failure types and different standards of failure. Public management literature mainly studies collective and political reactions to service failure, whereas the private service management literature tends to focus on individual reactions. Finally, attention for service recovery was found to be very limited in the public services literature.

Social implications

Studying public service failure is important because failure can have dramatic consequences for customers, public organisations, and society. Social inequalities that arise as a result of public service failure need to have a prominent role in future research.

Originality/value

This paper develops the concept of public service failure and sets a novel research agenda for studying processes, causes, and consequences of such failure, as well as public-private differences.