Myeloid cells that orchestrate malignant progression in the tumor microenvironment offer targets for a generalized strategy to attack solid tumors. Through an analysis of tumor microenvironments, we explored an experimental model of lung cancer that uncovered a network of Dll4/Notch/TGF-β1 signals that links myeloid cells to cancer progression. Myeloid cells attracted to the tumor microenvironment by the tumor-derived cytokines CCL2 and M-CSF expressed increased levels of the Notch ligand Dll4, thereby activating Notch signaling in the tumor cells and amplifying tumor-intrinsic Notch activation. Heightened Dll4/Notch signaling in tumor cells magnified TGF-β-induced pSMAD2/3 signaling and was required to sustain TGF-β-induced tumor cell growth. Conversely, Notch blockade reduced TGF-β signaling and limited lung carcinoma tumor progression. Corroborating these findings, by interrogating RNAseq results from tumor and adjacent normal tissue in clinical specimens of human head and neck squamous carcinoma, we found evidence that TGF-β/Notch crosstalk contributed to progression. In summary, the myeloid cell-carcinoma signaling network we describe uncovers novel mechanistic links between the tumor microenvironment and tumor growth, highlighting new opportunities to target tumors where this network is active.


This thesis deals with the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem in unstructured environments, \textit{i.e.} which cannot be described by geometrical features. This type of environment frequently occurs in an underwater context.
Unlike classical approaches, the environment is not described by a collection of punctual features or landmarks, but directly by sets. These sets, called shapes, are associated with physical features such as the relief, some textures or, in a more symbolic way, the space free of obstacles that can be sensed around a robot.
In a theoretical point of view, the SLAM problem is formalized as an hybrid constraint network where the variables are vectors and subsets of $\mathbb{R}^{n}$. Whereas an uncertain real number is enclosed in an interval, an uncertain shape is enclosed in an interval of sets. The main contribution of this thesis is the introduction of a new formalism, based on interval analysis, able to deal with these domains. As an application, we illustrate our method on a SLAM problem based on bathymetric data acquired by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).


Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the Netherlands in 2015 increased by approximately 4%, compared with 2014 emissions. This increase was mainly the result of the increased electricity production in coal fired plants compared to 2014. Furthermore fuel combustion in all sectors was increased as the winter of 2015 was less mild as the one in 2014. In 2015, total GHG emissions (including indirect CO2 emissions and excluding emissions from Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF)) in the Netherlands amounted to 195.2 Tg CO2 eq. This is approximately 12.5% below the emissions in the base year2 (223.1 Tg CO2 eq). CO2 emission have increased above the level in the base year 1990 in 2015 (+ 1.5%). This increase was offset by the reduction in the emissions since 1990 of methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases (CH4, N2O and F-gases). This report documents the Netherlands' 2017 annual submission of its greenhouse gas emissions inventory in accordance with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC, 2006) provided by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union's Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism. The report includes explanations of observed trends in emissions; an assessment of the sources with the highest contribution to the national emissions (key sources) and the uncertainty in their emissions; an itemization of methods, data sources and emission factors (EFs) applied; and a description of the quality assurance system and the verification activities performed on the data.


The common circum-tropical jellyfish Cassiopea sp., unlike other members of the Rhi- zostomidae (Scyphozoa), exhibits a primarily benthic life. The peculiar orientation of its exumbrella against the sediment is believed to be associated with its mainly autotrophic nutrition, i.e. exposing its zooxanthellae-bearing photosynthetic oral appendages to the sunlight. Here we show that the jel- lyfish also acts as a nutrient pump, drawing nutrient-rich pore waters from the permeable sediments. Depletion of pore-water ammonium in situ, light-enhanced ammonium uptake, and high rates of photosynthesis determined via oxygen flux measurements and underwater fluorometer analysis (rapid light curves) show that Cassiopea sp. effectively harnesses pore-water nutrients. At high den- sities Cassiopea sp. may facilitate benthic-pelagic coupling and primary production in oligotrophic coral reefs.


Brain tumours represent the leading cause of childhood cancer mortality, of which medulloblastoma (MB) is the most frequent malignant pediatric brain tumour. Current molecular Nsubgroups of MB recognize distinct disease entities of which activated Wnt signaling (monosomy 6, exon 3 mutations in CTNNB1, and Wnt gene signature) is associated with a distinct subgroup and the best overall outcome. In contrast, only non-Wnt MBs are characterized by metastatic disease, increased rate of recurrence, and poor overall survivorship. Given the excellent clinical outcome in patients with Wnt-driven MB, we aimed to convert treatment-resistant MB subgroups into an ostensibly benign tumour through selective targeting by small molecule Wnt agonists (Wnt3A), GSK3 inhibitors (CHIR99021), and transgenic lines containing a stabilized beta-catenin mutant. Activated Wnt signaling resulted in decreased in vitro self-renewal and promoted differentiation within primary human MB stem cells. The clinical relevance of these findings were demonstrated with an in vivo survival advantage in mice containing orthotopic injections of cells containing a stabilized beta-catenin mutant representative of constitutively active Wnt signaling. Xenografts generated from Wnt-activated tumours were much smaller in size, maintained a much lower rate of proliferation, and reduction in key MB stem cell self-renewal genes (Bmi1, Sox2, Msi1, FoxG1). Our work establishes activated Wnt signaling as a novel treatment paradigm in childhood MB, while providing evidence for the context-specific tumour suppressive function of the canonical Wnt pathway.


The correlation between biodiesel properties and their degree of unsaturation was investigated. The feed stocks considered were crude palm kernel oil and Palm oil. Crude PKO was extracted from palm kernel seeds using traditional method of extraction. Biodiesel was produced from the crude PKO using base-catalyzed trans-esterification process. Two factors were varied during the production process: methanol-oil ratio and reaction time (minutes). Thirteen experimental runs were carried out and a maximum yield of 87% was obtained at a reaction time of 65 minutes and a methanol-oil ratio of 6.0. The process was optimized using the response optimizer of MINITAB 16 and an optimum yield of 88% was obtained at a reaction time of 58 minutes and a methanol-oil ratio of 7.8. The properties of the biodiesel obtained from crude PKO were also compared with the properties of palm oil biodiesel obtained from literature. The degree of unsaturation of palm kernel oil and palm oil were calculated from the fatty acid composition of both oils. The biodiesel properties were correlated with the degree of unsaturation. Biodiesel produced meets standard specifications (ASTM, EN).


The singular part, proportional to the delta -function of the momenta difference, of the dipole matrix element between two states of the continuous spectrum of an electron in the static field of the many-electron atom is calculated. This term is important in processes where photon emission takes place in the intermediate (virtual) state. The formulae obtained are applied to the evaluation of the two-photon bremsstrahlung cross section.


This paper explores the importance of developing fluent reading skill and tends to find out the strengths and weaknesses of its teaching at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. In order to give our students sufficient exposure to English, we have to solve the problems of learning and teaching fluent reading in English and find out effective ways of approaching this significant skill. With reference to research evidence, that we have studied both from the teachers' and students' point of view on the basis of a questionnaire survey, we now turn to the role of fluent reading in fostering learners' progress in reading skill as well as developing the other three major skills-listening, speaking and writing.


Multinuclear 3d-4f complexes with sandwichlike molecular structures are formed with the Schiff-base ligand bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)ethylene-1,2-phenylenediamine(H(2)L). The stoichiometry and structures are dependent on the Zn:Nd ratio and counteranions present. They are trinuclear [Nd(ZnL)2(NO3)2(H2O)2].NO3.EtOH.H2O (1), [Nd(ZnL)2Cl2(H2O)3].Cl.2MeOH.5H2O (2), and tetranuclear [Nd2(ZnL)2Cl6(MeOH)2].MeOH (3). Dinuclear complex [NdZnL(NO3)3MeCN].MeCN (4) was also characterized. Near-infrared (NIR) lanthanide luminescence is observed in these complexes.


The Sharing Economy is much more than collaborative consumption (Botsman and Rogers, 2011) even if this appears as the most visible achievement of this sector. Production, consumption, finance, exchanges are disrupted by the sharing economy revolution. But what are the common points between Airbnb, Uber, Wikipedia, Ulule, Blablacar, Kickstarter, the FabLabs/hackespaces, the Local exchange trading systems (LETS), Linux, etc.?

Most of these achievements rely upon digital platforms (Kenney and Zysman, 2015) enabling peer-to-peer exchanges. These digital platforms act as « weapon of mass collaboration » (Tapscott & Williams - 2007), flattening relationships between Internet users and inside organizations (Castells, 1996 ; 2002).

Specifying what the sharing economy is isn't an easy task. For-profit, non-profit, reciprocity, competition can be observed at a stage or another in the sharing economy galaxy. A bright constellation in this galaxy is the think tank Ouishare created in France in 2012. It's s a « global community that connects people, organizations and ideas around fairness, openness and trust » (ouishare.net). For them collaborative economy deals with five phenomena: collaborative consumption, crowdfunding, open knowledge (open data, open education, open governance), the maker movement (open design and manufacturing, do it yourself), open and horizontal governance (participatory budgeting, open government initiatives, co-operatives, open value networks, do-ocracries, holacracies).

Internet seems to enable peer-to-peer exchanges between consumers (Bauwens, 2005) who are also sometimes producers (Tapscot and William - 2007 speak about "prosumers" to stress how the lines have been blurring). Of course Uber and Airbnb's algorithms are working like digital auctioneers: tiny invisible hands enabling peer-to-peer exchanges. Could this be the return of Smith or Hayek? Why am I asking this question? Because Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, pointed out "Hayek's work on price theory is central to my own thinking about how to manage the Wikipedia project" (Mangu-Ward, 2007).

In order to figure out how to understand the complexity of the sharing economy we propose to explore three paths to characterize it. In the first one we'll distinguish, with Karl Polanyi, two kinds of economy. Then we will try to figure out where to position the sharing economy (1). In the second one we'll see if all the sharing economy organizations really share everything and how (2). The last way to characterize the sharing economy is around its global political project (3).

1) The economic anthropologist Karl Polanyi is known for his opposition to traditional economic thought. He distinguishes two ways to understand economy: formal and substantive (Polanyi, 1944). The formal meaning refers to an economy interested only in minimizing means and maximizing results (in neoclassical words: utility maximization under conditions of scarcity). The substantive meaning refers to how humans make a living interacting within their social and natural environments. In this case the economy is embedded in society. Karl Polanyi identifies four principles (or forms of integration) of economic behavior, three in a substantive meaning (reciprocity, redistribution, domestic administration) and the last in the formal sense (market exchange). These principles will be used to classify sharing economies.

2) The sharing economy seems to offer a third way between state and market, the collaborative commons (Rifkin, 2014), which are aimed to produce, innovate, manage, all in common (Ostrom, 1990; Hess & Ostrom, 2007). Some projects or organizations of the sharing economy are managed as common pool resources (Wikipedia, Linux). These projects/organizations have been deeply influenced by the free culture movement (Lessig, 2004 ; Suber, 2012 ; Stallman, 1985) very present in Internet culture (Castells, 1996 ; Benkler 2002) and are close to a an economy in its substantive meaning. The principles of common pool resource management (Ostrom, 1990) are, according to us, useful tools to characterize sharing economy projects.

3) Proponents of the sharing economy advocate action. This is to participate in the creation of a new world by being an agent of change. Acting is a way to test ideas and overcome the internal contradictions of the movement. 3D printers, laser cutters, digital milling machine found in all FabLabs provide access to a new form of bricolage, an interconnected DIY (Anderson, 2012 ; Lallement, 2015). More than a political project, a way of being: to not be a passive consumer and join the ranks of the makers (Anderson, 2012). The concept of bricolage (Levi-Strauss, 1962 ; Duymedian et Ruling, 2010 ; Gundry et al., 2003 ; Garud et Karnoe, 2003) could help us in identifying the real spirit of the sharing economy.

On the one hand the culture of open access (Suber, 2012) where peers gather behind a socially useful project and produce in common; on the other huge corporations that take advantage of the opportunities opened up by the internet to establish a " netarchical capitalism" (Bauwens and Kostakis, 2014). The sharing economy concentrates contradictions. We hope to give, in this paper, some guidelines to identify sharing economies.


Tropospheric ozone is a pollutant that damages ecosystems and triggers human health problems. Ozone concentrations are highly variable over time and across the troposphere, which poses clear challenges to deepen our understanding of the processes involved in the production and transport of ozone. Further progress depends on the availability of instruments capable of measuring tropospheric ozone and its distribution at finer spatio-temporal scales. The TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel-5p platform, launched into an early afternoon polar orbit in October 2017, combines a high spatial resolution, a large swath width and the spectral measurement characteristics required to deliver tropospheric ozone data records at unprecedented detail. The first of these products was released during Fall 2018. It consists in 0.5° (latitude) by 1° (longitude) resolved daily maps of 3-day moving mean values of the tropospheric ozone column between 20°S and 20°N, and it is computed using the convective-cloud method (CCD). A second data product consists in maps of tropical upper tropospheric ozone mixing ratio at a coarser spatial and temporal resolution. It is based on a cloud slicing algorithm (CSA), which is currently being fine-tuned for release in the very near future. A third data product, also under development at the time of this abstract, consists of the vertical profile of ozone concentration in the global troposphere and stratosphere, retrieved with the classical Optimal Estimation (OE) technique.

We present here an assessment of the quality of the first year of the different tropospheric ozone column data sets retrieved from Sentinel-5p TROPOMI measurements, carried out within the context of ESA's Sentinel-5p Mission Performance Center (MPC) and the S5PVT AO project CHEOPS-5p (Validation of Copernicus Height-resolved Ozone data Products from Sentinel-5p TROPOMI using global sonde and lidar networks, #28587). The first stage of this analysis consists of an inspection of the tropospheric ozone fields for structures which are potentially introduced in the measurement process. Sampling effects, in particular, are a possible source of uncertainty as the CCD product is derived from binned TROPOMI total ozone column data. Another structure introduced by retrieval assumptions would be the dependence of the quality of Sentinel-5p retrieved total column data to cloud parameters. In a second stage the satellite data are confronted to quality-assured ozonesonde and –tentatively– ground-based lidar measurements from the NDACC, SHADOZ and TOLNET networks. These well-characterized observational data records serve as a reference to evaluate the bias and uncertainty of the Sentinel-5p data, and their dependence on influence quantities. The study concludes with an assessment of the compliance of Sentinel-5p tropospheric ozone data with respect to mission and user requirements for key data applications.


Background and aim:  The stress resulting from premature delivery and the related neonatal care induces psychological and physical pressure on the mothers, and adversely affects their feeling of comfort. It seems that spiritual care as a sort of communication with a higher power (God) can bring peace to the stressed mothers, and prevent anxiety. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of spiritual self-care training on feeling of comfort in mothers of preterm infants, hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 60 mothers of preterm infants hospitalized in NICU of Omolbanin and Ghaem hospitals, Mashhad, Iran in 2013, were selected, using convenience sampling, and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. In order to familiarize the mothers with their infants' condition, the mothers in both intervention and control groups were informed and trained for 15 minutes every day, over a 14-day period. The intervention group, in addition to infant-related information, received spiritual self-care training for 45 minutes in 6 sessions, every other day. Before and after each session of self-care training, the mothers filled a self-structured questionnaire related to feeling of comfort resulting from spiritual care. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16, by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-test, and Chi-square tests. Results: According to the results, the total mean of maternal feeling of comfort was 50.0 ± 4.3 and 55.6 ± 3.3 before and after the intervention, respectively. The results of t-test indicate that comfort significantly increased after the intervention (P=0.000). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, spiritual self-care training increases the feeling of comfort in mothers with premature infants, hospitalized in NICU.


Combined sewers are designed to convey waste waters to a treatment plant. When the flow conditions do not allow the solid matters to be maintained suspension, the sediments deposit along the sewer system. The managers and operators of a network have to clean those sediment deposits. The operations require a lot of human and material resources, and efforts must aim to minimise the length of the cleansing operation because it is difficult task for the workforce that generates some nuisance (noises, odours, ...) for the neighbourhood. This paper presents the case study of the Nantes Metropole Sewer Authority (France). The man-entry part of the sewer network is located in the central area of Nantes city. This man-entry part represents about 120 km of the combined sewer channels with internal heights greater than 1.2 m. Current cleaning methods are presented including the sewer cleaning truck and the Hydrass floodgate. The truck technique has been improved to use the sewer channel water rather than tap water. The floodgate Hydrass is designed to create a surge by alternating closure and rapid opening (Fig. 3 & 4). After closure, the water behind the gate rises until a defined level, when the gate tilts. The rapid opening creates a surge wave flushing the downstream deposits. One limitations of the self-opening gate is its fixed location and its limited influence, typically about 150 m downstream of the gate. To avoid such limitations, Nantes Metropole Sewer Authority developed a new self cleaning, unmanned tool (Fig. 5 & 7). The key design principle is to reduce the flow cross section, increasing locally the velocity to scour the sediment deposits. This new carriage tool is pushed by the flow itself and it is self-cleaning. While human resources are required to install and remove the carriage, its advance and operation within the sewer channel does not require any human operator. It can be used to clean a fairly long section of channel, and its operation requires simply that the cross section remains constant. / Les ouvrages de decantation repartis sur le reseau unitaire visitable ne suffisent pas a pieger l'ensemble des matieres solides transportees par les effluents. Certains collecteurs ont une pente tres faible pouvant faire apparaitre la formation de depots. Les operations de curage du reseau unitaire visitable necessitent souvent la mise en œuvre de moyens humains et materiels consequents. Un des objectifs recherches par l'Operateur Public d'Assainissement est de limiter la duree de ces interventions souvent penibles pour le personnel et source de nuisances pour les riverains (bruit, odeurs…). Cet article presente les outils actuellement utilises et les travaux effectues pour ameliorer les techniques de curage des collecteurs visitables.


A sparse nonlinear inverse scattering problem arising in microwave imaging is analyzed and numerically solved for retrieving dielectric contrast of region of interest from measured fields. The proposed approach is motivated by a Tikhonov functional incorporating a sparsity promoting l1-penalty term. The proposed iterative algorithm of soft shrinkage type enforces the sparsity constraint at each nonlinear iteration and provides an effective reconstructions of unknown (complex) dielectric profiles. The scheme produces sharp and good reconstruction of dielectric profiles in sparse domains and keeps its convergence during the reconstruction. Numerical results present the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method.


In this paper, a new radar waveform based on wavelet packets is proposed. This waveform shows significant advantages over conventional linear frequency modulated waveforms for range and velocity detections of moving targets. The proposed waveform can decouple its envelope and carrier for range and velocity estimations, respectively, because of which the Doppler spread term can be totally removed when estimating velocity and the Doppler effect ignored when estimating range. This way, the proposed waveform produces higher resolution in range or velocity detection. The proposed waveform can be applied to the synthetic aperture radar for improved performance.


SUMMARY: Crosses between two mutant strains derived from Vibrio cholerae, one requiring valine and isoleucine and the other arginine and purine, yielded recombinants when seeded together on a minimal medium containing l-asparagine. Other markers such as resistance or sensitivity to streptomycin and a lytic choleraphage, which were unselected under the experimental conditions, also segregated in the recombinants.


Background: With about 80% of world trade being seaborne, seaports' capacity, efficiency and associated services are vital to ensure seamless, sustainable global supply chains. A lack of investment in marine services capacity and performance in South African ports remains a concern for port users and supply chain practitioners.Objectives: This study examines the capacity and performance of marine services in South Africa's ports. The primary example examines marine services performance data for the Port of Durban.Method: This study uses Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) data and descriptive statistics to analyse marine fleet performance, bollard pulls and human capacity in South Africa's ports to identify causes of shipping delays in the Port of Durban from 2014 to 2021.Results: The 8 years analysis show five most prominent sources of shipping delays in Ports as; tugboats occupied, shift changes, shipping movements, tugs out of commission and adverse weather conditions. Other factors identified were pilot-boat availability, overbooking slots, port meetings, etc. The performance of marine services are impacted by outdated wet infrastructure and a shortage of marine crafts and critical skills.Conclusion: There is a clear and justified need to increase physical and human capital investment in the provision of marine services and improve maintenance spending on critical infrastructure to reduce shipping delays and costs of conducting trade in South African (SA) ports.Contribution: The study compiles, analyses and provides a contextual understanding of the number of marine crafts, average bollard pulls, human resources capacity and causes of shipping delays in Republic of South Africa (RSA) ports.


SUMMARY
: Recent trauma fellows are concerned with difficulty finding a job. Our hypothesis was that the increased number of trauma fellows has led to a decrease in the number of jobs available and a subsequent decrease in advertised trauma positions. To determine the number of advertised positions, a review and tabulation of the advertised trauma specific orthopaedic surgery practice opportunities for the past 9 years (2003-2011) was completed. The number of trauma fellows has increased significantly in the last decade from 19 to 64. The number of Trauma fellowship positions available has increased from 58 to 81. We found that from 2003 to 2011 fewer advertised practice opportunities were present overall. The increase in number of orthopedic trauma fellows correlates closely with the decrease in advertised, trauma specific practice opportunities implying a relationship between the two.


In this study, effects of copper oxide addition and lithium modification on the properties of potassium sodium niobate (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 - KNN ceramics were investigated. XRD phase analysis showed that all samples crystallized in pure perovskite phase. CuO addition and Li modification was found to enhance densification of KNN samples. CuO addition was found to lead to higher coupling coefficient (kp) and mechanical quality factor (Qm), whereas Li modification caused an increase in dielectric constant and piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33), and stabilization of the tetragonal phase below room temperature.


Abstract The effects of dolomite powder on the sulfate resistance of cement-based materials with water-binder ratio (w/b) of 0.55 and 0.36 were investigated in this manuscript. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and pressure testing machine were used to determine the apparent morphology, micro-morphology, mass increase rate, flexural strength and compressive strength of cement-based materials containing dolomite powder. The sulfate resistance of mortars was improved with increasing dolomite powder dosage. Generally, the flexural strength and compressive strength of mortars in Na2SO4 solution were higher than those in water. Within 150 days of immersion, the corrosion resistance coefficient and compressive corrosion resistance coefficient of mortars increased with increasing dolomite powder dosage. The pore structure of cement-based materials became more compact with the addition of dolomite powder. Accordingly, the sulfate resistance was improved by controlling the dynamics stage due to the fact that the pore structure of cement-based materials was refined with the addition of dolomite powder. The 150-day compressive corrosion resistance coefficients of mortars with a w/b of 0.55 in the case of dolomite powder at 0 and 30 wt% replacement levels were less than 1, suggesting that long-term immersion in sulfate solution increased the deterioration rate of cement-based materials.


Tumor necrosis factor alpha is an important mediator of inflammation. Inhibition of TNF production is beneficial in several inflammatory diseases, and numerous efforts have been devoted in the design of therapies aimed at blocking the production of this cytokine. In the present work, we have analysed the anti inflammatory properties of nicotinamide (NAm), in a mouse model of acute septic shock. NAm was found to protect mice from a lethal injection of LPS, even when administered 2 h post treatment. NAm was found to inhibit TNF secretion while leading to increased IL-10 production in vivo. These observations have been corroborated by in vitro studies, in which NAm was found to inhibit TNF secretion by all the cell types tested. Our observations indicate that NAm only marginally affect TNF mRNA production while inhibiting TNF synthesis, suggesting an effect at a post-transcriptional stage. NAm represents an inhibitor of several classes of NAD dependent enzymes. To confirm the role of a NAD dependent step in the regulation of TNF, we took advantage of a novel pharmacological agent known to inhibit NAD synthesis (FK866). Use of this compound has led us to demonstrate that optimal TNF synthesis requires adequate intracellular NAD concentration. Collectively these studies establish a functional link between metabolism and inflammation, and suggest an important role for NAD dependent enzymes in the regulation of TNF synthesis.


ABSTRACT Introduction Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affected more than 50 million people and killed 6.7 million patients in the past 5 years alone. Additionally, rising incidence of treatment resistance threatens the global effort to eradicate this disease. With limited options available, additional novel antibiotics are needed for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Telacebec is a first-in-class antibiotic that targets the pathogen's energy metabolism. Areas covered This paper provides an overview of the recent progress in the development and testing of telacebec. We discuss published clinical data and examine the design and setup of its clinical trials. We also offer insights on the therapeutic potential of telacebec and aspects of which should be evaluated in the future. Expert opinion The first phase 2a trial showed a correlation between dosage and bacterial load in patient sputum, which should be confirmed using a direct measurement method such as colony-forming unit counting. Its clinical efficacy, favorable pharmacokinetic properties, low arrhythmogenic risk, and activity against MDR-TB strains make telacebec a suitable candidate for further development. Future clinical testing in combination with approved second-line drugs will reveal its full potential against MDR-TB. Considering recent preclinical studies, we also recommend initiating clinical trials for Buruli ulcer and leprosy.


The problem of determining the shortest path through a level network using as little space as possible is considered. Let k denote the number of levels and assume each level contains m nodes. A space efficient technique is presented by which the shortest route from a source to a sink may be found in a complete level graph using θ(m + k) storage locations and a factor of only θ(log k) more basic operations than space inefficient methods. If an edge from node p of level i to node q of level i + 1 exists only if p ≥ q, then the space saving technique may also be employed. In this case the run time of the algorithm is at most twice that of conventional approaches.


The nonlinear minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) decision-feedback multiuser receiver for direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems is known to offer a large performance improvement relative to linear MMSE-based detection. Such an improvement is made possible through the feedback filter which compensates for the effects of both intersymbol and multiuser interference. Motivated by the potential gain of these nonlinear multiuser detectors, and the severe tracking problems of the standard MMSE adaptive receiver, we investigate the performance of a modified 2-stage MMSE decision-feedback multiuser detector in frequency-selective fast-fading channels. Considering a multipath fast-fading channel, the modified nonlinear adaptive receiver is shown to offer much higher gain than existing modified (precombining) linear MMSE receivers. Our results show that the modified nonlinear receiver is more resilient to signal interference than the precombining LMMSE, especially in heavily loaded systems.


Proper load balancing aids in minimizing resource consumption, implementing fail-over, enabling scalability, avoiding bottlenecks etc in cloud computing. In Cloud Computing Scenario Load Balancing is composed of selecting Data Center for upcoming request and Virtual machine management at individual Data Center. In this paper, we proposed and implemented Predictive Service Broker (DC selection) dynamic algorithm based on Weighted Moving Average Forecast Model in cloud computing. This study concludes that the proposed predictive DC selection algorithm mainly focus on reducing service response time observed at client side. The result shows drastic reduction in Response time at client side by using Predictive Weighted Moving Average Forecast DC selection algorithm. Various parameters are also identified such as Data Center request service times, Data Center hourly loading, total Data Transfer and Virtual machine costing and respective values are calculated.


The term human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) refers to a group of 5 molecules, each sharing the common amino acid sequence but each differing in meric structure and carbohydrate side chain structure. The 5 molecules are each produced by separate cells and each having separate biological functions. hCG and sulfated hCG are hormones produced by placental syncytiotrophoblast cells and pituitary gonadotrope cells. Hyperglycosylated hCG is an autocrine produced by placental cytotrophoblast cells. Hyperglycosylated hCG drives malignancy in placental cancers, and in testicular and ovarian germ cell malignancies. hCGβ and hyperglycosylated hCGβ are autocrines produce by most advanced malignancies. These molecules, particularly the malignancy promoters are presented in this review on hCG and cancer. hCGβ and hyperglycosylated hCGβ are critical to the growth and invasion, or malignancy of most advanced cancers. In many ways, while hCG may appear like a nothing, a hormone associated with pregnancy, it is not, and may be at the center of cancer research.


: Introduction of vibration to manufacturing operations such as casting and welding has proved to improve the physical and mechanical properties of manufactured parts. A vibration exciter is developed for the purpose of generating and inducing vibration, along different degrees of freedom, on objects placed on its surface. The equipment applies an eccentric mass drive system which gives the equipment an overall advantage in varying the vibration parameters. The acceleration of the vibratory motion of the equipment was measured using an accelerometer and oscilloscope set-up. The natural frequencies of the different vibration modes are also obtained from a developed mathematical model executed using the MATLAB Simulink software. The developed equipment successfully generated random sinusoidal vibrations of accelerations ranging from − 5 𝒎 / 𝒔 𝟐 to 8 𝒎 / 𝒔 𝟐 along the principal axes and angular accelerations ranging from − 40 𝒓𝒂𝒅 / 𝒔 to 40 𝒓𝒂𝒅 / 𝒔 about the pitch and roll axes. Natural frequencies of 𝒇 𝒙 = 3.78 Hz , 𝒇 𝜽 = 7.94 Hz and 𝒇 𝝋 = 9.89 Hz are obtained along the vertical, pitch and roll directions respectively. The presented results indicate that the developed machine successfully satisfied the proposed hypothesis of being able to measure vibrational characteristics along different degrees of freedom.


This work addresses novel Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI)-based conditions for the design of discrete-time state derivative feedback controllers. The main contribution of this work consists of an augmented discretized model formulated in terms of the state derivative, such that uncertain sampling periods and parametric uncertainties in polytopic form can be propagated from the original continuous-time state space representation. The resulting discrete-time model is composed of homogeneous polynomial matrices with parameters lying in the Cartesian product of simplexes, plus an additive norm-bounded term representing the residual discretization error. Moreover, the referred condition allows for the closed-loop poles allocation of the augmented system in a D-stable region. Finally, numerical simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Entropy is a difficult concept to teach using real-world examples. Unlike temperature, pressure, volume, or work, it's not a quantity which most students encounter in their day-to-day lives. Even the way entropy is often qualitatively described, as a measure of disorder, is incomplete and can be misleading. In an effort to address these obstacles, we have developed a simple laboratory activity, the stretching of an elastic rubber sheet, intended to give students hands-on experience with the concepts of entropy, temperature and work in both adiabatic and quasistatic processes. We present two versions of the apparatus: a double-lever system, which may be reproduced with relatively little cost, and a commercial materials testing system, which provides students experience with scientific instrumentation that is used in research. 1 ar X iv :1 50 8. 00 53 8v 1 [ ph ys ic s. ed -p h] 3 A ug 2 01 5


Abstract. Even though the maximum wind radius (R max ) is an important parameter in determining the intensity and size of tropical cyclones, it has been overlooked in previous storm surge studies. This study reviews the existing estimation methods for R max based on central pressure or maximum wind speed. These over- or underestimate R max because of substantial variations in the data, although an average radius can be estimated with moderate accuracy. As an alternative, we propose an R max estimation method based on the radius of the 50 kt wind (R50). Data obtained by a meteorological station network in the Japanese archipelago during the passage of strong typhoons, together with the JMA typhoon best track data for 1990–2013, enabled us to derive the following simple equation, R max   =  0.23 R50. Application to a recent strong typhoon, the 2015 Typhoon Goni, confirms that the equation provides a good estimation of R max , particularly when the central pressure became considerably low. Although this new method substantially improves the estimation of R max compared to the existing models, estimation errors are unavoidable because of fundamental uncertainties regarding the typhoon's structure or insufficient number of available typhoon data. In fact, a numerical simulation for the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan as well as 2015 Typhoon Goni demonstrates a substantial difference in the storm surge height for different R max . Therefore, the variability of R max should be taken into account in storm surge simulations (e.g., R max   =  0.15 R50–0.35 R50), independently of the model used, to minimize the risk of over- or underestimating storm surges. The proposed method is expected to increase the predictability of major storm surges and to contribute to disaster risk management, particularly in the western North Pacific, including countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam.


Individuals with developmental dyslexia have difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and spelling. Hemisphere alluding stimulation (HAS) is one of the neuropsychological techniques to stimulate cerebral hemispheres through the visual vessel, by word selection with various sizes and fonts. It increases the perceptual traits of the text and balances the reading speed by stimulating the right hemisphere. The aim was to investigate the efficacy of the implicit stimulation in visual hemisphere-specific according to the Bakker's Balance Model for the reading and spelling skills in two students with the linguistic developmental dyslexia. In a single-subject design, two female students (mean age = 9.35 years) were selected through convenience sampling from the 3rd grade in the elementary school. They were diagnosed as having the linguistic developmental dyslexia, evaluated by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children  (WISC-IV), who answered the Diagnostic Reading Disorder Test (DRDT) and the Writing Disorder Test (WDT). One student was considered a case subject and the other one a control subject. The case received implicit stimulation in visual hemisphere-specific for 16 sessions (twice a week), but the control subject did not. After the intervention and three months later, the subjects answered the DRDT and WDT again. The results of the visual analysis in combination with the non-overlap methods were used to calculate the effect size. The findings showed that the intervention increased the reading fluency (effect size = 90.74%), reading comprehension (effect size = 69.11%), reading speed (effect size = 200%), and spelling mistakes (effect size = 62.5%) of the case subject. The efficacy of the implicit stimulation in cerebral hemisphere was significant (p < 0.01), even three months later. We conclude that the implicit stimulation in visual hemisphere-specific is probably an effective method for improving the functioning of the reading and spelling skills in people with the linguistic developmental dyslexia.


The process of granitization may be regarded as an approximate reestablishment of the geochemical equilibrium attained when the earth first cooled, but which was later upset by the large quantities of predominantly basic volcanic rocks brought into the sial by physical, as distinct from chemical, forces.On the basis of the granitization hypothesis, an attempt is made to explain the variation in composition of granitic rocks and of associated ore deposits during geological time by relating them to preceding volcanic activity. This leads to a possible explanation of the origin of some metalliferous provinces--e.g., the Western Australian gold province.Evidence is offered in support of the hypothesis that, in the process of the formation of a granitic rock, the valuable elements of ore deposits are concentrated in inverse ratio to the extent to which they are incorporated by isomorphous substitution in the common rock-forming minerals. This is held to explain, to a large extent, the association of specific ores with specific types of granitic rocks.Attention is drawn to the economic importance of distinguishing between synchronous and subsequent batholiths and suggestions are made for prospecting in areas in which synchronous batholiths occur.It is considered important to distinguish between ore deposits formed during a period of granitization and those of "volcanic"--or abyssal--origin: e.g., in the former case, given favorable conditions, some sort of zonal arrangement of the mineralization is to be expected; in the latter case, fluctuations in the depth of geoisotherms might easily cause ores, theoretically belonging to various depth-zones, to occur at the same vertical horizon.


There are basically three kinds of educational activities in the World and in Turkey. These
are formal/organized education, non-formal education, and informal education. In this age the
importance of informal education is increasing. This is due to the inadequacy of formal
education and its complementary, non-formal education, for the postfordist contexture of
production. In Turkey, businesses do not play a part in any of these three kinds of educational
activities. However, their active output are getting larger and larger from formal to informal
education. While there is an indirect participation of the businesses on this issue in formal and
non-formal education, in informal education there is direct participation. Actually, the core of
informal education constitutes the learnings experienced in the work place.
In this study, within the training aimed at production in the businesses, apprenticeship
workshops which are implemented within the frame of formal education and vocational
training which is the extension of formal education, as well as various educational activities
and informal education which are implemented within the formal education are discussed.
The necessity of informal education and its further connection to productivity is emphasized.
Keywords: Productivity, Formal Education, Non-Formal Education, Informal Education.


The present quasi-experimental study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of Behavioural Parent Training Program (BPTP) in reducing parental stress. The sample for this study consists of 60 parents of children with ADHD was randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the Barkley's parent training program. All participants completed the Parental Stress Index /Short Form (PSI/SF) at four different time points. A Mixed Model ANOVA using the SPSS 19.0 was used in data analysis. The results from mixed model ANOVA reflected that mean changes in parental stress were significantly different between two groups. In addition, Post hoc analysis revealed a statistically significant decrease in parental stress only for the experimental group. The present study in line with some previous studies provides some preliminary evidence that supports the effectiveness of Barkley's parent training program to reduce parental stress for Iranian parents with ADHD children. The implications of the study findings and limitations of the research method along with recommendations for future studies are discussed. Keywords: AHDA children; Barkley's parent training program; parental stress, parents


Acute epididymitis represents a common medical condition in the urological outpatient clinic. Mostly, epididymitis is caused by bacterial ascent through the urogenital tract, with pathogens originating either from sexually transmitted diseases or urinary tract infections. Although conservative antimicrobial therapy is possible in the majority of patients and is usually sufficient to eradicate the pathogen, studies have shown persistent oligozoospermia and azoospermia in up to 40% of these patients. Animal models of epididymitis are created to delineate the underlying reasons for this observation and the additional impairment of sperm function that is often associated with the disease. Accumulated data provide evidence of a differential expression of immune cells, immunoregulatory genes and pathogen-sensing molecules along the length of the epididymal duct. The evidence suggests that a tolerogenic environment exists in the caput epididymidis, but that inflammatory responses are most intense toward the cauda epididymidis. This is consistent with the need to provide protection for the neo-antigens of spermatozoa emerging from the testis, without compromising the ability to respond to ascending infections. However, severe inflammatory responses, particularly in the cauda, may lead to collateral damage to the structure and function of the epididymis. Convergence of the clinical observations with appropriate animal studies should lead to better understanding of the immunological environment throughout the epididymis, the parameters underlying susceptibility to epididymitis, and to therapeutic approaches that can mitigate epididymal damage and subsequent fertility problems.


Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate whether placental subclinical inflammation biomarkers predict impaired cognitive development in two year-old children after an episode of suspected preterm labour. Methods: Two-year-old children who were born late preterm (n=21) or at term after suspected preterm labour (n=16) were compared with at-term control children (n=10). Placental samples were collected immediately after delivery. We quantitatively analysed the mRNA expression of inflammatory markers (IL6, IFNγ, and TNFα). Placental inflammation was defined as the presence of both IL6 and TNFα mRNA expression were over 1.5 MoMs. Neurodevelopment was evaluated at a corrected age of 24-29 months with the use of the Merrill-Palmer-Revised Scales of Development. Results: Inflammation was present in the 10% of the controls, 14.3% of late preterm and 18.8% of term-born after suspected preterm labour placentas. Both term-born and late preterm two year-old infants with signs of subclinical placental inflammation had significantly lower mean scores on global cognitive index (86.71 vs 98.29; p= 0.014), cognition (86.85 vs 97.86; p=0.019), fine motor (89.42 vs 97.08; p=0.08), receptive language (83.28 vs 97.56; p=0.08), active and diligent (74 vs 99.72; p=0.07), and easy temper style (81.71 vs 93.62; p=0.06) subtest. An increased placental mRNA expression of IL6 was correlated with the active and diligent (-0.328; p=0.024) and angry and unhelpful (0.302; p=0.039) subtest. Whereas, an increased mRNA expression of TNF-alfa was also correlate with the cognition (-0.294; p=0.047), adaptive behaviour and self-care (-0.353; p=0.015), fine motor (-0.316; p=0.033), receptive language (-0.294; p=0.047), expressive language (-0.310; p=0.036), active and diligent (-0.310; p=0.034), temperament (-0.306; p=0.038) subtest. Conclusions: Placental inflammation is a risk factor for impaired cognitive development at early childhood age after suspected preterm labour both in term and preterm neonates. OP10.02 Longitudinal transvaginal ultrasound of cervical length in pregnant women with prior conisation


Abstract. Here, we have successfully designed a photonic crystal structure to improve the light absorption by increasing the optical path length of the incident light inside the absorbing material to enhance the efficiency of a thin film silicon solar cell. The current design is based on the high temperature superconducting-dielectric photonic crystals (HTcSD PCs). We have substituted the indium tin oxide as a front contact and antireflection coating in the conventional cell by HTcScD PCs. Also, we have substituted the back contact and the back reflector of the conventional cell construction by HTcScD PCs. The aim of these substitutions is to reduce the power dissipation in a thin film silicon solar cell. Numerical results of the proposed structure are obtained based on the transfer matrix method, the finite element method, and COMSOL Multiphysics software. The HTcScD PCs reduced the power dissipation in the thin film silicon solar cell due to the increase of the optical generation term of electron–hole pairs. Finally, using high temperature superconducting photonic crystals in photovoltaic applications is promising and may be of potential use in the future.


This paper examines the impact of trade and political institutions on environmental quality in Africa and explores whether political institutions matter to the trade-environment relationship. We use data from a large group of African countries, covering the period 1990-2008 and two indicators of environmental quality: net forest depletion and CO2 emissions. The results from GMM-SYS estimates suggest that political institutions influence the relationship between trade and environmental quality only in the case of CO2 emissions. Interestingly, we find that polity has a U relationship with net forest depletion. In addition, the results are in favor of an environmental Kuznets curve in the case of pollution (CO2 emissions) but not in the case of net forest depletion (deforestation). We discuss the policy implications of these findings.


This article discusses theoretical research on abstraction methods that describe the contents of laws at an abstract level above the code. Abstractions are useful for several purposes, for instance to determine the normative essence of an existing law, which is interesting from the viewpoint of legal theory. In legislative drafting deep structures are intermediate formalizations between the normative intentions of the lawgivers and the possible ways to codify the intentions. A tentative framework is given for the construction of deep structures out of structural elements, and for the generation of di erent legislative paraphrases with identical normative e ects. We can use deep structures in legislative drafting as a formalization and modelling step between the phase in which global normative requirements are formulated for behaviour which is to be regulated, and the phase in which codi cation takes place.


Cartilage and bone as supportive tissues are submitted to mechanical stresses and react to these in a very specific manner. Functional adaptation to the quality and magnitude of the acting forces is the result. In this article, the basic principles of functional adaptation of cartilage and bone will be presented. On the basis of these principles, promising functional concepts and clinical treatments may be established; this will be shown by some examples concerning the hand.


The mini acupuncture manipulator is developed which can simulate traditional needle therapy. Various physical parameters of acupuncture, which cannot be provided by the traditional needle therapy technique, can be quantitatively studied using this manipulator, such as precise depth, velocity, angle, angular velocity, frequency and interval, etc. By the experiment on the acute hemorrhagic shock model and the comparison with electro-acupuncture and non-therapy, the acupuncture manipulator is testified that it can provide safe, reliable and precise traditional acupuncture experiment, can achieve a similar curative effect with hand acupuncture, and can be applied in the field of acupuncture mechanism research and teaching. This paper also indicates the feasibility of clinic therapy with this acupuncture manipulator.


Symbolic WCET (worst-case execution time) analysis yields symbolic upper bound expressions for tasks that contain parameters. Quickly evaluated at run-time, such expressions can improve the accuracy of WCET estimate. This paper proposes a symbolic WCET analysis method that is especially for the input-data dependent branches. First, the formulas described by Blieberger is expanded, so that they can express the input-data dependent branches. Simplification of the formulas using control-dependent graph yields conditional symbolic expressions that have different forms corresponding to different input value ranges. Different from the existing methods, the symbolic formulas are directly dependent on input-data, so WCET estimate evaluation at run-time is more simple and straightforward.


Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel regioregular poly-norbornene anhydride-g-(3-hexyl thiophene) (PNBA-g-PHT) graft copolymer. Grignard metathesis polymerization was used to obtain a PHT homopolymer. Then, PHT-N3 was prepared via a chemical modification reaction of the hydroxyl terminated PHT. A click chemistry approach was then used to synthesis MM 1. Finally, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of MM 1 produced the final copolymer. NMR and COSY studies clearly showed that the regioregularity was retained in the newly synthesized copolymer.


During the 1970s and 1980s the Australian and New Zealand economies have been passing through a period of restructuring. This has had important impacts upon the housing sector, leading to rises in house and land prices, in interest rates, and therefore in the costs of house purchase. Under these conditions a new agenda of housing issues has appeared concerning the affordability of housing and the continued access of modest and lower income households to the dominant form of tenure, owner-occupation. The 1980s saw the election of Labour governments committed to action in the area of housing. However, somewhat paradoxically, both in Australia and in New Zealand the policies pursued have been those of deregulation to produce a more competitive financial market. To preserve access to housing, new mortgage schemes have been designed. Two such schemes, the Capital Loan Scheme of Victoria and New Zealand's Equity Share Scheme are evaluated in the paper to show the nature of the adopted policy-response. The article is concluded with the demonstration of the limitations of such policy-based solutions to what are macroeconomic problems which are produced by moving towards an economic and social policy shaped by market monetarism.


A new double tail parallel latch load comparator are compared in term of voltage,power,delay and offset voltage.CMOS dynamic comparator which has dual input, dual output inverter stage suitable for high speed analog-to-digital converters with low voltage and low power. A single tail comparator is replaced with a double tail dynamic comparator which reduces the power and voltage by increasing the speed. The technology scaling of MOS transistors enables low voltage and low power operation which decreases the offset voltage and delay of the comparator .The proposed algorithm replaces some pair of transistors connected in parallel for offset voltage reduction in double tail comparator due to mismatch in transistor pairs. Low voltage and low power consumption are the two most important parameter of the comparator which is to be used in high speed ADCs. 0.25µm CMOS technology confirms the analysis result, frequency=41MHz and given supply voltage will be 0.8v.


Analysis of street foods of Kathmandu for bacterial contamination was performed in 12 different street foods. The surveillance study was carried in 200 children of primary grade from public school and 12 street vendors for the health hygiene and hazards associated with street food. Poor hygiene practice in preparation and handling of street food has been observed in the vendors. The lack of the knowledge in vendors about the source of bacterial contamination and absence of surveillance on street food has subjected street food to the high potential for food borne illness. The inadequate safety measure adopted by the targeted consumers of street food, the children, has augmented the risk associated with street food. All the food samples analyzed were contaminated with bacteria. The mesophilic count was recorded highest in Panipuri while as coliform count was highest in Chana tarkari . The least count of both was observed in Aaloo chop . Highest number of Staphylococccus aureus was found in Kerau (1.5X103cfu/g) and lowest in Momo (8.3 cfu/g). The dominant bacteria contaminating the food was S. aureus followed by Bacillus alvei, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Serratia sp., S. saprophyticus . The contaminated hand and clothing of the person who prepare food are the major source of S. aureus . Highest percentage of E. coli found in Panipuri must be due to the use of contaminated water. Chana chatpate and Chana tarkari were the foods found to be contaminated with Salmonella sp. The type of food and the degree of hygiene practice adopted by vendor refl ects the type and magnitude of bacterial contamination. Implementation of hygienic practices in vendors may reduce the contamination of street food and health education of the school children will curtail the incidences of food borne illness. Periodical monitoring of quality of street food will avoid any future outbreaks of bacterial pathogen. J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 26, 2012: 1-9


The anti-arrhythmic action of 2,3-cis-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-5-[(2-hydroxy-3-tert-butylamino)propoxy]2,3-naphthalenediol (nadolol) was evaluated and compared with that of propranolol in several experimental models of cardiac arrhythmias. Both nadolol and propranolol antagonized isoproterenol-induced tachycardia and ouabain-induced arrhythmias in cats, antagonized coronary artery ligation-induced ventricular fibrillation and suppressed ventricular ectopic activity during vagal stimulation in dogs. In contrast to propranolol, nadolol was considerably weaker in suppressing existing digoxin-induced arrhythmias, lacked local anesthetic activity and did not depress the heart in dogs. Because of these findings, it is concluded that the anti-arrhythmic activity of nadolol is apparently related to blockade of beta-adrenergic receptors.


Abstract The introduction of the coronavirus in any community is detrimental, however for correctional institutions the effects can be especially devastating. In an effort to reduce the impact of the virus, many locales have begun releasing youth back home. However, for young people experiencing the highest degree of constraint, the ability to choose how to spend their leisure has become even more restrained in light of COVID-19 due to increased restrictions and decreased resources. This essay exposes the reality of leisure during the corona pandemic for youth with justice system involvement through firsthand interviews with and by youth involved with Arts for Incarcerated Youth in Los Angeles. These personal narratives are contextualized with a comprehensive policy evaluation of leisure and recreation programming for juvenile justice facilities and theoretical implications according to Social Justice Youth Development (Ginwright & Cammarota, 2002; León et al., 2019).


In this thesis it is argued that a full and complete understanding of the eugenics movement may only be gained by examining those who were implicated in its criticisms. Using the example of three Christian missionary organisations that worked amongst largely poor and immigrant communities in London and New York, it is demonstrated that eugenics was a pervasive ideology outside its 'official' societies. Moving away from an understanding grounded in ideas of conflict and concession, it will be demonstrated that those whose work was challenged by eugenic claims were able to interpret the ideology according to their existing reformist agendas. Hereditarian ideas did not sound the death knell for reformers, and these organisations demonstrated both the willingness and capacity to shape eugenic ideas within and outside their organisations. From these examples it is argued there is a need to move beyond definitions of eugenics that limit the movement to a small subset of its methods. Far from being a peripheral aspect to the history of eugenics, it will be seen that these missionary agencies occupied a position at the centre of eugenicists' concerns. As prominent providers of charity, a work charged by eugenicists with unnaturally hindering the natural laws of selection, religious communities were, in part, one of the reasons that eugenics was deemed necessary in the first place. This picture is confirmed by an examination of two eugenics societies, one on each side of the Atlantic, where the impact of religious sentiment and ideas exerted a dramatic effect upon policies and propaganda work. There was no one-way flow of ideology from eugenicists towards reformers, but rather a two-way dialogue which created a marked impression on both groups.


Women act as wives and even mothers for children in the household by carrying out domestic tasks at home to take care of and serve their husbands and family members. When women have many dependent needs in the family, women take on a dual role to be absorbed in the world of work in the informal sector as traders by trading in the market in order to generate income in order to meet the needs of family life. This study aims to analyze the factors of age, working hours, education level, and the number of dependents on the income of female traders in Sanggeng Manokwari Market by using multiple linear regression analysis tools. The regression results show that there is a significant effect of age and working hours on the income of female traders, while the level of education and number of dependents does not show a significant effect on the income of female traders in the Sanggeng Manokwari Market.


ABSTRACT We present the case of a 35-year-old woman in heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) expressing the wish for the transition to oral opioid agonist treatment. After failed attempts to change to oral diacetylmorphine and slow-release oral morphine, respectively, she was induced on overlapping buprenorphine (BUP) treatment with the Bernese method. Gradual dose increases to BUP 48 mg per day did not result in attenuation of subjective effects of IV diacetylmorphine (DAM) 190 mg. Instead, the patient showed increased sedation. BUP was then reduced to 32 mg per day. After the gradual reduction of IV DAM, she reinitiated illicit substance use. IV DAM was again raised to an effective dose leading to stabilization and reduction of illicit substance use. BUP was subsequently reduced to 8 mg per day. This combination was continued as the patient felt comfortable and reported less early morning withdrawal than with exclusive DAM treatment. We discuss possible underlying mechanisms and explanations as well as clinical implications.


BACKGROUND
Bacteria of the genus Enterococcus are a normal part of the intestinal microflora but also important nosocomial pathogens. An alarming fact is increasing resistance to antimicrobial agents such as vancomycin (VRE). Enterococci frequently produce numerous virulence factors, e.g. gelatinase, surface protein, adhesins and sex pheromones. Their genes, with respect to vancomycin resistance, are studied.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In 108 isolates obtained from various clinical samples (except for stools) taken from patients in the University Hospital Olomouc and divided into VRE (n = 54) and control, vancomycin-susceptible (n = 54) groups, the prevalence of genes for gelatinase (gelE), surface protein (esp) and sex pheromones (cpd, cob and ccf) was investigated. For genetic detection, real-time PCR was used.

RESULTS
In the control group of vancomycin-susceptible enterococci, only six isolates (11.1 %) showed none of the studied virulence factors. The most prevalent gene was ccf (77.7 %, n = 42), followed by cpd in 66.6 % (36), gelE in 55.5 % (30), esp in 46.3 % (25) and cob in 38.9 % (21). In the VRE group, 17 isolates (31.5%) contained none of the studied genes. More prevalent was esp in 62.9 % (34), substantially less frequent were cpd in 5.6 % (3), cob in 5.6 % (3), ccf in 5.6 % (3) and gelE in 3.7 % (2).

CONCLUSIONS
In VRE a smaller occurence, i.e. four out of the five studied virulence factors, were detected. The lower prevalence of genes for virulence factors was probably due to their species representation (substantially higher frequency of Enterococcus faecium in which these genes are mostly much less prevalent).


Aims Smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes are considered to increase the incidence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). They can activate endogenous free radicals, cause inflammation and oxidative stress, and lead to endothelial cell dysfunction. Hydrogen (H2) has been proven to decrease oxidative stress, improve cell function, and reduce chronic inflammation. The purpose of this research was to validate the role of H2 in individuals who are at risk of PAD.Methods Sixty subjects were randomly assigned to placebo (PBO) group or H2-rich water (HRW) group and drank either bottled pure water or H2-rich water (245 mL/time, 3 times/d) for ten weeks.Results The pulse wave velocity was ameliorated in the HRW group with no significant change in the ankle-brachial index. The serum total cholesterol of the HRW group was significantly reduced compared to the placebo group. In addition, compared to baseline, the levels of lipoprotein(a) was decreased, the malondialdehyde content was reduced, the superoxide dismutase activity was increased, and the expression of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 was decreased significantly in the HRW group. The oxidized phospholipid of 1-palmitoyl-2-azelaoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine level in the HRW group were significantly reduced compared to the placebo group. Finally, H2 significantly improved the antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antiapoptotic abilities of high-density lipoprotein (HDL).Conclusions Drinking HRW can improve vascular sclerosis indicators, improve dyslipidemia, reduce vascular oxidative stress and inflammation, and improve HDL function. H2 may be used to prevent and relieve PAD caused by major risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.


The epoxidation of olefin as a strategy to protect carbon–carbon double bonds is a well-known procedure in organic synthesis, however the reverse reaction, deprotection/deoxygenation of epoxides is much less developed, despite its potential utility for the synthesis of substituted olefins. Here, we disclose a clean protocol for the selective deprotection of epoxides, by combining commercially available organophosphorus ligands and gold nanoparticles (Au NP). Besides being successfully applied in the deoxygenation of epoxides, the discovered catalytic system also enables the selective reduction N-oxides and sulfoxides using molecular hydrogen as reductant. The Au NP catalyst combined with triethylphosphite P(OEt)3 is remarkably more reactive than solely Au NPs. The method is not only a complementary Au-catalyzed reductive reaction under mild conditions, but also an effective procedure for selective reductions of a wide range of valuable molecules that would be either synthetically inconvenient or even difficult to access by alternative synthetic protocols or by using classical transition metal catalysts.


Previous research has found that atheists experience anti-atheist prejudice, which appears to be marked by a lack of trust. However, it is not known whether this prejudice manifests itself in terms of mental images of atheists, especially since atheists lack visual characteristics, they form a non-cohesive group, and their practices are not easily defined. Using a reverse correlation task (RC task), participants viewed pairs of faces that differed in noise superimposed on a base face. Participants chose which face looked more like an atheist. Each participant's chosen and nonchosen faces were averaged to create a composite "atheist" and "non-atheist" image, respectively. Independent raters rated the images on trustworthiness. In two separate studies, participants' mental images of atheists were rated as less trustworthy-looking than their mental images of non-atheists. When the task was reversed and participants were asked to choose the face that looked more like someone who believes in God and/or other deities, we found similar results; participants' mental images of non-religious individuals were rated as less trustworthylooking than their mental images of religious individuals. Together, these results suggest that atheists may be visualized as untrustworthy. Furthermore, mental images of a group may be formed even when the group lacks salient visual characteristics. ATHEISTS ARE VISUALIZED AS UNTRUSTWORTHY 5 Atheists Are Visualized as Untrustworthy In June, 2015, as the presidential race was underway, a Gallup poll asked respondents whether they would vote for a president if he/she were of various identities. Far fewer said they would vote for an atheist (58%) than a Jewish, Hispanic, Black, female, or Catholic president (≥91% for each) (McCarthy, 2015). Other studies have supported these results by finding that atheists experience anti-atheist prejudice (Cook, Webster, & Cottrell, 2014; Gervais, 2014; Hammer, Cragun, Hwang, & Smith, 2012; Swan & Heesacker, 2012). In three studies, we sought to add to this literature by examining participants' mental images of atheists, defined here as those who do not believe in God and/or other deities. Given that atheists form a relatively inconspicuous group that may lack group cohesiveness (Hayward, Krause, Ironson, Hill, & Emmons, 2016), and given that researchers have had difficulties condensing atheists' practices and values into one definition (Brewster, Robinson, Sandil, Esposito, & Geiger, 2014), it is uncertain whether people have similar mental images of atheists, or whether these mental images are idiosyncratic. If they do have a systematic stereotypical image of atheists, this would suggest that mental images can be formed for a group even if the group's characteristics are not salient. Each of our studies used the reverse correlation task (RC task) to assess mental images of atheists. In the RC task, participants are presented with two faces over many trials. They are asked to choose which face fits a certain criterion, such as which face appears more like an atheist. The faces chosen by each participant are averaged together to create an overall classification image (CI) of the group, and the non-chosen images are averaged to create a CI for the non-chosen group. Independent raters then rate each participant's images on a certain criterion, such as trustworthiness (Dotsch, Wigboldus, Langner, & van Knippenberg, 2008; ATHEISTS ARE VISUALIZED AS UNTRUSTWORTHY 6 Dotsch, Wigboldus, & van Knippenberg, 2012; Dunham, Srinivasan, Dotsch, & Barner, 2013; Imhoff, Dotsch, Bianchi, Banse, & Wigboldus, 2011). This procedure has been used to assess prejudice toward various groups, such as Moroccans by Dutch participants (Dotsch et al., 2008) and Europeans and Australians by Portuguese and German participants (Imhoff et al., 2011). It has also been used to examine mental images of individuals. In Young, Ratner, and Fazio (2013), mental images of Mitt Romney differed by participants' political beliefs, with the mental images appearing more positive looking for supporters than non-supporters. However, unlike mental images of atheists, mental images of Moroccans, Europeans, Australians, and Mitt Romney may be marked by certain appearance-based stereotypes, such as the assumption that Mitt Romney tends to have more negative or positive emotional expressions. Other studies have gone on to use the RC task to assess mental images of groups not marked by appearance-based differences. For example, Dotsch et al. (2012) found that the same task resulted in different mental images of a group based on written, not visual, descriptions of the group. That is, participants given trustworthy or criminal descriptions of certain faces exhibited mental images of the faces that were in line with the descriptions. Similarly, in Dunham et al. (2013), Indian Muslim and Indian Hindu children exhibited ingroup preferences for their respective groups when completing the same RC task. That is, for the Muslim children, their mental images of Muslims were rated more positively than their mental images of Hindus. The reverse occurred for the Hindu children; their mental images of Hindus were rated more positively than their mental images of Muslims. Given that Indian Muslims and Hindus are not marked by visual differences (Dunham et al., 2013), this suggests that people may exhibit certain ATHEISTS ARE VISUALIZED AS UNTRUSTWORTHY 7 mental images of a religious group even when that group's characteristics are not visually defined. We wondered whether these findings would carry over to mental images of atheists. In addition to participants' mental images of atheists, we were interested in whether atheists would demonstrate ingroup preferences such that their mental images of atheists would appear more trustworthy-looking on the RC task than their mental images of non-atheists. Based on the literature about ingroup and outgroup religious preferences, atheists may not show an ingroup preference. Similar to the findings in Dunham et al. (2013) about Hindu and Muslim children, Christian children and adults within the United States appear to exhibit implicit ingroup preferences (Heiphetz, Spelke, & Banaji, 2013; Rowatt, Franklin, & Cotton, 2005). However, Brenick and Killen (2014) found that although Jewish adolescents within the United States demonstrated an overall ingroup preference, this differed by several identity-based factors, and ingroup bias was defined based on explicit exclusion of Arab peers from various contexts. These mixed findings about ingroup preferences suggest that atheists may or may not experience ingroup preferences. In three studies, we sought to examine mental images of atheists and ingroup preferences among atheists. Using an RC task and a questionnaire in our first study, we hypothesized that participants with more positive explicit attitudes about atheists, a lack of religious beliefs, and less frequent engagement in religious or spiritual practices would exhibit more trustworthylooking mental images of atheists compared to non-atheists. In our second study, we expected to find the same results when reversing the RC task and assessing participants' mental images of religious and non-religious individuals, as opposed to atheists and non-atheists. That is, we predicted that participants with more positive explicit attitudes about atheists, a lack of religious beliefs, and less frequent engagement in religious and spiritual practices would exhibit more ATHEISTS ARE VISUALIZED AS UNTRUSTWORTHY 8 trustworthy-looking mental images of non-religious individuals compared to religious individuals. In our third study, which replicated the design of the first but added an Implicit Association Test (IAT), we hypothesized that we would find the same results as in the first study, and that implicit in addition to explicit attitudes would be associated with participants' mental images of atheists versus non-atheists. For all three studies, we predicted that atheists would demonstrate an ingroup preference such that their mental images of atheists (non-religious individuals) would be rated as more trustworthy-looking than their mental images of non-atheists (religious individuals). Study 1 Anti-atheist prejudice appears to be expressed by distrust. Gervais, Shariff, & Norenzayan (2011) theorized that it is difficult to determine the morality of atheists because their behaviors are not defined by set religious practices or values. Therefore, hypothetically, it would be more difficult to trust an atheist because one would not necessarily know whether or by what values the atheist chooses to live. Similarly, if people are religious, they may behave in a more moral or trustworthy manner due to fear of retribution from a god or gods, whereas an atheist would not have this fear. Additional evidence supports such findings about distrust of atheists and their presumed lack of morality. Tan and Vogel (2008) found that German subjects playing an economic game tended to entrust their money with more religious strangers, especially if the participants themselves were religious. In Mudd, Najle, Ng, and Gervais (2015), even after reading scientific results depicting morality as innate and not learned, participants still viewed Christians as more moral than atheists. ATHEISTS ARE VISUALIZED AS UNTRUSTWORTHY 9 Due to these findings about distrust-related prejudice toward atheists, we chose to examine the trustworthiness of participants' mental images of atheists versus non-atheists by employing an RC task. Participants first completed this RC task, and then they were given a questionnaire assessing their explicit attitudes about atheists, their religious beliefs, and their engagement in religious or spiritual practices. In the second stage of the study, an independent group of participants rated the apparent trustworthiness of participants' mental images of atheists and non-atheists. With these ratings, we were


Hyperlipidemia is a disorder of lipid metabolism which is major risk of coronary heart disease. Now day's synthetic drugs have been associated with number of side effects but herbal medicines have lipid lowering and antioxidant activities without any side effects. Some traditionally herbs like: - Terminalia Arjuna (Arjun), Commiphora mukul (Gugglul), Picrorrhiza Kurroa(Kutki), Allium Sativum (Lasuna), etc. are used as Antihyperlipidemic drug as per ayurvedic literature. The review article is undertaken to investigate the herbal Plants for Antihyperlipidemic activity and models use in this investigation. This review is given on the anti- hyperlipidemic activity of the most familiar medicinal plants of medicine.This matter may be helpful for the researchers, academician and preclinician about the potential herbs having anti-hyperlipidemic activity. Keywords: Hypolipidemic agents, Hypolipidemic medicinal herbs, Animal models, Phytoconstituents.


We present a signal processing algorithm and simulation study for aerial navigation with an ultrawideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (UWB-OFDM) radar in Global Positioning System (GPS)-denied environments. Stationary scatterers are detected and tracked using an M/N detector and modified global nearest neighbor (GNN) tracker. The radar measurements to the scatterers are combined with inertial navigation system (INS) measurements in an extended Kalman filter (EKF) to compute the aircraft position. The estimation error of the proposed algorithm is analyzed through computer-based simulations with/without radar measurements from the scatterers and with varying signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).


We have epitaxially grown c-axis oriented SrxLa1-xCuO2 thin films by rf sputtering on KTaO3 substrates with χ = 0.12. The as-grown deposits are insulating and a series of superconducting films with various Tc(ρ=0) up to 26 K have been obtained by in-situ oxygen reduction. Transport measurements in the ab plane of these samples have been undertaken. We report original results on the temperature dependence of the Hall effect and on the anisotropic magnetoresistance (T ≥ Tc). We discuss the magnitude of upper critical fields and anisotropy, the Hall effect, which presents changes of sign indicative of the existence of two types of carriers, the normal state magnetoresistance, negative in parallel magnetic field, a possible signature of spin scattering. These properties are compared to those of hole-doped cuprates, such as BiSr(La)CuO with comparable Tc.


The artistic culture of Artists is reflected on the artistic works in the form of artistic emotion. Originality is the key in making a specific artistic works different from others. Innovative designs will be respected and admired by future generations. We are now confronted with the reality of the lack of originality and the inadequacy of creativity. In the process of basic technique learning, we should learn to think and focus on both learning and thinking, and learn to draw inferences about other cases from one instance so as to achieve high level in learning.


Trends in the production and applications of torrefied wood/biomass are reviewed in this article. The thermochemical conversion of biomass is a promising technology because biomass is an environmentally friendly fuel that produces substantially lower CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuel. Torrefaction is the thermal treatment of biomass at temperatures from 200 to 300 oC in the absence of air or oxygen to liberate water and release volatile organic compounds, primarily through the decomposition of the hemicelluloses. Torrefied biomass has a higher heating value, is more hydrophobic, resists rotting, and has a prolonged storage time. The different torrefaction technologies and reactors are described. An overview of the applications of torrefied biomass, the economic status, and future prospects of torrefaction technology are presented and discussed. Currently, torrefaction demonstration plants have technical problems that have delayed their commercial operation. Torrefaction reactors still require optimization to economically meet end-use requirements and attain product standardization for the market. Several characteristics of torrefaction need to be demonstrated or scaled up for successful commercialization.


We develop a simple but modern stated-preference (SP) choice experiment to analyse the impact of traffic images on the estimated value of travel time savings (VTTS). A random subsample of survey respondents view computer-generated images that depict traffic conditions for congested and free-flow portions of hypothetical travel alternatives. The remaining respondents receive otherwise-identical surveys that only verbally describe the attributes of those alternatives. From surveys with images, the estimated VTTS is $7.40 per hour for congested travel time and $5.70 for free-flow travel time, implying a 'congestion premium' of 30%. From surveys without images, however, congested and free-flow VTTS estimates are identical at $5.90 per hour. Our results indicate that traffic images, however rudimentary, can substantially influence travel-time valuation, thus compelling further research on incorporating them into SP experimental design.


Despite the fact that molecular doping of semiconducting polymers has emerged as a valuable strategy for improving the performance of organic electronic devices, the fundamental dopant-polymer interactions are not fully understood. Here we use 2-D grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) to demonstrate that adding oxidizing small-molecule dopants, such as 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ) and FeCl3, into the amorphous conjugated polymer, regiorandom poly-(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (RRa-P3HT), improves polymer ordering and induces a change in domain orientation from isotropic to mostly edge-on. Doping thus causing RRa-P3HT to behavior similarly to the more ordered regioregular P3HT. By comparing the optical, electrical and structural properties of RRa-P3HT films doped with F4TNCQ and FeCl3 and those infiltrated with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), which occupies a similar volume as F4TCNQ but does not dope RRa-P3HT, we show that the increased ordering results not from the ability of the dopant to fill space but instead from the need to delocalize charge on the polymer in more than one dimension.


The structure of today's Japanese personal names is straightforward: they consist of a surname and a given name. By contrast, to read a surname or to choose the appropriate kanji to record a surname is extremely complicated; what is more, the number of surnames in Japan is quite high (they cannot be precisely counted because of their complexity). Even the history of naming has been extraordinarily complicated: in the contemporary Japanese language there are many words meaning 'surname', each having a different origin and function in the past. The paper first presents these features of Japanese surnames; then lists the most frequent types of Japanese surnames, categorized according to their origins; and finally describes a tendency affecting contemporary surnames.


A novel combined soft switching technique and a novel topological family of the static inverter with high frequency pulse dc link are proposed in this paper. The topological structure is constituted of isolated high frequency pulse dc link circuit and inverter. In order to overcome the duty cycle D of the one transistor forward mode Static Inverter less than 0.5 and the topology of the interleaved forward mode Static Inverter more complicated, the duty cycle extension of high frequency pulse dc voltage is proposed in this paper. The steady operation principle of the active clamp forward mode high frequency pulse dc link static inverter with duty cycle extension and the control strategy of three-state discrete pulse modulation hysteresis current are deeply investigated. The design criteria for the key circuit parameters are gained. By using combined soft switching technique and the duty cycle extension of high frequency pulse dc voltage, a designed and developed 750 VA 27 V dc/115 V 400 Hz ac prototype has the advantages such as high efficiency, high power density, high reliability, high steady precision, fast dynamical response, low THD of output voltage, strong ability of over-load and short-circuit.


The scalar convection-dominated flows are found in different science and designing applications which incorporates those concerning the computational fluid dynamics problems of mesh structure in the numerical estimations. These flows are thus essential in nature. Despite the fact that these types of flow have been widely discussed among fluid dynamists, the contribution of mesh and flow parameters in predicting spurious-oscillation free solutions remains unclear. In this research, the significance of the connections between the mesh structure and the scalar convection-dominated flow parameters is accentuated. A systematic technique is applied in the setting of the parameters of interest. In particular, we present the a priori formulation of condition to avoid spurious oscillatory solutions, which depends on both Peclet number as well as the number of grid. The condition is useful in a more efficient decision-making in the selection of the computational domain grid, and in eradicating some heuristic parts of the scalar concentration estimate. The results of the test case affirm the consistency of the condition. It is found that, given the right constant value in the amplification factor term within the spatial error growth model, the condition is able to capture the presence of kinks which mark the beginning of the oscillations.


The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of organizational culture on the effectiveness of schools in Elementary School 1 Karangsari waled, Cirebon. This research uses descriptive quantitative method with data collection method using Questionnaire. The result of this research is from correlation coefficient test known that the relation between organizational culture variable and school effectiveness 0,521 means that the relationship between the two variables is strong, if organizational culture increases then school effectiveness increases. While the results of coefficient of determination of the influence between organizational culture with school effectiveness of 34% and the remaining 66% influenced by other factors. And test result of regression equation Y = 13,116 + 5,320X which means constant rate from Unstandardized Coefficients which in this research is -13,116 this figure is constant number which have meaning if there is no additional 1 organizational culture then effectiveness of indirect school will decrease equal to 13,116. Regression coefficient rate of +5,320 which means each addition of 1 school effectiveness then the organizational culture will increase.


Background: Reaction time refers to elapsed time between a given stimulus to an individual and its subsequent rapid voluntary response by the same individual. Mostly, it depends on processing of the stimulus, decision-making, and response programming. Aim and Objective: This study aims to see the effect of vision on auditory reaction time. Materials and Methods: For this study, two groups of subjects were taken. The first group contained 150 blind subjects and the second group contained 181 normal sighted subjects. Estimation of simple and choice auditory reaction time was done with the help of multiple-choice reaction time apparatus received from Inco Ambala Ltd. in sitting position. It has an accuracy of ±0.001 s. Three times auditory stimulus was given to each subject to record the reaction time. The minimum recorded time interval to the voluntary response was taken as final reading in each subject. Results: In this study, the blind subjects showed a mean simple and choice reaction time of 148.84 ± 14.43 and 304 ± 29.54, respectively, while the blindfolded normal subjects showed a mean simple and choice reaction time of 153.80 ± 15.84 and 314.19 ± 31.81, respectively. These were found to be statistically significant. Conclusions: Blind individuals commonly utilize tactual and auditory cues for information and orientation and they reliance on touch and audition, together with more practice in using these modalities to guide behavior, are often reflected in better performance of blind relative to sighted participants in tactile or auditory discrimination tasks.


If the educational methods of Paulo Freire are imposed on Thais and other Asians, the outcome may not be the reinforcing of, but instead the losing of, their cultural identities. Freire reveals what are vital cultural assumptions for his pedagogy when defining "freedom, silence, confrontation, communication, and self" in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed." Thais, however, define these terms in radically different ways from Freire, and these radical differences raise serious concerns for some students who are required to participate in emancipatory education. Thailand has never experienced colonialism, and 90% of its people are farmers, not industrial or service workers. Buddhist monks have established traditional, as well as non-formal education--since the 13th century their temples and monasteries have been centers for education. The dilemma is that Freire thinks that traditional education is oppressive, yet traditional Buddhist education in Thailand has earthly and spiritual freedom as a goal. A Thai in America processes the culture and language through the filters of Thai language, culture, and Buddhism. A Thai will mistake signs of individualism for signs of status. Thais are likely to find themselves sitting in an American classroom, with problems of acculturation. A case study of a young Thai female immigrant shows just how difficult that acculturation can be. The questions that must be addressed are whether culture is possible without oppression and whether oppression is the only outcome of a non-Freirean education. (Contains 10 notes and 27 references.) (NKA)


Guideline for In-Service Training of Forensic Scientists is a most welcome and valuable asset to the forensic scientist and the forensic science community. This manual is a guideline for detailed training programs in the areas of drug identification, firearms and toolmark examination, document examination, forensic serology, trace evidence examination, and forensic toxicology. Using a "teaching guide" format, the manual gives a thorough guideline for a training program for each of the mentioned areas. Included in each area guideline are program curriculum, minimal prerequisite evaluations, and numerous references and case studies. The manual will provide nonscientific administrators with basic ideas of a forensic science training program, and by its evaluations, curricula, and requirements, it will provide the forensic science community with a standard of professionalism and qualifications for an expert witness in the courtroom.


At the end of the eighteenth century, people who became notorious for their excessive engagement in legal proceedings started being labeled as "querulents" or "paranoid litigants". The term "querulents" first appeared in the General Order of the Court for the Prussian States (Allgemeine Gerichtsardnung für die Preussischen Staaten) from July 6, 1793. From there on, the spectrum of juridical measures undertaken against the so-labeled litigators included classifying these persons as ineligible for legal action and psychiatric hospitalization. The paper discusses to what extent Hermann Bahr rearranges psychiatric and legal knowledge about this special type of the complainer in his tragi- comedy Der Querulant, premiered in 1914. This concerns, first, the theatricality of the body and speech, secondly, the use of cultural techniques of writing and, thirdly, conflict- ing notions of justice. Therefore, the paper analyzes the aesthetic function of querulous behavior in the dramatic structure of the play from the point of view of both media theory and literary theory.


Examination was made of changes in the anionic sites of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes by the immersion method of polyethyleneimine (PEI). PEI particles in GBM of diabetic rats significantly decreased from the 1st through the 8th week. Urinary albumin excretion in diabetic rats significantly increased at the 2nd but not earlier week. Insulin treatment effectively prevented decrease in PEI particles in STZ-injected rats. In rats with STZ-induced diabetes, initial renal alteration was disturbance of the charge barrier, followed by the development of albuminuria. Continued deterioration of anionic sites and possibly additional disturbance of size barrier were considered responsible for the development of albuminuria. Insulin treatment appears to prevent the loss of anionic sites of GBM.


Formation of the phase structure during three-dimensional polycondensation in heterophase epoxide–rubber systems is discussed. Aspects of the phase equilibrium and the interdiffusion of the components in the initial systems and during the chemical reaction are examined. A two-stage mechanism of structure formation is suggested. A relation is demonstrated between the thermodynamic affinity of the components and the final phase structure. Possible methods for obtaining systems having specified parameters are considered. A list of 102 references is included.


Sixteen patients with gall stones were treated with chenic acid (14-16 mg/kg/day) given at three different times in random order for one month each. Before treatment the mean (+/- SE of mean) cholesterol saturation index (SI) of fasting gall-bladder bile was 1.28 +/- 0.06. During bedtime administration of chenic acid the mean SI fell to 0.78 +/- 0.04, which was significantly lower than that obtained with administration in the morning (0.92 +/- 0.05) or with three divided doses at mealtimes (0.92 +/- 0.04). The bile remained supersaturated in seven patients when they received a single morning dose, in five patients when they received mealtime doses, but in only one patient when a single bedtime dose was given. There was no significant difference in side effects between the three different dose timings, or in the proportion of bile acids present in the bile as chenic acid. This enhanced effect obtained with bedtime administration may be due to the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids being maintained during overnight fasting.


The world is in crisis. The academic system, its core, too. It has to reorganise, to reform itself. Several steps were taken by developed countries but also the emerging ones or the new comers. In Romania, a new Education Low has settled a deep reform for universities. Observing the academic autonomy, each university has to find its new way according to the principles of the Education Low. Our case study refers on a middle seize university of regional vocation. The paper investigate the main factors to be considered on general context, national context and the university's one in the process of reforming and restructuring the university.