Like much of constitutional law, the Supreme Court's void-for-vagueness doctrine employs a system of tiered scrutiny. This decades-old framework imposes differential demands of clarity, depending on the type of enactment under review. But the distinctive workings of variable vagueness remain largely obscure to courts and scholars alike. This Article seeks to illuminate this integral facet of constitutional litigation. My comprehensive study of tiered vagueness reveals an enterprise awash with fluidity. By articulating such a raw and complex decisional structure—and failing to police its development in the ensuing years—the Court has unsettled a doctrine whose entire purpose is to maximize legal clarity. This Article lays bare the resulting methodological rot and charts a path toward doctrinal reconstruction.

The present variability framework has revealed itself to be little more than a taxonomic misadventure, relying as it does on crude and equivocal proxy tests. Nor has the Court provided any guidance on how the canonical variability factors interact. In addition, the framework's non-exhaustive quality has enabled courts to spin off novel low-scrutiny contexts—ones that other decisions have deemed flatly insusceptible to vagueness challenges. And the current system invites courts to issue unsolicited constitutional pronouncements for the sole purpose of choosing a level of scrutiny. I propose a drastically simplified model that focuses directly on the severity of applicable penalties. Having selected a presumptive level of scrutiny on this basis, courts should then tailor the "ordinary intelligence" inquiry to account for any pertinent attributes shared by the regulated class—for example, children's diminished legal acumen.


In this study, we have investigated the ability of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) to inhibit HIV long terminal repeat (LTR)-driven gene expression. Using COS 7 cells cotransfected with tat and an HIV LTR linked to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter, we observed that physiological levels of IGF-I (10(-9) M) significantly inhibited CAT expression in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. IGF-I did not inhibit CAT expression in COS 7 cells transfected with pSVCAT, and did not affect CAT expression in the absence of cotransfection with tat. Transfection of HIV-1 proviral DNA into COS 7 cells +/- IGF-I resulted in a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in infectious virion production. Both IGF-I and Ro24-7429 inhibited LTR-driven CAT expression, while TNF-alpha-enhanced CAT expression was not affected by IGF-I. On the other hand, a plasmid encoding parathyroid hormone-related peptide exhibited dramatic additivity of inhibition of CAT expression in COS 7 cells. Finally, we show that in Jurkat or U937 cells cotransfected with HIVLTRCAT/tat, IGF-I significantly inhibited CAT expression. Further, interleukin 4 showed in U937 cells inhibition of CAT expression that was not additive to IGF-I induced inhibition. Our data demonstrate that IGF-I can specifically inhibit HIVLTRCAT expression. This inhibition may occur at the level of the tat/TAR interaction. Finally, this IGF-I effect is seen in target cell lines and similar paths of inhibition may be involved in the various cell types employed.


In order to efficiently explore the nearly infinite composition space in multicomponent solid solution alloys, it is important to establish predictive design strategies and use computation-aided methods. In the present work, we demonstrated the density functional theory calculations informed design routes for realizing transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) in Cr-Co-Ni medium entropy alloys (MEAs). We systematically studied the effects of magnetism and chemical composition on the generalized stacking fault energy surface (gamma-surface) and showed that both chemistry and the coupled magnetic state strongly affect the gamma-surface, consequently, the primary deformation modes. Based on the calculated effective energy barriers for the competing deformation modes, we constructed composition and magnetism dependent deformation maps at both room and cryogenic temperatures. Accordingly, we proposed various design routes for achieving desired primary deformation modes in the ternary Cr-Co-Ni alloys. The deformation mechanisms predicted by our theoretical models are in nice agreement with available experimental observations in literature. Furthermore, we fabricated two non-equiatomic Cr-Co-Ni MEAs possessing the designed TWIP and TRIP effects, showing excellent combinations of tensile strength and ductility.


For uplink multi-carrier code-division multiple access (MC-CDMA) systems, we propose a multiuser detector that is robust to a small residual frequency offset existing after frequency offset estimation and compensation. In this paper, when the residual frequency offset is normalized by subcarrier spacing, it is called a normalized residual frequency offset (NRFO). In the proposed scheme, we first derive a lower bound of the signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of the desired user when the NRFO of the desired user is bounded by a small value and the value is known to the receiver. We then design a detection filter to maximize the SINR lower bound. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme has better SINR and bit error rate (BER) performances in a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region than a conventional minimum mean square error (MMSE) receiver that ignores the NRFO.


After transcription termination, cellular RNA polymerases (RNAPs) are occasionally trapped on DNA, impounded in an undefined Post-Termination Complex (PTC), limiting free RNAP pool and making transcription inefficient. In Escherichia coli, a Swi2/Snf2 ATPase RapA is involved in countering such inefficiency through RNAP recycling. To understand its mechanism of RNAP recycling, we have determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of two sets of E. coli RapA-RNAP complexes along with RNAP core enzyme and elongation complex (EC). The structures revealed the large conformational changes of RNAP and RapA upon their association implicated in the hindrance in PTC formation. Our study reveals that although RapA binds away from the DNA binding channel of RNAP, it can close the RNAP clamp allosterically thereby preventing its non-specific DNA binding. Together with DNA binding assays, we propose that RapA acts as a guardian of RNAP by which prevents non-specific DNA binding of RNAP without affecting the sigma factor binding to RNAP core enzyme, thereby enhancing RNAP recycling.


This paper presents the implications of Gas lift over the heavy oil fields, since Gas Lift is considered one of the oldest artificial lift techniques in Oil industry. Despite the numerous publications about different aspects of gas lift, few of them is meant to deeply consider the applicability of gas lift to heavy oil production. Gas Lift has been applied to heavy oil in different places around the world. For Gas lift has been used in Gulf of Suez in Egypt historically to produce Heavy Oil Reservoir with 17 – 19.5 API.
 The major challenge for application of Gas lift in heavy oil application is the typical low GOR encountered in Heavy oil fluid properties. The low GOR may not be suitable for gas supply to compressors, which requires gas availability to avoid tripping due to low suction or overheating during startup operations. However, in many cases nearby gas wells has been used as gas supply to compression equipment used for gas lift.


The purpose of this thesis is to try to understand, with the help of existing theories and empirical findings, the parameters which are of importance in the development of the pricing capability. We have used a qualitative and abductive methodology approach. The empirical findings have been collected via semi-structured interviews which we have conducted via personal and telephone interviews. Seeing pricing as a capability within the company our theoretical framework mainly consists of the resource-based view and an article explaining and given proof how pricing can be seen as a capability. We also describe the most used pricing strategy today within business-to-business companies, the cost plus strategy. We argue that the companies must build routines and structures in three main fields to ensure the customer that they offer products with customer value. The three fields are to guarantee quality, have sales people with good selling competence and build good customer relations. (Less)


We have constructed a compact and robust optical frequency standard based around iodine vapor loaded into the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF). A 532 nm laser was frequency locked to one hyperfine component of the R(56) 32-0 (127)I(2) transition using modulation transfer spectroscopy. The stabilized laser demonstrated a frequency stability of 2.3×10(-12) at 1 s, almost an order of magnitude better than previously reported for a laser stabilized to a gas-filled HC-PCF. This limit is set by the shot noise in the detection system. We present a discussion of the current limitations to the performance and a route to improve the performance by more than an order of magnitude.


STUDY OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of vertebral fractures in patients with mild asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism and to ascertain whether this prevalence is increased in comparison with the rate in a retrospective control group previously studied at the same institution or with current estimates of the risk for vertebral fractures in subjects of similar age.

DESIGN
Prospectively collected data were retrospectively analyzed and compared with data from a historical control group at the same institution and with published data.

SETTING
The outpatient department of a bone and mineral metabolism clinic.

PATIENTS
A consecutive series of patients with mild asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism diagnosed between 1 January 1976 and 31 December 1985. Criteria for inclusion in the study were the absence of symptoms due to hyperparathyroidism, no current kidney stone disease, no radiographic evidence of osteitis fibrosa, a serum calcium level of less than 3.00 mmol/L, a serum creatinine level of less than 133 mumol/L, and a forearm bone density value not more than 2.5 standard deviations below the age-, sex-, and race-adjusted normal value.

INTERVENTIONS
A conservative nonintervention study.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The prevalence of vertebral fractures in 174 patients (mean age, 62 years) with mild asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism was 1.7%; in a subset of white women, the prevalence was 2.8%. These rates were not higher than those expected, by comparison with the rate in a retrospective control group or with the risk for vertebral fractures in subjects of similar age, and may even be lower.

CONCLUSIONS
The risk for vertebral fractures is not increased in patients with mild asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism and is not a reason to recommend surgical intervention in asymptomatic patients. The increased rates of vertebral fractures that occurred in other series are probably due to the use of inappropriate controls and the influence of referral or selection bias, the inclusion of patients with severer disease, and the effect of geographic differences in vitamin D nutrition on the expression of disease. Possible differences between lateral spine and lateral chest radiographs for determining vertebral body shape need further study.


The intercropping between soybean and Urochloa spp. is an alternative for the use of the area, straw formation, and pasture. In coexistence, the use of herbicide underdoses for forage suppression is required to reduce its interference with soybean plants. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of densities of Urochloa spp. in coexistence with soybean plants and treated or not with glyphosate underdoses. Two experiments with U. brizantha and U. ruziziensis under coexistence with RR (Roundup Ready ® ) soybean plants were assessed in a randomized block design with four replications. The absence and application of glyphosate underdoses (120 g a.e. ha -1 ) and five densities of each forage (0, 1, 2, 4, and 6 plants per pot) in coexistence with soybean plants were tested in a   2 × 5 factorial scheme. The action of glyphosate on forages promoted a reduction in their competitive capacity with soybean plants. Glyphosate decreased the size, tillering, and dry matter accumulation of forages. When glyphosate was not applied, forages interfered negatively in soybean development, especially when in coexistence with U. ruziziensis . The increased forage density raises the degree of interference on soybean plants when forages are not treated with glyphosate.


The major challenge facing universities in the next decade is to reinvent themselves as information organizations. Universities are, at their core, organizations that cultivate knowledge, seeking both to create new knowledge and to preserve and convey existing knowledge, but they are remarkably inefficient and therefore ineffective in the way that they leverage their own information resources to advance that core activity. This talk will explore ways that the university could learn from what is now widely called "Web 2.0" -- a term that is meant to identify a shift in emphasis from the computer as platform to the network as platform, from hardware to data, from the wisdom of the expert to the wisdom of crowds, and from fixity to remixability.


Amniotic membrane has an inhibitory effect against transformation of keratocytes to myofibroblasts

Severe ocular surface diseases such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome and ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, as well as a wide range of debilitating chemical injuries, have at their core a deficiency of corneal epithelial cells at the limbus. This is because the corneal epithelial stem cells reside in this region of the eye, indicated by the presence of palisades of Vogt,1 and when the limbal epithelium is destroyed the corneal surface becomes enveloped by conjunctival tissue with superficial scarring and vascularisation often accompanying a persistent epithelial defect. To surgically reconstruct these eyes a keratolimbal graft—either from the other, healthy eye of the same patient (autograft) or from donor material (allograft)—can be carried out,2 and this approach has been beneficial in a number of situations. Autografts, however, are not an option for bilateral injuries, and even when they are feasible have drawbacks because they require a fairly large limbal graft be taken from the healthy eye which is not without risk. Allografts are not ideal as they invariably carry the risk of rejection.

Recently, a new approach that involves the transplantation of cultivated corneal limbal cells to treat stem cell deficient eyes has provided promising results.3–7 Initial work established the premise that cells from healthy limbal tissue could be cultivated in the laboratory and grafted onto …


Evidence of the central value of physical exercise in human health is rampant, yet the fundamental underlying explanation of this universal benefit evades comprehension. The first principles of this underlying effect are found within the laws of thermodynamics and are explicitly outlined within the metabolic field (Schrodinger) as presented herein. To understand the basic mechanism responsible for the universal positive benefits of exercise mandates that the first principle of energy flow be enunciated. "On the dry bones of atoms and the distribution of energy in the universe are assembled the flesh and blood of life" (Prigogine, 1984). The engine of metabolism requires the ready provision of the primal energy first evidenced at the Big Bang as described in The Big Picture.


The notion of a coalgebra-Galois extension is defined as a natural generalisation of a Hopf-Galois extension. It is shown that any coalgebraGalois extension induces a unique entwining map ψ compatible with the right coaction. For the dual notion of an algebra-Galois coextension it is also proven that there always exists a unique entwining structure compatible with the right action.


Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival presents high quality illustrations and relevant information concerning the aftermath of natural disasters, with specific attention to Hurricane Katrina. The book relates to students' real lives because natural disasters affect many people, and, if ever faced with a natural disaster, students may find comfort in remembering this story of friendship, hope, and renewal. Young students also may begin to realize ways in which people help others during challenging times. This serves as an introduction to the importance of volunteerism in our culture. In this lesson, students are engaged in: concept webbing, discussion, map reading, cooperative group work, free-form mapping, and critically thinking about things that natural disaster survivors need and how volunteers help. Student friendly digital resources that explain hurricanes and how people adapt following natural disasters are used in the lesson.


We look at the corporate performance of family firms listed on the French stock exchange between 1994 and 2000. On the French stock market, approximately one third of the firms are widely held, another third are founder controlled and the remaining third are heir-controlled family firms. We find that, in cross section, family firms largely outperform widely held corporations. This result holds for founder-controlled firms, but more surprisingly also for heir-managed firms. To explain this, we provide evidence consistent with the fact that, because of their different time horizons, heir-managed corporations have a comparative advantage when enforcing implicit insurance contracts with their labor force. More specifically, we find that: (1) employment in heir-managed firms is less sensitive to industry shocks; and (2) heirs pay lower wages. Finally, we discuss issues related to the endogeneity of performance/family regressions looking both at delisting and transitions from family to non-family status. We conclude that these issues may lead us to overestimate the performance of heirs compared to professionally-managed firms, but to underestimate the performance of heirs when compared to widely held firms.


Medicago truncatula is an omni-Mediterranean species grown as an annual forage legume. In addition to its small genome size and simple genetics, M. truncatula harbors several attributes which make it an attractive model legume. In this study, we investigated morphological and photosynthetic responses to water deficit in parental genotypes of M. truncatula recombinant inbred lines. Ten parental lines were cultivated under three water regimes (100% of field capacity (FC), 50% FC and 30% FC) and were harvested at flowering time and at the end of their lifecycle. Results from ANOVA showed that variability of measured parameters was explained by the effects of line, treatment and their interaction with treatment factor recorded the highest values. Out of the 27 traits, 14 were influenced by the line x treatment interaction. High to moderate broad-sense heritability (H²) were observed for most of the traits under control treatment and drought stress. Most of the correlations between measured traits were positive under the three water regimes. The flowering time was positively correlated with aerial and root growth rate. The tolerance of lines to water deficit seems to depend, in particular, on their ability to maintain higher photosynthetic activity. In 30% FC, principal component analysis clustered lines into two groups. The Jemalong A17 line was the least affected for most phenotypic parameters. Hence, all populations of recombinant inbred lines derived from crosses between Jemalong A17 and the remaining lines were useful for the identification of the genetic determinants for tolerance to water deficit in M. truncatula . Keywords: M. truncatula , parental lines, recombinant inbred lines, water deficit, morphological traits, photosynthetic parameters


ABSTRACT

The collection efficiency of many electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) must be improved in order to fulfill the particulate emission standard, which has become increasingly rigorous. According to classical collection theory, decreasing the gas velocity for an electric field is one of the most effective methods of enhancing the collection efficiency. Thus, we proposed a side-flow ESP, which, compared to its conventional counterpart, requires a far lower gas velocity for the electric field when the gas flow rate is constant. First, using aerodynamics, a theoretical expression of the collection efficiency and dust re-entrainment lift force was derived for a turbulent flow. The calculations indicated that a greater increase in efficiency was achieved by decreasing the gas velocity, which potentially reduces dust re-entrainment, than by lengthening the electric field. To confirm the advantages of the side-flow ESP, the collection efficiency and dust re-entrainment were measured in comparison experiments with a conventional ESP, in which talc powder with a medium diameter of 11.6 µm was used as the test dust. The dust concentration at the inlet averaged ~1400 mg m–3, and the strength of the electric field ranged approximately from 3 to 4 kV cm–1. The experimental results indicated that the emitted concentration and the dust re-entrainment were 45% and 42% lower, respectively, for the side-flow ESP than for the conventional ESP at the same gas flow rate.


The authors present a fast and efficient technique for solving the power system state estimation problem using linear programming (LP). The dual formulation of the original problem is described. This formulation improves the solution time significantly. Four LP state estimators are presented and test results on the IEEE 30, 57, and 118 bus standard systems are included. Both the full and decoupled dual problems were solved. Test results indicate that the dual estimators are superior to the primal estimators. >


The Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) is a widely used measure of athletic identity (Brewer & Cornelius, 2001). Although the factor structure of the AIMS has been tested repeatedly in an American population, its psychometric properties remain largely unexplored cross-culturally. Therefore, the purposes of the study were to further test the psychometric properties of the abbreviated 7-item AIMS in an American population, while also exploring its utility cross-culturally. Results revealed the AIMS to be a psychometrically sound measure of athletic identity for male contact and collision athletes in both American and English-speaking Hong Kong Chinese populations.


Cancer is the second most frequent cause of death in children. Because the prognosis for childhood malignancies has improved, attention has now focused on long‐term consequences of cancer treatment. The immediate effects of chemotherapy on soft tissues have been well described; however, there is less information about long‐term effects of chemotherapy on the development of dental tissues. To test the association between the effect of chemotherapy on enamel development, we examined two groups of rats: one that had received an intraperitoneal dose of 200 mg/kg of irinotecan, whereas the other (control) group had received vehicle only. Rats were killed at 6, 48 and 96 hr post‐injection; the mandibles dissected out, fixed for histological evaluation and scanned for mineralization defects by Micro‐CT. Our results showed structural changes in the ameloblast layer along with a significant reduction in mineralization and thickness of enamel at 96 hr after chemotherapy. These data demonstrate that irinotecan induces structural changes in forming enamel that become apparent after anticancer chemotherapy treatment.


The term "united airway disease" is increasingly being used to describe the inflammation that occurs in both the upper and lower airways in those with chronic respiratory diseases such as allergic asthma and rhinitis. The main presenting symptoms varies between individuals, in some it maybe asthma, in others rhinitis. Many patients with asthma have rhinitis, which is itself a risk factor for the development of asthma. Repeated experience of asthma-like symptoms is also an important risk factor for the development of asthma. Often the same allergens will trigger both allergic rhinitis and asthma.


Normal mouse peritoneal macrophages produce in vitro soluble factors inhibiting tritiated thymidine (3HTdR) incorporation by melanoma cells. The inhibitory effect of 106 macrophages/ml was equivalent to 10-3 mg/ml of thymidine. Large amounts of thymidine were detected by thin layer chromatography in normal macrophage culture supernatants. In contrast, transformed macrophage cell line supernates were found to be devoid of detectable thymidine. This phenomenon was shown to be due to the lack of thymidine kinase in normal macrophages and to its recovery in transformed macrophages. Processing of radiolabelled precursors of TdR into labelled TdR, such as 6-14C-orotic acid and 3H-TMP was demonstrated by ascending paper chromatography. Since thymidine is a potent cytostatic, its production by macrophages could be a mechanism of non specific modulation of tumour cell growth within the cellular microenvironment of the macrophage.


Recently, there has been considerable interest in the development of ultrasound based mid-air haptic feedback devices. These devices allow for tactile sensations to be induced at any position and time without constraints to human motion, which is useful for virtual user interfaces, augmented/virtual reality and feedback buttons. The haptic feedback mechanism is a combination of acoustic streaming and radiation force. Most work reported in literature induce said effects using matrices of 'standard' single element transducers, which are rigid, bulky and heavy. Our research focuses on the development of printed polymer transducers (PPTs): piezomembranes deposited using a printing process. As PPTs are fully flexible, < 0.25 mm thick and light, they can be easily integrated onto curved surfaces. However, the piezoelectric charge coefficients of P(VDF-TrFE) are low compared to regular PZT5A/H, making it challenging to achieve the required sound pressure. This work investigates the feasibility of using PPTs for haptic feedback using simulations and laser vibrometer- and acoustic measurements. The peak pressure produced by our chosen array design was calculated to amount to radiation forces approximately 10x larger than the tactile radiation force threshold reported in literature. Thus using PPTs for haptic feedback appears feasible.


A paper by Wearn et al. (Reports, 13 July 2012, p. 228) yields new insights on extinction debt. However, it leaves out the area dependence of the relaxation process. We show that this is not warranted on theoretical or observational grounds and that it may lead to erroneous conservation recommendations.


Irrigation water and recycled water used for farm gardens can be a potential source of contamination of microbial pathogens that cause harmful illness. This study investigated the use ofpressurized carbon dioxide to inhibit pathogens in water sources. An apparatus producing microbubbles was operated with pressure up to 0.7 MPa, room temperature and a common period for disinfection, 25 minutes. Target environmental water samples, including distilled water, artificial ground water and effluent wastewater, were subjected to microbial contamination with desired concentrations of Escherichia coli (ATCC 11303, ATCC 23631 and ATCC 13706) and bacteriophages. Under identical conditions, approxi-mately 4.0 – 5.0 log of E. coli were inactivated in water samples, whereas the reduction ratio of bacteriophages are nearly 3.0 – 4.0 log. The chemical nature of CO 2 molecule (acidification, diffusivity and solubility in water) was indicated to be the main factors causing the microorganism deaths. Besides that, high pressure, depressurization rate, characteristics of microbubbles and pumping cycle contributed to microorganism inhibition. These findings in this investigation may be considered to use carbon dioxide as a novel disinfectant to water treatment in agricultural irrigation. Moreover, carbon dioxide treatment produces no disinfection byproducts and excessive pressure after disinfection can be an advantage to enhance irrigating to plants.


Developing countries are routinely associated with wide disparities between social classes have often been observed in developing countries such as South Africa. Such social stratification is in many cases caused by governments who adopt ideologies from well-developed countries without reflecting upon the context in which such ideologies are to exist. The University of Technology, at which this case study was conducted, typifies the inequality in social classes from which students are drawn. This study aimed at focusing on student experience in conducting practical work in a laboratory environment. A purposive sampling strategy was chosen with the aim of investigating the effect of prior exposure of first-year Life Sciences students to the laboratory environment. Life Sciences in its nature require students to be acquainted with both content knowledge and practical work knowledge. In identifying preparedness of first year Life Science for university education, it has been observed that these students have manifested signs of socio-economic disparity in execution of practical conducted in laboratory environments. The researcher observed manifestations of these differences in laboratory practical activities: such as microscopic, taxonomy, measurement skills required as knowledge learnt prior to their enrolment in education. This study was underpinned by Bourdieu's, scientific capital and cultural capital as well as Maton's Legitimation Code Theory. Such theories address disciplinary knowledge that endows Life Sciences students with peculiar skills: lacking or debilitated by poor secondary school training. Results of this study revealed that there are indeed visible differences in the way that students executed selected Life Sciences practical activities introduced in the Life Sciences laboratory. Such discrepancies were relatable to differences in schooling. Some students were drawn from schools where practical activities were not conducted while other groups of students in the sample for this study were adequately prepared to conduct experiments independently. This study concluded that South African academics need to be more aware of the social dynamics.


The authors examine the connection between law enforcement activities, law enforcement science and the scientific system of criminal policy, their mutual presumption and interaction. The law enforcement activities serve to uphold law, order and public security against unlawful human behaviours. The criminalisation of certain types of behaviour is a quasi fundamental resultant of law enforcement activity, which may provide criminal policy with a guideline by realising activities dangerous to society, or antisocial during its operation. In addition to the above, however, the relationship is multi-directional as the state receives information on the current status of crimes in the course of the completion of law enforcement tasks, and the quality of the completion of law enforcement tasks fundamentally influences the course of crimes.


The efficient operation of industrial processes requires the timely and accurate diagnosis of faults in process equipment, particularly sensors, as acting on faulty measurement data can result in inefficient or dangerous operation. A common fault mode in industrial pressure sensors is mechanical damage resulting in the leakage of the internal oil (used to transmit external pressure to the sensing element) and the development of an air pocket within the device. In previous work, we have experimentally determined the faulty measurement characteristics of a commercial pressure sensor, where the sensor manufacturer has provided modified sensors with calibrated degrees of oil loss. The current paper develops a mathematical model of this tensoresistive pressure sensor, which describes and explains the impact that oil loss, and hence the presence of an air pocket, has on the static measurement response.


In the context of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), the present article focuses on the investigation, for the cement industry of the post-combustion CO 2 capture using amine solvents applied to the conventional combustion and to an innovative type of combustion called O2-enriched air combustion. After a previous screening, the solvents selected were tested at micro-pilot scale in an absorption-regeneration device in order to determine their absorption performances and respective regeneration energies. Simple and activated solvents were tested in such conditions, such as primary and secondary alkanolamines and compared to the conventional solvent Monoethanolamine 30 wt.% (benchmark), both in conventional and high CO 2 contents conditions. As the experimental data, Aspen Hysys™ simulations of the micro-pilot unit proved that the solvents regeneration energies decrease for an increased CO 2 concentration in the gas to treat, which is the main advantage of the post-combustion CO 2 capture applied to partial oxy-fuel combustion.


The outstanding species richness of Amazonia has fascinated biologists for centuries. However, the records of actual numbers and distribution of species forming its ecosystems are so incomplete that the understanding of the historical causes and regional determinants of this diversity remain speculative. Anuran clades have repeatedly been documented to harbour many unnamed species in this region, notably the Boana albopunctata species group. Considering the documented distribution and the ecology of the species of that group, we hypothesized that it diversified via successive trans-riverine dispersals during the late Miocene and Pliocene, after the formation of the modern Amazon watershed. To test this hypothesis, we gathered an extensive dataset of 16S rDNA sequences sampled throughout Amazonia and a mitogenomic dataset representative of the diversity of the clade to (1) re-evaluate species boundaries and distributions, and (2) infer the spatio-temporal history of diversification within Amazonia. We delimited 14 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) in an Amazonian clade, i.e., 75% higher than currently recognized (14 OTUs for eight described species). Combining molecular data with morphological and acoustic data, two new species, Boana courtoisae sp. nov. from the eastern Guiana Shield and Boana eucharis sp. nov. from Southern Amazonia, are described herein. These species belong to a clade that diversified throughout Amazonia during the last 10 Ma, thus more recently than co-distributed small terrestrial anurans but concomitantly with other more vagile vertebrates. Our time-scaled phylogeny and biogeographic analyses suggest an initial east-west divergence and confirm reciprocal trans-riverine dispersals during the last 5 Ma. The geomorphological evolution of the region and species-specific dispersal ability largely explain these distinct spatio-temporal patterns across anurans. http://www.zoobank.org/zoobank.org:act:4F8ACA9F-F6F1-4605-BD6C-6D4650AACCBE http://www.zoobank.org/zoobank.org:act:51CC7B40-2D6B-4A9E-AF50-AB34D4CE1042


Abstract We describe simple, quantitative, graphical approach to solve chemical equilibrium problems and quantify how far the reversible reaction advances upon reaching equilibrium state at a given temperature. The same approach also gives the change in reaction advancement ratio (reaction efficiency; % completion of reaction) upon perturbation of equilibrium state by changing equilibrium concentrations (moles) of reactants or products. The approach is based on plotting two polynomial functions which represent how the numbers of moles of reactants and products vary with the advancement of reaction. The point of intersection of the two polynomial curves (functions) gives advancement ratio for a reversible reaction at equilibrium (χ e). In comparison, Le Chatelier's principle is qualitative and tells us that equilibrium concentrations (moles) of products will increase (or decrease) once concentrations of reactants are made larger (or smaller), but does not predict the change in advancement of reversible reaction upon re-establishing the equilibrium state. In other words, it does not specify whether after perturbation the conversion to products will result in higher or lower reaction efficiency. Our quantitative approach is complementary to the qualitative Le Chatelier's principle and is applicable to any single-equation equilibrium system. It can also be an alternative to ICE tables.


1. MS Scholar, Department of Media and Communication Studies of the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan 2. Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication Studies at the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication at the Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan PAPER INFO ABSTRACT Received: August 21, 2021 Accepted: December 10, 2021 Online: December 15, 2021 On the day of Easter Sunday April 21, 2019 within the span of 20 minutes in Sri Lanka there was a chain of six coordinated suicide attacks in historical churches and standard hotels in the capital city Colombo along with other places. The attacks left at least 253 people killed including at least 35 US, UK and Indian nationals. Media all around the globe took up the incident immediately and produced a variety of a discourse on it. Jeffery C. Alexander stresses that media in such conflict times produce a 'solidarity discourse' to play a 'civil repair' role in the society. This study is an effort to explore and analyze the discourse produced by The Daily Mirror; a Sri Lankan newspaper, and by The Express Tribune; a Pakistani newspapers. Employing the 'ideological square' and the 'lexicalization' strategies of the Critical Discourse Analysis proposed by van Dijk the researchers intend to explore and identify whether and to what extent the selected newspapers have played the role of 'civil repair' by producing the 'solidarity discourse' in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Easter Bombings. Findings show that The Express Tribune played the role of 'Civil Repair' by producing the 'solidarity discourse'. However, the Sri Lankan Newspaper; The Daily Mirror's coverage lacked the 'solidarity discourse' in the aftermath of the Easter bombings.


BACKGROUND
Multiple case series, mostly highly selected, have demonstrated a very high mortality following acute basilar artery occlusion. The more widespread availability and use of non-invasive vascular imaging over recent years has increased the rate of ABAO diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES
To estimate the proportion of diagnosed ABAO among all-cause ischemic stroke in an era of increasing use of non-invasive vascular imaging and to compare the characteristics and outcomes between these two groups.

METHODS
We compared 27 consecutive cases of ABAO identified in a university hospital between 2003 and 2007 with 311 unselected cases of ischemic stroke from two 4 month surveys.

RESULTS
ABAO diagnosis increased from 0.3% of all-cause ischemic stroke (2003-2004) to 1.1% (2007), reflecting the increased use of non-invasive vascular imaging. In comparison to all-cause ischemic stroke, ABAO patients were younger (mean age 60 vs. 71 years), were more likely to be male (89% vs. 60%), had less atrial fibrillation (7% vs. 26%), more severe strokes (baseline NIHSS over 20: 52% vs. 12%), higher admission white cell count (12,000 vs. 9000 cells/ mm3), lower admission systolic blood pressure (140 +/- 24 vs. 153 +/- 27 mmHg), higher in-hospital mortality rates (30% vs. 8%) and worse functional outcome (modified Rankin scale < or = 3, 22% vs. 56%) (P< 0.05 for all). Rates of reperfusion therapy for ABAO increased from 0 in 2003-2004 to 60% in 2007.

CONCLUSIONS
In this study, ABAO patients represented approximately 1% of all-cause ischemic stroke and were about a decade younger than patients with all-cause ischemic stroke. We report a lower ABAO mortality compared to previous more selected case series; however, most survivors had a poor functional outcome. Given the marked clinical heterogeneity of ABAO, a low threshold for non-invasive vascular imaging with a view to definitive reperfusion treatment is needed.


Modeling and computer simulation of an internal combustion engine's operating processes offers a valuable tool for enhancing our understanding of real physical phenomena and contributes significantly to optimizing and controlling the engine's operation to meet different objectives. This paper illustrates the use of engine modeling in the educational setting through the development and use of a single-zone, premixed charge, spark-ignition engine heat release simulation. The paper begins by describing the operation of an engine. A heat release simulation is then discussed in depth, and a description is given of how it can be used to offer an understanding of thermodynamic fundamentals in an internal combustion engine. In particular, a comprehensive examination of the thermodynamic properties of the engine working fluid and in-cylinder gas-to-wall heat transfer demonstrates the need for accurate physical—chemical sub-models when performing a high-fidelity heat release analysis. Overall, this study demonstrates the power of such an engine simulation tool in an educational setting.


Artemisia argyi leaves (AAL) has been widely used as herbal medicine and food supplement and in China and other Asian countries. The aim of this work is to qualitative and quantitative characterization of phenolic compounds in AAL and screening of natural product inhibitors of α-glucosidase from AAL. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) was employed to rapid and comprehensive identification of phenolic compounds in AAL, and a total of thirty-three phenolic compounds were identified. High performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was established and validated to simultaneously determinate ten main bioactive phenolics compounds in different batches of AAL samples. Meanwhile, the inhibitory capacities of different batches of AAL samples on α-glucosidase were evaluated. Then, relevance analysis, including grey relational analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were employed to investigate the correlations between the contents of phenolic compounds and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities, and discover the α-glucosidase inhibitors in AAL. The relevance analysis results indicated that three phenolic compounds, 3-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid could be potential α-glucosidase inhibitors in AAL. Moreover, the α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the three phenolic compounds were validated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The possible inhibiting effect of the three phenolic compounds on α-glucosidase was also explored by molecular docking analysis, and the results indicated that the binding of the three α-glucosidase inhibitors to α-glucosidase mainly by hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic forces and ionic bonds. The present research provided a deep insight into phenolic compounds and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of AAL, and discovered the α-glucosidase inhibitors in AAL.


Readers of this book are presented with a novelty, namely the Afghan perspective on the successive military and counterinsurgency campaigns that the British, Russians and Americans/Coalition have fought against the Afghans, from the first encounter in the 1830s to today's ongoing war waged by the Taliban. Included in the narrative are the wider Pashtun population that lived astride the British Imperial/Pakistan border, not just those Pashtuns resident in the modern state of Afghanistan. The literature on the Afghan wars and frontier actions is almost entirely Anglo-centric and 'agency' on the part of Afghans/Pashtuns is almost entirely absent. Even modern accounts by journalists, former soldiers, policy-makers and commentators have tended to reduce the Afghans and Pashtuns to stereotypes and deprive them of any initiative. Ironically their nineteenth-century contemporaries were rather more generous in their appraisal of their fighting prowess. Rob Johnson therefore presents more than just another military history of the Afghan Wars; he seeks to open a new chapter in the debate about Afghanistan and, crucially, aims to 'tell the story' from the Afghan side, countering the inaccurate and sometimes rather fanciful interpretations of events, in order to present a more precise and utilitarian account of the military history of the Afghans. Successive chapters illustrate the various methods adopted by the Afghans to confront their enemies, focussing on a limited number of themes to create coherence. Collectively, they demonstrate that the 'Afghan Way of War' was eminently pragmatic, but that the spirit by which Afghans fought the British, or the Soviets, or each other, was coloured by a cultural code. In recent decades, that code has been altered and eroded dramatically so that in the last ten years what is paramount is the Afghans' sense that they are resisting coercive governance, foreign influences and ideas and occupation.


Two cases of cervical teratoma in newborn infants are reported. One had neural tissue in cervical lymph nodes, posing the question of malignancy. Only two similar cases have been previously reported. One hundred forty-nine cases of cervical teratoma and two patients of our own have been reviewed with regard to age, sex, clinical manifestation, pathology, management, and prognosis. Early excision is emphasized. The available evidence indicates that cervical teratomas, at least in the newborn period, are virtually always benign. Further studies, including long-term observation of children and a complete consideration of the histology of the neoplasms, are needed to clarify the problem of whether malignancy ever occur in cervical teratomas of children. A conservative surgical management of these neoplasms is recommended.


Minimum excitation limiters (MEL) have been in use since the first applications of voltage regulators to synchronous machines, and are presently in widespread use throughout the power industry. However, a cursory literature search indicates scant examination of the dynamic behavior of these devices. Although the minimum excitation limiter is rarely called into action, its effect can be particularly significant to the final outcome of some severe disturbances. The digital computer modeling of two common MEL devices is described, and their effect on power system dynamics is addressed. >


The problem of single stuck-at, stuck-open, and stuck-on fault detection in cascode voltage switch (CVS) parity trees is considered. The results are also applied to parity and two-rail checkers. It is shown that, if the parity tree consists of only differential cascode voltage switch (DCVS) EX-OR gates, then the test set consists of at most five vectors (in some cases only four vectors are required) for detecting all detectable single stuck-at, stuck-open, and stuck-on faults, independent of the number of primary inputs and the number of inputs to any EX-OR gate in the tree. If, however, only a single-ended output is desired from the tree, then the final gate will be a single-ended cascode voltage switch (SCVS) EX-OR gate, for which the test set has only eight vectors. For a strongly self-checking (SSC) CVS parity checker, the size of a test set consisting of only codewords is nine, whereas for an SSC CVS two-rail checker the size of a test set consisting of only codewords is at most five. >


The case is a drowning-accident of a 12-year-old girl. For rescue services this incident is a rather rare emergency situation. The dimension of the injury, including the pulmonary damage might easily be underestimated, especially in case of consciousness und spontaneous breathing right after the rescue. Even after hours the development of rapidly increasing respiratory insufficiency is possible which might lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome.


In this paper, restricted to describe the ontogenesis of the cell, we discuss the processing of DNA through RNA to proteins and argue that this process is not able to transfer the information necessary to organize the proteins in the cell, but only to transfer the information necessary to form the shape of the proteins. We shortly describe the structure of the information carrying field recruited by the cells that we think is responsible for building the organelles and other cellular structures. We use the cells superior control of its cytoskeleton as an example of how the cell is using an informational field giving the positional information guiding all the local chemical processes behind the cell movement. We describe the information-directed self-organization in cells and argue that this can explain the ontogenesis of the cell. We also suggest the existence of an undiscovered phenomenon behind the information transmitting cell interactions. We conclude that during evolution the cell has developed into an information-guided self-organizing structure. The mystery we want to solve is: what is the mechanical cause and nature of biological information?


Background/Objective:
 Carotid artery intima media thickness (cIMT) may be a marker of cerebral atherosclerotic disease and therefore related to cognitive status in the elderly. We hypothesized that those with greater cIMT would exhibit worse cognition at baseline and have greater cognitive decline over time.

 Methods:
 A sample of 1166 stroke-free community participants from the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) underwent carotid ultrasound and repeated neuropsychological (NP) testing. cIMT was imaged with a standardized B-mode ultrasound protocol and analyzed by a trained sonographer. We used multivariable linear regression to examine cIMT as a correlate of domain-specific NP Z-scores cross-sectionally and over time; we investigated possible effect modification by APOE ε4 allele, adjusting for demographics and vascular risk factors.

 Results:
 The mean age of participants was 71±9 years, 60% were women, 15% white, 18% black, 67% Hispanic, and mean cIMT was 0.93 ± 0.09 mm. NP testing was performed among 1166 participants at baseline and among 826 participants with NP follow-up at a mean of 6.2 years apart. Participants with greater cIMT exhibited worse episodic memory at baseline after adjustment for demographics and vascular risk factors (beta=-0.60, P=0.04). APOE ε4 allele presence was a significant effect modifier, and after stratification, APOE ε4 carriers with greater cIMT exhibited worse episodic memory (beta=-1.26, P=0.04), semantic memory (beta=-1.35, P=0.01), and processing speed (beta=-1.22, P=0.02) at baseline. In longitudinal analysis, participants with greater cIMT at baseline did not exhibit cognitive decline after adjustment for demographics and vascular risk factors, but APOE ε4 allele presence was a significant effect modifier. After stratification, APOE ε4 non-carriers with greater cIMT at baseline exhibited greater declines in executive function (beta=-1.03, P=0.05).

 Conclusions:
 cIMT may be associated with worse cognition and greater cognitive decline in multiple domains among those at high risk for Alzheimer disease, and with worsening executive function in APOE ε4 non-carriers. Interventions that target early stages of atherosclerosis may modify the course of cognitive aging and prevent cognitive decline.


The structural development of a calcium (sodium) aluminosilicate hydrate (C–(N-)A–S–H) gel system, obtained through the reaction of sodium metasilicate and ground granulated blast furnace slag, is assessed by high-resolution 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy during the first 2 yr after mixing. The cements formed primarily consist of C–(N-)A–S–H gels, with hydrotalcite and disordered alkali aluminosilicate gels also identified in the solid product assemblages. Deconvolution of the 27Al MAS NMR spectra enables the identification of three distinct tetrahedral Al sites, consistent with the 29Si MAS NMR data, where Q3(1Al), Q4(3Al), and Q4(4Al) silicate sites are identified. These results suggest significant levels of cross-linking in the C–(N-)A–S–H gel and the presence of an additional highly polymerized aluminosilicate product. The mean chain length, extent of cross-linking, and Al/Si ratio of the C–(N-)A–S–H gel decrease slightly over time. The de-cross-linking effect is explained by the key role of Al in mixed cross-linked/non-cross-linked C–(N-)A–S–H gels, because the cross-linked components have much lower Al-binding capacities than the noncross-linked components. These results show that the aluminosilicate chain lengths and chemical compositions of the fundamental structural components in C–(N-)A–S–H gels vary in a way that is not immediately evident from the overall bulk chemistry.


The sweeping tide of populism across the globe has given rise to isolationist sentiments that call for the closing of national borders and a return to nativist roots. This has been most evident in Britain in terms of the controversial vote to exit the European Union (EU) during the 2016 referendum (to Leave or Remain) and more recently with the lead up to a general election and mounting pressure on the government to implement an exit strategy. The most vocal proponent of the "leave" movement was the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), reframing the debate on EU membership in terms of invasion and oppression. This paper focuses on precisely this discursive construction of the EU by analyzing UKIP campaign posters through application of Bhatia's Discourse of Illusion framework on three levels: historicity (use of the past to justify the present or predict the future), linguistic and semiotic action (subjective conceptualizations of reality made apparent through metaphorical rhetoric), and degree of social impact (emergence of delineating categories through ideological narrative).


Most unilateral head and neck masses are benign, although malignancy is a possibility in some cases. However, there are other rare causes of unilateral neck masses, such as focal myositis, which is a rare, benign condition belonging to the family of inflammatory pseudotumors of the skeletal muscles, with rare presentations in the head and neck region. Focal myositis presents as a rapidly enlarging neck mass that can be misdiagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy and/or radiologic imaging as either an infective or a neoplastic process. To date, there are only 5 reported cases of adult focal myositis of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the medical literature. In this article, the authors present 2 cases involving patients with focal myositis of the sternocleidomastoid muscle that were successfully diagnosed with core-needle biopsy and managed conservatively. The pros and cons of fine-needle aspiration biopsy and core-needle biopsy are discussed. Based on the authors' results, fine-needle aspiration biopsy universally fails to provide the diagnosis of focal myositis. In contrast, core-needle biopsy successfully diagnosed focal myositis in both of our patients. Both of them had complete resolution with conservative management.


The antiseptic management of wounds has undergone many changes of late. Sir Joseph Lister1 adduces some clinical experience to show the efficacy of carbolic acid in obtaining aseptic results in surgical wounds. He employs this in preference to corrosive sublimate; the staphylococcus pyogenes aureus?a-very common cause of suppuration?is much more rapidly destroyed by carbolic acid than by the bichloride. His experiments have also shown that tubercle bacilli are more slowly destroyed by corrosive sublimate (1 in 1,000) than by carbolic acid 1 in 20. These bacilli need not be feared in sponges if they are kept for a considerable time in 1 in 20 carbolic solution. He treats the sponges by washing well with soap and water, and afterwards with soda; then thoroughly washes again with water, and finally, after drying, puts to steep in 1 in 20 carbolic solution till they are required for use. For private operations he places the sponges after use in a tank of water and allows them to putrefy. The fibrin which clings among the spores of the sponges becomes liquified by putrefaction. They


Papillary (PTC) and follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) are known as differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Nevertheless, according to the UICC/AJCC (TNM) classification PTC and FTC are frequently analyzed as one cancer. The aim of this study is to show differences in outcome and specific prognostic factors in an iodine-replete endemic goiter region. Six hundred and three patients with DTC treated within a 35-year-period were retrospectively analyzed with respect to carcinoma-specific survival. Prognostic factors were tested for their significance using univariate and multivariate analysis. The histological type (PTC versus FTC) was found to be a highly significant factor - carcinoma-specific survival both in univariate (P<0.001) and multivariate analyses (P=0.003) was significantly different. Univariate analysis revealed patients' age, extra-thyroid tumor spread, lymph node and distant metastases, increasing tumor size, and the tall cell variant to be significant prognostic factors for PTC patients. Age > or =45 years, positive lymph nodes and increasing tumor size were confirmed as independent prognostic factors. Univariate analysis of FTC patients revealed age at presentation, gender, extrathyroidal tumor spread, lymph node and distant metastases, increasing tumor size, multifocality, widely invasive tumor growth and oxyphilic variant to be factors bearing prognostic significance. The presence of distant metastases and increasing tumor size could be identified as independent prognostic factors for FTC patients. This study shows distinctive differences in prognostic factors of PTC and FTC: independent factors predicting poor prognosis are age > or =45 years, positive lymph nodes and increasing tumor size for PTC, and distant metastases and increasing tumor size for FTC. PTC and FTC patients should be analyzed and reported separately.


Average daily intakes of several components of fat in the diets of the five main ethnic groups in Hawaii were determined from personal interviews of 4137 subjects regarding their food consumption in a usual week. In general, fat intake was highest among Caucasians and lowest among Filipinos. Cholesterol intake did not follow the same pattern as that of the other fat components. The intake of total fat showed good correlation with the ethnic-specific incidence rates of breast cancer in Hawaii but not with colon or prostate cancer rates. There was no correlation of cholesterol intake with colon cancer mci dence. Introduction The incidence of cancers with possible dietary etiologies (e.g. , colon, rectum, stomach, and breast) varies considerably among the 5 main ethnic groups in Hawaii. It is not known, however, whethertherearedetectabledifferencesintheintake of foods and nutrients among these same groups. A finding of significant correspondence between selected dietary intakes and cancer incidence patterns in a small geographic area like Hawaii would give added support to certain dietary hypotheses and provide the basis for further diet-related epidemiological research in this multiethnic population. This report presents ethnic-specificdata on the fat intake of a representative sample of the population of Hawaii and shows the relationship of dietary fat to colon, breast, and prostate cancer incidence.


The effect of mineral matrices of loam, quartz sand, sand + 30% kaolinite, and sand + 15% bentonite on the dynamics of transformation of plant residues (PRs) of corn and red clover was studied. It is shown that the dynamics of PRs transformation has a wave pattern and depends both on the nature of mineral matrices and on the composition and properties of PRs. The kinetic parameters of corn and clover decomposition were studied, using a two-term exponential polynomial. The turnover period for the labile pool of clover and corn in all substrate (8-10 days) is typical for the organic acids and simple saccharides. The turnover time of the stable clover pool (0.95 years) and of the corn (1.60 years) corresponds to the turnover time of plant biomass.


To explore the status of irrational drug use in a hospital between the pre-intervention (2018 to 2019) and post-intervention (2020 to 2021) in Beijing and evaluate the effects of relevant interventions. Prescriptions were evaluated manually with reference to the management rules of the china prescription administrative policy, standard management of hospital prescription comments, standards for prescription examination in medical institutions, regulations on pharmaceutical administration in medical institutions and the administrative measures for the clinical application of antibiotics. There were 5,584 irrational outpatient electronic prescriptions, with 1,681, 1,554, 1,234 and 1,115 made annually from 2018 to 2021, respectively. Among the all irrational prescriptions, high proportions were filled by patients aged 15 to 34 years (55.62%), female patients (50.90%), patients with complications (77.42%) or chronic diseases (65.45%). The top-three types of irrational electronic prescriptions were incomplete prescription postscript (24.05%), excessive dosage (19.75%) and inappropriate medication frequency (16.42%). Among all the physicians who prescribed, the most common was physicians aged from 25 to 30 years (45.61%) and with a junior title (64.83%). Although irrational drug use interventions could significantly improve the prescribing of irrational electronic prescriptions, the situation of irrational prescribing still exists. Related interventions should be taken in future clinical work.


Max Weber's writings in The Sociology of Religion are today acknowledged as a classic of the social sciences in the twentieth century. They are key texts for understanding Weber's central sociological concepts concerning Western and Eastern 'civilisations'. This book argues that the concept and problematic of personality plays a pivotal role within these works. Providing a detailed reconstruction of this concept within Weber's systematic studies of world religions as well as throughout his methodological and political writings, this book shows its complex development within three strictly related problematics associated with Weber's influential comparative historical sociology and theory of social action – individuation, politics and orientalism. Together they shape and constitute what is distinctive in Max Weber's theory of personality.


We used solid phase indirect hemadsorption assay (SPIHA) to detect specific IgM antibodies in specimens from cerebrospinal fluid, pleural fluid and ascitic fluid in patients with tuberculosis and compared with the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA). The result showed that detection of tuberculous specific IgM antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid by SPIHA is important for diagnosing the tuberculous meningitis.


Malignant transformation is a rare but recognized complication of gonadal and extragonadal endometriosis. Morphologic documentation of the continuous transition from benign endometrioid epithelium through epithelial atypia to invasive carcinoma within the same organ is necessary to prove that the cancer arose from endometriosis. This stringent criterion, put forward by Scott, has rarely been fulfilled. We report a case with a chronologic association between ovarian endometriosis showing foci of atypia and a subsequent large clear-cell carcinoma arising in the same ovary 3 years later. We recommend close scrutiny of cellular atypia in endometriosis to define lesions that may be preneoplastic and require an extended surgical approach.


In a recent paper on the geology of Slieve Gallion, in the County of Londonderry, I had occasion to discuss the age of the granite which forms so large a part of the basal mass of that mountain. Repeated visits to the moorland farther west have convinced me as to the identity of the granite of Eastern Tyrone with that of Slieve Gallion itself; and thus any section elucidating the relations of the former rock to its surroundings is of interest, on account of its bearing on a very considerable area. Mr. Joseph Nolan in 1878, during his survey of this obscure and difficult district, found no satisfactory sections in the granite-area north of Beragh. The rock is here surrounded by Lower Old Red Sandstone, and is exposed sparingly in the floor of a broad valley. The Camowen River at present flows in the middle of a strip of cultivated alluvium, with only a few boulders to indicate the granite in its bed. In his paper published in 1879, Mr. Nolan refers to an induration of the sandstone at Drumduff Bridge as probably due to the action of the granite. He cites, however, the section at Aghnagreggan Bridge, weat of Carrickmore, as affording far clearer evidence. The best discussion of this section occurs in the Survey memoir of 1878, for it is there pointed out that the granite, regarded as intrusive in the Old Red Sandstone, is still pre-Carboniferous. The Lower Carboniferous beds near Moneymore are thus fall of débris


In this research the optimization of energy consumption for DC refrigerator used in commercial cold store was conducted. To achieve this object a test facility was installed into the introduction room of a national refrigeration company. Due to the imperfect data given by the producer, the PID controller of DC refrigerator had to be tuned by setting the correct proportional, integral and derivative parameter values to achieve optimal energetic operation. During the research the energy consumption of this system was compared with a very commonly used traditional refrigerator system on the home market operated by reciprocating compressor, mechanical expansion valve and ON-OFF controller technic in the similar cooling capacity range. The combined effects of electronic expansion valve, scroll compressor operation and the correct experimental settings of PID controller in DC refrigerator results around 62,4 % energy saving opposed to the traditional ON-OFF controlled appliance under the same operational conditions in the same cold store.


The online kinematic problem for gliding or rolling on an unknown surface is addressed, treating it as a simple two-rigid-body problem. A planar rigid-body end effector is considered that maintains contact with a rigid body of unknown shape by gliding or rolling on it. The smooth surface of the end effector is assumed to be known implicitly or parametrically in its own coordinate system. The authors present the main results both in equation form and diagrammatically. The figure given implies that if the parameters of the robot are known as well as its state, the forces of contact can be computed. However, due to the extensive amount of data required for this condition to be met, the required sensory and computational machinery may be exorbitant. Moreover, the presence of noise and the cost of removing it sufficiently make this approach impractical at present. >


The paper aims at mapping out the Mobile Telecommunications Industry in Uganda with a view to identify areas for further research in a systematic and more detailed way. The economic and social upgrading/downgrading conceptual framework to guide the Capturing the Gains research agenda was used in this process. The paper briefly presents the mobile phone domains, emphasising the relevant parts for Uganda, which include; software development, sales and marketing, mobile service provision and end use developmental elements. The paper gives highlights of the growth and explosion of the mobile telecommunications sector in the last two decades underpinning the drivers of this growth, which include deregulation, liberalisation, technology advancement, the growing population and Uganda's strategic hinterland location. It is demonstrated that Mobile-phone Network Operators (MNOs) in Uganda are owned by companies with strong global value chains, which spread continentally to other African countries, Arab countries and in the case of Orange, France. The MNOs include MTN, UTL, Warid, Airtel and Orange. To provide insights into potential areas for further research on economic and social upgrading, the paper looks at outsourcing, infrastructure and the developmental aspects of mobile phones. The paper outlines areas for further research, which include money transfer, health, agriculture and outsourcing of services by MNOs. Finally, given that outsourcing of some of the services by MNOs is salient, conditions of work in MNOs and the outsourced companies is critical.


In remote areas of developing countries, people"s health and livelihoods are closely intertwined with the condition of the natural environment. Unfortunately, claims regarding the role of ecosystem degradation on disease outcomes rest on a short list of rigorous empirical studies that consider social, cultural and economic factors that underpin both ecosystem disruptions and behaviors related to exposure, prevention and treatment of diseases such as malaria. As the human ecological tradition suggests, omitting behaviors can lead to erroneous interpretations regarding the nature of the relationship between ecological changes and disease. We specify and test the relationship between child malaria prevalence and forest conditions in a quasi-experimental setting of buffer zone villages around a protected area, which was established to conserve biodiversity on Flores, Indonesia. Multivariate probit regressions are used to examine this conservation and health hypothesis, controlling for several individual, family and community variables that could confound this hypothesized link. We find that the extent of primary (protected) forest is negatively associated with child malaria, while the extent of secondary (disturbed) forest cover is positively correlated with child malaria, all else equal. This finding emphasizes the natural insurance value of conservation because children are both especially vulnerable to changes in environmental risks and key players in the future growth and prosperity of a society.


Densifying alfalfa into briquettes is one of the effective ways to increase its density and reduce the cost of storage and transportation. To explore the influence of vibration frequency on alfalfa briquetting, vibration-assisted compression tests with six vibration frequencies of 0, 9.52, 15.56, 21.24, 27.50, and 33.44 Hz were carried out. The results showed that the compression with vibration could reduce the maximum forming pressure and the energy consumption. The quality of alfalfa briquettes was improved compared with the compression without vibration. Within the range of test, when the vibration frequency was 21.24 Hz, the maximum pressure was the minimum, which was 5.83 MPa. In addition, the specific energy consumption was the lowest, which was 1374 J/g/cm3. The experimental results provided a basis for determining the optimum vibration parameters of alfalfa compression.


BACKGROUND
epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has the highest mortality rate among patients with gynecologic malignancies. Lack of specific and early symptoms and of screening tests causes that most patients are diagnosed in advanced stage of disease. Radical surgery followed by chemotherapy does not bring satisfactory curative effects.

OBJECTIVES
the urgent need exists to define the optimum biomarker for ovarian cancer to predict patients' response to curative therapy. Our current study aimed at correlation between the expression of survivin, SDF-1, CXCR-4 on tumor tissue and clinical outcome of patients with ovarian cancer.

RESULTS
We showed that survivin expression correlates with histological grading of the tumor. No correlation was found in terms of SDF-1/ CXCR-4 expression and clinicopathologic data.

CONCLUSIONS
further studies covering larger number of patients are needed to determine whether SDF-1 and CXCR-4 might be considered as biomarkers for ovarian cancer.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, causing motor changes. In addition to motor symptoms, non-motor dysfunctions such as psychological, sensory and autonomic disorders are recorded. Manifestations related to the autonomic nervous system include the cardiovascular system, as postural hypotension, postprandial hypotension, and low blood pressure. One of the mediators involved is the nitric oxide (NO). In addition to the known roles such as vasodilator, neuromodulator, NO acts as an important mediator of the immune response, increasing the inflammatory response provoked by PD in central nervous system. The use of non-specific NOS inhibitors attenuated the neurodegenerative response in animal models of PD. However, the mechanisms by which NO contributes to neurodegeneration are still not well understood. The literature suggest that the contribution of NO occurs through its interaction with superoxides, products of oxidative stress, and blocking of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, resulting in neuronal death. Most studies involving Parkinsonism models have evaluated brain NO concentrations, with little data available on its peripheral action. Considering that studies that evaluated the involvement of NO in the neurodegeneration in PD, through NOS inhibitors administration, showed neuroprotection in rats, it has prompted new studies to assess the participation of NOS isoforms in cardiovascular changes induced by parkinsonism, and thus to envision new targets for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders in PD. The aim of this study was to conduct a literature review to assess available information on the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in cardiovascular aspects of PD.


Extreme temperatures claim more lives than any other weather-related event, posing escalating socio-technical and governance challenges that few urban communities have addressed in a systematic, coordinated and comprehensive way. Scholars have only recently begun to investigate the granular scales at which distributions of thermal risk are produced, people's individual subjective thermal experiences and environmental justice dimensions of the hazard. Advances in research pave the way for concomitant improvements in management and policies, but bridges are needed to connect the thermal vulnerability knowledge base with place-based protective practices that are climatically, politically and culturally appropriate. The research presented in this paper uses actor–network theory (ANT) to describe the planning phase framework of a socio-technical collaborative for managing thermal extremes. The Thermally Resilient Communities Collaborative (TRCC) is a framework for planning and test-bed design phases of a thermal management system. Drawing lessons from two case studies, the framework examines how socio-cognitive spaces for collaboration change with technical and policy disruptions, and provides a way to design experiments that test how technical and governance interventions can enable collective action around urban thermal management. Practice relevance Thermal extremes claim more lives than all other weather events and pose an escalating socio-technical challenge. Often the problem is exacerbated by lack of clarity about organizational responsibilities and coordination between local governmental departments or agencies. The TRCC framework can be used to understand current practices, identify data gaps and create opportunities to engage in cross-sectoral management. This approach engages actors in identifying built environments and societal practices that create hazardous indoor and outdoor thermal conditions, develops effective ways to convey microclimate information and peoples' subjective thermal experiences to responders and prevention planners, and elevates experiences of marginalized communities. The TRCC describes how governance networks are harnessed to solve collective action problems by integrating new data, technology, and governance capacities. Two case studies indicate how this process was used to create capacities to protect vulnerable people from the impacts of extreme temperatures in two US cities: Tempe, Arizona, and Buffalo, New York.


This article describes the work of Ingenieurs-Bureau Ingenegeren-Vrijburg (IBIV), an engineering firm located in Bandung (Indonesia). Founded by A.C. Ingenegeren and G.S. Vrijburg, IBIV was in operation from 1936 to 1957. In other words, the firm operated during the Dutch administration of the archipelago, under the Japanese occupation and in the newly independent Republic of Indonesia. What were the challenges for architects in the Dutch East Indies in general and for IBIV in particular? What were the design tasks and what did the designs look like? Did political changes affect the work and the organization of IBIV , and if so, which works illustrate these changes? The answers to these questions shed light on an intriguing aspect of Dutch architecture and architectural history. The scanty but well-documented materials (including images) relating to IBIV reveals a typologically and stylistically rich and varied body of work designed during a politically and socially turbulent period. ibiv worked for a wide variety of clients: Billiton, land development companies and Philips, as well as the University of Indonesia, the Indonesian government, Pusat Perkebunan Negara (National Agriculture Centre) and Perhimpunan Ilmu Alam Indonesia (Natural Science Association). It was not the major political upheavals (the Japanese occupation in 1942, the declaration of in dependence in 1945, the transfer of sovereignty in 1949), but a relatively minor issue (the political impasse over New Guinea in 1957) that led to the firm's closure. IBIV appears to have transitioned effortlessly from a colonial to a post-colonial regime, from colonial to republican clients, and from colonial (Dutch East Indian) to post-colonial (Jenki) architecture. By studying IBIV 's entire output, and so not just the colonial or the postcolonial work, it becomes clear that colonial and postcolonial are by no means self-contained entities. Professional developments did not cease when the colonial regime came to an end, any more than professional developments had to begin from scratch with the dawning of the post-colonial period. An examination of developments in the colonial and post-colonial periods from the perspective of professional continuity between the two periods, produces not necessarily simple, but certainly interesting insights into the colonial and post-colonial past. It shows that professional developments do not necessarily run parallel to political developments and as such argues for a (considerably) less rigid compartmentalization of research into colonial and post-colonial architecture. This initial study of the work and developments in and around IBIV shows what interesting results such an approach can produce.


While sequencing the genome of the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus P2, we found an 8,313-bp sequence containing a cluster of nine histidine biosynthesis genes in an order different from that of any known his operon. Results of phylogenetic analysis of the coding regions in the putative operon give conflicting evolutionary histories for individual his genes.


Abstract The Quality Attestation Presidential Task Force's recent proposal for "quality attestation" (QA) of clinical ethics consultants was advanced on the premise that, "[g]iven the importance of clinical ethics consultation, the people doing it should be asked to show that they do it well." To this end, the task force attempted to develop "a standardized system for proactively assessing the knowledge, skills, and practice of clinical ethicists." But can this proposed method deliver? If the proposed QA process is flawed, it will label clinical ethicists as qualified to do clinical ethics consultations (CECs) when they are not. The result will be the creation of a new, likely intractable, problem of CEC "false positives:" consultants who have passed QA without actually possessing the requisite knowledge and skills to perform CECs. To avoid the risk of false positives, the QAPTF needs to conduct a rigorous analysis of the skills that the QA process will be positioned to judge and those that are simply beyond the scope of its current metrics. Rather than "attesting" to overall CEC "quality," QA needs to be precise about the skill inventory it can confirm yet honest about the skills it has no basis to assess. I will argue here that QA has strong prospects for accurately assessing consultants' competence in ethical analysis but very weak prospects for determining competence in two other skills listed as essential by the QAPTF: value-neutrality and conflict resolution.


Angioleiomyoma is an uncommon benign soft tissue tumor usually found in the lower extremities and rarely observed in oral tissues. It is microscopically characterized as a proliferation of smooth muscle cells intermingled with abundant vascular channels. Oral angioleiomyomas affect mostly the lips, palate, buccal mucosa and tongue, and appears as a submucosal painless nodule. Upper lip is seldom affected and only few cases have been reported. We report three additional cases of angioleiomyoma affecting the lips of elderly patients. All lesions were asymptomatic and presented as submucosal nodules of approximately 1cm. Microscopic analysis on H&E sections revealed similar pattern in all cases, showing well-circumscribed and encapsulated tumors characterized by proliferation of smooth muscle cells and large amount of wide vascular spaces of varying sizes. Most tumor cells were immunoreactive for a-smooth muscle actin, desmin and HHF-35. CD34 was also positive on the endothelial cells. All patients were surgically treated and no recurrence was observed so far. The oral pathologists and clinicians should consider this entity when assessing nodular lesions on upper lip.


This thesis argues that accountability was a central concern in Mill's liberal-utilitarian political thought. This concern was a product of his conviction that a truly democratic society, which permitted individuals to develop their deliberative capacities, was possible only where there was an equilibrium of power. Without such an equilibrium, the danger was that the majority would impose conformity with its own values and practices. It is argued that Mill proposed the institutionalisation of debate in order to aid individuals in the use of critical reasoning, which he regarded as an essential component of human well-being and a necessary means for the improvement of society. He saw the protection of individual liberty from the encroachment of the majority, and the multiplication of the centres of power in society, as instrumental in rendering the masses accountable, and thereby preventing stagnation. Mill aimed to protect individual liberty by preventing the formation of power which was unaccountable both in the public and private spheres. He thought that a balance of power in all areas of society promoted co-operation in political, economic, and family relations. In this sense, unchecked forms of economic power were as detrimental to society as unchecked forms of political power, in that they both brought about tyranny. Mill adopted the optimistic belief that the institutionalisation of debate would make human beings into altruistic moral agents. This thesis argues that Mill's liberal-utilitarian conception of democracy makes a significant contribution to political theory, in that it enshirines the ideas that a well-ordered society prevents individuals, groups, and governments from improperly imposing their wishes over others, and that socio-political reforms have to take into account the characteristics of human nature and national character, and the historical trends operating in society.


In the research field, network performance for different smart applications plays an important role in the IoT network. Several factors, such as packet delay, network throughput, energy consumption, heterogeneity, proper gateway placement and load balancing, have a greater impact on network performance. In this article, two factors, such as optimal gateway placement and energy consumption, are investigated in order to improve the performance of the IoT network. Various methods are used to find the lo-cation of the Coordinating Devices (CDs) and to place constraint gateways in such a way that all CDs within the network should be covered by at least one gateway in order to allow the dissemination of data within the net-work. All of these CDs in the wireless network send their data to their near-by gateway based on Euclidean distance optimization. Euclidean distance performance is better than linear data transmission. During data transmission, nodes are unable to transmit data due to obstacles encountered in the path to the destination which result in a minimal energy efficiency improvement. Our proposed system solves the issue of gateway location optimization based on different distancebased approaches called Euclidean Distance (ED) and Manhattan Distance (MD) used in the wireless network to achieve the objective of reducing energy consumption.


The relationship between journalism and its audience has undergone significant transformations from the earliest newspapers in the 18th century to 21st-century digital news. The role of the audience (and journalists' conceptions of it) has been shaped by economic, social, and technological developments. Though the participation of the audience has always been important to news organizations, it has taken very different forms across times, genres, and platforms. Early newspapers drew on letters from their publics as vital sources of information and opinion, while radio established a more intimate relationship with its audience through its mode of address. Though television news genres may not have emphasized audience engagement, research on the medium was heavily invested in understanding how it affected its audience.
 The rise of the Internet as a platform for journalism has represented a significant turning point in several respects. First, it has challenged conventional hierarchies of news production and value by facilitating user-generated content and social media, enhancing opportunities for audience contributions. This presents new opportunities for engagement but also challenges journalists' professional identities, compelling them to assert their authority and skill sets. Further, digital journalism has led to the rise of the quantified audience, leading to the increased role of metrics in driving the behavior of journalists. As the audience and its behavior are shifting, so are the practices of journalism. The two actors—journalists and audiences—remain interlocked in what may be a troubled marriage, but one which is structurally compelled to change and grow over time.


Mobile technologies have enormous potential to transform ordinary institutions content to electronic content. This change contributes to advance the level of performance of these institutions, whether educational or services institutions. Therefore, developing such applications using one of the well-known Software Engineering paradigms is important to support the institutions. Most of educational organizations in Oman don't provide a clear mobile application architecture that supports different organizational services. The significant purposes of these services are to provide an environment with more malleable procedures, satisfying student's needs, and achieving a quick access to information. Moreover, this paper proposes an extension tool to support students in all educational fields to send their appeal against exams results via a mobile application that integrates one of the well-known software architectures called Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). In this paper, Service-Oriented Architecture for post result mobile application is used to integrate a set of services that have been implemented in a web server with the existing post result application.


Abstract. In this paper, we present a method for detecting and quantifying changes due to construction activity in time series of high resolution SAR images. We propose to detect these changes by the appearance or disappearance of a large number of coherent scatterers, rather than by looking at changes in SAR amplitude or coherence. These coherent scatterers, which appear mainly in buildings and other man-made structures, will be detected in each individual image by analysing their stability across multiple frequency sub-bands. This implies that long time series are not required, unlike for other similar approaches based in persistent scatterer interferometry, and that this approach can be applied for the monitoring of fast changing areas such as temporary settlements. The presented approach will be applied for monitoring the construction activity taking place during the preparations for two large festivals in Munich, Germany.


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Introduction New, refined prognostic scoring systems have been established for MDS. Most scores assess prognosis at time of diagnosis assuming stable prediction over time. Earlier studies have shown moderate loss of prognostic power over time in scores using clinical parameters whereas cytogenetic scores maintained prognostic power, scores including comorbidity had shown gain of prognostic power (Pfeilstocker et al, 2012).

The aim of this multicenter retrospective study was to assess the relative stability of the newly developed scoring systems over time, to compare and explain observed time-related losses of prognostic power, and to discuss their clinical implications.

Methods This study is based on 7212 untreated (no disease modifying treatment) MDS patients from multiple institutional databases of the IWG-PM, which generated the IPSS-R (Greenberg et al, 2012). Patient characteristics were well comparable with other populations: median age 71 years, male gender 60 %, median overall survival 3.8 years (range 3.7-4.0), median time to AML transformation not reached with 25% of patients transforming to AML after 6.8 years. Patients were diagnosed and classified by FAB and WHO; cytogenetics were classified by original IPSS subtypes and by the recently refined proposal integrated into the IPSS-R (Schanz et al, 2012). The following scores were analysed for their stability over time: IPSS, IPSS-R, WPSS variants, cytogenetic scores, age, performance status and other differentiating features of the IPSS-R. Time variations were described by the Cox-zph-test, and by applying Dxy, a measure of concordance, for censored data at separate observation periods.

Results In line with previous observations, loss of prognostic power occurred over time after diagnosis in all scoring systems. While for the entire population the risk between adjacent IPSS-R risk categories differs by ∼80%, for patients observed at least 1 year the increase is ∼66%, and for those observed 4 years it is only ∼25%. The IPSS-R and particularly its age-including version (the IPSS-RA) retained the highest prognostic values compared to all other scoring systems at all time points. Dxy for IPSS-R: at diagnosis 0.43, 1 year 0.35, 2 years 0.27, 4 years 0.14. Including age, as in the IPSS-RA, was associated with less loss of prognostic power over time: Dxy at diagnosis 0.46, 1 year 0.38, 2 years 0.31, 4 years 0.22. For the IPSS and WPSS (available for the latter in only 33% cases), these values were: 0.37, 0.30, 0.22, 0.11 and 0.44, 0.36, 0.29, 0.18 respectively.

Considering risk categories, the risk remained fairly constant over time for the lower risk categories in every analyzed scoring system, while the risks in the higher risk categories were especially high in the second half of the first year after diagnosis, diminishing thereafter, thus reducing the prognostic value of these categories over time. To determine whether statistical weights optimized for each time period would alter these results, time-specific weights were applied, which did not demonstrate substantially different prognostic values from the basic model analysis. Particularly good retention of prognostic power was found in the lower risk categories over time. The lesser retention of prognostic power in the higher risk categories appeared related to loss of a larger portion of these patients over time due to their deaths or being censored by their beginning treatment. For the IPSS-R intermediate risk category patients, the prognosis for survival approached the "high" category ∼3 years after diagnosis, while it remained intermediate regarding their risk of AML transformation.

Conclusions These data demonstrate that a degree of attrition of prognostic value occurred over time from diagnosis for all of the assessed MDS prognostic scoring systems. The IPSS-R, particularly the age-inclusive IPSS-RA, best retained such prognostic capability over time for the untreated patients analyzed.

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Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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1. Testing Strategies for the NCLEX-RN(R) Examination 2. Health Implications Across the Life Span 3. Concepts of Nursing Practice 4. Nursing Management and Ethical/Legal Concepts 5. Emergency and Disaster Preparedness and Bioterrorism 6. Pharmacology and Medication Administration 7. Homeostasis Concepts 8. Immune: Care of the Adult, Maternity, and Pediatric Clients 9. Cancer Concepts 10. Psychosocial Nursing Care 11. Integumentary: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 12. Sensory: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 13. Endocrine: Care of Adult, Maternity, and Pediatric Clients 14. Hematology: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 15. Respiratory: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 16. Vascular: Care of Adult Clients 17. Cardiac: Care of Adult, Maternity, and Pediatric Clients 18. Gastrointestinal: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 19. Hepatic and Biliary: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 20. Neurology: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 21. Musculoskeletal: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 22. Reproductive: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 23. Urinary-Renal: Care of Adult and Pediatric Clients 24. Maternity Nursing Care 25. Newborn Nursing Care Appendix: Normal Laboratory Data References and Resources Index


SIR,-So you think (28 February, p. 517) that Mr. Crossman was wrong to castigate the medical profession for its indifference to the mentally retarded. But suppose he had asked: "Here in this country, where there are tens of thousands of men, women, and children afflicted in this way, in which medical school is there a professor of mental retardation, a reader, even a full-time lecturer? And how is it that a medical student can go through a course of training and get hardly a reference to the subject?" What answer would you have given? But then he might well have asked himself: "What interest-before the present scandal blew its top-had I, any of my predecessors, any members of my Department, in this condition?" Would he not have got the same dusty answer?-I am, etc.,


Day-treatment programs for children in The Netherlands are described from the perspective of the author during her fellowship year under the auspices of the World Rehabilitation Fund, Inc.


The rectangle thin wall tube of 316 stainless steel and the contortion thin wall tube of 663 copper alloy are fabricated by Laser Rapid Prototyping. The fabricated metal parts are identical with blue print. The as-formed metal parts are fully dense, homogenous and free of defects. Chemical composition analysis show that the chemical composition distribution of metal parts is uniform and the chemical composition of metal parts is same as that of metal powder. The mechamical properties of the metal parts by Laser Rapid Prototyping are equal to that of the materials by conventionally processed method.


Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) are linked to regulating vascular/neuro-inflammation and stroke. Using a retrospective design, we investigated whether circulating Lp-PLA2 and SOD in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) patients were associated with cognitive impairment. Eighty-seven CSVD patients were recruited. Plasma Lp-PLA2 and SOD were determined, and cognitive status was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The severity of white matter hypoerintensities (WMHs) in CSVD patients was rated according to Fazekas scales, and Lp-PLA2/SOD levels and MMSE/MoCA were compared. Multiple linear regressions were used to evaluate the relationship between Lp-PLA2 and SOD and the cognitive impairment. Ordinal logistic regression and generalized linear models (OLRGLMs) were applied to confirm whether Lp-PLA2 and SOD are independent risk factors for cognitive impairment in CVSD. Lp-PLA2 and SOD with mild or severe cognitive impairment were lower than those with normal congnition. Lp-PLA2 and SOD in CSVD patients with severe WMHs were significantly lower than those with mild or moderate WMH lesions. We noted positive linear associations of Lp-PLA and SOD with cognitive impairment in CSVD, independent of LDL-C. OLRGLMs confirmed that Lp-PLA2 and SOD were independent risk factors of cognitive impairment in CSVD. Lp-PLA2 and SOD are independently associated with cognitive impairment and WMH lesion, and may be useful for the rapid evaluation of cognitive impairment in CSVD. Lp-PLA2/SOD are modifiable factors that may be considered as therapeutic targets for preventing cognitive impairment in CSVD.