The aim of this study is to display the important contribution which a critical analysis makes to our understanding of students/teachers relationship through the
analysis of their discursive practices. The work focuses specifically on interaction within Moroccan classrooms at the secondary school level, involving students aged between 12-14 years old. The data source consists of transcripts of audio-recordings of classroom lessons in which both teachers and students are engaged in the interaction,
which is supplemented by interviews with teachers.

In order to examine power relations between teachers and students, this research presents a detailed analysis of the linguistic features used by teachers. Such discourse
features are IRF patterns, modality, politeness, Q/A and interruption. Although the analysis of the discoursal features of such interactions is of interest, it alone does not explain the nature of the relationship between pupils/ teachers. For this to be achieved, one may go further to conduct a structured interview analysis to explain such relations and establish a dialectic relationship between institutional practice and social practice (Fairclough 1992b). The effects which are traceable in the discourse of participants are not only related to the teacher/student relationship but also reflect the social order of
which the educational institution is a part. The social order has impact on the educational institution which in turn affects the student/teacher relationship. This
relationship in turn confirms the social order (Candlin 1997).

The research provides a detailed analysis of the discursive practice and describes specific ways in which teachers dominate students' interaction. It traces teachers'
control and dominance of the classroom practices to the overwhelming social beliefs of the participants. It concludes that specific social practices on the part of students and teachers produce particular discourse practices in the classroom. These discourse practices hinder the ongoing interaction. Both students' and teachers', assumptions and social beliefs of the classroom practices contribute to creating an atmosphere of control
and dominance in the classroom. This research provides suggestions to overcome this crisis. It believes that a change in the classroom practice requires a change in the social practice and vice versa.


The development of motivation is one of the tasks of student development. A student is expected to have great motivation in learning activities in order to be able to understand the learning material. Motivation is needed by students in learning activities because motivation can encourage students to do something in order to achieve the goals of learning activities. Without motivation, student learning activities will not take place optimally. The higher the motivation of students, the higher the learning outcomes obtained. The research used is literature review research. The data used is secondary data collected in one unit to answer the formulated problems. Therefore, educators are at the forefront to raise the motivation of their students in participating in learning. Educators must understand the development of student motivation and the problems of student motivation, especially in elementary schools.


Abstract In order to evaluate yield and some of physiological indices of potato cultivars in relation to different kinds of manures, strip plot layout within a randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Three levels of fertilizer were included manure (t/ha) (20, 40 and 60 t/ha), biologic fertilizer (ml/ha) (0, 100 and 200 ml/ha), and chemical fertilizer (kg/ha) (175, 350, and 525 kg/ha). Cultivars were Marfona, Maradona and Ramus. Marfona had obtained the maximum plant height, total dry matter, LAI, tuber yield, dry matter of tuber, the number of tuber and tuber weight. Application of 60 t/ha manure fertilizer together with Marfona produced the highest yield. In this experiment, fertilizer showed significant effects on potato cultivars yield and physiological indices. Marfona and Ramus had obtained the highest and the lowest total dry matter, respectively. The maximum LAI was related to application of 60 t/ha manure fertilizer, and the minimum one was obtained for application of 40 t/ha manure fertilizer. In cultivar treatments, the highest LAI was obtained for Marfona, followed by Maradona and Ramus. The maximum and the minimum crop growth rate (CGR) was related to chemical and biological fertilizer, respectively. The maximum CGR was related to Marfona, than those of other cultivars. There were not any significant differences among different fertilizers in net assimilation ratio (NAR), fertilizer levels and various cultivars. Thus, it can ve suggested that in order to increasing yield, total dry matter, crop growth rate and other physiological indices should be applied 60 t/ha manure fertilizer with Marfona cultivar in Fereydan region of Esfahan, Iran.


Out-of-distribution (OOD) detection is an indispensable aspect of secure AI when deploying machine learning models in real-world applications. Previous paradigms either explore better scoring functions or utilize the knowledge of outliers to equip the models with the ability of OOD detection. However, few of them pay attention to the intrinsic OOD detection capability of the given model. In this work, we generally discover the existence of an intermediate stage of a model trained on in-distribution (ID) data having higher OOD detection performance than that of its final stage across different settings, and further identify one critical data-level attribution to be learning with the atypical samples. Based on such insights, we propose a novel method, Unleashing Mask, which aims to restore the OOD discriminative capabilities of the well-trained model with ID data. Our method utilizes a mask to figure out the memorized atypical samples, and then finetune the model or prune it with the introduced mask to forget them. Extensive experiments and analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. The code is available at: https://github.com/tmlr-group/Unleashing-Mask.


Increasing tibiofemoral articular conformity theoretically increases articular contact area and reduces contact stresses in total knee arthroplasty. Fixed-bearing knee designs possess relatively low tibiofemoral conformity, in part to allow tibiofemoral rotation without generating excessive stresses at the articulation or the implant-bone interface. This study analyzed knee kinematics of mobile-bearing designs in a closed chain dynamic knee extension model in posterior cruciate-retaining design with high-and low tibiofemoral conformity and posterior cruciate-substituting designs with and without rotational constraint. Overall, for all conditions, the mobile-bearing insert rotated with the femur in the presence of tibiofemoral axial rotation. In addition, the correlation of bearing rotation with femoral rotation was stronger for the high-conformity and rotationally-constrained designs than for the low-conformity designs and strongest for the posterior cruciate-retaining high-conformity condition. Changes in conformity or rotational constraint did not appear to affect femoral roll back, tibiofemoral axial rotation, or varus-valgus angulation. The results suggest that mobile-bearing inserts rotate with the femur and increasing conformity or rotational constraint in mobile-bearing design knee prostheses does not affect knee kinematics adversely, at least under closed chain knee extension conditions in vitro.


Art is not merely a decoration, or decoration manifested by man, but an expression uttered by the conscience of the individual and what revolves within his innate self.The expression in art must reveal the capability of the individual to create, and reflect the ability to generate thoughts and the possibility of converting them from mere ideas to embodied forms, which occupy space and a vacuum. In view of the dramatic changesof the approaches to knowledge in this era where the value of the artifact is no longer based on technique as an approach to expression, the problem arises due to the fact of focusing on the techniques utilized within the field of ceramics, ignoring other approaches ,which could have a great impact on creativity. Thus, the researcher considered the importance of reviewing other art approaches, assuming that such approaches can have an impact on expression. This study aims to reveal the importance of multiple art approaches as a source of expression in the field of expressive ceramics, such as technique, art, nature and literature, through a study of describing and analyzing some of the artists' and students' work that have dealt with diverse approaches in expression. The study resulted in that: (1) There are many art approaches that cannot be over looked as they have positive impact on creativity.(2) These approaches depend not only on the technique ,but also on the visual perception, which plays an important role in the acquisition of information and expressing art in the field of expressive ceramics, (3) although such entrancesmay show overlapping in expression, we cannot deny that some of those art approaches have the priority of being the starting point, that hasa positive impact on creativity in the field of expressive ceramics.


A technique using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) in order to discriminate among inrush current, internal fault, and external fault has been proposed. Daubechies4 (db4) is employed as mother wavelet in order to decompose low frequency components from fault signals. A ratio between per unit differential current and per unit time is calculated and performed as comparison indicator. The results obtained from the proposed technique have good accuracy to discriminating fault in the considered system.


The lack of cultural diversity in higher education is recognised by policy objectives and a current focus on the development of widening participation for a range of students, including those with disabilities. Amongst this group are those with dyslexia who might previously have been disenfranchised from formal education and under‐represented within it. This paper explores the personal narratives and learner histories of six postgraduates and academics with dyslexia from their earliest memories of learning to their present experiences. It examines how literacy, as a dominant form of discourse, has defined concepts of academic ability resulting in the early exclusion of these learners from formal education. It is argued that this dominant discourse can be challenged by non‐authorised, informal learning resulting in stories of resistance.


This special issue of the "International Journal of Psychology" had its origins in the Quebec 98 Conference on Short-Term Memory, held in Quebec City, Canada, in June 1998. Following this conference, participants were invited to submit contributions based on, and expanding upon, their presentation at this conference. The enthusiastic response made it possible to collect the exciting selection of articles that you will find herein. It must be noted that because of the finite journal space available, the editors and reviewers were faced with the difficult problem of selecting only a limited number of the excellent articles that were submitted. The outcome of this process is this special issue, which we believe provides an up-to-date overview of current research on short-term/working memory, including the challenges, controversies, and recent theoretical advances in this field.


A proposed dual magnetoresistive (DMR) reproduce head, consisting of two identical, adjacent MR stripes separated by a nonmagnetic spacer and connected electrically in parallel, was shown to have potential in very high density magnetic recording applications. The authors consider the micromagnetics of this device and derive approximate analytical expressions for the expected signal output as a function of linear recording density. The expression for the intrinsic reproduce sensitivity vs. recorded density, when including a proposed correction to account for the energy of traditionally neglected edge fringing fields, are shown to be in good agreement with more exact numerical results. The same form of equations is shown to be useful for deriving, via reciprocity, analogous and reasonably accurate analytical results for the shielded MR head. >


Objective: Current users of hormone therapy (HT) are known to have a lower accuracy of mammography screening than do never users. We studied whether the risk of misclassification depends on type of hormone, administration, regimen, and dose of the therapy. Methods: We linked data from mammography screening registers with drug prescription registers from Fyn, Denmark to identify current and never HT users among screening participants. We compared false-positive risks and interval cancer proportions between current users of different HT preparations, taking women's age, breast density, screen number, and age of comparison mammogram into account. Results: Estrogen therapy users had a significantly higher false-positive risk when the administration was by injection instead of oral (relative risk [RR], 2.37; 95% CI, 1.37-4.09). Women using sequential estrogen plus progestogen therapy had a significantly higher false-positive risk (RR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.16-3.26) and a nonsignificantly higher interval cancer proportion (RR, 4.29; 95% CI, 0.69-26.53) when the administration of both hormones was transdermal instead of oral. Using tibolone instead of comparable hormones gave a nonsignificantly lower false-positive risk and a nonsignificantly higher interval cancer proportion. Conclusions: Our data showed increased risks of misclassification at mammography screening among women using estrogen injections or transdermal, sequential estrogen plus progestogen. Tibolone seems to offer no advantage regarding accuracy of screening mammography.


Abstract Introduction Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery imposes anatomic barriers to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Potential options for biliary access in these patients include laparoscopic-assisted ERCP or balloon enteroscopy. However, these approaches require specialized equipment and/or operating room personnel and are associated with high rates of failure and adverse events compared to conventional ERCP. A recently described technique, EDGE, is an endoscopic approach which involves accessing the excluded stomach to facilitate ERCP. Objective The objective of this study is to describe the results of EDGE procedures performed in Canada. Methods Data were collected from patient cases who had undergone an EDGE procedure across centers in Canada. All patients had a history of RYGB bariatric surgery. In each procedure, a 20-mm diameter lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) was deployed under EUS guidance to allow access from the gastric remnant/proximal jejunum to the excluded stomach. Subsequently, during a separate procedure, a duodenoscope was passed through the LAMS to perform ERCP. Following ERCP, the LAMS was replaced with a pigtail stent or APC was used to facilitate closure of the gastro-jejunal/gastro-gastric fistula. Results The indication for EDGE in the seven included cases was for the treatment of choledocholithiasis (six) or gallstone pancreatitis (one). The technical success rate of the EDGE procedure in these cases was 100%. Clinical success, defined by normalization of bilirubin and symptomatic relief, was observed in all cases. There were no adverse events reported. Conclusion The results of this series support EDGE as a safe and minimally invasive approach to biliary access and therapy in patients with previous RYGB surgery.


Effects of nipradilol, a new beta-blocker, and its metabolite, denitro-nipradilol, on heart rate and atrioventricular conduction were investigated in anesthetized dogs and were compared with those of propranolol. The beta-blocking activity of nipradilol was nearly three times as potent as that of denitro-nipradilol which was almost the same as the beta-blocking activity of propranolol. Decrease in heart rate (HR) and prolongation of the atrio-His bundle conduction time (AH) were dose-dependently produced by nipradilol (10, 30 and 100 micrograms/kg, i.v.), denitro-nipradilol (30, 100 micrograms/kg, i.v.) and propranolol (30, 100 micrograms/kg, i.v.). The functional refractory period of the atrioventricular node (AVNFRP) was also prolonged by these drugs in a dose-dependent manner. The changes in HR, AH and AVNFRP were well correlated to their beta-blocking activities. However, His bundle-ventricle conduction time (HV) was insignificantly affected by these beta-blockers in the doses mentioned above. In the reserpinized and atropinized dogs in which propranolol (100 and 300 micrograms/kg, i.v.) showed very slight, insignificant influence on HR and AH, nipradilol significantly decreased HR and prolonged AH. AVNFRP was also prolonged significantly by nipradilol. These effects of nipradilol were observed even after the administration of propranolol. Denitronipradilol also produced a decrease in HR and prolongations of AH and AVNFRP in reserpinized, atropinized and propranolol-pretreated dogs. These results indicate that nipradilol and its metabolite, denitro-nipradilol, possess a direct depressant action on the sinoatrial node and the atrioventricular node.


The human gene for phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (hPNMT), responsible for the conversion of norepinephrine to epinephrine, has been cloned and the complete nucleotide sequence has been determined. The structural gene consists of three exons and two introns spanning approximately equal to 2100 base pairs. Transgenic mice containing the hPNMT gene with either 2 or 8 kilobases of 5'-flanking sequence were produced and resulted in expression of hPNMT mRNA in the adrenal gland and eye. A chimeric gene consisting of 2 kilobases of the hPNMT 5'-flanking region fused to the simian virus 40 early region also resulted in tumor (T) antigen mRNA expression in adrenal glands and eyes; furthermore, immunocytochemistry showed that tumor antigen was localized in nuclei of adrenal medullary cells and cells of the inner nuclear cell layer of the retina, prominent sites of epinephrine synthesis. These results indicate that the enhancer(s) for appropriate expression of the hPNMT gene in these cell types is in the 2-kilobase 5'-flanking region of the human gene.


Public policy makers are calling for all university students to learn entrepreneurial competencies to prepare them to be productive citizens in an unpredictable future. Far more than simply starting up businesses, entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as a student-centric pedagogical technique (teaching through entrepreneurship) for helping students learn desperately needed foundational skills and attitudes such as curiosity, creativity, opportunity spotting, grit, resilience, proactivity, adaptability, empathy, self-efficacy, motivation, and tolerance for uncertainty and risk. This article describes generational trends that make this education increasingly important and provides a Comprehensive Framework for Entrepreneurship Education (CFEE) to help implement best practices to achieve measurable Assurances of Learning (AoL) results at the institutional, degree program, and individual course levels.


This paper presents a new design of multirotor, named as `Tilting Thruster Type' (T
 3
)-multirotor. The new platform is equipped with mechanically separated thrusters, which can take any fuselage posture within a specified range regardless of any direction of translational acceleration. A specially designed servo-linkage mechanism is employed for relative attitude control between the thruster and the fuselage. Mathematical modeling and analysis of the new platform are conducted to explore the control method of the dynamically complex system. For demonstrating the potential of the new T
 3
-multirotor, an autonomous level flight is performed where the fuselage maintains zero roll and pitch angle during the entire flight. Both simulation and experimental results are provided with detailed analysis.


The shortage of obstetricians and gynecologist is a serious problem in developed countries. To improve the work-flow, we have been developing a robotic platform for supporting the fetal echo sonography, "Tenang", which allows for the ultrasound scan following the abdominal surface of pregnant women passively. Meanwhile, the acquired image quality was not constant due to the uncertain contact force between the probe and abdomen. In this paper, we aim to investigate the cause of the decreased image quality through a dynamic model analysis and experiment with a PVC phantom, and to propose the scan method which allows for the stable image acquisition. Thorough the inves-tigation, the relative angle between the probe and body surface caused the contact force and acquired image quality. We hypothesized that the contact force and acquired image quality can be stable by maintaining the relative angle is constantly positive. Then, we proposed a spiral ascending scan that the probe constantly rises on the abdomen spirally. The proposed scan method is verified with an abdominal phantom in the second trimester. The results showed that the variation of the contact force under the spiral ascending scan path was reduced and the image quality was maintained.


– The dynamic behavior and the seismic vulnerability of different masonry "Apennine Churches", dramatically damaged by the last shocks sequence of 2016 that occurred in Central Italy, have been studied in this paper by means of advanced 3D numerical analyses with the Discrete Element Method (DEM). Thus, a discontinuous approach has been used to assess the dynamic properties and the vulnerability of the masonry structure, through large deformations regulated by the Signorini's law, concerning the impenetrability between the rigid bodies, and by the Coulomb's law, regarding the dry-friction model. The major purpose of this study is to highlight that relevant data on the real structural behavior of historical masonry can be provided through advanced numerical analyses. The comparison between the results of the numerical simulation and the survey of the existing crack pattern of the churches permitted to validate the used approach. Finally, from the results and conclusions of these cases study, it is possible to affirm that the used methodology can be applied to a wide variety of historical masonry structures in Europe.


Of profound astrobiological interest is that not only does Enceladus have a water ocean, but it also appears to be salty, important for its likely habitability. Here, we investigate how salinity affects ocean dynamics and equilibrium ice shell geometry and use knowledge of ice shell geometry and tidal heating rates to help constrain ocean salinity. We show that the vertical overturning circulation of the ocean, driven from above by melting and freezing and the temperature dependence of the freezing point of water on pressure, has opposing signs at very low and very high salinities. In both cases, heat and freshwater converges toward the equator, where the ice is thick, acting to homogenize thickness variations. In order to maintain observed ice thickness variations, ocean heat convergence should not overwhelm heat loss rates through the equatorial ice sheet. This can only happen when the ocean's salinity has intermediate values, order 20 psu. In this case polar-sinking driven by meridional temperature variations is largely canceled by equatorial-sinking circulation driven by salinity variations and a consistent ocean circulation, ice shell geometry and tidal heating rate can be achieved.


The co-seismic and post-seismic behaviour of pyroclastic ash deposits and its influence on slope stability remains as a challenging subject in engineering geology. Case studies in volcanic areas of the world suggest that soil structural changes caused by seismic shaking results in landslide activity. It is critical to constrain how this kind of soils behaves during coseismic ground shaking, as well as the effects of dynamic loading on shear strength parameters after shaking. Direct shear tests carried out on cineritic volcanic materials from the Pudahuel Ignimbrite Formation in central Chile show a direct effect of cyclic loading on the shear strength, and in a minor extent on the rheology. A high apparent cohesion found in monotonic shear tests, likely attributed to suction and cementation, is destroyed by dynamic loading. At the same time, the internal friction angle rises. This defines a differential post-dynamic behaviour depending on normal effective stress conditions, which favour the occurrence of shallow landslides. These results show how the use of shear strength parameters obtained from standard monotonic direct shear tests may produce misleading results when analyzing seismic slope stability in this type of soils.


The diagnosis of metabolic diseases during the newborn period is difficult because symptoms and findings are similar to those generally encountered in newborn babies who are ill. Moreover, metabolic diseases are often complicated by infections and cerebral hemorrhages. The article presents a short clinical review of metabolic diseases associated with metabolic acidosis in the newborn and discusses appropriate investigations and differential diagnoses. It is important to remember the possibility of metabolic diseases as the cause of metabolic acidosis in the newborn period.


6 (pi. xxv). The galloping animal (A) with hooves and long tail has the appearance of a bull rather than a horse. There is on another fragment (B) what appears to be an overturned wicker basket with feathery sprays of flowers emerging therefrom, and similar sprays are seen on the left edge of the first fragment. There is a possibility that the complete vessel may have illustrated the story of Jupiter in the guise of a bull coming to carry off Europa, who was surprised while picking flowers with her companions, a theme used on mosaics and paintings. 7 (pi. xxv). The scrollwork on the flange is crude but vigorous and the remains of the striding figure with very well-developed calves and dappled-skin boots (?) impressive.


Feed intake, growth rate, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics of male buffalo calves, fed different levels of urea, were investigated. Feeding trials were conducted using 54 male buffalo calves of the Nili-Ravi breed in three experiments. Seven experimental rations were prepared by adding fertilizer grade urea at the levels of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 percent, replacing undecorticated cottonseed cake and wheat bran on nitrogen equivalent basis. A ration without urea served as control. At the termination of the feeding trials, 3 calves from each group were slaughtered and carcass data were obtained. It was found that intake of dry matter decreased as the level of urea increased in the ration. The depression in dry matter intake was significant when the urea level exceeded 2.0 percent. Weight gains of calves were significantly higher on urea ration up to 1.0% as compared to control. Almost similar weight gains were observed up to 2.0 percent levels of urea. However beyond this level, i.e. at 2.5 and 3.0 percent, a significant decline in weight gain was observed. The effect of urea feeding with respect to feed efficiency was nearly of the same magnitude as on weight gain. The slaughter data revealed a non-significant difference in the dressing percentage of the carcasses of calves fed 0, 0.5, 1.0, I 5 and 2.0 percent urea in their rations. However, the carcass quality was adversely affected when urea was used beyond 2.0 percent level. Gristles were significantly increased (by about 40%) in the carcasses of calves fed 3.0 percent urea compared to the control animals. Acceptability score through organoleptic tests of cooked meat showed no significant difference between control and 2.0 percent urea fed animals. Keyword: Urea feeding, Feed intake, Performance, Buffalo calves


Introduction Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting is considered potentially more effective than on-pump surgery in elderly patients. Aim To compare the early and long-term results of these techniques in patients ≥ 80 years of age with left main coronary artery disease. Material and methods All patients ≥ 80 years of age (N = 3648) who were reported to the Polish National Registry of Cardiac Surgery Procedures between 2006 and 2016 and underwent primary, isolated coronary artery bypass surgery were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group A – without significant left main stenosis (LMS) (n = 2094) and B group – with LMS ≥ 50% (n = 1524). The groups were compared according to the type of surgery: on-pump (A = 1107 vs. B = 891), off-pump (A = 908 vs. B = 616) and MIDCAB (A = 79 vs. B = 17). Results There were significant differences in preoperative status between the groups in the whole cohort, which were not observable after propensity score matching. The in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in the LMS group operated on-pump (10.5% vs. 7.0%; p = 0.01) and non-significant in the off-pump group (5.1% vs. 5.7%; p = 0.78), as well as in the MIDCAB subgroup (5.9% vs. 5.1%; p = 0.64). 10-year survival in all subgroups was comparable and remained at a level of 50–60%. The mean entire cohort follow-up was 3.4 ±2.7 vs. 3.7 ±2.8 years (p = 0.2). Conclusions Off-pump coronary bypass grafting may optimize the outcomes in elderly patients with significant left main stenosis. Octogenarians surgically treated for coronary artery disease, despite increased post-operative risks, present encouraging long-term survival.


A 70-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for medical evaluation of a right side pleural effusion, which was pointed out at another hospital. Chest CT revealed a right pleural effusion with diffuse and irregular pleural thickening. Percutaneous pleural biopsy showed hypocellular collagenous tissue without malignant cells. Though she received antituberculosis therapy, the pleural thickening progressed and the serum CYFRA 21-1 level was elevated. Chest pain and dyspnea appeared, and she was readmitted. However, pneumonia was present as a complication, and she died. At autopsy, the right pleura was thickened and invasion of the lung and the chest wall was observed. Microscopic findings showed increased amounts of hyalinized collagen fibers forming a storiform pattern. At the tumor foci, atypical cells with distinct nucleoli were observed. Desmoplastic malignant mesothelioma, which is rarely reported in Japan, was diagnosed.


Isotropic broadband probes or spectrum analyzers (SAs) may be used for the measurement of rapidly varying electromagnetic fields generated by emerging wireless communication systems. In this paper this problematic is investigated by comparing the responses measured by two different isotropic broadband probes typically used to perform electric field (E-field) evaluations. The broadband probes are submitted to signals with variable duty cycles (DC) and crest factors (CF) either with or without Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation but with the same root-mean-square (RMS) power. The two probes do not provide accurate enough results for deterministic signals such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) or Long Term Evolution (LTE) as well as for non-deterministic signals such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). The legacy measurement protocols should be adapted to cope for the emerging wireless communication technologies based on the OFDM modulation scheme. This is not easily achieved except when the statistics of the RF emission are well known. In this case the measurement errors are shown to be systematic and a correction factor or calibration can be applied to obtain a good approximation of the total RMS power.


Investigation of the aerial parts of Dorstenia ciliata yielded two new prenylated flavones named ciliatins A and B and characterized as 6,7-(2''-isopropenyldihydrofurano)-5,4'-dihydroxyflavone and 6,5-(2,2-dimethyldihydropyrano)-7,4'-dihydroxy-3'-methoxyflavone, respectively. Known flavonoids: stipulin, isobavachalcone, licoflavone C, 6-prenylapigenin, dinklagin C, gancaonin P, canniflavone and poinsettifolin A were also identified. Structures of these secondary metabolites were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, comparison with published information and with authentic specimen for some cases and chemical evidence for the dihydropyranoflavone derivative.
(Bulletin of The Chemical Society of Ethiopia: 2002 16 (2): 157-164)


Internal migration has been recognised as important household livelihood strategy in the migration discourse. It helps to insure migrant households against risks as conceived by New Economics of Labour Migration Model. In view of this, some household heads embark on internal migration for livelihood purposes in their bid to support their households. They therefore, maintain links with their households left behind. This paper looks at this migratory pattern and its effects on household food security in the place of origin. The study employed questionnaire to collect primary data from 300 households selected through multi-stage sampling technique. The findings show that the factors which are significant for achieving household food security include ability to raise income (i.e. remittances); own farm production as well as access to farmland. It advocates economic empowerment of rural farming households to enable them continue to cater for their food needs and thereby build their resilience against shocks.


Effective management of chronic oedema patients in the community requires a collaborative approach between lymphoedema specialists and community nurses. This collaboration improves the outcomes of care, reduces community nurses input, creates better understanding of the roles and allows patients to be treated more locally. Lymphoedema specialists in Glasgow developed study days to complement the skills of community nurses and foster a more collaborative and supportive approach to treating patients with chronic oedema. A total of 25 nurses have attended so far and the sessions were well evaluated. The need for further education sessions on the management of chronic oedema was highlighted.


The rabbit anterior chamber was used for implantation of specifically sensitized allogeneic lymph node tissue. Initial vascularizaton was followed by a primary uveitis corresponding to a local graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR) which resolved after 4 to 6 days. Intracorneal injection of specific antigen in quiescent eyes bearing viable lymph node allografts was followed by an intense inflammatory reaction characterized by iris hyperemia, flare and cells in the anterior chamber, and varying degrees of corneal clouding and occasionally Wessely ring formation. Microscopic examination of reactive eyes showed evidence of secondary reactive follicle formation in the transplant, increased number of plasma cells both within the graft and surrounding iris stroma, and an early polymorphonuclear response in the anterior chamber and cornea. While increased levels of precipitating antibody could be demonstrated from aqueous of reacting eyes, recipient animals were uniformly negative in response to skin test with specific antigen, and no serum antibody could be demonstrated by Ouchterlony agar diffusion. No inflammatory response resulted following nonspecific antigenic challenge or specific challenge after rejection of the graft. Prior irradiation (1,000 r.) of allograft recipients depressed both the GVHR and the specific antigen-dependent inflammatory reaction. The results indicate that adoptive immunity can be transferred to the eye of a systemically nonreactive host by viable immunologically competent allogeneic lymphoid cells prior to their rejection, and that significant anterior uveitis results from the interaction of antigen and locally produced specific antibody.


The common gain-of-function MUC5B promoter variant ( rs35705950 ) is the strongest risk factor for the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). While the role of complement in IPF is controversial, both MUC5B and the complement system play a role in lung host defense. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between complement component 3 (C3) and MUC5B in patients with IPF and in bleomycin-induced lung injury in mice. To do this, we evaluated C3 gene expression in whole lung tissue from 300 subjects with IPF and 175 healthy controls. Expression of C3 was higher in IPF than healthy controls {1.40-fold increase [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31-1.50]; P < 0.0001} and even greater among IPF subjects with the highest-risk IPF MUC5B promoter genotype [TT vs. GG = 1.59-fold (95% CI 1.15-2.20); P < 0.05; TT vs. GT = 1.66-fold (95% CI 1.20-2.30); P < 0.05]. Among subjects with IPF, C3 expression was significantly higher in the lung tissue without microscopic honeycombing than in the lung tissue with microscopic honeycombing [1.40-fold increase (95% CI 1.23- 1.59); P < 0.01]. In mice, while bleomycin exposure increased Muc5b protein expression, C3-deficient mice were protected from bleomycin-induced lung injury. In aggregate, our findings indicate that the MUC5B promoter variant is associated with higher C3 expression and suggest that the complement system may contribute to the pathogenesis of IPF.


Zimbabwe faces growth and external competitiveness challenges, as indicated by its low trend growth and investment, declining share in the world exports, high current account deficits, and external debt. The stock-flow approach to the equilibrium exchange rate reveals that the real exchange rate experienced periods of sizeable overvaluation, both prior to the 2008 economic collapse and under the current multicurrency regime. While overvaluation hampers GDP growth, as well as growth and employment in export sectors, we have not found that undervaluation would raise it. Replacing the multicurrency regime anchored in the US$ by the South African rand as the sole transaction currency would help reduce overvaluation and stimulate exports and growth. Under any currency regime, Zimbabwe needs to adhere to sound macroeconomic policies, avoid overspending on public wages, and create environment conducive for investment.


Forest aboveground biomass (AGB) is imperative in the study of climate change and the carbon cycle in the global terrestrial ecosystem. Developing a credible approach to estimate forest biomass and carbon stocks is essential. Four allometric models were used with two optimization algorithms; Modified Root Mean Square Propagation (Modified RMSProp) and Modified Adaptive Moment Estimation (Modified Adam) were also used to train each model. Convergence was achieved after 1000 iterations of Modified RMSProp and 200 iterations of Modified Adam for all the models. A learning rate of 0.01 and exponential decay rates of 0.9 and 0.999 for the first and second momentum. A loss function of 0.5 Mean Square Error (0.5 MSE) was used and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was used to judge the accuracy of the models. The study showed that the optimization algorithms were both able to accurately optimize three of the four allometric models. While Modified Adam was the more efficient optimizer, it had the highest RMSE value 2.3910 and Modified RMSProp had the least RMSE value 0.37381. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the accuracy of the models optimized by both algorithms.


The end-product of epidermal differentiation is a stratified layer of corneocytes whose extracellular lipid bilayers provide a permeability barrier. It is generally accepted that the epidermis synthesizes most if not all of the lipids found in this tissue and that extra-epidermal tissues contribute very little to this lipid content. Moreover, the individual epidermal strata in which epidermal lipid biosynthesis occurs are not known. To address this question, we examined [3H]H2O incorporation into nonsaponifiable and saponifiable lipids in individual epidermal cell layers 3 hr after intraperitoneal injection into neonatal mice, and compared this to protein and DNA synthesis using intraperitoneal [3H]leucine and [3H]thymidine incorporation, respectively. Lipid biosynthesis was also assessed by [14C]acetate incorporation into lipid fractions in organ cultured skin and in epidermal subpopulations. The in vivo studies demonstrated that the biosynthetic activity of both saponifiable and nonsaponifiable lipids was comparable to, if not greater, in the stratum granulosum (SG) than in basal/spinous (SB + SS) layer, despite significantly lower levels of both protein and DNA synthesis in the SG. On a mass basis, the SG accounts for about four times the biosynthetic activity of the combined SB + SS layers. The lipid biosynthetic activity in vitro also was two- to fivefold higher in the SG, regardless of whether the epidermis was separated into individual cell layers before or after incubations with radiolabel. Moreover, this difference could not be ascribed to increased acetate pools or to elevated metabolism in the SG versus the SB + SS since the rates of CO2 production were much lower in the SG fraction. The increase in lipid biosynthesis in SG over SB + SS was greatest for phospholipids, followed by glycosphingolipids, and free sterols but was observed in almost all lipid classes. These studies show not only that mammalian epidermis is an active site of de novo lipid biosynthesis, but also that this activity remains high in the stratum granulosum, while other forms of metabolic activity are diminishing. These observations are consistent with the knowledge that lipids extruded from the stratum granulosum layer provide the hydrophobic permeability barrier, and further suggest that elevated synthetic activity in the stratum granulosum would allow rapid replenishment in the event that the barrier is damaged.


The application of dynamic systems is increasing due to the versatility of application in different areas of science and engineering. Therefore, the development of supervision and monitoring systems that allow the application of control actions, as well as the measurement of the variables involved in a real-time system and with low cost of implementation are increasingly necessary. The paper presents the development and implementation of a low cost supervisory system of control and monitoring for complex dynamic systems. Thus, hardware and software architectures, as well as communication and synchronization algorithms are presented. As a test and application system, a cable-guided parallel robot prototype is used. Consequently, results of the application of the proposed supervision architecture, on the trajectory tracking problem, are presented. The results show the communication efficiency and processing speed of the proposed architecture.


The coupling between a finite-length dipole antenna and a three-layer lossy dielectric sphere, representing a simplified model of the human head, is analyzed theoretically in this paper. The proposed technique is based on the theory of Green's functions in conjunction with the method of auxiliary sources (MAS). The Green's function of the three-layer sphere can be calculated as the response of this object to the excitation generated by an elementary dipole of unit dipole moment. The MAS is then applied to model the dipole antenna by distributing a set of auxiliary current sources on a virtual surface lying inside the antenna physical surface. By imposing appropriate boundary conditions at a finite number of points on the real surface of the antenna, the unknown auxiliary sources coefficients can be calculated and, hence, the electric field at any point in space can be easily obtained. Numerical results concerning the specific absorption rate inside the head, the total power absorbed by the head, the input impedance, and the radiation pattern of the antenna are presented for homogeneous and layered head models exposed to the near-field radiation of half-wavelength dipoles at 900 and 1710 MHz. The developed method can serve as a reliable platform for the assessment of purely numerical electromagnetic methods. The method can also provide an efficient tool for accurate testing and comparison of different antenna designs since generalizations required to treat more complex antenna configurations are straightforward.


ABSTRACT Recent studies have suggested that poikilothermic animals, such as fish, may represent a previously overlooked source of the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) used for the assessment of water quality. However, quantitative studies of FIB in poikilotherms are scarce. We investigated the presence of FIB in the faeces of five freshwater fish species. E. coli and enterococci were detected in 71 and 76% of faecal samples, respectively. Concentrations were highly variable, with maximum concentrations (2.1 × 104 E. coli and 1.3 × 106 enterococci per gram of faecal material) up to four orders of magnitude higher than present in the water column. FIB were not detected in faecal samples from marine fish. Our findings suggest that FIB ingested from the environment may be capable of replication within the fish gut, making fish a potential source and transport mechanism for FIB in New Zealand freshwaters. This may have implications for water quality monitoring.


Educational video games present an opportunity to engage learners within immersive problem-solving experiences. Despite the potential benefits, educational video games may result in cognitive overload and thus preclude the informal learning benefits for those who lack experience. This study compared five males and five females when playing an educational video game. The goal of the study was to elucidate aspects that factor into the human-computer interaction and the subsequent learning engendered from these pedagogical tools.  Descriptive data revealed that males improved in posttest scores to a greater degree when compared with females. Qualitative data was also gathered to ascertain educational video game aspects that were important to the human-computer interaction.  Results suggest that concept interaction, sustained challenge, directions, and navigation might serve as instructional design principles for future educational video games construction.


We present the sequence of full-length chicken triosephosphate isomerase (D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate ketol-isomerase, EC 188.8.131.52) mRNA based on the analysis of cDNA and genomic clones. To isolate cDNA clones encoding the enzyme, we screened a muscle cDNA library with radioactively labeled cDNA made from RNA that had been enriched by immunoselection of polysomes. We blocked the signal caused by contaminating species in the probe with cloned DNA corresponding to the contaminants. Screening a chicken genomic library with cDNA coding for triosephosphate isomerase led to the isolation of phage containing the entire gene, which we used to map the transcriptional start. When placed downstream from a hybrid trp-lac promoter, the cDNA encoding the chicken enzyme programs the synthesis of functional protein, as judged by enzymatic criteria and by complementation of an Escherichia coli mutant that is deficient in bacterial triosephosphate isomerase.


This qualitative research was developed in light of behavioral theories regarding company internationalization. Its objective was to study the internationalization process of two wine exporters, one Chilean and one Brazilian, while focusing on the liability of outsidership.  Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, mostly from semi-structured interviews with parties responsible for exportation.  The data was treated with content analysis as grounded in current literature.  The Undurraga winery (Chile) overcame the liability of outsidership by employing a market penetration strategy consisting of stages, with progression to each consecutive stage depending upon success in the current one.  When the company enters into a new market, it identifies the liability and develops a strategy to deal with it.  Even though the Brazilian winery, Salton, is over a century old, it has only attempted to internationalize recently.  It showed characteristics of liabilities of foreignness and outsidership in practically every period analyzed, and has yet to resolve these problems.


The relationship between torque-velocity characteristics of the knee extensors during isokinetic contractions and muscle fiber type of the vastus lateralis, determined from two muscle biopsy samples, was investigated in 12 male and 18 female subjects. Peak torque, corrected for the effect of gravity and impact artifact, was classified as corrected peak torque. The torque measured 30 degrees from full extension and, corrected for gravity, was classified as corrected torque at 30 degrees. No significant correlations were found between the percentage of fast-twitch fibers (%FT) or the relative area of FT fibers (%FTA) and corrected peak torque values for any of the velocities tested or the knee angles where corrected peak torques were measured. However, significant inverse relationships were determined for corrected torque at 30 degrees at all but the fastest velocity (270 degrees/s) and both %FT and %FTA for the male subjects. These results reveal that muscle fiber type of the vastus lateralis, based on duplicate muscle samples, is not related to the peak torque actually generated by the knee extensors but may influence the shape of the torque output for maximal contractions sustained over the entire range of motion.


Caspases are proteolytic enzymes that are essential for apoptosis. Understanding the many discrete and interacting signaling pathways mediated by caspases requires the identification of the natural substrate repertoire for each caspase of interest. Using an amplification-based protein selection technique called mRNA display, we developed a high-throughput screen platform for caspase family member specific substrates on a proteome-wide scale. A large number of both known and previously uncharacterized caspase-3 substrates were identified from the human proteome. The proteolytic features of these selected substrates, including their cleavage sites and specificities, were characterized. Substrates that were cleaved only by caspase-8 or granzyme B but not by caspase-3, were readily selected. The method can be widely applied for efficient and systematic identification of the family member specific natural substrate repertoire of any caspase in an organism of interest, in addition to that of numerous other proteases with high specificity.


Background Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the world. Progression toward non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with alterations of skeletal muscle. One plausible mechanism for altered muscle compartment in liver disease is changes in ammonia metabolism. In the present study, we explored the hypothesis that NASH-associated hyperammonemia drives muscle changes as well as liver disease progression. Materials and methods In Alms1-mutant mice (foz/foz) fed a 60% fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks; we investigated hepatic and muscular ammonia detoxification efficiency. We then tested the effect of an 8 week-long supplementation with L-ornithine L-aspartate (LOLA), a known ammonia-lowering treatment, given after either 4 or 12 weeks of HFD for a preventive or a curative intervention, respectively. We monitored body composition, liver and muscle state by micro computed tomography (micro-CT) as well as muscle strength by four-limb grip test. Results According to previous studies, 12 weeks of HFD induced NASH in all foz/foz mice. Increase of hepatic ammonia production and alterations of urea cycle efficiency were observed, leading to hyperammonemia. Concomitantly mice developed marked myosteatosis. First signs of myopenia occurred after 20 weeks of diet. Early LOLA treatment given during NASH development, but not its administration in a curative regimen, efficiently prevented myosteatosis and muscle quality, but barely impacted liver disease or, surprisingly, ammonia detoxification. Conclusion Our study confirms the perturbation of hepatic ammonia detoxification pathways in NASH. Results from the interventional experiments suggest a direct beneficial impact of LOLA on skeletal muscle during NASH development, though it does not improve ammonia metabolism or liver disease.


A demountable variable focus X-ray tube has been employed to study the effect on the focal spot of changes in the filament position anode-cathode separation and tube current and voltage. By measuring the focal spot line spread function for various tube parameters the effect of electron focusing on both the size and intensity distribution of the focal spot has been studied. The observed changes in the focal spot line spread function can be explained in terms of the focusing of the electron beams originating from different parts of the filament. Large variations in both the size and intensity distribution of the focal spot are observed with changes in the position of the filament.


Nitrification plays a significant role in the global nitrogen cycle. Ammonia oxidation, the first step of nitrification, is performed in wastewater treatment by both ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). Most previous studies focused on their distribution in natural environments. In this study we qualified and quantified AOB, AOA, total bacteria, and total archaea in six different wastewater treatment systems (WTSs) using clone library and real-time PCR techniques. The results revealed that wastewater quality was an essential factor for the distribution of AOB and AOA in aerobic reactors. Although both AOB and AOA were present in all samples and contributed to nitrification simultaneously, AOB were the dominant nitrifiers in the three industrial WTSs, whereas AOA were dominant in the three domestic WTSs. This indicates AOA may be more sensitive to some toxic compounds than AOB. In addition, the dominant groups of AOB in the industrial WTSs were Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira; the composition of AOA in the domestic WTSs was very similar, possibly due to the same source of raw sewage.


Systems development is such a complex and dynamic process that those involved in it can neglect or even ignore the issue of the system's usability. Like most complex processes, systems development requires several actors to collaborate and coordinate several more or less dependent activities. Most models of systems development do not capture the dynamics of complex systems development; in particular, they often ignore the complexity of inter-organizational negotiations and responsibilities. Given these problems, we suggest that metaphors present an alternative approach for analyzing these processes. In this paper we use the metaphor of a football game to visualize how usability is handled and understood by a large Swedish governmental organization that specializes in complex systems procurement. Our point of departure was 25 interviews with several stakeholders, both outside and inside the organization. In our first analysis, we saw actors in the procurement process pass usability issues on to each other. This led us to conduct a metaphorical analysis, which makes it possible to see things from a new perspective. The football metaphor highlights how actors in two organizations—the procurer and the developer—cooperate as well as compete. In addition to analyzing structural aspects, such as rules and tactics, 22 that govern the systems development process, we assign and discuss relevant roles to correspond with those in a football game. The approach illustrates how usability is systematically neglected.


Dædalus Fall 2004 He was meek, homicidal, wore a long scarf tied once around his neck as must have been the style for trolls that year. I never saw him board the bus, but it may have been in Varmahlid, though I can't be sure since I slept so much in Iceland. I was there at summer's end, meaning August. Most folks in their twenties had already scamped cross-country in July so I found myself with the elderly wanderers. On trails I passed couples catching breath and rubbing each other's knees through waterproof pants. The Germans regarded me with tacky detachment, snubbing me while wearing bright red boots and brighter orange parkas. I tried not to feel hurt by their disdain, told myself it was like being expelled from clown college, but you can guess how much it really bothered me. Also, I had the amazing misfortune of sitting behind French people on every plane and bus. Minutes into a ride a pair, woman and man, brazenly checked that yes there was, certi1⁄2ably, undeniably, someone sitting behind them, then slid their chairs so far back I had a headrest against my gullet. This happened so much. Even when I asked, slapped, tapped, or pushed their seats they only gave that stare the French invented to paralyze the dumb. Luckily the Icelanders liked me, even with being an American, because I was shy. Firm, polite, and quiet, a perfect personality for these reserved Northern Europeans. Many times I was told so. –Don't take this the wrong way, one girl in a candy shop said to me, but I explained to my coworker that here, 1⁄2nally, is an American who isn't boring. Being loud and asking so many boring questions! Most Icelanders used English skillfully, but it was a quirk of speech that they said boring when they meant frustrating. Like,–This knot in my shoe is so boring! Or,–I can't reach my girlfriend, this connection is boring! I heard it like that many times. So this was me: an American, not boring, black, and alone in Iceland.


The in vitro cell culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of Danqi Piantan capsule (DPC) and DPC dislodge the antelope horn with artificial bezoar double (DPCBD) on nerve regeneration and blood vessel regeneration and preliminarily investigate the possibility of substituting antelope horn in DPC with artificial bezoar. In this experiment, rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: the blank serum control group, the model group, DPC groups (0.306 g x kg(-1) x d(-1), the same below), DPC remove of antelope horn (DPCRA) groups and DPCBD groups. Brain microvascular endothelial cells cultured in vitro (BMEC), astrocytes and neural stem cells (NSC) were co-cultured to simulate neurovascular unit, label neurons with microtubule associated protein III (β-tubulin III) antibody and lable astrocytes with glial fibrillary acidicprotein (GFAP). ELISA was used for the detection of the content of BMEC lactate dehydrogenase instrument method (LDH), the inverted phase contrastmicroscope was adopted to observe the formation of BMEC tube like structure, the number of leukocytes and leukocytes adherent to BMEC were counted under the microscope, the expression levels of β-tubulin III and the ratio of GFAP positive cells was detected with inimmunofluorescence, and RT-PCR method was used to detect NGF, BDNF, VEGF and VEGFr-2 mRNA. According to the result, compared with the model group, both DPC and DPCBD can reduce LDH leakage, promote the formation of BMEC tube like structure, inhibit leukocytes and their adhesion to BMEC, increase the β-tubulin III positive cell differentiation proportion (P < 0. 01), reduce the proportion of GFAP positive cells (P < 0.01), increase the expressions of co-cultured NGF, VEGF, BDNF and VEGFr-2 mRNA to a certain extent, with the most significant difference on NGF and VEGF mRNA expressions (P < 0.05) and the same efficacy in both groups. DPCRA groups showed less impact on all indexes than that of DPCBD and DPC groups. The same efficacy of DPCBD and DPC on nerve regeneration and angiogenesis suggested that antelope horn in DPC can be substituted by artificial bezoar.


An empirical measure for the selection of the edge-enhancement Gaussian filter is developed. The Gaussian filter is specified by its standard deviation sigma ; the filter's spatial support is a function of sigma . An estimation procedure for sigma using Fourier analysis is described. The measure is easy to implement and is based totally on the image at hand. Experimental results suggest that this measure can be used as an aid in deciding the Gaussian filter's spatial support, which is needed to enhance the edges. Other equivalent bandwidth definitions can be used to obtain a measure of the frequency spread in the smoothed image (e.g., the mean-square bandwidth).<<ETX>>


The purpose of this study is to provide a culture for mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) and peritoneal macrophages (PM) and to characterize their molecular and cellular biology. The cell number and purity from the primary culture were assessed by cell counter and flow cytometry, respectively. Morphological features were evaluated by inverted microscope. Phagocytosis by macrophages was detected by the neutral red dye uptake assay. Phenotypic markers were analyzed by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Our results show that the cell number was much higher from culture of BMDM than PM, while there was no significant difference regarding the percentage of F4/80+CD11b+ cells (98.30%±0.53% vs. 94.83%±1.42%; P>0.05). The proliferation rate of BMDM was significantly higher than PM in the presence of L929 cell conditioned medium, by using CCK-8 assay. However, PM appeared to adhere to the flask wall and extend earlier than BMDM. The phagocytosis capability of un-stimulated BMDM was significantly higher than PM, as well as lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BMDM, except the BMDM stimulated by low dose LPS (0.1 μg/mL). Furthermore, Tnfα expression was significantly higher in un-stimulated BMDM than PM, while Arg1 and Ym1 mRNA expression were significantly lower than PM. The expression difference was persistent if stimulated by LPS+IFN-γ or IL-4. Our data indicate that bone marrow can get larger amounts of macrophages than peritoneal cavity. However, it should be aware that the molecular and cellular characteristics were different between these two culture systems.


Abstract. This study analyzes the development of writing in Spanish among bilingual Tarahumara children (Chihuahua, Northern Mexico), from different perspectives: 1) A psychogenetic perspective, focusing on how the writing process is constructed by Tarahumara children; 2) A social perspective, focusing on the children's family context, as well as the cultural and economic characteristics of their community, and; 3) A pedagogical perspective, focusing on the learning environments of two different kinds of schools these children attend (a "regular" school and a bilingual school for indigenous children). This study tries to identify how different factors have an impact on the development of writing. Data was collected for this multiple-case study through on-site observation, interviews and videotaping class sessions at both schools. Children's notebooks and writing products were also collected. The data was analyzed transversally considering events, people and contexts related to the writing process. The results were interpretations on the social, cultural, cognitive and pedagogical factors that were perceived, associated to the learning process of how to write in a non-mother tongue, in the case of migrant indigenous children, in an environment different from that of their ancestors. The study was based on the hypothesis that, in the circumstances of the studied cases, it is better for these children to learn first how to write in their second language and, then, in their mother tongue, if necessary.


This paper presents an experimental investigation for the characteristics of an energy harvesting device exploiting flowinduced vibration in a wind tunnel. A stationary bluff body is connected with a downstream tip body via an aluminium cantilever beam. Various lengths of aluminium cantilever beam and different shapes of downstream tip body are considered. The results show that the characteristics of the energy harvester's vibration depend on both the length of the aluminium cantilever beam and the shape of the downstream tip body. The highest ratio between vibration amplitude and bluff body diameter was found to be 1.39 for an energy harvester with a symmetrical triangular tip body and L/D1 = 5 at 9.8 m/s of flow speed (Re = 20077). Using this configuration, the electrical energy was extracted with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric beam with different load resistances, of which the optimal value could be found on each Reynolds number. The highest power output was found to be 3.19 μW, at 9.8 m/s of flow speed (Re = 20077) and 27 MΩ of load resistance. Keywords—Downstream structures, energy harvesting, flowinduced vibration, piezoelectric material, wind tunnel.


The XENON experiment is dedicated to the search of dark matter particles interacting directly with ordinary matter, with particular focus on the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP). The XENON experimental program, developed so far, consisted of three detectors, with the same conceptual design but increasing mass and so the sensitivity.
All of them have been operated at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy, in different periods.
XENON1T, the most recently operated detector and still in data-taking, is presently leading the field.
The recent published results achieved the limit of the Spin Independent (SI) WIMP-nucleon cross section for WIMP masses
above 6 GeV/c^2 of $4.1x10^{-47} cm^2 a 90% C.L.
The preparation of the next phase of the XENON project is already ongoing with the construction of the XENONnT detector, which will exploit a larger
mass of Xe (~8 tonnes), and will have an improved sensitivity of one order of magnitude.


Veterinarians encounter all types of wounds--from the simple clean laceration in an area of the body where it is easily repaired, to the massive infected wound in an area of the body where repair is quite difficult and involved. From the beginning of time, man has had the instinct to pour things in wounds to kill microorganisms and enhance healing, and..... "wounds are still lathered, bathed, and sprayed with various notions, potions, and lotions".


In this thesis are shown developments in the random phase approximation (RPA) in the context of range-separated theories. We present advances in the formalism of the RPA in general, and particularly in the"dielectric matrix"formulation of RPA, which is explored in details. We show a summary of a work on the RPA equations with localised orbitals, especially developments of the virtual localized orbitals that are the"projected oscillatory orbitals"(POO). A program has been written to calculate functions such as the exchange hole, the response function, etc on real space grid (parallelepipedic or of the"DFT"type) ; some of those visualisations are shown here. In the real space, we offer an adaptation of the effective energy denominator approximation (EED), originally developped in the reciprocal space in solid physics. The analytical gradients of the RPA correlation energies in the context of range separation has been derived. The formalism developped here with a lagrangian allows an all-in-one derivation of the short- and long-range terms that emerge in the expressions of the gradient. These terms show interesting parallels. Geometry optimisations at the RSH+dRPA-I and RSH+SOSEX levels on a set of 16 molecules are shown, as well as calculations and visualisations of correlated densities at the RSH+dRPA-I level.


Due to the trend that more and more web services, such as Google, Facebook, and many auction websites, require users to open their new accounts or to login to their accounts through cell-phone-verification, cell-phone-verification has become an important function of cellular phones. However, our research shows that cell-phone-verification is not always reliable. This study proposes a new attack method named MAC-YURI (My ACcount, YoUr ResponsIbility) against cell-phone-verification to show people one possible abuse of smartphones. Through MAC-YURI, an attacker can utilize a compromised smartphone as a steppingstone to accept and forward account verification code to finish cell-phone-verification when applying a new account or logging in to an account. We have implemented MAC-YURI on an Android smartphone. Experimental results show that MAC-YURI can successfully assist an attacker in obtaining the verification code of an account without the awareness of a steppingstone smartphone owner. Besides, MACYURI also develops an SMS-based mechanism to create a smartphone-based botnet. After such a botnet is created, it is difficult to locate the bot master or the machine a bot will contact in the future. Finally, this paper proposes some recommendations to protect a smartphone against MAC-YURI.


This research work aims to establish a link between WIPO and Paris Convention from national and international perspectives. Furthermore, the lack of implementation of legislation at the national level is one of the greatest setbacks in the history of IPR protection. Basically, the value of human rights is largely tested by its implementation. The earlier form of Industrial property underwent a transformation after the Paris Convention to be nomenclature as Intellectual property. IPRs, such as patents, plant variety protection, copyrights, and trademarks, are exclusive monopoly rights over a creation that the society provides to the inventor for a period of time. While such monopoly protection obviously restricts the dissemination of knowledge, it is supposed to be counterbalanced by the incentive that it provides to innovate. Intrinsic, natural, interrelated, indivisible, inalienable, basic, instrumental, and inherent rights are ought to be protected if required, for maintaining peace in the society. Imperialism, colonialism, and inequalities among the states were some reasons of concern for the development of IPR.


Issues related to indiscipline, bullying and school violence continue to be a concern, challenging schools to build effective solutions for promoting active, receptive, responsive and relational citizenship. Schools need to act in a convergent way with proactive models of indiscipline management with a view to promoting prosocial behavior. In this context, we highlight the participation and involvement of students in decision-making processes as well as in school activities as a determining factor in the construction of a positive, democratic and inclusive school. This article presents the Students' Assemblies methodology, as carried out in the School Group of Frazão – Paços de Ferreira, in a project to promote positive behavior in the school. Based on the assemblies' records analysis, we identified the students' conceptions about discipline and school climate as well as the strategic actions used. The results reinforce actions that promote students' participation and involvement in the decisions and activities of the school. In fact, we believe that students' assemblies are a promising approach for promote a positive, participatory and democratic school climate.


Understanding the underlying mechanisms that drive human visual attention is a topic of immense interest. Most of the work is focused on extracting manually selected features that might resemble the human visual processing pathway and using a combination of those features to train a classifier that learns to predict where humans look. In contrast, we will learn the features using a generalization of Independent Component Analysis (ICA), namely the topographic Independent Component Analysis (tICA). We will show that those learned features in combination with linear SVM outperform the hand-crafted ones. In addition, we propose a novel optimization scheme, which jointly optimizes for linear SVM and tICA pooling weights and show that it further improves the results.


Aims: This study aimed to investigate whether there is heterogeneity of opinion about drug policies amongst people with different experiences of drug use, so as to stimulate discussion about how the diverse perspectives of people who use drugs can be meaningfully included in policy deliberation. Methods: The views of people who inject drugs were compared with the views of people who regularly use 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), using data obtained from two Australian surveys (the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System and the Illicit Drug Reporting System). Support for drug-related policies (including treatment, harm reduction and drug legalisation) was examined using questions from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The extent to which demographic variables and/or drug use experience accounted for differences of opinion amongst the two samples was also explored. Findings: There were significant differences between the views of IDRS and EDRS participants, about legalisation, and a range of harm reduction and treatment interventions. The heterogeneity in support for the legalisation of different drugs could be accounted for by recent experience of use, over and above demographic differences between people who inject drugs and people who regularly use MDMA. Conclusions: These findings speak to the diversity of attitudes and experiences amongst people who use drugs, and reinforce the need to better represent a diversity of opinion in drug policy deliberation and challenge stereotypical perceptions which stigmatise people who use drugs.


Abstract We documented adult mortality and fawn recruitment of Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) in Arizona. This population is endangered (N<30) and is decreasing due to low fawn recruitment and adult mortality. We radiocollared Sonoran pronghorn to monitor survival and recruitment from 1995–2002. We relocated each radiocollared pronghorn during weekly telemetry flights from a fixed-wing airplane and recorded group composition to determine recruitment. Mortalities detected during flights were investigated as soon as possible (i. e., <48 hours) to document adult mortality. Adult mortality rates varied from 11–83%/year. Adult pronghorn were killed by coyotes (Canis latrans), bobcats (Felis rufus), mountain lions (Puma concolor), capturing efforts, drought, and unknown causes. Fawn mortality varied from year to year and was correlated with the amount and timing of rainfall. Drought may be a major factor in the survival of adults and fawns. A lack of nutritious forage and water, caused by dry conditions, led to high fawn mortality and caused adult mortality during a particularly severe drought. Drought also may indirectly affect adult mortality by causing animals to use areas where predators are more successful. Disease may affect mortality but remains largely uninvestigated. Management applications aimed at increasing fawn recruitment and reducing adult mortality should increase the chances of survival of this species. Providing sources of highly nutritious forage during early spring and summer when fawns are susceptible to poor nutrition may increase their chances of survival. Providing water sources and nutritious forage in areas where predators are less successful may increase both adult and fawn survival. Predator control may be useful in limited situations but likely would be prohibitively expensive, with little chance of making a difference over the entire range of Sonoran pronghorn.


ABSTRACT A deletion variant of the dengue virus (DENV) serotype 2 (DENV2) Tonga/74 strain lacking 30 nucleotides from its 3′ untranslated region (rDEN2Δ30) has previously been established for use in a controlled human DENV challenge model. To evaluate if this model is appropriate for the derivation of correlates of protection for DENV vaccines on the basis of cellular immunity, we wanted to compare the cellular immune response to this challenge strain to the response induced by natural infection. To achieve this, we predicted HLA class I- and class II-restricted peptides from rDEN2Δ30 and used them in a gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay to interrogate CD8+ and CD4+ T cell responses in healthy volunteers infected with rDEN2Δ30. At the level of CD8 responses, vigorous ex vivo responses were detected in approximately 80% of donors. These responses were similar in terms of the magnitude and the numbers of epitopes recognized to the responses previously observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from donors from regions where DENV is hyperendemic. The similarity extended to the immunodominance hierarchy of the DENV nonstructural proteins, with NS3, NS5, and NS1 being dominant in both donor cohorts. At the CD4 level, the responses to rDEN2Δ30 vaccination were less vigorous than those to natural DENV infection and were more focused on nonstructural proteins. The epitopes recognized following rDEN2Δ30 infection and natural infection were largely overlapping for both the CD8 (100%) and CD4 (85%) responses. Finally, rDEN2Δ30 induced stronger CD8 responses than other, more attenuated DENV isolates. IMPORTANCE The lack of a known correlate of protection and the failure of a neutralizing antibody to correlate with protection against dengue virus have highlighted the need for a human DENV challenge model to better evaluate the candidate live attenuated dengue vaccines. In this study, we sought to characterize the immune profiles of rDEN2Δ30-infected subjects and to compare the profiles with those for subjects from areas where DENV is hyperendemic. Our data demonstrate that T cell responses to rDENV2Δ30 are largely similar to those to natural infection in terms of specificity, highlighting that the response to this virus in humans is appropriate as a model for the T cell response to primary DENV2 infection.


NADPH oxidases, Nox, are a family of isoenzymes, composed of seven members, whose sole function is to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although Nox catalyze the same enzymatic reaction, they acquired from a common ancestor during evolution, specificities related to their tissue expression, subcellular localization, activation mechanisms and regulation. Their functions could vary depending on the pathophysiological state of the tissues. Indeed, ROS are not only bactericidal weapons in phagocytes but also essential cellular signaling molecules and their overproduction is involved in chronic diseases and diseases of aging. The understanding of the mechanisms involved in the function of Nox and the emergence of Nox inhibitors, require a thorough knowledge of their nature and structure. The objectives of this review are to highlight, in a structure/function approach, the main similar and differentiated properties shared by the human Nox isoenzymes.


In this study, we evaluated gender differences in PD excretion, tissue distribution, and metabolism in rats. In addition, we also evaluated its anti-inflammatory activity and mechanism. The results showed that the concentrations of PD in the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine were the highest. The Cmax of female rats was significantly higher than that of male rats. With regard to genital tissues, the Cmax of PD in the uterus and ovary was higher than that in the testis. In the excretion test, gender had no significant effect on the excretion of PD. Its total excretion in rats was about 30%. Therefore, we speculated 12 phase I metabolites. In the anti-inflammatory test, PD showed no cytotoxic effect on macrophage RAW 264.7 and significantly reduced the production of NO and expressions of interleukin 6, interleukin 1, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Further analyses demonstrated that PD activated the MAPK signaling pathway by reducing the phosphorylated levels of p38 and ERK.


These days construction management is executed in an information technology environment, which creates a large volume of digital data. At the completion of a project, the contractor is required to transfer to the owner the digital data as project deliverables usually in a form of CD's. From an enterprise-wide view point, this traditional way makes the management of project deliverables ineffective as the data accumulated from different projects could be enormous. The objective of this paper is to propose a structured way to utilize a XML database for better management of project deliverables. The XML database provides an environment which users can access through a project deliverable management system (PDMS). A pilot of the PDMS has been developed to test the effectiveness of document control. The result of the test demonstrates that the effectiveness of project deliverable management can be increased by providing a high transportability and usability of data in the construction life cycle.


With Marx's assertion that social existence determines the consciousness of men rather than the reverse, the ancient debate concerning freedom and necessity entered a new phase. Yet another dimension was added when Freud discovered the unconscious powers of the psyche. Subsequently, although thought has vacillated between the sociological and the psychological modes of analysis, both have underscored the deterministic sources of human behavior. Meanwhile, as if this were not enough, the assimilation of human behavior to nature, and thus also to the empirical methods of science and technology, has assured the total triumph of determinism.


The flexibility of vision systems has lead to their introduction in many areas of manufacturing. The use of CCD camera based systems €or aligning the color temperature of video displays is one of these areas. An implementation is discussed.


This article presents our approach for detecting a target of offensive messages in Twitter, including Individual, Group and Others classes. The model we have created is an ensemble of simpler models, including Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine and the interpolation between Logistic Regression and Naive Bayes with 0.25 coefficient of interpolation. The model allows us to achieve 0.547 macro F1-score.


Inotropic activity and the effect of CL 86-02-01 (2-(3-methoxy-5-methylsulfinyl-2-thienyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]pyridine hydrochloride, CAS 109 792-24-7) on membrane resting and action potentials were studied in isolated guinea-pig papillary muscles. Membrane resting potential and action potential parameters were not significantly changed, while CL 86-02-01 exerted a concentration-dependent inotropic effect by increasing the maximum rate of force development and maximum rate of force relaxation. Time to peak force, relaxation time and total contraction time were reduced. These effects are similar to those of beta-adrenergic drugs and phosphodiesterase inhibitors, but markedly differ from those described for other positive inotropic agents like cardiac glycosides, calcium agonists, alpha-adrenergic drugs or increased extracellular calcium concentration.


Avian reoviruses, members of Orthoreovirus genus was known to cause diseases like tenosynovitis, runting-stunting syndrome in chickens. Among eight structural proteins, the proteins of S-class are mainly associated with viral arthritis but the significance of σB protein in arthritis is not established till date. In this infection pathological condition together with infection of joints often leads to arthritis because joints consists of cartilage which forms lubricating surface between two bones, and has limited metabolic, replicative and repair capacity. To establish the role of σB protein in arthritis, an in-vitro microarray study was conducted consisting four groups viz. virus infected and control; pDsRed-Express-N1-σB and empty pDs-Red transfected, CEF cells. With cut-off value as FC ≥2, p value <0.05, 6709 and 4026 numbers of DEGs in virus and σB, respectively were identified. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis gave an idea about the involvement of σB protein in "osteoarthritis pathway", which was activated with z-score with 3.151. The pathway "Role of IL-17A in arthritis pathway" was also enriched with –log (p-value) 1.64. Among total 122 genes involved in osteoarthritis pathway, 28 upregulated and 11 downregulated DEGs were common to both virus and σB treated cells. Moreover, 14 upregulated and 7 downregulated were unique in σB transfected cells. Using qRT-PCR for IL-1B, BMP2, SMAD1, SPP1 genes, the microarray data was validated. We concluded that during ARV infection σB protein, if not fully partially leads to molecular alteration of various genes of host orchestrating the different molecular pattern in joints, leading to tenosynovitis syndrome.


COPII-coated vesicles carry proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex. This vesicular transport can be reconstituted by using three cytosolic components containing five proteins: the small GTPase Sar1p, the Sec23p/24p complex, and the Sec13p/Sec31p complex. We have used a combination of biochemistry and electron microscopy to investigate the molecular organization and structure of Sec23p/24p and Sec13p/31p complexes. The three-dimensional reconstruction of Sec23p/24p reveals that it has a bone-shaped structure, (17 nm in length), composed of two similar globular domains, one corresponding to Sec23p and the other to Sec24p. Sec13p/31p is a heterotetramer composed of two copies of Sec13p and two copies of Sec31p. It has an elongated shape, is 28–30 nm in length, and contains five consecutive globular domains linked by relatively flexible joints. Putting together the architecture of these Sec complexes with the interactions between their subunits and the appearance of the coat in COPII-coated vesicles, we present a model for COPII coat organization.


This study presents analysis of Rainfall variability and trends of extreme rainfall events in the Oda Gunufeta -Cherecha -Dechatu watershed, Awash Drainage Basin, Eastern Ethiopia. The study employed the coefficient of variation and the Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI) as statistical descriptors of rainfall variability. The indices at the five stations were subjected to non-parametric Mann-Kendall test to detect the trend over the period between 1985 to 2014. The results of the study revealed that, the watershed experiences moderate inter-annual rainfall variability. The Belg rainfall shows high variability than Kiremt rainfall. Highest Belg & Kiremt rainfall variability is observed in Dire Dawa with coefficient of variation of 46% and 40% respectively. The annual PCI for the watershed in all the stations under investigation during the record periods showed that 100% of the years for which the annual PCI was estimated fell within the irregular precipitation distribution range or high precipitation concentration. The irregular precipitation distribution also extended to all the stations in short rainy season (Belg rainfall) and in two stations in the main rainy season (Kiremt season). With regard to the rainfall trend, the annual rainfall has showed a negative trend in most of the stations for the period 1985-2014. The Mann–Kendall trend test during the Kiremt season shows a positive trend in Dengego, Dire Dawa, Combolcha and Haramaya and the increasing tendency is significant at p<0.1 in Degego, p<0.05 in Dire Dawa, p <0.05 in Combolcha and p <0.01 in Haramaya. The heavy rainfall events, the 90th & 95th percentiles, in all the five stations showed an increasing pattern but except in Combolcha the trends are not statistically significant. This implies that the watershed has been under increased rainfall intensity and this in turn has the potential cause for high risk of flood occurrences.


Although the presence of an exogenous anion is a requirement for tight Fe3+ binding by the bacterial (Neisseria) transferrin nFbp, the identity of the exogenous anion is not specific in vitro. nFbp was reconstituted as a stable iron containing protein by using a number of different exogenous anions [arsenate, citrate, nitrilotriacetate, pyrophosphate, and oxalate (symbolized by X)] in addition to phosphate, predominantly present in the recombinant form of the protein. Spectroscopic characterization of the Fe3+/anion interaction in the reconstituted protein was accomplished by UV-visible and EPR spectroscopies. The affinity of the protein for Fe3+ is anion dependent, as evidenced by the effective Fe3+ binding constants (K′eff) observed, which range from 1 × 1017 M−1 to 4 × 1018 M−1 at pH 6.5 and 20°C. The redox potentials for Fe3+nFbpX/Fe2+nFbpX reduction are also found to depend on the identity of the synergistic anion required for Fe3+ sequestration. Facile exchange of exogenous anions (Fe3+nFbpX + X′ → Fe3+nFbpX′ + X) is established and provides a pathway for environmental modulation of the iron chelation and redox characteristics of nFbp. The affinity of the iron loaded protein for exogenous anion binding at pH 6.5 was found to decrease in the order phosphate > arsenate ∼ pyrophosphate > nitrilotriacetate > citrate ∼ oxalate ≫ carbonate. Anion influence on the iron primary coordination sphere through iron binding and redox potential modulation may have in vivo application as a mechanism for periplasmic control of iron delivery to the cytosol.


Background Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common type of lung cancer, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miR-202-3p and its downstream target gene, ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2), in the occurrence and development of LUAD and elucidate the correlation between RRM2 and the clinicopathological stage and prognosis of LUAD. Methods The expression of miR-202-3p was analyzed using the CancerMIRNome database and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The effects of miR-202-3p and RRM2 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 cells were analyzed. A dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the targeting of miR-202-3p and RRM2. Additionally, the correlation between RRM2 expression and clinicopathology was analyzed. Results (I) MiR-202-3p was lowly expressed in LUAD and the LUAD cell lines. qPCR confirmed that microRNA (miRNA) transfection was effective and sufficient for subsequent experiments. (II) MiR-202-3p inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration of LUAD cells. (III) There was a targeting relationship between miR-202-3p and RRM2, and miR-202-3p affected the expression of the RRM2 protein. RRM2 was highly expressed in lung cancer tissue. (IV) RRM2 was associated with the clinicopathological staging of lung cancer. The prognosis of patients with low RRM2 expression was better, and the prognostic sensitivity of RRM2 to lung cancer was high. RRM2 may exert its effects via the Notch pathway. (V) Si-RRM2 inhibited the expression of the RRM2 protein. RRM2 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LUAD cells. A miR-202-3p inhibitor restored the inhibitory effect of si-RRM2 on LUAD cells. Conclusions MiR-202-3p was lowly expressed in lung cancer tissue. MiR-202-3p overexpression inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells. RRM2 was highly expressed in lung cancer tissue and promoted the proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells. MiR-202-3p targeted and inhibited RRM2, thereby reducing the proliferation and metastasis of LUAD cells. LUAD patients with low RRM2 expression had a better prognosis, and the expression level of RRM2 was correlated with the clinical characteristics of lung cancer patients.


ABSTRACT The pyrazinamidase from Mycobacterium smegmatis was purified to homogeneity to yield a product of approximately 50 kDa. The deduced amino-terminal amino acid sequence of this polypeptide was used to design an oligonucleotide probe for screening a DNA library of M. smegmatis. An open reading frame, designatedpzaA, which encodes a polypeptide of 49.3 kDa containing motifs conserved in several amidases was identified. Targeted knockout of the pzaA gene by homologous recombination yielded a mutant, pzaA::aph, with a more-than-threefold-reduced level of pyrazinamidase activity, suggesting that this gene encodes the major pyrazinamidase of M. smegmatis. Recombinant forms of the M. smegmatis PzaA and the Mycobacterium tuberculosispyrazinamidase/nicotinamidase (PncA) were produced in Escherichia coli and were partially purified and compared in terms of their kinetics of nicotinamidase and pyrazinamidase activity. The comparableKm values obtained from this study suggested that the unique specificity of pyrazinamide (PZA) for M. tuberculosis was not based on an unusually high PZA-specific activity of the PncA protein. Overexpression of pzaAconferred PZA susceptibility on M. smegmatis by reducing the MIC of this drug to 150 μg/ml.


Objectives:We sought to determine how early we can detect acute kidney injury inpatients at intensive care unit admission by combining the use of plasma creatinine and urinary &ggr;-glutamyl transpeptidase. Design:Prospective study including development (n = 100) and validation (n = 56) cohorts. Settings:Intensive care unit of a university hospital. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:To determine acute kidney injury, we subtracted measured creatinine clearance from theoretical creatinine clearance with a 25% reduction signifying acute kidney injury. Its incidence in 100 consecutive patients was 36%. An indexed urinary &ggr;-glutamyl transpeptidase–to–urinary creatinine ratio was significantly increased in the patients with acute kidney injury and did not correlate with plasma creatinine (p = .3). Using a predefined threshold of indexed urinary &ggr;-glutamyl transpeptidase–to–urinary creatinine ratio (>12.4 units/mmol) and plasma creatinine (>89 &mgr;mol/L), acute kidney injury detection was significantly improved, making it possible to detect 22 (22%) additional patients with acute kidney injury. This finding was confirmed in the validation group. The rates of false-positive results were 30% and 19% in the data development and internal validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusions:The use of low-cost, widely available markers (creatinine and urinary &ggr;-glutamyl transpeptidase) increases the detection of acute kidney injury. Further studies are needed to determine the impact on outcome with the use of these biomarkers.


The Royal Northern Hospital in Holloway Road, London, is a large voluntary hospital which does admirable work in serving an area of seventy square miles and a population of 1,000,000 in North London, and it has lately appealed for £350,000 to enlarge and modernize the buildings. It must have been with a feeling of dismay that the medical staff of the Royal Northern Hospital read last week a full-page advertisement in leading London newspapers. This was headed inbold lettering: " The Beecham Laboratories recently presented to the Royal Northern Hospital, Holloway, London," and continued: ".Shareholders of Beechams Pills, Ltd., of St. Helens, will join their chairman and directors in wishing success to the new research laboratories presented to the hospital by their company. The laboratories are now an active department of one of London's great hospitals. Here the multitudinous drugs, sera, and vaccines used in daily practice are studied so that they may work safely and effectively." By a coincidence there appeared almost on the same day reports of the tenth ordinary general meeting of Beechams Pills, Limited. The chairman in the course of his speech said: "The company owns and markets the following proprietary articles: Beechams Pills, Beechams Powders, Beechams Lung Syrup, Cassell's Tablets, Veno's Lightning Cough Cure, Cicfa, Dinneford's Magnesia and Tablets, Germolene Ointment and Soap, Holloway's Pills and Ointment, Iron Jelloids, Lactopeptine, Nicocin, Phensic, Phosferine, Ashton and Parsons Baby Powders, Phyllosan, Sherley's Dog and Cat Foods and Medicines, Yeast-Vite Tablets, Amami Shampoos, and other products." The action of the Royal Northern Hospital establishes a precedent which other voluntary hospitals, in their need, might be tempted to follow. There is no point in disguising the fact that the interests which Beechams Pills, Ltd., largely represent are ones which have been consistently opposed by the medical profession. It is obvious that the profession cannot have it both ways: it cannot decry the evils of patent medicines and self-medication and at the same time accept gifts from those who make profits out of such activities. INSULIN TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIA


Infection of the uterine cervix by human papilloma viruses (HPV) is a ubiquitous yet only recently recognized lesion. The morphological findings correlate with early and late gene expression. The pathological events presumably depend upon the HPV type involved and upon environmental and host factors. The recognized risk factors are those described for epithelial dysplasias and carcinomas. The prevalence is unclear: it varies among different population groups and depends upon the investigation methods employed. The natural history of the infection is unknown, although relations between cervical HPV infection and carcinogenesis are evident. Research is handicapped by the lack of suitable animal or in vitro models.


We present the results of a dynamic study of the susceptibility in the Ising anisotropic spin-glass Fe0.3Mg0.7Cl2 using Faraday rotation in the (1.5 ÷ 80 000) Hz range. The variation of the relaxation time at low temperature can be fitted either by a power law with a diverging exponent or by an Arrhenius law. It is shown explicitly that both laws, in fact, mean the same result which is the natural expectation of usual scaling theory in the limit when Tc → 0.


Increased capacity of computers has made the computational fluid dynamics technology attractive for the design of different apparatuses. Optimisation of a pellet burner using the computational fluid dynamics was investigated in this paper. To make the design tool work fast, an approach with only mixing of gases was simulated. Other important phenomena such as chemical reactions were omitted in order to speed up the design process. The original design of the burner gave unsatisfactory performance. The optimised design achieved from simulation was validated and the results show a significant improvement. The power output increased and the emission of unburned species decreased but could be further reduced. The contact time between combustion gases and secondary air was probably too short. An increased contact time in high temperature conditions would possibly improve the design further.


A study of 20 anginal patients demonstrated signs of platelet hyperreactivity: increased platelet aggregation, increased mobilization of Ca2+ from platelet membranes, and increased production of malonic dialdehyde. A short-term treatment with isoptin-120 (360 mg daily) produced a considerable drop in those parameters. It is suggested that the drug's basic effect is due to the inhibition of intracellular calcium redistribution in the platelets of coronary patients.