In this study, we developed a cathodic protection (CP) system, which includes a sacrificial anode and a moisture-absorbent fiber sheet, and applied it to old steel structures exposed in a chloride environment, especially localized steel members susceptible to corrosion. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of environmental changes caused by the electrolyte and anodic material on the durability and effectiveness of the CP system. To verify the corrosion kinetics of steel affected by the sacrificial anode, electrochemical tests on binary and ternary alloys were conducted in an immersion environment and the corresponding electrochemical tests on specimens with CP were conducted in an indoor atmospheric environment. Moreover, the anti-corrosion mechanism and time-dependent current variations were clarified by conducting exposure corrosion tests. The test results demonstrated that the anodic reaction kinetics of Al-3Zn and Al-20Zn were similar; Al-based alloy could be a sacrificial anode with a stable activating reaction, providing sustained CP for steel through an aquiferous fiber sheet. Furthermore, the fiber sheet acted as an effective electrolyte in the atmospheric environment and led to a sustained anti-corrosion current and negative potential at the steel member. In addition, high chloride or nonuniform electrolyte was considered the reason for the occurrence of self-corrosion in a steel plate, which can be avoided by adjusting the dimensions of the exposed holes in the anode plate.


The study was designed to ascertain if mathematics teachers in secondary schools know and practise wait-time during classroom instructions. It also sought to determine wait-time periods in current practice by mathematics teachers in Nigeria. Four research questions were used to guide the study. The study adopted survey research design. The sample used for the study comprised 210 qualified mathematics teachers. Two instruments, namely; Wait-time Practice Questionnaire (WPQ) and Checklist for Classroom Wait-time Observations (CCWO) were constructed by the investigators and used for data collection. Research questions 1, 2, and 4 were answered using percentage (%), while research question 3 was answered using mean. The results established that wait-time is being practised in Nigerian secondary schools by mathematics teachers during classroom instructions. The results equally revealed that mathematics teachers currently practise an average of 1.33 seconds wait-time in class. Based on these findings, it was recommended that mathematics teachers should not only practise waittime, but; they should be seen to practise adequate wait-time of at least 3 seconds each lesson, and the practice of wait-time should be emphasised in Nigerian schools for meaningful learning of mathematics to take place.


Vasculitis is a process that results from the inflammation of blood vessels and can occur de novo or secondary to a variety of diseases or drugs. Clinical presentation depends on the size and distribution of vessels involved. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) have been shown to have variable sensitivity in making the diagnosis of specific vasculitic syndromes, therefore histological confirmation may be necessary. Angiography is a useful tool in evaluating disease of large and medium-sized vessels that are inaccessible or potentially dangerous to biopsy. New imaging modalities are becoming more useful in diagnosing vessel wall changes, particularly in large-vessel vasculitides. In clinical practice it is not always possible to classify or apply a specific label to a patient with vasculitis, but for appropriate patient management it is important to define the extent and severity of disease and to exclude underlying secondary causes.


AT-527, an orally administered double prodrug of a guanosine nucleotide analog, has been shown previously to be highly efficacious and well tolerated in HCV-infected subjects. Herein we report the potent in vitro activity of AT-511, the free base form of AT-527, against several coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. In normal human airway epithelial (HAE) cell preparations, the average concentration of AT-511 required to inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2 by 90% (EC90) was 0.5 µM, very similar to the EC90 for AT-511 against HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV in Huh-7 cells. No cytotoxicity was observed for AT-511 in any of the antiviral assays up to the highest concentration tested (100 µM). Surprisingly, AT-511 was 30-fold less active against MERS-CoV. This differential activity may provide a clue to the apparent unique mechanism of action of the guanosine triphosphate analog formed from AT-527.


Asymmetric synthesis of lemonomycinone amide (2) was accomplished from readily accessible starting materials. Enantioselective alkylation of N-(diphenylmethylene)glycine tert-butyl ester (11) by 5-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy-2,4-dimethoxy-3-methylbenzyl bromide (10) in the presence of Corey-Lygo's phase transfer catalyst [O-(9)-ally-N-(9'-anthracenylmethyl) cinchonidium bromide, 0.1 equiv] afforded, after chemoselective hydrolysis of the imine function (THF/H(2)O/AcOH), the substituted l-tert-butyl phenylalanate 13 in 85% yield. A Pictet-Spengler reaction of 14 with benzyloxyacetaldehyde (15) provided the 1,3-cis-disubstituted tetrahydroisoquinoline 16 in 85% yield as a single diastereomer. Coupling of hindered secondary amine 16 with amino acid 9 was accomplished under carefully controlled conditions to furnish the amide 22, which was in turn converted to hemiaminal 24. A hafnium triflate catalyzed conversion of hemiaminal to alpha-amino thioether followed by a silver tetrafluoroborate promoted intramolecular Mannich reaction of 26 afforded the tetracycle 27 in excellent overall yields. Debenzylation of 27 [Pd(OH)(2), H(2), MeOH, 0 degrees C], removal of N-Boc function (aqueous 3 N HCl, MeOH/H(2)O), and oxidation of hydroquinone to quinone [(NH(4))(2)Ce(NO(3))(6), H(2)O, rt] afforded the lemonomycinone amide 2 in 76% yield over three steps.


The remote design and analysis system of shafting components takes the Internet as the basis,and different kinds of design requirements and parameters submitted to network server by clients as the sustainment,to fulfill the system of remote design and analysis. This paper developed shafting components remote design analysis system based on Web. With the aid of the advanced java technology,the remote server technology,the network database technology and etc,remote design and analysis is carried out,system design cycle is shorten,and the time request of system design rapidity and practicability is embodied,along with the current technical development of intelligentizing design.


The quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.) leaves processed using different methods, such as fermentation, steaming, and roasting were investigated. The total phenolics content was highest in the roasted guava leaves. While tyrosinase inhibition and electron donating abilities were highest in steamed guava leaves. The overall palatability showed higher scores in both fermented and steamed guava leaves compared to roasted ones. Upon blanching and steaming of guava leaves, the total phenolics content, tyrosinase inhibition ability, and electron donating ability decreased as the treatment time increased. The overall quality properties were significantly higher in steamed than the blanched samples. The sensory scores, however, were low mainly due to the astringent taste of guava leaves. Thus, it was found that the removal or masking of the astringent taste of guava leaves is of primary concern for their further use.


Background: To win the race of hares, one has to become a leopard performing in faster and pro-active manners than others to win the competition. But to come first and remain ahead of others for longer durations, demands quality initiatives in business processes and therefore the topic on quality in service operations beards paramount importance. Objectives: On this note, we have tried to assess the prevailing service quality of various star category hotels in the state of Odisha in India where the renowned SERVQUAL scale is employed to map the difference of opinions between the guests visiting the hotels. Materials & Methods: A total of 395 numbers of interviews were conducted through convenient sampling process and the data was captured through the use of a structured questionnaire. The collected data were assessed through the use of descriptive statistics that includes percentage calculations, cross tabulations, t-test, analysis of variance, correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis, etc. Results: The results revealed sorry state of affairs at the selected hotels where positive gap scores were obtained between the expectations and perceptions of the customers. Based upon the findings, curtain corrective measures are proposed in the study for enhancing the qualitative parameters of the hotels. Epilogue: Survival of the fittest is the word that describes the market scenario. The entities that remain fit, agile, anticipatory, proactive, caring, and most importantly quality conscious can only win the race with flying colours. Originality: This study analyzes the quality of various services initiatives prevailing at the star hotels in the state of Odisha in India for which our study can certainly help in generating different guidelines to ensure the optimal levels of quality as desired by the guests at the hotels which will help in development of a long term and sustainable quality initiative in the sector compared to international standards.


Background: Free radicals have been implicated in the development of various acute and chronic diseases of brain. The present cross sectional study was designed to illustrate the oxidative stress in epilepsy with co morbid psychiatric illness using malondialdehyde as only few studies were available in this context.

Objective: To evaluate the malondialdehyde (MDA) as a marker of oxidative stress in epilepsy with psychiatric co morbidity.

Materials and Methods: The present cross sectional study had 210 samples which were divided in 5 groups including age and sex matched control. The MDA formation was estimated using the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) using spectrophotometry. The statistical analysis was done by using SPSS software and results were described with unpaired T test and p value.

Results: MDA levels were significantly higher in epilepsy with psychiatric co morbidity, psychosis and depression than control. On further comparison, the MDA levels were higher in persons of epilepsy with psychiatric co morbidity than with psychosis or depression.

Conclusion: Level of oxidative stress was significantly higher in epilepsy with co morbid psychiatric illness as compared to control.


Lymphangioma of the ovary is an extremely rare lesion. There are only 19 cases reported in the litera- ture. Lymphangioma is usually unilateral and asymptomatic, presenting as an incidental finding during routine gynaecologic procedures. It is composed of aggregates of lymphatic spaces in ovarian stroma and the endothelial cells lining these spaces stain positively with CD-31 and CD-34 on immunostaining. The main differential diagnosis is an adenomatoid tumour which can be differentiated from the lym- phangioma by immunohistochemical studies. We report this rare lesion in a 42-year-old Malay lady diagnosed after total abdominal hysterectomy and right salpingo-oophrectomy. A literature review is presented and the histological and immunohistological findings along with differential diagnosis are discussed.


Double-transition-metal MXenes (D-MXenes) have been widely pursued in the advancement of the renewable energy storage technology in recent years. In this work, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalytic mechanism of several oxygen-terminated D-MXenes with the chemical formula of M′2M″C2O2 (M′ = Mo, Cr; M″ = Ti, V, Nb, Ta) is theoretically studied. For comparison, the corresponding monometallic MXenes (M-MXenes, M′3C2O2) are fairly compared by means of the density functional theory calculations. Based on our theoretical results, the HER performance of M-MXenes can be improved by constructing a "sandwich-like" ordered D-MXene configuration. Moreover, the HER performance of Mo-based D-MXenes (Mo2M″C2O2) is superior to that of Cr-based D-MXenes (Cr2M″C2O2), which highlights that the HER activity of Mo2VC2O2 and Mo2NbC2O2 is better than that of Pt(111). This work not only unravels the HER mechanism of D-MXenes (M′2M″C2O2) but also paves the way in designing emergent MXene-based HER electrocatalysts with high efficiency.


Avatars are known in the world of video games, where heroes with specific characters, attributes and powers are assigned to players. However, avatars are evolving and reaching domains like companions, assistants and tutors. These avatars now use speech, facial expression, body language or text to interact with humans. When we say interaction, we say emotional expression and empathy. Avatars are still short in the emotional and empathic world; they cannot express nor share emotions. In this paper, we research the emotional avatar world, and we present the Anthropomorphic Chatbot for Emotion Recognition (ACER), an empathic friend companion designed for children. The goal of ACER is to teach children about emotions by expressing them through facial expressions and body language while texting through a chat. An experiment was held to test the avatar effect. Qualitative and quantitative results show users positive emotions tending towards having a chat with ACER with facial and body expressions instead of only ACERs chatbot. Keywords–HCI; ECA; Conversational agent; Avatar; Emotions.


Ten years (1986-1995) of ECMWF analyses and NOAA outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data were used to investigate intraseasonal tropical-extratropical interactions on timescales of 10-25 days in the western Pacific region during Northern Hemisphere (NH) summer. Composite analyses were performed separately for the early summer (June-July) and mid-summer (August). The analyses were based on the OLR index in the base region (the South China Sea), and help describe the seasonal characteristics of circulation associated with tropical convection. Localized Eliassen-Palm (E-P) fluxes were used to diagnose eddy–mean flow interactions. Composite circulation patterns associated with enhanced convection on a 10-25-day timescale for June-July were significantly different from those for August. June-July composites show a significant Rossby wave train in both the lower and upper troposphere, extending from the convective region into the North Pacific along the mean westerly flow. In the lower troposphere, subtropical circulation anomalies as part of this wavetrain propagate southwestward along the subtropical duct. Tropical-extratropical linkage is less pronounced during August. Circulation structures in August in both the lower and upper troposphere are different from those of June-July; Rossby waves do not emanate from the South China Sea and low-level subtropical circulation anomalies show no southwestward phase propagation. Energy conversion between eddy and seasonal mean flow for each season was computed to investigate the role of the time-mean flow in maintaining the 10-25-day transient eddies. In the lower troposphere, barotropic processes dominate the conversion from the time-mean flow to eddies in the exit region of tropical monsoon westerlies for both June-July and August. In the subtropics, baroclinic processes sustain the eddies. Moist baroclinic processes associated with eddy horizontal latent heat transport are important in increasing the potential energy available to eddies, especially during June-July. In the upper troposphere, barotropic conversion of kinetic energy from eddies into the time-mean flow is most notable in the East Asian subtropics to the north of the South China Sea. This suggests that increased eddy activity due to tropical convection is an important source of energy for the mean flow.


This qualitative study engaged 12 healthcare leaders, from a range of contexts, to explore how leaders identify with public engagement. The leaders reported how public engagement led to a level of collaboration and genuine relationship that has hitherto been under-reported and relational leadership is discussed as a perspective. This study contributes to knowledge about how leaders recognise the importance of public engagement. The study investigates how relational methods are used in public engagement and help leaders to understand themselves, and others, and how this improves the wider range of leadership relationships in their given context. Data was gathered using narrative interviews combined with participant selected artefacts. The artefacts formed a conduit for representing their sense of professional identity, in relation to their leadership, and were key to getting closer to participants construction of themselves in their current roles. Data was analysed using a variation of voice-centred relational analysis (Mauthner and Doucet, 2003). A secondary analysis was undertaken using Ganz (2010) model, which enriched the findings and led to a new 'public story'. By recognising both the linguistic and nonlinguistic ways of identifying with public engagement this study provides new insights for building relational practices. The research identified what motivates leaders to be collaborative with the public, how leaders identify with public engagement and conditions needed to support collaborative practice. Findings demonstrate how leaders understand their identity is socially constructed, dynamic and changing over time; professional and personal experience being intrinsically linked. The concept of self-identity is offered as an example of reflexive bricolage; a process of re-visiting experiences through a variety of lenses to form holistic understanding of self in professional leadership and public engagement practice. Findings hold implications for healthcare leaders interested in collaborative relationships between public and the NHS, and between patients and staff. The study aligns to healthcare policy arising from Francis (2013). The policy focus on the importance of "fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging" and its encouragement to "work together differently to deliver patient care" (NHS, 2020, p.6) chimes with findings on leaders' sense of self, their relationships, and their context. It is relevant to health and social care leaders and public engagement practitioners as well as policy makers and education providers. The research may also be relevant to the growing community of 'patient leaders' in the NHS but further research is needed to understand the public perspective about relating to leaders.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the impacts of long-standing obesity (BMIs ≥ 30.0 kg/m(2)) on health outcomes among Samoan and Tongan men (aged ≥ 18 years) in California using a life course perspective.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional analysis of 103 males from the Pacific Islander Health Study (PIHS), a probability sample modeled after the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

SETTING
Urban residential neighborhoods in San Mateo and Los Angeles counties using a multistage, cluster sample design.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
BMI, diabetes, hypertension, total cholesterol, smoking, drinking, arthritis, gout and migraines.

RESULTS
Bivariate analysis shows high rates of poor health outcomes distributed throughout the obese and non-obese sample. Logistic analysis finds that being obese does not significantly increase observed negative health outcomes. After controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, the presence of obesity results in non-significant findings for hypertension (OR=1.02; CI: .21, 4.91), and high cholesterol (OR=.52; CI: .10, 2.73), while obesity significantly reduces the risk of diabetes by 60% (OR=.40; CI: .14, 1.17). When applying disease counts, obese men have a significantly lower risk of reporting multiple health conditions (OR=.72; CI: .52, 1.00).

CONCLUSION
Overall, the health of Samoan and Tongan males in California is uniformly poor and obesity alone does not significantly increase risks of poor health outcomes. Using a life course perspective, the analysis offers new insights on the basic health of this understudied population.


In this report, the implementation of a program for the simulation of the sky map, in the gamma rays energy range, observed by the GLAST experiment will be described. The program generates a list of photons and images of the galactic and extragalactic background and of the sources, in a selected energy range and in a given region of the sky.


Noting that Egypt is one of many developing countries suffering rapid population growth, the author identifies the distinct characteristics of Egypt's population problem, and urges that they be recognized in developing population policy. Central to Egypt's experience is a high birth rate and an imbalance in the population distribution. Behind the daily increase of population through birth equal to approximately 3600 new inhabitants are religious, social, health, and economic factors. A poorly distributed population results from the steady in-migration from rural to urban areas, due largely to inadequate investment in agricultural areas. Causal factors for the population dilemma are examined in efforts to determine the contribution of legislative policy in finding solutions. the interrelationship of family planning and legislative policy is emphasized. The author contends that legislative policy in the absence of more broad, integrated policy will be ineffective in addressing the population problem. Law should serve to facilitate the development and implementation of such integrated policy. Legislation's effects on family planning in the context of regulating personal status issues, fertility, and incentives to family planning are then considered. Legislative policy should also take into consideration Egypt's high rate of illiteracy, and the relatively high rate of infant and child mortality where efforts to check population growth are at issue.


Several studies have suggested that an increased high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) level is a strong independent predictor of increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) has also been reported to predict cardiovascular events such as sudden death and myocardial infarction in apparently healthy subjects. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the possible correlation between variation of the R-R interval as one of the markers of HRV and serum hsCRP levels in a general population in Japan. Resting, supine, 2-minute, beat-to-beat heart rate data were collected in 823 randomly selected participants enrolled in our cohort study. The coefficient of variation of the R-R interval (CVrr) was obtained as a parameter of HRV. To determine which factors predict the presence of low CVrr (below the 5 percentile) in this group, we performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis using cardiovascular risk factors and an elevated hsCRP level as independent variables. The lowest CVrr group showed significantly higher hsCRP levels compared to those of other quartiles (P < 0.01). After adjustment for confounding factors such as age, heart rate, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension by multivariate logistic analysis, an elevated hsCRP level (OR = 3.11, 95%CI; 1.27-7.60: P < 0.02) was a significant independent predictor of low CVrr. The results of the present study indicate that an increased serum hsCRP level is significantly associated with reduced CVrr in this general population. It is conceivable that the parasympathetic nerve withdrawal and inflammation could interact with each other, resulting in the progression of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.


In recent years, Cloud Computing has been rapidly developed and become more and more popular. In order to convince the users the reliability of the services, Service Level Agreement (SLA) is subscribed between the providers and users. In this paper, a cloud service monitoring system is proposed to surveillance SLA operation and the behaviors of service provider. The monitoring system achieves dynamic monitoring by using Web Services technology.


A rare, fatal case of verrucous carcinoma on the labia majora of a 65-year-old woman is presented. Histopathologically, the neoplasm was repeatedly diagnosed as a verruca over the course of many years. A diagnosis of verrucous carcinoma was rendered only after the documentation of lymph node metastasis. Although most cases of verrucous carcinoma have a favorable prognosis, this case illustrates that verrucous carcinoma can metastasize even when the neoplasm is superficially situated and the histopathologic findings are subtle.


The hypothesis that patterns of sexual dimorphism in transverse dimensions of the metacarpal only reflect sex differences in body size was investigated in a sample of 324 Mexican school children 6.00-10.99 years of age. Several patterns of sexual dimorphism in second metacarpal dimensions are seen with regard to stature and weight. Sex differences in medullary diameter and percent cortical area are not related to sexual dimorphism in body size, while sex differences in cortical thickness are related to, but not fully explained by, differences in body size. Dimorphism in metacarpal diaphyseal diameter is related to differences in body size, but, at a constant body size and age, boys still have significantly larger diaphyseal diameters than girls. Finally, sexual dimorphism in cortical area is closely associated with sex differences in body size.


Recent molecular discoveries have refined vascular bone tumor classification. To investigate the clinical relevance of these refinements, we reviewed all cases of primary vascular bone tumors treated at our Institute. On the basis of morphology, cases were assessed immunohistochemically and molecularly. A total of 427 cases of primary vascular tumor of bone with available follow-up and histologic material were retrieved and reclassified according to the most recent diagnostic criteria as follows: 289 hemangiomas, 38 epithelioid hemangiomas, 21 epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas, 2 retiform hemangioendotheliomas, 1 intraosseous papillary intralymphatic angioendothelioma, 24 pseudomyogenic hemangioendotheliomas, and 52 angiosarcomas (of these, 45 were epithelioid angiosarcomas and 7 spindle cell secondary angiosarcoma). Both epithelioid and classic hemangiomas behave as benign tumors with excellent prognosis. The distinction between cellular and conventional type of epithelioid hemangioma was not associated with a different clinical course. Conversely, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma exhibited a more aggressive clinical behavior than hemangioma, with higher rates of multifocality and distant spread. Immunohistochemical positivity for CAMTA1 or TFE3 did not have a prognostic implication. In epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, the presence of morphologic malignant features was associated with reduced disease-free (P=0.064) and overall survival (P=0.055). Pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma featured local aggressiveness in 5/24 patients exhibiting a clinical behavior closer to epithelioid hemangioma than epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. Last, 32/45 patients with epithelioid angiosarcoma died of disease with a median survival time of 10 months from diagnosis. In conclusion, the integration of morphologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features allows a better stratification of primary vascular tumors of bone with significant prognostic and therapeutic implications.


Bose–Einstein condensation in a dilute gas of sodium atoms has been observed. The atoms were trapped in an optically plugged magnetic trap or in a cloverleaf magnetic trap. Rf induced evaporative cooling increased the phase-space density by six orders of magnitude. We summarize the different techniques used, and discuss recent studies of properties of Bose condensates with an outlook on future developments.


The reductive reactivity of lanthanide hydride ligands in the [(C5Me5)2LnH]x complexes (Ln = Sm, La, Y) was examined to see if these hydride ligands would react like the actinide hydrides in [(C5Me5)2AnH2]2 (An = U, Th) and [(C5Me5)2UH]2. Each lanthanide hydride complex reduces PhSSPh to make [(C5Me5)2Ln(mu-SPh)]2 in approximately 90% yield. [(C5Me5)2SmH]2 reduces phenazine and anthracene to make [(C5Me5)2Sm]2(mu-eta(3):eta(3)-C12H8N2) and [(C5Me5)2Sm]2(mu-eta(3):eta(3)-C10H14), respectively, but the analogous [(C5Me5)2LaH]x and [(C5Me5)2YH]2 reactions are more complicated. All three lanthanide hydrides reduce C8H8 to make (C5Me5)Ln(C8H8) and (C5Me5)3Ln, a reaction that constitutes another synthetic route to (C5Me5)3Ln complexes. In the reaction of [(C5Me5)2YH]2 with C8H8, two unusual byproducts are obtained. In benzene, a (C5Me5)Y[(eta(5)-C5Me4CH2-C5Me4CH2-eta(3))] complex forms in which two (C5Me5)(1-) rings are linked to make a new type of ansa-allyl-cyclopentadienyl dianion that binds as a pentahapto-trihapto chelate. In cyclohexane, a (C5Me5)2Y(mu-eta(8):eta(1)-C8H7)Y(C5Me5) complex forms in which a (C8H8)(2-) ring is metalated to form a bridging (C8H7)(3-) trianion.


Purpose
Consumers can provide monetary tips to service employees as a reward for their efforts. However, consumers' ability to recognize the demands of these jobs could affect tipping behavior. This study aims to examine the difficulty consumers have recognized the emotional toll of service work, and how this affects tipping behavior.

Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments were conducted with US participants to determine how the focus on emotional burdens of service work affects willingness to tip lower level service employees.

Findings
Results reveal that when consumers hear about the emotional costs of service labor, they report less willingness to tip low-level workers, compared to when they learn about other job costs or contributions. Results further show that reducing power distance between customers and workers can increase willingness to tip when emotional costs are emphasized.

Research limitations/implications
This research contributes to the services literature by showing how feelings of power affect whether consumers appreciate certain job costs, and, in turn, their tipping behavior.

Practical implications
This research clarifies how consumers perceive job demands, which has direct consequences for tipping behavior and suggests more strategies to improve tips.

Social implications
Findings can help advocates looking to advance the status and compensation for lower-level service workers.

Originality/value
This research is first to explore why the emotional costs of service labor are not recognized in certain cases, and provides insight on how to improve customer treatment of lower-level service labor.


HYPOTHESIS
A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) staging system can be created with the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

DESIGN
A review of records in the SEER database from 2537 patients with GISTs from June 1, 1977, through August 1, 2004.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients were compared using all available clinicopathologic factors, and a TGM (tumor, grade, metastasis) staging system was created according to these parameters. Survival data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier methods, log-rank analyses, and Cox regression models.

RESULTS
Median follow-up time was 21 months, 47.6% of patients were men, and the median age was 64 years; 5.0% had lymph node involvement, and 22.6% had distant metastasis. Tumor size (T1, < or =70 mm; T2, >70 mm; P <.001), grade (G1, grades I and II; G2, grades III and IV; P <.001), and the presence of metastases (M0, no; M1, yes; P <.001) did affect overall survival. When combined in a TGM staging system, grade and metastasis were the factors most predictive of survival.

CONCLUSIONS
A staging system for GISTs that provides valuable prognostic information was developed. Further work to refine this system and validate it with other data sets should be undertaken. Mitotic index and standardized reporting may provide additional prognostic information and should be recorded for all tumors so that the most accurate staging system can be created.


Presentation is made of a case in a premature newborn, the offspring of a mother with bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis, of placental lesions suggestive of tuberculosis and acute miliary congenital tuberculosis with lesions in liver, spleen, lymph nodes and lungs due to a possible blood stream dissemination starting from the placental infection.


To the Editor. —The authors of "Postenucleation Orbital Implant Extrusion" (Archives96:2064-2065, 1978) have observed that six consecutive patients with postenucleation orbital implant extrusion demonstrated nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium lining the implant pouch. They attribute this "conjunctival" lining to conjunctival ingrowth and the subsequent extrusion to that ingrowth. While there is no question that a buried section of conjunctiva might produce an implantation cyst, which in turn could lead to extrusion, it is my experience that all orbital implants are lined with a "pseudoconjunctiva" that represents, presumably, a metaplasia of the superficial cells of Tenon's capsule into this stratified squamous epithelial lining. The layers of this pseudoconjunctiva, we have observed, have always been uniform in depth and are invariably present over the full surface of the implant pouch. While one rarely has the opportunity to examine an implant that is not extruding, I am sure these retained implants must show


Previous studies conducted cell expansion ex vivo using low initial plating densities for optimal expansion and subsequent differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, MSC populations are heterogeneous and culture conditions can affect the characteristics of MSCs. In this study, differences in gene expression profiles of adipose tissue (AT)-derived MSCs were examined after harvesting cells cultured at different densities. AT-MSCs from three different donors were plated at a density of 200 or 5,000 cells/cm2. After 7 days in culture, detailed gene expression profiles were investigated using a DNA chip microarray, and subsequently validated using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Gene expression profiles were influenced primarily by the level of cell confluence at harvest. In MSCs harvested at ∼90% confluence, 177 genes were up-regulated and 102 genes down-regulated relative to cells harvested at ∼50% confluence (P<0.05, FC>2). Proliferation-related genes were highly expressed in MSCs harvested at low density, while genes that were highly expressed in MSCs harvested at high density (∼90% confluent) were linked to immunity and defense, cell communication, signal transduction and cell motility. Several cytokine, chemokine and growth factor genes involved in immunosuppression, migration, and reconstitution of damaged tissues were up-regulated in MSCs harvested at high density compared with MSCs harvested at low density. These results imply that cell density at harvest is a critical factor for modulating the specific gene-expression patterns of heterogeneous MSCs.


Summary form only given as follows. The current trend in pattern recognition of objects of interest in an image is to use templating techniques via matched filters. The authors explore the use of a hierarchical neural network utilizing Gabor functions for feature extraction and feedforward networks for classification. The proposed combination of Gabor functions and feedforward neural networks in a hierarchical system is shown to be a viable concept for pattern recognition.<<ETX>>


We assess why the Norwegian aid administration is not able to document its results. We find that the system is not designed to provide the necessary documentation for results assessments, the staff are not trained in a way that would ensure adequate competence, the quality assurance functions are only sporadically used to promote results measurement and technical advice and support functions are not structured in a way to make them useful to staff. Moreover, among the system components that actually do promote and support evaluability, very few are used appropriately in practice. We conclude that poor implementation of the current system, lack of leadership and staff incentives are key factors that can explain the inadequate results' documentation.


Background: Overweight and obesity are risk factors for diet-related non-communicable diseases. These diseases are the fifth leading risks for global deaths. Virtually, all age groups are affected bythe consequences of overweight and obesity. Aims and Objectives: This study was undertakento evaluate risk factors of overweight and obesity among higher secondary school adolescents. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 492 school adolescents of the government sector six higher secondary schools in Muzaffarpur. This study measured height, weight and plotted Body mass Index on CDC (Child Development Centre) charts. Factors affecting obesity like physical and sedentary activities (using Bharathy et al. questionnaire) and school-based risk factors were also studied. Results: Based of measurements taken risk factors for overweight and obesity in 492 higher secondary school students, the estimated provincial prevalence of overweight was found to be 9.7%, obesity 3%, and malnutrition 18% respectively. Students involved in household chores for 4 hours or more a week were associated with a decreased risk of overweight (OR 3.97, 95% CI 1.41-11.03) and those with less activity were at increased risk for obesity (OR 6.59, 95% CI 1.83-21.19). Conclusion: The problems of overweight and obesity are taking place while students are still at the risk of underweight. Several factors were correlated with overweight and obesity. Therefore, interventions targeting gender, frequency of eating food out of home, vigorous activities, and frequency of doing the vigorous physical activity are recommended.


Hydrodynamics and confinement dominate bacterial mobility near solid or air-water boundaries, causing flagellated bacteria to move in circular trajectories. This phenomenon results from the counter-rotation between the bacterial body and flagella and lateral drags on them in opposite directions due to their proximity to the boundaries. Numerous experimental techniques have been developed to confine and maneuver motile bacteria. Here, we report observations on Escherichia coli and Enterobacter sp. when they are confined within a thin layer of water around dispersed micrometer-sized particles sprinkled over a semi-solid agar gel. In this setting, the flagellated bacteria orbit around the dispersed particles akin to planetary systems. The liquid layer is shaped like a shallow tent with its height at the center set by the seeding particle and the meniscus profile set by the strong surface tension of water. The tent-shaped constraint and the left handedness of the flagellar filaments result in exclusively clockwise circular trajectories. The thin fluid layer is resilient due to a balance between evaporation and reinforcing fluid pumped out of the agar. The latter is driven by the Laplace pressure caused by the curved meniscus. This novel mechanism to entrap bacteria within a minimal volume of fluid is relevant to near surface bacterial accumulation, adhesion, biofilm growth, development of bio-microdevices, and cleansing hygiene.


A unique description for highly nonlinear potential water waves is suggested, where weak three-dimensional effects are included as small corrections to exact two-dimensional equations written in conformal variables. Contrary to the traditional approach, a small parameter in this theory is not a surface slope, but it is the ratio of a typical wavelength to a large transversal scale along the second horizontal coordinate. A first-order correction for the Hamiltonian functional is calculated, and the corresponding equations of motion are derived for steep water waves over an arbitrary nonuniform quasi-one-dimensional bottom profile.


259 Background: There is evidence that some false positive PSA tests can reflect prostatic inflammation that leads to Proliferative Inflammatory atrophy (PIA) that promotes malignant change. Report from circumcision trials in Africa suggest that dominant bacterial flora in un-circumcised men was anaerobes. As circumcised men have a lower incidence of PC this presentation reviews the literature on lack of circumcision and that on Vitamin D deficiency and as a cause of diminished host surveillance that could have potential to synergise as causes of PC.

METHODS
Three papers reporting incidence of PC in Jewish and non-Jewish men undergoing prostate biopsy for prostate symptoms and 7 series reporting case controlled studies published between 1952 and 2001 have provided data on circumcision and PC risk. There were 10 papers referred to in the IARC 2008 report on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and PC. These have been reviewed together with 8 more published from 2008-10 and 3 that have examined impact of an index of life-time sun exposure on PC risk.

RESULTS
The 2 of 3 series of prostate biopsy reported 1951-65 demonstrated significant excess and 1 a non-significant excess of PC in the non-Jewish population. Of the 7 case controlled reported from 1971-2001, only 1 reported significant (OR 1.38) and 1 non-significant (OR 1.15) excess of lack of circumcision in those with prostate cancer, the remaining 6 studies having an excess cancer in those who have been circumcised (OR 0.50 - 0.82 pooled risk 0.70). Only 1 of the 18 plasma 25-OH Vit D series showed significant reduction of PC overall (6 did have reduction in prognostic subsets though 2 had higher incidence in the same sub-groups. In contrast all 3 series that have examined an index of life-time sun exposure showed significant reduction of PC (OR 0.18, 0.32 and 0.52 n= 850).

CONCLUSIONS
The inconsistencies in the circumcision data suggest that it is not the surgery alone but the confounding variable of the hygiene rules that at least contribute to the reduced PC in Jewish men, and mirrors the similar differences seen in the protective value against AIDS of circumcision in Xhosa African and Asian Muslim men.


I consider the contribution that a biocentric perspective might make to the ethical debate concerning the practice of genetic engineering. I claim that genetic engineering itself raises novel ethical questions, and particularly so when confronted with biocentric sensibilities. I outline the nature of these questions and describe the biocentric basis for them. I suggest that fundamentalist opposition to projects of genetic engineering is unhelpful, but that biocentric claims should now be a feature of ethical consideration. I conclude, though, that while environmental ethicists can contribute powerfully to debates concerning the future of genetic engineering, the ultimate direction it takes is likely to be beyond their control.


A rigorous full-vectorial modal solution approach based on the finite element method is used to find the propagation properties of THz waveguides. Design approaches are presented to reduce the modal loss. Design of several THz devices, including quantum cascade lasers, plasmonic waveguides, power splitters and narrow-band filters are also presented.


Abstract : The Ninth Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) Symposium, held at The University of Texas in Austin on August 10-12, 1998, was attended by over 150 national and international researchers. Papers addressed SFF issues in computer software, machine design, materials synthesis and processing, and integrated manufacturing. New sessions on ceramic materials and multiple materials SFF were added to this year's program. The diverse domestic and foreign attendees included industrial users, SFF machine manufacturers, university researchers and representatives from the government. We are pleased once again with the strong showing of university students. The excitement generated at the Symposium reflects the participants' total involvement in SFF and the future technical health of this growing technology. The Symposium organizers look forward to its being a continuing forum for technical exchange among the expanding body of researchers involved in SFF. The Symposium was again organized in a manner to allow the multi-disciplinary nature of the SFF research to be presented coherently, with various sessions emphasizing computer issues, machine topics, and the variety of materials aspects of SFF. We believe that documenting the changing state of SFF art as represented by these Proceedings will serve both the people presently involved in this fruitful technical area as well as new researchers and users entering the field.


A simple method for the simultaneous analysis of tiaramide (TRA) metabolites in the horse is described. The sample preparation method using a Bond-Elut PH cartridge and stepwise elution with ice-cold, 30% aqueous methanol followed by additional methanol is effective for recovering the metabolites with different properties. The extraction method gives good recoveries (greater than 80%) and reproducibility. Each metabolite is well separated by high-performance liquid chromatography using an octadecyl-type column of polymer-based packing with a solvent system of 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.5)-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran (6:1:0.2) containing a quaternary ammonium salt as an ion-pairing reagent. The detection limit of each metabolite is in the range of 20-80 ng/ml. The major metabolites of TRA in equine urine and plasma are N-acetic acid (TRAA) and N-oxide. The N-oxide of TRAA is detected as a metabolite in the urine. A dealkylation product PER) is detected as a minor metabolite. Unchanged TRA is detected only at low concentrations in the urine. Several minor metabolites of DER or TRAA or both are detected in the urine.


In this work we present a new direction of arrival (DOA) estimation scheme that applies to uniform linear arrays. We propose to get several estimates by applying the Pisarenko harmonic retrieval (PHR) method to different sets of covariances and to select the best estimate by using the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion. More generally we would like to promote the idea that it is often more efficient to select the best among several estimates rather than to combine them. This requires of course the existence of a decision criterion which indeed conveys additional information.


With a view to repair the degenerated nucleus pulposus (NP) of intervertebral discs, we grew bovine NP cells on fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-diphenylalanine (Fmoc-FF)/ Fmoc-diglycine (Fmoc-GG) hydrogels. The gels prepared in two different molar ratios of Fmoc-FF to Fmoc-GG, 1:0 and 1:1. These gels were characterized in terms of their physical and biological properties including fibre structure, cell attachment, collagen and sulphated glycosaminoglycan (s-GAG) productions. Fmoc-FF and the composition of 1:1 Fmoc-FF/Fmoc-GG hydrogels (20 mmol/L) were synthesized by utilizing a sequential change in pH (Jayawarna et al, 2007). Fibre structure of hydrogels was determined by using CryoSEM. In vitro studies of hydrogels seeded by NP cells were performed using red fluorescent cell membrane dye PKH-26, confocal microscopy, Sircol collagen and DMMBTM assays. Cryo-SEM showed a dense network of fine fibres in Fmoc-FF, whereas an overlapping mesh of flat ribbons was seen in the composition of 1:1 Fmoc-FF/Fmoc-GG. Confocal microscopy showed the majority of the NP cells stained with PKH-26 remained in a rounded morphology within both Fmoc-FF and the composition of 1:1 Fmoc-FF/Fmoc-GG hydrogels after 5 days of culture. SircolTM and DMMB assays showed deposition of collagen and sulphate-glycosaminoglycan by NP cells cultured within both Fmoc-FF and the composition of 1:1 Fmoc-FF/Fmoc-GG over 3 weeks of culture. Taken together, the results of present study provide preliminary evidence for the use of a self-assembling peptide hydrogel as a scaffold for the synthesis and accumulation of NP-like extracellular matrix for intervertebral disc tissue repair.


The burden of musculoskeletal disease is vast. Although these diseases may lack the cachet of more immediately life-threatening conditions (such as cancer or stroke), musculoskeletal problems are worthy of increased attention, as the amelioration of bone and joint disease can certainly enhance life, if not extend it.

Buoyed by the accomplishments of the Decade of the Brain (1990-2000), the international community of musculoskeletal physicians and scientists came together in Sweden in 1998 to found the Bone and Joint Decade1,2. The specific purpose of this group was to confront the growing burden of musculoskeletal disorders through raising public awareness of the problem and improving prevention, treatment, and research.

The United Nations, the World Health Organization, and others announced public support. In the United States, President Bush, joined by the governors of all fifty states, declared the years 2002 through 2011 to be the National Bone and Joint Decade in the United States.

The international organization for the Bone and Joint Decade as well as its American counterpart have worked on many fronts, among them achieving recognition for the burden of musculoskeletal disease within the World Health Organization, successfully advocating for public health policy innovations, raising public awareness, and nurturing young clinical investigators in musculoskeletal basic and clinical sciences. One area of particular focus within the United States Bone and Joint Decade is the improvement of medical school education in musculoskeletal medicine.

As co-chairs of the medical school education committee (J.B. and G.V.L.) and executive director (T.K.) of the Decade, we welcome the chance now, at the Decade's five-year mark, to share a description of the problems and challenges we face, a detailing of the progress we have made, and a delineation of the future work to be done.

The Decade proposes that the medical school experience in …


Abstract Centaurium erythraea is a plant used in traditional medicine for several cardiovascular disorders, namely hypertension, but there is no scientific evidence able to provide a molecular basis for its claimed antihypertensive effects. After a preliminary screen of extracts obtained from sequential extraction of C. erythraea aerial parts, effects of the methanolic fraction (MFCE) on changes in perfusion pressure of isolated rat mesenteric vascular bed (MVB) and in rat cardiac fibroblasts proliferation were investigated, gathering information on the mechanisms involved in endothelium-dependent effects and their dependence on a pro-proliferative stimulus. The HPLC-DAD determination of the phenolics content of MFCE revealed the presence of 22 phenolic compounds. MFCE reduced (63.3 ± 3.9%; n = 4) perfusion pressure in MVB and almost completely abrogated the Ang II-induced increase in cardiac fibroblasts proliferation. Reduction of the perfusion pressure caused by MFCE was endothelium-dependent and occurred in parallel with an increase in NO release. These effects were inhibited by muscarinic receptor antagonists, by L-NAME (a NO synthase inhibitor), and by ODQ (a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor). Experiments revealed that effects required the involvement of K+ channels, being inhibited by tetraethylamonium (TEA; a Ca2+ activated K+ channels inhibitor) and by glibenclamide (an ATP-sensitive K+ channels inhibitor). In conclusion, extracts from C. erythraea, particularly the compounds present in the MFCE, induce endothelium-dependent vasodilation and prevent fibroblast proliferation induced by angiotensin II, which can account for the claimed antihypertensive effects of C. erythraea in traditional medicine.


As the world's population expands, the need for GI oncologists will become critical. Unless new paradigms of clinical research are explored, the prospects of making important inroads in curing disease seem remote. What steps can ISGIO take to ensure that the future needs of GI oncology are met and patient access to quality care ensured? ISGIO President Al B. Benson, III believes the Society needs to start planning now and reveals some of his ideas for Society initiatives.


This review examines some of the advances in understanding myoclonus over the last 25 years. The classification of myoclonus into cortical, brainstem, and spinal forms has been consolidated, each with distinctive clinical characteristics and physiological mechanisms. New genetic causes of myoclonus have been identified, and the molecular basis of several of these conditions has been discovered. It is increasingly apparent that disease of the cerebellum is particularly important in the genesis of cortical reflex myoclonus. However, the precise mechanism and origin of myoclonus in many situations remain uncertain. Effective treatment of myoclonus remains limited, and the challenge lies ahead to develop more therapeutic options. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society


Background: According to epidemiological data, over 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental disorders, presenting one of the major challenges of modern medicine. In their everyday lives, patients, in addition to fighting the disease itself, often struggle with stigmatization. This phenomenon negatively affects both the diagnostic and therapeutic processes, as well as the patients' everyday functioning. This study aimed to assess stigma attitudes toward psychiatry and psychiatric patients among undergraduate medical students. Methods: This study used a Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI), which included the standardized items from the Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes (MICA-2) scale to evaluate stigma. The study was disseminated via the internet to students from medical universities from 65 countries worldwide. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. The study involved 1,216 students from these 65 countries. Most of the sample were women, and most were medical faculty students and students living in cities with more than 500,000 residents. Taking into consideration Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and Human Development Index (HDI) variables, it can be seen that there was a prevalence of medical students from highly developed countries. Results: For the whole sample, the mean MICA-2 score was 40.5 points. Women and medical and nursing students showed more positive attitudes toward psychiatric patients. Students from countries with the highest economic development levels also achieved statistically lower MICA-2 scores. Lower score means a more positive attitude. Conclusion: Stigma toward both psychiatry and psychiatric patients is common among undergraduate medical students. Female students and respondents with a history of mental disorders in countries with high HDI and GDP per capita indices show more favorable attitudes than other medical students. There is a need to further our understanding of the problem of stigmatization, both among the general population and among medical personnel, and to implement and maintain appropriate measures to reduce stigma toward psychiatry.


This paper considers the problem of analyzing the development of a document collection over time without requiring meaningful citation data. Given a collection of timestamped documents, we formulate and explore the following two questions. First, what are the main topics and how do these topics develop over time? Second, to gain insight into the dynamics driving this development, what are the documents and who are the authors that are most influential in this process? Unlike prior work in citation analysis, we propose methods addressing these questions without requiring the availability of citation data. The methods use only the text of the documents as input. Consequentially, they are applicable to a much wider range of document collections (email, blogs, etc.), most of which lack meaningful citation data. We evaluate our methods on the proceedings of the Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) conference. Even with the preliminary methods that we implemented, the results show that the methods are effective and that addressing the questions based on the text alone is feasible. In fact, the text-based methods sometimes even identify influential papers that are missed by citation analysis.


Every year, millions of tons of fish waste are generated from fishing activities, and a similar amount is discarded and returned to the sea as unwanted catches. This material can be used as a biological source for many potential new added-value products, such asobtaining hyaluronic acid from fish eyeballs or extracting collagen from fish skin, but there are not many utilities for fish bones yet. This work tackles the transformation of fish discards into calcium phosphates. Discards from scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa) and Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), as well as by-products generated from aquaculture activities (heads and trimmings frames) of salmon (Salmon salar), were used to obtain calcium phosphate. Biphasic carbonated hydroxyapatite (HA) /betatricalcium phosphate (TCP) material was obtained. The biphasic HA-TCP material has a promising range of applications in the biomedical field based on its similarity to calcium phosphates found in human bones in terms of crystallite size and carbonate content. The presence of Na, Mg, Sr, and K ions in the HA-TCP material is very beneficial, since they contribute to bone metabolism and cell adhesion.


This paper addresses two questions, what is the social/historical context of Regimen II and how has the author organised his data? It establishes a framework for interrogating the Hippocratic text that is based on Galen's use of case studies across a wide social range, on his commentary on Hippocrates, Diodes, Mnesitheus and Praxagoras, and on his approach to terminology, definition and classification. The conclusion is that the Hippocratic text established its data successfully (to judge by Galen's criteria) before Aristotle and Theophrastus, but that the text was too laconic to be widely used. Hence Galen's new treatise rather than commentary on his Hippocratic predecessor.


The French APACHE project aims at demonstrating the feasibility of using a Hybrid Fuel Cell System (HFCS) as the power generator for all electric 2-seat aircrafts. This study focuses on three main topics: airworthiness of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), their hybridization with Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries and systems' integration into light aircrafts. Altitude and inclination tests have been led and allow to conclude on the ability of PEMFC to operate in aeronautical conditions. A comparison of aerobic and anaerobic fuel cells is realised and reveals the superiority of anaerobic fuel cells for high altitude applications. Innovative architectures of hybridization are proposed and tested numerically and experimentally. Finally, examples of integration to two light aircrafts of a HFCS composed of an anaerobic FC, hydrogen and oxygen storages and a Li-Ion battery pack are presented.


One of the scientific fields which could and should use its knowledge to initiate positive changes in the development of adult education is education management. So, the main aim of this article is to present results of the research done in the field of management of organisations for adult education. Since organisations for adult education are specific in comparison to other education organisations, and since there is a need to professionalise management in organisations for adult education in Southeastern Europe, the main aim of the research was to discuss the relationship between management models and the external environment of the organisation. The theoretical base in studying management models in organisations for adult education was related to principles of contemporary theories of organisation and management, as well as andragogy. Within the qualitative research paradigm and case study model, we applied the techniques of document analysis and interview in the research. The sample included education organisations from two very different social and economic systems – Germany as one which is well developed, and Bosnia and Herzegovina as one which is "transitional", which is dominant in the Southeastern Europe region. Research results "advocated" ten management models as the most important ones in the management practice of organisations for adult education, with strategic management being first. Other models which can be implemented in relation to the general and immediate external environment, are marketing management, management of organisational culture, goal-oriented management, and network management.


A description of a protracted case of arthralgia caused by the Chikungunya virus. A Danish resident of Sri Lankan origin, who had been living in Denmark for 20 years, contracted the Chikungunya virus during a holiday stay in Sri Lanka. Eight weeks after the primary fever episode, the patient remained affected with symmetrical arthralgia in finger-, hand- and ankle joints.


The present investigation has been made to compare "the effect of seaweed fertilizers and vermiwash on seed germination of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (Cluster bean or Guar)". Seeds were soaked in various concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 5%) of seaweed fertilizers (liquid & paste) and vermiwash separately at different time periods (30, 60 and 120 minutes). After 7 days, the seeds were analyzed for their germination capacity, shoot length & root length. The study infers that seaweed liquid fertilizers with the concentration of 1% showed maximum seed germination (100%) and the optimum shoot and root length was recorded as 6.04cm and 3.34cm respectively soaking whereas in seaweed paste fertilizers, 3% showed maximum seed germination 100% with the shoot & root length of 6.58cm and 3.46cm after 120 minutes. Also, the vermiwash with the concentration of 0.5% showed maximum seed germination (100%) and the optimum shoot and root length was recorded as 6.32cm and 3.52cm respectively after 30 minutes soaking.


The aim of this work is to contribute to a better knowledge of liverworts in the herbaria of Senegal in order to provide basic knowledge for a better sustainable management. This study is carried out in the firstly in the herbaria of the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar/Senegal: the herbarium of the Herbarium of the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (IFAN UCAD) and the herbarium DAKAR of the Department of Plant Biology of the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques. Secondly, a consultation of different checklists and databases was conducted to collect more information. This research work on the flora of liverworts is rich with nearly 39 species divided into 24 genera and 13 families. The order Jungermanniales is dominant in terms of families and the Porellales Jubulineae in terms of genera and species. The family Lejeuneaceae is in the majority in this flora before the families Ricciaceae, Plagiochilaceae and Metzgeriaceae. These results are important for the conservation of the environment and the development of the plant biodiversity of Senegal.


This Special Issue on novel models and approaches for semiconductor manufacturing aims at discussing various problem areas faced by semiconductor manufacturing especially in view of the increased wafer size and complexity of the technology involved. The advancement in technology has enabled fabrication of chips of increasingly complex functionalities and use of larger size wafers. This, in turn, requires development of advanced and effective information and control systems at all decision levels of the underlying supply chain, from manufacturing processes to strategic planning. The seven papers that have been selected for this Special Issue cover several problems that are encountered at these decision levels.


Normal or dysfunctional sexual behavior seems to be an important indicator of health or disease. Many health disorders in male patients affect sexual activity by directly causing erectile dysfunction, affecting sexual motivation, or both. Clinical evidence indicates that many diseases strongly disrupt sexual motivation and sexual performance in patients with depression, addiction, diabetes mellitus and other metabolic disturbances with obesity and diet-related factors, kidney and liver failure, circadian rhythm disorders, sleep disturbances including obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, developmental and hormonal disorders, brain damages, cardiovascular diseases, and peripheral neuropathies. Preclinical studies of these conditions often require appropriate experimental paradigms, including animal models. Male sexual behavior and motivation have been intensively investigated over the last 80 years in animal rat model. Sexual motivation can be examined using such parameters as: anticipatory behavior and 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations reflecting the emotional state of rats, initiation of copulation, efficiency of copulation, or techniques of classical (pavlovian) and instrumental conditioning. In this review article, we analyze the behavioral parameters that describe the sexual motivation and sexual performance of male rats in the context of animal experimental models of human health disorders. Based on analysis of the parameters describing the heterogeneous and complex structure of sexual behavior in laboratory rodents, we propose an approach that is useful for delineating distinct mechanisms affecting sexual motivation and sexual performance in selected disease states and the efficacy of therapy in preclinical investigations.


Deep neural networks (DNNs) are vulnerable to adversarial examples, which may lead to catastrophe in security-critical domains. Numerous detection methods are proposed to characterize the feature uniqueness of adversarial examples, or to distinguish DNN's behavior activated by the adversarial examples. Detections based on features cannot handle adversarial examples with large perturbations. Besides, they require a large amount of specific adversarial examples. Another mainstream, model-based detections, which characterize input properties by model behaviors, suffer from heavy computation cost. To address the issues, we introduce the concept of local gradient, and reveal that adversarial examples have a quite larger bound of local gradient than the benign ones. Inspired by the observation, we leverage local gradient for detecting adversarial examples, and propose a general framework AdvCheck. Specifically, by calculating the local gradient from a few benign examples and noise-added misclassified examples to train a detector, adversarial examples and even misclassified natural inputs can be precisely distinguished from benign ones. Through extensive experiments, we have validated the AdvCheck's superior performance to the state-of-the-art (SOTA) baselines, with detection rate ($\sim \times 1.2$) on general adversarial attacks and ($\sim \times 1.4$) on misclassified natural inputs on average, with average 1/500 time cost. We also provide interpretable results for successful detection.


Background: Infertility may have many emotional and psychological implications on infertile couples. So far, different methods for reducing anxiety in infertile couples have been evaluated. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of provision of information regarding infertility treatment to infertile couples on their anxiety levels. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted as a before and after clinical trial. Forty-two individuals were considered as cases and 40 as controls. In order to evaluate anxiety and depression in participants, the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire was used. The intervention group received information about infertility treatment through a two hour face-to-face meeting and was provided with a brochure. Anxiety level was assessed at the time of admission, immediately after the session and two weeks later. Assessment was performed twice for the control group; once at the time of admission and secondly, two weeks later. Results: Our results show that receiving information about infertility treatment significantly decreases anxiety among infertile couples two weeks post-training. This decline does not have a significant correlation with age, sex, education level of the couple, and neither with the duration nor the cause of infertility. Providing information does not have any significant effect on the rate of depression among couples. Conclusion: It is recommended that provision of information regarding infertility treatment methods should be considered as a means of decreasing anxiety among infertile couples who refer to infertility treatment centers.


This paper considers "leadership as a process of social construction" (Uhl-Bien, 2006, p. 254). Using Wood's (2005) process ontology this paper differs from the majority of other studies within relational perspectives of leadership (which demarcate who leaders 'are' before process is studied; Ramsey, 2013). This paper uses Wood's perspective to explore how social constructions of leadership and of leaders are continually (re)produced in-process. Using Gergen's (1994) 'act + supplement' theory to explore the performative effect (Searle, 1969; Austin, 1975) of conversations, this paper draws on the studies of Packendorff, Crevani, and Lindgren (2014), Crevani (2011) and Crevani, Lindgren, and Packdendorff (2010) by exploring the (re)production of direction in conversations as micro-processes of leadership. This paper also builds on Crevani and colleagues' studies by focusing on the role of linguistic devices in the (re)production of leadership and leader constructions. In doing so this paper offers an alternative to studies that have explored the effect of leaders uni-directional use of linguistic devices on their followers (e.g. Eisenberg, 1984; Astley and Zammuto, 1992; Watson, 2004). Participant observation of a sales and marketing meeting and unstructured interviews with some of the attendees was carried out. Within conversations, talk about events, problems and opportunities were constructed into issues. These issues (re)produced direction (as a microprocess of leadership) by focusing actors' attention and widening out or narrowing down social realities. The findings also highlight the subtlety through which leadership positions emerge. This was done through an extension and concertina of hierarchy which appeared within conversations, with some actor's talk positioning both themselves and others as being responsible for contributing to social realities.


Visual identity can be understood as the result of the application of graphic design methods aimed at inter-brand differentiation, which paradoxically is leading to "homogenizing identities" (Bell, 2004). The globalization of visual identity is a phenomenon that can be observed not only among global brands competing with each other, but also in locally specific heritage brands that relinquish distinctive elements of their identity to resemble the global. In many cases, their specificities end up being distorted, blurred, or lost, and the richness of what is historically and culturally unique about them is often misinterpreted, neglected, or even discarded.

By showing what can be lost with regards to historical and cultural memory within a brand's imagery, this thesis questions the significance of archives to locally specific brands claiming symbolic and cultural relevance. It shows how can graphic designers can contribute to the preservation of cultural diversity through visual identity.

To address the loss of cultural memory as well as the globalization of visual identity, this study draws on visual design heritage to achieve an understanding of the past as a source and a means to feed future cultural development. By adapting visual methodologies and case-study methods to assess brand identity, the study presents a methodological approach for the rescuing, interpretative analysis, and exploration of historical memory in brand imagery. It applies ethnographic research methods for data collection and graphic design methods for recovering visual materials, combined with timelines and grids for contextual and visual analysis. A main case-study is presented to demonstrate how the methods originated, how they enable the observation of identity transformations over time, and of how visual identity dissolves with global influence. This case addresses the historical context and today's cultural relevance of an archive of the Portuguese iconic Sanjo sports shoes brand, which emerged with the rise of the 'Estado Novo' authoritarian regime in Portugal (1933–1974). Through the interpretation of how brand designs evolved in relation to contextual history it is possible to see the various social, cultural, political and economical transformations that occurred in their life spans.

The thesis presents parallel examples of brands that were heavily influenced or even controlled by government in the past and now operate independently. As with the case of Sanjo, the comparative study investigates, and further draws attention to the relationship between the loss of historical memory and the globalization of visual identity.

By examining the relevance of archives for addressing identity issues, the thesis shows that current graphic design practices can avoid failing to address historical contextualisation and cultural relevance if, firstly, a great deal of historical and cultural memory is retrieved, secondly, if there is substantial visual and contextual analysis, and thirdly, if the visual elements and histories uncovered are put together in the right context. By considering the possibilities that brand archives present for exploring the symbolic values of objects and generating meaning, this study fills a gap between archival practices and the way many designers and companies are dealing with locally specific brands. It argues that brand archives are key instruments for designers to derive meaning and convey cultural memory into the future, and that visual identity is a channel through which these can be acknowledged, displayed and experienced. The study concludes by suggesting possible approaches graphic designers might pursue to address the issues identified, and it broadens the scope of the directions in which brand archives can be explored through the re-contextualisation of cultural objects.


Science literacy and information literacy is one form of learning outcomes For this reason, this study aims to look at the effect of these two variables on one's baseness to follow the government's recommendations in order to prevent COVID-19 This research uses a quantitative approach with a survey method Respondents involved in this study amounted to 80 people consisting of men and women with an age range between 20-50 years scattered in several cities and provinces in Indonesia The data collection instrument consisted of 30 questions to identify and score the three variables Data analysis was performed using a two-variable multiple linear regression test with the help of SPSS 25 software Based on the data and discussion it was concluded that the ability of scientific literacy and information literacy affects self-awareness in the prevention of COVID-19 by 79 7% The remaining 18 3% is influenced by other factors, such as health literacy Because it can be said that the level of scientific literacy and information literacy has a strong enough influence on individual self-awareness in following the government's recommendations for the prevention of COVID-19 Because science literacy and information literacy are part of learning outcomes, the government needs to train teachers and other education personnel so that they have good scientific literacy and information literacy abilities, so that in the future they can teach both variables to students through the learning process


Correspondence-free point cloud registration approaches have achieved notable performance improvement due to deep learning success, which optimizes the feature inference and registration in a joint framework. However, there are still several limitations that impede the effectiveness of practical applications. For one thing, most existing correspondences-free methods are locally optimal, and they tend to fail when the rotation is large. For another, when training a feature extractor, these approaches usually need supervised information from manually labeled data, which is tedious and labor-intensive. This paper proposes an effective point cloud registration method to resolve these issues, which is built upon a correspondence-free paradigm. Our approach combines self-supervised feature learning with a beam search scheme in the 3D rotation space, which can well adjust to the case of large rotation. We conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate that our approach can outperform state-of-the-art methods in terms of efficiency and accuracy across synthetic and real-world data.


Summary Background: Response-adaptive randomisation designs have been proposed to im -prove the efficiency of phase III randomised clinical trials and improve the outcomes of the clinical trial population. In the setting of failure time outcomes, Zhang and Rosen -berger (2007) developed a response-adaptive randomisation approach that targets an optimal allocation, based on a fixed sample size. Objectives: The aim of this research is to propose a response-adaptive randomisation procedure for survival trials with an interim monitoring plan, based on the following optimal criterion: for fixed variance of the esti -mated log hazard ratio, what allocation minimizes the expected hazard of failure? We demonstrate the utility of the design by re -designing a clinical trial on multiple myeloma. Methods: To handle continuous monitoring of data, we propose a Bayesian response-adap -tive randomisation procedure, where the log hazard ratio is the effect measure of interest. Combining the prior with the normal likelihood, the mean posterior estimate of the log hazard ratio allows derivation of the optimal target allocation. We perform a simu lationstudy to assess and compare the perform -ance of this proposed Bayesian hybrid adaptive design to those of fixed, sequential or adaptive – either frequentist or fully Bayesian – designs. Non informative normal priors of the log hazard ratio were used, as well as mixture of enthusiastic and skeptical priors. Stopping rules based on the posterior dis -tribution of the log hazard ratio were com -puted. The method is then illus trated by redesigning a phase III randomised clinical trial of chemotherapy in patients with multiple myeloma, with mixture of normal priors elicited from experts. Results: As expected, there was a reduction in the proportion of observed deaths in the adaptive vs. non-adaptive designs; this reduction was maximized using a Bayes mix -ture prior, with no clear-cut improvement by using a fully Bayesian procedure. The use of stopping rules allows a slight decrease in the observed proportion of deaths under the alternate hypothesis compared with the adaptive designs with no stopping rules. Conclusions: Such Bayesian hybrid adaptive survival trials may be promising alternatives to traditional designs, reducing the duration of survival trials, as well as optimizing the ethical concerns for patients enrolled in the trial.


To promote the development and diffusion of electric vehicles, central and local governments in many countries have adopted various incentive programs. This study examines the policy and market drivers behind the rapid development of the electric vehicle market in China, by far the largest one in the world. The analysis is based on the most comprehensive data on electric vehicle sales, local and central government incentive programs, and charging stations in 150 cities from 2015 to 2018. The study addresses the potential endogeneity of key variables, such as local policies and charging infrastructure, using the border regression design and instrumental variable method. The analysis shows that central and local subsidies accounted for over half of the electric vehicles sold during the data period. Investment in charging infrastructure is much more cost-effective than consumer purchase subsidies. In addition, the policy that merely provided electric vehicles a distinctively license plate was strikingly effective. These findings demonstrate the varying efficacy across policy instruments and highlight the critical role of government in promoting fuel-saving technologies.


We present a multiscale approach for minimizing the energy associated with Markov Random Fields (MRFs) with energy functions that include arbitrary pairwise potentials. The MRF is represented on a hierarchy of successively coarser scales, where the problem on each scale is itself an MRF with suitably defined potentials. These representations are used to construct an efficient multiscale algorithm that seeks a minimal-energy solution to the original problem. The algorithm is iterative and features a bidirectional crosstalk between fine and coarse representations. We use consistency criteria to guarantee that the energy is nonincreasing throughout the iterative process. The algorithm is evaluated on real-world datasets, achieving competitive performance in relatively short run-times.


Recent experimental evidence suggests that some brain activities can be assigned to small-world networks. In this work, we investigate how the topological probability p and connection strength C affect the activities of discrete neural networks with small-world (SW) connections. Network elements are described by two-dimensional map neurons (2DMNs) with the values of parameters at which no activity occurs. It is found that when the value of p is smaller or larger, there are no active neurons in the network, no matter what the value of connection strength is; for a given appropriate connection strength, there is an intermediate range of topological probability where the activity of 2DMN network is induced and enhanced. On the other hand, for a given intermediate topological probability level, there exists an optimal value of connection strength such that the frequency of activity reaches its maximum. The possible mechanism behind the action of topological probability and connection strength is addressed based on the bifurcation method. Furthermore, the effects of noise and transmission delay on the activity of neural network are also studied.


Electronic commerce engines like eBay depend heavily on reputation systems to improve customer confidence that electronic transactions will be successful, and to limit the economic damage done by disreputable peers defrauding others. In a reputation system, participant spost information about every transaction,and routinely check the posted information before taking any action to avoid other participants with a bad history.In this paper, we introduce a framework for optimizing reputation systems for objects.We study reputation systems in an asynchronous setting, and in the context of restricted access to the objects. Specifically, we study the cases where access may be restricted in time (objects arrive and depart from system) and inspace (each peer has access to only a subset of the objects).


This paper concerns searching substrings in a string using the factor automaton. The factor automaton is a deterministic finite automaton constructed to accept every substring of the given string. Nondeterministic factor automaton is used to achieve new operations on factor automata for searching in non-constant texts.


Architecture and Interior Design History is mainly focused on the stylistic, morphological analysis, and is described separately with each other. But these two parts and other design parts should be analyzed and described simultaneously, especially in the revolutionary periods, based on the social-economic background which is the useful means to analyze metaphysical phenomena.The main current in 18 ,19th century was the struggle between the rising citizens bourgeois and the degrading dominant class, so the design movement was astraying in these contradictions. That is, the Reaction Movement(especially Revivalism) was because of the bourgeois's aspiration towards the past aristocracy class and because of the position designer whose main patran was stillaristocracy and upper bourgeois. In contrast to that, New Movement was propelled by engineers and cabinet makers who were relatively free form thier patron's character. So it is not strange to see the New Style's establishment one hundred years after the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century


Introduction: Gingival hyperplasia is one of the earliest findings in AML (AFB subtypes M4 and M5). It represents a 5% frequency as the initial presenting complication of AML. Hyperplasia is believed to be due to leukemic infiltration or a secondary inflammatory response to local irritation of preexisting periodontal disease, or both. An impaired immune system following cellular dysplasia can progress to gingivostomatitis and periodontal infection (mainly due to Streptococci, gram negatives, herpes simplex, candida or rarely due to stomatococcus and aerococcus). Induction chemotherapy can hinder the healing process of the gingival lesion due to interference with the pathological response alongside leukemia induced changes.

 Case: A 69 year old male presented to his dentist with pain and gingival hyperplasia in the left maxilla which was treated with scaling of the gums. Following this, the patient developed worsened pain, which was treated with the extraction of 3 upper molars. The pain continued to worsen and the dentist prescribed a course of amoxicillin. Three weeks from his initial dentist visit, the patient went to his family physician for a routine checkup. Labs showed elevated leucocyte counts (54000/dl) and he was referred to hematology for a bone marrow evaluation. Physical examination of the oral cavity found hyperplasia of the gingiva with ulceration and necrosis of the left maxillary gingiva accompanied by severe halitosis and pain Bone marrow findings were consistent with AML with monocytic differentiation (51% blasts).According to AFB classification the AML fell in the M4 category. In collaboration with infectious disease consultation it was decided to treat oral infection and defer induction chemotherapy until the infection was controlled. The patient was started on ampicillin/sulbactam with routine antimicrobial prophylaxis, with resultant improvement in oral pain and halitosis. After 4 days of antibiotic therapy, the infection was controlled and chemotherapy with daunorubicin and cytarabine was started on day 5 of admission. Discussion: The case demonstrates the importance of early identification of gingival hyperplasia in AML (AFB classification M4 and M5), especially since it is one of the earliest signs of AML. The familiarization of dental health professionals with oral manifestation of systemic diseases can significantly reduce patient morbidity by early diagnosis and intervention. In such cases, during the course of chemotherapy, any spontaneous or provoked dental pain, swelling, or evidence of purulent discharge must be considered as an odontogenic infection until proven otherwise as the inflammatory response may be blunted due to myelosuppression. The clinical signs of erythema, swelling, and purulence are highly variable, and the absence of these features is insufficient to rule out infection. Disclosures Yacoub:Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Alexion: Honoraria.


From September 1989 to September 1992, 17 patients (pts) with non-curative or recurrent colorectal cancer were treated with 5-fluorouracil (FU) plus leucovorin (LV) systemic therapy. The sites of evaluable metastases were liver (10), peritoneum (4), lung (3) and others (6). The LV dosage was 30 mg/body (low-dose method) and the FU dosage was 500-750 mg/body. Both drugs were administered either 5 days/every 4 weeks or one day/every 1 to 2 weeks via protracted or bolus infusion. The regimen was generally well tolerated, although 9 pts (53%) experienced toxicity which required dose reductions. Overall response rate was 29% (5 PR). No CR was observed. Improvement in tumor-related symptoms was noted temporarily in 7 out of 10 pts. Serum CEA level decreased in 13 out of 14 pts. All the response sites were liver (5), with simultaneous lung (1) or peritoneum (1) metastasis. The response duration was 3 to 10 months (mean 6.2 months). Second-line therapy after progression of diseases, such as combination with CDDP, was attempted in some of the PR pts, but no re-response was observed. We conclude that FU plus low-dose LV regimen is an effective therapy for advanced colorectal cancer, but further attempts should be made to increase response rate, prolongation of response duration and effective second-line therapy after progression.


Digitization has reached the monetary system. The advent of crypto assets, such as Bitcoin and Ether, revealed numerous advantages these digital assets based on distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) can bring: Using DLT can enhance the security of sensitive financial transaction data, increase transaction speed through faster processing and settlement and automate numerous business processes through smart contracts. These advantages ought to be realized in the conventional monetary system as well — not only in the "crypto industry". DLT can be used both to digitally represent bank deposits and to tokenize central bank money via central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Current DLT-based CBDC projects and prototypes among others by the Chinese and Swedish central banks, but also initiatives by the European Central Bank (ECB), show that DLT will be an essential pillar of the digitization of the monetary system in particular and the financial system in general in the future.


It is impracticable to compare the variety of techniques advocated for thallium-technetium (Tl-Tc) subtraction parathyroid imaging by repeated studies in patients. We therefore carried out studies using a phantom assembly to simulate thyroid and parathyroid in the neck, containing activities of 99Tcm and 201Tl similar to those likely to be present in patient imaging. An initial study of imaging protocol confirmed that correction for scatter from 99Tcm in the 201Tl window usefully improved the image. After making a preliminary selection of gamma cameras and collimators it was found that the GE Maxicamera 400T just visualized the 0.3 g "parathyroid" in a 5 min image with the pinhole collimator and 6 mm insert (A). It performed slightly less well with the HR converging collimator (B) and only marginally better with the 4 mm insert (C), but this is unduly slow unless it is placed close enough to limit the field of view unacceptably. The Siemens Orbiter 75 ZLC with special thyroid collimator (D) gave results similar to (A), is convenient for positioning the patient and is very suitable for parathyroid imaging.


Background Snakebite envenoming is a well-known medical emergency in the Terai of Nepal in particular. However, there is an epidemiological knowledge gap. The news media data available online provide substantial information on envenomings. Assessing this information can be a pristine approach for understanding snakebite epidemiology and conducting knowledge-based interventions. We firstly analyzed news media-reported quantitative information on conditions under which bites occur, treatment-seeking behavior of victims, and outcomes of snakebite envenomings in Nepal. Methodology/Principal findings We analyzed 308 Nepalese snakebite envenomed cases reported in 199 news media articles published between 2010 and 2022 using descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon, and Chi-square tests to know why and how victims were bitten, their treatment-seeking behavior, and the outcomes. These envenomated cases known with substantial information represented 48 districts (mostly located in the Terai region) of Nepal. These envenomings mostly occurred in residential areas affecting children. Generally, envenomings among males and females were not significantly different. But, in residential areas, females were more envenomed than males. Further, victims' extremities were often exposed to venomous snakebites while their active status and these episodes often occurred at night while victims were passive during snakebites indoors and immediate surroundings of houses. Snakebite deaths were less among referred than non-referred cases, males than females, and while active than passive conditions of victims. Conclusion/Significance The most of reported envenomed patients were children, and most envenomings were due to cobra bites. Consultation with traditional healers complicated snakebite management. In most cases, deaths that occur without medical interventions are a severe snakebite consequence in Nepal. Further, several deaths in urban areas and mountains and higher hills of Nepal suggest immediate need of snakebite management interventions in the most affected districts. Therefore, there is an urgent need to immediately admit Nepalese snakebite victims to nearby snakebite treatment centers without adopting non-recommended prehospital interventions. The strategies for preventing snakebite and controlling venom effects should also include hilly and mountain districts where snakebite-associated deaths are reported.


In 2015, the UN approved the 2030 agenda on sustainable development, intending to bridge—and eventually close—the gaps that divide our societies. These 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) are presented as a master plan that covers the most painful global challenges to a knowledgeable and inclusive society. In this thematic issue we look more incisively into goals no. 1 (no poverty), no. 4 (quality of education and inclusive education), no. 10 (reduced inequalities), and no. 11 (sustainable cities and communities) of the agenda. Social inequalities have drastically intensified after the 2008 financial crisis and the period of austerity that followed, especially among the poorest people and in the most vulnerable communities. Nowadays particularly, with the Covid‐19 pandemic, these gaps seem to be growing. Against this background, this thematic issue aims to capture, make visible, understand, and analyze how social actors are organizing themselves and collaborating amongst each other in order to help attenuate and satisfy dramatic emerging social needs and improve living conditions, especially among the most vulnerable social groups, in uncertain times of crisis. We focus particularly on two main thematic blocks: social inclusion axes on the one hand (formal, non‐formal, and informal education, participation, leisure time, and culture) and vulnerable groups on the other (including children, adolescents, youth, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, and migrants). Contributions to this thematic issue offer interesting conceptual, methodological, and empirical approaches to the study of social inclusion and social inclusive experiences in contemporary societies in uncertain times, particularly in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Brazil.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate hydrological impact by the land cover change of
typhoon damage. For the typhoon RUSA (rainfall 1,402mm) occurred in 2002 (August 31 ~
September 1), satellite images of Landsat 7 ETM+ of September 29, 2000 and Landsat 5 TM of
September 11, 2002 were selected, and each land cover was classified for Namdae-cheon
watershed 192.7 . located in the northeastern part of South Korea. SCS unit hydrograph for
watershed runoff and Muskingum for streamflow routing of WMS HEC-1 was adopted. 30m
resolution DEM & hydrological soil group using 1:50,000 soil map were prepared. The model was
calibrated using three available data of storm events of 1985 to 1988 based on 1985 land cover condition. To predict the streamflow change by damaged land cover condition, rainfall of 50 years to
500 years frequency were generated using 2nd quantile of Huff method. The damaged land cover
condition treated as bare soil surface increased streamflow of 50.1 m3/sec for 50 years rainfall
frequency and 67.6 m3/sec for 500 years rainfall frequency based on AMC-I condition. There may be
some speedy treatment by the government for the next coming typhoon damage.


Background: Post-operative sore throat is well known complication of endotracheal intubation. Ketamine gargle is a newly proposed adjunct for reducing the incidence of POST in anesthesia so we planned a study to find out the effectiveness of ketamine gargle with normal saline for prevention of postoperative sore throat (POST) after orotracheal intubation and compared with normal saline. Material and Methods: Sixty patients aged between 18-60 years with American Society of Anaesthesiologists I and II, undergoing elective surgical procedures performed under general anaesthesia were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients in each. Group S received 30 ml of normal saline and Group K received 40 mg of Ketamine in 30 ml of normal saline. All the patients were asked to gargle with the preparation for 30 sec after their arrival in the operation room 5 min before induction of anaesthesia. On arrival in the post-anaesthetic care unit ( 0 hr), at 2 hr, at 4 hr and at 24 hr thereafter, the patients were questioned by a blinded investigator whether he/she had experienced sore throat or any side-effect. Results: In Group S POST occurred more frequently as compared to Group K, at 0hr, 2hr, 4hr and 24 hr and significantly more patients suffered severe POST in Group S at 4hr and 24 hr compared with Group K (P<0.05). Conclusion: Ketamine gargle significantly attenuated POST, with no drug-related side effects.