The versatility of concrete masonry as a construction assembly is well established through the variety of applications and structures it is used to create. Concrete masonry offers almost limitless combinations of color, shape, size, strength, texture, and density. This TEK illustrates the various physical and design properties infl uenced by the density of concrete masonry units, and provides references to guide the user towards a fuller discussion and more detailed information. Although most of the following discussions use lightweight and normal weight concrete masonry as examples, the properties of medium weight masonry can typically be expected to fall between the two.


The thesis examines the interplay between political, military, economic, social and cultural influences in the context of the United States' control over Brazil. The main argument is that the ways used by the United States to control Brazil were, and are, a form of imperialism even though there was never any use of direct American military invasion or occupation. The role of the US during World War II, but most importantly their role in the 1964 military coup, demonstrated the American involvement in this crucial moment in Brazilian history. Then a discussion of the development of television follows, which in Brazil after 1964 meant Rede Globo, and its connections to the new economic model implemented by the military government are examined in order to demonstrate Brazil's direct subordination to the interests of American multinational corporations. This apparatus was further extended by the establishment of American advertising agencies such as J. Walter Thompson, which allowed for the homogenization of Brazilian culture and tastes with the model of the American Way of Life in its Brazilianized version, as represented by the Cultura Zona Sul with the telenovela as its main tool. This model I called Consumer Culture Imperialism because it was through the creation of desires to consume in the same way as Americans initially, and Brazilian elites later, that American control was achieved. The thesis concludes that this model is still very pervasive in Brazil today, together with Globo's virtual monopoly, therefore making the research into this field now more important than ever before


Stroke is defined as rapidly developing clinical signs of focal disturbance of cerebral functions with symptoms lasting for 24hrs or longer or leading to death, with no apparent cause other than vascular origin. Fibrinogen participates in two crucial events in hemostasis. It is an adhesive protein essential for platelet aggregation and platelet plug formation at the site of vascular damage. To compare the plasma fibrinogen level among diabetic and non-diabetic stroke patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on stroke patients those who are admitted in the Stroke ward of Department of Neurology, SRMC&RI. The sample size was around 36 patients. Among them 20 where diabetic stroke patients and 16 were non diabetic stroke patient's .The age groups of 36 members were around 45 to85 yrs. Plasma fibrinogen level was estimated by rapid turbid method with standardized reagents. Our results showed there was a marked rise level of plasma fibrinogen among diabetic stroke patients was around 516.5 ± 167mg/dl P value < 0.001.When compared to non-diabetic subjects the value was around 386.8 ± 55mg/dl the P value < 0.001.Which is statically significant. In conclusion the fibrinogen is a factor which is responsible for the non–traditional stroke. The increased fibrinogen level in blood may lead to excessive clumping of blood cells, causing a clot formation in the major artery, which may promote the development early stage of Stroke in old age. From our study we concluded that the serum plasma fibrinogen level is elevated in diabetic stroke patients when compared to non-diabetic stroke patients.


Unlike William Gaddis's other novels, The Recognitions defines writing in ontological terms as the account of an encounter with substance or being qua being. However, this definition is misleading, as substance turns out to be a fiction produced by purely textual means, like the uncanny apparitions described in ghost stories. Thus, Gaddis only refers to metaphysics in order to challenge its applicability to writing, and the explicit allusions to the question of being eventually suggest that the text belongs in a realm of pure possibility of which being itself is but one actualization among many.


(1) Background: A large body of literature is available on the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of alternative food systems, but not much of it is devoted to the dynamics underlying their design and implementation, more specifically the processes that make an alternative food system successful or not in terms of its sustainability aims. This gap seems to be particularly critical in studies concerning alternative food systems in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). This paper explores how the design and implementation of multifunctional farming activity in a peri-urban area surrounding the city of Reggio Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy impact the achievement of its sustainability aims. (2) Methods: The environmental, social, and economic components of this project are explored in light of the sociology of market agencements. This method brings up the motivations of the human entities involved in the project, the role played by nonhuman entities, and the technical devices used for the fulfillment of the project's aims. (3) Results: The alternative food system under study lacked a robust design phase and a shared definition of the project aims among all the stakeholders involved. This ended in a substantial mismatch between project aims and consumer expectations. (4) Conclusions: When a comprehensive design stage is neglected, the threefold aim concerning sustainability might not be achievable. In particular, the design of alternative food systems must take into account the social environment where it is intended to be put in place, especially in UPA, where consumers often live in suburban neighborhoods wherein the sense of community is not strong, thus preventing them from getting involved in a community-based project. In such cases, hybridization can play a role in the sustainability of alternative food networks, provided that some trade-offs occur among the different components of sustainability—some components of sustainability will be fully achieved, while others will not.


This study examined factors of loneliness and satisfaction among rural-to-urban migrants in Shanghai, China. Data used in this study were from the Shanghai Rural-to-Urban Migrant Worker Survey conducted by the Institute of Demographic Research, Fudan University. Ordinal logit models were fit to test the hypotheses. A host of demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and neighborhood factors were identified as strong correlates of loneliness and satisfaction among migrants. The effect of experienced discrimination was overwhelmingly negative on migrant mental well-being. Improving migrants' work and living environment, increasing neighborhood amenities, and taking measures to facilitate migrant family members' living together seem to be potentially fruitful ways to promote migrant mental well-being in China.


It is a scientific study to select the method of IT project valuation. Adopting scientific method of valuation contributes a more accurate IT project price, which can not only provide the basis for the financial evaluation, economic and risk analysis of the IT projects, but also provide the benchmark to implement expense (investment and cost) control effectively in the process of IT project construction, and ensure the target of IT project costs. This paper analyses two factors in selecting method of IT project valuation. They are the constraint factors of amount of valuation information in different stages of IT project and the constraint factors of the value constitution of IT project. In connection with the features of all stages of full life-cycle of IT project and different types of project, this paper elaborates separately the corresponding requests of IT project valuation as well as the principles of valuation method selection reasonably. Besides, this paper emphasizes that the human resources constitutes an important part of the value and price of IT project, thus IT project valuation should attach an importance to the evaluation of human resources as well as the selection of the corresponding method of valuation.


At the mention of the word suffering, our minds virtualize some sort of painful feelings and conditions, unbearable situations, poverty and even a kind of evil. No wonder then that it is hard to seemingly set a demarcation between the problem of human suffering and the problem of evil. The University of human suffering lays its burdensome weight on every man in one way or the other. The people of Umuaga are therefore not exempted from this critical situation. The researcher employs the African philosophy of solidarity and complementarily, Igwebuike, which means "crowd is power", or "crowd/people is strength" to view this problem. This research therefore seeks to show that though a perennial problem, human suffering can be gradually brought to a minimal level and eventually eradicated in Umuaga land, through the practical us of Igwebuike. This work is expository, interpretative and analytic in nature to show the need for igwebuike in Umuaga community. The primary source of this research is drawn from oral interviews and interactions as well as personal reflection on the topic. The secondary source is basically drawn from relevant books, magazines and articles.


The article presents the results of a study into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourist and recreational space of Russia. Restrictions imposed in order to reduce the incidence of the disease have affected all areas of human activity around the world. The aim of the study was to identify regional peculiarities of COVID-19 impact on the components of Russia's tourist and recreational space. The tourist-recreational space is studied in the process of its territorialization, which allowed us to perceive it in the form of territorial tourist-recreational systems. Considering that many of the processes caused by COVID-19 occur within the boundaries of specific regions, the subject of the study were regional tourist-recreational systems. A component-by-component assessment of COVID-19 impact was applied at the level of potential consumers (tourists), the tourist and recreational complex, and the level of the regional organization and management system. To assess changes in the structure and geography of tourist demand, we applied search query analysis. The impact of COVID-19 on enterprises of the tourist and recreational complex of Russian regions was assessed with the use of statistical analysis methods as applied to the indicators characterizing tourist flow, operation of collective accommodation facilities and tourist firms and provision of tourist services for the population. Using content analysis of news web-portals and having studied the websites of executive authorities, we have analyzed the organization and management component of the regional tourist and recreational system. The results obtained indicate changes in the structure and geography of tourist demand and in the criteria for selecting a destination. We have identified the regions where the tourist and recreational complex was practically unaffected by the adopted restrictions and the most affected regions. As a result of the study, a model of COVID-19 impact on the components of the tourist and recreational system has been developed. The study can be used by executive authorities to make alterations to the documents concerning territorial planning and management and to improve the effectiveness of the support measures implemented in the post-pandemic period.


The authors report ODMR (optically detected magnetic resonance) studies of near infrared luminescence from nominally undoped cubic ZnSe. The magnetic resonances of shallow donors and isolated Fe3+ ions are detected in a prominent band at 980 nm. A similar band in ZnS has recently been identified by Skowronski and Liro (1981, 1982) as the internal 3T1 to 5E transition of Fe2+. It is concluded that ODMR detects the radiationless distant shallow donor to Fe3+ deep donor electron transfer. This process creates the excited Fe2+(3T1) state which in turn emits the 980 nm photon in a transition to the 5E ground state.


In vitro activation of dark-inactivated pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase extracted from maize (Zea mays L. cv. Golden Cross Bantam T51) leaves was examined. The inactive form of the enzyme and orthophosphate behaved kinetically as substrates for the reaction, which was catalyzed by an activating factor. This factor was bound by Blue Dextran Sepharose 4B and could be eluted by KCl at a concentration of 0.5m. The molecular weight of the maize leaf activating factor was about 88,000. Cibacron Blue 3G-A, a reactive moiety of Blue Dextran, inhibited the factor competitively with respect to the concentration of the inactive dikinase with a K(i) of 4.6 micromolar. Adenosine diphosphate and pyrophosphate were also found to be competitive inhibitors of activation, with respect to the inactive dikinase, giving K(i) values of 90 and 140 micromolar, respectively. Adenosine, other nucleotide diphosphates, and dinucleotides gave little or no inhibition of activation. These results suggest the association of a nucleotide, presumably nucleotide diphosphate, with the inactive form of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase.


This thesis is concerned with so-called higher derivative terms which arise in low energy approximations to certain physical models. In particular, the aim is to investigate the role that such terms play in low energy N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in 4 dimensions, with gauge group SU(2).Chapter one serves as an introduction to the notions of supersymmetry and superfields. The problem of constructing an effective action which describes the low energy dynamics is introduced, and the construction of the Wilsonian action in terms of light and heavy modes is developed. The concept on a derivative expansion is also described. Chapter two introduces N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking. It is observed that such systems always have a Bogomolnyi bound, and the consequences are discussed. We then develop a derivative expansion of this system in terms of N=2 superfields, drawing particular attention to the next-to- leading order derivative term (that is, those with 4 derivatives/8 fermions). The duality properties of such a term are reviewed, and their impact on the mass formula discussed. Conclusions are drawn as to their influence on the results of Seiberg and Witten. Chapter three deals with a non-renormalisation theorem for the next-to-leading order higher derivative term proposed by Dine and Seiberg. This states that instanton contributions to such a term in massless N=2 SU(N(_c)) gauge theories vanish when the number of flavours N(_f) = 2N(_c). We prove this result using the ADHM formalism for multi-instantons in the case N(_c) = 2.


The immunoassays used to measure anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are widely available on the market. However, their performance in COVID-19 vaccinees is not yet adequately assessed. Our study provides a head-to-head comparison of five methods: Abbott's S1-RBD IgG, Roche's S1-RBD total antibody, Euroimmun's S1 IgG, and DiaSorin's TrimericS IgG and S1/S2 IgG assays. Testing was performed in one hundred vaccinated subjects, at eight timepoints over eight months after vaccination. The results differed substantially between methods; however, they correlated strongly and demonstrated the individuals' responses to both doses of vaccination and the waning of humoral immunity after eight months. Importantly, we encountered a high percentage of results above the assay-specific upper quantitation limit (UQL) for undiluted samples. This was the most pronounced for the Roche's and Euroimmun's assays. The Abbott's assay showed the lowest percentage of results above the UQL. We also attempted to find a common way to establish antibody concentrations that might be classified as high. However, this resulted in between 10% and 100% of such results for different methods on day 240′. This highlights the need for an assay-specific approach for adjusting the cut-offs that may indicate COVID-19 immunity.


Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) is applied in a Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering context to investigate expected structural response, damage outcomes, and financial loss from highway bridges. This quantitative risk analysis procedure consists of: adopting a suitable suite of ground motions and performing IDA on a nonlinear model of the prototype structure; summarize and parameterize the IDA results into various percentile performance bounds; and integrate the results with respect to hazard intensity-recurrence relations into a probabilistic risk format. An illustrative example of the procedure is given for reinforced concrete highway bridge piers, designed to New Zealand, Japan and Caltrans specifications. It is shown that bridges designed to a "Design Basis Earthquake" that has a 10 percent probability in 50 years with PGA = 0.4g, and detailed according to the specification of each country, should perform well without extensive damage. However, if a larger earthquake occurs, such as a maximum considered event which has a probability of 2 percent in 50 years, then extensive damage with the possibility of collapse may be expected. The financial implications of this vulnerability are also given, revealing a four fold variation between the three countries.


We present a formal logic of social welfare functions. The logical language is syntactically simple, but expressive enough to express interesting and complicated properties of social welfare functions involving, e.g., quantification over both preference relations and over individual alternatives, such as Arrow's thorem.


This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a molting diet method in molt induction and post-molt performance of laying hens. Eighty-one ISA Brown hens at 62 wk of age were randomly divided into three groups. After a 4-wk preliminary period, a control group was fed a corn-soybean-based layer diet, and for the other groups, molting was induced by starvation (MS) or feeding a molting diet (MD). For the MS group, feed was withdrawn for 2 wk; this was followed by feeding a layer diet every other day for 1 wk and then the control diet. The MD group was fed a molting diet containing low-protein and low-energy diet based for 4 wk; this was followed by feeding a layer diet. They had a free access to their diet and water. Egg production, egg quality, feed intake, and ovary and oviduct weights were measured throughout the experimental period. During molting, the feed intake in the MD group was lower than that of the control. Body weight of the molted groups was significantly reduced. The MS group feeding totally ceased egg production within 4d; after the initiation of feeding and decreased; in the MD group, egg production to 9.3% by d 10. On d 14, the ovaries and oviducts of the molted groups were distinctly lighter than those of the control. Throughout the post-molt period, egg production and egg shell thickness of the molted group improved; but there were no significant differences. Eggs from the MD-fed or control group were heavier than those of the MS-fed or control group. Finally, feeding of a low-protein and low-energy diet effectively induces molting and increase post-molt production, but further research will be conducted to determine the effects of the molt diet with other ingredients and to reduce the energy level of the molt diet for maximizing molt induction and post-molt egg quality.


We described the localization of human telomerase RNA (hTR) expression in human gastric precancerous and cancerous lesions by using in situ mRNA hybridization. Diffusely high hTR expression was found in all carcinoma and adenoma tissues. Partially high hTR expression was seen in 75% hyperplastic polyps, 47% complete-type intestinal metaplasia and 21% incomplete-type intestinal metaplasia. All chronic gastritis without intestinal metaplasia possessed normal levels of hTR expression. The expression of hTR was heterogeneous and infiltrating lymphoid cells also expressed high levels of hTR expression. Taken together, overexpression of hTR due to stem cell hyperplasia is an early event of carcinogenesis of the stomach.


Cases of spontaneous pneumothorax are being reported with increasing frequency, due to a greater familiarity with the condition on the part of the medical profession as a whole and to the more frequent performance of roentgen examination. Such an examination is absolutely essential to clinch the diagnosis. The condition, however, is still rarely reported in infants and children, especially the so-called valvular, or tense, pneumothorax. This is the type in which the intrapleural pressure remains above atmospheric pressure in both phases of quiet respiration. It is the result of a one way valve action through a rent in the visceral pleura. Forceful inspiratory effort, as in crying, pumps enough air into the pleural space to exert a positive pressure during the inspiratory phase of quiet breathing. This trapped air gradually reduces the vital capacity, which in turn stimulates greater respiratory effort, and a vicious circle results. The end effect of


We have shown previously that a weak 50 Hz magnetic field (MF) invoked the actin-cytoskeleton, and provoked cell migration at the cell level, probably through activating the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) related motility pathways. However, whether the MF also affects the microtubule (MT)-cytoskeleton is still unknown. In this article, we continuously investigate the effects of 0.4 mT, 50 Hz MF on the MT, and try to understand if the MT effects are also associated with the EGFR pathway as the actin-cytoskeleton effects were. Our results strongly suggest that the MF effects are similar to that of EGF stimulation on the MT cytoskeleton, showing that 1) the MF suppressed MT in multiple cell types including PC12 and FL; 2) the MF promoted the clustering of the EGFR at the protein and the cell levels, in a similar way of that EGF did but with higher sensitivity to PD153035 inhibition, and triggered EGFR phosphorylation on sites of Y1173 and S1046/1047; 3) these effects were strongly depending on the Ca2+ signaling through the L-type calcium channel (LTCC) phosphorylation and elevation of the intracellular Ca2+ level. Strong associations were observed between EGFR and the Ca2+ signaling to regulate the MF-induced-reorganization of the cytoskeleton network, via phosphorylating the signaling proteins in the two pathways, including a significant MT protein, tau. These results strongly suggest that the MF activates the overall cytoskeleton in the absence of EGF, through a mechanism related to both the EGFR and the LTCC/Ca2+ signaling pathways.


Abstract We study the decidability of termination for two CHR dialects which, similarly to the Datalog like languages, are defined by using a signature which does not allow function symbols (of arity > 0). Both languages allow the use of the = built-in in the body of rules, thus are built on a host language that supports unification. However each imposes one further restriction. The first CHR dialect allows only range-restricted rules, that is, it does not allow the use of variables in the body or in the guard of a rule if they do not appear in the head. We show that the existence of an infinite computation is decidable for this dialect. The second dialect instead limits the number of atoms in the head of rules to one. We prove that in this case, the existence of a terminating computation is decidable. These results show that both dialects are strictly less expressive1 than Turing Machines. It is worth noting that the language (without function symbols) without these restrictions is as expressive as Turing Machines.


The notion that most cancers are ecosystems of evolving clones is now widely accepted. Hence, residual neoplastic cells that persist following treatment constitute an ideal evolutionary niche from which recurrent cancers arise and are a major obstacle to the successful treatment of human cancers. We have identified that TGFβ signaling contribute to drug resistance by coordinately repressing transcription and translation of p53 in precancerous and cancer cells. However, the molecular events accompanying the evolution towards a drug tolerant phenotype are not well understood. Indeed, severe cellular stress might generate a subpopulation of reversibly stress-tolerant cells under conditions that are lethal to the majority of the population. Drug tolerance attributed to heterogeneity of gene expression within the population to ensure survival of a minority under stress.

To address these questions, we developed an experimental paradigm to generate and propagate populations of paclitaxel tolerant precancerous (MCF10A) and metastatic cancer (MDA-MB-231) cells that can resume proliferation after 1 week of consecutive treatment with lethal doses of the drug . We found that drug-tolerant cells reacquired Paclitaxel-sensitivity after expansion. Then we performed whole transcriptome sequencing to identify single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and gene expression profiles at the single-cell level associated with the evolution towards a reversible drug tolerant state in cancer cells. We evaluated untreated, stress-arrested and proliferating drug-tolerant cells from a small (n<64) clonal population. In addition to sequencing the mRNA of single cells, we also performed DNA and RNA sequencing of populations of untreated and drug-tolerant cells to aid in the identification of RNA variants. We performed differential gene expression profiling for single cells and population cells of the three groups to identify the transcriptional stress response and cytotoxic effects of Paclitaxel on gene expression.

We find that within untreated, stress-arrested and drug-tolerant cell groups, specific transcriptional programs were enacted while generating high heterogeneity between single cells within and between groups. Drug-tolerant cells contained specific RNA variants encoded by genes involved in microtubule organization and stabilization as well as cell adhesion and cell surface signaling. Unexpectedly, Drug-tolerant cells from a single progenitor cell rapidly reacquired high degree of heterogeneity in gene expression similar to untreated cells, within a few doublings, while uniquely expressing SNVs and genes such as Integrin alpha 6, the histone demethylase KDM5A, and the IGF-1 receptor. Thus, single cell analyses reveal the dynamics of the response to stress in terms of cell-specific SNVs driving heterogeneity, the survival of a minority population through generation of specific genes and RNA variants and the efficient reconversion of drug-tolerant cells back to normalcy, suggesting that such heterogeneity within cancer cell populations might provide evolutionary advantage to increase the pool of drug tolerant cells poising a prospective path towards drug resistance.

This abstract is also presented as poster B68.

Citation Format: Fernando J. Lopez-Diaz, Mei-Chong Wendy Lee, Muhammad A. Tariq, Yelena Dayn, Shahid Y. Khan, Charlie Vaske, Nader Pourmand, Beverly M. Emerson. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals phenotypic plasticity of drug tolerant clonal populations of cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Third AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; Sep 18-22, 2013; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(19 Suppl):Abstract nr PR05.


ABSTRACT Purpose: To describe optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) features of lesions of tubercular multifocal serpiginoid choroiditis (TB MSC) that developed paradoxical worsening (PW). Methods: In this prospective study, subjects with TB MSC who developed PW upon initiation of anti-tubercular therapy were included. Multimodal imaging was performed using OCTA, enhanced-depth imaging OCT, fluorescein angiography (FA), and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA). Morphologic changes in the retinochoroidal vasculature during progression of TB MSC were assessed on OCTA. Results: Five subjects (4 males, 1 female) were included in the study. PW of the lesions was associated with increased areas of choriocapillaris flow void on en face OCTA in all eyes. The lesions showed partial healing in the center and continuous progression at the active edges. Two eyes showed development of vascular tufts on OCTA as the lesions progressed. Conclusions: OCTA provides high-resolution imaging of progressive choriocapillaris hypoperfusion among TB MSC patients developing PW of the disease.


Service quality is important in service industry and hospitality industry on classified star hotels. The aim of this study was to determine the moderating effect of information technology communication (ICT) utilization on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. Descriptive research design was adopted for this study. The target population was 6067 customers at classified star hotels in Nairobi Kenya and a sample size of 375 was obtained using proportionate sampling from categorized star hotels. Data was collected using a 5 Likert-scale questionnaire. Data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The study established that Service Quality (β= .194, p-value = 0.003) as a relationship marketing practice is an important elements that affect customer satisfaction. The study rejected H0 2 since β≠0 and p-value was less than α. The study explains 4.9% of variance above and beyond the variance by Service Quality. Service quality has a significant effect on customer satisfaction in classified star hotels and an important element to consider when making decisions. Responsiveness, good environment or ambience and reliability of services are critical for classified star hotels to improve their customer satisfaction. Hotels management should pay attention to all service quality dimensions of assurance, reliability, responsiveness, convenience and empathy. Keywords: Service Quality, Relationship Marketing, Customer Satisfaction, Information Technology Utilization, Classified Star Hotels


Section 1: Central pathways involved in the control of food intake and energy expenditure 1. Orexigenic Peptides 2. Anorexigenic Peptides 3. "Newcomers and Supporting Actors" Section 2: Peripheral signals participating in energy homeostasis and obesity-associated alterations 4. The Gut as a Second Brain 5. Elements of the Adipostat 6. Natriuretic Peptides and Other Lipolytic Peptides involved in the Control of Lipid Mobilization 7. The Adipo-Hepato-Insular Axis in Glucose Homeostasis 8. Adipokines in the Immune-Stress Response 9. Peptides involved in vascular homeostasis Section 3: Integrative perspectives 10. Hierarchy of Neural Pathways Controlling Energy Homeostasis 11. Energy Regulatory Signals and Food Reward 12. Embracing complexity: the emergence of functional neuroimaging and other methodologies to study the role of the human brain in the pathophysiology of obesity 13. Overview of the Integrative Physiology of Adipose Tissue in Energy Homeostasis 14. Application of "OMICS" Strategies to Obesity Research 15. 15. Implications for the Future of Obesity Management.


BACKGROUND
Genital warts are a well-recognized clinical entity and a disease of great antiquity that differ from skin warts both histologically and antigenically. It is a common sexually transmitted disease of high prevalence all over the world. Women are more likely to be unaware of such warts because it is harder for them to examine their genitalia.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to compare the clinical efficacy and tolerance of 0.3% and 0.5% podophyllotoxin in a cream emulsion (castor oil, BP as vehicle) to cure genital condylomata in women.

METHODS
Preselected (n = 80) Asian females (mean age 23.6 years), harboring 544 warts (mean 6.8 in number), ranging from 1 to 9 mm in size (mean 2.1 mm) with biopsy-proven diagnosis of condylomata acuminata were randomly allocated to three groups (30 + 30 + 20). At home the patients applied the given trial medication themselves (using the finger) twice a day, for 3 consecutive days per week, and if not cured the same course was extended to 3 more weeks, in total 24 topical applications for 4 weeks. The patients were examined on a weekly basis, and a total regression of warts (biopsy-proven) was evaluated as complete cure.

RESULTS
By the end of the study, the placebo group (20 patients, bearing 124 warts) did not show any regression or clinical efficacy, while 41/60 patients (68.3%) and 349/420 warts (83%) were cured in the 0.3% and 0.5% treatment groups (placebo vs. active groups p < 0.001). Patients using the 0.5% active medication had substantially more eliminated warts (205/349, 95.8%) than the 0.3% group (70%). Localized adverse symptoms were mild to moderate and were well tolerated by the patients with no dropout. Forty-three patients (53.8%) did not show any adverse reaction. The most frequent adverse symptoms were tenderness (23/80, 28.8%) and burning sensation (14/80, 17.5%). Among 41/80 (51.25%) cured patients 4 had a relapse after 16 weeks.

CONCLUSION
Along with mild, tolerable side effects the study demonstrates that 0.5% podophyllotoxin cream is more efficacious than 0.3% (p < 0.01) and can be considered as a reliable home-based treatment.


Many Small Island States have basic elements of Social Protection systems in place, which can be deployed to support disaster preparedness and response. These include social safety net and labor market programs; social insurance to help mitigate against drops in well-being; social services to address the needs of affected populations; and service delivery instruments that can be used to support affected households. These basic system elements provide a foundation on which a well-functioning and responsive Social Protection system can be further developed. Social Protection's contribution to climate and disaster resilience is increasingly being appreciated in Small Island States. Countries such as Jamaica have scaled up Social Protection programs to respond to natural hazards, while others, such as Comoros have taken steps to adapt and scale up programs to build resilience. Small Island States can work towards adaptive and responsive Social Protection systems at varying levels of maturity and sophistication. By aligning Social Protection provision with resilience objectives, countries could more effectively help vulnerable households adapt to climate change, prepare for disasters, and restore livelihoods quickly should a disaster strike. NOTE: #2 FOCUS: SOCIAL PROTECTION OVERVIEW: Building Resilience through Social Protection A series highlighting good practices in climate and disaster resilience in Small Island States SISRI Knowledge Notes


Each well designed project, related to digital modelling for the needs of assessment of conditions of an engineering structure, contains comparison of results of numerical calculations with results of surveying. Usually, results of levelling, which determine differences of elevation of controlled points of the structure, are the subject of such comparison. Results of measurements of a horizontal network may be presented in a similar way. In the course of comparison, functional, structural and accuracy differences of digital models, as well as models based on results of surveying monitoring should be also considered. Comparison of modelling results with results of surveys may be performed for various purposes. Besides the diagnosis of current conditions of the structure, emergency or non-standard situations, such comparison may be performed for specific demands of geodetic services, and, in particular, the needs of modernisation of the geodetic control network or in the process of the initial control of surveys. Such comparison may be performed in order to asses the digital model, developed basing on archive geological reconnaissance and/or verification of values of parameters of materials. The paper discusses the demands of verification of digital analysis by means of back analysis, as well as possibilities to utilise the results of geodetic monitoring for the needs of calculations. It should be noticed that the geodetic control network should be consulted with designers of the particular structure and with the entity, which performed numerical analyses. Those issues are illustrated by means of the example of development of the control network and the numerical model for a building, which is located in the densely built-up area, within the direct neighbourhood of the Warsaw underground.


Objective: Being unmarried is a well-known risk factor for poor pregnancy outcome such as preterm delivery and intrauterine growth restriction. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the prevalence and risk of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and selected bacteria isolated from the lower genital tract and to determine the socioeconomic and microbiological characteristics that might be responsible for poor pregnancy outcome observed among unmarried pregnant women. Methods: The study population comprised 196 pregnant women attending 10 randomly selected outpatient maternity units in the Lodz region, central Poland. Cervicovaginal samples were obtained between 8 and 16 weeks of gestation. Based on Spiegel's criteria, gram-stained vaginal smears were examined for BV and the BV-associated flora was sought by culture. To evaluate the risk factors, relative risk ratios were calculated using EPI INFO software. Results: Among 196 pregnant women, 40 (20.4%) were unmarried. BV was diagnosed among 55 (28.1%) women studied.In the univariate analysis, unmarried pregnant women were characterized by younger age, primary educational level, poor economic situation and excessive smoking during pregnancy, as compared to married women. The unmarried status was a borderline risk factor for BV (OR = 1.83, 95% CI 0.94–4.9) after adjustment for age, smoking and education. An analysis of the microbiological culture from the lower genital tract revealed that unmarried pregnant women had a higher risk for several types of pathological microflora, as compared to married women. However, this finding was significant only for Mycoplasma hominis. The independent risk factors of M. hominis were the young age of the subject and a low concentration of Lactobacillus spp. Conclusions: The observed socioeconomic, demographic and microbiological differences between unmarried and married women could be responsible for the poor pregnancy outcome among unmarried pregnant women in Poland. Unmarried pregnant women should be covered by comprehensive medical care even before pregnancy.Further studies taking into account the role of psychological stress, patterns of sexual behavior and substance abuse during pregnancy could help identify the factors responsible for adverse pregnancy outcome among unmarried pregnant women.


Abstract A 5-year artificial-tracer study was used to mimic bioturbation of foraminifera in the back-barrier marshes of Folly and Rat Islands, South Carolina. Mixing rates decrease with subenvironment elevation, and decadal- to centennial-scale ecological signals and smaller hurricane deposits would not survive passage through the low-marsh mixing zone. However, the lower mixing rates in the high-marsh subenvironment allows for the preservation of such signals in the stratigraphic record. Bioturbation rates correlate poorly with plant density (primarily Spartina alterniflora). The Pearson correlation coefficient between mixing rate (Im in centimeters) and halophyte density (stems per square meter) is only 0.46, while the correlation between mixing and burrow density (apertures per square meter) is a much stronger 0.83. This corroborates earlier reports that spatiolateral variability in bioturbation is primarily a result of bioturbator (Uca spp.) preference for the low marsh and not halophyte distribution. Two factors contribute to the preservation of storm layers in the marshes behind Folly Island: (1) Hurricane deposits are laterally continuous and deposited across both low and high marsh, and (2) the coarser grain size of the washover sediments and the thickness of the larger storm deposits inhibit crab burrowing. Although the extensive paleostorm record from Folly Island appears to show a decrease in category 4 and 5 hurricanes through time, this record may reflect change in marsh paleosubenvironment. In a transgressive setting, where a formerly high marsh is submerged into low marsh, the preservation potential of storm deposits decreases through time.


To the Editor: Recently, Chen and co-workers described the expression of an 11th influenza A virus protein, designated PB1-F2 because this protein is encoded in the +1 open reading frame of the segment-2 RNA (1). Later, Chen et al. presented a preliminary analysis of 336 PB1 sequences from GenBank (2). We have extended the work on PB1-F2 and analyzed 1,864 partial and complete segment-2 sequences deposited in GenBank; these sequences belong to 79 influenza A virus subtypes. In summary, the following 8 observations should receive attention:

First, the size of PB1-F2 polypeptides ranges from 79 to 101 amino acids (aa); most isolates encode versions of either 87 or 90 aa. Because polypeptides of 79 aa are located within mitochondria, their truncation has no effect on the protein function. The frequency of the 79-aa PB1-F2 is ≈5%.

Second, a functional PB1-F2 is expressed by 92% of all segment-2 sequences, i.e., a polypeptide >78 aa. The proportion of intact PB1-F2 varies according to host (humans 90%, swine 76%, other mammals 100%, birds 95%).

Third, the H1N1 subtype comprises 3 genetic lineages. One clade has 2 branches: 1 branch includes the human viruses, with the pandemic 1918 virus at its root; the other branch includes the classic swine viruses. The third clade represents the European porcine isolates. Although all classic swine sequences have a truncated PB1-F2 (in-frame stop codons after 11, 24, and 35 codons), the early human isolates (H1N1 sequences from 1918 through 1947) have an intact PB1-F2. After 1956, however, a mutation became prevalent such that the recent sequences starting from A/Beijing/1/56 terminate after 57 codons. An exception to this rule is A/Taiwan/3355/97. Two human H1N1 isolates with an intact PB1-F2 coding sequence cluster in the H3N2 clade (A/Kiev/59/79, A/Wisconsin/10/98). The PB1 sequences of European porcine influenza A virus isolates cluster with European porcine H3N2 and H1N2.

Fourth, all H2N2 sequences are monophyletic and encode an intact PB1-F2. Fifth, the main sequence cluster of the H3N2 subtype comprises 3 branches: 1) porcine H3N2 and porcine H1N2 sequences from the United States, 2) porcine H3N2 isolates from Hong Kong and human H1N2, and 3) recent human H3N2 and some Japanese H3N2 isolates. Most of these sequences encode an intact PB1-F2.

Sixth, the cluster of European porcine influenza A virus isolates comprises the subtypes H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2. The lack of distinct clades for each subtype indicates frequent reassortment in the evolution of these viruses. Of the segment-2 sequences, 56% encode an intact PB1-F2.

Seventh, other porcine isolates of various subtypes represent transspecies infections or single reassortment events. And eighth, the segment-2 sequences of many avian influenza A virus isolates encode intact PB1-F2. Considerable proportions of truncated PB1-F2 genes were found in the H5N2, H6N6, H9N2, and H13N2 subtypes. However, because of the small number of sequences available, this observation may not be important.

In conclusion, PB1-F2 is expressed in most avian and many porcine influenza A virus isolates. This finding contrasts with those in the initial publication, which stated that PB1-F2 is not expressed in many animal isolates, particularly those of porcine origin (1). Because PB1-F2 was described as a proapoptotic protein probably counteracting the host immune response, why numerous human and porcine isolates lack this protein without selective disadvantage remains unclear.


Arthrobacter sp. strain TE1 isolated from s-ethyl-N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC)-exposed soil degraded this herbicide effectively and could grow on EPTC as the sole carbon source. TE1 harboured four plasmids of 65.5, 60, 50.5, and 2.5 megadaltons. Spontaneous mutants unable to degrade EPTC arose at a high frequency, and this was further increased by treatment of the culture with acridine orange or incubation at high temperature. All EPTC degradation-deficient (E-) mutants lacked the 50.5-megadalton plasmid. This plasmid could be transferred from TE1 to E- mutants by conjugation, resulting in the restoration of EPTC-degrading ability to the mutants.


A study is presented of the variance of the monochromatic absorption coefficient and of the corresponding slant-path molecular transmittance due to errors in the tabulated line-parameter data and in the meteorological profiles used. General mathematical expressions for the variances are derived, which are simple and convenient to use in calculations involving specific atmospheric profiles and spectral line data. The results of calculations at eight representative frequencies for an assumed atmospheric profile and for typical uncertainties in the data indicate that deviations larger than 0.01 should be reasonably expected in transmittance calculations along vertical atmospheric paths.


Six monoclonal antibodies were prepared from mice immunized with a bacterially expressed human ets-2 protein. These antibodies specifically recognize the two human ets-2-encoded proteins p56 and p54 but failed to react with chicken, mouse, rat, bovine, or monkey proteins, suggesting that the antibodies recognize epitopes specific to the human ets-2 protein. Differential reactivities of these monoclonal antibodies with the peptide fragments generated by partial proteolytic digestion of the bacterially expressed ets-2 protein indicated that the six antibodies recognize at least three distinct epitopes in the B domain of the ets-2 protein. Immunoprecipitation experiments comparing native and denaturing conditions suggested that the ets-2 domain detected by the monoclonal antibodies is masked in the native condition by either protein folding or interacting proteins. The biochemical analysis of the ets-2 protein will be facilitated by the development of these monoclonal antibodies, which may be useful as both domain-specific probes and tools for specifically detecting the human ets-2 protein in heterologous expression systems.


Purpose
This paper aims to develop a method to improve the accuracy of tolerance analysis considering the spatial distribution characteristics of part surface morphology (SDCPSM) and local surface deformations (LSD) of planar mating surfaces during the assembly process.

Design/methodology/approach
First, this paper proposes a skin modeling method considering SDCPSM based on Non-Gaussian random field. Second, based on the skin model shapes, an improved boundary element method is adopted to solve LSD of nonideal planar mating surfaces, and the progressive contact method is adopted to obtain relative positioning deviation of mating surfaces. Finally, the case study is given to verify the proposed approach.

Findings
Through the case study, the results show that different SDCPSM have different influences on tolerance analysis, and LSD have nonnegligible and different influence on tolerance analysis considering different SDCPSM. In addition, the LSD have a greater influence on translational deviation along the z-axis than rotational deviation around the x- and y-axes.

Originality/value
The surface morphology with different spatial distribution characteristics leads to different contact behavior of planar mating surfaces, especially when considering the LSD of mating surfaces during the assembly process, which will have further influence on tolerance analysis. To address the above problem, this paper proposes a tolerance analysis method with skin modeling considering SDCPSM and LSD of mating surfaces, which can help to improve the accuracy of tolerance analysis.


Disorders of sleep in children are distinctly different from sleep disorders in adults. Since children are forced to constantly learn and adapt, the effects of disordered sleep may be more profound. This paper reviews the disorders of sleep that are most significant in each of the stages of development from infancy to adulthood. Recent literature pertaining to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of sudden infant death syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children are highlighted. In addition, recent literature on the relationship of behavior and learning problems to sleep disorders is examined.


Thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectroscopy has been applied to the study of interface/interphase in model composites. Three DGEBA-DDA matrix samples have been analyzed: matrix, matrix+silane treated beads, and matrix+elastomer coated beads. Below room temperature, two polarization phenomena are observed in all samples. The relaxation mode associated with the dielectric manifestation of the glass transition of the elastomeric interlayer has also been observed. Above room temperature, the TSC spectra show the existence of a complex relaxation mode. Analysis of the relaxation times shows compensation phenomena with parameters characteristic of the interface/interphase.<<ETX>>


Previous experimental results revealed that thiamin (vitamin B1) reduced lead (Pb) toxicity in calves and decreased tissue lead content in lead-treated calves and rodents. The objective of this experiment was to study the uptake and tissue distribution of lead in rats deprived of thiamin or given excess thiamin and to determine the effect of thiamin on lead absorption. Rats were divided into four groups and fed a thiamin-deficient or thiamin-supplemented diet. The thiamin-replete group also received daily injections of thiamin hydrochloride. Experimental diets were fed for 5 weeks, after which the rats were administered 10 muCi of 203Pb acetate (25 micrograms lead) and killed 6, 24, 48 or 72 hours later. Lead content and concentration of tissues increased twofold in the thiamin-replete group at 24 hours after dosing, but returned to control values 24 hours later. Tissue lead concentration of the thiamin-depleted group was slightly depressed at 24 hours after dosing, but this trend was reversed at the end of the experiment. Tissue lead concentrations in the pair-fed control group were three to seven times greater than in the other treatment groups 6 hours after dosing. The results indicate that thiamin facilitated absorption and increased the amount of lead initially taken up by tissue. Thiamin may also promote more rapid release of lead from tissues.


The purpose of the study was to evaluate public participation in the policy making process in Makueni County. This was so because, despite the Makueni County Government generally accepted framework for public participation, there is limited information on how that framework has impacted or been used in the policy making process. Specifically, the study sought to assess the extent of awareness by the residents of Makueni of their democratic right and opportunities to participate in the policy making process; analyzed the levels of citizens involvement in policy making processes in Makueni County; established the perception towards public participation in policy making process by residents and management in Makueni County; and determined the barriers to public participation in policy making process by residents and management in Makueni County. The study was anchored on Stakeholder Theory, Arnstein's Ladder and the Multi Streams Model. The study was hinged on descriptive survey research design and targeted the 884,527 residents of Makueni and the 217 County Public service Departmental staff in Makueni County. Stratified sampling was used to delineate 117 staff in terms of their positions, whether management or operations excluding the subordinate staff. Simple random sampling was used to get 396 residents. Focus Group Discussions and questionnaires were the primary data collection instruments. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of percentages and frequencies. Linear regression model analysis was also used to analyze data. The results established that the residents were unaware of their democratic right and opportunities for participation in policy making process in Makueni County. There were also low levels of citizens' involvement in policy making processes in Makueni County. Further, perception about public participation by residents was both negative for those who felt let down by the county management and positive for those who mainly felt hopeful that despite those challenges, things improve for the better in terms of public participation in policy making process in Makueni County. Additionally, financial, physical resource, human resource and technological barriers were identified as having considerable negative impact on citizen participation in policy making process. The study thus recommends that Makueni County management should embark on renewed promotional strategies to create awareness among citizens of their democratic right and opportunities for participation in policy making process in Makueni County. Further, the citizens themselves should be proactive and employ necessary mechanisms of obtaining information from the county government and demand participation. The Makueni County management should on the other hand, formulate a framework that stipulates the measures to be applied towards fully involving the citizens. The Makueni County management should also be more transparent and accountable in order to help build a positive perception about public participation amongst the residents. Moreover, the Makueni County management should engage in robust resource mobilization of finances, physical, human and technological resources that advance public participation in policy making process. On a policy level, the County Assembly should amend existing public participation legislation to make it more responsive to the needs of citizens. The executive should on their part robustly implement public participation processes going forward. International Journal of Current Aspects, Volume 5, Issue 2, May 2021, PP 36-49, ISSN 2616-6976 37 www.ijcab.org


Spin dynamics is studied by computing spin-dependent ionization current of He in intense laser field in relativistic field theoretic method. Spin-flip and spin-asymmetry in current generation is obtained with circularly polarized light. The spin-flip is a dynamical effect of intense laser field on an ionized spinning electron. Transformation properties of the up and down spin ionization amplitudes show that the sign of spin can be controlled by a change of helicity of the laser photons from outside.


A pot experiment was conducted at the field laboratory of the Dept. of Environmental Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to asses the visual ozone injury in white clover crops ( Trifolium repens cv. Regal ) started from May 13, 2007. Two genotypes of white clover were used of which one was ozone susceptible (NC-S) and the other was ozone resistant (NC-R). Each genotype was replicated into 20. The data on total plant dry matter harvested thrice at 28 days interval resulted in increasing biomass gradually in later harvests. The Monthly mean ozone values collected from passive ozone sampler during April to August'07 was recorded as 29, 35, 49, 28, and 61 ppb respectively, which seemed that ozone concentrations in the troposphere is increasing gradually in Bangladesh. The susceptible NC-S showed visual ozone injury symptom from very slightly (0-1%) to slight (1-5%) where as the resistant cultivar showed no visual injury symptom. The ozone susceptible cultivar generally produced comparatively less biomass than the resistant one at every harvest. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v18i2.18243 Progress. Agric. 18(2): 215 - 222, 2007


The COVID19 pandemic situation has opened a wide range of opportunities for cyber-criminals, who take advantage of the anxiety generated and the time spent on the Internet, to undertake massive phishing campaigns. Although companies are adopting protective measures, the psychological traits of the victims are still considered from a very generic perspective. In particular, current literature determines that the model proposed in the Big-Five personality traits (i.e., Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) might play an important role in human behaviour to counter cybercrime. However, results do not provide unanimity regarding the correlation between phishing susceptibility and neuroticism. With the aim to understand this lack of consensus, this article provides a comprehensive literature review of papers extracted from relevant databases (IEEE Xplore, Scopus, ACM Digital Library, and Web of Science). Our results show that there is not a well-established psychological theory explaining the role of neuroticism in the phishing context. We sustain that non-representative samples and the lack of homogeneity amongst the studies might be the culprits behind this lack of consensus on the role of neuroticism on phishing susceptibility.


This paper focuses on the role of food tourism in delivering sustainability agendas by examining how the agriculture and tourism sectors have struggled to realise measurable successes because of constraints, conflicting ambitions and low levels of social capital. It focuses on the United Kingdom, which has tasked regional development agencies to adopt food tourism as a means to grow local economies, create jobs and improve natural resources and diversify. In 2009/10, 16 interviews and six workshops were conducted with stakeholders to gauge industry challenges and needs in implementing food tourism. Based on qualitative findings, a model was developed which maps five emergent themes (knowledge exchange, the supply chain, fear of change, regionalisation and marketing) alongside five sustainability principles (strong and just society, good governance, sustainable economy, working within environmental limits and using sound science responsibly). The paper argues that if food tourism is to deliver its purported sustainable benefits, the policy environment must cultivate significant social capital through the cooperation of different industries with varying needs, motivations and challenges through joint marketing schemes, more localised distribution channels and enhanced policy engagement. Scotland and Wales are more successful than England, but overall food and tourism are not yet in effective partnership.


A parametric study was conducted to evaluate the stability of the White Oak Dam (WOD) embankment and foundation. Slope stability analyses were performed for the upper and lower bound soil properties at three sections of the dam using the PCSTABL4 computer program. Minimum safety factors were calculated for the applicable seismic and static loading conditions. Liquefaction potential of the dam embankment and foundation solid during the seismic event was assessed by using simplified procedures. The WOD is classified as a low hazard facility and the Evaluation Basis Earthquake (EBE) is defined as an earthquake with a magnitude of m{sub b} = 5.6 and a Peak Ground Accelerator (PGA) of 0.13 g. This event is approximately equivalent to a Modified Mercalli Intensity of VI-VIII. The EBE is used to perform the seismic evaluation for slope stability and liquefaction potential. Results of the stability analyses and the liquefaction assessment lead to the conclusion that the White Oak Dam is safe and stable for the static and the seismic events defined in this study. Ogden Environmental, at the request of MMES, has checked and verified the calculations for the critical loading conditions and performed a peer review of this report. Ogden has determined that the WOD is stable under the defined static and seismic loading conditions and the embankment materials are in general not susceptible to liquefaction.


Sudden death victims share most of the major risk factors for coronary disease in general; and the key to prevention is to reduce the risk of coronary attacks, especially by avoidance of cigarettes, correction of obesity, and reduction of blood pressure. The incidence increases with age, with sudden death incidence in women only a third that in men. By incorporating CHD risk factors into a multivariate logistic formulation, a composite estimate of risk is obtained over a wide range. A severely compromised coronary circulation manifested only by ECG abnormalities carries a high risk of sudden death. VPBs associated with sudden death often occur concurrently with ECG signs of LVH, intraventricular block, and nonspecific ST-T abnormalities. Convalescent MI patients with a low risk of sudden death are usually asymptomatic; have a normal creatinine, normal post-MI ECG, no tachycardia, a normal exercise ECG, few VPBs on monitoring, and normotension; and show no signs of cardiac failure.


Conventional routing algorithms rely on the existence of persistent end-to-end paths for the delivery of a message to its destination via a predesigned path. However, in a delay tolerant network (DTN), nodes are intermittently connected, and thus the network topology is dynamic in nature, which makes the routing become one of the most challenging problems. A promising solution is to predict the nodes' future contacts based on their contact histories. In this paper, we first propose an expected encounter based routing protocol (EER)which distributes multiple replicas of a message proportionally between two encounters according to their expected encounter values. In case of single replica of a message, EER makes the routing decision by comparing the minimum expected meeting delay to the destination. We further propose a community based routing protocol(CR) which takes advantages of the high contact frequency property of the community. The simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed routing protocols under different network parameters.


This article gives you proof that bimetallic transition metal clusters with the difference in electronegativity are better catalysts than monoatomic one. To prove this fact, a study of ethylene adsorption on bimetallic clusters vanadium-nickel VnNim (2≤n+m≤6) has been demonstrated. Our result shows that hardness has a quite good linear correlation with the non-Lewis of VnNi (n=1-5) cluster (R2=0.99). This finding is important, because this is the first time in literature that presents an orbital explanation for hardness. It is possible to see the results of both nickel doped in vanadium cluster and also vanadium doped in nickel cluster. The maximum interaction for these species is for one nickel substituted alloy, VnNi (n=1-5). This finding corresponds to the lowest energy gap between HOMO of bimetallic clusters and LUMO of ethylene, according to Fukui equation of reactivity. A successful demonstration has been performed by extrapolation of theoretical results to predict the best mixing of two metals which reveals that V8Ni cluster is the best that is in accordance with the experimental results of mixing vanadium with nickel as catalysis in industry. We have also demonstrated that the larger bimetallic cluster has more conductivity and reactivity which is the demonstration of nano character.


Various steroids precipitate from supercritical CO2 as very small particles but still retain their crystallinity. This suggests that SCFE in this industry could be utilized as a size reduction method as an alternative to milling. The application of SCFE as a separation technique is demonstrated by the simultaneous extraction and reaction of mevinolin, a metabolite of the fungus Aspergillus terreus.


Study Design: This was a clinical prospective study. Objective: To assess whether clinical and radiologic outcomes differ between expansion open-door laminoplasty with foraminotomy (EOLF) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in the treatment of coexisting multilevel cervical myelopathy and unilateral radiculopathy (CMUR). Summary of Background Data: No reports to date have compared clinical outcomes between anterior and posterior decompression for CMUR. Materials and Methods: We prospectively performed ACDF (n=59) in 2004, 2006, and 2008 and EOLF (n=62) in 2005, 2007, and 2009. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score and recovery rate were evaluated. For radiographic evaluation, the lordotic angle and range of motion at C2–C7 were investigated. Results: Only 110 patients could be followed for >3 years (EOLF/ACDF: 56/54; follow-up rate, 90.9%). Demographics were similar between the 2 groups. Compared with ACDF, in EOLF group there were shorter operating time (144 vs. 178 min), less bleeding (175 vs. 192 mL), and fewer complications (P<0.05). Results of JOA score and recovery rate, at 3-year postoperative follow-up, showed no statistical difference for the 2 groups. Cervical lordosis of ACDF increased from 13.7 to 16.2 degrees, whereas that of EOLF group decreased from 14.6 to 13.3 degrees (P<0.05). The percentage of range of motion declined in the 2 groups (ACDF/EOLF), 57.4% versus 74.7% (P<0.05). Conclusions: The 2 surgical procedures have similar clinical effects in treating multisegmental CMUR. However, the EOLF group demonstrated shorter operative time, less blood loss, and fewer complications; therefore, it proved to be a more effective and safer method.


Eigen-mode analysis of ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) systems with flows is performed. It is shown that energy of stable oscillatory modes (waves) can be both positive and negative. Negative energy waves always correspond to non-symmetric modes which are nonuniform along the direction of the flow. Coupling of negative and positive energy waves is shown to be a universal mechanism of non-symmetric MHD instabilities in flowing media. To study stability of non-symmetric modes, a new variational approach is developed based on Lyapunov theory. This approach provides sufficient and (under some assumptions) necessary stability condition.


The notion of translation (shift) is straightforward in classical signal processing, however, it is challenging on an irregular graph structure. In this work, we present an approach to characterize the translation operator in various signal domains. By a natural generalization from classical domains, one can characterize an abstract representation for the graph translation operator. Then we propose an isometric translation operator in joint time-vertex domain consistent with the abstract form of translation operators in other domains. We also demonstrate the connection between this notion and the Schrodinger equation on a dynamic system which intriguingly describes the idea behind translation on graph.


Nitrate (NO3-N) and ammonium (NH4-N) leaching from agricultural soils can represent substantial losses of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, but a large variation in N losses has been reported. The objectives of this study were to assess the accumulation and movement of nitrate and ammonium in the soil profile over the study period under different irrigation and fertilizer conditions. So, N concentration and its leaching were studied under three N fertilizer and three irrigation treatments during 2007 Khuzestan Province, Iran. The irrigation treatments consisted of full irrigation (I1) and 85 (I2) and 70 (I3) percent of I1. Also, the N treatments were 150 (N1), 250 (N2) and 350 (N3) kg/ha. Soil sampling was conducted in June, July, August and September from the soil surface to 1.2 m depth at intervals of 0.3 m depth. We used the LEACHM model for nitrate (NO3-N) and ammonium (NH4-N) simulation, and their comparison with measured data. The amount of application of nitrogen and irrigation treatments indicated their important role in the accumulation of nitrate and ammonium in the soil profile. In this study, a high concentration of NO3-N was observed in I3N3 and also a high concentration of NH4-N accrued in the I3N3 and I3N2 treatment. After some time, Nitrate leached to subsurface depths and by the end of sampling (September) the concentration at the 0-30 cm depth was zero. The model was calibrated with a change in nitrification, denitrification and N volatilization for the three N treatments and model accuracy was increased after calibration so that Willmott's index for NO3-N and NH4-N after calibration was 0.56 to 0.98 and 0.76 to 0.96, respectively.


A Conditional Simple Temporal Network (CSTN) augments a Simple Temporal Network to include a new kind of time-point, called an observation time-point. The execution of an observation time-point generates information in real time, specifically, the truth value of a propositional letter. In addition, time-points and temporal constraints may be labeled by conjunctions of (positive or negative) propositional letters. A CSTN is called dynamically consistent (DC) if there exists a dynamic strategy for executing its time-points such that no matter how the observations turn out during execution, the time-points whose labels are consistent with those observations have all been executed, and the constraints whose labels are consistent with those observations have all been satisfied. The strategy is dynamic in that its execution decisions may react to observations. The original formulation of CSTNs included propositional labels only on time-points, but the DC-checking algorithm was impractical because it was based on a conversion of the semantic constraints into an exponentially-sized Disjunctive Temporal Network. Later work added propositional labels to temporal constraints, and yielded a sound-and-complete propagation-based DC-checking algorithm, empirically demonstrated to be practical across a variety of CSTNs. This paper introduces a streamlined version of a CSTN in which propositional labels may appear on constraints, but not on time-points. This change simplifies the definition of the DC property, as well as the propagation rules for the DC-checking algorithm. It also simplifies the proofs of the soundness and completeness of those rules. This paper provides two translations from traditional CSTNs to streamlined CSTNs. Each translation preserves the DC property and, for any DC network, ensures that any dynamic execution strategy for that network can be extended to a strategy for its streamlined counterpart. Finally, this paper presents an empirical comparison of two versions of the DC-checking algorithm: the original version and a simplified version for streamlined CSTNs. The comparison is based on CSTN benchmarks from earlier work. For small-sized CSTNs, the original version shows the best performance, but the performance difference between the two versions decreases as the number of time-points in the CSTN increases. We conclude that the simplified algorithm is a practical alternative for checking the dynamic consistency of CSTNs. 1998 ACM Subject Classification G.2.2 Graph Theory, I.2.8 Problem Solving, Control Methods, and Search


Many of us talk today of metallogenic provinces, but nearly always with qualifications, such as the coincidence of these provinces with structural (or geodynamic) zones, the alleged necessity of distinguishing metallogenic epochs before delimiting provinces, premature terminological discussions on the hierarchy and names of mineralized areas. Few specialists, however, try to fix province limits which have a practical value, i.e., within which many deposits of reasonable size and/or viable grade occur, and outside of which such deposits are rare or absent.Among parameters which, by the interplay of their associations, give provinces such variable characteristics, the mining geologist, the metallogenist, and the geochemist are in the first instance concerned with distinguishing the metal, or metallic associations, on a regional or planetary scale. Metallogenic epochs and types of deposits are left aside at this stage.Three examples are chosen to illustrate this approach: (1) the south Iberian pyrite belt, (2) Circum-Pacific tin and tungsten, (3) lead-zinc and copper in a part of Europe. The third example shows two lead-zinc belts (there are probably others!) and a wide copper zone. These features cannot result from physiographic conditions and human history. In any case, these belts reveal obvious heterogeneities and anisotropies in the distribution of significant concentrations. Furthermore, in many places they intersect the structural alignments and isochronous "megasurfaces" shown on geological maps. They by no means coincide everywhere with easily reconstructed plate margins. Do not these facts reveal the existence of earlier metallogenic belts in a very old framework (cf. De Launay, 1913, p. 4) ? If so, global tectonics should face this challenge."Les points ou certaines categories de roches, dont les exemplaires steriles sont ailleurs abondamment representes, se sont trouvees contenir exceptionnellement des provisions si extraordinaires de metaux rares, ont du offrir tres anciennement quelque chose de special, et nous sommes logiquement autorises a chercher d'abord ce quelque chose (d'autant plus special que la concentration metallique envisagee a ete plus rare) dans les premieres phases de la consolidation planetaire, ou tout au moins dans les periodes ou les parties internes de la Terre avaient encore, avec la superficie, des communications qui ont disparu depuis." (L. De Launay, Traite de Metallogenie, 1913, v. 1, p. 4).


Concurrent Programming ML (CML), included as part of the SML of New Jersey (SML/NJ) distribution, combines the best features of concurrent programming and functional programming. This practical, "how-to" book focuses on the use of concurrency to implement naturally concurrent applications. In addition to a tutorial introduction to programming in CML, the book presents three extended examples using CML for practical systems programming: a parallel software build system, a simple concurrent window manager, and an implementation of distributed tuple spaces. This book also illustrates advanced SML programming techniques, and includes a chapter on the implementation of concurrency using features provided by the SML/NJ system. It will be of interest to programmers, students, and professional researchers working in computer language development.


The decision to make giving birth dependent up on the economic situation undermines the very thing which enables man to adapt Nature to his needs. The idea of overpopulation and its relativity is examined. Consideration is given to how to meet present and future shortages which cause people to think in terms of overpopulation. It is suggested that the bottleneck is human energy. Sociological and psychological evidence which shows which factors influence the amount of available human energy are discussed, for available human energy can enable humanity to turn the technical possibilities into reality.


In portfolio optimization, the fundamental goal of an investor is to optimally allocate investments between different assets. Mean-variance optimization methods make unrealistic assumptions to solve the problem of optimal allocation. On the other hand, when realistic constraints like holding size and cardinality are introduced it leads to optimal asset allocation which differ from the mean variance optimization. The resulting optimization problem become quite complex as it exhibits multiple local extrema and discontinuities. Heuristic algorithms work well for the complex problem. Therefore, a heuristic algorithm is developed which is based on hill climbing complete (HC-C). It is utilized to solve the extended portfolio optimization problem. In order to validate its performance, the proposed HC-C is tested with standard portfolio optimization problem. Experimental results are benchmarked with the quadratic programming method and threshold accepting (TA) algorithm.


This paper has proposed the consideration of data in a sociomatrix as two batteries of variables, choose and chosen. Inter-battery factor analysis was proposed as a method of factoring the data into components which summarize the data and may be considered as a first step in clique identification. The inter-battery method seemed superior when compared to principal components factor analysis. A suggestion was made that an extension of existing rotational procedures is necessary for sociometric analysis.


Histochemical staining for carbonic anhydrase and cholinesterase (CE) activities was used to analyze sensory and motor axon regeneration, respectively, during neuroma formation in transected and tube‐encapsulated peripheral nerves. Median–ulnar and sciatic nerves in the rodent model permitted testing whether a 4 cm greater distance of the motor neuron soma from axotomy site or intrinsic differences between motor and sensory neurons influenced regeneration and neuroma formation 10, 30, and 90 days later. Ventral root radiculotomy confirmed that CE‐stained axons were 97% alpha motor axons. Distance significantly delayed axon regeneration. When distance was negligible, sensory axons grew out sooner than motor axons, but motor axons regenerated to a greater quantity. These results indicate regeneration differences between axon subtypes and suggest more extensive branching of motor axons within the neuroma. Thus, both distance from injury site to soma and inherent motor and sensory differences should be considered in peripheral nerve repair strategies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 21: 1748–1758, 1998


Mike Kirby, GP and Visiting Professor to the University of Hertfordshire and The Prostate Centre, London, picks some interesting recent papers and highlights the 'take‐home' message.


Neurological conditions comprise a significant proportion of patient admissions to hospital but, in the majority of cases, are admitted under the care of non-neurological physicians. As a consequence, neurological ward consultations are commonly requested by the admitting medical teams to review diagnoses and management plans. The outcomes of neurological ward consultations were examined and the time required for the referral process recorded by performing a detailed prospective three-month audit of inpatient referrals to the neurology service. The consultations of 120 patients were recorded, categorised and analysed. These consultations were beneficial in the vast majority of cases, with a clear impact on patient diagnoses or management plans. The consultation process was time consuming, however, both in respect of the initial review, but also with follow-up visits. This audit highlights the importance of neurological input in the diagnosis and management of hospital inpatients. The time taken for this process should be resourced appropriately.


Abstract Review of: Nidorf SM, Fiolet ATL, Mosterd A, et al. Colchicine in patients with chronic coronary disease. N Engl J Med 2020;383:1838–47.


BACKGROUND
It is not uncommon to hear the sentiment that student cohorts are less capable than the cohorts that came before them. However, the evidence for this sentiment is severely lacking, as it is challenging to compare student cohorts from different years due to changes in how the different cohorts of students were assessed and changes to the overall structure and delivery of the courses across years. The University of Adelaide has a large bank of multiple-choice (MCQ) assessment results from assessments undertaken in its four first-year chemistry courses that can be used to address this issue, as most of the MCQ items used within the assessments have not changed over time.

AIMS
By using the results of MCQ assessments over multiple years this research aims to determine if there has been a significant change in the average ability of student cohorts from different years.

DESIGN AND METHODS
Using a combination of item stacking and Rasch analysis it is possible to compare the difficulty of the MCQ items and the ability of the students over multiple years by including them on the same relative scale. This then allows for the item difficulties to be compared to ensure that the items are performing the same way each year that they are used. If the item difficulties are not significantly different then any changes in assessment results must be due to changes in the ability of the student cohort(s), and so the ability of the students can then be compared through statistical analysis to determine if there are any significant changes over multiple years.

RESULTS
By comparing the student results over a period of four years (2012 - 2015) in four different first-year chemistry courses it was observed that none of the MCQ items that were used over multiple years showed significant differences in their difficulty, so any changes in assessment results must be a result of changes in the ability of the student cohort(s). It was seen that in two of the four courses, the 2012 cohort showed significant differences to the other yearly cohorts. However, one of these cohorts showed significantly higher student ability, while the other cohort showed significantly lower student ability. No other instances of a significant ability difference between the cohorts was observed in this analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
Only two of the sixteen cohorts analysed showed a significant difference between their average ability and the average ability of the cohorts from other years participating in the same course. In addition the two cohorts that did show significance differences (both from 2012) did not follow the same trend as each other, meaning it is unreasonable to infer any potential trends from these results alone. At this point, the results of this analysis suggest that the ability of the students has not significantly changed between years. Further work using MCQ assessment results from additional cohorts will be carried out to investigate whether the 2012 cohort results are in fact anomalous.


A method and device for cosmetic surgery, especially fat reduction and collagen reformation, by means of a high power laser operating at about 980 nm is presented. The cosmetic surgery method substantially reduces or removes localized lipodystrophies, and essentially reduces flaccidity by localized laser heating of adipose tissue using an optical fiber inserted into a treatment area. The method and device are particularly well suited for treating Lipodystrophies with flaccidity High power laser energy is applied to "fat" cells to breakdown the cell walls releasing the cell fluid. The laser radiation is applied through an optical fiber which may be held within a catheter-like device having a single lumen. The optical fiber may have a diffuser mounted on the tip to further apply heating to tissues surrounding the whole tip. A saline solution may also be inserted into the treatment site to aid in the heating of the fat cells and their eventual destruction as well as their removal. The pool of cell fluid in the area of treatment is removed by a combination of techniques including allowing the body to remove it by absorption and drainage from the entry sites thus minimizing trauma to the area of treatment and hastening recovery. Additional techniques to remove the cell fluid include direct force application by means of elastic bandages and external suction applied to the entry sites. Quick and lasting cosmetic changes, even in areas having prior untreatable fat tissues, are achieved while minimizing trauma to the treatment areas.


Borax has been identified as a possible crystallization modifier for sodium sulfate. Understanding the effect of borax on factors influencing transport and crystallization kinetics of sodium sulfate helps to clarify how this modifier might limit crystallization damage. It has been observed that the addition of borax to sodium sulfate solutions has no influence on the wetting properties (contact angle on glass, surface tension, or evaporation rate) and therefore will not influence solution transport. Additionally, the influence of borax on the crystallization kinetics of sodium sulfate was studied under controlled environmental conditions. This was carried out in mixtures in glass microcapillaries, and sequentially in droplets on glass plates. Under the here studied precipitation conditions, the addition of borax has no influence on the supersaturation ratio at the onset of crystallization, but it significantly affects the crystallization pattern of anhydrous sodium sulfate crystals (thenardite). Using RAMAN spectroscopy, two different hydrates of borax were identified after precipitation, depending on the initial concentration of the solution. Each hydrate has a different effect on the subsequent crystallization of sodium sulfate. The decahydrate polymorph of borax leads to the precipitation of hydrated sodium sulfate crystals (mirabilite) and the pentahydrate form favors the precipitation of the anhydrous sodium sulfate crystals (thenardite) with an altered crystal habit. Using X-ray diffraction, overdevelopment of the (111), (131), (222) and (153) faces of thenardite was identified. Additionally, the ratios between several peaks are reversed. These results confirm the deviation of the grown crystals of the equilibrium crystal shape of thenardite as observed with optical microscopy.


This paper explores the transformative capacity of engaging teachers in constructive dialogue within ICT professional development activity. The paper reports on one aspect of an Australian Research Council linkage project that is concerned with models of teacher Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) professional development that result in multiliterate teaching practices. The Industry partners for the project are the Suncoast Cyberschools, a coalition of schools for whom being a 'networked learning community' is fundamental to their purpose. The relationship between Multiliteracies and ICT provides a contentious context around which teachers had the opportunity to engage with through an asynchronised threaded discussion forum. Data reported in this paper are generated from the archived posts to the threaded discussion forum and are analysed qualitatively for evidence of community and quantitatively for different forums of feedback and levels of discussion . The findings suggest evidence of both collegial and critical discussion. Collegial discussion was found to be important in developing and maintaining community while critical discussion was vital for its role in transforming teacher's beliefs. The data also reveals a number of practical aspects of online environments that inhibit constructive discussion.


We present a genome assembly from an individual male Xylota sylvarum (the Golden-tailed Leafwalker; Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera; Syrphidae). The genome sequence is 534.8 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into five chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the assembled X sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.0 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 11,993 protein coding genes.


Holistic understanding of well operations can play a key role in optimization and maintenance of assets. The traditional process for understanding well operations mainly involves fitting a curve through all of the historical production data and extending the curve to forecast production without modeling the stochastic nature of production history, considering impact of any well interventions, or feeding any a priori information into curve-fitting workflows. This leads to unreliable production and reserves estimates which, in turn, impact the strategy and planning process for asset management. A novel workflow was developed learns the production characteristics of a well through a statistical framework using principles of signal processing and Bayesian inferences. Using this workflow, high-fidelity empirical production performance forecasts can be obtained for all the wells in the asset in an automated fashion. This novel workflow aims to significantly simplify interpretation of well operations, reduce the turnaround time for analyzing and modeling well performance, and improve the quality of reserves estimates.


Device-to-Device (D2D) communication underlaying cellular networks will become an important technology in future networks such as IMT-Advanced to improve spectral efficiency. In order to enhance the overall system performance, the mutual interference between cellular and D2D communication caused by reusing the spectrum should be properly coordinated and channel allocation is considered as one of the methods to coordinate the interference. In this paper, the problem of channel allocation in a single cell system with several D2D pairs wanting to communicate directly is modeled. Then, an optimal interference-aware channel allocation scheme based on Hungarian algorithm is proposed. The scheme aims to maximize the number of permitted D2D communication pairs in a system meanwhile avoiding the strong interference from D2D communication to the cellular communication. Besides, we also propose a heuristic algorithm to reduce the computational complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed methods enhance the number of permitted D2D communication pairs significantly and the heuristic algorithm has a performance similar to that of the optimal algorithm which is based on Hungarian algorithm.


Institute scientists collaborate with a number of NASA Ames scientists on observational studies of star and planetary system formation to their mutual benefit. As part of this collaboration, SETI scientists have, from 1988 to the present: (1) contributed to the technical studies at NASA Ames of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), an infrared 2.5 meter telescope in a Boeing 747, which will replace the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), a 0.9 meter telescope in a Lockheed C-141. SOFIA will be an important facility for the future exploration of the formation of stars and planetary systems, and the origins of life, and as such will be an important future facility to SETI scientists; (2) worked with the Laboratory Astrophysics Group at Ames, carrying out laboratory studies of the spectroscopic properties of ices and pre-biotic organics, which could be formed in the interstellar or interplanetary media; (3) helped develop a photometric approach for determining the Frequency of Earth-Sized Inner Planets (FRESIP) around solar-like stars, a project (now called Kepler) which complements the current efforts of the SETI Institute to find evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence; and (4) carried out independent observational research, in particular research on the formation of stars and planetary systems using both ground-based telescopes as well as the KAO.


The absorption, action, and metabolism characteristics of drugs change in older adults due to factors including the normal process of aging and the impacts of disease on organ functions. Changes in the profile and proportions of drug use among older adults increase with increases in the severity of functional decline and the prevalence of chronic diseases. Drugs that are classified as "potentially inappropriate medications" (PIMs) carry a higher risk of causing adverse reactions in older adults, provide uncertain therapeutic benefits, or may be substituted by alternative drugs that are generally safer to use. Researchers have developed criteria for PIMs in geriatric medicine that are applicable to clinical practice and research. This article introduces the development and application of the PIM-Taiwan criteria to help nurses better understand the current knowledge related to medication use among older adults and the results of related research in Taiwan.


Positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) BaTiO3 ceramics were prepared from commercially available BaTiO3 powder, to which a suitable quantity of donor dopant was added. The samples were sintered at 1320 degrees C for 20 min and, while cooling to room temperature, annealed at 1220 degrees C for a further 20 min. The apparent relative permittivity, epsilon 'app, was measured at a frequency of 30 kHz between ambient and approximately=360 degrees C. Plots of 1/ epsilon 'app versus temperature were found to follow the Curie-Weiss law only within a small temperature range ( approximately 60 degrees C) above the ferroelectric transition temperature. At higher temperatures 1/ epsilon 'app rose more slowly with temperature, giving a second region with smaller slope. This behaviour can be explained on the basis of the well known Heywang model, following narrowing of the grain boundary barrier layers as a result of the depopulation of the surface states at high temperatures.


The research university is a central institution of the 21st century – providing access to global science, producing basic and applied research, and educating key leaders for academe and society. Worldwide, there are very few research universities – they are expensive to develop and support, and the pressures of massification have placed priorities elsewhere. For developing countries, research universities are especially rare, and yet they are especially important as key ingredients for economic and social progress. This article argues for the importance of research universities in developing countries and points out some of the challenges that such institutions face.


This project will map and model the climate driven range extension of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii along Tasmania's east coast by utilising local ecological knowledge (LEK) obtained from commercial, recreational and research divers. With mounting pressure for more effective measures to control urchin populations due to their increasing impact on lucrative commercial species (worth over $185 million to Tasmania per annum), detailed knowledge on the extent of impact is required (Johnson et al. 2005). Assessing the impact is limited by significant temporal and spatial data gaps on the distribution and abundance of urchins; this knowledge gap being highlighted as the top research priority by multiple stakeholder groups (Tracey et al. 2014). Here we conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews to document diver observations of urchin distribution and the extent of associated barrens in 5 m depth bands. The data will be combined with Wave Exposure Indices, environmental data and research survey data to map and model urchin distribution, abundance and barren class along Tasmania's entire east coast. The outputs generated from this project can be utilised by management and government to implement spatial based management of various urchin control measures, with the ultimate aim of restoring reefs effected by Centrostephanus as well as preserving un-impacted reefs. Integrating LEK into marine resource management will allow a fine-scale understanding of the impact of urchins, reefs that are at future risk of degradation, and create collaborative co-management opportunities for all stakeholders implicated by the urchins in Tasmania (Worthington 2006, Stephenson et al. 2016).


Abstract. The ocean mixed layer is the interface between the ocean interior and the atmosphere or sea ice and plays a key role in climate variability. It is
thus critical that numerical models used in climate studies are capable of a good representation of the mixed layer, especially its depth. Here we
evaluate the mixed-layer depth (MLD) in six pairs of non-eddying (1∘ grid spacing) and eddy-rich (up to 1/16∘) models from the
Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (OMIP), forced by a common atmospheric state. For model evaluation, we use an updated MLD dataset computed from
observations using the OMIP protocol (a constant density threshold). In winter, low-resolution models exhibit large biases in the deep-water
formation regions. These biases are reduced in eddy-rich models but not uniformly across models and regions. The improvement is most noticeable in
the mode-water formation regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Results in the Southern Ocean are more contrasted, with biases of either sign remaining
at high resolution. In eddy-rich models, mesoscale eddies control the spatial variability in MLD in winter. Contrary to a hypothesis that the
deepening of the mixed layer in anticyclones would make the MLD larger globally, eddy-rich models tend to have a shallower mixed layer at most
latitudes than coarser models do. In addition, our study highlights the sensitivity of the MLD computation to the choice of a reference level and
the spatio-temporal sampling, which motivates new recommendations for MLD computation in future model intercomparison projects.


Large-scale production of microalgae and their bioactive compounds has steadily increased in response to global demand for natural compounds. Spirulina, in particular, has been used due to its high nutritional value, especially its high protein content. Promising biological functions have been associated with Spirulina extracts, mainly related to its high value added blue pigment, phycocyanin. Phycocyanin is used in several industries such as food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, which increases its market value. Due to the worldwide interest and the need to replace synthetic compounds with natural ones, efforts have been made to optimize large-scale production processes and maintain phycocyanin stability, which is a highly unstable protein. The aim of this review is to update the scientific knowledge on phycocyanin applications and to describe the reported production, extraction, and purification methods, including the main physical and chemical parameters that may affect the purity, recovery, and stability of phycocyanin. By implementing different techniques such as complete cell disruption, extraction at temperatures below 45 °C and a pH of 5.5–6.0, purification through ammonium sulfate, and filtration and chromatography, both the purity and stability of phycocyanin have been significantly improved. Moreover, the use of saccharides, crosslinkers, or natural polymers as preservatives has contributed to the increased market value of phycocyanin.