Abstract This paper explores the major determinants of heavy reliance on groundwater and the extent to which conjunctive use of ground and surface water affects the production efficiency of Pakistan's irrigators. The results show that the major drivers of groundwater use in Pakistan's agriculture are the variability and uncertainty associated with surface water delivery and that any effort to address the groundwater–energy nexus challenge should first consider fixing the problems associated with surface water supplies. The findings also suggest that having access to groundwater does not directly translate into improvements in technical efficiency of production.


Purpose This study was conducted to assess the effect of hard and/or soft tissue grafting on immediate implants in a preclinical model. Methods In 5 mongrel dogs, the distal roots of P2 and P3 were extracted from the maxilla (4 sites in each animal), and immediate implant placement was performed. Each site was randomly assigned to 1 of the following 4 groups: i) gap filling with guided bone regeneration (the GBR group), ii) subepithelial connective tissue grafting (the SCTG group), iii) GBR and SCTG (the GBR/SCTG group), and iv) no further treatment (control). Non-submerged healing was provided for 4 months. Histological and histomorphometric analyses were performed. Results Peri-implant tissue height and thickness favored the SCTG group (height of peri-implant mucosa: 1.14 mm; tissue thickness at the implant shoulder and ±1 mm from the shoulder: 1.14 mm, 0.78 mm, and 1.57 mm, respectively; median value) over the other groups. Bone grafting was not effective at the level of the implant shoulder and on the coronal level of the shoulder. In addition, simultaneous soft and hard tissue augmentation (the GBR/SCTG group) led to a less favorable tissue contour compared to GBR or SCTG alone (height of peri-implant mucosa: 3.06 mm; thickness of peri-implant mucosa at the implant shoulder and ±1 mm from the shoulder: 0.72 mm, 0.3 mm, and 1.09 mm, respectively). Conclusion SCTG tended to have positive effects on the thickness and height of the peri-implant mucosa in immediate implant placement. However, simultaneous soft and hard tissue augmentation might not allow a satisfactory tissue contour in cases where the relationship between implant position and neighboring bone housing is unfavorable.


The coupled motion is investigated for a mechanical system consisting of water and a body freely floating in it. Water occupies either a half-space or a layer of constant depth into which an infinitely long surface-piercing cylinder is immersed, thus allowing us to study two-dimensional modes. Under the assumption that the motion is of small amplitude near equilibrium, a linear setting is applicable, and for the time-harmonic oscillations it reduces to a spectral problem with the frequency of oscillations as the spectral parameter. Within this framework, it is shown that the total energy of the water motion is finite and the equipartition of energy holds for the whole system. On this basis two results are obtained. First, the so-called semi-inverse procedure is applied for the construction of a family of two-dimensional bodies trapping the heave mode. Second, it is proved that no wave modes can be trapped provided that their frequencies exceed a bound depending on the cylinder properties, whereas its geometry is subject to some restrictions and, in some cases, certain restrictions are imposed on the type of mode.


What is lacking in South African scholarship, post 1994, is more focused research into presidential leadership. The research is even more lacking on ethical leadership in presidential leadership. This does not mean that before 1994 there were any remarkable studies on this subject of governance. This attests to the way the presidency as an institution of State is perceived if not often cast in a messianic mode, if not 'a discursive gravitational field' (Gelis-Filho, 2012) in our society. This article explores what it perceives to be a rather neglected and controversial intellectual space on presidential leadership in South Africa. It focuses on the embedded but inadvertent burden of ethical duty of this particular position in society. At level of values, inspiration and personal example, the article argues that the president has a duty to the nation. The article argues that the 'ethical', especially its context-transcendent and generalisable human dimension, is a critical aspect of presidential leadership. Hence at the heart of the leadership of a president, in many successful nations, especially liberal democracies founded on predominantly western ideational rubrics, the president's duty is not merely political leadership and governance of the country but ethical example to the entire nation. In essence, the article argues that presidential leadership in a democratic state also implies ethical leadership, a duty which could either be fulfilled or abandoned. Ethical leadership is at the centre of presidential leadership and this is so despite the existence of oversight institutions and an independent judiciary. The article uses as its case of reference, Jacob Zuma's presidential leadership period, 2009 to 2014. The issues examined in the article have nothing to do with political factionalism or position for or against Jacob Zuma as a person and president but have all to do with scholarly freedom and commitment to the truth.


The scarce fossil wood record of Proteaceae is complemented with the addition of a new morphogenus with two new species from the Oligocene of Patagonia, Scalarixylon patagonicum, gen. nov., sp. nov., and S. grandiradiatum, gen. nov., sp. nov. They become the first two fossil species that have all the typical characteristics of Proteaceae wood anatomy: wide multiseriate rays, tangential bands of vessels with unilateral banded associated parenchyma and simple perforation plates. They seem to be related to extant species that inhabit the subantarctic forests of Patagonia.


Background & Aims : Every year a large number of health care workers deal with threats that are harmful for their health. Medical science students in comparison with personnel are commonly exposed to blood and body fluids. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the risk factors of needle stick and contact with secretions from patients among the Students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. Material & Methods : This cross-sectional study implemented on 550 students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences in 2015. A data collection tool is a questionnaire in two parts. The first part gathered demographic information with seven questions, and the second part consisted 26 questions in three sections: general information related to needle stick, questions related to patient contact with sharp objects, and contact with the patient's secretions. The data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS-18 by applying descriptive statistics and chi-square. Result : The results showed that participants aged between 19 and 34 years. The mean age of participants was 22.19 ± 1.76,189 (36.6%) of students had experienced at least one needle stick during the training period, 67(36.8%) of the students determined lack of caution as greatest reason, and 68(40%) students stated that overcrowding of hospital wards as environmental factors, can lead to needle stick. Creating of intravenous line procedure leading to the confrontation was the most frequent factor 48 (25.4%). Chi-square tests showed a significant relationship between the incidences of sharps injuries with gender (P<0/02). Conclusion : High levels of exposure with sharp objects and patients secretions necessitate the need for training programs about the safety of students.


: The authors characterize buprenorphine at various stages of total anesthesia and as an analgesic component of neuroleptanalgesia in combination with seduxen and droperidol. The agent was used during craniofacial and dental interventions. Buprenorphine provided stable neurovegetative protection of the patient during surgery and created analgesia with the minimal side effects which are characteristic of opioids.


Spectroscopy is an important tool for providing insights into the structure of core-collapse supernova explosions. We use the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code Artis to compute synthetic spectra and light curves based on a two-dimensional explosion model of an ultra-stripped supernova. These calculations are designed both to identify observable fingerprints of ultra-stripped supernovae and as a proof-of-principle for using synthetic spectroscopy to constrain the nature of stripped-envelope supernovae more broadly. We predict characteristic spectral and photometric features for our ultra-stripped explosion model, and find that these do not match observed ultra-stripped supernova candidates like SN 2005ek. With a peak bolometric luminosity of 6.8 × 1041 erg s−1, a peak magnitude of −15.9 mag in R–band, and Δm15, R = 3.50, the model is even fainter and evolves even faster than SN 2005ek as the closest possible analogue in photometric properties. The predicted spectra are extremely unusual. The most prominent features are Mg II lines at 2,800 Å and 4,500 Å and the infrared Ca triplet at late times. The Mg lines are sensitive to the multi-dimensional structure of the model and are viewing-angle dependent. They disappear due to line blanketing by iron group elements in a spherically averaged model with additional microscopic mixing. In future studies, multi-D radiative transfer calculations need to be applied to a broader range of models to elucidate the nature of observed Type Ib/c supernovae.


ABSTRACT Fluoroquinolones acting equally through DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV in vivo are considered desirable in requiring two target mutations for emergence of resistant bacteria. To investigate this idea, we have studied the response of Staphylococcus aureus RN4220 to stepwise challenge with sparfloxacin, a known dual-target agent, and with NSFQ-105, a more potent sulfanilyl fluoroquinolone that behaves similarly. First-step mutants were obtained with both drugs but only at the MIC. These mutants exhibited distinctive small-colony phenotypes and two- to fourfold increases in MICs of NSFQ-105, sparfloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. No changes were detected in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of the gyrA, gyrB, grlA, or grlB gene. Quinolone-induced small-colony mutants shared the delayed coagulase response but not the requirement for menadione, hemin, or thymidine characteristic of small-colony variants, a subpopulation of S. aureus that is often defective in electron transport. Second-step mutants selected with NSFQ-105 had gyrA(S84L) alterations; those obtained with sparfloxacin carried a gyrA(D83A) mutation or a novel gyrB deletion (ΔRKSAL, residues 405 to 409) affecting a trypsin-sensitive region linking functional domains of S. aureus GyrB. Each mutation was associated with four- to eightfold increases in MICs of NSFQ-105 and sparfloxacin, but not of ciprofloxacin, which we confirm targets topoisomerase IV. The presence of wild-type grlB-grlA gene sequences in second-step mutants excluded involvement of topoisomerase IV in the small-colony phenotype. Growth revertants retaining mutant gyrA or gyrB alleles were quinolone susceptible, indicating that resistance to NSFQ-105 and sparfloxacin was contingent on the small-colony mutation. We propose that small-colony mutations unbalance target sensitivities, perhaps through altered ATP or topoisomerase levels, such that gyrase becomes the primary drug target. Breaking of target parity by genetic or physiological means eliminates the need for two target mutations and provides a novel mechanism for stepwise selection of quinolone resistance.


STUDY DESIGN
This work was a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this work was to review the literature on the outcomes of en bloc resection of isolated spinal metastasis.

SUMMARY
Of background data: En bloc resection of isolated spinal metastasis is rarely performed and its utility debated, with the last review of the literature being performed over a decade ago. With significant advances in adjunctive oncology treatments, an updated review of whether there remains a role for this type of surgery is necessary.

METHODS
The authors performed a systematic review of English literature over the last decade on en bloc resection of isolated spinal metastasis in adults using the PubMed, Google Scholar, OVID, and Cochrane database. They excluded studies with <5 reported cases. The studies were appraised by 2 coauthors and examined for the patient and tumor characteristics, surgical time, estimated blood loss, length of hospital stay, cost, complications, functional outcomes, rates of local recurrence, metastasis, and survival.

RESULTS
Only 5 articles (148 patients) were included in this study. The average operative time was 6.5 hours, and estimated blood loss was 1742 mL. Only 73% of patients maintained their functional independence, but 35.1% experienced a complication, 6.1% had local recurrence, and the overall survival was 52% with an average time to death of 15 months.

CONCLUSIONS
There remains a paucity of data limiting the understanding of the value of en bloc resection for isolated spinal metastasis. However, despite this limitation, our literature review suggests that en bloc resection offers a low local recurrence rate (6.1%) and maintained functional independence (73%), but requires long operative times (mean 6.5 h), causes significant blood loss (mean 1742 mL), and results in high complication rates (35.1%) with poor overall survival (52% with an average time to death of 15 mo).


Valproic acid is a commonly used antiepileptic drug for chronic therapy and may have adverse effects on gastrointestinal, hematologic and nervous system. Potential mutagenic effects of sodium valproate have been reported, but this effect of valproic acid has still not been clarified yet. Comet assay was performed in peripheral lymphocytes of 24 epileptic adolescent and adult female treated with valproic acid monotherapy for at least one year and in a control group including 16 adolescent and adult healthy, drug free females. The frequencies of comet scores in the valproic acid treated epileptic patients were significantly higher than that of the control group (p<0.05) indicating a detectable chromosome damaging effect of valproic acid monotherapy on human lymphocytes. No significant correlation was noted amongst age, drug dose, blood valproic acid levels, duration of valproic acid therapy and the comet scores. Although genotoxic effects of valproic acid was shown by means of sister chroma-tid exchange and chromosomal aberration assays in previous  studies, we report here the first demonstra-tion of genotoxic potential of valproic acid with comet assay. This data supports the conclusion  that valproic acid is genotoxic. Keywords: Valproic acid,  epilepsy,  alkaline comet assay, genotoxicity


BACKGROUND
A significant number of patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP NETs) present with metastatic disease and with unknown primary in about 15% of cases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We analyzed 163 primaries of GEP NET and 115 metastases for expression of caudal type homebox 2 (CDX2), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), somatostatin receptor 2a (SSTR2a) and Ki67.

RESULTS
PR was most often positive in pancreatic NET and only rarely in non-pancreatic NET (p<0.001). ER was more frequently expressed in non-pancreatic NET (p<0.001) and was more often positive in females than males (p=0.019). CDX2 was positive in all primaries of the duodenum, ileum and appendix, but was also detected in 24% of metastases with pancreatic primary. SSTR2a and Ki67 did not differ significantly between primaries and metastases.

CONCLUSION
Our data substantiate the value of PR, ER and CDX2 in GEP NET, and steroid hormone receptors, being differentially expressed in male and female patients. Differences between primaries and metastases were small but potentially relevant.


This paper introduces the primary attempts on the modeling, analysis and visualization of the 3D macromolecular scalar field. According to the quantum chemical theory, one protein molecular structure is transformed into a regularly sampled 3D scalar field, in which each node records the combined effect of different actions in protease. By applying the first order and the second order local differential operators on individual node, a set of critical points which potentially depicts the active region of protein molecule are found. Also the paper gives some results after computing a sequence of molecular potential energy in the data field and interactively exploring the potential "tunnel" region exhibiting biological sense. In addition, the point-based, surface and volume rendering techniques are exploited to find the macro-structure inside the data field. With all these techniques, the escape route of water molecules hidden in the HIV-1 protease is successfully detected, which is in accordance with the experimental results.


NAT gateway is an important network system in today's IPv4 network when translating a private IPv4 address to a public address. However, traditional NAT system based on Linux Netfilter cannot achieve high network throughput to meet modern requirements such as data centers. To address this challenge, we improve the network performance of NAT system by three ways. First, we leverage DPDK to enable polling and zero-copy delivery, so as to reduce the cost of interrupt and packet copies. Second, we enable multiple CPU cores to process in parallel and use lock-free hash table to minimize the contention between CPU cores. Third, we use hash search instead of sequential search when looking up the NAT rule table. Evaluation shows that our Quick NAT system significantly improves the performance of NAT on commodity platforms.


Digitally processed Seasat synthetic aperture radar images from the Beaufort Sea, recorded during August 1978, were analyzed to determine ice-floe displacements and floe-size distributions. Combining data on displacements with those on floe area and thickness yields floe kinetic energies which can then be used as input into design criteria for offshore Arctic structures. Floe-size distributions are needed to determine probablistically the "design" mass of ice for an offshore structure. Vectors of floe movement show the influence of surrounding floes and the compactness of the ice. Floes nearer to more open water showed more movement in the prevailing wind direction while floe movement within the ice pack was primarily affected by floe interaction. Different cutoff criteria in terms of number of resolution cell sizes were applied to the data on floe size. It was found that the numbers of floes dropped by up to 50% of the original count at ten resolution cells (250 m). Exponential and log-normal probability distributions were fitted to the original counts of floe size. The log-normal fit was better but this is based on one dataset at one time of year in one location. More datasets need to be analyzed to investigate this further. If a probability distribution to floe size can be generalized then only a subset of all the floes would need to be analyzed to determine numbers of floes in each size range. This would greatly speed up a tedious task and be beneficial for design and operational purposes. MEASUREMENT OF SNOW CREEP PRESSURES ON AN AVALANCHE DEFENCE STRUCTURE (Abstract only)


Population-based active surveillance in India showed higher incidence rates for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 among children during pandemic versus postpandemic periods (345 vs. 199/1,000 person-years), whereas adults had higher rates during postpandemic versus pandemic periods (131 vs. 69/1,000 person-years). Demographic shifts as pandemics evolve should be considered in public health response planning.


Previously the authors have shown that forming linear combination of model results tends to yield more accurate predictions of software reliability. Using linear combinations also simplifies the practitioner's task of deciding which model or models to apply to a particular development effort. Currently, no commercially available tools permit such combinations to be formed within the environment provided by the tool. Most software reliability modeling tools also do not take advantage of the high-resolution displays available today. Performing actions within the tool may be awkward, and the output of the tools may be understandable only to a specialist. They propose a software reliability modeling tool that allows users to formulate linear combination models, that can be operated by non-specialists, and that produces results in a form understandable by software developers and managers.<<ETX>>


point, which may not necessarily be that of the anaesthetist or a lawyer. The time has come to involve patients as active participants in their care rather than incidental disempowered bystanders. The LAURS of communication (listening, acceptance, use of appropriate words, reframing, suggestion) provide a suitable communication structure [6, 7] that could decrease the risk of legal proceedings, irrespective of outcome. Rather than the AAGBI's paradigm shift, I propose an evolution of consent. Patients should be provided with general written information about common risks and consequences, but also actively listened to, in order to understand their priorities and concerns. Ultimately, however, we are there to provide comfort, safety and support for patients, often at difficult and stressful times in their lives. Perhaps we might consider amending the pre-operative questionnaire, giving patients an opportunity to list the two or three things that are most important to them about their anaesthetic care. Is it not time to rethink our pre-flight 'risk assault' and move to a personalised safety conversation?


Aim: Laboratory investigations are important aspect of patient management and inadequate information or errors arising from the process of filling out laboratory Request Forms can impact significantly on the quality of laboratory result and ultimately on patient care. Objectives: This study examined the pattern of deficiencies in the laboratory test requisition by doctors at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria, with a view to suggesting strategies of reducing error rates in laboratory test requisition. Materials and Method: The study generated data through retrospective examination of a total of 3072 laboratory request forms submitted to the medical microbiology laboratory over a period of three months. The various deficiencies in terms of missing or incomplete information on patient's identity, clinical details, identity of doctor, and information on specimen submitted were recorded from each request form. The data generated were subjected to statistical computation using SPSS version 16, while applying descriptive statistics for analysis. Results : A total of 3072 request forms were evaluated, 2995 (97.5%) had one or more deficiency in terms of missing or incorrectly stated information. A total of 1786 (48.1%) of the request form had one or more incomplete or missing information in respect of patient identity. One thousand six hundred and ninety nine (55.3%) of the forms had error in relation to clinical information. The identity of the doctor requesting the test was missing or incomplete on 883 (28.8%) of the forms. Majority of the request forms 2957 (96.3%) had no complete information about the specimen submitted to the laboratory. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that overall, the error rate in laboratory test requisition by doctors is very high in our environment. There is need therefore to adopt practical strategies and policies to reduce this trend. Key words: Information, laboratory, requisition, Hospital, Benin City.


Coherence of superconducting qubits can be improved by implementing designs that protect the parity of Cooper pairs on superconducting islands. Here, we introduce a parity-protected qubit based on voltage-controlled semiconductor nanowire Josephson junctions, taking advantage of the higher harmonic content in the energy-phase relation of few-channel junctions. A symmetric interferometer formed by two such junctions, gate-tuned into balance and frustrated by a half-quantum of applied flux, yields a cos(2{\phi}) Josephson element, reflecting coherent transport of pairs of Cooper pairs. We demonstrate that relaxation of the qubit can be suppressed ten-fold by tuning into the protected regime.


Juvenile dermatomyositis is a rare systemic vasculopathy that may sometimes present with acute complications. We report here the case of a 7-year-old boy with severe dermatomyositis associated with thrombocytopenia and blurry vision. The presence of schistocytosis and the secondary occurrence of hemolytic anemia were consistent with a diagnosis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Further investigations demonstrated the association of TTP with muscular microangiopathy and Purtscher-like retinopathy. Retinal and hematologic involvements dramatically improved after the initiation of plasma exchange in emergency. This report emphasizes that early recognition of TTP and prompt plasmapheresis are important in a child with severe juvenile dermatomyositis associated with thrombocytopenia.


Estimates for investment and the stock of IPR capital are based on previous work and includes new estimates for investment in artistic originals, funded by the Intellectual Property Office and featured in the accompanying report. We also comment on additional spending on IP protected goods that do not represent investments, although the coverage of this category is far from complete. Our main findings are: 1. On average, between 2000 and 2008, 48% of knowledge investment in the UK market sector was protected by IPRs; 2. The majority of IPR investment is on assets protected by copyright and design rights; 3. In 2008 approximately 62% of the stock of knowledge assets in the UK market sector was protected by IPRs; 4. On average, between 1990 and 2008, 10.6% of growth in labour productivity was due to growth in capital deepening of IPR protected assets. Comparable figures for ICT equipment and knowledge capital not protected by IPRs are 11.1% and 10.3% respectively.


A Fourier descriptor based hierarchy for stereo correspondence has been suggested by Wu and Sheu (see Proceeding of IPPR conference on computer vision, graphics and image processing, p. 263-270, 1993). However, the offset in starting points and the correspondence between the points constrained on the contours associated with the contours in correspondence were unsolved. An iterative algorithm is proposed for the computation of the 3D FDs, given two sets of 2D FDs associated with the correspondence contours. For precise reconstruction, both the starting point offset and the constrained point correspondence problems are also solved. Experiments with a cylindrical object and a bottle gourd show that such an iterative procedure is both fast in the 3D contour reconstruction and indispensable for precise representation if the sizes of the point sets associated with the two correspondence contours deviate significantly.


With the financial support of the European Commission and the Robot Standards and Reference Architectures (RoSta; grant no. IST 45304) Consortium, the RAS Standing Committee on Standardization Activities has established a study group in 2007 and has organized a series of open workshops and expert meetings to address the questions of measurability, comparability, interoperability, and resusability of architectural concepts and components in robotics. The conclusions of these meetings and the recommendations of the expert group are currently being turned into a white paper, which will be circulated in a larger community of stakeholders for feedback, before being finally published in spring 2009.


The quantitative analysis of surface-enhanced Raman spectra using scattering nanoparticles has shown the potential and promising applications in in vivo molecular imaging. The diverse approaches have been used for quantitative analysis of Raman spectra information, which can be categorized as direct classical least squares models, full spectrum multivariate calibration models, selected multivariate calibration models, and latent variable regression (LVR) models. However, the working principle of these methods in the Raman spectra application remains poorly understood and a clear picture of the overall performance of each model is missing. Based on the characteristics of the Raman spectra, in this paper, we first provide the theoretical foundation of the aforementioned commonly used models and show why the LVR models are more suitable for quantitative analysis of the Raman spectra. Then, we demonstrate the fundamental connections and differences between different LVR methods, such as principal component regression, reduced-rank regression, partial least square regression (PLSR), canonical correlation regression, and robust canonical analysis, by comparing their objective functions and constraints. We further prove that PLSR is literally a blend of multivariate calibration and feature extraction model that relates concentrations of nanotags to spectrum intensity. These features (a.k.a. latent variables) satisfy two purposes: the best representation of the predictor matrix and correlation with the response matrix. These illustrations give a new understanding of the traditional PLSR and explain why PLSR exceeds other methods in quantitative analysis of the Raman spectra problem. In the end, all the methods are tested on the Raman spectra datasets with different evaluation criteria to evaluate their performance.


In volume-rendering applications an appropriate resampling filter is usually chosen by making a compromise between quality and efficiency. Generally, the fine details can be reconstructed by filters of wider support that can better approximate the ideal low-pass filter. On the other hand, if the data is noisy, a filter of a good pass-band behavior might even emphasize the noise. Therefore, to visualize noisy data, a filter of a higher smoothing effect is more favorable. Thus, the choice of the reconstruction filter depends on the quality of the data and the purpose of the visualization as well. In this paper, we propose a scalable volume-rendering technique for interactively controlling the frequency-domain behavior of the reconstruction. Applying our method, the trade-off between the smoothing and postaliasing effects can be set on the fly by using a single slider.


Vitamin D and its receptor (vitamin D receptor; VDR) regulate calcium homeostasis in mammals. Recently, studies have shown that serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25VD) are negatively associated with insulin resistance and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. In adipose tissues, glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) contributes to insulin-stimulated glucose uptake; however, the effect of 25VD on glucose uptake in adipocytes remains unclear. We examined the role of 25VD in glucose uptake and the differentiation of adipose-derived stromal cells. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in adipocytes was increased by treatment with 25VD and decreased by VDR knockdown. The expression levels of GLUT4 were upregulated by 25VD treatment. 25VD exposure increased the expression of adipocyte differentiation-related genes including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins through VDR, thereby enhancing the formation of mature adipocytes. Moreover, 25VD increased the expression levels of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (HSD11B1), which catalyzes the conversion of cortisone to cortisol in a concentration-dependent manner. 25VD-stimulated adipocyte differentiation was suppressed by HSD11B1 knockdown. Cortisone together with 25VD enhanced adipocyte differentiation, whereas synthesized glucocorticoid dexamethasone-induced adipocyte differentiation is not promoted by 25VD. Overall, these results indicate that 25VD stimulates adipocyte differentiation through the induction of HSD11B1 expression, leading to increased insulin-induced glucose uptake in adipocytes.


The dynamical processes leading to coarsening of soap froths and other domain boundary networks in two dimensions are described statistically by a "random neighbour model". The model is solved using the principle of maximum entropy. The solution describes normal growth with realistic probability distributions for area and topology.


This paper presents a frequentist analysis of the hot and cold spots of the cosmic microwave background data collected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). We compare the WMAP temperature statistics of extrema (number of extrema, mean excursion, variance, skewness and kurtosis of the excursion) to Monte-Carlo simulations. We find that, on average, the local maxima (high temperatures in the anisotropy) are too cold and the local minima are too warm. In order to quantify this claim we describe a two-sided statistical hypothesis test which we advocate for other investigations of the Gaussianity hypothesis. Using this test we reject the isotropic Gaussian hypothesis at more than 99% confidence in a well-defined way. Our claims are based only on regions that are outside the most conservative WMAP foreground mask. We perform our test separately on maxima and minima, and on the north and south ecliptic and Galactic hemispheres and reject Gaussianity at above 95% confidence for almost all tests of the mean excursions. The same test also shows the variance of the maxima and minima to be low in the ecliptic north (99% confidence), but consistent in the south; this effect is not as pronounced in the Galactic north and south hemispheres.


Infection of porcine alveolar macrophages by the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) was significantly enhanced in vitro by antibody raised against the PRRSV isolate ISU-P (p < 0.01). Increased yields and infection rates were highly correlated (r = 0.95) and the ratio of yield to infection rate was greater than 1.4, suggesting that more than one mechanism was responsible for enhanced infection. Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection was also demonstrated in vivo using a completely randomized block design (n = 16). The mean level and duration of viremia were greater (p < 0.05) in pigs injected with subneutralizing amounts of PRRSV-specific IgG prior to virus challenge than in control pigs injected with normal IgG. In contrast, virus replication was significantly (p < 0.01) inhibited in pigs with neutralizing antibody titers of 4 log2. The period of time that subneutralizing levels of antibody can persist and contribute to ADE of PRRSV infection was estimated in 4 pigs injected with PRRSV-specific IgG to yield an initial neutralizing antibody titer of 3.8 log2. Neutralizing activity declined to undetectable levels by day 37 postinjection (PI). ADE activity was first detected in undiluted sera on day 20 PI and persisted through day 62 PI. Western immunoblot analysis of sera collected between days 37 and 62 PI detected antibodies specific for the 15-kDa nucleocapsid and 26-kDa glycosylated envelope proteins. These results strongly suggest that ADE has the potential to contribute to the pathogenesis of PRRSV infection and is mediated by antibody specific for the 26-kDa envelope protein.


Objective: This study was conducted to determine the level of student's satisfaction with online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: The study was conducted in Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore from 10th June to 10th July 2020. It was a cross-sectional survey in which MBBS and BDS students were consecutively enrolled in the study. An online survey was carried out after the completion of 6 weeks of online classes through the Zoom application. A self-designed questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale was given to the students to grade the effectiveness of learning through e-classes and their satisfaction level on various parameters. On the Likert scale, 1 & 2 were taken as highly dissatisfied (strongly disagree, &disagree) and 4 & 5 being satisfied (strongly agree, & agree) and 3 was considered as uncertain. Percentages of the respondents in each domain of the questionnaire were calculated. Results: Out of 470 participants, only 72(15.32%) students already had an experience of e-classes. Among the study participants, 327(69.57%) were of MBBS and 143(30.43%) were of BDS. The majority of the students 291(61.91%) were not satisfied with online classes, 99(21.06%) of students were uncertain and only 80(17.02%) of the students were satisfied. Conclusion: The majority of the students 291(61.91%) were not satisfied with online classes in terms of learning environment, technological characteristics, and course management. Keywords: Student's satisfaction. Online teaching. COVID-19.


In this study, a hoop-strain sensor was developed by embedding a bare fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor inside 3D printed Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament. Fabrication process of the hoop-strain sensor indicates that the initial temperature of the melted PLA is around 50 °C which is obviously lower than the printing temperature of the printer nozzle (around 200°C). A typical residual wavelength was found after the fabrication process of the hoop-strain sensor. The shrinkage deformation of the present sensor was around <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$208~\mu \varepsilon $ </tex-math></inline-formula> after fabrication. The hoop-strain sensor was flexible and can be used to measure both circumferential strain change and contact pressure between hoop-strain sensors and cylinders. Calibration tests for elongation measurement indicate that the sensitivity and minimum resolution with respect to strain change are 4.04 nm/% and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.574~\mu \varepsilon $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively. The obtained measurement sensitivity and resolution for pressure measurement were 0.0035 nm/kPa, and 0.286 kPa, respectively. The maximum measurement ranges of the hoop-strain sensor for strain and pressure measurement are larger than 1% and 800 kPa, respectively.


This article identifies a self-sustaining system of deficit narratives about students of color as an entry point for studies of cognition to engage with the sociopolitical context of mathematical learning. Principles from sociopolitical perspectives and Critical Race Theory, and historical analyses of deficit thinking in education research, support the investigation into the system. Using existing research about students' understanding of a limit in calculus as context, this article proposes a definition of a deficit perspective on sense making and unpacks some of its tenets. The data illustration in this article focuses on the mathematical sense making of a Chicana undergraduate student. The analysis uses an anti-deficit perspective to construct a sensemaking counter-story by a woman of color. The counter-story challenges existing deficit master-narratives about the mathematical ability of women of color. The article closes with a proposal for an anti-deficit method for studying the sense making of students of color.


Through considering a "Geo Archive" as a tool of history, this paper explores several conundrums concerning environmental migration in social sciences. It demonstrates how historical perspectives can problematize and unsettle various automatisms that are widely present in journalistic, public, and policy discourses. Through examples from the Geo Archive, the article illustrates how unavoidable historical dimensions can enrich our understandings on the interaction between environmental issues and migration flows. This paper engages with an open access "archive in-the-making". This Geo Archive includes case studies of migration flows and puts those flows in conversation with environmental transformations and climatic changes. The analysed collection presents high-profile stories which are representative samples of different approaches, temporalities, geographies, sources of information, narratives, and scales. This endeavour encompasses different disciplines and fields of expertise: environmental humanities, IT and communication experts, and political ecology. The archive places itself within the realms of public history, environmental history, and history of the present and aims to reach out to wider audiences. This digital humanities project stemmed from a support action funded by the EU initiative Horizon 2020 titled CLISEL whose overarching goal was to analyse and better inform institutional responses and policies addressing climate refugees and migrants.


A InGaP/InGaAs/GaAs dual channel pseudomorphic HEMT (DC- PHEMT) with interesting triple doped sheets having gate length 800nm is modeled and simulated by using 2-dimensional simulation package ATLAS from Silvaco. Different DC and microwave performances of the above device are analyzed and investigated to judge the potential of the device for high- performance digital device applications. Due to the schottky behavior of InGaP, good pinch-off and saturation characteristics, high drain saturation current, large and linear transconductance and excellent microwave characteristics are obtained. The studied dual channel HEMT with delta-doped sheet densities and proper layers; prove promise for electronic applications.


Most of the quantization based watermarking algorithms are very sensitive to valumetric distortions, while these distortions are regarded as common processing in audio/video analysis. In recent years, watermarking methods which can resist this kind of distortions have attracted a lot of interests. But still many proposed methods can only deal with one certain kind of valumetric distortion as amplitude scaling, and fail in other kinds of valumetric distortions like constant change attack or gamma correction. In this paper, we propose a very simple method to tackle all the three kinds of valumetric distortions. A constant change invariant domain is first constructed by spread transform, in which the watermark is embedded using a certain amplitude scaling invariant based watermarking scheme. Several typical watermarking methods and attacks have been implemented in our experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


The Transfer Tracking System at Maryland's Frederick Community College (FCC) is designed to monitor the effectiveness of the college's transfer function by keeping track of student requests for transcripts to be sent to other institutions. Using this system, a study was undertaken at FCC to determine outcomes for the college's transfer function for fall 1994 to spring 1996. In 1994-95, 2,174 transcripts were requested and 430 students were confirmed as having transferred, while 2,509 transcripts were requested and 466 students enrolled in 1995-96. For 1996, FCC's transfer rate was calculated at 39% based on the number of students who indicated an intent to transfer, earned at least 12 credits in unduplicated credit enrollment, and transferred successfully. Finally, averaged findings from surveys conducted of transfers from 1990 to 1996 included the following: (1) the average age of transfer students was 25.1, compared 28.8 for all FCC students, and only 5.7% were minorities, compared to 12.2% of FCC students; (2) 96.4% of the transfer students were satisfied or very satisfied with the transfer process, compared to 84.6% for academic advising and 77.2% for specific transfer advising; and (3) 49.2% of the students reported losing no credits in transfer, while 83% reported losing less than seven. Data tables, a list of courses that were reported as not transferring, and student comments to open-ended questions are attached. (TGI) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** FREDERICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER TRACKING SYSTEM AND SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER SURVEY


The literature data and the studies by the authors of the review on biologically active organosilicon compounds are reviewed. The role of silicon in living organisms, the toxicity and biological activity of its organic derivatives, and the therapeutic applications of its compounds are discussed. The bibliography includes 358 references.


This guide provides information on the U.S. Government and Constitution and seeks to provide information for users on how the U.S. Government and Constitution are structured and how individuals can successfully participate in the American governmental pro


Introduction The Carers Befriending Service (CBS) is a free service developed by Hospice Social Workers, influenced by the Carers Strategy (2010) and Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer (2004). Aims It provides an inclusive equitable service, supporting carers of people with a palliative diagnosis over 18 years who are mainly housebound and socially isolated. They have to be known to the Specialist Palliative Care Team, have an unpaid carer who provides substantial emotional/physical care on a regular basis. Enables the carer to take a break from their caring role. Assist's to reduce carer stress. Additional companionship and support to the cared for person. Information to the carer and cared for person. Reassurance to the carer in the knowledge that a trained volunteer is with the cared for person in their absence. Methods Consultation with service users and carers about the development of a CBS. Literature review undertaken and visiting/researching other end of life care CBS's. Assessment documents developed. Fifteen volunteers trained and 10 recruited. Outcomes measured by a review process using a solution focused method. Results September 2011 – December 2012, 38 referrals, Befriended 17. Aims have been met and carers took breaks by utilising the befriending service for varied reasons. Visits provide up to 4hrs a week, with 2hrs sessions being the most popular. Befrienders provide emotional support and act as a link with the Hospice, improving vital communication processes at the end of life. Service users satisfaction outcomes 'excellent'. Conclusion Carers Befriending offers a best practice service enabling carers to take a break. A unique emotional relationship is developed with the befriender, improving quality of life and general well-being. Research supports volunteers can make an important contribution to end-of-life care and it meets the requirements of the Government's 'Big Society' principles.


The combination of mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) employing a temperature-variable drift cell or a drift tube divided into sections to make IMS-IMS experiments possible allows information to be obtained about the molecular dynamics of polyatomic ions in the absence of a solvent. The experiments allow the investigation of structural changes of both activated and native ion populations on a timescale of 1-100 ms. Five different systems representing small and large, polar and nonpolar molecules, as well as noncovalent assemblies, are discussed in detail: a dinucleotide, a sodiated polyethylene glycol chain, the peptide bradykinin, the protein ubiquitin, and two types of peptide oligomers. Barriers to conformational interconversion can be obtained in favorable cases. In other cases, solution-like native structures can be observed, but care must be taken in the experimental protocols. The power of theoretical modeling is demonstrated.


Mediterranean fish of the Trachinidae and Uranoscopidae families are characterized by a poison apparatus on the 1st dorsal fin. These fish hide by burying themselves in the sand using cryptic mimicry. Nevertheless, if they are discovered before they have completely buried themselves, or perceive a potential source of danger when already covered, they will raise their 1st dorsal fin which has a bright black spot on the inter-radial membrane. We have shown that this black vexillum acts as a threatening visual cue and that the movements accompanying black mark display can be defined as aggressive mimicry.  We therefore thought it interesting to investigate the black mark display in some species of Soleidae, a behaviour never before reported in the literature. In these fish, the black marks are situated on the right pectoral fin which, as a result of the distortion and re-arrangement of some anatomical parts during development, shifts to a dorsal position in adults. Soles also bury themselves in the sand, and they too display their marked fins on the approach of a possible predator, just like fish belonging to the above dangerous families.


A system of model formulated in the state variable space is proposed to describe the dynamic characteristics of the boring machining system. Particular attention is paid to the effect of the tangential vibration on the system performance. Modal analysis in the eigenvector space is employed to derive the analytical form of the system response. Experiments are carried out under spiral cutting conditions and the critical cutting stiffness predicted by the proposed model is compared with corresponding measured values, showing good agreements.


This article focuses on the theory of solidarity presented by Émile Durkheim in The Division of Labour in Society ([1893] 1969). Despite its popularity, the distinction between mechanical and organic solidarity has received a lot of criticism. Durkheim allegedly was unable to demonstrate the superior integrating force of modern organic solidarity, while this was his central thesis at the time. A second critique challenges his macrostructural point of view. However, by confronting Durkheim's classical theory with contemporary work, notably Honneth's theory of recognition, we can deduce a reformulated framework that is less vulnerable to the afore-mentioned critiques. On the one hand, we specify mechanical and organic solidarity as a dialectical synthesis of both internalized universalistic principles and particularistic emotional orientations. On the other, we incorporate the foregoing typology in a cyclical model that implies interacting processes of inclusion and individualization.


Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is an additive manufacturing technique that is used to produce prototypes and a gradually more important processing route to obtain final products. Due to the layer-by-layer deposition mechanism involved, bonding between adjacent layers is controlled by the thermal energy of the material being printed, which strongly depends on the temperature development of the filaments during the deposition sequence. This study reports experimental measurements of filament temperature during deposition. These temperature profiles were compared to the predictions made by a previously developed model. The two sets of data showed good agreement, particularly con-cerning the occurrence of reheating peaks when new filaments are deposited onto previously deposited ones. The developed experimental technique is shown to demonstrate its sensitivity to changing operating conditions, namely platform temperature and deposition velocity. The data generated can be valuable to predict more accurately the bond quality achieved in FFF parts.


delta 5 and delta 4 steroid levels were studied in the plasma and cyst fluid of women with gross cystic breast disease (GCBD). In luteal phase a significant increase in plasma levels (mean +/- SEM) of DHA (11.2 +/- 2.4 ng/ml), DHAS (1.45 +/- 0.6 micrograms/ml) and cortisol 277 +/- 15.7 ng/ml) was found; in follicular phase the mean levels were 4.09 +/- 0.47 ng/ml for DHA, 0.65 +/- 0.08 microgram/ml for DHAS and 190 +/- 46.3 micrograms/ml for cortisol. The DHA/DHAS and cortisol/androstenedione ratios were significantly higher in the plasma and lower in the cyst fluid of GCBD patients, than in the plasma of controls; the androstenedione/DHA ratio was higher in the cyst fluid than in the plasma of controls. The hormonal situation of the GCBD patients thus differed from that of the controls both in the plasma and cyst fluid, particularly as regards the delta 5 steroids.


This paper aims to provide some information on the implications for the Philippine agriculture sector of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. In particular, the paper explores the possible impact of the agreement, with emphasis on the Early Harvest Program (EHP). It also provides a brief background on the state of the Philippine agriculture system, the liberalization initiatives undertaken, as well as some policy gaps and interventions done to address these. The paper also revisits a simulation exercise conducted on the possible short-run impact of an EHP to identify the vulnerable sectors.


3D scene information can be extracted from images acquired by cameras. Before doing the actual reconstruction, camera calibration has to be done. Reconstruction accuracy is highly dictated by the calibration. Two typical demands, which are not easily simultaneously satisfied, are: calibration has to be done in a fast and convenient manner and yet assure a high degree of reconstruction accuracy. The computational part of calibration usually includes the initialization of camera parameters and refinement based on an initial set of values. The goodness of the initial set greatly affects the refinement procedure in terms of convergence speed and ultimately reconstruction accuracy. This work proposes a new calibration method for 3D kinematic systems. It shortens the commonly used calibration procedure, gives better initial parameter values for the refinement procedure which in turn is supposed to assure faster and safer convergence of the iterative minimization algorithm. Additionally, it is shown that even without parameter refinement the proposed method gives more accurate 3D reconstruction output.


The biological activities of Moxa, used as moxibustion, have not been well documented. We investigated here Moxa smoke for its tumor-specific cytotoxicity, anti-HIV activity, radical intensity and radical scavenging activity, in comparison with previously published data of Moxa extract. Moxa smoke showed slightly higher cytotoxicity against human tumor cell lines (oral squamous cell carcinoma HSC-2, HSC-3, promyelocytic leukemia HL-60) than against normal oral cells (gingival fibroblast HGF, pulp cell HPC, periodontal ligament fibroblast HPLF), yielding a tumor specificity index of 1.29. Moxa smoke dose-dependently induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, activation of caspases 3, 8 and 9, and slightly modified the expression of apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2, Bad, Bax) in HL-60 cells, but to much lesser extents than attained by positive controls (UV irradiation, actinomycin D treatment). ESR spectroscopy showed that Moxa smoke generated semiquinone-type radicals under alkaline conditions, and scavenged O2(-), hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen and NO. All Moxa smoke preparations showed no apparent anti-HIV activity. These data demonstrate the antitumor potential of Moxa smoke.


The annular laser beam (ALB) has been widely used in many fields for its unique intensity distribution. Especially, in the materials processing, the power and the beam quality of the large-aperture thin-wall ALB are of vital. However, limited by the aperture, the actuators' spacing or the damage threshold, the existing deformable mirrors (DMs) are not suitable for the correction of the ALB. Considering the stretching effect of the oblique incidence, in this paper, by using the tubular DM (TDM), a novel adaptive optics (AO) configuration is promoted to increase the number of the effective actuators covered by the input ALB. The coordinate transformation equations and correction principle of the novel AO configuration are derived based on the ray tracing. A typical TDM prototype is designed based on the coordinate transformation equations. The influence function characteristics of the TDM is analyzed using the finite element method, and the correction ability of the novel AO configuration based on the TDM is verified. Simulation results show that the TDM could perfectly compensate the wavefront distortions described by the 2th to 15th order Zernike annular aberrations.


To assess the effect of oral digoxin on left ventricular systolic function in elderly patients, radionuclide angiography was performed on 20 patients 74 years old or older before and after several weeks of oral digoxin. The mean age was 83.8 years. All had congestive heart failure or cardiomegaly, and all were in sinus rhythm. The ejection fraction was 0.36 ± 0.10 (mean ± SD) before digoxin; 0.45 ± 0.09 after digoxin (P < 0.01). A comparison group that did not receive digoxin had no significant improvement in ejection fraction. In ten patients serial radionuclide angiograms were repeated after increasing serum digoxin concentrations. Six demonstrated maximal improvement in ejection fraction at serum digoxin concentrations of 0.4–1.0 ng/ml. It is concluded that oral digoxin improves left ventricular ejection fraction in elderly patients with congestive heart failure or cardiomegaly who are in sinus rhythm. Some of these patients achieve maximal improvement in ejection fraction at serum digoxin concentrations of less than 1.0 ng/ml.


Two components of categorization, within-category commonalities and between-category distinctiveness, were investigated in a categorization task. Subjects learned three prototype categories composed of moderately high distortions, by observing arrays containing patterns that belonged either to a common prototype category or to three different categories; a third group learned patterns presented one at a time, mirroring the standard paradigm. Following 6 learning blocks, subjects transferred to old patterns and new patterns at low-, medium-, and high-level distortions of the category prototype. The results showed that array training facilitated learning, especially when patterns in the array belonged to the same category. Transfer results showed a strong gradient effect across pattern distortion level for all conditions, with the highest performance obtained following array training on different category patterns and worst in the control condition. Interestingly, the old training patterns were classified worse than new low and no better than medium distortions. Neither this ordering nor the steepness of the gradient across prototype similarity for each condition could be predicted by the generalized context model. A prototype model better captured the steep gradient and ordinal pattern of results, although the overall fits were only slightly better than the exemplar model. The crucial role played by category commonalities and distinctiveness on categorical representations is addressed.


Near-infrared (NIR) laser triggered theranostic platforms are increasingly used in clinical nanomedicine applications. In this work, a core-shell composite consisting of polypyrrole (PPy) coated copper sulfide (CuS) nanospheres with high photothermal efficiency and good photostability has been fabricated via a facile interfacial polymerization. The PPy@CuS nanohybrid had a hydrodynamic diameter of 58.5 nm with a CuS core and PPy shell and exhibited strong optical absorption and photon-to-heat conversion in the NIR region, leading to a sufficient photohyperthermic effect under irradiation with a 808 nm continuous wave laser. In vivo studies showed that the Ppy@CuS nanohybrids produced significant photoacoustic signals and exhibited remarkable photothermal therapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, the core-shell composites exhibited improved temperature elevation and photostability. The temperature-induced changes can be detected and monitored using photoacoustic imaging, thus allowing the control of the thermal dose while minimizing photothermal damage to surrounding healthy tissues. In summary, this study demonstrates that this novel platform could potentially be used for photoacoustic image-guided photothermal therapy and real-time temperature monitoring in cancer theranostics.


Et rids af Grundtvig-forskningen og dens stilling i efterkrigens Danmark. William Michelsen in memoriam [A sketch o f Grundtvig scholarship and its position in postwar Denmark. In memory of William Michelsen] By Kim Arne Pedersen With the death of William Michelsen a distinct era in the history of Gr scholarship reached its close, for he was the last surviving member of the small circle who (gathered in Bishop C. I. Scharling's residence in Ribe for Gr's birthday ) celebrated on the stroke of midnight the founding of The Grundtvig Society of 8th September 1947 [Grundtvig-Selskabet af 8. September 1947] which was to prove such an important initiative in Danish academic activity and in Danish culture more widely. In the forthcoming reinstatement of Gr in the mainstream of Danish scholarship and debate Michelsen was to maintain a long, unstinting and untiring involvement, both through his own scholarly output and through the encouragement, advice and criticism he offered to younger and rising scholars. Michelsen was markedly the product of his own background in a middleclass family linked over two generations with teaching, a liberal theological outlook and a quiet Christian piety in the home. Similarly, the motives and objectives of his involvement with Gr over his long working-life were distinctly responsive to the times through which he lived, and not least to the threats posed to democracy in the twentieth century by totalitarian regimes. Like others of his distinguished contemporaries, notably his lifelong friend Henning Hoirup, he perceived Gr as »our contemporary« whose life-work remained of living relevance and should be accorded a functional place within the national cultural inheritance. Though not a theologian by formal education, Michelsen along with his generation came to be influenced by Karl Barth's insistence that the revealed word of God must be the premise of any confession. This principle inspired his own studies of Gr's thought-world, and particularly of Gr's thesis of history, which in turn led him to see that religious idealism alone was not a sufficient response to the actualities of living in the present moment. Here he was also fairly clearly influenced by Hal Koch who, during the years of the German occupation of Denmark in the Second World War, was most instrumental in presenting Gr as his generation's contemporary. With fellow-scholars such as Hoirup and Regin Prenter, Michelsen found Gr's authorship informed not only by Christianity's radical profession of the forgiveness of sins but also, equally importantly, of a creation-theology which for them made it possible to harmonise the modem world's scientific awareness with a belief that life and the universe were created by God. His contribution to the anthology Grundtvig og grundtvigianismen i nyt lys [Gr and grundtvigianism in a new light] (1983) is a key discussion of Gr's conversion in 1810 and Gr's relationship to Soren Kierkegaard. Various of Michelsen's writings set forth Gr's historical perspective as being based upon a mosaicchristian view, in a consciousness of Gr's shift from faith to knowledge, from church to school around the critical year 1832. The view that he and Kai Thaning constitute opposite poles misrepresents the affinities and distinctions carefully drawn by Michelsen himself ('Brev til en Grundtvigforsker' [Letter to a Gr-scholar] in Dansk Udsyn 1964,443); nevertheless, his analysis of Gr's universal-historical work formulates a significant challenge to Thaning's reading of Gr and demonstrates the sense in which Gr was, as Michelsen later wrote in Grundtvig Studier 1983, 'Sin samtids kritiker' [Critic of his own times]. After early work on H. C. Orsted, Michelsen wrote his doctoral thesis, published as Tilblivelsen af Grundtvigs historiesyn [The formulation of Gr's view of history] (Copenhagen, 1954). During this period (1941) he married Signe, niece of the Greenland explorer Knud Rasmussen who was herself an authority on Greenland and collaborated in translating Gr into the Greenlandic language. His doctoral thesis was based on an examination of the works Gr is known to have studied in his formative years (though he has been criticised for exaggerating the cohesion of the sources of influence upon Gr) out of which Gr shaped a view of history which was not a learned construct or theory but a conscious expression of the picture he formed for himself of existence. Michelsen depicts Gr as standing in opposition to the contemporary compromise between Christianity and romanticism, and as allowing the biblical perspective of history to model his own exposition of history. Characteristically, when his doctoral thesis was eventually overshadowed by the work of Sigurd Aa. Aames (1961) with its different approach, methodology and findings, Michelsen responded constructively ( Grundtvig Studier 1962). Meanwhile he had been extending his own exploration of the way in which Gr's Christian view of history developed after 1810, in Den saelsomme forvandling i N. F. S. Grundtvigs liv [The strange Metamorphosis inNFSG'slife] (1956). His two studies together raised issues-concerning for example Gr's relationship to Lutheran tradition, his view of the divine image in man, and affinities between Gr and Kiekegaard's existential standpoint - which ought to have generated a greater scholarly response than has been the case. Many of Michelsen's articles in Grundtvig Studier remain indispensable items for students and researchers. He made a distinguished contribution to the great catalogue of the Grundtvig archives in the Royal Library, Copenhagen. Much work (in which his son Knud collaborated) on the transcription of unprinted Gr manuscripts and the identification of textual correlations illustrative of Gr's philosophical thinking remains unpublished - though the big two-part introduction to Gr's thought as reflected in his Danne-Virke (Grundtvig Studier 1985-86) to some extent compensates for this. Michelsen's appointment (1968) to a lectureship in Aarhus University, in fulfilment of Professor Gustav Albeck's desire to give Gr a central place in Danish studies, coincided with turbulent times which he did not find easy, but the fruits of his teaching are seen in the long series of fine articles by his pupils in Grundtvig Studies , of which he became an editor in 1969, scrupulously active to the last. In 1997 he was honoured by the Grundtvig-Selskab upon its Fiftieth Anniversary. He was an active participant in the newly-founded Grundtvig Academy in Vartov, in 2000. With William Michelsen's death a notable Christian humanist and scholar has passed on. May his memory be held in honour.


As 1987 draws to a close, Pakistan Heart Journal celebrates its twentieth birthday. Publication started in 1968 with Dr.Ali Mohammad Chaudhary as the first Editor under the guidance of the late Col.M.HShah, the founder-President of the then newly formed Pakistan Cardiac Society. While every Editor has left his impact on the journal, the services of publication incharge Mr.Asad Mirza must be placed on record for providing continuity and for doing all the hardwork. Also the help of Mr.Fasihuddin Alvi has been invaluable. The journal moves in the direction the cardiac society moves which moves in the direction the whole profession moves and so on. I told him I had enough funds to print the journal from our own resources for the next five years but I always keep on waiting for one last article to complete the issue in the press! I think this sums up the mood and differences very well!


The real state of centralized water treatment systems in the country leads to irrational use of drinking water quality for technological needs, and consequently to hydraulic overloads of water treatment complexes and an increase in environmental risks associated with water resources. the paper offers a fundamentally new technical solution for water treatment, provides information on the results of recent scientific research in the field of analysis and management of risks associated with water resources, this will help specialists in this field to solve real problems in the implementation of innovative scientific developments and apply scientific experience in the practice of environmental risk management.


Not-for-profit healthcare organizations benefit enormously from their tax-exempt status. But in recent years, the IRS, Congress, and state and local governments have begun scrutinizing these organizations in an effort to find potential sources of new tax revenue. Since the survival of an organization may depend on retaining its tax-exempt status, healthcare executives must be able to justify their organizations' status by developing a written charity care policy, promoting the concept of community benefit, reviewing physician recruitment and retention policies to identifying and reporting unrelated business income, and submitting a concise Form 990 tax return to the Federal government.


United States strives to force the Chinese into agreement of increasing the value of their exchange rate to help the USA avoid inflation As China did not come into an agreement with the USA, Tariffs are being put on Chinese products entering USA. However China as began to add tariff on poultry received from the US as well. China was previously not named in the legislation permitting US to add tariff on their goods. But recently a bill was passed giving the commerce department the ability to place important tariffs on all countries to undervalue their currency. The bill passed in legislation had the support of 99 republicans. China has been managing their currency in a manner that makes their goods cheaper to sell and American goods more expensive. The Chinese manipulation of their currency has been quite expensive for the USA, as it has cost them $1.5 billion jobs increasing the percentage of unemployment greatly and significantly. This imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods could result in effecting $300 billion dollars worth of their products. It is obvious that the Americans are attempting to improve and acknowledge their growth and power. As predictions have developed over this conflict, arguing the fact that China will not negotiate with the USA at this point rather fight back and also approach in adding tariffs on US imports. However, this reaction by the Chinese will only worsen the scenario and result in the possible inflation of the US economy or worldwide trade war. This is a very sensitive time for the United States as their biggest hopes are dependent on the Chinese. But it doesn't look like they will be too satisfied with the outcome.


Secondary hemophagocytic syndrome (HFS) is an uncommon entity with a high mortality rate in adults, if no therapy is given. It is characterized by a severe hipercytokinemia due to a highly stimulated but ineffective immune system. The principal causes are infections, malignancy or autoimmune diseases. It appears as a serious illness, similar to a multiorgan failure. Treatment is not well defined. We report five patients with HFS, aged 17 to 51 years (three females). The etiology was onco-hematological in three patients. In two patients, the diagnosis was performed during necropsy. One case was due to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in a hepatic transplant patient and the other, due to parenteral lipid administration. All presented fever, cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly and hemophagocytosis. Four of them required admission in an Intensive Care Unit. All received different treatment modalities. Only one survived. Median survival time was 75 days. In conclusion, HFS has different etiologies and a high mortality in adults.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of several pharmacological compounds on the motility and velocity of washed human spermatozoa. Results were evaluated by multiple exposure photography and computer-aided picture analysis. The motility-inhibiting effect of the antifertility drug gossypol was confirmed. Gossypol proved to be a potent inhibitor of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) detectable in high concentrations in seminal plasma. However, human sperm motility was not inhibited during incubation with two other specific ACE-inhibitors (captopril, enalapril). On the contrary, high concentrations of captopril even showed a slight motility-stimulating effect. These results indicate no direct involvement of ACE in the regulation of sperm motility but suggest a direct interaction of gossypol with the plasma membrane of spermatozoa. To clarify whether or not gossypol blocks membranous ion transport, the effect of well-defined ion transport blocking agents on sperm motility was investigated. It was determined that the acetylcholine receptor blocker alpha-bungarotoxin and trifluoperazine, a specific calmodulin antagonist, inhibit sperm motility completely. Since stimulation of sperm motility by captopril may be due to an alpha-mimetic action of this compound, the influence of two alpha receptor blockers (bromocriptine, lisuride) on sperm motility was studied. Although lisuride inhibited sperm motility completely, bromocriptine revealed no influence. A temporary and reversible intervention with membrane transport processes could be a suitable way to regulate human sperm motility and male fertility.


2,3-Dimethylimidazole-1-sulfonyl azide triflate reacts with 3-substituted indoles to deliver 2-iminoindolines, 2-aminoindoles, or 2-imino-3-aminoindolines by using different conditions. This imidazolium sulfonyl azide shows higher reactivity toward carbon nucleophile indoles than ordinary alkyl/aryl sulfonyl azides.


SUMMARY The persistence of drug addiction suggests that drugs of abuse enhance learning and/or impair extinction of the drug memory. We studied the effects of repeated cocaine on learning, memory and reinstatement in the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Respiratory behavior can be operantly conditioned and extinguished in Lymnaea, and this behavior is dependent on a critical dopamine neuron. We tested the hypothesis that repeated cocaine exposure promotes learning and memory or attenuates the ability to extinguish the memory of respiratory behavior that relies on this dopaminergic neuron. Rotating disk electrode voltammetry revealed a Km and Vmax of dopamine uptake in snail brain of 0.9 μmol l-1 and 558 pmol s-1 g-1 respectively, and the IC50 of cocaine for dopamine was approximately 0.03 μmol l-1. For operant conditioning, snails were given 5 days of 1 h day-1 immersion in water (control) or 0.1 μmol l-1 cocaine, which was the lowest dose that maximally inhibited dopamine uptake, and snails were trained 3 days later. No changes were found between the two groups for learning or memory of the operant behavior. However, snails treated with 0.1 μmol l-1 cocaine demonstrated impairment of extinction memory during reinstatement of the behavior compared with controls. Our findings suggest that repeated exposure to cocaine modifies the interaction between the original memory trace and active inhibition of this trace through extinction training. An understanding of these basic processes in a simple model system may have important implications for treatment strategies in cocaine addiction.


The paper describes the spectral properties of the optical emission from plasmas generated using a transversely excited high-pressure CO2 laser and solid targets. The plasma emission spectra obtained using CO2 and Nd3+ glass lasers are compared. As a consequence of the longer wavelength of the CO2 laser radiation, heating of the plasma by optical absorption occurs at lower plasma densities. Strong line emission is therefore observed at greater distances from the target surface, which improves discrimination between the line and continuum background emission, and pressure broadening of the spectral lines is much reduced. The application of this technique to atomic spectroscopy and spectrochemical analysis is discussed.


In the context of the widespread and extensive use of team work in organizations this study analyses the relationship between individual team role preference and styles of managing interpersonal conflict. Data were collected from 26 work teams containing 169 individuals at two times four months apart. Results show that team role preference is related to Dominating, Integrating, Avoiding, Compromising and Obliging conflict management styles. Moreover, two different effects were observed over time. Firstly, at Time 2 an increase in the role clarity (reduction of role ambiguity) of team members was observed. Secondly, time pressure and team learning processes moderated the relationship between team roles and conflict managing style. Results have theoretical as well as practical implications for team building programmes in search of integrative solutions to conflict.


Background: Iron deficiency anaemia is a common problem in antenatal patients throughout the developing world. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of oral versus parenteral iron therapy for correction of anaemia in pregnant women.
 Methodology: This was a comparative study conducted in antenatal clinic of Saidu Teaching Hospital Swat. All pregnant women were tested for haemoglobin concentration and among them 100 patients with anaemia were consecutively selected. Selection criteria were haemoglobin level less than 11gm/dl and heamatocrit less than 33%. Selected patients were divided in two equal group, Group-I for oral and Group-II for intravenous administration of iron. The results of treatment were assessed on day 30 of the treatment.
 Results: Rise in haemoglobin concentration was observed from 9.35±1.62 to 11.20±0.28 gm/dl in oral group and from 9.20±1.69 to 12.65±1.06 gm/dl in intravenous group on day 30.
 Conclusion: Parenteral iron therapy in form of iron sucrose is better choice to correct iron deficiency anaemia related to pregnancy.


Industrial and pharmacological applications of volatile and non-volatile compounds isolated from plants have been dominating the commercial sector over the recent two decades. Attempts in isolation of volatile compounds of aloes have impact on the medicinal as well as the cosmetic industries. Volatile compound isolation and extraction was performed on leaf exudates of Aloe excelsa. Three commercially important compounds, namely: phenylacetonitrile, carvone and limonene were identified using gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS).


The aim of our study was to compare intraoperative changes on the haemodynamics and intraocular pressure in the head-up and head-down position in laparoscopic cholecystectomy and gynaecologic surgery. This cohort study (prospective observational study) was made in Antalya Education and Research Hospital (Turkey) between 2015 and 2017. Seventy seven patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (head-up position, n=42 ) and laparoscopic gynecology operations (head-down position=35) were included. The intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured for both eyes at defined intervals during the procedure with Schiotz tonometer. During of surgery, heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, sistolic arterial blood pressure, diastolic arterial blood pressure and ETCO2 were also recorded. IOP was detected to be higher in Group II at the 5th minute of CO2 insufflation (17.17±2.91) and at the 5th minute of head-down position (17.97±2.83), P


In Pernambuco, as well as in the major part of Brazil, milk, especially in small dairy farms, is obtained in poor hygienic conditions, little technology and deficient sanitary control of animals. Raw milk presents low microbiologic quality, which compromises the product's composition, reduces its shelf life and can constitute risk to public health. Food quality and safety are related to the Good Manufacturing Pratices (GMP). Implementation of GMP results in reduction of the number of microorganisms in milk, leading to a better microbiologic quality and enhanced shelf life of the final product. The aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of implementation of Good Milking Practices on the improvement of microbiological quality of milk, aiming to achieve the standards established by Normative Instruction 51. Different practices of milking were applied in the main points of contamination, identified previously, in four dairy farms of Agreste of Pernambuco. The practices were evaluated through enumeration of indicator microorganisms mesophilic aerobes, psychrotrophics, coagulase positive staphylococci, total coliforms and Escherichia coli before and after the application of the practices. The practices adopted were: elimination of first three jets of milk, immersion of teats in chlorinated solution, vigorous cleaning and posterior inversion of buckets and cans for elimination of residual water. Results showed, with the application of the practices, means reduction of 99.9% for mesophilic aerobes microorganisms. The practices indicated are simple, efficient, of easy adoption in milking routine in any situation of technology at the dairy farms and do not require spends with installations.


A best evidence topic was constructed according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether size-reduced or lobar lung transplantation (LLTx) offers the same benefit as classic lung transplantation (LTx). Of the 147 papers found using the reported search, 9 were selected to provide the best evidence. Details of the studies regarding authors, date, journal, country of publication, study type, group studied, relevant outcomes and results are given. All studies reported survival rates of LLTx and most compared it with classical LTx. No statistical differences were reported in medium term and long term. Two of the studies reported a higher incidence of postoperative complications, such as the need for cardiopulmonary bypass, reperfusion oedema or primary graft dysfunction, and longer intubation or intensive care unit stay times. Although the largest study showed a significantly worse 1-year survival in LLTx, a sub-analysis considering patients successfully discharged showed similar outcomes at 1, 3 and 5 years when compared with classic LTx patients. We conclude that LLTx is a valid therapeutic option for recipients with significant donor size mismatch, offering similar outcomes as classical LTx in the medium term and long term.


Background Critics argue that regulation of non-broadcast advertising for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) offers less protection to children than regulation of broadcast advertising. This is concerning as viewing habits now exist across a range of media platforms. There is a lack of research engaging with young people about the shifting nature of advertising for foods HFSS, particularly those aged 12–15 as they are often not included in industry self-regulatory initiatives. The study aims were to identify: 1) where young people experience advertising for foods HFSS; 2) their perceptions of this form of advertising; 3) the ways in which they believe they are influenced by this advertising. Methods We interviewed 65 UK 12–15 year olds in 15 focus groups. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling techniques from initial local adult contacts. Potential participants were provided with a study summary sheet, and those who agreed to participate were asked to recruit a group of friends to take part in a discussion. Participants were drawn from a range of social backgrounds. Groups were held within participant's homes or within the University. All focus groups were audio-recorded. Topics included leisure time, viewing habits, and the perceived impact of advertising. Young people were shown a range of broadcast and non-broadcast advertising to stimulate discussion. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Results Young people reported that they rarely watched live television, and instead engaged in leisure activities that included watching programming via subscription services, and watching and socialising on digital platforms (such as video websites and social media). They recalled seeing extensive advertising for foods HFSS in non-broadcast media, both on- and offline. Participants reported scepticism and mistrust towards the healthfulness of many advertised foods. Nonetheless they believed they were influenced to purchase foods HFSS based on emotive techniques, such as togetherness, and were attracted to high quality advertising campaigns that made use of various techniques such as music, colour and humour. Conclusion Young people encounter advertising of foods HFSS across a wide range of non-broadcast media. It both attracts and frustrates them. Many young people believed advertising influenced their purchasing of food and drink. Regulation of non-broadcast advertising for foods HFSS must be updated to reflect these new and diverse viewing practices.


CpG methylation in the human genome plays an important role in the transcriptional regulatory network. I have explored the biology of this epigenetic mark and I have developed tools that aid in methylation-related analyses. Although most of the human genome is methylated, regions involved in regulatory activity tend to be unmethylated. The methylation states of CpGs influence DNA-protein interactions. Since DNA methylation influences transcriptional regulation, DNA methylation signatures discriminate among phenotypes, such as cancerous cells versus healthy cells or differentiated cells versus pluripotent cells. To better study DNA methylation, I produced a new probe set, Cpg220k, used in targeted bisulfite sequencing by Kun Zhang's lab. This involved surveying the literature for experiments that found regions of variable DNA methylation and using other experimental data, such as DNaseI hypersensitivity data, that found candidates for likely differential methylation. I produced padlock probes based on maximizing the bp coverage of these regions while minimizing the cost of the experiment. Using targeted bisulfite sequencing, I developed analytical tools that allowed for inter- and intracellular analysis of CpG methylation data. I found that methylation signatures accurately classify ES, fibroblast, and iPS cell lines. Gene expression and methylation are negatively correlated at the TSS but they are weakly correlated further down- and upstream from the TSS. Further exploring fuzzily methylated CpGs (methylation frequencies between .25 and .75), I found regions that exhibited allele-specific methylation. Many of the ASM regions involved a SNP overlapping with a CpG site, thereby creating sequence dependent ASM. Other ASM regions were likely products of biological regulatory mechanisms. I then created a pipeline that utilized the tools I developed for my methylation analyses. I integrated the pipeline into a website (http:// wanglab.ucsd.edu/star/) so that other scientists can conveniently run these analyses on their methylation data. Due to the increasing scale of methylation experiments, I created the pipeline with the capability of handling massive data sets that can exceed several billion reads. I made the tools that were critical to my research publicly available in hopes to furthering the scientific community's understanding of DNA methylation


We obtain the limiting distribution of the nodal area of random Gaussian Laplace eigenfunctions on $\mathbb{T}^3= \mathbb{R}^3/ \mathbb{Z}^3$ ($3$-dimensional 'arithmetic random waves'). We prove that, as the multiplicity of the eigenspace goes to infinity, the nodal area converges to a universal, non-Gaussian, distribution. Universality follows from the equidistribution of lattice points on the sphere. Our arguments rely on the Wiener chaos expansion of the nodal area: we show that, analogous to (Marinucci, Peccati, Rossi and Wigman, 2016), the fluctuations are dominated by the fourth-order chaotic component. The proof builds upon recent results in (Benatar and Maffiucci, 2017) that establish an upper bound for the number of non-degenerate correlations of lattice points on the sphere. We finally discuss higher-dimensional extensions of our result.


The paper attempts to identify and analyze some of the most important, in the author's opinion, peculiarities of formation of statehood in three independent republics of the South Caucasus, focusing attention on the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is shown that these republics went highly tortuous and difficult path of state building, reaching significant progress in social and economic and political modernization to these days for more than two decades of their independence. In the author's opinion, Azerbaijan achieved the most impressive success in the social and economic field. Considerable space is devoted to the analysis of the nature of political regimes of three countries. The conclusion is made that due to their systemic and structural characteristics, they have a controversial character with elements of both democracy and authoritarianism. As for Azerbaijan, in this country, under the guise of democratic rhetoric, rigidly authoritarian form of government is created, where all actual state power is concentrated in the hands of the president.


Alagille syndrome (AGS) is an autosomal-dominant multi-organ disorder involving the liver, heart, eyes, face and skeleton. In addition, various renal abnormalities have also been reported in several cases. We describe a patient with a novel frameshift mutation in exon 12 of the JAG1 gene who presented with chronic renal failure. In this family, five members of three generations had clinical features implicated in AGS. Three members had adult-onset renal dysfunction with proteinuria, and two of them required haemodialysis therapy. AGS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of proteinuric renal disease, even in adult patients.


We discuss the results of the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) investigations and ab initio calculations of the structure and stability of the quasicubic Bi{012} film formed in the initial stage of the bismuth deposition on the Si(111)-7×7 surface at room temperature. Results of our STM experiments show that paired-layer Bi{012} film grows on top of the initially formed wetting layer, with the Si 7×7 lattice preserved underneath. The pairing of the layers in the {012} film leads to the substantial stabilization of the film when it consists of an even number of layers and only even-number layered Bi{012} islands are observed to be stable. The buckling of the atoms in the topmost paired layer induced by the relaxation of the film is evidenced by the high-resolution STM images.


Huntingtin is the protein product of the gene for Huntington's disease (HD) and carries a polyglutamine repeat that is expanded in HD (>36 units). Huntingtin-associated protein (HAP1) is a neuronal protein and binds to huntingtin in association with the polyglutamine repeat. Like huntingtin, HAP1 has been found to be a cytoplasmic protein associated with membranous organelles, suggesting the existence of a protein complex including HAP1, huntingtin, and other proteins. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we found that HAP1 also binds to dynactin P150Glued (P150), an accessory protein for cytoplasmic dynein that participates in microtubule-dependent retrograde transport of membranous organelles. An in vitro binding assay showed that both huntingtin and P150 selectively bound to a glutathione transferase (GST)–HAP1 fusion protein. An immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that P150 and huntingtin coprecipitated with HAP1 from rat brain cytosol. Western blot analysis revealed that HAP1 was enriched in rat brain microtubules and comigrated with P150 and huntingtin in sucrose gradients. Immunofluorescence showed that transfected HAP1 colocalized with P150 and huntingtin in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. We propose that HAP1, P150, and huntingtin are present in a protein complex that may participate in dynein–dynactin-associated intracellular transport.


Abstract A three-dimensional thermodynamical model of sea ice has been developed which is capable of simulating seasonal changes over the arctic and antarctic regions. The model is patterned after the earlier work of Maykut and Untersteiner (1971) and Semtner (1976). Instead of specifying the fluxes of energy at the top of the ice, as is usually done in sea ice modeling, the components of surface energy balance are computed from observed climatological atmospheric data. Also, a new parameterization of leads by Semtner (1976) is tested and shown to improve the simulation. The model results agree with observations in the Arctic, but they are less successful in the Antarctic. Possible reasons for deficiencies of the model are that ice transport is not included and oceanic heat flux is not properly accounted for. These aspects will be added and improved in future development of the model.


To delineate a common language for describing Functioning and dysfunctioning of individuals with various health condition to be used by health care professionals all over the world, the International classification of function and disability (ICF) also known as ICF model has emerged as a multidimensional classification system which is based on biopsychosocial model of health system1. ICF model addresses many issues related to various disciplines of Rehabilitation specially Physical therapy2. In Physical therapy ICF model is utilized for making decisions ensuring to cover all aspects of human health and functioning, for documentation purpose as well as to enhance communication by agreeing upon the same standardized terminologies2.


It is a generally held view that intraventricular haemorrhage carries a poor prognosis in cases of intracranial haemorrhage. We tested this view by retrospective analysis of the records of 258 patients who had intracranial blood on CT scans seen over a seven-year period. The mortality and morbidity for intraventricular and non-intraventricular haemorrhage were compared for the three major causes of intracranial bleeding, viz. aneurysm, trauma, and spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage. No significant difference was found between the two groups for each aetiological category. It was concluded that the CT scan finding of intraventricular blood has no prognostic significance.


Abstract The concept of Collaborative Teaching is one of the innovative approaches to learning, which has changed the view of traditional teaching methods by involving two or more teachers in training a single group. The process involves a variety of flexible teaching methods that meet the learning needs of all students, while developing their communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity skills. Artistic education in the university environment contains two main biases, theoretical and practical (performance), which are divergent in the way of manifestation and collaboration between teachers. The applicability of the concept of Co-Teaching in performance is relatively intuitive, with a sporadic concretisation and no visible results in students' evolution. As regards the theoretical part of the musicians, the collaboration in the teaching process could be an important tool for correlating the information obtained at different disciplines in different fields (harmony, counterpoint, music history, folklore, aesthetics, stylistics, music theory, music analysis, etc.), but also to actively acknowledge the importance of a complex vision on the formation of a complete musician.


Communication is at the heart of computer systems. Information stored at one location is moved to another location, combined with data from other sources, and processed to meet the needs of the users. Rarely can user commands or the information they access avoid traversing networks, which leakes the data and systems vulnerable to a variety of attacks. A malicious intruder might intercept, falsify, damage, or altogether prevent the networked communications. Network security has become one of the more critical issues challenging businesses and our daily life.

In this chapter, we introduce the fundamentals of network security. The chapter comprises six sections. In the first section, we introduce basic security concepts such as CIA (confidentiality, integrity, and availability). In the second section, we discuss basic cryptography, such as secret key cryptography, public key cryptography, and hash functions. In the third section, we introduce basic security services such as key management and authentication. In the fourth section, we discuss a variety of attacks such as sniffing, spoofing, and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) to give a big picture of the cruel world of cyberspace. In the fifth section, we introduce some security systems and protocols such as Kerberos, IPSec, Firewall, and VPN to combat those attacks. Finally, we give a brief overview of wireless network security such as WEP and WPA.

Keywords:

network security;
secret key cryptography;
public key cryptography;
DoS;
sniffing;
kerberos;
IPSec;
firewalls;
intrusion detection;
wireless security


Introduction :  Selenium (Se) is a component of oxidoreductases and cytochromes. It also influences the growth and proliferation of cells, and it is essential for the proper functioning of the immune system. The aim of the study was to determine selenium concentration in the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart and muscles of dog ( Canis lupus familiaris ) from northwestern Poland. Materials and methods :  Samples of organs and tissues were collected from 15 dogs at the age of 1 month to 17 years. The dogs were fed a diet similar to humans, with a small amount of commercial feed. Selenium concentration in the organs was determined spectrofluorometrically. Results :  The highest Se concentration was found in the kidneys (0.57 ±0.42 mg/kg of wet weight – ww) and the lowest in muscles (0.11 ±0.09 mg/kg, ww). Mean selenium concentrations in the examined organs followed the order: kidneys>liver>lungs>heart>muscles. Conclusions :  Our study shows that the Se concentration in the studied materials was below optimal level in 75% of the analysed dogs. This means that 75% of dogs had a deficiency of this element. The results obtained in this research suggest that the animal diet, which was very similar to the human diet, was not sufficient toensure an optimum Selenium level in the bodies of these animals.