Cold War battles between the United States and the Soviet Union had blocked progress on women's rights, both at home and in the transnational arena, since the end of World War II. In the 1970s, a window for change opened up as the result of two major shifts, one domestic and the other geopolitical. Within the US, the emergence of the feminist movement led to strong bipartisan support for women's rights legislation. The Democrats and Republican both supported ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, publically funded childcare, and family planning. Representatives from both parties participated in the committee that drafted CEDAW. Within the UN, developing countries formed a majority bloc that voted down the preferences of the United States and, often, the Soviet Union. The Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations supported women's rights to capitalize on women's electoral support at home, to strengthen their alliances with third world countries, to challenge the dominance of the Soviet Union on women's rights, and to reassert leadership within the United Nations. The US supported two major UN initiatives for women — International Women's Year and the drafting of CEDAW — as a way to press its advantage with regard to the Soviets.


This paper discusses some aspects of transference love and countertransference from episodes of American TV series In Treatment involving the patient (Laura) and her psychoanalyst (Paul). It is considered that although the filmic fiction does not give the necessary elements for the analysis of a clinical case, the content depicted in In Treatment does not distance itself from the desire issues the analyst might face in the relationship with their patients. This approach unfolds a number of issues that still need to be developed by those that practice Psychoanalysis in the place of the analyst.


For modeling periodic structures at oblique incidence, an unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain technique is presented by applying the locally one-dimensional (LOD) scheme to the field transformation technique. By splitting the space operator matrix in an appropriate way, the transformed Maxwell's equations can be subdivided into two sub-steps for an efficient implementation. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are verified by comparing with the results of the reference [4] and the split-field method respectively.


Offshore wind generated electricity is currently one of the most promising sources of energy to contribute in creating a sustainable global energy mix. The latter is essential for minimising the detrimental impact of human-induced accelerated climate change. The cost of offshore wind power has strongly decreased over the past years due to (amongst others) progressive RaD, the increased capacity of the plants and due to a lower perceived risk (i.e., interest rates). The current thesis contributes to further lowering the cost of this energy source; it justifies the application of less steel in the design of the most often applied monopile (MP) foundation, by providing a more accurate and less conservative design method for the soil-structure interaction (SSI) of rigidly behaving MP foundations. More specifically, this thesis addresses the lateral \emph{small-strain} soil response towards rigidly behaving piles that typically have a relatively low ratio of embedded length L to diameter D: L/Dl7. It is the small-strain regime that governs the overall dynamic properties of the offshore wind turbine (OWT), which in turn define the accumulation of steel fatigue damage - most often the main design driver in dimensioning the support structure (foundation and tower). The work aims to improve both the currently applied in-situ characterisation of the soil properties and the design model used for simulating the complex SSI of MP foundations. For capturing the in-situ small-strain soil properties, it is suggested to add seismic measurements to the standard site characterisation scope. The currently applied geotechnical Cone Penetration Test measures the very local, large-strain strength parameters, whereas the output of a geophysical method like the Seismic Cone Penetration Test reflects the more global, small-strain stiffness properties of the soil. Regarding the design model, it is suggested to benefit from the accuracy of a 3D model, as it automatically captures the various soil reaction mechanisms that dominate the SSI of rigidly behaving piles. The soil in interaction with the small pile displacements of the fatigue-limit-state load case can be idealised to behave as a linear elastic material. The basic soil stiffness parameters captured by the seismic measurements can be directly used to fully characterize a linear elastic continuum of a 3D model. This physics-based approach, which first identifies the stiffness of the soil and subsequently that of the soil-pile system, is a more versatile and accurate method than the most often applied semi-empirical p-y curve method. The latter method employs the depth-dependent modulus of horizontal subgrade reaction k(z) to quantify a particular soil-pile initial lateral stiffness, to be used in a 1D Winkler foundation model. The Winkler model is the all-time favourite engineering model due to its simplicity and intuitive representation of the main involved physics in the SSI, and the subgrade modulus is a very useful SSI parameter. However, k(z) is an empirical tuning parameter, depending not only on the properties of the (stratified) soil, but also on those of the pile. As the currently used p-y curves were calibrated on small-diameter, flexible piles, they are not representative for the soil reactions to short, rigidly behaving MP foundations. In only assuming a lateral, uncoupled soil reaction - being the dominant restoring force for flexible piles, and hence the assumption in the p-y curve method - one underestimates the complete restoring reaction of the soil, which is induced by additional, more complex soil mechanisms. To become truly useful for design, the 3D model should not only serve as a design check, but its accuracy should be directly integrated into the design models. Similar to various other engineering design procedures, the thousands of load simulations required in the design of offshore wind support structures, make the 3D model computationally too expensive to replace the simple, 1D design model. To employ the speed and simplicity of the 1D model with the accuracy of the 3D model, the current thesis presents - as its main contribution - 2 methods to obtain a 1D effective model that mimics the 3D modelled response. The first, `local' method establishes an effective 1D stiffness keff(z), by optimising the profile of the uncoupled (local) lateral springs that renders the response of the 1D Winkler model of a rigid pile in stratified soil the same as that of the static response of the 3D model in terms of displacement, slope, rotation and curvature along the full embedded length of the pile. Accurate matches can be obtained for quite a broad range of pile geometries and soil (stiffness) profiles, however, this local method seems to perform worse for piles with $L/Dl4.5$, softer and/or very irregular soil stiffness profiles. The same methodology was found to be able to also generate an effective damping profile ceff(z) to additionally mimic the energy dissipation in the SSI - provided that a previously found static stiffness profile keff(z) accurately captures the static response.In the second, `non-local' method, effective 1D global stiffness kernels are computed which fully capture the coupled 3D reactions of the stratified soil to the pile, for both the static and the low-frequency dynamic SSI. With the use of the stiffness kernels for the lateral and rotational degrees of freedom, the need of searching for various separate 1D stiffness elements, like distributed lateral and rotational springs along the pile or similar discrete springs at the pile tip, has become obsolete; such mechanisms are all automatically incorporated in the non-local stiffness kernels. The non-local method was shown to be very versatile, irrespective of pile geometry and soil stiffness profile, providing accurate matches of the 3D simulated response of the embedded pile.Finally, for increased confidence, methods and models should be validated - preferably by measuring the response of a realistic and representative version of the structure of interest. As no measurements of the dynamic response of a large scale MP foundation were reported in literature, an extensive measurement campaign was designed and executed on a `real' MP foundation of a near-shore wind farm. The setup involved a large amount of sensors on the pile and in the adjacent soil distributed over the full length of the pile, applying a steady-state excitation with a custom-made hydraulic shaker. The structure being a stand-alone pile, excluding dynamic disturbance of the to-be-installed super structure of tower and turbine, and the test comprising a controlled (known) loading, this campaign was shown to yield a much lower uncertainty regarding the soil response than for the commonly applied monitoring of the operational full OWT structure. Together with the inclusion of realistic saturated, nonhomogeneous sandy soil conditions and installation effects, a `first-off' opportunity was created to validate a model for the lateral, dynamic response of rigidly behaving monopiles. In the presented analyses of the measured response, the predicted effective stiffness was employed as an initial guess in a model-based identification of the stiffness, damping and fundamental frequency of the soil-pile system. It was shown that the proposed design procedure yields a 7 times higher accuracy in predicting the in-situ initial stiffness than the best-estimate p-y curve model. Furthermore, 2 adaptations of the 1D model were employed to investigate the presence of soil-added mass effects in the higher-frequency response of the system. Finally, the stiffness and damping of the pile-only system were related to those observed for the full OWT system, and the assumption of linear elastic soil response was validated using the observed pile response. An initial estimation of the possible benefit of the developed stiffness method, showed a 8% saving potential for the primary steel (shell) mass of the complete support structure (MP, transition piece and tower). This exercise was performed for a contemporary soil-pile case, for which (only) the fatigue-driven wall thickness was optimized and compared to the thickness needed when applying the conventional (softer) p-y curve profile. As the cost for MP support structures typically constitute more than 20% of the total capital cost of an offshore wind farm, the presented and validated work is foreseen to have a significant beneficial impact on the feasibility of future offshore wind projects.


The notion of choice is essential for luck egalitarians. It plays a crucial role in their conception of the justice of distributional inequalities. On their theory, the distribution that grants some members of society so little is just only if their disadvantage is the result of choices. The jobless and the homeless, for example, have far less material wealth than many other people. Whether their choices, rather than circumstance or chance, generated the inequalities from which they suffer thus determines whether they are entitled to compensation or assistance from the state.In this article I will discuss a problem with the luck egalitarian position that only becomes apparent when distributions are considered in light of economic interactions occurring over time. In Section I, I give a precise formulation of the luck egalitarian position I wish to criticize, and will introduce the structure of procedural counterexamples to that position. In Section II, I present a bargaining problem as a procedural counterexample. In Sections III, IV, and V, I execute two strategies on behalf of the luck egalitarian to defeat the bargaining problem as a procedural counterexample, and argue that these strategies both fail. In Section VI, I address two objections to my argument. I will argue that these objections fail, and will conclude with some remarks about the limits on the role the luck egalitarian principle might play in a plausible theory of justice.


We propose a DVS technique for multiprocessor systems considering the energy consumed when translating voltage. We schedule periodic applications on two identical processors throughout a three-stage process; firstly, the computation energy consumption is minimized then the number of voltage translations is minimized. Finally, the result is compared with the schedule with no voltage translation and the one with smaller energy consumption is chosen. Overall, 10.6% energy reduction was achieved.


Surface electromyographic activity was recorded bilaterally from orbicularis oculi muscles when subjects relaxed and contracted eyelid muscles. Cutaneous reflex responses were evoked during both the relaxed and contraction states. Following reflex elicitation periods of muscle silence in orbicularis oculi were observed for about 10 to 15 ms after the ipsilateral R1 response and for up to 100 ms after the bilateral R2 responses. Reflex responses appeared to be enhanced when elicited during contractions. Possible physiological mechanisms are discussed regarding the presence of silent periods in a motor system that is presumably devoid of spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and Renshaw-like interneurons.


In this work we present a new model for the form factor of a star polymer consisting of self-avoiding branches. This new model incorporates excluded volume effects and is derived from the two point correlation function for a star polymer.. We compare this model to small angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements from polystyrene (PS) stars immersed in a good solvent, tetrahydrofuran (THF). It is shown that this model provides a good description of the scattering signature originating from the excluded volume effect and it explicitly elucidates the connection between the global conformation of a star polymer and the local stiffness of its constituent branch.


Employee Performance Evaluation is considered to be the most important tool for any organization, the information that it offers is widely used for decision making, such as promotion. Linking performance metrics also gather information and processes that provide a basis for assessing the effectiveness of staff decision-making, such as training compensation. The assessment studies the impact on the individual performance assessment as well as on the organization. Thus, this study presents thedevelopment a computerized employee evaluation system for Saudi Airline company. In this study, the users of the system are comprised of four categories, which are human resource (HR) admin, call center (CC) head, supervisor and employee. For this work, SQL server, visual studio, photoshop CS and Snagit were used for the development of the employee performance appraisal system. Furthermore, cascading style sheet (CSS) were used for designing the controls in the appraisal system by applying the classes of the cascading style.  The test result of the system showed that for each use case, the performance evaluation system worked according to the expected behavior and all the final results were achieved accordingly.
Keywords: Employee, performance, evaluation, mobile application, company, Saudi Arabia


If in a case of orthophoria a single muscle becomes paretic, deviation in the primary position is always present, being latent or manifest according to the intensity of the paresis and the function of the paretic muscle. A latent or only temporarily manifest deviation results if, for instance, the internal rectus is weakened, since paretic divergence of not too high a degree can be overcome by a convergence impulse. But even the slightest paresis of one of the elevators or depressors cannot be kept latent, because the vertical range of fusion is very small. That is true only of cases of orthophoria. In a case of heterophoria the paretic deviation is modified by the anomalous position of rest—increased or diminished, or even completely abolished or compounded of various components, as will be shown presently in discussing the palsies of individual muscles. In any case of paresis the position of rest


The formation of stars begins with the fragmentation of molecular clouds and the formation of dense cores. This fragmentation process can either be the result of classical gravitational instabilities or triggered by some external event. The gas and dust of young protoclusters often hold the imprints of the initial conditions and triggers of that specific star forming episode.In this context, my thesis work is a study of the gas properties of young protoclus- ters within the Gould Belt. The first part of my work consists of a detailed study of the young Serpens star forming region with CO isotopologues. This study has revealed a complex temperature, column density and velocity structure. I proposed a scenario where a collision between two filamentary clouds or flows is responsible for the observed complex structure and the most recent burst of star formation in Serpens. This hypothesis was tested with SPH simulations and provides a plausible scenario.I am currently extending this work to other regions with a variety of star formation efficiencies, in search of the particular physical properties and dynamics of a molecular cloud that allow or prevent clouds to be in the verge of forming stars. As such, I have included in this manuscript my study of the gas in the B59 star forming region, the only active clump in the Pipe Nebula. The results from this study have shown it to be very different from Serpens, even though further studies are needed to provide a complete picture of the region. B59 was taken as the starting point for a larger study of the entire Pipe Nebula, driven by the peculiarly low star formation efficiency in the cloud and a test to the physical properties of cores prior to star formation.


Fashion as Masquerade focuses on issues of power, social positioning, ideologies, and practices within the web of relationships between creators, producers, practitioners, and end users of fashion. Masking has a rich history, but it is also a metaphor for fashion itself. Fashion is a mask that constructs or subverts meanings. Exploring the contemporary meanings of masks, masking, and masquerade, essays here consider masking in its various forms as a conscious or unconscious form of behavior. Masking is revealed as a strategy for reclaiming control over the construction of meanings, and creating a space for resistance that is independent of either social prescriptions or the controlling gaze.


The impact of European integration on national executives here understood as national central administrations, comprising both the political and the administrative parts of the ministerial executive — has received growing attention since the early 1990s. This interest in European integration as a (potential) source of change in the ministerial executives of the member states is, in itself, scarcely surprising. Most contemporary writing in the field of comparative executive studies is explicitly oriented towards describing and explaining change, and the literature is replete with references to fundamental reform and transformation. For political and administrative scientists, European integration provides a welcome addition to the already long list of challenges to the 'old-time religion' of traditional public administration. As Edward Page and Linda Wouters note, 'Almost all discussions of administrative change in Europe in the wake of the development of closer European integration are couched in terms of a potential', yet few scholars in search of the European effect seem deterred by their sceptical conclusion that 'there is no strong reason to believe that ... "Europeanization" necessarily brings with it any substantial change in the national administrative structure of member states'.


Mapping perovskite trap states The high efficiency of hybrid inorganic-organic perovskite solar cells is mainly limited by defects that trap the charge carriers and lead to unproductive recombination. Ni et al. used drive-level capacitance profiling to map the spatial and energetic distribution of trap states in both polycrystalline and single-crystal perovskite solar cells. The interface trap densities were up to five orders of magnitude higher than the bulk trap densities. Deep traps were mainly located at the interface of perovskites and hole-transport layers, where processing created a high density of nanocrystals. These results should aid efforts aimed at avoiding trap-state formation or passivating such defects. Science, this issue p. 1352 The distributions of trap states in metal halide perovskite solar cells were measured with drive-level capacitance profiling. We report the profiling of spatial and energetic distributions of trap states in metal halide perovskite single-crystalline and polycrystalline solar cells. The trap densities in single crystals varied by five orders of magnitude, with a lowest value of 2 × 1011 per cubic centimeter and most of the deep traps located at crystal surfaces. The charge trap densities of all depths of the interfaces of the polycrystalline films were one to two orders of magnitude greater than that of the film interior, and the trap density at the film interior was still two to three orders of magnitude greater than that in high-quality single crystals. Suprisingly, after surface passivation, most deep traps were detected near the interface of perovskites and hole transport layers, where a large density of nanocrystals were embedded, limiting the efficiency of solar cells.


We describe the resistance-associated substitutions that are present in the reverse transcriptase (RT) genes of HIV-1 CRF02_AG strains infecting drug-naive villagers of Cameroon. The 11 sequences analyzed were previously subtyped as CRF02_AG in the gag, pro, and env genes, and this work revealed that most (10/11) had a concordant subtype (CRF02_AG) in the pol gene, while one sequence had discordant subtype (A1) in the pol gene. Classification of the CRF02_AG sequences was further confirmed by recombination breakpoint analysis, which revealed a mosaic composition similar to the reference strain IbNG. Analysis of the RT genes for resistance-associated substitutions revealed two sequences containing a V118I substitution. Even though no other resistance-associated substitutions were found, the presence of V118I, which is implicated in resistance to reverse transcriptase inhibitors, in CRF02_AG strains infecting drug-naive individuals should be considered when introducing these antiretrovirals in areas where CRF02_AG is the predominant subtype, such as Cameroon.


The daily commute represents a source of chronic stress that is positively correlated with physiological consequences, including increased blood pressure, heart rate, fatigue, and other negative mental and physical health effects. The purpose of this research is to investigate and predict the physiological effects of commuting in Greater London on the human body based on machine-learning approaches. For each participant, the data were collected for five consecutive working days, before and after the commute, using non-invasive wearable biosensor technology. Multimodal behaviour, analysis and synthesis are the subjects of major efforts in computing field to realise the successful human–human and human–agent interactions, especially for developing future intuitive technologies. Current analysis approaches still focus on individuals, while we are considering methodologies addressing groups as a whole. This research paper employs a pool of machine-learning approaches to predict and analyse the effect of commuting objectively. Comprehensive experimentation has been carried out to choose the best algorithmic structure that suit the problem in question. The results from this study suggest that whether the commuting period was short or long, all objective bio-signals (heat rate and blood pressure) were higher post-commute than pre-commute. In addition, the results match both the subjective evaluation obtained from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the proposed objective evaluation of this study in relation to the correlation between the effect of commuting on bio-signals. Our findings provide further support for shorter commutes and using the healthier or active modes of transportation.


Objectives. To conduct a content analysis of news articles to investigate the relationship between language used to describe e-cigarettes, how the news articles framed (conveyed information to influence a certain perception of the news read by its audience) e-cigarettes, and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) oversight of e-cigarettes.Methods. We searched a database of articles published across the United States from February 1, 2016, to February 28, 2017, using the headline terms "e-cigarette," "e-cig," and "vape." We then dichotomized terms into 2 categories: technical ("e-cigarette" or "e-cig") and nontechnical ("vape"). We coded the frame of each article body as positive, negative, or neutral or mixed.Results. Articles containing the term "vape" in the headline were more likely to positively frame e-cigarettes (P ≤ .001) and negatively frame FDA oversight (P ≤ .001) in the body than were those with "e-cigarette" or "e-cig" in the headline.Conclusions. Omitting the word "cigarette" when describing tobacco products may reduce the negative perception associated with tobacco use, making it more appealing. It is important to know which terms are used to describe e-cigarettes and how these terms can make those products appear less harmful. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print August 15, 2019: e1-e3. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305242).


Abstract Daliranite, ideally PbHgAs2S6, occurs as a rare sulphosalt species at the Carlin-type Zarshouran Au-As deposit North of the town of Takab in the Province of West Azarbaijan, Iran. The new species is associated with orpiment, rarely with galkhaite, hutchinsonite and cinnabar. The strongly silicified matrix of the specimens has veinlets of sphalerite, with rare inclusions of galena and various (Cu)-Pb-As(Sb) sulphosalts. Daliranite occurs as matted nests of acicular and flexible fibres up to 200 μm in length and a width less than a few μm. The colour is orange-red with a pale orange-red streak and the lustre is adamantine. The mineral is transparent and does not fluoresce. The Mohs hardness is <2. Electron microprobe analyses give the empirical formula Pb0.95Tl0.01Hg1.04As2.10S5.91, ideally PbHgAs2S6; the calculated density is 5.93 g cm−3. Unit-cell parameters were determined by an electron-diffraction study and refined from X-ray powder data. Daliranite is monoclinic primitive with a = 19.113(5) Å, b = 4.233(2) Å, c = 22.958(8) Å, β = 114.78(5)°, V = 1686.4 Å3 and Z = 8, a:b:c = 4.515:1:5.424, space group P2, Pm or P2/m. The strongest X-ray powder-diffraction lines [d in Å, (I), (hkl)] are: 8.676, (80), (200); 4.654, (50), (4̅01); 3.870, (40), (2̅11); 3.394, (50), (113); 3.148, (40b), (6̅02); 2.892, (50), (6̅00); 2.724, (100), (7̅03); 2.185, (50), (3̅19). The formula shows a sulphur excess which may correspond to S-S bonding (persulphide). The new sulphosalt is a late phase in the crystallization sequence, and was formed after orpiment, contemporaneously with quartz II, at a temperature between 157 and 193°C. The name honours Dr Farahnaz Daliran (University of Karlsruhe, Germany) in recognition of her outstanding contributions to research on ore deposits, especially Au, Zn and Fe, in Iran.


This paper presents the development of runoff hydrographs for selected rivers in the Ogun-Osun river catchment, south west, Nigeria using Snyder and Soil Conservation Service (SCS) methods of synthetic unit hydrograph to determine the ordinates. The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve Number method was used to estimate the excess rainfall from storm of different return periods. The peak runoff hydrographs were determined by convoluting the unit hydrographs ordinates with the excess rainfall and the value of peak flows obtained by both Snyder and SCS methods observed to vary from one river watershed to the other. The peak runoff hydrograph flows obtained based on the unit hydrograph ordinate determined with Snyder method for 20-yr, 50yr, 100-yr, 200-yr and 500-yr, return period varied from 112.63 m3/s and 13364.30 m3/s, while those based on the SCS method varied from 304.43 m3/s and 6466.84 m3/s for the eight watersheds. However, the percentage difference shows that for values of peak flows obtained with Snyder and SCS methods varies from 13.14% to 63.30%. However, SCS method is recommended to estimate the ordinate required for the development of peak runoff hydrograph in the river watersheds because it utilized additional morphometric parameters such as watershed slope and the curve number (CN) which is a function of the properties of the soil and vegetation cover of the watershed.


This article compares trends and issues affecting labour security in the UK and Australia, using an adaptation of Standing's 1997 typology. The increased polarization and variability of hours worked, declining union densities and increased wage inequality provide evidence of growing labour insecurity in both countries. This represents the reciprocal impact of increased employer dominance in the workplace and government pursuit of labour flexibility. Growing labour insecurity casts doubts on the supposed benefits for EU economies of the Anglo-Saxon model of deregulated labour markets. The last part of the article considers measures to counter increased insecurity.


A classical model is presented for the features of parametric down-conversion and homodyne detection relevant to recent proposed ``loophole-free'' Bell tests. The Bell tests themselves are uncontroversial: there are no obvious loopholes that might cause bias and hence, if the world does, after all, obey local realism, no violation of a Bell inequality will be observed. Interest centres around the question of whether or not the proposed criterion for ``non-classical'' light is valid. If cit is not, then the experiments will fail in their initial concept, since both quantum theorists and local realists will agree that we are seeing a purely classical effect. The Bell test, though, is not the only criterion by which the quantum-mechanical and local realist models can be judged. If the experiments are extended by including a range of parameter values and by analysing, in addition to the proposed digitised voltage differences, the raw voltages, the models can be compared in their overall performance and plausibility.


We report a 38-year-old woman with lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) who had nodular and papulovesicular lesions develop on the genital area and oral commissure. Mucosal involvement in LyP is a rare event, and its clinical relevance is still unknown. Aggressive therapies are not recommended in patients with LyP with either cutaneous or mucosal involvement.


California supports one of the greatest diversities of terrestrial wildlife of any state. However, many wildlife species have been lost or have become imperiled since the mid-1800s. Much of this biodiversity loss has been due to habitat loss caused by the conver- sion of wildlands to agriculture, facilitated by numerous water projects. Although certain agricul- tural practices can benefit wildlife, continued population growth and urban sprawl are consuming much of California's agricultural land, threatening even these benefits.


Fetal mummification is an abnormal condition in which fetal death occurs after the middle third of pregnancy, when the fetus has occurred ossification and complete resorption in the fetal material cannot be performed. The main complaint of this disease is positive pregnancy diagnosis associated with a prolonged pregnancy. The recommended treatment is the application of prostaglandin for induction of labor or, in cases where the treatment employed was unsuccessful, performing cesarean. In most cases, the prognosis after removal of mummified fetus is good. This article aims to report two cases of fetal mummification in Nellore cows that were answered field, an animal with gestational diagnosis of abuse, whose birth was induced with prostaglandin to 200 days of pregnancy without success and another animal for dystocia.


Inherited or acquired variations in the serum concentrations of TBG, TTR or albumin are rather common. Clinical studies have shown that most patients with transport protein variations were referred for thyroid testing because of incidentally detected "unusual" thyroid function tests. Although, usually no palpable thyroid abnormalities were found, the interpretation of these unexpected thyroid function tests resulted very often in inappropriate treatment with surgery, 131-iodine, antithyroid drugs as well as T4-replacement therapy. The clinical impact in the interpretation and diagnosis of thyroid hormone transport protein variations is to prevent these patients of unnecessary and sometimes also contraindicated treatment. If changes in thyroid hormone transport proteins in individuals with thyroid disorders or in individuals with the coexistence of two inherited defects are seen, difficulties in the interpretation of thyroid function tests will still occur.


Abstract There are two competing hypothesizes on whether firms that are part of a business group should pay higher or lower dividends. Under one hypothesis, that can have different theoretical assumptions, firms that are a part of a business group should pay higher dividends. In contrast, if the pecking order hypothesis holds, firms that operate within a business group should pay lower dividends. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of group affiliation of Croatian firms, which are listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, on their propensity to pay dividends. Two panel data models were used in line with recent literature and the results of the study show some evidence that the pecking order theory was followed by Croatian firms. From this result the conclusion is that Croatian firms are more likely to pay dividends if they are not part of a business group.


When eliciting judgements from humans for an unknown quantity, one often has the choice of making direct-scoring (cardinal) or comparative (ordinal) measurements. In this paper we study the relative merits of either choice, providing empirical and theoretical guidelines for the selection of a measurement scheme. We provide empirical evidence based on experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk that in a variety of tasks, (pairwise-comparative) ordinal measurements have lower per sample noise and are typically faster to elicit than cardinal ones. Ordinal measurements however typically provide less information. We then consider the popular Thurstone and Bradley-Terry-Luce (BTL) models for ordinal measurements and characterize the minimax error rates for estimating the unknown quantity. We compare these minimax error rates to those under cardinal measurement models and quantify for what noise levels ordinal measurements are better. Finally, we revisit the data collected from our experiments and show that fitting these models confirms this prediction: for tasks where the noise in ordinal measurements is sufficiently low, the ordinal approach results in smaller errors in the estimation.


BACKGROUND
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) are popular in the United States and Asian and non-Asian consumers are using the product for disease treatment and health prevention. As more people are using TCM products, there are increased reports on adverse reactions. This review will focus on adverse reactions due to TCM as reported in the literature.

METHODS
The review is based on MedLine search of literatures using keywords including: herbs, herbal, traditional Chinese medicines with toxicity, adverse effects, death, drug interaction and pharmacokinetic. In addition, specific searches were performed using the above keywords with the common name and the scientific name of the plant product.

RESULTS
The causes of adverse reactions associated with TCM are diverse. They include variability in active/toxic ingredients due to growing conditions, use of inherent toxic herbs causing toxicity, overdose of herbs, drug-herb interactions especially with pharmaceuticals that have narrow therapeutic index, coexisting diseases, and idiosyncratic reactions like allergy, hepatitis and anaphylaxis. Other adverse reactions can be due to manufacturing and quality problems causing adulteration, misidentification, substitution of one herb with another, variability in the amount of active ingredients, use of pharmaceuticals without identifying on the labels, improper processing and preparation, and contamination.

CONCLUSIONS
To minimize the adverse reactions from TCM and protect the public, there must be adequate laws and regulations to ensure that products are manufactured with the highest standards. Manufacturers should be licensed by regulatory agency and manufactured under good manufacturing practice. TCM products must be evaluated for their safety before marketing. Proper labeling and good surveillance systems shall ensure the protection of the consumers.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Primary culture of cancer cells can be an excellent platform for investigating the biology of cancer and predicting chemosensitivity for individual patients, yet has been hampered by technical difficulties. We established a method of primary culture for human colorectal cancer: cancer tissue-originated spheroid (CTOS) method. The principle of the method is to maintain cell-cell contact throughout preparation and culture; never dissociating the samples into single cells. The clusters of cancer cells turn out to spheroids, CTOSs, within a short period. CTOSs of colorectal cancer consisted of highly purified cancer cells, and they were prepared with high efficiency. We applied the CTOS method to non-small cell lung cancer and urothelial cancer.

For non-small cell lung cancer, we used 125 surgical specimens and 18 pleural effusions. The success rate of CTOS preparation from surgical specimens was 80.0%. CTOSs were subjected to sensitivity assay and pathway activation assay for the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) erlotinib. The sensitivity differed among individual patient CTOSs. The EGFR mutation status and expression levels corresponded with erlotinib sensitivity, confirming previous clinical findings. Next, we examined urothelial cancer. The success rate of CTOS preparation from the non muscle-invasive urothelial cancer was 90.7%, whereas that from the muscle-invasive urothelial cancer was 68.2%. Total development rate was 84.2%.

Using these CTOSs, we investigated the effects of growth factors on the growth of CTOS in vitro. Among the growth factors examined, including EGF, IGF-1, basic FGF, and activin A, we found that heregulin (HRG)/neuregulin1, a ligand of HER3, potently induced CTOS growth in both lung and urothelial cancers. HRG promoted the growth of primary CTOSs in 10 out of 13 (71.4%) cases of lung cancer, and in 2 out of 4 (50%) cases of urothelial cancer. Along with the growth, HRG most potently stimulated the phosphorylation of AKT. In lung cancer CTOSs, a neutralizing antibody against HER3 inhibited the growth and the phosphorylation of HER3 and AKT.

In all three tumor types examined, CTOSs formed xenograft tumors in immunodeficient mice, and the tumors retained the features of the parental tumors. As CTOS can be cryopreserved, we are accumulating stocks of CTOSs derived from patient samples as well as the CTOSs from xenograft tumors. CTOS experiments can be shuttled between in vitro and in vivo.

Thus, the CTOS method enables us to obtain primary colorectal, lung, and urothelial tumor cells of high viability and purity. CTOS could be a new platform for studying lung cancer biology, and be useful to select patients for molecular targeting drugs.

Citation Format: Masahiro Inoue, Hiroko Endo, Masayuki Ohue, Kazuo Nishimura, Fumio Imamura, Jiro Okami, Hiroaki Okuyama. Cancer tissue-derived spheroid, CTOS, for evaluation of drug response from individual patient tumor samples. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3832. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3832


This article surveys recent legislative proposals and court decisions pertaining to abortion. The Health Programs Extension Act of 1973, which is now in force, declares that receipt of federal funds does not authorize a court to force a hospital to perform abortions against the religious or moral convictions of the institution. Included in the act is a provision preventing federally supported hospitals from descriminating against doctors and other staff members who refuse to engage in abortion or sterilization procedures. The first part of this act was upheld in a federal court in Idaho (Watkins vs. Mercy Medical Center) in a case in which a doctor was denied reappointment to the medical staff of a Catholic hospital because of his refusal to abide by the Code of Ethics for Catholic Hospitals, which forbids both abortion and sterilizations. Legislation now pending before Congress can also be described as anti-abortion. The Legal Services Corporation bill contains a provision barring Legal Services attorneys from representing clients in abortion litigation. An amendment to the Medicaid Law prevents federal benefits for abortions. An amendment attached to a bill on medical experimentation would prohibit experimentation on live fetuses. Furthermore, Representative Hogan and Senator Helms have entered into both houses a constitutional amendment designed to protect the fetus "from the moment of conception."


Abstract Formation water composition data and formation pressure data from oil, gas and gas condensate fields covering an area of approximately 15000 km2 in the Central Graben Area of the UK North Sea have been analysed. The purpose was to determine whether large-scale barriers to flow influence the compositional distribution of formation waters and how this aids understanding of overpressure distribution and potential hydrocarbon migration pathways. Analyses (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba and Cl) of water and Elemental Residual Salt Analysis (ERSA) samples from both the water and hydrocarbon legs of wells were analysed statistically to reveal eight different water types in the study area. These were located in distinct geographical areas. Aquifer overpressure from formation pressure data for numerous wells in the area were plotted on large-scale regional maps to reveal the distribution of pressure 'cell' or compartments. An integrated interpretation of the location of pressure cells, salinity variations and water types provided information on the current and past fluid flow across the pressure cell boundaries, the operational longevity of these boundaries and the nature of the Mesozoic aquifer. The implications of the work are important for understanding: (a) the usefulness of the new ERSA technique for estimating formation water compositions; (b) the effectiveness of integrating fluid composition and pressure data to understand compartmentalization; (c) fluid flow dynamics in the HPHT sector of the Central North Sea; and (d) likely hydrocarbon migration routes and the character and distribution of overpressured basin compartments.


The upper 90 m (295 ft) of the sub-Bearpaw Judith River Formation, continuously exposed in the badlands along the Red Deer River 185 km (115 mi) east of Calgary, is famous for the unrivaled assemblage of dinosaur fossils. Dinosaur Provincial Park presents a rare opportunity to view the architecture of a foreland coastal-plain sequence as well as to clarify the origin and distribution of subbituminous coal zones and gas reservoirs associated with this formation across southeast Alberta. The distal reaches of paleodrainage from the developing Cordillera to the Western Interior seaway are being examined by north-south traverses across the badlands. Sharp-based paleochannel units, enclosed by rooted, olive-gray mudstone sequences that are commonly 4-6 m (13-20 ft) thick, vary between 2 end members. The first contains laterally accreted sand-mud couplets with abundant macrofloral debris, and represents cyclical, low-energy growth of point bars, possibly with an estuarine influence. The second, mainly comprising cosets of large trough cross-beds with mudstone intraclasts, was formed by episodic aggradation of high-energy systems. An intermediate composite type displays evidence for an energy increase as channel sinuosity decreased. This variation in paleochannel type is a tributed to alternating alluviation/rejuvenation associated with an unstable base level. Coal zones and potential reservoirs appear to be associated with the transgressive and regressive phases, respectively, of the Bearpaw coast. Amalgamation of paleochannels--marked by laterally extensive horizons of bone fragments, lithic and intraclastic gravel--is more common seaward over the axial region of the Sweetgrass arch. End_of_Article - Last_Page 496------------


Some of this year, the issue of environmental health has always been an interesting thing to be discussed, especially concerning the problem of industrial waste in this case on the company\'s industrial waste or tofu. In this final project was designed and built a measurement system of waste water height of a shelter in the industry know. Measurement system design altitude of this waste water using ultrasonic sensors ping, then monitored and controlled remotely using FM radio waves with a frequency of 433 Mhz. Data obtained from the sensors will be sent via the transmitter to the receiver using FM radio waves, then the data is displayed on the computer.
From measurements have been performed, sensor have accuracy 0,01 cm, with minimum length 2 cm and maximum length 378 cm. For sending data, using FM radio waves with speed baudrate 1200 bps and 9600 bps with distance of transmitter and receiver are one meter. With speed baudrate 1200 bps, data high water level from sensor can�t displayed. But with speed baudrate 9600 bps, data high water level from sensor can displayed.


The bonding performance between a basalt fiber-reinforced composite material (BFRP) grid and an engineering cementitious composite (ECC) is the basis that affects the synergy between the two. However, the research on the bonding behavior between the FRP grid and ECC is limited; in particular, the theoretical study on the bond–slip intrinsic relationship model and a reliable anchorage length calculation equation is lacking. To study the bond–slip relationship between the BFRP grid and ECC material, we considered the parameters of BFRP grid thickness, anchorage length, ECC substrate protective layer thickness, and grid surface treatment, and conducted center pull-out tests on eight sets of specimens. By analyzing the characteristics of the bond–slip curve of the specimen, a bond–slip constitutive model between the BFRP grid and ECC was established. Combining the principle of equivalent strain energy, the calculation formula of the basic anchorage length of the BFRP grid in the ECC matrix was derived. Research shows that the bonding performance between the BFRP grid and ECC improves with the increase in the grid anchoring length, grid thickness, and ECC layer strength. Sand sticking on the surface of the BFRP grid can enhance the bonding force between the two. The established bond–slip constitutive model curve is in good agreement with the test curve. The bond–slip relationship between the BFRP grid and ECC can be described by the first two stages in the BPE model. The derived formula for calculating the basic anchorage length of the BFRP mesh in the ECC matrix is computationally verified to be reliable in prediction.


The second year of method development work was conducted on the ADTI-WP1 (Humidity Cell) and the ADTI-WP2 (Leaching Column) standard test methods. The performance of the leaching column method was superior to the humidity cell method. In making improvements to the leaching column method, variations in column diameter and water-handling/gas-handling procedures were evaluated. Two commercial laboratories and a university research lab participated in the study. Relative percent differences between duplicate samples and relative standard deviations between laboratories were evaluated. Surface area measurements, using BET methods, were conducted on each of 8 particle size classes, before and after weathering tests on 4 different lithologic samples. Observed alkalinity concentrations were consistent with the elevated PCO2 and approached saturation with respect to calcite for calcareous rocks. The maximum concentrations of acidity (33,700 mg/L), sulfates (37,404 mg/L) and iron (9,120 mg/L) for the high-sulfur coal refuse sample were consistent with the maximum concentrations observed in the field. The measured surface areas of the shale samples were significantly higher than the sandstone, limestone and coal- refuse samples. However, the surface area measurements post-weathering were not significantly different from the pre-weathering measurements for most rock samples and most particle size classes.


The object of this investigation is to assess the incidence of suicide and attempted suicide in children and young adults (less than 25 years) and to describe the therapeutic possibilities available for young people with suicidal behaviour in the social and health sectors. The investigations consisted partly of interviews with representatives for the leaders for the institutions who accept persons with threatened suicide in the Municipality of Copenhagen and partly by a questionnaire sent to all general practitioners in the Municipality of Copenhagen (percentage of replies 67, n = 215). These investigations revealed that about half of all the doctors had been in contact with a young person with threatened suicide and that casualty departments and the social institutions admit approximately one threatened suicide per week. There are no taboos which prevent doctors from working with suicidal thoughts but only half feel competent to cope with these young people alone. Simultaneously, half of the doctors find that their possibilities for referring persons in crisis are unsatisfactory. They refer these cases primarily to their own profession. In the Municipality of Copenhagen, only the social sector can offer genuine help to young people in crisis although the supply cannot meet the needs to any extent.


Since the establishment of ASTM standard C91, masonry cement mortars have become widely used for masonry construction in low to moderate seismic regions. However, the Masonry Standards Joint Committee Code prohibits the use of masonry cement mortars in lateral force resisting systems for structures that fall into Seismic Design Categories D, E, and F. The general objective of this study is to examine the appropriateness of this restriction in light of past research and, if necessary, propose additional research required to fill any existing knowledge gap. Since information about the specific impact of the physical and mechanical properties of masonry cement mortars on the seismic response of masonry shear walls is limited, this paper primarily focuses on research that has identified the influence of mortar on the behaviour of masonry assemblages. In particular, this paper summarizes the available literature on in-plane pier response as well as the response of masonry assemblages under axial compression, flexural tension, bed joint shear and diagonal tension. The primary gap identified through this literature review was the lack of experimental research that addressed the response of reinforced masonry shear walls constructed with masonry cement mortar. To establish a comprehensive and efficient research program to fill this gap, the available literature related to the behaviour of partially grouted reinforced masonry shear walls was also reviewed and key factors that influence response were established. The paper concludes by summarizing the primary findings of past research and briefly outlining the proposed experimental program.


Quantum algorithms for optimization problems are of general interest. Despite recent progress in classical lower bounds for nonconvex optimization under different settings and quantum lower bounds for convex optimization, quantum lower bounds for nonconvex optimization are still widely open. In this paper, we conduct a systematic study of quantum query lower bounds on finding $\epsilon$-approximate stationary points of nonconvex functions, and we consider the following two important settings: 1) having access to $p$-th order derivatives; or 2) having access to stochastic gradients. The classical query lower bounds is $\Omega\big(\epsilon^{-\frac{1+p}{p}}\big)$ regarding the first setting, and $\Omega(\epsilon^{-4})$ regarding the second setting (or $\Omega(\epsilon^{-3})$ if the stochastic gradient function is mean-squared smooth). In this paper, we extend all these classical lower bounds to the quantum setting. They match the classical algorithmic results respectively, demonstrating that there is no quantum speedup for finding $\epsilon$-stationary points of nonconvex functions with $p$-th order derivative inputs or stochastic gradient inputs, whether with or without the mean-squared smoothness assumption. Technically, our quantum lower bounds are obtained by showing that the sequential nature of classical hard instances in all these settings also applies to quantum queries, preventing any quantum speedup other than revealing information of the stationary points sequentially.


The scientific literature on radiation-protective drugs is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the mechanisms involved in determining the sensitivity of biological material to ionizing radiation and mechanisms of chemical radioprotection. In Section I, the types of radiation are described and the effects of ionizing radiation on biological systems are reviewed. The effects of ionizing radiation are briefly contrasted with the effects of non-ionizing radiation. Section II reviews the contributions of various natural factors which influence the inherent radiosensitivity of biological systems. Inlcuded in the list of these factors are water, oxygen, thiols, vitamins and antioxidants. Brief attention is given to the model describing competition between oxygen and natural radioprotective substances (principally, thiols) in determining the net cellular radiosensitivity. Several theories of the mechanism(s) of action of radioprotective drugs are described in Section III. These mechanisms include the production of hypoxia, detoxication of radiochemical reactive species, stabilization of the radiobiological target and the enhancement of damage repair processes. Section IV describes the current strategies for the treatment of radiation injury. Likely areas in which fruitful research might be performed are described in Section V. 495 references.


Objectives To determine baseline characteristics predictive of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) recovery in patients diagnosed with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and presumed non-ischaemic aetiology. Methods We prospectively recruited patients who were diagnosed with HFrEF (LVEF ≤40%) on echocardiography and subsequently underwent cardiac MRI. Patients were excluded if they had a known history of coronary artery disease (>70% on invasive coronary angiography), myocardial infarction, coronary revascularisation or anginal symptoms. At cardiac MRI assessment, patients were categorised as either ongoing HFrEF or heart failure with improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF, LVEF >40% with ≥10% of absolute improvement). Clinical characteristics were compared between the groups. Logistic regression was performed to identify variables that were associated with LVEF recovery. Optimal cut-offs in QRISK3 score and baseline LVEF for prediction of LVEF recovery were identified through receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results A total of 407 patients were diagnosed with HFrEF, and 139 (34%) attained HFimpEF at cardiac MRI assessment (median 63 days, IQR 41–119 days). Mean age of the patients was 63±12 years, and 260 (63.9%) were male. At multivariate logistic regression, both QRISK3 score (HR 0.978; 95% CI 0.963 to 0.993, p=0.004) and baseline LVEF (HR 1.044; 95% CI 1.015 to 1.073, p=0.002) were independent predictors of HFimpEF. Among patients with baseline LVEF ≤25%, only 22 (21.8%) recovered. In patients with baseline LVEF 25–40%, QRISK3 score >18% was associated with lack of recovery (HR 2.75; 95% CI 1.70 to 4.48, p<0.001). Additionally, QRISK3 score was associated with the presence of ischaemic late gadolinium enhancement (HR 1.035; 95% CI 1.018 to 1.053, p<0.001). Conclusions The QRISK3 score helps identify patients with HFrEF with undiagnosed vascular disease. Patients with either a very low baseline LVEF or a high QRISK3 score have less chance of left ventricular recovery and should be prioritised for early cardiac MRI and close monitoring.


The authors conducted a retrospective study to determine the outcome of foot surgery in full-time wheelchair users with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Medical records on all 88 teenaged boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy treated at the authors' institution were obtained and reviewed. Patients completed questions about shoe wear, pain, hypersensitivity, and cosmesis, and a foot examination was performed. There were no significant differences between patients who did and did not receive foot surgery with respect to shoe wear (P > 0.05), pain (P > 0.05), hypersensitivity (P > 0.05), or cosmesis (P > 0.05). Hindfoot motion was significantly better (P > 0.05) but equinus contracture was significantly worse (P > 0.05) in patients who had not had surgery.


Two public health objectives, one methodological and the other substantive, are realized in the present study. First, average survey ratings are replaced by negated mean cumulative logits (MCLs), which have the advantage of interitem commensuration. Second, these negated MCLs improve the analysis of two Florida tobacco control surveys of community leaders. Because of their common logit metric, negated MCLs for different item types are compared on their expressed antitobacco sentiment. They are also averaged to construct a precise indicator of overall sentiment. These results show that in 1998 and 1999, community leaders were most averse to selling to minors, kids buying cigarettes, and restaurant and workplace smoking. The latter aversion anticipated voters' overwhelming support of the 2002 Florida constitutional amendment prohibiting smoking in restaurants and workplaces. The authors hope that this analysis for antitobacco programs will improve other substance-abuse monitoring with surveys whose items are yet unwritten.


Twenty-six subjects performed orthographic, grammatical, evaluative, and self-referent orienting tasks. During each trial, integrated facial and forearm EMG activity, HR, and T-wave amplitude were monitored; following each trial, response latency and either reported task difficulty (Replication 1) or cognitive effort (Replication 2) were assessed; and recall was assessed at the conclusion of the session. Recall was poorest when words were judged in terms of their orthographic appearance, moderate when words were judged in terms of their grammatical or evaluative features, and best when words were judged for their self-descriptiveness, even though response latency was longest and reported effort was greatest for the grammatical task. Results also revealed that somatovisceral responses varied across tasks, with clear differences emerging between semantic and nonsemantic processing and between evaluative and self-referent processing. Results suggest that cognitive effort, rather than encoding efficacy, influences task-evoked somatic responses.


This study evaluated strategies to improve motorist compliance and caution at three stop-sign-controlled intersections with a history of motor vehicle crashes. The primary intervention was a light-emitting diode (LED) sign that featured animated eyes scanning left and right to prompt drivers to look left and right for approaching traffic. Data were scored from videotape on the percentage of drivers coming to a complete stop and the percentage of drivers looking right before entering the intersection. Observational data were collected on the percentage of right-angle conflicts (defined as braking suddenly or swerving from the path to avoid an intersection crash). The introduction of the LED sign according to a multiple baseline across the three intersections was associated with an increase in the percentage of vehicles coming to a complete stop at all three intersections and a small increase in the percentage of drivers looking right before entering the intersections. Conflicts between vehicles on the major and minor road were also reduced following the introduction of the animated eyes prompt.


Egg allergy has been reported as the most prevalent food hypersensitivity among children. One of the major egg allergens is ovalbumin (OVA). OVA is the major protein in the egg white, comprising 54% of its total protein content. Curcumin isolated from Curcuma longa has been used as folk remedies in order to treat many chronic diseases for many years. In the present report, we present biochemical evidence that curcumin inhibits the NF- activation induced by OVA. Curcumin also inhibits OVA-induced iNOS expression and nitrite production. These data suggest new approaches for the development of efficient anti-allergic strategies.


Despite the improvements in the access to and use of information and communication technology (ICT) around the world, there is evidence which suggest that a persistent digital divide between and within countries. ICT increases the flexibility of delivery of education so that learners can access knowledge anytime and from anywhere. It can influence the way students are taught and how they learn as now the processes are learner driven and not by teachers. This in turn would better prepare the learners for lifelong learning as well as to improve the quality of learning. It can improve the quality of teaching-learning and thus contribute to the development of Ethiopia. Nowhere is the ICT gap more evident than in the education system and practices. This study assesses ICTs in supporting educational practices of Ethiopia for transforming into a knowledgeand information-based society and economy. It also focus on the benefits that ICT integration in education system can provide, right from breaking time and distance barriers to facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing among instructors and students. The paper further argues the role of ICT in transforming teaching and learning and seeks to explore how this will impact on the way programs will be offered and delivered in the universities of the future. The role of the instructor is utterly critical here. Yet a primary barrier to instructors' readiness and confidence in using ICT, despite general enthusiasm and belief in benefits for learners, is their lack of relevant preparation, either initially or inservice. Research indicates that, until recently, training opportunities have remained limited in availability and inconsistent in quality. This has resulted in demonstrably low proficiency in using ICT, and a general lack of knowledge about technology in teaching and learning. There are some recent examples of successful practice in developing ICT use in Ethiopian higher education institutes through its integration. Moreover, the recent global economic downturn has amplified the shortage of public funds to devote to the already expensive business of training instructors to use ICT. Increasingly, large class size and the designation of ICT as a discrete subject, lead to a dire lack of instructors trained to integrate technology into teaching-learning in their areas. These are fundamental challenges to be overcome before ICT capacity building can become a reality in higher education institutes. This paper concludes that regardless of all the limitations characterizing it, ICT benefits education systems to provide quality education in alignment with constructivism, which is a contemporary paradigm of learning. It also identifies a need for instructors and higher education institutes to integrate ICT into teaching and learning using contemporary pedagogical approaches. Finally, it focuses on understanding what a knowledge society is and exploring its relationship to ICT, Education and Development. It thereafter considers trends in ICT integration in Education and Development and highlights some of the challenges in implementing ICT in education initiatives in Ethiopia. Ideally instructors will be assisted to work collaboratively over time with peers, and to learn from one another's innovations and experiences. This requires prioritisation of ICT and continuous professional development that is pedagogically sound and aligned with wider policy interests, and means offering sufficient support and time for instructors to get to grips with new technologies. Underpinning these recommendations is development of locally produced, contextually relevant course content for both instructors and learners.


Mimesis was essential to the birth of Haitian Vodou art. During the 1940s, worker-artists in urban Haiti imitated foreign entrepreneurs' imitations of their imagined essence. Yet the role of mimetic interplay in folk-art reproduction was concealed by loftier claims of authenticity. This essay reports on one minor instance of this contradiction as a means of engaging modes of seeing, representing, and consuming the exotic folk essence of the Haitian nation. A local scandal erupted after children from an elementary school in the Chicago area created inventive copies of the allegedly sacred objects they had viewed at a major exhibit of Haitian Vodou art. Discussion of this incident is illuminated by memoirs of travel and other texts by experts who participated in the birth of Haitian ethnology, tourism, and Vodou art during the mid-twentieth century's "golden age of Haitian tourism." Ethnographic research over the past two-and-a-half decades on Haitians' religious practice and discourse in Port-au-Prince and Leogane, Haiti, and in South Florida further informs this discussion.


Background: Orthodontic patients may present with complex dentofacial problems that require treatment by more than one dental specialist as well as medical specialists. Such patients present not only with malocclusion but also dental caries, periodontal diseases, dental trauma, missing teeth, sleep apnoea among others. Multi-disciplinary management allows for effective and efficient comprehensive care. The aim of this study was to highlight the multidisciplinary care of orthodontic patients at University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: A 7-year retrospective study of patients who attended the Orthodontic Clinic in the Department of Child Dental Health, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Data collected from the patients' files was analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics for Windows version 25.0. Results: A total of 200 patients with an age range of 4-44years comprising 80 (40%) males and 120 (60%) females were included in the study. The majority of patients, 145 (72.5%) had scaling and polishing performed by paediatric dentists whilst 53 (26.5%) adult patients were seen by a periodontologist. Eight (4%) had root canal therapy, composite and glass ionomer cement (GIC) restorations placement by a restorative dentist whilst 6 (3%) had teeth replaced by the prosthodontist. The patients were also co-managed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons (28,14%), Ear Nose and Throat surgeons (3,1.5%), paediatricians (5, 2.5%) and neurosurgeons (2, 1%). Conclusion: Multidisciplinary management of our patients was by both medical and dental specialists particularly paediatric dentists and periodontists.


Individuals who violate expectations increase uncertainty during social interactions. Three experiments explored whether expectancy-violating partners engender "threat" responses in perceivers. Participants interacted with confederates who violated or confirmed expectations while multiple measures were assessed, including cardiovascular reactivity, task performance, appraisals, and behavior. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants interacted with White or Latino confederates who described their family backgrounds as either high or low socioeconomic status. In Experiment 3, participants interacted with Asian or White confederates who spoke with expected accents or southern accents. Participants interacting with expectancy-violating partners (e.g., Asians with southern accents) exhibited cardiovascular responses consistent with threat, poorer task performance, and manifested negative and defeat-related behavior. Implications for decreasing prejudicial responses via uncertainty reduction are discussed.


Simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) challenge stocks are critical for preclinical testing of vaccines, antibodies, and other interventions aimed to prevent HIV-1. A major unmet need for the field has been the lack of a SHIV challenge stock expressing circulating recombinant form 01_AE (CRF01_AE) env sequences. We therefore sought to develop mucosally transmissible SHIV challenge stocks containing HIV-1 CRF01_AE env derived from acutely HIV-1 infected individuals from Thailand. SHIV-AE6, SHIV-AE6RM, and SHIV-AE16 contained env sequences that were >99% identical to the original HIV-1 isolate and did not require in vivo passaging. These viruses exhibited CCR5 tropism and displayed a tier 2 neutralization phenotype. These challenge stocks efficiently infected rhesus monkeys by the intrarectal route, replicated to high levels during acute infection, and established chronic viremia in a subset of animals. SHIV-AE16 was titrated for use in single, high dose as well as repetitive, low dose intrarectal challenge studies. These SHIV challenge stocks should facilitate the preclinical evaluation of vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and other interventions targeted at preventing HIV-1 CRF01_AE infection.


In this paper, some considerations on religious experience are explained, from a phenomenological perspective. The starting point is the human being's religious structure, and focuses in religious experience as experience of personal meeting with trascendence, leading in mystic experience as eight of this meet-ing and characterized by a whole of specifics phenomenological features. Finally, it is emphasized the requirement of caution when mystic experience is valued, specially if valuation is carried out from psychopathology.


Recently, an equation was developed to predict maximal acceptable effort (MAE) for repetitive tasks based on the product of task frequency and effort duration (ie. duty cycle). This equation has been shown to closely match data from psychophysical studies of the upper extremities. In the current paper, the applicability of this equation was tested on lifting and lowering data from Snook and Ciriello (1991) and was found to fit closely, even at very low duty cycles.


A massive body of literature characterises the impact of poverty on health outcomes. In 1817, Rene Villerme, a young French surgeon (and later economist-cum-social commentator), demonstrated stark differences in life expectancy across Parisian neighbourhoods or arondissements .1 This demonstration of disparities in basic health outcomes across income levels helped configure our early understanding of the 'social determinants of health'. These determinants refer to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including income, housing and education, among others. Even 200 years after Villerme, with so many technological advances both within and outside of healthcare, the unequal distribution of resources across society continues to exert tremendous influence on the health outcomes of individuals and their communities.2–5

In this issue of BMJ Quality and Safety , two papers draw attention to just some of the ways in which poverty directly affects the types of issues many in quality improvement (QI) aim to address. In their viewpoint article on the importance of simplifying care when managing chronic diseases for patients living in poverty, Nwadiuko and Sander describe a patient who will regrettably seem all too familiar to many primary care providers.6 The patient, a 52-year-old mother, has chronic medical conditions which include cirrhosis due to hepatitis C, uterine fibroids, hypertension and migraines. She struggles to manage these medical problems while also serving as the primary caregiver of a daughter with bipolar disease, along with nine grandchildren. She has been mired in poverty for years. And, on the day of this clinic visit, her primary care physician learns that she has recently been evicted from her home. Her resilience in simply making it to the appointment is striking enough, yet the authors argue that, as the therapeutic burden for patients with comorbidities has increased, we have failed to …


Many applications of spoken-language systems can benefit from having access to annotations of prosodic events. Unfortu-nately, obtaining human annotations of these events, even sen-sible amounts to train a supervised system, can become a la-borious and costly effort. In this paper we explore applying conditional random fields to automatically label major and minor break indices and pitch accents from a corpus of recorded and transcribed speech using a large set of fully automatically-extracted acoustic and linguistic features. We demonstrate the robustness of these features when used in a discriminative training framework as a function of reducing the amount of training data. We also explore adapting the baseline system in an unsupervised fashion to a target dataset for which no prosodic labels are available, and show how, when operating at point where only limited amounts of data are available, an unsupervised approach can offer up to an additional 3% improvement.


This study attempts to develop a nanocore-shell structure with photomagnetic nature. The structure is then allowed undergo conjugation reaction with the DNAs of different sequences so that it can be applied to target-based drug therapy and biomedical-related areas. First of all, iron platinum (FePt) magnetic nanofluid with an average particle size of 2–3 nm is prepared by a chemical method. After that, zinc sulfide with a fluorescent nature is used to modify the surface of the nanoparticles so as to form a core-shell structure. The shell thickness in this kind of core-shell structure can be controlled at 5–10 nm by a fabrication process. The FePt nanoparticles being modified by zinc sulfide not only can enhance the dispersed suspension of nanoparticles, but also have good optical nature. The prepared nanocore-shell structured particles are conjugated with two groups of DNA of different sequences respectively. Nanoparticles before and after being conjugated and the structure of DNA are not deteriorated or altered because of the principle of positive and negative charges attraction. Conjugation efficiency is 64% and 77% respectively. A bridge DNA and two groups of DNA of different sequences are conjugated. Moreover, the occurrence of hybridization is proven through the analyses of the UV-vis spectrum. Analyses by fluorescence spectrometer show that the luminescence for modified ZnS and nanoparticles after hybridization respectively increases significantly.


Plant cell cultures have been industrially used for the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Different elicitors, [jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and ethephone (E)] and precursors [shicimic acid (SH) and phenylalanine (PHE)] were independently used to enhance the synthesis of phenolics in suspension cultures of Vitis vinifera c.v. Muscat de Frontignan followed by chemical analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Differences between the treated and untreated in vitro grape cultures were confirmed statistically. On day 2, JA, SA and SH significantly increased phenolic acid contents with E on day 4 (p < 0.05). The grape cells treated with SA, E, SH, and PHE increased biomass whereas JA led to decreases over time. From the chemical analysis of V. vinifera suspension cell cultures, two major resveratrol derivatives; 3-O-glucosyl-resveratrol and 4-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-phenol were in high concentrations after treatment most especially with JA. These results show that elicitors (JA, SA, and E) and the precursor SH can be economically used to enhance the synthesis of phenolic compounds in V. vinifera within a very short time lapse. Furthermore, these enhancers could be used to target the rapid extraction of medicinally important resveratrols for pharmaceutical purposes. Key words: Vitis vinifera, phenolic acids, resveratrol, elicitors, precursors


As the chief executive officer, the superintendent must demonstrate high quality performance at every level in order to impact student achievement. In order to be an effective superintendent, the individual must have knowledge and skills in educational leadership and be able to articulate information clearly and precisely about the school district, state and federal accountability systems, policy related to student achievement and personnel practices. The American Association of School Administrators states that the superintendent must know policy for collective bargaining processes for the state/local schools, school district policy and administrative regulations, district finances and budget matters, model the use of technology for instruction and management and should know the role of the Board of Education (AASA, 2011). Superintendents do not work alone, but work in collaboration with school personnel, leadership teams, broader communities and the Board of Education to ensure a productive school system. The responsibilities of the superintendent are many. The superintendent has the task to supervise the general conduct of district schools, instructional curriculum, handle school district management affairs, hiring appropriate personnel and dismissal of personnel based on state policy through the human resources management office. For the local schools, the superintendent should seek ways to encourage the practices of learning communities within the school district for the purpose of working together to improve teaching instructional skills based on the needs of students and if effective will promote higher student learning (Stoll, 2006). This study will focus on skills and knowledge needed for superintendents, what parents want, value of data, strategic planning, effective communication, learning community practices of ethics and morals, technology as a resource, and the characteristics of high performing schools.


ABSTRACT We investigated the swelling pressure of synthetic bituminized waste products (BWPs) and the amount of Na+ in the leachate from them under a constant-volume condition when the BWPs were in contact with water to understand influences of salt content on the surrounding environments after disposal of radioactive BWPs in a geological repository. The observation of the cross section of the synthetic BWP specimens revealed that micropores, which were formed after soluble salts leached out from the specimens, shrank and deformed near the surface of the specimens. The salt content in the synthetic BWP specimens depended on the amount of water taken up, indicating that an increase in the amount of water led to increases in the swelling pressure and the cumulative amount of Na+ in the leachate. It was found that the shrinkage and deformation of the micropores near the surface of the synthetic BWP specimens that arose under the constant-volume condition significantly influenced increases in the swelling pressure and cumulative amount of Na+ in the leachate.


Saudi Arabia is a focal point of the entire world because it is home to two of Islam's most holy sites: Mecca and Medina, as well as the repository of at least one-quarter of the world's oil reserves. The country itself, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the home to a relatively small population of 20,000,000. Its government walks a fine line between trying to please the turbulent Arab world, including its own people, and the powerful non-Arab world ready to go to war for access to its oil. This book brings together background information, timely analyses and a selective bibliography.


Whereas many good examples can be found of the study of urban morphology informing the design of new residential areas in Europe, it is much more difficult to find examples relating to other land uses and outside of Europe. This paper addresses a particular issue, the control and coordination of large and complex development schemes within cities, and, in doing so, considers commercial and mixed-use schemes outside of Europe. It is argued that urban morphology has much to offer for both the design of such development and its implementation over time. Firstly, lessons are drawn from the work of Krier and Rossi in Berlin, the form-based guidance developed in Chelmsford, UK, and the redesign and coordination of the Melrose Arch project in Johannesburg, SA. A recent development at Boggo Road in Brisbane, Australia, is then subjected to a more detailed examination. It is argued that the scheme has been unsatisfactory in terms of both design and implementation. An alternative framework based on historical morphological studies is proposed that would overcome these deficiencies. It is proposed that this points the way to a general approach that could be incorporated within the planning process internationally.


The present study uses different ANN training algorithms to predict soil type classification and evaluates the output of their training. Studies were done on the soil of Shahrekord (Iran), using a database consists of 120 soil samples. The used data includes the results of standard impact and penetration tests, classification and Atterberg limits. Because of diverse training algorithms in neural networks, the selection of the optimal training function can increase the accuracy of network predictions. For this purpose, several training functions and algorithms were used in the ANN modeling. To evaluate the performance of proposed models, relations of coefficient of residual mass (CRM), coefficient of determination (COD) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used. The comparison and evaluation of training with various algorithms show that the Levenberg-Marquardt training function with very high accuracy in network training is the optimal training function used in the prediction of geotechnical parameters of soil, including soil type.


Cell Biology
The microtubule-severing enzyme spastin is mutated in the inherited neural disease, or axonopathy, called hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) within cells, including neurons, plays a role in defining the position and timing of endosomal tubule fission. Allison et al. identified a role for spastin at ER-endosome contact sites during endosomal tubule fission. Failure of this process caused problems in lysosomal enzyme trafficking. Lysosomal abnormalities developed in primary cortical neurons from a spastin-HSP mouse model, human stem cell–derived neurons from a spastin-HSP patient, and neurons from mice lacking the ER-shaping protein REEP1. All of these neurons developed pathological axonal swellings associated with accumulations of abnormal lysosomes. Failure to correctly manage lysosome biogenesis may play a role in multiple HSPs and possibly other neurodegenerative conditions.

J. Cell Biol. 10.1083/jcb201609033 (2017).


BACKGROUND
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains a major complication of prematurity and currently lacks efficient treatments. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been extensively explored as a potential therapy in several preclinical and clinical settings. Human and animal MSCs have been shown to prevent and treat lung injury in various preclinical models of lung diseases, including experimental BPD.

OBJECTIVES
To determine if MSCs, administered intravenously or endotracheally, are safe and effective in preventing or treating BPD, or both, in preterm infants.

SEARCH METHODS
We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2016, Issue 10), MEDLINE via PubMed (1966 to 6 November 2016), Embase (1980 to 6 November 2016), and CINAHL (1982 to 6 November 2016). We also searched clinical trials databases, conference proceedings, and the reference lists of retrieved articles for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We considered RCTs and quasi-RCTs investigating prevention or treatment of BPD, or both, in preterm infants.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed trial quality according to prespecified criteria.

MAIN RESULTS
We found no RCTs or quasi-RCTs addressing the use of MSCs for prevention or treatment of BPD in premature infants. Two RCTs are currently registered and ongoing.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There is insufficient evidence to determine the safety and efficacy of MSCs in the treatment or prevention of BPD in premature infants. The results of the ongoing trials addressing this issue are expected in the near future.


Study of the clinical course of myocardial infarction, the mortality of ischemic heart disease and its morphological manifestations showed the "rejuvenation" of myocardial infarction and an increase in its incidence depending on the duration of residence under conditions of Norilsk. The pecularities of the clinical course of myocardial infarction are determined and attention is drawn to the essential pathogenetic role of arterial hypertension in the formation and manifestation of ischemic heart disease in young residents of Norilsk.


While defect oriented testing in digital circuits is a hard process, detecting a modeled fault more than one time has been shown to result in high defect coverage. Previous work shows that such test sets, known as multiple detect or n-detect test sets, are of increased quality for a number of common defects in deep sub-micrometer technologies. Method for multiple detect test generation usually produce fully specified test patterns. This limits their usage in a number of important applications such as low power test and test compression. This work proposes a systematic methodology for identifying a large number of bits that can be unspecified in a multiple detect (n-detect) test set, while preserving the original fault coverage. The experimental results demonstrate that the number of specified bits in, even compact, n-detect test sets can be significantly reduced without any impact on the n-detect property. Additionally, in many cases, the size of the test set is reduced.


We report the generation and manipulation of spatial gradients in surfactant and micelle concentration across microfluidic channels by combining use of a redox-active surfactant with electrochemical methods. The approach is founded on the observation that 11-ferrocenylundecyltrimethylammonium bromide (FTMA) behaves as a surfactant in aqueous solution (e.g., self-assembles to form micelles at a critical concentration of 0.1 mM in aqueous 0.1 M Li(2)SO(4)) whereas oxidized FTMA remains dispersed in a monomeric state up to concentrations of at least 30 mM. By flowing aqueous FTMA solutions through microfluidic channels (width of 80 microm, depth of 72 microm, and length of 42 mm) and by applying potentials of 0 V (vs Ag|AgCl; cathode) and +0.3 V (vs Ag|AgCl; anode) to gold electrodes lining both side-walls of the microfluidic channels, we measured lateral gradients in concentration of oxidized FTMA and reduced FTMA to be generated across the microfluidic channels by splitting the exiting stream into four channels. These measurements revealed the lateral concentration profile of FTMA to be consistent with the presence of slowly diffusing micelles of FTMA in a spatially localized region near the cathode and monomeric FTMA only near the anode. The lateral concentration profiles of reduced and oxidized FTMA, and thus the patterning of micelles within the microfluidic channels, were manipulated via changes in the inlet FTMA concentration, potentials applied to the electrodes, and flow rate. These experimental measurements were compared to a simple model, which assumed fast electrode kinetics, lateral transport of FTMA by diffusion only (no migration), and local micelle-monomer equilibrium within the bulk solution. This comparison revealed qualitative but not quantitative agreement between model and experiment. Calculations of ionic conductivity and associated experimental measurements support the proposition that Ohmic resistance to the passage of current along the channel (between the working and the counter electrodes) contribute, in part, to the lack of quantitative agreement between the model and the measurements. The capability to generate and manipulate lateral concentration profiles of surfactants and micelles across microfluidic channels, as demonstrated by the results presented in this paper, offers the basis of new principles for continuous separation processes and microanalytical systems, and more broadly, new methods to generate gradients in concentration of analytes that interact with surfactants.


Abstract. The "On melting ground. Arctic Archaeology" conference
took place in Chemnitz, Germany, from 20 to 22 October 2021. The smac
(Staatliches Museum für Archäologie Chemnitz) arranged the
international conference in cooperation with the Eurasia Department of the
German Archaeological Institute (DAI) to help prepare for the special
exhibition "On Thin Ice" (working title), which is planned to open in
autumn 2023 in Chemnitz. The conference was hybrid, allowing people to
participate in person or from home. The language was English or Russian,
made possible with excellent simultaneous translation. A few of the
presentations will be summarised in this conference review. To gain a complete overview of the
conference, please follow the link to smac's web page, where you can find the
abstracts of all the presentations: https://www.smac.sachsen.de/fortbildungen-Info_Arktische_Archaeologie_Tagung.html (last access: 20 December 2022).


Background: Despite the different pathophysiological mechanisms of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, hypertensive disorders (HTD) in pregnancy are hypothesized to increase the risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, previous studies investigating the association between HTD in pregnancy and incident CVD have not accounted for time-varying confounding. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 156,967 women with a first recorded pregnancy between the ages of 15-45 years and no prior history of chronic hypertension or CVD. Exposure was defined as a composite of: 1) a diagnosis of HTD in pregnancy or new hypertension; 2) high systolic or diastolic blood pressure readings; or 3) a prescription for anti-hypertensive agents between 20 weeks gestation and 6 weeks postpartum. Our primary outcome was incident CVD, defined as a composite endpoint of coronary artery disease and related procedures, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Our secondary outcome was chronic hypertension. Marginal structural Cox models were used to account for important time-varying confounders. In secondary analyses, exposure was sub-classified as 1) pre-eclampia or eclampsia; and 2) other HTD of pregnancy. In sensitivity analyses, an approach analogous to an intention-to-treat analysis was used. Results: The mean age at cohort entry was 29 years (SD 6). HTDs in pregnancy were associated with an approximately 3 times higher rate of CVD and 7 times higher rate of hypertension (Table). Similar results were obtained when using an intention-to-treat approach. The increased rate of incident CVD was greater with other HTDs in pregnancy than with preeclampsia/eclampsia, while both groups had a similarly increased rate of hypertension. Conclusions: Women who are exposed to HTD in pregnancy are at increased risk of developing future CVD. These results suggest that a more aggressive approach to management for CVD risk factors should be taken in women with a history of HTD in pregnancy.


The aim of conservation agriculture (CA) is to improve soil quality and crop yield whilst reducing runoff and topsoil erosion. An experiment was carried out in a rainfed field using a permanent raised bed planting system for 3 yr (2005–2007) in Adigudem, northern Ethiopia in order to evaluate the effect of CA on runoff, soil loss and crop yield. CA practices were introduced in fields with Vertisols in a randomized complete block design on permanent 5 × 19 m plots. Three treatments were evaluated: (1) conventional tillage (CT) with a minimum of three tillage operations and removal of crop residues, (2) terwah (TER) that was similar to CT except that contour furrows were included at 1.5 m intervals, and (3) derdero+ (DER+), which consists of permanent raised beds with a furrow and bed system, retention of 30% of standing crop residues and zero tillage on the top of the bed. All ploughing as well as the maintenance of the furrows of the permanent raised beds was done using a local ard plough called maresha. Results from monitoring over 3 yr showed that soil loss and runoff were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in CT followed by TER and DER+. Average soil losses of 5.2, 20.1 and 24.2 t/ha were recorded from DER+, TER and CT, respectively. Runoff was 46.3, 76.3 and 98.1 mm from DER+, TER and CT, respectively. Grain yield was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in DER+ under teff in 2006, probably due to the high sensitivity of teff to weeds. The yield of wheat in 2007 was significantly higher in DER+ followed by TER. The terwah system is recommended as a first measure for wider adoption to reduce runoff and soil loss and to increase crop yield. The long‐term goal is to achieve a derdero+ system, i.e. a permanent raised bed planting system along with the application of crop residues.


Olfactory sensory neurons connect to the antennal lobe of the fly to create the primary units for processing odor cues, the glomeruli. Unique amongst antennal-lobe neurons is an identified wide-field serotonergic neuron, the contralaterally-projecting, serotonin-immunoreactive deutocerebral neuron (CSDn). The CSDn spreads its termini all over the contralateral antennal lobe, suggesting a diffuse neuromodulatory role. A closer examination, however, reveals a restricted pattern of the CSDn arborization in some glomeruli. We show that sensory neuron-derived Eph interacts with Ephrin in the CSDn, to regulate these arborizations. Behavioural analysis of animals with altered Eph-ephrin signaling and with consequent arborization defects suggests that neuromodulation requires local glomerular-specific patterning of the CSDn termini. Our results show the importance of developmental regulation of terminal arborization of even the diffuse modulatory neurons to allow them to route sensory-inputs according to the behavioural contexts.


Addressing health and safety of people in any organization reflect the quality of service it provides to its stakeholders. Faculty and students in an academic institution being the most important stakeholders must be fully satisfied. Facilities that are adequate and functional in an organization become one of the bases for ensuring client satisfaction. Aside from these, soft structures in the form of policies that addresses health and safety concerns and issues can also influence satisfaction of its stakeholders.


A novel, vertical-axis wind turbine has been designed and analyzed for use in crowded urban and rooftop environments. The features of the turbine include a contoured blade which maximizes the rotational velocity while minimizing drag. The analysis of the device consisted of a two-step procedure which encompassed a fully three-dimensional simulation of the fluid flow around the blade and then a time-stepping procedure that allowed the determination of the rotational velocity of the turbine. The calculations were carried out for wind velocities that ranged from 10 to 30 miles per hour. The resulting rotational velocity of the turbine was 137 revolutions per minute for wind velocities of 30 miles per hour. On the other hand, wind speeds of 20 and 10 miles per hour led to rotational velocities of 91 and 43 revolutions per minute, respectively. When the entire set of results was assembled, it was possible to provide a simple expression which relates the rotational velocity to wind speed. This result will enable wind-power developers to predict the rotation and subsequent power generation from the turbine in advance of installation. The results indicate that this turbine design will generate appreciable electricity for local consumption.