The impact of poultry droppings in the bioremediation of crude oil-polluted soil was evaluated. Different concentrations of the poultry droppings (10%, 30%, and 50%) were also studied. The physicochemical and microbiological properties of the soil were monitored for a period of 6 months. The poultry droppings had total heterotrophic bacterial and fungal counts of 4.2 × 104cfu/g and 1.8 × 104 cfu/g respectively. The total hydrocarbon utilizers increased progressively from month 2 to month 3, after which a decline from month 4 down occuured. The total heterotrophic microbial counts also increased from month 2 to month 4 followed by a decline from month 5 down. The control showed slight increase in microbial growth. The microbial growth rate increased as the concentration of the poultry droppings increased. Statistical analyses showed a significant difference at (P<0.05), level for the amended options and control. The total hydrocarbon content of the oil-polluted soil decreased from 6609.83 to 2951.37ml/g. Bacillus spp Pseudomonas spp Flavobacterium spp Fusarium spp, Aspergillus spp were isolated. Alkaline pH was observed in the poultry droppings as well as in the amended soils at 50% and lowest at the control. Ecotoxicity assay, measured in terms of germination index was used to evaluate the extent of contaminant removal.. Using seeds of Viciafaba, germination index of 95 % was observed in the 50 % amended option only. The study therefore showed that poultry droppings can serve as a good remediation material in the reclamation of a crude oil-polluted lithosphere.


We tested the ability of cellular oncogene (c-onc) probes to identify F1 hybrids and the lineage of known backcrosses within the fish genus Morone. Total DNA was isolated from five to 14 individuals per North American Morone species (striped bass, white bass, white perch, and yellow bass). The DNA was digested with two restriction enzymes, Eco RI and Hin dIII, Southern blotted, and hybridized to six different c-onc probes including v-abl, v-erb B, c-myc, c-H-ras, c-K-ras, and v-src. We found fixed genotypic differences among the four species for all six probes in single restriction enzyme digests. The heritability of these nuclear DNA genotypes was evaluated in hatchery-produced F1 Morone hybrids (striped bass x white bass and striped bass x white perch) tested with the six informative single probe/restriction enzyme combinations. All F1 individuals exhibited heterozygosity in all diagnostic nuclear DNA fragments, confirming the Mendelian inheritance of these genotypes in these fish. Furthermore, analysis of these nuclear DNA genotypes in hatchery-produced backcrosses of F1 hybrids striped bass x (white bass x striped bass) detected both recombinant and parental genotypes at all six polymorphic c-onc sequences. The lineage of suspected Morone hybrids of unknown descent collected from Lewis Smith Lake, Alabama, and from the Occoquan River, Virginia, was determined using the c-onc probes. Our results suggest that c-onc probes are suitable markers to unequivocally identify F1 hybrids and backcrosses and to quantify introgression in natural populations of fishes. The addition of RFLP analysis of mtDNA provided a complete ancestral history of individual fish.


A strategy of distributed load balancing based on hybrid scheduling (LBHS) is proposed in this paper. This method is a hybrid scheduling strategy, which is based on the static allocation, and used dynamic scheduling system with the amply consideration of all the factors in the process of load balancing. This method can improve the utilization of the processor. The method is tested in the land surface disaster and ecology model. The result indicates that the strategy could improve the performance of parallel computing effectively, especially in the case that the size and data of the task is partially mastered beforehand.


Apert syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disease associated with abnormalities of skull, face and limbs. These patients present for different types of surgeries. To the anesthesiologists,they pose special challenge during airway management, manifesting as difficulty in bag-mask ventilation and increased incidence of airway obstruction. Here, we report a case of a child with Apert syndrome undergoing syndactyly release under general anesthesia, in whom severe bronchospasm and a failed bag-mask ventilation occurred during the emergence of anesthesia requiring re-insertion of laryngeal mask airway.


BACKGROUND
Mental health problems are leading causes for early and prolonged withdrawal from the workforce. Green work on care farms represents a prevocational training program intended to stimulate return to work for people with mental health problems. Research suggests that care farms may improve mental health, but there is still little knowledge of the subjective perspective of clients in green work programs.

OBJECTIVE
To gain a deeper and broader understanding of the individual experiences of people with mental health problems participating in green work on care farms in Norway.

METHODS
A hermeneutic phenomenological research design was applied. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted. The self-determination theory (SDT) was adapted to gain a deeper understanding of the themes that emerged in the analysis process of the interviews.

RESULTS
Five main themes materialize describing participants' experiences within the green work program. The main themes consist of (1) structure and flexibility, (2) understanding and acknowledgement, (3) guidance and positive feedback, (4) nature and animals, and (5) reflections on personal functioning and the future.

CONCLUSION
The main themes identified indicate a high degree of autonomy support and need satisfaction within the care farm context, which according to SDT can facilitate good human functioning, and well-being.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the intensity, spread and sensitivity of chronic pain can be predicted using demographic features, socioeconomic conditions and comorbidities.

DESIGN
A longitudinal study design was employed. Data was collected at baseline and at 2-year follow-up.

SETTING
General population in south-eastern Sweden.

SUBJECTS
A representative stratified random sample of 34,000 individuals, between 18 and 85 years of age, selected from a sampling frame of 404,661 individuals based on the Swedish Total Population Register.

METHODS
Eligible individuals were sent postal surveys in 2013 and 2015. The 2 surveys included the same questions about basic demographic data, comorbidities, and chronic pain intensity, spread and sensitivity.

RESULTS
Several socio-demographic features and comorbidities at baseline were significant predictors of characteristics of pain (intensity, spread and sensitivity) at the 2-year follow-up. When characteristics of pain at baseline were included in the regression analyses they were relatively strong significant predictors of characteristics of pain after 2 years. After this adjustment there were fewer socio-demogra-phic and comorbidity predictors; the effect estimates for those significant predictors had decreased.

CONCLUSION
Clinical assessment should focus on several characteristics of pain and include a broad medical screening to capture the overall burden of pain in adults from a longitudinal perspective.


A new technique using Au-on-Pt films to measure spinning wafer temperature during ion implantation has been developed. The technique utilises the phenomenon of Pt diffusion into Au in an Au/Pt system at high temperatures. Wafer temperature is calculated from the resistivity change of the Au film due to Pt diffusion. This technique was successfully applied to measure the temperature of wafers mounted on a spinning disc in oxygen-ion implantation.


Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face the same challenges in their ITdepartments as their bigger counterparts. In this article, we will take a quick look at existing best practices to deal with those challenges. Also, we will discuss a generic approach to introduce ITStructure and IT-Management in an actual SMEs using these best practice methods.


Since a large amount of information is added onto the internet on a daily basis, the efficiency of peer-to-peer (P2P) search has become increasingly important. However, how to quickly discover the right resource in a large-scale P2P network without generating too much network traffic and with minimum possible time remain highly challenging. In this paper, we propose a new P2P search method by applying the concept of data mining (decision tree) in order to improve search performance. We focus on routing queries to the right destination. Through a super-peer-based architecture, peers having similar interests are grouped together under a super-peer (SP) connected to a Meta-Super-Peer (MSP) operating with an index (decision tree) to predict the relevant domains (super-peers) to answer a given query. Compared with a super-peer based approach, our proposal architectures show the effect of the data mining with better performance with respect to response time and precision.


Background: On 12th September 2011, unusual poultry deaths were reported from a poultry farm at Putimari Christianpara under Tehatta Gram Panchayat. On 14th September there were more deaths accordingly, samples were collected and sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Kolkata. Preliminary reports confirmed the presence of avian influenza. High Security Disease Detection Laboratory at Bhopal confirmed avian influenza. The state Govt notified the outbreak as avian influenza on 19th September 2010. This outbreak was investigated and epidemiological characteristic & containment measures were described. Material and Methods: Operational definition of avian influenza was established. Fever surveillance in animals and human beings was conducted within 10 kms radius of epicenters. Culling was conducted. All health workers, and cullers were examined and prophylaxis was administered. Results: Out of total 56 Gram Panchayat 25(45%) were affected. Out of 568 villages 131(23%) were affected. Out of 131 affected villages 22 were in the core area and the rest outside. Population affected was estimated to be 400007. Mean population covered per day was 104603 (26%). Conclusion: In all 217 cases were detected with upper respiratory tract but none matched the case definition of avian influenza.


Improving the environmental performance of chemical processes and feedstocks has become an objective of the chemical industry and policymakers alike In this chapter, indicators of innovation in selected fields of green chemistry are proposed using patent data. Among these, biochemical fuel cells and green plastics are the two areas that have shown the most growth, while totally chlorine-free pulp and paper and biodegradable packaging are past their innovation peak. Patenting in industrial biotechnology has increased but no more than for the chemistry sector overall. Qualitative review of the role of public policy indicates that innovation in this area requires avoiding differentiated treatment of new versus existing chemicals. In addition, the frequent use of support measures (R&D support, public procurement, grants, and awards) means that policy makers face a difficult task in identifying particular technologies or activities to be supported in the face of imperfect information and uncertainty over future trajectories.


An analysis was conducted on the displacement of a heavy fluid by a miscible light fluid in the flow assurance operation of injecting diesel oil to displace heavy oil in an insulated offshore production line. A three‐dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was developed and implemented in OpenFOAM®. It stimulates the production stages, no‐touch time, and oil displacement, considering heat transfer through natural convection and conjugated heat transfer through the solid layers of the pipeline. The specific test case focused on the first 180 m of an existing offshore production line. The simulations revealed two primary mechanisms of mixing: turbulence and secondary flows generated by the pipeline curves. Remarkably, the results demonstrate that by injecting a volume of lighter oil 1.3 times the pipeline volume, approximately 90%–95% of the heavy oil can be effectively removed.


Galanin is a widely distributed 29/30 amino acid long neuropeptide with multiple biological effects. It inhibits glucose-induced insulin release, hippocampal acetylcholine release, hippocampal glutamate but not GABA release, and it lowers spinal excitability and firing of locus coeruleus neurons. It stimulates food (fat) intake and growth hormone release upon hypothalamic or i.c.v. injection. Galanin actions are mediated via high affinity Gi/G0 protein-coupled receptors--involving effector systems such as K(+)-, Ca(2+)-channels and adenylate cyclase. Galanin receptor agonists are thought to have therapeutic application in treatment of chronic pain and prevention of ischemic damage; galanin receptor antagonists have therapeutic potential in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, depression, and feeding disorders.


Laboratory‐scale studies suggest that water‐borne chemical cues released in grazing of marine macroalgae act as info‐chemicals allowing the yet‐undamaged conspecifics to increase their resistance before the actual herbivore attack. The relevance of this finding in natural populations has thus far remained unexplored. We investigated spread of water‐borne herbivore resistance in a field experiment using the littoral foundation species Fucus vesiculosus. We exposed algal genotypes for water‐borne cues in the distances of 0.5 and 2 m from the grazed cue‐emitting genotypes. We measured herbivore resistance with preference experiments and recorded changes in the phlorotannin content. We recorded changes in biomass and length of the genotypes to test whether water‐borne resistance correlates with the grazing damage on the cue‐emitter or incurs costs for the genotypes in terms of reduced growth. In two of our four experimental blocks, induced resistance via water‐borne cues took place and spread to undamaged neighbours that were 2 m distance apart. This provides evidence of water‐borne resistance induction in the wild as well as of small‐scale spatial variation in the spread of induction. The undamaged neighbours induced resistance to a lesser extent than the directly grazed cue‐emitters did, but resistance was consistently expressed among all 26 algal genotypes and independent of the amount of grazing damage on the cue‐emitter. Herbivore resistance correlated negatively with the growth in the grazed cue‐emitting genotypes, while water‐borne resistance was independent of the variation in growth. Our results show, for the first time for marine macroalgae in a natural setting, that information about the increased risk of herbivory can be carried by water‐borne cues and is used to prime or induce defences prior to an actual attack. The results we present furthermore indicate that water‐borne resistance differs quantitatively and qualitatively from the resistance triggered by actively feeding herbivores. Ability to induce resistance prior the herbivore arrival may greatly influence the ability of littoral macroalgae to withstand the generally intense herbivory of marine benthic environments. A plain language summary is available for this article.


Abstract. Rached-Kanouni M, Zerrouki A, Lahmar M, Beldjazia A, Kara K, Ababsa. 2020. Assessment of the health status of the Sidi R'Ghies forest, Oum El Bouaghi, north-east Algerian. Biodiversitas 21: 1980-1988. In recent decades, the forest of Sidi R'Ghies has been degraded by human activity. The establishment of the state of the massif by a diagnosis on different forest plots is part of a project of monitoring and silvicultural management. The purpose of this study is to assess the health status of the Sidi R'Ghies forest. The methodology used was the visual assessment of the tree crown of the dominant species (i.e. Aleppo pine and holm oak) according to the protocols DEPEFEU, DEPERIS, and ICP Forests. These protocols were selected for adoption based on field observations and their applicability in record time. The results obtained indicate that the health status of the trees within the studied plots is declining. The DEPEFEU value index shows an average of 2.20 for Aleppo pine and 1.95 for holm oak while the DEPERIS has an average level of 4.56 in Aleppo pine and 3.07 in holm oak. ICP Forests has also contributed to providing clearer information on the consequences of this health situation by deducting an average visibility rate of 1.24 and 1.63; social status of 2.17 and 2.11 and competition of 1.71 and 2.49 for Aleppo pine and holm oak respectively. In general, the health status of the tree crown is average and almost adapted to the environmental conditions. In contrast, the carrying capacity of biodiversity is low and needs to be improved.


Many of the smaller burrowing petrels are active at their colonies during the night. How they find their nesting burrows in the open terrain of an oceanic island or in the even more visually-taxing gloom under a forest canopy (Grubb 1974 and references therein) is a feat which has long intrigued naturalists (Lockley 1942). There is experimental evidence that vision is important in burrow location by the Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus (Brooke 1978, James 1986), while olfactory homing by Leach's Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa has also been suggested by Grubb (1974).

Additionally it seems likely that a number of petrel species catch a significant fraction of their food at night (Imber 1973, Prince & Francis 1984). Many of the squid presumed to be caught then are not bioluminescent (Imber 1973, Clarke et al. 1981), so their detection presumably demands good night vision. In the context of these observations, the dearth of information on the visual abilities of petrels is remarkable.

The present study investigated the absolute visual threshold of the Common Diving Petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix. Probably because the species is small (c. 130 g) and so vulnerable to predators such as Sub-antarctic Skuas Catharacta antarctica, it is strictly nocturnal at breeding colonies (Thoresen 1969, Payne & Prince 1979). It nests in burrows that are often located under tussock grass Poa spp. Whether the birds catch their crustacean prey (Payne & Prince 1979) by day or night is not known.


The increasing popularity of genome resolved meta genomics - the binning of genomes of potentially uncultured organisms direct from the environmental DNA - has resulted in a deluge of draft genomes. There is a pressing need to develop methods to interpret this data. Here, we used machine learning to predict functional and metabolic traits of microbes from their genomes. We collated an extensive database of 84 phenotypic traits associated with 9407 prokaryotic genomes and trained different machine learning models on this data. We found that a lasso logistic regression based on the frequency of gene orthologs had the best combination of functional prediction performance and interpretability. This model was able to classify 65 phenotypic traits with greater than 90


The effect of magnetic anisotropy-axis alignment on the superparamagnetic (SPM) and superspin glass (SSG) states in a frozen ferrofluid has been investigated. The ferrofluid studied here consists of maghemite nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3, mean diameter = 8.6 nm) dispersed in glycerine at a volume fraction of ∼15%. In the high temperature SPM state, the magnetization of aligned ferrofluid increased by a factor varying between 2 and 4 with respect to that in the randomly oriented state. The negative interaction energy obtained from the Curie–Weiss fit to the high temperature susceptibility in the SPM states as well as the SSG phase onset temperature determined from the linear magnetization curves were found to be rather insensitive to the anisotropy-axis alignment. The low temperature ageing behaviour, explored via 'zero-field cooled magnetization' relaxation measurements, however, shows a distinct difference in the ageing dynamics in the anisotropy-axis aligned and randomly oriented SSG states.


It hardly needs any justification that higher education is an engine of economic growth in any country including India. Higher education has significant role in supporting knowledge driven economic growth strategies. It provides an opportunity to critically reflect upon the social, economic, cultural, moral and spiritual issues facing humanity. It contributes to national development through dissemination of specialized knowledge and skills. Indian higher education system has undergone massive expansion since independence. Keeping in above, present paper seeks to examine the emerging issues and challenges in Indian higher education system in the present era. Issues like access, equity, inclusion, quality, privatization and financing concerning higher education, are very complex and interrelated with political, economical geographical and international dimensions. To develop India as an education hub or to become a prosperous partner in global economy, India has to qualitatively strengthen education in general and higher education with research and development in particular. Ms. Nidhi Walia Assistant Professor in Commerce, Department of Commerce, S.a.jain (Pg) College, Ambala City, Haryana


Purpose To compare Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) severity levels between two digital fundus imaging protocols for research studies of diabetic retinopathy: the gold standard 7-field (7F) imaging and the more recent 4-widefield (4W) imaging. Methods Two hundred twenty-two participants enrolled in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study underwent concurrent 7F and 4W imaging. The ETDRS levels from 220 paired gradable images were determined by masked graders. Each image was graded by two independent graders with adjudication by a senior grader, if necessary. Percent agreement between graders and between imaging protocols was evaluated with kappa statistics and weighted kappa statistics. Results Of 220 gradable eyes, diabetic retinopathy was seen in 11.8%; this was mild in 10.4% and more than mild in 1.4% using 7F imaging. The ETDRS levels showed exact agreement of 95% between 7F and 4W imaging (weighted kappa 0.86). Intergrader agreement for each modality had exact agreement of 89% (weighted kappa of 0.73) for 7F and 91% (weighted kappa 0.77) for 4W. Conclusions There is substantial agreement in the ETDRS severity level between the 7F and 4W digital imaging protocols, demonstrating that the two imaging protocols are interchangeable. Both 4W and 7F digital imaging protocols can be used for assessing ETDRS levels, even in populations with minimal diabetic retinopathy. Translational Relevance The 4W protocol requires fewer images than the 7F, is more comfortable for the patients, is easier for photographic capture, and provides diabetic retinopathy data that is equivalent to the 7F imaging protocol.


In the southwest part of Zimbabwe, conservation agriculture has been widely promoted as a 'one-size-fits-all' intervention strategy. While the shortcomings of this approach have been well documented, it is noteworthy that use of this approach continues to spread in this region and beyond. The paper uses the actor network theory to analyse this interesting occurrence. Data for the paper were collected between November 2007 and May 2009 through a mixture of methods which included focus group discussions, participant observation and key informant interviews, with the goal of documenting the practices of the farmers, non-state and state actors in this regard. The paper observes that the debate around conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe has tended to miss an important point - the significance of the notion of power relations among the various actors that are involved. Clearly, it is power relations that have materially shaped the manner in which conservation agriculture has been promoted, and hence these relations ought to be seen as part of the texture of smallholder agriculture, rather than be seen as mere anecdotes to the technical aspects. The paper concludes by noting that conservation agriculture as it is currently promoted in Zimbabwe, has thrived on one form of coercion or another, rendering extremely poor, its prospects for sustainability.


Lactobacillus casei 393 was selected as a bacterial carrier for the expression of Porcine Parvovirus (PPV) protective antigen VP2 protein. The gene encoding PPV VP2 protein was cloned into the Lactobacillus casei surface expression vector pPG, and then the constructed recombinant vector pPG-VP2 was electrotransformed into Lactobacillus casei 393 generating the recombinant system pPG-VP2/L. casei393 expressing PPV VP2 protein. The recombinant strain was induced by 2% Lactose in MRS and about 74kD protein was detected with SDS-PAGE. The result of Western-blot indicated that the expressed protein possessed the antigenic specificity which could be recognized by mouse anti-PPV serum. The indirect immunofluorescent test showed that the expressed protein was secreted on the cell surface Lactobacillus casei.


Salinity (NaCl Stress) was applied with 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400 mM NaCl. The shoot and root respiration of two barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L. variety Afzal and variety EMB82-12) were determined in various concentrations ofNaCl. Chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll content were significantly decreased, but carotenoids content increased under salinity. Decrease of chlorophyll content in EMB82-12 was higher than Afzal, but carotenoids content in Afzal variety was higher than EMB82-12. Relative Water Content (RWC) was used to indicate the degree of stress. Oxygen uptake declined in shoot and root with increasing NaCl concentrations. Decrease of oxygen uptake in shoot and root of EMB82-12 variety was higher than Afzal variety. RWC decreased with increasing NaCl concentrations. Lowering of RWC reduced growth and increased shoot/root ratio. Decrease of water content in EMB82-12 plants was higher than Afzal plants. Shoot/root ratio in EMB82-12 variety was higher than Afzal.


We examine the impact of diversification on performance for firms operating in different institutional environments during a relatively stable period and during a major economy-wide shock. We locate our study in six Asian countries at different levels of institutional development. Results indicate that diversification negatively impacts performance in more developed institutional environments while improving performance only in the least developed environments. Even in the least developed institutional environments, diversification offers limited benefits when an economy-wide shock strikes. Though successful diversifiers are sometimes affiliated with business groups, diversification is associated with poorer performance for both affiliated firms and independent firms. In sum, we find that the outcomes of diversification are influenced by institutional environments, economic stability and affiliation with business groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Nonplanar surface geometries of components are frequently encountered in real ultrasonic inspection situations. Use of rigid array transducers can lead to beam defocusing and reduction of defect image quality due to the mismatch between the planar array and the changing surface. When a flexible array is used to fit the complex surface profile, the locations of array elements should be known to compute the delay time necessary for adaptive beam focusing. An alternative method is to employ the time reversal focusing technique that does not require a prior knowledge about the properties and structures of the specimen and the transducer. In this paper, a time reversal method is applied to simulate beam focusing of flexible arrays and imaging of point-like defects contained in specimens with nonplanar surface geometry. Quantitative comparisons are made for the performance of a number of array techniques in terms of the ability to focus and image three point-like reflectors positioned at regular intervals. The sinusoidal profile array studied here exhibits almost the same image quality as the flat, reference case.


Oroxylum indicum (Linn.)Vent. is one such plant which is extensively used in the Indian systems of medicine as an important ingredient of "Dashmula" and in the treatment of many diseases. Proper identification of the drug is desired for obtaining its complete therapeutic effects. It is with this aspect in view the present study dealing with pharmacognostical study and some other related studies of the stem bark of the species O. indicum (Linn.)Vent. were done. The stem bark is characterized by the well developed cork region; phelloderm region consisting number of stone cells and fibres, ceratenchyma is also present in inner phloem region, medullary rays are heterogenous and multiseriate, minute starch grains up to 5 μm in diam. are present in secondary phloem region. Powder of stem bark shown fragments of cork cells, stone cells and sclereids, fragments of fibres, parenchymatous cells, filled with black brown content, acicular crystals and starch grains were also found present. TLC of various extracts showed spots in different solvent system and phytochemically the plant was found to contain flavonoids, saponin, phenolic and tannins.


The article deals with the results of biochemical and biophysical search of hoof horn of clinically healthy cows and patients with purulent pododermatitis. It is known that the development of the inflammatory process in the area of the hoof, in particular, for purulent inflammation of the producing layer of the skin, affects not only the general condition of the organism of animals, but also the biochemical indices of the hoof horn of the cows. Thus, in the epidermis of cows hoof for purulent pododermatitis, there is a probable increase by 3.7% moisture content and by 26.8% – the concentration of SH-groups in the tendency to reduce the concentration of ash, fat and protein. These changes indicate a slowdown in the keratinization and accumulation process, as a result, in the hoof horn of the epidermis, excessive moisture content. It was found that other biochemical indices influence the state of the hoof horn, in particular, the concentration in the epidermis of the hemispheres of sulfur, keratoses, calcium. Thus, for purulent pododermatitis, the sulfur content decreases by 17.1%, calcium – 12.3%, which indicates a deterioration of keratinization processes, which is confirmed by the redistribution of sulfur concentration in keratoses, namely an increase of 2.9% of the contents of a-keratosis and 3.7% was g-keratosis. In the process of keratinization, microelements, in particular copper and zinc, play an important role. For purulent inflammation of the producing layer of the skin of the cows hoof, a decrease in the concentration of these mineral substances is observed on 17.9 and 13.9%, respectively. Changes in the biochemical indices of the epidermis in the cows hoof for purulent pododermatitis also affected its biophysical properties. Thus, the density of the hoof horn was decreased by 7.3%, and the hardness by – 2.5%. Consequently, purulent pododermatitis is accompanied by changes in certain biochemical and biophysical parameters of the hoof horn, which reflects the processes occurring in the epidermis of hoof and is one of the triggers of the development of inflammation of the skin of the cows hoof.


The Mekelle city region is facing severe ecosystem degradation. The study area has experienced unprecedented land-use dynamics over the past 47 years, but the effect of these dynamics on ecosystem-service values remains unknown. Estimating the various ecosystem services from a city region perspective has not been attempted so far. The rationale of this study was to estimate the spatial–temporal ecosystem-service value variations. The methodology employed was land-use/land-cover (LULC) datasets of remotely sensed datasets of the years 1972, 1984, 2001, 2012, and 2019, and ecosystem service value coefficient, expert focus group discussion, and document review were used. The digital satellite images were processed, classified, and analyzed using Earth Resource Development Assessment System (ERDAS) Imagine. Computations of changes in the land-use categories were made using Arc GIS 10.5.1, Eviews for time series data analysis, and XLSTAT analytical tools were used. Over the whole study period from 1972 to 2019, a loss of USD 128.6 million was observed, which is a reduction of 501.9%. The study shows that due to land-use changes, the total ecosystem service value is decreasing annually, suggesting that much more severe ecosystem degradation is due to occur. The results are relevant to policy development and indicate that ecological restoration is the best option in the study area.


We prove that two close enough points forms a set of determining nodes for the complex Ginzburg - Landau equation on the whole real line. In dimension two, a rectangular lattice of small enough lattice size forms a set of determining nodes, and the averages over the squares of this lattice form a set of determining volume elements.


In no phase of medicine is it more difficult to evaluate etiological factors and therapeutic results than in the problem of infertility. The numerous constitutional and local conditions that can affect fertility of both the husband and the wife are so diversified that in any critical analysis it is difficult to know where to start and when to stop. Results of therapy statistically, on paper, can look impressive, but it is often questionable whether medicine and the physician have triumphed, or whether Nature and coincidence have succeeded. Superficially, it would appear that evaluation of therapeutic results in the husband can be made more readily than in the wife, since the fluctuations in seminal values are easily observed and interpreted. However, even with the present fairly comprehensive standards of semen interpretation, it is quite possible that additional factors are involved that at present are unrecognized and that may greatly affect evaluation


Based on the C# language, two-dimensional distribution map of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) in multi-dimensional and multi-parameter fiber Bragg gratings is drawn in terms of GDI+ graphic programming technology where is ingeniously incorporated representation method of electronic maps, and achieves good effect as a perfect combination between delicacy and efficiency on account of its ability of multi-direction and multi-angle observation as well as visional and vivid characteristics. For sensor nodes data, the two-dimensional distribution map is capable of on-line real-time transmission, storage, display, judgment, alarm and so on, and then well reflects structures and conditions of sensor network. The analysis software of the WSN realizes generality, flexibility and portability, and promises widespread application.


Purpose
This study aims to carry out numerical modeling to predict aerodynamic noise radiation from four different Savonius rotor blade profile.

Design/methodology/approach
Incompressible unsteady reynolds-averaged navier-stokes (URANS) approach using gamma–theta turbulence model is conducted to obtain the time accurate turbulent flow field. The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic analogy formulation is used for noise predictions at optimal tip speed ratio (TSR).

Findings
The mean torque and power coefficients are compared with the experimental data and acceptable agreement is observed. The total and Mono+Dipole noise graphs are presented. A discrete tonal component at low frequencies in all graphs is attributed to the blade passing frequency at the given TSR. According to the noise prediction results, Bach type rotor has the lowest level of noise emission. The effect of TSR on the noise level from the Bach rotor is investigated. A direct relation between angular velocity and the noise emission is found.

Practical implications
The savonius rotor is a type of vertical axis wind turbines suited for mounting in the vicinity of residential areas. Also, wind turbines wherein operation are efficient sources of tonal and broadband noises and affect the inhabitable environment adversely. Therefore, the acoustic pollution assessment is essential for the installation of wind turbines in residential areas.

Originality/value
This study aims to investigate the radiated noise level of four common Savonius rotor blade profiles, namely, Bach type, Benesh type, semi-elliptic and conventional. As stated above, numbers of studies exploit the URANS method coupled with the FW-H analogy to predict the aeroacoustics behavior of wind turbines. Therefore, this approach is chosen in this research to deal with the aeroacoustics and aerodynamic calculation of the flow field around the aforementioned Savonius blade profiles. The effect of optimal TSR on the emitted noise and the contribution of thickness, loading and quadrupole sources are of interest in this study.


Harold Millar is one of the most active British neurologists of his generation and happily he has continued the studies of multiple sclerosis in the community that were instituted by his predecessor Sydney Allison, and which have established Belfast as a major centre of research in neurological epidemiology. This brief but scholarly and well-documented monograph epitomizes the robust style of its author. Indeed the title leaves no doubt in its implication not that multiple sclerosis may be the result of childhood infection, but that the disease is in fact acquired in childhood. Dr. Millar adduces epidemiological and biochemical evidence supporting his view that the disease has its origins in early life even though the onset of symptoms is usually delayed until the fourth decade. Multiple sclerosis remains one of the most baffling enigmas of modern medicine, and it is not surprising that the author seeks an aetiological hypothesis that is at once feasible and compatible with the facts he describes. His conclusion is that the disease is probably a manifestation of an abnormal immunological response to a viral infection, an abnormal response possibly determined by an inherited defect. He interprets most of the biochemical abnormalities described in the disease as resulting from rather than causing the breakdown of myelin in the central nervous system, and comments on the possible effects of blood supply and chronic trauma in determining the location of lesions. The amount of data collected about demyelinating disease during the past 30 years is more impressive than new thinking about the disease. We are perhaps too much rather than too little aware of the dangers of speculation. A refreshing feature of Harold Millar's book is his bold attempt to tie up loose ends into a feasible hypothesis that can furnish a base for further testing by observation and experiment. There are few neurologists better equipped by experience of patient care and clinical research to formulate such a hypothesis, and Multiple Sclerosis, a Disease Acquired in Childhood, furnishes an excellent statement of present opinion about this fascinating disease.


A novel frequency-selective limiter is introduced in this paper, which is based on integrating a plasma cell into an absorptive resonant topology. The limiter response transitions from all-pass to bandstop when the input power exceeds the threshold for gas breakdown inside the plasma cell. This is a consequence of the change from constructive interference in the all-pass mode to destructive interference in the bandstop mode due to the change in dielectric properties of the plasma cell. Implemented using two quarter-wave microstrip resonators, a gas discharge tube (GDT) as a plasma cell, and a delay line, a less than 1.6 dB loss, over 60 dB selective isolation with a measured FBW of 2.8% were achieved. This is despite the low-quality-factor resonators used in this prototype device and the intrinsic plasma loss. The limiter handles significantly high input power of over 100 W, better than the state-of-the-art frequency-selective limiters.


In psychology, the process of socialization often gets the meaning it does not actually have and it also gets attached to things that are related to other processes. Here, socialization is understood only as the entering of a subject into a socio-symbolic order where he acquires his own identity. This entering into a separating order places the good on one side, and the bad on the other, and it is essentially a process that strongly designates the world by giving a man's instinctive nature the social contours obtained through imposed standards. Every form of anti-social behaviour, as well as every great psychological deviation, shows the lack of proper integration into the symbolic. Psychology, as a general theory of the psyche, and social psychology especially, indicates the social and cultural conditions that influence the mental construction. Without the dynamics of psychology, which depicts the psychological life through mental dynamics, psychological etiologies especially of those forms of behaviour that have no social verification would be neglected. Starting from the social and cultural conditions that build the 'psychological', it explains how the motives for suppression of all impulsive tendencies, aggression and libido are built. Mastering the impulses involves the construction of a moral instance (super-ego) that differentiates and exists as a constant threat to the ego who tries to smuggle certain instinctive tendencies. Given that it is known, ever since Freud, that - from the standpoint of limiting the impulses, from the standpoint of morality - a man has a completely immoral part (instinctive, id); a part that is struggling to be moral (ego); and a super-ego that can be hyper-moral, and then become utterly cruel (Freud 2006a: 120), it can be observed that socialization is involved in the good part and in the bad part of a man. Success in a man's defense from Eros and Thanatos, on the one hand, and in his defense from the impulses of one and the other, on the other hand, will determine the forms of behaviour dominated by aggression, violence, crime, incest, and many other forms of perversion and neurosis.


Abstract The present study evaluated the protective effect of fluted pumpkin seeds (FPS) on atrazine (ATZ)-induced testicular damage. Twenty adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups of five animals each. The control animals (Group A) received corn oil (2 mL/kg body weight), Group B animals received 50 mg ATZ/kg body weight by gavage, while Groups C and D received 50 mg ATZ/kg body weight once a week in addition to the gavage of 25 mg FPS/kg body weight and 50 mg FPS/kg body weight respectively for 60 days. The results showed that testicular myeloperoxidase activity and nitrite concentration were decreased in all groups compared to the control value. The increase in malondialdehyde and decrease in glutathione concentrations in group B were abrogated in group C (p < 0.05) but not in group D animals. The increase in γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and decrease in lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activities in the group B animals were also normalized to control values in group C but not in group D animals. Interestingly, the testis of the group D animals showed massive depletion of germ cells and the diameter of the seminiferous tubules of these animals were decreased compared to all other groups. However, the number of motile sperms, abnormal sperms and sperm count in Group D animals were similar to the ATZ-treated animals and lower than control values. In conclusion, FPS protected against ATZ-induced testicular damage but can also harm the testis at a higher dose.


BACKGROUND
Approaches for teaching neurology documentation include didactic lectures, workshops, and face-to-face meetings. Few studies have assessed their effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE
To improve the quality of neurology resident documentation through payroll simulation.

METHODS
A documentation checklist was created based on Medicaid and Medicare evaluation and management (E/M) guidelines. In the preintervention phase, neurology follow-up clinic charts were reviewed over a 16-week period by evaluators blinded to the notes' authors. Current E/M level, ideal E/M level, and financial loss were calculated by the evaluators. Ideal E/M level was defined as the highest billable level based on the documented problems, alongside a supporting history and examination. We implemented an educational intervention that consisted of a 1-hour didactic lecture, followed by e-mail feedback "paystubs" every 2 weeks detailing the number of patients seen, income generated, income loss, and areas for improvement. Follow-up charts were assessed in a similar fashion over a 16-week postintervention period.

RESULTS
Ten of 11 residents (91%) participated. Of 214 charts that were reviewed preintervention, 114 (53%) had insufficient documentation to support the ideal E/M level, leading to a financial loss of 24% ($5,800). Inadequate documentation was seen in all 3 components: history (47%), examination (27%), and medical decision making (37%). Underdocumentation did not differ across residency years. Postintervention, underdocumentation was reduced to 14% of 273 visits (P < .001), with a reduction in the financial loss to 6% ($1,880).

CONCLUSIONS
Improved documentation and increased potential reimbursement was attained following a didactic lecture and a 16-week period in which individual, specific feedback to neurology residents was provided.


The growing demand for hydrogen energy requires renewable raw materials for its production. In particular, production of alternatives fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol has increased over the last few years culminating in increased glycerol output, a byproduct of transesterification. Due to the increased production of biodiesel, it is imperative to find alternative uses for glycerol such as for hydrogen production. Hydrogen is produced by using several processes such as steam reforming, autothermal reforming, aqueous-phase reforming and supercritical water reforming. Most of studies concern with hydrogen production via steam reforming process. To date, few works have been dedicated to produce hydrogen from glycerol dry reforming. Significantly, since glycerol has more carbon atoms than ethanol, it may be more likely to produce carbon nanofilaments (CNF) which is a potential marketable byproduct. This research reviews the several of synthesis gas produced in term of thermodynamic analysis such as methane, carbon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This research analysis by using glycerol as substrate with the aim of investigating the thermodynamics of glycerol dry reforming at atmospheric pressure and reforming temperature from 500 to 1000 K. Moles of each synthesis gases is shown with different of temperature and CGRs. On the basis of thermodynamic analysis with optimized operational condition, gaseous product distributions and coke formation behavior was obtained at different CGRs with different temperature. Based on this research, the synthesis gas have been produced which is hydrogen 1.5 moles, carbon monoxide 7.6 moles, carbon dioxide 5 moles, methane 1.5 moles and carbon 3 moles.


ABSTRACT Inactivated parapoxvirus ovis (Orf virus; PPVO) recently displayed strong immunostimulating and modulating capacities in several animal models for acute and chronic virus infections through the induction of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) as a key mediator of antiviral activity. The data presented in this work demonstrate that inactivated PPVO has strong effects on cytokine secretion by human immune cells, including the upregulation of inflammatory and Th1-related cytokines (IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], interleukin 6 [IL-6], IL-8, IL-12, and IL-18) as well as anti-inflammatory and Th2-related cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, and IL-1 receptor antagonist [IL-1ra]). Studies on the mechanism of action revealed virus particles to be the effective components of the preparation. The virus particles activate monocytes or other antigen-presenting cells (APC), e.g., plasmacytoid dendritic cells, through signaling over CD14 and a Toll-like receptor and the intracellular presence of certain PPVO-specific components. The activation of monocytes or APC is followed by the release of early proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8) as well as the Th1-related cytokines IL-12 and IL-18. Both IL-18 and IL-12 are involved in PPVO-mediated IFN-γ release by T cells and/or NK cells. The proinflammatory response is accompanied by the induction of anti-inflammatory and Th2-related cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, and IL-1ra), which exert a limiting efffect on the inflammatory response induced by PPVO. We conclude that the induction of a natural immune response with physiologically significant amounts of different cytokines and with antiviral potential might provide advantages over existing antiviral immunotherapies.


The presence and distribution of the astrocytic marker protein GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) in the pituitaries of several mammalian as well as of some submammalian vertebrates were examined immunohistochemically. Our study revealed that GFAP-immunoreactive pituicytes, probably reflecting the presence of the filament-rich fibrous type of pituicyte, are a common feature of the mammalian neural lobe. Moreover, interspecific and interindividual differences of the neurohypophyseal immunostaining could be observed. In the distal neurohypophysis of some submammalian vertebrates, processes of ependymal glia showed GFAP-like immunoreactivity. Our results are in agreement with the well established evolutionary stability of GFAP elsewhere in the brain. In contrast to the neurohypophysis, GFAP-positive cells within the intermediate lobe were inconstantly present in only some species. They may be derived from neurohypophyseal glia. Folliculo-stellate cells of the adenohypophyseal pars distalis were not stained.


The research objective is to examines the influence of Spiritual Emotional Freedom technique intervention to reduce PTSD of adolescent survivors of volcanic eruption. Subjects were 22 adolescent survivors of volcanic eruption, happened in 2010 in Yogyakarta and Central Java. Subjects were selected with random assignment and measured by using post traumatic stress disorder scale (adapted and modified from the Impact of Event Scale-Revised-IES-R). The subject is divided into two groups of experimental and control group, each group consisted of 11 people. The research design is pretest posttest control group design. Subject were treated by spiritual emotional freedom technique intervention (spirituality, like prayer and acceptance and energy psychology) with three technique, set-up, tune-in and tapping. The results showed that spiritual emotional freedom technique intervention can reduce PTSD of adolescent survivors of volcanic eruption.


The fibrillar centres (FCs) in the nucleoli of Allium cepa usually contained compact dense chromatin, which was always surrounded with light fibrous material (LFM). Distribution of 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in the FCs was examined by in situ hybridization at the light and electron microscopic levels and the results were compared with those obtained by immunogold labelling with anti-DNA antibodies. Anti-DNA antibodies heavily labelled the dense chromatin of the FCs but scarcely labelled the LFM. However, electron microscopic in situ hybridization using the 18S rDNA probe showed that the label in the dense chromatin was extremely weak compared with that obtained by the anti-DNA antibody labelling: the specific label with anti-DNA antibodies of the dense chromatin was about 15 times as much as that of the LFM, whereas the specific label with in situ hybridization in the dense chromatin was only about 1.7 times higher than in the LFM. These results suggest that the rDNA encoding rRNA is preferentially released from the dense chromatin and that non-transcribed intergenic spacers remain in the dense chromatin as the anchoring sites of rDNA.


BACKGROUND
While hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, the effect of hyperhomocysteinemia on the vascular adventitia and vessel remodeling has not been clearly demonstrated. We investigated the effect of the hyperhomocysteinemia on adventitial hyperplasia and vascular remodeling following balloon injury in rats and the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS
Rats were fed with diet containing methionine for 4 weeks to increase plasma homocysteine before balloon injury. Vascular geometrical changes were assessed at different time points following balloon injury. The collagen deposition was determined by picrosirius red staining and immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS
When compared with normal diet group, moderate hyperhomocysteinemia in methionine diet group significantly exacerbated adventitial hyperplasia at day 7 and collagen deposition mainly in the adventitia at day 28 following balloon injury. The increased plasma homocysteine level significantly increased collagen deposition in the adventitia. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.698; P < 0.01) between the luminal area and the collagen content in the adventitia on day 28 following balloon injury. In cultured adventitial fibroblasts isolated from rat aorta, 100 micromol/L L-homocysteine (L-Hcy) significantly down-regulated matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity by 43% as determined by in vitro gelatin zymography (P < 0.05) and up-regulated the expression of collagen type I by 187% (P < 0.05) assessed by Western blotting.

CONCLUSIONS
Hyperhomocysteinemia exacerbated vascular constrictive remodeling by accelerated neointima formation and collagen accumulation in the adventitia. Increased collagen deposition may be the underlying mechanism.


The simulation of a complete induction motor drive is presented. The entire network is modelled using the transmission-line modelling (TLM) technique. The network is split into three sections which are solved independently and are joined together by link transmission-line models. Advantages of this approach are the explicit nature of the algorithm which remains unaltered irrespective of the network topology, unconditional stability, and straightforward modelling of switching elements. Results are presented for a complete drive which illustrate the capabilities and flexibility of the simulation technique.


System level design always has a disadvantage of not possessing detailed knowledge of the communication subsystem. This is a crucial issue for system-on-chip design, where uncertainty in communication by very deep submicron effects cannot be neglected. We present a bus architecture (BA) synthesis algorithm for designing the communication subsystem of an SoC. The algorithm is part of a hardware-software codesign methodology for resource constrained embedded applications. BA synthesis includes finding the bus topology, and routing the individual buses so that various constraints, like bus length, topology complexity, potential for communication conflicts over time, are addressed. We present BA synthesis results for a network processor, and a JPEG SoC.


We describe a case of anti-phospholipid syndrome, with catastrophic development and unusual brain involvement, in which the first manifestation was necrotizing cutaneous vasculitis. A 58-year-old woman presented with fever, gangrene of her lower limbs and ischemic lesions of her arms and hands. Laboratory results showed normal white cell count and normal procalcitonin value. The vascular ultrasound study of the lower limbs did not show any thrombosis or stenosis. A chest-abdomen computed tomography scan showed inflammatory thickening of the lung. A month after admission she developed confusion, weakness and aphasia. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed hyperintense bilateral symmetrical lesions in the frontal and cerebellar regions. Anti-cardiolipin antibodies and lupus anticoagulant were negative, whereas anti-β 2 glycoprotein 1 were in high titer. She was started on steroids, and subsequently warfarin, acetylsalicylic acid and hydroxychloroquine, with progressive improvement of her clinical status.


Here we report a novel separation technique for the clinically important 199Tl radionuclide from its precursor lead and daughter product mercury. Two algal genera, Lyngbya major, from cyanophyceae and Rhizoclonium hieroglyphicum from chlorophyceae have been used as natural bioreagents in the separation of thallium radionuclides in ultra-trace scale. 24 h algal treatment of an aqueous solution at pH 8 containing a mixture of radionuclides shows that Rhizoclonium accumulates 100% Hg, >80% Pb and a small fraction of thallium (15%). Thus a large fraction of thallium remains in the solution not accumulated by algae. Thus the selectivity of various algae towards different metals in sorption and desorption processes may be exploited in the separation of these metals from a mixture of them.


Background: Targeted agents against the estrogen receptor are effective in treating and preventing many breast cancers, but these agents are not effective for the treatment or prevention of estrogen receptor-negative (ER-neg) breast cancer. Our laboratory has demonstrated that rexinoids are capable of preventing ER-neg breast cancer in transgenic mice; however, this treatment is not 100% effective. Therefore, it is imperative to delineate the mechanism by which rexiniods prevent breast cancer to develop more effective prevention strategies. We hypothesized that rexinoids are specifically able to prevent breast cancer by suppressing growth though interactions with key nuclear hormone receptors. To test this hypothesis we conducted high-throughput screens to determine which nuclear hormone receptors are critical to transduce the growth suppressive effects of rexinoids. Methods: We used quantitative RT-PCR to determine the quantity of mRNA transcripts for all 48 nuclear hormone receptors in human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). To identify nuclear hormone receptors that when knocked-down reverse the effects of rexiniod treatment, a final concentration of 30nM of pools of three independent siRNAs specific to each nuclear hormone receptor was used. High-throughput microscopy of the siRNA-treated HMECs stained with DAPI (1μg/mL) and EdU (10mM) was used to analyze growth. If a receptor9s corresponding siRNA reversed the growth inhibitory effects of rexinoids 75% or greater, it was considered for further investigation. Receptors that did not reverse the effect of rexiniods or enhanced growth suppression when knocked-down were identified, but were not studied further in this analysis. Co-immunoprecipitation (coIP) and GST pull-down assays are being conducted to investigate whether the identified nuclear hormone receptors form a complex with, or bind to, RXR proteins. Results: qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that many of known RXR-binding nuclear hormone receptors are expressed in HMECs. High-throughput screens indicate that knockdown of most receptors alone (including COUP TF1, EAR1 and ERRβ) affect growth of HMECs but do not reverse the effects of rexinoid treatment. Loss of ERRα and AR induced growth, but rexiniod treatment suppressed growth to a greater extent than controls. Receptors that appeared to reverse the growth suppressive effect of rexiniods include GCNF1, THRα, PNR and PPARγ. Loss of PPARγ alone stimulated growth, but reversed effects of rexiniod-induced growth suppression. Currently, we are further investigating these receptors in HMECs and other cell types. Conclusions: These experiments have identified nuclear hormone receptors that are critical for the growth suppressive effects of rexiniods in normal human breast cells. Identification of such receptors provides possible targets for preventative therapy used alone, or in combination with rexinoids, to increase the efficacy of rexinoids for more effective prevention of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. Support: NCI R01 CA78480 (PHB, IPU) and NIH/NCI T32 CA90221 (JMR) Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 3134.


In this paper, we study the $L^{2}$-boundedness and $L^{2}$-compactness of a class of $h$-Fourier integral operators. These operators are bounded (respectively compact) if the weight of the amplitude is bounded (respectively tends to $0)$.


A phased array antenna containing four linear microstrip patch elements has been fabricated and tested. The elements were fed through single-crystal yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) phase shifters. By varying the bias magnetic field, the input phases to the antenna elements can thus been tuned, resulting in steering of the radiation beam in one dimension. Measurements compared reasonably well with calculations.


PURPOSE
In response to the rising suicide trend in Hong Kong, the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention ("CSRP") was established in 2002, with the aim to capitalize on the collective impact of research-support practices to prevent suicides.

METHOD
The CSRP has since become an international knowledge hub that applies a public health approach and innovative strategies to address suicide-related problems at multiple levels.

RESULTS
The CSRP actively engages in research, teaching, and knowledge exchange with community stakeholders. These effort are associated with Hong Kong's more than 30% reduction in suicide rates between 2003 and 2016.

DISCUSSION
The rationale for and examples of the CSRP's practices in face of the suicide prevention challenges lay ahead were also discussed.

CONCLUSION
The outcomes of these practices, which hold great potential for suicide prevention worldwide, have contributed to important academic debates in the field of suicidology.


Ionic liquids (ILs), although being a class of promising green solvents, have received many reports on the toxicity to living organisms. In this work, aiming at elucidating the disruptive effect of ILs to cell membrane lipid rafts, we investigated the effect of three 1-octylimidazolium-based ILs on the properties of the liquid ordered phase (Lo, a commonly used lipid raft model) of egg sphingomyelin (SM)-cholesterol model membrane. We found that, in the absence of cholesterol, a very low IL:SM molar ratio of 0.01:1 could disrupt the integrity of the bilayer structure. In sharp contrast, the presence of cholesterol in lipid bilayers helps the Lo phase resist the damaging effect of the ILs. For the role of the IL headgroup, we found that the mono- and trisubstituted species show a stronger destructive effect on the structures of the model rafts than the commonly used disubstituted counterpart.


Knowledge of a few low-order radial momentum expectation values (pk) and the central value gamma (0) of the electron momentum density in atomic systems allows us to find upper and lower bounds for the momentum density gamma (p) for any value of the linear momentum, as well as the cumulative density and the cumulative radial density of any atom. The bounds are obtained by using Chebyshev inequalities and moment-theoretic methods. Knowledge of a greater number of expectation values results in an improvement in the accuracy of the above mentioned bounds. A numerical study of this accuracy is carried out in a Hartree-Fock framework.


The differences between Mr Curaming and myself can begin to be seen more clearly if we avoid the generic term "poststructuralism" and instead focus on the work of the theorists that he and I, respectively, draw upon. In my recent work on religion, gender, and sexuality in Thailand, and in the articles that Mr Curaming critiques, I have been interested in developing Michel Foucault's ideas on the productivity of power and historical ruptures in forms of discourse to understand modern Thai cultural history. In contrast, Mr Curaming's main interest is the work of Jacques Derrida. While both Foucault and Derrida are commonly called poststructuralists, this label obscures important differences between their approaches and overlooks the fact that the two men fell out over theoretical issues. Many of the errors that Mr Curaming says that he finds in my work emerge from the fact that he draws upon his understanding of Derrida in order to critique my understanding of Foucault. The supposed faults that Mr Curaming outlines in fact mirror issues that Foucault and Derrida failed to agree on. I do not suggest that my work is errorfree or that I have understood Foucault's ideas perfectly. However, Mr Curaming's critique does not so much reflect the particular failings of my studies as it replays general tensions within the variegated body of poststructuralist thought. Foucault insisted that it is possible to analyse the power structures that underpin a body of discourse, and given that the pattern of power in any historical situation has a characteristic form then the discourses produced under that regime will also have specifiable


Mechatronics and robotics research efforts of large complexity are increasingly interdisciplinary involving collaboration between software, hardware, controls, and scientific teams. Traditionally, the level of integration has either required repeated site-visits or location of the teams at a common site. As the teams become increasingly diverse and disperse, there is a need for distributed operations platform that not only facilitates smooth communications, but also allows for remote experimentation and control of a common robot or device. By separating the principal design functions, a modular communications platform was developed to support the distance learning and experimental requirements of ambitious mechatronic development projects. This separation results in a modular system that is scalable and customizable to the particular conditions governing an experiment. The platform leverages off-the-shelf hardware and software and the presence of Internet connectivity. Where possible, open-source options were used to make the platform extensible to a variety of platforms and applications. The system is modular and consists of: a video observation/conferencing module, a file-transfer module, and a robot teleoperation module. This allowed multiple teams to test the operation of a robot independently and asynchronously without corrupting the work being conducted by another team member. It also allowed for new forms of interaction and reduced the need for travel between the multiple geographically-distributed research teams. Novel features of this work include a modular multiplatform architecture and an integration of basic telerobotics principles to extend PC-based collaboration/conferencing technologies from a basic communications platform to a means for supporting multi-site (robotics) research experiments. This paper describes the design considerations and evaluations associated with the development of the Great Little Inter link (GL-Link) architecture. This platform was motivated by robotics research ongoing between Stanford and Ohio State Universities. The platform was tested over several months as part of the design of a high-speed quadruped robot. Results from this trial highlight the impact of highly sensitive audio and video inputs and show the need for robustness to bandwidth fluctuations.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


Colorectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the entire world. Among cancers that affect both men and women, it accounts for >8% of all cancer incidence, making it the third most common cancer worldwide (behind lung and breast cancer). There were an estimated 14.1 million cancer cases around the world in 2012-last data available; 7.4 million were in men and 6.7 million in women. Of that, nearly 1.4 million new cases were from colorectal cancer. And, it has consistently been shown that the developed world carries the majority of the burden (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and parts of Western Europe), likely due to similarity in lifestyles and diets.


A global analysis of several productive indicators and the postpartum anoestrous interval (PPI) of 549 beef cowswas carried out to determine the management factors related with postpartum ovarian reactivation in extensive mountainfarming systems. Multivariate statistic methods (Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis) were usedto analyse the data due to the multifactorial nature of the processes involved. PPI was associated to four factors thatexplained 59% of the total inertia of the sample and were defined as follows: «Prepartum feeding level» (19% of theinertia), «Postpartum feeding level-Parity» (16.4%), «Suckling frequency» (13%) and «Calving difficulty» (10.5%).These factors were introduced into a Cluster Analysis that identified five types of cows: «Primiparous cows», «Twicedailysuckling», «Ad libitum suckling-Brown Swiss», «Autumn calving season» and «Spring calving season». Cowbreed was not related to PPI, although the Cluster Analysis associated the suckling-induced prolonged PPI with BrownSwiss animals. In Brown Swiss breed, PPI was longer in the spring than in the autumn due to nutritional differencesrather than to a seasonal effect. Autumn calving was better adapted to dry mountain conditions.


Background: Burn remains a globally significant life-threatening problem, especially in developing countries, and infection is considered as a major complication among burn patients. The rate of antibiotic-resistant bacteria isolated from burn patients has demonstrated a significant increase. In this regard, this study aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance pattern in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from patients' burn wound infections. Methods: All available wound cultures of burn patients admitted to the burn unit of Emam-Reza hospital/ Mashhad, northeast Iran from March 2012 to March 2017 were included in this retrospective study. Then, the resistance of isolated S. aureus strains against 25 different antibiotic disks was studied based on the aim of the study. Results: Overall, 1973 patients were admitted, out of whom 4758 swab samples were taken from them. Out of 3188 micro-organisms isolated from burn wound cultures, 185 (5.8%) cases were S. aureus. Based on the results, the highest susceptibility rates were related to vancomycin (98.8%), cefazolin (72%), ciprofloxacin (75%), and gentamicin (74.6%). Conclusions: In general, vancomycin, cefazolin, and ciprofloxacin appeared to be the most effective agents among all tested antibiotics for S. aureus. The extensive use of antibiotics in treating infections has resulted in the emergence of resistant strains. Routine microbiological surveillance and careful in vitro testing before antibiotic use may help in the prevention of the ever-increasing antibiotic-resistant pathogens in burn infections.


A theoretical model is developed to predict the strain of the pipe, coupling, and adhesive under tensile loading of an adhesive bonded joint. The model is found to be within 10 percent of the experimental pipe and coupling strain. Based on the model, several failure modes and their locations are defined and related to the measured data. In this investigation, delamination is the dominating mode of failure. The delamination stress for each test sample is within 7 percent of the average theoretical delamination stress. In addition, the effect of the coupling length, coupling Young's modulus, adhesive shear modulus, and adhesive thickness on the delamination failure are investigated. The model shows that decreasing the modulus of the coupling improves the delamination failure load; however, the coupling strain at the middle of the joint is increased by this variation. Increasing the shear modulus of the adhesive provides the most significant improvement of the joint delamination failure load. Two geometric factors, the joint length and the adhesive thickness also affect the joint failure load. The joint delamination failure load can only be significantly improved by increasing the bonding length up to a certain limit. Increasing the adhesive thickness increases the delamination failure load, however, a large gap between the pipe and coupling may contribute to misalignment during installation which may result in imposed moments under tensile loading. This study can supply the manufacturers with the appropriate design parameters to improve the joint performance significantly under tensile loading.


PROBENECID (Benemid) * resulted from a prolonged research effort directed toward the discovery of a safe agent that, administered orally, would physiologically inhibit the renal tubular secretion of penicillin.1Introduced into clinical medicine on July 22, 1949,2the use for which it was intended has increased steadily, and new indications for the drug have been disclosed. A conservative estimate indicates that 4,000,000 patient days (15,626 patient years) of therapy have been administered. Granting that the record of side-effects following the use of any therapeutic agent is not static, and that continuing use will bring to light an increasing number of side-effects and toxic manifestations, an appraisal from time to time seems appropriate. A preliminary assessment of the toxicity of probenecid was presented in 1951 on the basis of 701 patients,49and it is now possible to report on 2,502 patients. The information reported here has been derived from


In the treatment of spheno-ethmoidal sinusitis, whether conservative or radical, we are only too frequently at a loss to explain, not only to the patient but to ourselves as well, the vagaries which we obtain in our results. It is only when we stop to think of the many types of tissues making up the structures of the middle and superior turbinates and the walls of the posterior sinuses, and of the multiplicity of pathologic changes which may take place within this small area, that we begin to appreciate why our results are so confusing. We ask ourselves, are the referred pains caused by pressure within the sinuses by retained secretions, by pressure on the nerve by edema or scar tissue, by an inflammation of the nerves themselves, by simple inflammation of the mucosa, or by the bone changes? Is optic neuritis the result of similar changes? Has the age


ABSTRACT Conviviality has recently been taken up to capture everyday living-with-difference in multiethnic cities. Although it has usually been operationalised through an analysis of social interactions framed in neighbourhood or community settings, this article shifts the focus to more tightly delimited public places. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in four multiethnic neighbourhood commercial streets in Montréal, Quebec, it proposes a model that unpacks conviviality in place through four components: microplaces, codes of sociability, perceived intergroup relations, and place image (critical infrastructure). The article further argues that while conviviality not only pertains to relations across cultural difference, when it is intercultural, it overlaps conceptually with everyday cosmopolitanism – situated, emergent practices and discourses of openness to, and engagement with, cultural others. It uses the place-based model of conviviality to show how each of the commercial streets has its own distinct variety of everyday cosmopolitanism. Unpacking conviviality in place keeps us attuned to the many dimensions of social relations that make up contemporary cities.


This paper is concerned with the dynamic output feedback H ∞ controller design for a class of nonlinear continuous-time systems with nonlinear uncertainties. The resulting design is such that the closed-loop system not only is asymptotically stable, but also meets the prescribed H ∞ norm constraint. What's worth mentioning is that the paper proposes a new method which combines S-procedure approach to solve the nonlinear uncertainties. A sufficient condition for the existence of such a controller is obtained by using appropriate Lyapunov functional and linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique. In addition, based on this result, a convex LMI-based optimization method is developed to optimize the H ∞ performance. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design.


A wide variety of applications are used in lossless image compression models, especially in medical, space, and aerial imaging domains. Predictive coding improves the performance of lossless image compression, which highly relies on entropy error. Lower entropy error results in better image compression. The main focus of this research is to improve the prediction process by minimizing the entropy error. This paper proposes a novel idea for improved Median Edge Detection (iMED) predictor for lossless image compression. MED predictor is improved using k-means clustering and finding the local context of pixels using 20-Dimensional Difference (DDx20) for input images and updates the cluster weights using learning rates (µi) to minimize the prediction errors of pixels. The performance of the proposed predictor is evaluated on the standard grey-scale test images dataset and KODAK image dataset. Results are obtained and compared based on entropy error, bits per pixel (bpp), and computational running time in seconds(s) with the MED, GAP, FLIF, and LBP predictors. The performance of the proposed iMED predictor improves significantly in terms of the entropy error, bpp, and computational running time in seconds(s) after comparison with different state-of-the-art predictors.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia affecting nearly 18 million people around the world and 4.5 million in the US. It is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that is estimated to dramatically increase in prevalence as the elderly population continues to grow. As the cognitive and neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms of AD progresses in severity over time, affected individuals become increasingly dependent on others for assistance in performing all activities of daily living. The burden of caring for someone affected by the disorder is great and has substantial impact on a family's emotional, social and financial well-being. In the US, the currently approved medications for the treatment of mild to moderate stages of AD are the cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs). Cholinesterase inhibitors have shown modest efficacy in terms of symptomatic improvement and stabilization for periods generally ranging from 6 to 12 months. There are additional data that have emerged, which suggest longer-term benefits. For the moderate to severe stages of AD, memantine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist is in widespread use and has shown modest benefit as monotherapy and in combination with ChEIs. The cost effectiveness of the currently available therapeutic agents for AD has undergone great scrutiny and remains controversial, especially outside the US. Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation and psychosis are common in AD. Unfortunately, in the US there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved agents for the treatment of these symptoms, although atypical antipsychotics have shown some efficacy and have been widely used. However, the use of these agents has recently warranted special caution due to reports of associated adverse effects such as weight gain, hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance, cerebrovascular events, and an increased risk for death. Alternative agents used to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms include serotonergic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and anticonvulsant medications.


We propose an ansatz for the commutative canonical spin c Dirac operator on [FORMULA] in a global geometric approach using the right invariant (left action-) induced vector fields from SU(3). This ansatz is suitable for noncommutative generalisation within the framework of fuzzy geometry. Along the way we identify the physical spinors and construct the canonical spin c bundle in this formulation. The chirality operator is also given in two equivalent forms. Finally, using representation theory we obtain the eigenspinors and calculate the full spectrum. We use an argument from the fuzzy complex projective space [FORMULA] based on the fuzzy analogue of the unprojected spin c bundle to show that our commutative projected spin c bundle has the correct SU(3)-representation content.


Four different graphene-based temperature sensors were prepared, and their temperature and humidity dependences were tested. Sensor active layers prepared from reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene nanoplatelets (Gnp) were deposited on the substrate from a dispersion by air brush spray coating. Another sensor layer was made by graphene growth from a plasma discharge (Gpl). The last graphene layer was prepared by chemical vapor deposition (Gcvd) and then transferred onto the substrate. The structures of rGO, Gnp, and Gpl were studied by scanning electron microscopy. The obtained results confirmed the different structures of these materials. Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction was used to determine the elemental composition of the materials. Gcvd was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Elemental analysis showed different oxygen contents in the structures of the materials. Sensors with a small flake structure, i.e., rGO and Gnp, showed the highest change in resistance as a function of temperature. The temperature coefficient of resistance was 5.16−3·K−1 for Gnp and 4.86−3·K−1 for rGO. These values exceed that for a standard platinum thermistor. The Gpl and Gcvd sensors showed the least dependence on relative humidity, which is attributable to the number of oxygen groups in their structures.


A 1.9 e- random noise CMOS image sensor has been developed by applying an active feedback operation (AFO), which uses a capacitive feedback effect to floating diffusion (FD) by a gate-source capacitance of a pixel source follower (SF), in a CMOS image sensor with a lateral overflow integration capacitor (LOFIC) technology. It is described that the AFO is suitable for CMOS image sensors with LOFIC because the design of the full well capacity and the FD can be independently optimized. The AFO theory is found to be explored to a large signal voltage in detail, as well as the conventional analysis of the capacitive feedback effect of the pixel SF for a small signal voltage. A 1/4-in 5.6- mum-pitch 640(H) times 480(V) pixel sensor chip in a 0.18-mum two-poly-Si three-metal CMOS technology achieves about 1.7 times the sensitivity with AFO compared with the case where the feedback operation is not positively used, resulting in an input-referred conversion gain of 210 muV/e- and an input-referred noise of 1.9 e-. A high well capacity of 130 000 e- is also achieved.


In this paper the efficient solvability of a class of nonlinear knapsack problems are investigated by means of the problem's necessary and sufficient conditions. It is shown that, from the general theory, it is impossible to determine sufficient conditions for a solution to be globally optimal. Furthermore, it is shown that even for the smallest possible instance of this problem it is, in general, possible to have an arbitrary large number of solutions for which the necessary conditions hold. These results are then generalised to larger instances of the problem. A possible solution approach is applied to sets of randomly generated problems that utilises the necessary conditions together with the branch-and-bound technique in an attempt to limit the search space. This approach solves mixed 0/1 knapsack problems in order to find all possible solutions satisfying the necessary conditions. Due to the large number of solutions satisfying the necessary conditions the proposed solution approach takes substantially longer than existing branch-and-bound algorithms together with linear enveloping when applied to the same set of problems. This result renders the proposed approach not very efficient.


Previous studies have proven the effectiveness of nitric oxide (NO) donors to enhance flap survival in experimental models. The purpose of this study was to determine the ideal dose of the NO donor spermine/nitric oxide complex (Sper/NO) with respect to flap survival and hemodynamic side effects. Additionally, the influence of the type of application (systemically versus intra-arterial into the flap artery) was observed. Seventy-two male Wistar rats were divided into 9 experimental groups. An extended epigastric adipocutaneous flap (6 × 10 cm) based on the left superficial epigastric artery and vein was raised in each animal. The average percentage of flap necrosis was 69.8% in the control group with ischemia and 29.8% in the non ischemic controls. The average necrosis areas in the 3 groups after preischemic intravenous (i.v.) application of Sper/NO (250, 500, and 750 nmol/kg body weight) were 63.5%, 33.8%, and 38.4%, respectively. The application of similar doses into the flap artery resulted in 63.5%, 72.3%, and 64.3% flap necrosis; 52.7% average flap loss was observed in an additional group receiving Sper/NO adjusted to flap weight (500 nmol/kg flap weight). Only the intravenous application of 500 and 750 nmol/kg resulted in a significant reduction of flap necrosis compared with the ischemic controls (P < 0.01). The drop in mean arterial pressure was less after i.v. application of 500 nmol/kg Sper/NO compared with 750 nmol. Our data show that the preischemic intravenous application of 500 nmol/kg Sper/NO achieved the best results with acceptable side effects. A dose of 250 nmol/kg i.v., as well as the application of Sper/NO into the flap artery, was demonstrated to be ineffective.


Abstract : Lecturers are professional educators and scientists with the main task of transforming, develop and disseminate science, technology, and art through education, research, and community service. But still questioned regarding the performance of lecturers who are still not optimal, and also at private universities, especially the economic field in this case is the accounting and management still has an organizational culture that tend to be less conducive. Is this lack of conducive organizational culture influences the performance of lecturers in the works. Campus culture conducive proved a significant influence (sign value = 0.000) and positive (value b = 0.886) on the performance of private lecturer especially those working in the accounting and management courses in Riau province. This result proves that the more conducive campus culture will increasingly meninggkat private lecturer performance. Keywords: lecturer Performance, Organizational Culture.


Solvothermal processes, as compared to hydrothermal processes, enlarge the scope of the employed solvents from aqueous to non-aqueous media, the objective being to extend the possibilities for the preparation and/or the crystal growth of non-oxide materials. During the last fifteen years solvothermal crystal growth of materials has been investigated at two different levels: (i) the macroscopic scale, with the preparation of large single crystals of functional materials for specific applications, (ii) the nanoscale, involving the elaboration of single-crystalline nanocrystallites well defined in size and morphology, and particularly adapted to nanodevices. In the first domain, two main factors have been studied: (i) the influence of the thermodynamical parameters governing the solvothermal processes, and (ii) the purity of the components (nutrient, solvent, etc.), the main objective being to reduce drastically the density of defects inside the single crystals. In the second domain, strong efforts have been made: (i) to control the nano-size, but mainly, (ii) to induce specific morphologies, in particular 1D, appropriate to the relative nanotechnologies Graphical Abstract Review. New Trends in Solvothermal Crystal Growth at theMacro- and Nanoscale


Machine Learning is a trending field nowadays and is very well known as an application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Machine learning makes use of secure arithmetical algorithms to construct computers assignment in a constructive way without being unequivocally programmed. The algorithms acquire freedom of a participated value and estimate output for this by utilizing definite arithmetical methods. The key function of machine learning is to create smart machines that can visualize and work related to human beings. Artificial Intelligence has been witnessing a massive improvement in bridging the gap among the capabilities of humans and technologies. Similarly, one of the characteristics of the field were tried to combine the outstanding effects. A Convolution Neural Network (CNN) is a sort of Deep Learning algorithm which can obtain an input image, assign consequence to different aspects in the image and capable to differentiate one from the other. The pre-processing requirement in a CNN is lesser as compared to other classification algorithms. CNN has the capability to find out these filter's characteristics. Bioinformatics is a term that is a mixture of two terms bio and informatics. Bio means associated with biology and informatics means in a sequence of information. Thus bioinformatics is an area that deals with handing out and accepting biological statistics using the computational and arithmetical approaches. Machine Learning has added up to of applications in the area of bioinformatics. Machine Learning finds its submission in the subsequent subfields of bioinformatics. The aim of this article is to perform a grayscale normalization of a selected image and thereafter to reduce the effect of illumination differences. Normalization is considered so that CNN works in a faster manner. Different models are available but Keras model is selected to perform this task. Keras supports the style of data preparation for Image statistics via the Image Data Generator group and Application Programming Interface (API). The Image Data Generator group in Keras provides a matching set of techniques for scaling pixel standards in the image dataset subsequent to modeling. The Keras functional API provides an additional flexible approach for significant models. It particularly allows Identifving several input or output models as well as models that allocate layers.


The pathogenesis of aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity is directly related to the accumulation of drug within the renal cortex. To identify measures that might prevent aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity, we investigated the influence of various dosage regimens on the renal cortical accumulation of amikacin and tobramycin in man. Patients undergoing nephrectomy for a renal tumour with normal renal function and no proteinuria received (i) a single dose of either amikacin (15 mg/kg) or tobramycin (4.5 mg/kg) given iv over 30 min, or (ii) a 24-h continuous infusion of either drug or (iii) amikacin as two injections of 7.5 mg/kg or tobramycin as three injections of 1.5 mg/kg over the 24 h preceding nephrectomy. Serum aminoglycoside pharmacokinetics were examined and renal cortical tissue was sampled for drug determination at operation. A single injection yielded cortical concentrations of 115.4 +/- 21.8 and 68.9 +/- 30.3 mg/kg for amikacin and tobramycin, respectively. Tissue levels after continuous infusion were 171.7 +/- 42.9 and 100.0 +/- 30.0 mg/kg for amikacin and tobramycin, respectively. Two injections of 7.5 mg/kg amikacin resulted in renal cortical concentrations of 196.9 +/- 54.9 and three injections of 1.5 mg/kg tobramycin resulted in renal cortical concentration of 76.5 +/- 18 mg/kg. The AUC for the three dosage regimens was not significantly different for the two aminoglycosides indicating linear serum pharmacokinetics for these drugs. In the case of amikacin, a single injection resulted in significantly lower drug levels than did a continuous infusion or administration of the same dose over three injections.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Both pathogenic microbial cells as well as nonpathogenic water are able to adhere to rigid surfaces (settling walls, pipes, filters, tanks) through a matrix forming an exopolymeric astringent film , visible to the eye, generically called bio-film and which contains specific microbial communities. Some organisms in bio-films can accelerate corrosion of some materials types. These corrosion products provide additional habitat for other organisms, forming bio-films The type and the concentration of disinfectant used in water treatment can affect the development of bio-films. For example chlorine is consumed by the bio-film, but not always effectively penetrates the bio-film layer. For these reasons there was developed the complex substance capable to limit and control the bio-film development. This paper presented the results which were obtained when there was used the mixture of solution based on hydrogen peroxide in order to reduce the bio-film in sand filtration in water treatment plant. This solution mixture was spread both in the sand layer and on the wall of filters. After this treatment there were weekly performed the analysis of the layer of the deposits on the filter and filter tank walls, by monitoring the turbidity, the iron related bacteria, the slime bacteria, the pathogenic bacteria of the water cycle and filtering operation for long period ( 250 days)


We investigate the space ${\cal M}$ of classical solutions to Witten's formulation of 2+1 gravity on the manifold ${\bf R} \times T^2$. ${\cal M}$ is connected, but neither Hausdorff nor a manifold. However, removing from ${\cal M}$ a set of measure zero yields a connected manifold which is naturally viewed as the cotangent bundle over a non-Hausdorff base space. Avenues towards quantizing the theory are discussed in view of the relation between spacetime metrics and the various parts of~${\cal M}$. (Contribution to the proceedings of the Lanczos Centenary Conference, Raleigh, NC, December 12--17, 1993.)


Abstract Background Experiencing victimization in early life has been repeatedly shown to be associated with the emergence of psychotic symptoms in childhood. However, most victimized children do not develop psychotic symptoms and why this occurs is not fully understood. This study investigated which individual, family-level, and wider community characteristics were associated with an absence of psychotic symptoms among children at risk for psychosis by virtue of their exposure to multiple victimization experiences (poly-victimization). Methods Participants were from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative cohort of 2232 UK-born twins. Exposure to maltreatment, bullying and domestic violence prior to age 12 was determined from interviews with mothers, children, and observations by research workers at ages 5, 7, 10, and 12. Children were interviewed about psychotic symptoms at age 12. Protective factors were measured at ages 5, 7, 10, and 12. Results Childhood poly-victimization was associated with age-12 psychotic symptoms (OR = 4.61, 95% CI 2.82–7.52), but the majority of poly-victimized children did not report symptoms (80.7%). Having a relatively high IQ, more positive atmosphere at home, and higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion were found to be protective against childhood psychotic symptoms among poly-victimized children and also in the whole sample. However, "protected" poly-victimized children displayed elevated levels of other mental health problems compared to nonvictimized children. Conclusions Children's characteristics, family context, and the wider community were all found to protect children from developing early psychotic symptoms, even when they were victimized multiple times. These findings indicate targets for multilevel preventive interventions.