Abstract: To see what I expect to see: travel writing's degree zero and literarytravel narratives. With references to Henri Michaux and Michel Butor. This essay examines what arguments can be put forward to explain why readers and critics view travel writing as literary. It offers an answer that does not imply any coded definition of literature and literary works: literary travel writing is the mimesis of the questioning which characterises any literary work. This questioning rests on:
1. The duality of travellers' perceptions of the foreign lands they discover. They see what they see and what they expect to see; their perceptions are mediated and unmediated, and consequently reflexive and congruent with the cognitive undecipherability of the foreign lands.
2. The paradox of the situation of the traveller/writer. Abroad, the traveller is not viewed as a foreigner; the least difference he/she embodies highlights a paradoxical cognitive undecipherability. The effect of the auctorial enunciation is limited by this paradox.
3. The reflexive construction of the piece of travel writing. Because they bar any meta-description of the foreign land and its people, the duality of perceptions and the traveller's paradox make the evocations of places and people at once autonomous and implicitly related.
4. The behaviourist approach to the people of the foreign land(s). These restrictions to the traveller's power to interpret makes the behaviourist approach obligatory. People of foreign lands can be viewed as objective entities.
5. The implicit inferences that human objective entities motivate and suggest an overall questioning. These critical and theoretical views utilise references to Michaux's and Butor's travels abroad and their travel writing.


ISO 9000, an international quality system, is catching on in health care. Providers see it as a much less expensive alternative or as a complement to the JCAHO. And because ISO has been used for years in manufacturing, it has one big advantage over JCAHO: employers know it and trust it.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the effect of the intraoperative use of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CBMC) and related perioperative factors on postoperative colic and survival in horses that had abdominal surgery for colic.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective study.

ANIMALS
Horses (n=203) that had surgery for small intestinal disease; 33 horses had intraoperative administration of CBMC.

METHODS
Information was obtained from medical records for 170 horses that had surgery for colic before use of CBMC and 33 horses that had intraoperative CBMC. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate median survival time and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratio for the effect of CBMC and other perioperative variables on survival.

RESULTS
Seventy-five percent of horses administered CBMC survived to 180 days, whereas 75% of untreated horses survived 8 days (median survival time=18 days). Horses not administered CBMC were twice as likely to die compared with horses administered CBMC. Horses that had postoperative ileus (POI) were 1.4 times more likely to die than horses without ileus. Similarly, horses with signs of colic after surgery were 1.3 times more likely to die than horses without postoperative signs of colic.

CONCLUSIONS
CBMC administration is seemingly protective against death and prolongs survival when used intraoperatively in horses with small intestine disease, particularly horses with postoperative colic or POI. Both POI and colic increased risk of death after surgery.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Intraoperative administration of CBMC in horses that have surgery for small intestinal disease may improve survival, possibly by reducing early adhesion formation.


The issue of the training of future teachers of natural science and mathematics to using STEM technologies was discussed on the basis of the system of scientific analysis. The article describes several severities of the process of training future teachers of natural science and mathematics and organization of making use of STEM technologies based on project priorities and application-oriented study methods, connected with modern technologies and also supplying them by social connection in a professional environment. The assembly of the principles of the effectiveness of the training system referred to above shall be defined and described in the following paragraphs.


We propose a new distributed alarm correlation and fault identification in computer networks. The managed network is divided into a disjoint management domains and each management domain is assigned a dedicated intelligent agent. The intelligent agent is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and correlating alarms emitted form emitted from its constituent entities in its domain. In the framework of Dempster-Shafer evidence theory, each agent perceives each alarm as a piece of evidence in the occurrence of a certain fault hypothesis and correlates the received alarms into a single alarm called local composite alarm, which encapsulates the agent's partial view of the current status of the managed system. While the alarm correlation process is performed locally, each intelligent agent is able to correlate its alarms globally. These local composite alarms are, in turn, sent to a higher agent whose task is to fuse these alarms and form a global view of operation status of the running network. Extensive experimentations have demonstrated that the proposed approach is more alarm loss tolerant than the codebook based approaches and hence shown its effectiveness in a usually noisy network environment.


Recent research at three small tokamaks with different parameters located at the Ioffe Institute—the spherical tokamak Globus-M, the large aspect ratio tokamak FT-2 and the compact tokamak TUMAN-3M—are reviewed. This overview covers energy confinement (Globus-M and FT-2), L–H transition (TUMAN-3M and FT-2), Alfvén waves (Globus-M and TUMAN-3M), ion cyclotron emission (TUMAN-3M), major plasma discharge disruption (Globus-M) and scrape-off layer (Globus-M) studies. A full-f global gyrokinetic modeling benchmark using synthetic diagnostics in FT-2 is described. Anomalous absorption and emission in electron cyclotron resonance heating experiments due to the parametric excitation of localized upper hybrid waves are analyzed theoretically. Progress in the development of the neutral particle analysis, gamma-ray spectrometry and divertor Thomson scattering combined with laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics for ITER is discussed. The status of the new Globus-M2 spherical tokamak is reported.


A modified Environmental Kuznets Curve is proposed, where, by substituting the traditional measure of pollution with the level of natural resource depletion and degradation, a more sustainability-oriented EKC model is presented. The focus is placed on a panel data set of 30 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, over a period of thirty-five years (1980-2014). SSA is chosen as the subject of this research, as it is a resource-rich region and is currently one of the world's fastest-growing regions in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), especially natural resource seeking, but SSA is also plagued with poor institutional quality and widespread poverty and income inequality. Several studies also associate SSA with a resource curse. The EKC hypothesis is tested for natural resource depletion after controlling several variables pertinent to the SSA region. One of the major findings is that no EKC or inverted U-shape relationship is found between natural resource depletion and the level of economic development. In other words, natural resource depletion does not seem to subside after a given per capita income level is reached for the sampled countries. In addition, the results show that globalisation, which is measured through trade openness, and industrialisation both contribute towards a greater depletion of natural resources and hence have an adverse impact on environmental sustainability for this sample of countries.


Although cover crops contribute many benefits to organic and conventional agricultural systems, they may play a significant role in the epidemiology of soilborne diseases. A 2-year study shows that Sclerotinia minor, which causes lettuce drop disease, is a pathogen of phacelia, lana woollypod vetch and Austrian winter pea cover crops. Greenhouse and field inoculations failed to result in S. minor infections of oilseed radish, barley and fava bean cover crops. It appears these three cover crops can be safely incorporated into lettuce rotations without increasing the occurrence of lettuce drop. lettuce drop


As you can see from their comments, all three referees are rather supportive of your study, with referee #3 being less enthusiastic but still positive, but point out to a number of significant concerns that will require your attention before your manuscript can be published in The EMBO Journal. I will not repeat here the referee concerns, which in many cases refer to clarifications and further discussion but may require additional experimental evidence. I believe are rather straightforward, but in any case, please contact me if you have any questions, need further input on the referee comments or if you anticipate any problems.


As part of the Monaco offshore extension project, Bouygues Travaux Publics is in charge of design & build a maritime infrastructure as the first step of the six-hectare expansion of the city into the sea. This maritime infrastructure consists of a fill enclosed by a band of 18 trapezoid reinforced concrete caissons and will serve as base for construction of the new eco-neighborhood in Monaco. The caisson precasting area is located in the port of Marseilles, using a dedicated floating dock.
 The paper focuses on some of the problems which had to be solved, among which : The optimization of promenade level, searching for : ○a compromise between architectural point of view and safety related to storm wave overtopping, taking into account sea level rise and correlations between extreme waves and water levels;○minimal reflection coefficient for vertical concrete caissons, so as to minimize impact on existing Port Hercules wave disturbance.Caissons and rubble mound foundation stability related to waves and seism, including extra seismic forces due to buildings considering the high reclamation height (up to 40 m) and the immediate proximity of building foundations.The presence of a small craft harbor, whose location was fixed for urbanistic reasons, which requested optimizations in detail of anti-overtopping devices as much as possible integrated in the urban context, including a low crested "swimming pool caisson breakwater"Design and build of a dedicated floating yard
 Design has required a multidisciplinary approach (urbanists, landscapers, architects, marine infrastructure engineering, biologists), with unconventional infrastructure solutions due to the very specific context (direct exposure to offshore waves, proximity of sensitive port and natural areas, seismic hazard associated with buildings very close to 25 m high concrete caissons …).


In this study, Fe3O4/gallic acid/graphene oxide magnetic nanocomposites (Fe3O4/GA/GO MNPs) were synthesized as heterogeneous Fenton catalysts to activate H2O2 to degrade methylene blue (MB). The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The addition of GA resulted in crystal defects on the surface of Fe3O4/GA/GO which improved its catalytic properties. Moreover, Fe3O4/GA/GO had larger surface area, correspondingly exposing more active sites for H2O2 activation, as well as enhancing the adsorption of MB which also promoted its catalytic properties. Complete removal of MB (0.2 mM) and remarkable mineralization of total organic carbon (TOC) (66.7%) were obtained within 420 min at pH 6.0 and 30 C by using 1.0 g L 1 Fe3O4/GA/ GO MNPs and 160.0 mM H2O2. Furthermore, MB could be completely degraded by Fe3O4/GA/GO MNPs in a wide pH value ranging from 3.0 to 10.0. The catalyst showed stable catalytic activity, as well as good mechanical stability, and could be recycled 10 times.


The effectiveness of treating human brucellosis caused by Brucella melitensis with a 6-week course of doxcycline plus streptomycin for 2 of those weeks was analyzed by a multicenter prospective study of 139 patients. Subjects with central nervous system involvement, endocarditis, or spondylitis were excluded from the study. All but 5 of the 139 patients completed the full treatment schedule and became afebrile in the first week of therapy. Four patients suffered relapses during the follow-up period. Of the five patients who did not complete the treatment, two left because of adverse secondary effects (1.4%), another two left for noncomplicance with the treatment (1.4%), and the remaining patient was considered a therapeutic failure because his symptoms persisted after the first week of therapy (0.7%). We concluded that the combination of doxycycline and streptomycin is an effective treatment for the types of brucellosis included in our study.


The combination of an exacerbated workload and impermeable nature of the personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by COVID-19 healthcare workers increases heat strain. We aimed to compare the prevalence of heat strain symptoms before (routine care without PPE) versus during the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 care with PPE), identify risk factors associated with experiencing heat strain, and evaluate the access to and use of heat mitigation strategies. Dutch healthcare workers (n = 791) working at COVID-19 wards for ≥1 week, completed an online questionnaire to assess personal characteristics, heat strain symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the access to and use of heat mitigation strategies. Healthcare workers experienced ~25× more often heat strain symptoms during medical duties with PPE (93% of healthcare workers) compared to without PPE (30% of healthcare workers; OR = 25.57 (95% CI = 18.17–35.98)). Female healthcare workers and those with an age <40 years were most affected by heat strain, whereas exposure time and sports activity level were not significantly associated with heat strain prevalence. Cold drinks and ice slurry ingestion were the most frequently used heat mitigation strategies and were available in 63.5% and 30.1% of participants, respectively. Our findings indicate that heat strain is a major challenge for COVID-19 healthcare workers, and heat mitigations strategies are often used to counteract heat strain.


body, but with variations by factors of 6 for the head and 10 for the body. For digital substraction angiography one observer reduced the average dose to 20 rad per study, compared with 24.5 previously in direct full cerebral angiography. The major lecture, 'Ethics, trade-offs and medical radiation' by Eugene L Saenger, considers costs, the legislative problems in the US (with criticism of the 'Certificate of Need' required before being allowed to purchase a CT scan) and studies of efficacy. The latter are also covered by a later speaker. An account is given of the legislative and regulatory system in Canada with a description of the assessments of natural background radiation in that country showing variations of 18-114 mR/year in different cities and at different times. There are a number of specialist committee reports on work in progress. I fear that this publication will only have a limited place in the UK on the shelves of Radiation Protection Advisers and members of the IRCP, as evidence of the position reached so far in the US. It is clear that our transatlantic colleagues are no further forward in assessing risks and benefits of medical radiation in the newest imaging modalities than we are, but that they are thinking about it harder. They are still committed to assessing dose as energy absorbed per unit mass of tissue (rads and rems, Grays and Sieverts) which leads to the interesting paradox that if one CT slice produces 2.3 rad then five produces 3.1 rad. It is essential to remember that such figures do not describe the total radiation energy absorbed.


Question of relation between an essence and an existence was one of major medieval philosophical problems. The first ones who started considerate this issue were Muslim thinkers, especially Avicenna and Averroes. The latter of them was one of the main figure in this debate. Étienne Gilson claims that on ground of Averroes' thought Aristotle struggles with problem of existence. Averroes claimed that this two components differ only in logical manner. In reality an essence and an existence are identical and an existence is something which flows from essence of being. That is why Averroes did not agree with Avicenna that existence is only a accident of essence, because such claim is contradictory with Aristotle's theory of being. According to this Greek thinker, all accidents can be described by one of the categories (except a category of substance which is the subject on which other categories are predicated) and an existence is not one of them. For Averroes, Avicenna's conception is example of contamination of Aristotle's  thought by theological components. That is why he tried to purify interpretations of Aristotle's philosophy from this ideas, foreign to his thought. According to Averroes problem of relation between an essence and an existence is wrongly formulated because when we want explain why the being is, we must only point on it cause and we don't need to search answer about an existence of being.


Purpose To collect information regarding preparation, content, and format of Medical Student Performance Evaluations (MSPEs) and evaluate a sample of 2005 MSPEs to assess compliance with the 2002 Association of American Medical Colleges-issued MSPE guidelines. Method Cross-sectional survey with all 126 U.S. allopathic medical schools. Associate deans of students affairs were sent an eight-item questionnaire in June 2006 and asked to submit a sample of redacted MSPEs for 2005 graduates, choosing one from each tertile of the class. Survey data are summarized. MSPEs were abstracted, and results are presented descriptively. Results The survey response rate was 84%. Most associate deans (71%) reported having primary responsibility for composing MSPEs; 78% adhered to the format and content guidelines three fourths of the time. The abstraction of 293 MSPEs (78%) showed that more than 80% adhered to format recommendations. However, only 70% to 80% stated grades clearly, avoided the word recommendation, and stated whether the student had completed remediation. Fewer than 70% indicated whether the student had had any adverse actions or provided adequate comparative data. Strikingly, only 17% provide comparative data in the summary paragraph. Overall, 75% of the MSPEs were judged to be "adequate." Conclusions MSPEs are somewhat variable in terms of which specific items are included. There has been steady quality improvement since prior surveys, primarily in formatting and labeling. However, a sizable minority of writers are still using the MSPE as a recommendation, and too few are providing helpful comparative data.


A series of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that were covalently bound to 2-aminothiophenol-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (Au-ATP-rGO) composites have been synthesized with well-dispersed and controllable surface coverage of AuNPs. Aptamer immobilization capacity studies demonstrated that the surface density of AuNPs played a key role in increasing the amount of anchoring aptamers to enhance the sensitivity of affinity based detection. With the composites possessing dense surface coverage of AuNPs as a versatile signal amplified platform, a label-free aptasensor for the sensitive and selective detection of small molecules (ochratoxin A in this case) has been developed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). A wide linear range of 0.1-200 ng mL(-1) was obtained with a low detection limit of 0.03 ng mL(-1) (S/N = 3). This work provides a universal strategy for the sensitive detection of a variety of targets in a truly label-free manner by means of changing the corresponding aptamer. The promising platform based on the combination of Au-ATP-rGO composites, EIS technique, and aptamers would have great potential applications in clinical diagnosis, environmental analysis, and food safety monitoring.


The effort of understanding human language and cognition, which distinguishes humans from other organisms and provides them with the opportunities they have on earth, dates back to ancient times. In line with this effort a theory of language and cognition, which is fairly comprehensive and has empirical support, has been developed based on a functional contextualistic view in the last century. This theory, called Relational Frame Theory (RFT), considers language as a verbal behavior and argues that the basis of human language and cognition is the behavior known as Arbitrarily Applicable Relational Responding (AARR). This behavior includes responding based on arbitrary relations independent of the non-arbitrary (physical) relations between stimuli, established by social whim and that do not make sense outside the social context in which they are located. AARR is characterized by three core properties such as mutual entailment, combinatorial mutual entailment and transformation of stimulus functions, and this behavior itself needs to be learned.
This review aims to explain RFT, a very complex theory, in a comprehensive and understandable way. The historical process that brought about RFT will be mentioned, the basic principles and concepts of it will be explained, and the contributions of this theory to the understanding of complex human behaviors and its approach to psychopathology will be discussed.


Asthma which includes an important bronchial hyper-reactivity to several substances is closely linked to environmental factors. Atmospheric allergens are among the best known of these factors. Some and the most numerous, like pollen, are natural. Others like isocyanates are artificial and mostly the cause of professional accidents. The noxious effect of air pollution on airways has been clearly established by the numerous observations compiled over half a century. As far as asthma is concerned, the bronchoconstricting effect of pollutants inhaled at high doses is well known. Numerous epidemiological studies and tests performed in laboratories have also revealed the action of different pollutants inhaled at "realistic" concentrations. The relationship between asthma and climatic environment appears more difficult to define and the objective facts which could play a part in these relations are few and contradictory.


Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) mediating ecologically important ant–plant protection mutualisms are especially common and unusually diverse in the Leguminosae. We present the first comprehensively curated list of legume genera with EFNs, detailing and illustrating their systematic and phylogenetic distributions, locations on the plant, morphology and anatomy, on the basis of a unified classification of EFN categories and a time-calibrated phylogeny, incorporating 710 of the 768 genera. This new synthesis, the first since Mckey (1989)'s seminal paper, increases the number of genera with EFNs to 153 (20% of legumes), distributed across subfamilies Cercidoideae (1), Detarioideae (19), Caesalpinioideae (87) and Papilionoideae (46). EFNs occur at nine locations, and are most prevalent on vegetative plant parts, especially leaves (74%) and inflorescence axes (26%). Four main categories (with eight subcategories) are recognised and include the following: formless, trichomatic (exposed, hollow), parenchymatic (embedded, pit, flat, elevated) and abscission zone EFNs (non-differentiated, swollen scars). Phylogenetic reconstruction of EFNs suggests independent evolutionary trajectories of different EFN types, with elevated EFNs restricted almost exclusively to Caesalpinioideae (where they underwent spectacular morphological disparification), flat EFNs in Detarioideae, swollen scar EFNs in Papilionoideae, and Cercidoideae is the only subfamily bearing intrastipular EFNs. We discuss the complex evolutionary history of EFNs and highlight future research directions.


Abstract:  Seasonal variations can be found in almost any parameter of an organism's biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology, and behaviour. This phenomenon, generally called photoperiodism, results from one of the major functions of the circadian system, i.e. the translation of environmental information into rhythmic intraorganismic signals, which then regulate or influence physiology and pathology. We induced melanoma in three groups of syngeneic C57BL/6 mice synchronised to different photoperiods (8, 12, or 18 h of light within 24‐h days) by subcutaneous injections of HFH18 melanoma cell suspensions. All animals from all three photoperiodic groups developed exponentially growing tumors. The average tumor volume on day 31 post injection was significantly smaller in animals exposed to light/dark conditions (LD) 8 : 16 h as compared with animals held in LD 18 : 6 h and intermediate in animals from the equinox group. These results indicate that C57BL/6 mice react to photoperiod, which can exert a significant effect on tumor growth.


Male albino rats were fed a high lipid diet for 5 consecutive weeks. We studied the development of paw inflammation after an injection with Freund's complete adjuvant. Increasing the lipid content of the diet significantly increased the rate of paw inflammation. Also the effect on this process of oral administration of a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (allopurinol, 50 mg/kg) for 15 consecutive days was studied. Results indicated that inflammation was significantly inhibited by allopurinol.


General-purpose processors can now contain many dozens of processor cores and support hundreds of simultaneous threads of execution. To make best use of these threads, genomics software must contend with new and subtle computer architecture issues. We discuss some of these and propose methods for improving thread scaling in tools that analyze each read independently, such as read aligners. We implement these methods in new versions of Bowtie, Bowtie 2 and HISAT. We greatly improve thread scaling in many scenarios, including on the recent Intel Xeon Phi architecture. We also highlight how bottlenecks are exacerbated by variable-record-length file formats like FASTQ and suggest changes that enable superior scaling.


While teacher-made transparencies for the overhead projector have become commonplace in the foreign language classroom, student-made ones are less frequently found. A very efficient method for checking homework assignments employs student-made transparencies of the assigned exercises as the working model in the classroom to be corrected or discussed as necessary. Procedures and suggestions are presented, as are advantages and disadvantages of the system.


Quantitative determination method of urea in blood serum and urine by means of ultraviolet spectroscopy is worked out. This method is based on direct determination of optical density of solutions of indicated biological fluids at three different waves of max. Absorption region of urea (275-300 nm). Morton-Shtab method was used to determine the concentration of urea. The method sensitivity is 1-20 Mg/cm3, the precision - 1.3-2.8%.


Abstract An unsteady problem is considered for a space-fractional diffusion equation in abounded domain. A first-order evolutionary equation containing a fractional power of an elliptic operator of second order is studied for general boundary conditions of Robin type. Finite element approximation in space is employed. To construct approximation in time, regularized two-level schemes are used. The numerical implementation is based on solving the equation with the fractional power of the elliptic operator using an auxiliary Cauchy problem for a pseudo-parabolic equation. The results of numerical experiments are presented for a model two-dimensional problem.


Working memory theory attributes the between-language difference in bilingual memory span to variation in speech rate and the time-based constraint of the phonological loop. We present two experiments examining the relationship between reading rate and memory span for Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2 and 3) and digit words (e.g. one, two and three) in both the languages of Spanish-dominant, Spanish–English bilinguals. The results of Expt 1 showed that reading time was shorter in Spanish than English for both numerals and digit words. Both number representations were read at equivalent rates in Spanish, whereas in English digit words were read faster than numerals. The results of the memory task indicated a larger span in Spanish than English and a span advantage for numerals compared to digit words in both languages. Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Expt 1 and the memory span advantage for numerals over digit words persisted for both languages under articulatory suppression. The present findings indicated the involvement of factors other than subvocal rehearsal in memory span tasks and, therefore, did not support a simple working memory theory explanation of the bilingual digit span effect.


This work is inspired by the discovery of a new class of dynamical system described by ODE coupled with their Liouville equation. These systems called self-controlled since the role of actuators is played by the probability produced by the Liouville equation. Following the Madelung equation that belongs to this class, non-Newtonian properties such as randomness, entanglement, and probability interference typical for quantum systems have been described. Special attention was paid to the capability to violate the second law of thermodynamics, which makes these systems neither Newtonian, nor quantum. It has been shown that self-controlled dynamical systems can be linked to mathematical models of livings. The discovery of isolated dynamical systems that can decrease entropy in violation of the second law of thermodynamics, and resemblances of these systems to livings implies that Life can slow down heat death of the Universe, and that can be associated with the Purpose of Life.


We report the results of a search for binarity among young stars, performed in the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association on a sample of 118 X-ray selected T Tauri stars. We use speckle interferometry and direct-imaging observations to find companions in the separation range 0.13′′ – 6′′. After corrections to account for confusion with background stars and for the bias induced by the X-ray selection, we find a multiplicity (number of binaries or multiples divided by number of systems) of (32.6 ± 6.1) %, and a number of companions per system of (35.2 ± 6.3) %. This is higher by a factor of 1.59 ± 0.34 compared to main-sequence stars, but slightly lower than in a sample in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region that was selected and studied similary. In Scorpius-Centaurus, we find fewer binaries with nearly equal brightness than in Taurus-Auriga. There are significant differences between the period distributions in the two subgroups Upper Scorpius A and B: The peak of the distribution of stars in US-A is at about 105 days, while that of stars in US-B is around106.5 days. We compared our results with the optical multiplicity survey of Brandner et al. (1996), whose sample contains 49 stars that were also observed by us, and find no infrared companions. The flux ratio distributions of close and wide binaries in our sample show no significant difference.


This paper explores the effects of general and agricultural trade openness on economic freedom and alongside with the quality of institutions, on income and poverty. Recent cross-country data for over 200 nations in global regions were used to estimate equations for income, poverty and economic freedom. Economic freedom appears to have positive impacts on income levels, which together with good institutions reduce poverty. It is also concluded that poverty is determined both directly and indirectly by institutions. A typical finding of this paper is that, in general, economic freedom is associated with trade openness and with agriculture trade liberalization.


Between 2001 and 2003, the pattern of antecedent causes of death remained fairly stable (Figure 18, Table 125). About 30 per cent of perinatal deaths were unexplained. The next most common obstetric antecedents were fetal abnormalities followed by spontaneous preterm birth, specific perinatal conditions (such as twin-to-twin transfusion) and antepartum haemorrhage.


Symptomatic suprageniculate lesions in multiple sclerosis expressed as a visual field defect are infrequent. The present case developed a bilateral homonymous defect as the initial and unique symptom of the disease. It was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, which disclosed extensive demyelinating areas in both optic nerve radiations. The mode of onset, perimetric findings, and unusual presentation of this condition are briefly discussed.


Abstract Attendance data in sports leagues are organized at more than one level and thus are nested data with factors varying by individual games (e.g. single game attendance figure), which are nested within the factors varying by teams (e.g. local population and income level, stadium). Such a nested data structure requires a multilevel modeling approach for an accurate examination of attendance. Also, although the previous application of multilevel modeling to sport attendance research has been limited to the data aggregated and averaged by seasons or by teams, no multilevel modeling of attendance data at the individual game level is available. The uniqueness of the current study is its extension of the multilevel modeling approach by analyzing the audience data at the individual game level. Thus, this study examined the relationship between attendance determinants and single game attendance in a Major League Baseball (MLB) season by using multilevel modeling with 14 game level variables and 12 team level variables. Twelve predictors (e.g. home/visiting team playoff appearances, day of game, season progress, ticket price, stadium capacity, game uncertainty) significantly (p < .05) influenced attendance.


Internet content, used as text corpus for natural language learning, offers important characteristics for such task, like its huge volume, being permanently up-to-date with linguistic variants and having low time and resource costs regarding the traditional way that text is built for natural language machine learning tasks. This paper describes a system for the automatic extraction of large bodies of text from the Internet as a valuable tool for such learning tasks. A concurrent programming-based, hardware-use optimisation strategy significantly improving extraction performance is also presented. The strategies incorporated into the system for maximising hardware resource exploitation, thereby reducing extraction time are presented, as are extendibility (supporting digital-content formats) and adaptability (regarding how the system cleanses content for obtaining pure natural language samples). The experimental results obtained after processing one of the biggest Spanish domains on the internet, are presented (i.e. es.wikipedia.org). Such results are used for presenting initial conclusions about the validity and applicability of corpus directly extracted from Internet as morphological or syntactical learning input.


The fatty acid composition of blood serum of patients with vibration disease (VD) changes unidirectionally at different period of pathology formation. At the same time, there is a tendency to normalize the concentrations of a number of acids in persons with early period of VD development, when eliminating the vibration factor.


The idea of using existing electronics in smart home appliances and connecting them to the Internet is a new dimension along which technologies continue to grow. In Japan, electronics giants are selling various kinds of smart home appliances and have also joined hands to create standards for linking networked home appliances. While there is a huge potential market for such appliances, there are serious security challenges that have to be addressed in order to realize their true benefits.


This note establishes an interior quantitative lower bound for nonnegative supersolutions of fully nonlinear uniformly parabolic equations. The result may be interpreted as a quantitative version of a growth lemma established by Krylov and Safonov for nonnegative supersolutions of linear uniformly parabolic equations in nondivergence form. Our approach is different, and follows from an application of a reverse Holder inequality. The result is the parabolic analogue of an elliptic regularity estimate established by Caffarelli, Souganidis, and Wang in the stochastic homogenization of fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic equations.


Unsolicited electronic mail, also called spam, is both a nuisance to Internet users and a threat to network security. Spam imposes substantial costs on Internet users and providers, who have undertaken a variety of actions in response - many of which have been counterproductive. Informal responses such as social pressure and industry self-regulation have been almost entirely ineffectual in battling spam. Technical responses have fared somewhat better, but often at a high cost. Efforts to filter or block spam, for example, frequently prevent legitimate messages from getting through. Other technical responses have done little to stem the tide of spam, and in some instances have led to expensive legal disputes. Lawsuits have been somewhat successful in addressing the most extreme instances of spamming, and a number of jurisdictions have enacted specific laws in an attempt to regulate spam. But legal approaches in general seem to have been no more successful than technical responses to the spam problem, and the primary result to date is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding spam. Ultimately, a consensus approach that coordinates legal and technical responses is likely to provide the only effective solution.


A load sharing system has several components and the failure of one component can affect the lifetime of the surviving components. Since component failure does not equate to system failure for different system designs, the analysis of the dependency structure between components becomes a meaningful exercise. The Extended Sequential Order Statistics model allows us to model a dependence structure between heterogeneous components in load sharing systems. However, the results may suggest that the risk of failure decreases as components fail sequentially, which can be counterintuitive, especially when data is scarce. We propose to address this issue by imposing an order restriction on the model parameters that represent increasing failure risks. This assumption corresponds more realistically to the physical properties of the system in many applications. We discuss the advantages of the newly proposed estimates and describe situations where they should be used with caution.


When mentioning that my work involves dealing with several former USSR countries I often get questions on the kind of dangers my research entails. Whilst I do not see particular dangers in what I do, I have to admit that I had asked myself the same questions before my first fieldwork. I stopped worrying only after working out some automatisms, attitudes and gaining an understanding of certain realities that permit me, to a decent extent, to 'stay safe'. This blog entry shares some experience-based reflections can be useful to minimise risks but it is also intended to discuss why dangers in some 'exotic' states are much less than one could think, writes Abel Polese


Problem statement: Peach genotypes from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were not
adequately characterized at the biological and molecular levels. This study was carried out to
characterize nine peach cultivars growing in Taif (KSA) at the biological and molecular levels.
Approach: For the nine peach cultivars studied, flowering and fruiting indices were determined and
eight, 10-base primers were used to amplify DNA from each cultivar by using Randomly Amplified
Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technology. RAPD profiles (i.e., cultivars) and RAPD amplicons (i.e.,
markers) were biclustered by using appropriate software and the RAPD biclusters were viewed as a
heatmap in order to improve the display of RAPD markers. Results: The different RAPD primers
produced a total of 114 fragments (amplicons), of which 63 were polymorphic among the studied
cultivars. The RAPD fingerprinting results confirmed the data obtained from the morphological
analyses and allowed for estimating the genetic relatedness among the studied peach cultivars.
Moreover, the data indicated that certain molecular markers might be associated with certain
commercial characteristics. Conclusion/Recommendations: Future studies on the association(s) of
the selected molecular markers with fruiting characteristics should allow for new gene discovery,
molecular breeding, proper biodiversity assessment and better conservation of germplasm resources.


The operation of a distribution system in the presence of distributed generation systems has some advantages and also challenges. Optimal sizing and siting of DG systems has economic, technical and environmental benefits in distribution systems. Improper selection of DG systems can reduce these advantages or even result in deterioration in the normal operation of the distribution system. DG allocation and capacity determination is a nonlinear optimization problem. The objective function of this problem is the minimization of the total loss of the distribution system. In this paper, the Improved Harmony Search (IHS) algorithm has been applied to the optimization problem. This algorithm has a suitable performance for this type of optimization problem. Active and reactive power demands of the distribution system loads are dependent on bus voltage. This paper verifies the effect of voltage dependent loads on system power characteristics. The load model has an inevitable impact on DG sizing and placement. The proposed algorithm implemented and tested on 69-bus distribution systems and the impact of voltage dependent load models are demonstrated. The obtained results show that the proposed algorithm has an acceptable performance.


The accuracy of three-dimensional object reconstruction using depth from defocus (DfD) can be severely reduced by elliptical lens deformation. This paper presents two correction methods, correction by deformation cancellation (CDC) and correction by least squares fit (CLSF). CDC works by subtracting the current deformed depth value by a prestored deformed value, and CLSF by mapping the deformed values to the expected values. Each method is followed by a smoothing algorithm to address the low-texture problem of DfD. Experiments using four DfD methods on real images show that the proposed methods effectively and efficiently eliminate the deformation.


This article reviews some of the female characters in Colombian cinema produced during the 1980s. Adressing issues related to the violence of the first half of the twentieth Century, feature films considered for research establish a paradigm of representation in which the woman is portrayed because of her status as a political and revolutionary subject, and moving away from the stereotype of the woman relegated to the domestic sphere, which was reaffirmed for decades by meanstream cinema.


Expressmarker mtDNA‐SNP60 kit, a 3‐dye fluorescence labeling forensic mitochondrial‐SNP kit, was developed and modified based on previous work. In this study, it was validated through sensitivity, precision, accuracy, reproducibility, species specificity, mixture samples, PCR‐based conditions, and inhibitor studies, according to the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods guidelines. In the sensitivity study, full profile was obtained from template DNA with the quantity ≥ 4 pg. Consistent profiles were obtained at three different laboratories, which demonstrated the reproducibility of the kit. No peak was observed in the profiles of common animal species and microorganisms demonstrating high species specificity of the kit. In the mixture study, some loci (minor contributors) were missing at 19:1 and 9:1 ratios, whereas all loci could be profiled at other ratios (4:1, 2:1, and 1:1). PCR‐based studies demonstrated that there recommended PCR conditions were optimized for the kit, and there was acceptable tolerance of error. The inhibitor study indicated that the kit has varying degrees of resistance to the presence of common inhibitors. Twelve random individuals were profiled by next‐generation sequencing to confirm the allele‐specific PCR assay, and a consistent result was obtained. Furthermore, 520 individuals from 260 families were profiled and the results showed that all loci of the confirmed mother and child were matched. In addition, forensic population genetics parameters, including random match probability, discrimination power, and haplotype diversity, were calculated (0.0474, 0.9526, and 0.9563, respectively). Our study demonstrates that the Expressmarker mtDNA‐SNP60 kit can be a useful supplementary tool for forensic application.


Articles that essentialize the difference between feminine and masculine characteristics have obtained especial attention in The initiation of sexual activity involving genitals mainly occurs during adolescence. Sexual activity currently occurs at even earlier stages of life which may lead to unexpected pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Some aspects of female sexual initiation among low income adolescents, a social group which is highly vulnerable to undesired consequences, are provided. A qualitative method was carried out involving group meetings and semi-structured individual interviews with female workers in the shoe industry in the city of Franca SP Brazil as target population. Results indicate that adolescents with high family cohesion are more accountable for their sexuality, act safer and do not give in to satisfying someone else's desires.


Context. The problem of identifying the state of a computer system is considered. The object of the research is the process of computer system state identification. The subject of the research is the methods of constructing solutions for computer system state identification.
Objective. The purpose of the work is to develop a method for decision trees learning for computer system state identification.
Method. A new method for constructing a decision tree is proposed, combining the classical model for constructing a decision tree and the density-based spatial clustering method (DBSCAN). The simulation results showed that the proposed method makes it possible to reduce the number of branches in the decision tree, which will increase the efficiency of identifying the state of the computer system. Belonging to hyperspheres is used as a criterion for decision-making, which enables to increase the identification accuracy due to the nonlinearity of the partition plane and to perform a more optimal adjustment of the classifier. The method is especially effective in the presence of initial data with high correlation coefficients, since it combines them into one or more multivariate criteria. An assessment of the accuracy and efficiency of the developed method for identifying the state of a computer system is carried out.
Results. The developed method is implemented in software and researched in solving the problem of identifying the state of the functioning of a computer system.
Conclusions. The carried out experiments have confirmed the efficiency of the proposed method, which makes it possible to recommend it for practical use in order to improve the accuracy of identifying the state of a computer system. Prospects for further research may consist in the development of an ensemble of decision trees.


The physics behind the barriers to internal rotation of acetyl chloride (AC) molecule has been reported. The AC molecule closely resembles the molecular structure of acetaldehyde; the only subtle difference is the presence of a heavy chlorine atom in place of the hydrogen atom of the aldehyde group for the latter. This paper aims to study the effect of substitution of the heavy chlorine atom on the barrier energetics of the AC molecule. The reason behind the barrier for the AC molecule has been estimated for the first time from the unified approach using barrier energetics, natural bond orbital, nuclear virial, and relaxation analyses using density functional theory, Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics, and wavelet transform theory. Complete analyses reveal the concomitant relaxations of both the in-plane Cmethyl–C1 and Cmethyl–H4 bonds toward understanding the origin of the barrier due to internal rotation for the AC molecule. The large negative value of "V6" further suggests that both the abovementioned degrees of freedom are coupled with the −CH3 torsional vibration of the molecule. The coupling matrix (H12) element has also been estimated. Time-resolved band stretching frequencies of Cmethyl–C1 and C1–Cl3 bonds of the AC molecule, as obtained from wavelet transformation analysis, primarily preclude the possibility of coupling between the C1–Cl3 bond and the torsional motion associated with the methyl group of the molecule.


An integrated laser diode driver was realised using enhancement/depletion 0.3 μm recessed-gate AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well transistors. Fully-open eye diagrams were observed at bit rates up to 10 Gbit/s with 50 Ω loads. The maximum DC and modulation current were 25 and 45 mA, respectively. The power consumption is less than 450 mW.


It was found that in a meter-thick layer of chernozem leached in a pure bare fallow field crop rotation: bare fallow-wheat-wheat-wheat steam can accumulate up to 70 kg / ha of nitrate nitrogen, 50–70% of which is concentrated in a layer of 0–40 cm, and the supply of plants very high. The content and reserves of nitrogen in the layers 0–40 and 0–100 cm of soil in all variants of the experiment had a high direct relationship with the reserves of productive moisture, the correlation coefficients (r) were 0.88–0.99 and 0.84–0.98, respectively. Mineral fertilizers applied by various methods in the form of fertilizer with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (Azofoska) at a dose of 43 kg a. s. / ha did not compensate for the nitrogen removal by spring wheat; their supply of plants at the end of the crop rotation remained very low. At the same time, 50–70% of its reserves were concentrated in the 0–40 cm soil layer. The greatest absorption of nitrogen by microorganisms in the arable soil layer occurred in the control, and mineral fertilizers reduced it by 2 times. Nitrogen deficiency in the soil on average for 3 years in the control was 30 kg / ha, and with the introduction of azophoska in rows, scattered and locally – 23; 10 and 9 kg / ha, respectively. The largest increase in wheat yield and payback of 1 kg of a. s. of mineral fertilizers with grain was obtained with spread and row application – 23 and 26% to the control and 10 and 11 kg / kg, respectively, the smallest – with local – 9% and 4 kg / kg.


Exposure to light at night suppresses melatonin production, and night-shift work (a surrogate for such exposure) has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. However, the association between circulating melatonin levels and breast cancer risk is unclear. In a prospective case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study II cohort, we measured the concentration of the major melatonin metabolite, 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), in the first morning urine of 147 women with invasive breast cancer and 291 matched control subjects. In logistic regression models, the relative risk (reported as the odds ratio [OR]) of invasive breast cancer for women in the highest quartile of urinary aMT6s compared with those in the lowest was 0.59 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.36 to 0.97). This association was essentially unchanged after adjustment for breast cancer risk factors or plasma sex hormone levels but was slightly weakened when the analysis included 43 case patients with in situ breast cancer and their 85 matched control subjects (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.47 to 1.06). The exclusion of women who had a history of night-shift work left our findings largely unchanged. These prospective data support the hypothesis that higher melatonin levels, as measured in first morning urine, are associated with a lower risk of breast cancer.


This paper describes an activity making use of theatrical masks, which demonstrates the way in which the emotional response to the expression on a masked actor's face, is constructed by the interplay of at least three elements. Analysis of the activity suggests that the meaning of a masked actor's performance is co-created between the protagonist, the antagonist and the audience. The activity demonstrates that an observer may see and respond to expressions on another's face that are the projections of the observer alone. The interpretation of the inner emotional state, intention, and meaning of the emotions of others, therefore, has at least an element of projection. An understanding of this phenomenon may have important implications for the study of human facial expressions and their relationship to emotions and motivations. In leadership roles, title, status and power may act as a mask, the dialogues in which leaders engage may be witnessed, as an audience witnesses a masked performance, and the activity described here, may help those involved in leadership development, to understand some of the limitations to a leader's ability to control the impressions they seek to create.


For any outsourcing service, privacy is a major concern. This paper focuses on outsourcing frequent itemset mining and examines the issue on how to protect privacy against the case where the attackers have precise knowledge on the supports of some items. We propose a new approach referred to as k-support anonymity to protect each sensitive item with k-1 other items of similar support. To achieve k-support anonymity, we introduce a pseudo taxonomy tree and have the third party mine the generalized frequent itemsets under the corresponding generalized association rules instead of association rules. The pseudo taxonomy is a construct to facilitate hiding of the original items, where each original item can map to either a leaf node or an internal node in the taxonomy tree. The rationale for this approach is that with a taxonomy tree, the k nodes to satisfy the k-support anonymity may be any k nodes in the taxonomy tree with the appropriate supports. So this approach can provide more candidates for k-support anonymity with limited fake items as only the leaf nodes, not the internal nodes, of the taxonomy tree need to appear in the transactions. Otherwise for the association rule mining, the k nodes to satisfy the k-support anonymity have to correspond to the leaf nodes in the taxonomy tree. This is far more restricted. The challenge is thus on how to generate the pseudo taxonomy tree to facilitate k-support anonymity and to ensure the conservation of original frequent itemsets. The experimental results showed that our methods of k-support anonymity can achieve very good privacy protection with moderate storage overhead.


The post-independence Mocambican civil service, what was left of it following the exodus of Portuguese settlers in the mid-1970s, was poorly educated, with low incentives. In subsequent years, the combination of a war-ravaged economy, poor human resources and mass poverty made it difficult for the state to redress the harsh colonial legacy by improving access to social services, notably education and healthcare. In 1987, the government embarked on structural adjustment reforms in a bid to create the macroeconomic conditions for growth. However, to meet the government's stated goal of poverty reduction demands more efficient institutional machinery, not only at the state level but also in the countryside. This study is an attempt to put in perspective the role of the state, notably the civil service, in the new dispensation in the country.


A Project could be told success if it had a capability to fulfill a project's goal, which was project could be done either in time or do not have a major lateness. Many things were affecting project buildings processing. This research purpose was to analyze whose causing lateness for apartment buildings project event in Surabaya. To analyze so many cause lateness event would be needed a systematic method approach. This research's method was used a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) Method which was used to seek cause event and the probability of lateness. Not only two of those methods, but also expert judgment technique was conducted by using questionnaire to seek probability and to analyze variable cause event. As a result of FTA method was obtained a very high probability of lateness with the main cause event was classified into 4 groups, were caused by owner, caused by supervising consultants, caused by contractor, and caused by environment circumstances. From four of those main causes was obtained some results, first of all from owner's perspective were a lot of assignment alteration and late payment installment to contractor, second of all from supervising consultants' perspective was a checklist survey result in certain area, the contractor's work could not be continued because of such a certain things, third of all from contractor's perspective was caused by inaccurate work method, and the last of all from environment circumstances was the local people felt so agitated because of the project location to close to them.


This study applies Jungian psychological type theory to assess and to interpret the expectations of cathedral visitors. The Visitor Expectations Type Scales were developed among 35 individuals trained and qualified as type practitioners and then tested among a sample of 157 visitors who also completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales. The data demonstrated: the coherence and internal consistency reliability of the Visitor Expectations Type Scales; the particular emphases placed by cathedral visitors on introverted expectations, feeling expectations, and perceiving expectations; and the complex relationship between visitor expectations (conceptualised in psychological type categories) and their personal psychological type profile. The Visitor Expectations Type Scales are commended as providing a more valid assessment of the psychographic segmentation of cathedral visitors than could be provided simply by the administration of a recognised measure of psychological type. Such assessment has implications for the marketing and management of cathedrals within the tourism industry.


As water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, a lack of clarity in relation to its use can produce both conflict among and inefficient use by users. In order to encourage markets in water and to ensure the viability and functionality of those markets, governments in many jurisdictions have moved away from commons property as a means of water allocation, and towards systems of private property in water. In doing so, one policy and legal option is "unbundling", which seeks carefully to define both the entitlement to water and its separation into constituent parts. Advocates claim that unbundling makes water rights easier to value, monitor, and trade. But is unbundling the most efficient means of allocating water use rights? Or might such fragmentation produce what has come to be called an "anticommons tragedy"? To answer these questions, this article contains four parts. The Introduction provides the legal background to the modern means of allocating the use of water amongst competing, or rivalrous, users. Part I considers the theoretical nature of property, and the way in which such theory might be extended to water allocation through unbundling. Part II presents unbundling as it has been implemented in the Australian state of South Australia. This allows us to assess the extent to which the stated policy rationale for unbundling—certainty and transferability of entitlements—has been achieved and the extent to which this is a desirable outcome. Our analysis can be applied to any jurisdiction, most notably the arid and semi-arid southwestern United States, considering unbundling as a legal and policy option for the allocation of water use. The Conclusion reflects upon the potential for unbundling water entitlements in arid or semi-arid environments. The South Australian experience reveals a reluctance to embrace unbundling, both on the part of the state in terms of implementing, and on the part of market actors holding existing proprietary interests in water. This reluctance ought to be viewed by other jurisdictions as a warning about the effectiveness and efficiency of unbundling. We show that unbundling efforts may not only fail to provide efficiency gains, but also, and much more worryingly, may in fact drive anticommons tragedies that entirely inhibit any beneficial use. We propose that our anecdotal and theoretical analysis of South Australia requires empirical research both in Australia and in other jurisdictions climatologically, hydrologically, and in underlying legal framework, similar to Australia. Such empirical research will test our conclusions in relation to South Australia, both in respect to the operation of the water market and as to the behavior of market actors.


: This article argues that different types of politically motivated violence in South Asia are associated with different forms of governance and relationships between society and the state. This variation in local governance in turn is the product of unevenness in state formation across the political geography of India. It classifies conflict events in India in 2015 and 2016 into conceptual categories of sovereignty-neutral and sovereignty-challenging, theoretically reflecting the commonsense distinction between riots and rebellion. It presents evidence that different categories of state-society regimes at the district level are associated with different patterns of sovereignty-neutral and -challenging violence. It finds that urban-adjacent hegemonic state-society regimes are associated with high levels of sovereignty-neutral violence, revised state-society regimes with of traditionally restrained state capacity are associated with high levels of sovereignty-challenging violence, with fragmented and accommodative regimes in the agrarian hinterland are associated with intermediary positions in both categories.


Many defects in cancer cells are in molecules regulating G(1)-phase cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks), which are responsible for modulating the activities of Rb family growth-suppressing proteins. Models for understanding how such defects affect proliferation assume that cdks are responsible for sequentially phosphorylating, and hence inactivating, the growth-suppressing functions of Rb family proteins, thus promoting cell cycle progression. However, cdks also play a role in formation of growth-suppressing forms of pRb family molecules, including the "hypophosphorylated" species of pRb itself. Here, it is shown that normal human mammary epithelial cells have a high amount of cdk6 protein and activity, but all breast tumor-derived cell lines analyzed had reduced levels, with several having little or no cdk6. Immunohistochemical studies showed reduced levels of cdk6 in breast tumor cells as compared with normal breast tissue in vivo. Cdk6 levels in two breast tumor cell lines were restored to those characteristic of normal human mammary epithelial cells by DNA transfection. The cells had a reduced growth rate compared with parental tumor cells; cells that lost ectopic expression of cdk6 reverted to the faster growth rate of parental cells. Cell lines with restored cdk6 levels accumulated higher amounts of the Rb family protein p130 as well as E2F4, a suppressing member of the E2F family of transcription factors, in their nuclei. The results suggest that cdk6 restrains rather than stimulates breast epithelial cell proliferation and that its loss or down-regulation could play a role in breast tumor development.


BACKGROUND
The University of Wisconsin solution has been proven to be effective for prolonged heart preservation. However, 24-hour heart preservation by simple cold immersion in University of Wisconsin solution has been disappointing. We have performed hypothermic low-pressure continuous coronary perfusion with oxygenated University of Wisconsin solution for experimental prolonged heart preservation. However, the high potassium concentration of University of Wisconsin solution combined with prolonged ischemia has detrimental effects on endothelial function, which increases coronary tone during preservation and after reperfusion. The severe vasoconstriction and tissue edema result in damage to the coronary microcirculation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether hypothermic low-pressure continuous coronary perfusion technique with oxygenated University of Wisconsin solution containing a selective endothelin-A receptor antagonist (FR139317) would increase the effectiveness of the perfusion technique and improve postischemic cardiac function, both minimizing tissue edema and suppressing vasoconstriction.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Preischemic and postischemic cardiac function of isolated rabbit hearts was evaluated with a Langendorff apparatus. The hearts were divided into three groups (n = 7 each): group I (hypothermic low-pressure continuous coronary perfusion with University of Wisconsin solution), group II (hypothermic low-pressure continuous coronary perfusion with oxygenated University of Wisconsin solution), and group III (hypothermic low-pressure continuous coronary perfusion with oxygenated University of Wisconsin solution containing 10 mg/L of FR139317). Preservation was performed for 24 hours. The initial perfusion pressure for continuous coronary perfusion was set at 5 mm Hg. Measurement of percentage of tissue water content and ultrastructural examination of the myocardium was then performed. In groups I, II, and III, the perfusion pressures at the end of the 24-hour preservation period increased from 5 mm Hg to 12.2 +/- 2.5, 8.1 +/- 1.3, and 5.4 +/- 0.8 mm Hg (p < 0.05), respectively. Percent recovery rate of cardiac output was 56.6 +/- 2.8, 82.3 +/- 8.2, and 93.3 +/- 6.0 (p < 0.05), respectively. And percent recovery rate of coronary flow was 55.5 +/- 8.1, 80.0 +/- 8.0, and 94.3 +/- 9.4 (p < 0.05), respectively. A significant inverse correlation was found between continuous coronary perfusion pressure at the end of preservation and the recovery rate of cardiac output (r = 0.85, p < 0.05). Tissue water content was significantly higher in group I than in groups II and III. These effects were inhibited by oxygenation of the University of Wisconsin solution (group II) and by the addition of the selective endothelin-A receptor antagonist (FR139317) (group III). Damage to coronary circulation was reduced by oxygenation and the addition of endothelin-A receptor antagonist during prolonged heart preservation.

CONCLUSIONS
We concluded that hypothermic low-pressure continuous coronary perfusion technique with oxygenated UW solution containing endothelin-A receptor antagonist (FR139317) maintained coronary circulation by suppressing tissue edema and vasoconstriction during preservation, which improved postischemic functional recovery.


The aim of the authors was to investigate whether living as a minority has an influence on the dental fear and anxiety values. In this study 201 volunteers (n = 201, inside border Hungarians 144, outside border Hungarians 57, male 90, female 111; age 8 to 83 years, mean 44 +/- 16 yrs.) were investigated. Our methods included collection of demographic data (gender, age, marital status, profession), and administration of the Hungarian versions of dental fear and anxiety related scales namely: DAS, DAQ, DASQ, DFS, DBS, STAI-S, STAI-T and Expectation Scale. Mean values of the scales were: DAS: 10,34 +/- 3,54; DAQ: 2,3 +/- 1,15; DASQ: 12,58 +/- 4,55; DFS: 40,37 +/- 15,67; DBS: 32,89 +/- 12,94; Expectation Scale: 2,87 +/- 3,56, STAI-S: 39,51 +/- 10,68; STAI-T 41,65 +/- 9,08. The mean scores of all the scales were higher in the case of Hungarians living inside the borders of Hungary. The differences were significant in the case of DAS, DAQ, DASQ and DFS scales (p < 0,05). Data of our study indicate that living as a minority not necessarily leads to the increase of dental fear and anxiety.


The development of 3D vertical integration in the microelectronic industry brings along significant advantages for pixelated semiconductor radiation sensors in cutting-edge scientific experiments at high luminosity particle accelerators and advanced X-ray sources. These applications set very demanding requirements on the performance of sensors and their readout electronics, in terms of pixel pitch, radiation tolerance, signal-to-noise ratio and capability of handling very high data rates. 3D vertical integration of two or more layers with sensors and CMOS devices naturally leads the designer towards extending pixel-level processing functionalities and achieving novel structures where each layer is optimized for a specific function. This paper reviews the efforts towards the development of novel vertically integrated pixel sensors and discusses the challenges that are being tackled to qualify these devices for actual applications.


We use a surface force balance to study shear interactions between adsorbed poly(ethylene oxide) layers (Mw = 150 000 or 170 000) adsorbed onto mica in 0.1 M KNO3 aqueous solution. The shear forces increase with increasing compression of the layers or with increasing shear rates (at a constant compression), though at high compressions or shear rates the shear stress σs appears to saturate. This behavior is attributed to frictional effects that are dominated by viscous dissipation (and possible weak monomer−monomer complexing) between the mutually sliding layers at low compressions or shear rates, and by a substrate-slip mechanism at the highest compressions and shear rates. The shear behavior of adsorbed PEO layers in aqueous electrolyte at the higher compressions or shear rates can be well understood in terms of the attachment mechanism of PEO segments, via ion ligands to the charged substrate (as elucidated earlier, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 1104).


Peripheral blood (PB) has become the major source of hematopoietic stem cells for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the last 15–20 years. Nevertheless, there is a subset of patients who do not mobilize adequate numbers of CD34+ cells. There are no clearly established guidelines with respect to second-line mobilization protocols. The aim of this study has been to analyze our experience as a single center with this population of poor mobilizers trying to identify clinical or biological adverse prognostic factors associated to a poor mobilization of progenitor cells into PB, results of second- and third-line mobilization procedures and outcome after the ASCT of those patients who could be autografted in terms of hematological recovery. Poor mobilizing patients were defined as those in whom the apheresis procedure could not be started because of < 10 CD34+ cells/ul or those in which a less than 2 × 106 CD34+ cells/kg could be collected in the first mobilization attempt. From January/2000 to January/2008, 126 patients [70 males/56 females, median age of 53 years (range, 20–70)] out of a total number of 450 patients mobilized for an ASCT in our institution (28%) were identified as poor mobilizers. Clinical diagnosis were: 29 multiple myeloma, 16 Hodgkin's lymphoma, 48 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 28 acute leukemias and 5 other diagnosis. Median time from diagnosis to mobilization therapy was 19 (range, 3–120) months and median number of chemotherapy lines received before the procedure was 2 (range, 0–5). The first mobilizing protocol was G-CSF alone (5–10 ug/kg/day sc) in 72% of the patients or the combination of chemotherapy plus G-CSF in 28% of the patients. A second mobilization procedure was attempted in 34 patients (28%) with high-doses of G-CSF alone (16–20 ug/kg/day sc) in 24 patients, the combination of G-CSF plus chemotherapy in 8 patients and the combination of G-CSG with stem cell factor (SCF) in 2 patients. A third mobilization attempt was performed in 6 patients (high-doses of G-CSF alone in 4 patients, G-CSF plus chemotherapy in 1 patient and G-CSF plus SCF in 1 patient). Sixty-nine patients (54%) were finally autografted. Median number of CD34+ cells/kg infused were 2.15 × 106/kg (range, 1.01–4.00). Median time to neutrophil recovery after transplantation was 11 days (range, 4–20). Patients with an inadequate mobilization constitute a significant clinical problem (25% of the whole population of patients with an indication of ASCT in our centre). Nevertheless, half of these patients can be rescued for an ASCT procedure with one or two more attempts. Neutrophil recovery after the autologous transplant in those patients undergoing the procedure seems to be similar to that of the group of patients with an adequate first mobilization attempt. New mobilizing agents should be investigated in order to increase the efficacy of the mobilization processes.


Survivin is a member of the IAP family and is ubiquitously expressed in tumor cells. This \#8220;cancer specific\#8221; gene also functions to promote angiogenesis, cell division and is a marker of poor prognosis. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) induce apoptosis and re-expression of epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes (TSG) in cancer cells. In association with increased expression of the TSG transforming growth factor \#946; receptor II (TGFsRII) induced by the HDACi belinostat, we have observed decreased survivin expression. HDACi are in clinical trial. Identification of the targets and molecular mechanisms involved in their effects will identify both the therapeutically important HDAC\#8217;s and the most effective combination therapies. Therefore, we are currently investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in survivin downregulation by the HDACi belinostat in the FET colon carcinoma cell line. We have identified two mechanisms involved in the belinostat induced repression of survivin. Firstly, at early time points following belinostat treatment (0-4h), the survivin protein half life is significantly decreased. The proteasome is involved in this increased degradation as determined by the use of MG132 and lactacystin. Significantly, the decrease in survivin half life is delayed in FET cells stably transfected with dominant negative TGFsRII. Secondly, at late time points (24-72h) following treatment with belinostat, the level of survivin mRNA is decreased. The transcriptional activity of the survivin promoter construct p1430-luciferase stably transfected into FET cells is similarly decreased 48h post treatment. This suppression of transcriptional activity by belinostat also demonstrates some dependence on TGF\#946; signaling. At pharmacologically low doses of belinostat, blocking the TGF\#946; pathway by the ALK5i inhibitor or using FET cells stably transfected with dominant negative TGFsRII partially rescued survivin transcription. We also treated FET Smad 2 knockdown cells with belinostat and found that survivin downregulation by belinostat was partially rescued. DNA fragmentation assay revealed that belinostat induced cell death is through the activation of caspase 3 and 9 and blocking the TGF\#946; pathway reduced cell death. Similar results were obtained with the HDACi trichostatin A. Belinostat also induced expression of epigenetically silenced TGFsRII in the MCF7L breast cancer cell line which resulted in TGF\#946; mediated survivin repression. Therefore, induction of TGFsRII with concomitant survivin repression may represent significant mechanisms in the anti-cancer effects of this drug. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr LB-209.


We present five cases of adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) containing minute hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic liver. All the patients were Japanese, four males and one female, ranging in age from 60 to 80 years. Two of the specimens were obtained at surgery and the others at autopsy. The AH specimens ranged from 2.0 to 3.0 cm in diameter, and the maximum diameter of HCC foci in the AH was 2.0 cm. Histologically, apart from the HCC foci, the AH specimens showed intrinsic atypia, suggesting preneoplastic change. These features included an increase of both cellularity and the nucleo cytoplasmic ratio, distortion of cord structure and pseudoacinar formation. Ail of the AH specimens contained typical portal triads. Details of diagnostic imaging were also obtained in four cases. The findings of the present study support the possibility that AH with intrinsic atypia is a preneoplastic lesion of HCC. The sequence of "adenomatous hyperplasia with intrinsic atypia HCC foci" would thus represent part of the early phase of hepatocarcinogenesis in humans.


This article reports on a novel type of ternary chiral porous hybrid particles (TCPHPs) constructed by alkynylated cellulose nanocrystals (A-CNCs), helical substituted polyacetylene, and inorganic silica. The resulting TCPHPs combine the respective advantages of the three components. A-CNCs serve as stabilizer, co-monomer, and chiral source simultaneously and transfer their chirality to the resulting helical substituted polyacetylenes in the course of copolymerization with achiral acetylenic monomer following "sergeants and soldiers rule". Helical substituted polyacetylenes form chiral helical structures and thus endow TCPHPs with the anticipated optical activity. Inorganic silica constitutes the rigid framework and is covalently bonded with the organic components through hydrolysis of Si-O-Et groups. Phase separation between the organic and inorganic components renders TCPHPs with abundant pores. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images confirm the formation of spherical particles with porous structures. Circular dichroism spectra demonstrate the optical activity of the chiral hybrid particles. The as-prepared TCPHPs exhibit capacity for enantio-differentiating performance towards chiral naproxen.


Utilizing the most intense of the several hundred celestial sources of radio frequency energy, and known data about the effective diameter of the sun at various ranges of radio frequencies, a technique for plotting the directional characteristics of large antennas is outlined. Over-all system sensitivities (receiver, antenna, and transmission line) are checked by using values already obtained for sky temperatures. The general receiver characteristics necessary for such measurements are outlined. Patterns of antennas are illustrated and their analysis evaluated.


A unified framework to rationalize enzymatic activity is essential to understand cellular function and metabolic evolution. Recent studies have shown that the activity of several hydrolases is maximized when the substrate binding affinity (Michaelis-Menten constant: Km) is neither too strong nor too weak. This is because an intermediate Km resolves the trade-off between Km and kcat, in accord with the Sabatier principle of artificial catalysis. However, it remains unclear whether this concept is applicable to enzymes in general, especially for those which catalyze the same reaction but have evolved under different selection pressures due to the phylogeny or physiology of the host organism. Here, we demonstrate that the activity of 10 distinct wild-type phosphoserine phosphatases (PSP) exhibits a maximum at an intermediate binding affinity (Km ≈ 0.5 mM), indicating that they also follow the Sabatier principle. Furthermore, by considering not only Km but also the equilibrium rate constant of each enzyme, we have succeeded in rationalizing the PSP activity quantitatively. is the rate constant of product release (ES → E + P) in the absence of any driving force, and a large allows kcat to be increased without increasing Km. Although the traditional Sabatier principle considers only the binding affinity (Km), we show that the additional contribution of drastically improves the consistency between experiments and theory. Our expanded framework which quantitatively explains the activity of phylogenetically and physiologically diverse enzymes with respect to their physicochemical parameters may lead to the rational design of highly active enzymes.


In electromigration (EM) experiments on metallic wires, a flux of atoms can lead to motion of the centre of mass (COM) of the wire. Hence, it may be tempting to assume that the flow of current produces a net force on the wire as a whole. We point out, on the basis of known momentum-balance arguments, that the net force on a metallic wire due to a passing steady-state current is zero. This is possible, because in addition to EM driving forces, acting on scattering centres, there are counterbalancing forces, acting on the rest of the system. Drift of the COM in EM experiments occurs inevitably because the substrate keeps the crystal lattice of the wire fixed, while allowing diffusion of defects in the bulk of the wire. This drift is not evidence for a net force on the wire.


OBJECTIVE
The activation of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) has been postulated to be involved in cell differentiation and proliferation. To elucidate the involvement of tyrosine kinase genes in normal and pathological conditions, we analysed the expression patterns of receptor-type PTKs in the normal and hypertensive hypertrophied heart in rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Hypertrophied and normal rat hearts were obtained from hypertensive rats; deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt and 2 kidney-1 clip (2K-1C), and their sham-operated rats, respectively. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed using degenerated primers which were designed from highly conserved regions in the catalytic domains of receptor-type PTKs. The PCR products were ligated into a sequence vector, and subcloned by transforming bacteria. To compare the expression level of these PTK mRNAs in the normal and hypertrophied heart, we performed semi-competetive RT-PCR and immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses.

RESULTS
Nucleotide sequencing of approximately 80 clones of PTKs revealed 10 receptor-type, five nonreceptor-type and two unknown types in the rat heart. Tie-2/Tek, Ryk, insulin-like growth factor-I receptor were abundantly expressed in the rat heart as members of receptor-type PTKs. Immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR demonstrated the presence of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-alpha receptor, PDGF-beta receptor and fibroblast growth factor-3 receptor in both normal and hypertrophied hearts. We also confirmed the presence of Flt-1, KDR/FIk-1, and their ligand vascular endothelial growth factor, c-Met and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and Tie-1, Tie-2/Tek by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. The coexpression of cardiac HGF and c-Met in hypertrophied hearts, especially in 2K-1 C rats, was induced more intensively than that in DOCA-salt rats.

CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that HGF/c-Met interactions may play an important role in cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling, probably as a result of the activation of the local renin-angiotensin system.


Over the last two decades, Pakistan has made considerable progress in reducing absolute poverty and improving shared prosperity, but most of the population remains poor or vulnerable. A key dimension of social vulnerability in South Asia is exposure to hydrological and meteorological hazards including storms, floods, and droughts. In this review, a questionnaire from the inhabitants to assess the adequacy of existing urban plans regarding reasonable improvement in Rawalpindi has been organized. In addition, by gathering the important secondary information from the concerned divisions, the planning specialists from Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Capital Development Authority (CDA), Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Rawalpindi and the engineers of the plans were likewise met and their opinions discussed. Furthermore, utilizing SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) to break down the essential information and to draw deductions. Similarly, the urban sustainability index, a set of indicators based on environmental, social and economic parameters was selected for development. As the result, planning issues and problems in Rawalpindi were analyzed in five separate subjects: (1) Land use planning and policy, laws and regulations, (2) Urbanization and transport system, (3) Landuse Change and Its Impact on Watershed Hydrology, (4) Site planning techniques and (5) Social and environmental impact assessment. The mitigation measures and recommendations were suggested accordingly.


Indigenous pigs in southern Africa are mainly owned by economically vulnerable groups in marginal areas where they are used as a source food, income and security. A study was carried out to achieve three objectives: to describe pig production systems, get a phenotypic description of the pigs and to characterize them genetically. A survey of 199 farmers in three districts in South Africa, (Vhembe, OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo) and one district in Zimbabwe (Chirumhnazu) was carried out. Additional farmers in Malawi (Dedza, Mchinji and Salima) and Zimbabwe (Mutoko) were sampled in order to meet the other two objectives. Most of the pigs (69.7%) were owned by women, with men owning 20.5% and children the remainder. Production of the pigs was constrained by several factors including disease, inadequate feeds, poor housing and lack of knowledge. The majority of the pigs were small and black with characteristics that are probably suited for thermoregulation in arid environments. The third objective was achieved through genotyping 111 pigs using 22 microsatellites. Preliminary results indicate very little differences across populations with an overall inbreeding coefficient of the subpopulation relative to the total population (FST) of 0.071. The results indicate that the indigenous pigs in southern Africa are relatively homogenous.


The results of a survey of graduates of archival education programs in the United States present a profile of the next generation of archivists by focusing on a variety of demographic, economic, and professional issues. The findings indicate that the new generation of archivists is younger, predominantly female, and slightly better compensated than previous generations. Furthermore, interesting contrasts and comparisons can be made between graduates of history and graduates of library and/or information science-based programs, as well as between men and women in terms of employment sectors, salaries, and the length of the graduate programs. Understanding career trajectories is important in building a stronger archival profession in the United States, as well as in fostering professionalization among the younger generation.


Impaired blood-brain barrier transport of leptin into the arcuate nucleus has been suggested to underlie obesity in humans and outbred aging mice. Here, we used a brain perfusion method in mice to measure transport rates and kinetic parameters for leptin at vascular concentrations between 0.15 and 130 ng/ml. Transport into whole brain was partially saturated at all concentrations, not only those seen in obesity. Leptin entered all regions of the brain, not only the hypothalamus, with entry and saturation rates differing among the brain regions. The value of the Michaelis-Menten constant of the transporter approximates normal serum levels and the maximum velocity value varies significantly among brain regions. These results suggest an important role for low serum levels signaling starvation status to the brain and show that the levels of leptin seen in obesity greatly saturate the transporter. Differences in regional uptake and saturation provide a mechanism by which leptin can control events mediated at the arcuate nucleus and other regions of the central nervous system with different regional thresholds for optimal function.


Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes E to J are understudied genotypes. Genotype E is found almost exclusively in West Africa. Genotypes F and H are found in America and are rare in other parts of the world. The distribution of genotype G is not completely known. Genotypes I and J are found in Asia and probably result from recombination events with other genotypes. The number of reported sequences for HBV genotypes E to J is small compared to other genotypes, which could impact phylogenetic and pairwise distance analyses. Genotype F is the most divergent of the HBV genotypes and is subdivided into six subgenotypes F1 to F6. Genotype E may be a recent genotype circulating almost exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa. Genotype J is a putative genotype originating from a single Japanese patient. The paucity of data from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America is due to the under-representation of these regions in clinical and research cohorts. The purpose of this review is to highlight the need for further research on HBV genotypes E to J, which appear to be overlooked genotypes.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the service model and evaluation of Southwark Enhanced Intervention Service (EIS). EIS is an intensive community service for adults with intellectual disabilities whose behaviours challenge in the context of the Transforming Care agenda.

Design/methodology/approach
The service model is described and the following evaluation data over four years are presented: key performance indicators, descriptive data, clinical outcomes, financial outcomes and qualitative feedback on users' experience.

Findings
The EIS has demonstrated good outcomes for a small number of adults with complex needs by supporting them at crisis point locally and preventing hospital admission or a move to a restrictive environment out of area. EIS has also supported the successful transition back to area of a small number of adults with complex needs. The evaluation has shown improvements in behaviour, wellbeing and quality of life as well as demonstrating financial savings. Families' and providers' qualitative feedback indicates that the service has been highly valued and in particular the access to timely multidisciplinary coordination of input.

Originality/value
The service was developed around the same time as the start of the Transforming Care agenda. It presents findings of a four-year evaluation at a time when there is limited evaluation of such service models focusing on the Transforming Care aims. The paper presents significant findings in support of guidance and recommendations published more recently as well as reflections on components of effective service delivery.


There is a well known 2$\sigma$ tension in the measurements of the solar $\Delta m^2$ between KamLAND and SNO/Super-K. Precise determination of the solar $\Delta m^2$ is especially important in connection with current and future long baseline CP violation measurements. Reference~\cite{Seo:2018rrb} points out that currently running short baseline reactor neutrino experiments, Daya Bay and RENO, can also constrain solar $\Delta m^2$ value as demonstrated by a GLoBES simulation with a limited systematic uncertainty consideration. In this work, the publicly available data, from Daya Bay (1,958 days) and RENO (2,200 days) are used to constrain the solar $\Delta m^2$. Verification of our method through $\Delta m^2_{ee}$ and $\sin^2 \theta_{13}$ measurements is discussed in Appendix A. Using this verified method, reasonable constraints on the solar $\Delta m^2$ are obtained using the current publicly available Daya Bay and RENO data, both individually and combined. We find that the combined data of Daya Bay and RENO set an upper limit on the Solar $\Delta m^2$ of 17 $\times 10^{-5}$ eV$^2$ at the 95\% C.L., including both systematic and statistical uncertainties. This constraint is slightly more than twice the KamLAND value. As this combined result is still statistics limited, even though driven by Daya Bay data, the constraint will improve with the additional running of this experiment.


The many advantages of combining low flow extracorporeal circulation and hypothermia for open heart surgery have been stressed by recent reports from this clinic and laboratory. 1-5 These studies were concerned with temperatures of 28 to 30 C combined with extracorporeal flow rates of 25 to 50 cc. per kilogram per minute. To meet other clinical situations that might demand either complete or almost complete circulatory standstill for appreciable periods of time, it would be desirable to use temperatures below 20 C. Since the introduction from this clinic of a feasible method of precise control of the body temperature, 3,6 the clinical application of this degree of hypothermia became possible for the first time. This report outlines the first of our studies in the laboratory on extension of the advantages of hypothermia to these low levels. Methods Adult dogs of both sexes were used. Anesthesia was induced by intravenous pentobarbital


BACKGROUND
Government and professional organizations have issued a call for evidence-based practice (EBP), prompting the development of competencies and expectations for knowledge, skills, and attitudes. However, EBP is still inconsistently implemented. To advance the science of nursing globally, educators and leaders need to use consistent, rigorous evaluation methods to assess the EBP knowledge of students and clinicians.

AIMS
This study sought to translate the Evidence-based Practice Knowledge Assessment in Nursing (EKAN) instrument into Spanish, evaluate the psychometric performance of the newly translated instrument, and establish a baseline measure of EBP knowledge of baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students for future program improvement.

METHODS
This study utilized a cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design. A total of 139 BSN students were recruited from a single study site in the Dominican Republic. Subjects completed the 20-item EKAN-Spanish, which was translated and back-translated to promote semantic accuracy.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS
Infit and outfit statistics for the sample centered around 1.0 (weighted mean square = 0.978; unweighted mean square = 0.988), indicating strong evidence of validity. The individual items on the EKAN-Spanish showed item reliability of 0.94. The mean EBP knowledge score was 6.52 (SD = 2.03) with scores ranging from 2 to 12 points (20 points maximum). Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis supported translational accuracy.

DISCUSSION
This study provides validation support for an objective assessment of EBP knowledge in the Spanish language and will be useful for future studies of EBP in over 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION
While EBP is a global nursing concept, there has been no instrument to objectively measure EBP knowledge across levels of education in academe and practice in Spanish-speaking countries until just recently. The availability of a validated instrument will promote global consistency in assessing EBP knowledge. Further, this will promote a collaborative approach in teaching EBP to nursing students and practicing nurses.


Arg249 in the large (alpha) subunit of human electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) heterodimer is absolutely conserved throughout the ETF superfamily. The guanidinium group of alphaArg249 is within van der Waals contact distance and lies perpendicular to the xylene subnucleus of the flavin ring, near the region proposed to be involved in electron transfer with medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. The backbone amide hydrogen of alphaArg249 is within hydrogen bonding distance of the carbonyl oxygen at the flavin C(2). alphaArg249 may modulate the potentials of the two flavin redox couples by hydrogen bonding the carbonyl oxygen at C(2) and by providing delocalized positive charge to neutralize the anionic semiquinone and anionic hydroquinone of the flavin. The potentials of the oxidized/semiquinone and semiquinone/hydroquinone couples decrease in an alphaR249K mutant ETF generated by site directed mutagenesis and expression in Escherichia coli, without major alterations of the flavin environment as judged by spectral criteria. The steady state turnover of medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase decrease greater than 90% as a result of the alphaR249Ks mutation. In contrast, the steady state turnover of short chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase was decreased about 38% when alphaR249K ETF was the electron acceptor. Stopped flow absorbance measurements of the oxidation of reduced medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase/octenoyl-CoA product complex by wild type human ETF at 3 degrees C are biphasic (t(1/2)=12 ms and 122 ms). The rate of oxidation of this reduced binary complex of the dehydrogenase by the alphaR249K mutant ETF is extremely slow and could not be reasonably estimated. alphaAsp253 is proposed to function with alphaArg249 in the electron transfer pathway from medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase to ETF. The steady state kinetic constants of the dehydrogenase were not altered when ETF containing an alphaD253A mutant was the substrate. However, t(1/2) of the rapid phase of oxidation of the reduced medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase/octenoyl-CoA charge transfer complex almost doubled. betaTyr16 lies on a loop near the C(8) methyl group, and is also near the proposed site for interflavin electron transfer with medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. The tyrosine residue makes van der Waals contact with the C(8) methyl group of the flavin in human ETF and Paracoccus denitrificans ETF (as betaTyr13) and lies at a 30 degrees C angle with the plane of the flavin. Human betaTyr16 was substituted with leucine and alanine residues to investigate the role of this residue in the modulation of the flavin redox potentials and in electron transfer to ETF. In betaY16L ETF, the potentials of the flavin were slightly reduced, and steady state kinetic constants were modestly altered. Substitution of an alanine residue for betaTyr16 yields an ETF with potentials very similar to the wild type but with steady state kinetic properties similar to betaY16L ETF. It is unlikely that the beta methyl group of the alanine residue interacts with the flavin C(8) methyl. Neither substitution of betaTyr16 had a large effect on the fast phase of ETF reduction by medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase.