AbstractChristianity in mainland China has often been characterized as a religion for the marginalized of society. However, since the 1990s, there has been a growing phenomenon within the country's burgeoning urban metropolises with an increasing number of urban intellectuals converting to Protestantism. This article explores the theology of several representatives of these urban intellectual Christians who make use of the teachings of John Calvin and his followers. This article will show that there is a strong theological interest in engaging in the public sphere around subjects like the rule of law, constitutionalism and a civil society. Although the representatives cited in this article have been described as 'Chinese New Calvinists' or 'Christian public intellectuals', it is proposed here that a more appropriate understanding of this growing and significant group is as Chinese public theologians.


Creep deformation in single phase ɤ-TiAl alloy manufactured using different processing techniques has been an extensively studied topic since the late 1970s. The present work revisits the original work on understanding the tensile creep deformation behaviour of wrought single-phase ɤ-TiAl alloy by Hayes and Martin [1] and is aimed to develop an understanding of steady state creep. Besides, it is also aimed to investigate the creep life for stress levels of 69.4 and 103.4 MPa at 832 ⁰C using Monkman-Grant [2] approach.


In the spring of 2011, we had the pleasure of participating in the 3rd Child and Youth Care (CYC) in Action Conference hosted by the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We were invited by conference chairs Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw and Jennifer White to participate in a roundtable discussion on the theme of "Conversations on Conversing in Child and Youth Care". This theme was inspired in part by a recent posting to the CYC-Net listserv, which asked, "Why are people speaking about the field in ways I don't understand?" Veronica and Jennifer sensed that this question – and the spirited, and at times fractious, discussion that it generated on the listserv – would provide an excellent platform for mutual learning, critique, and reflection. Thus they capitalized on the opportunity to extend a conversation that was already underway, and used the question as a departure point for our roundtable discussion. In this paper, four of us who participated in the roundtable continue this conversation, with each of us probing deeper and pushing further along the themes and ideas we discussed in Victoria. We are not so much responding to any particular questions here, but rather trying to articulate some of our critical reflections on the field as we each are experiencing it. We hope that readers might engage with some of ideas we present in this conversation on their own terms.


In this paper, we use the characteristics of electromagnetic waves underwater attenuation for estimating linear distance between a transmitting node and receiving node, and research underwater vertical plane attenuation model for constructing the underwater localization system. The underwater localization of 2 dimensional with the plane attenuation model in the horizontal plane (H-plane) was proposed previous research. But for the 3 dimensional underwater localization, the additional vertical plane (Eplane) model should be considered. Because the horizontal plane of omnidirectional antenna has the same attenuation tendency in x-y plane according to the distance, whereas in vertical plane shows an irregular pattern in x-z plane. For that reason, in the vertical plane environment, the attenuation should be changed by the position and inclination. Hence, in this paper the distance and angle between transmitting and receiving node are defined using spherical coordinate system and derive an antenna gain pattern using half power beam width (HPBW). The HPBW is called a term which defines antenna's performance between isotropic and other antennas. This paper derives omnidirectional antenna's maximum gain and attenuation pattern model and define vertical plane's gain pattern model using HPBW. Finally, experimental verifications for the proposed underwater vertical plane's attenuation model was executed.


Proceedings: AACR 107th Annual Meeting 2016; April 16-20, 2016; New Orleans, LA

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. The American Cancer Society has estimated over 230,000 new cases of breast cancer, and over 40,000 deaths for the year 2015. Unfortunately, metastasis is the major contributor for the significant number of these deaths. The Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is promoted by the Master Regulator known as Kaiso, a transcriptional repressor that is a member of the BTB/POZ family of zinc finger transcription factors. We have previously demonstrated that Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) signaling shuttles Kaiso into the nucleus, although, its mechanism is still not understood. EGFR signaling activates multiple downstream signaling cascades including the MAP Kinase cascade, which has a significant influence on proliferation, cell adhesion, gene expression, and cell survival. Mesenchymal cells demonstrate high levels of MAPK activity and disruption or inhibition of the cascade has proven to be a method for decreasing tumor growth. Therefore we hypothesize that subcellular localization and expression of Kaiso is modulated by EGFR induced MAPK activity. Using the TCGA Breast cancer dataset, we observed that Kaiso was altered in about 11% of patients, compared to 15% of E-cad expression and 13% of MAPK3 of 959 patients/cases of Breast cancers. MAPK3 (eRK1); MAPK6, MAPK7, MAPK9 AND MAPK14 (p38) seems to have trends in mutual exclusivity or co-occurrence with Kaiso (ZBTB33). To determine if MAPK3 is responsible for increased Kaiso expression, MCF-7 cells, which express low levels of Kaiso in the cytoplasm, were treated with 10ng/ml of EGF in the presence or absence of MAPK inhibitor, 20μM PD98093. EGF stimulation caused robust increase in Kaiso protein expression, while PD98093 inhibited EGF induced expression. Similarly, in Kaiso overexpressing, MDA-MB-231, blocking EGFR kinase activity with 500nM PD153035 resulted in an opposite effect as EGF stimulation in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, we observed a significant decrease in p-ERK expression, re-expression of E-cadherin, and low EGFR expression levels in sh-Kaiso MDA-MB-231 cells compared to sh-Scr cells. The decreased p-ERK expression in sh-Kaiso MDA-MB-231 cells was also associated with decreased expression of mesenchymal markers ZEB1, ZEB2, Twist and SNAIL at both the mRNA and protein levels compared to the scrambled control. Similarly, we observed significant decrease in the somatic cell reprogramming factors Klf4, Oct4, Nanog expression in sh-Kaiso MDA-MB-231 as well, which coincide with a reversal of EMT. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the molecular mechanism and/or functional consequences of increased Kaiso expression in breast cancer, and highlights the multiple roles that Kaiso plays in promoting aggressive disease.

Citation Format: Shweta Tripathi, Balasubramanyam Karanam, Bo Ma, Alan Wells, Clayton Yates. Targeting subcellular localization of Kaiso to limit dissemination through MAPK signaling. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1680.


This paper aims at modeling a global CGE trade model for the EU15 subnational regions. This model is used to assess production reallocation across sectors in each EU15 region, assuming a scenario in which world tariff liberalization is implemented in the agricultural sector. The model is parsimonious in terms of data, focusing on unskilled and skilled labor as the source of heterogeneity across regions. A stylized model is built to interpret trade policy effects. Results show decreases in agricultural production in the EU15 of about 0.93%. All regions reduce agriculture but show different magnitudes in the relative changes of production. Large reallocation effects are observed between manufactures and services, some regions specializing in the former and others in the latter. In addition, the introduction of labor mobility within the EU15 and the EU27 causes strong amplification effects in manufactures and services.


To investigate the potential association between IL‐12B and IL‐27 gene polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), we performed a case–control study based on the Polish population. Patients with SLE and healthy individuals were examined for −6415 CTCTAA/GC (rs17860508) and +1188A/C (rs3212227) in IL‐12B and −924A/G (rs153109) and 4730T/C (rs181206) in IL‐27 gene polymorphisms using the high‐resolution melting method, PCR–RFLP method and TaqMan SNP genotyping assay, respectively. An increased frequency of GC/GC genotype as well as GC allele of the IL‐12B rs17860508 was found in patients with SLE, as compared with healthy subjects (P < 0.001). We did not find differences in genotype and allele frequencies of the IL‐12B rs3212227 and IL‐27 rs153109 and rs181206 variants between patients with SLE and controls. IL‐27 haplotype rs181206C/rs153109G indicated higher risk for SLE (P = 0.002), whereas haplotype rs181206T/rs153109G indicated reduced risk for SLE (P = 0.005). The IL‐12B rs3212227 A/C polymorphism was associated with the mean value of the platelets (PLT), urea and complement C3 level. Furthermore, IL‐12B rs17860508 genetic variant showed correlation with PLT, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio and alkaline phosphatase. Our results revealed that IL‐12B rs17860508 and IL‐27 haplotype CG are genetic risk factors for SLE and that both IL‐12B rs17860508 and rs3212227 predict disease phenotype.


ABSTRACT: The purpose of this qualitative, single‐site case study was to describe how physical therapist students perceive and approach learning during case‐based instruction. Eight subjects, who were senior physical therapist students at an urban university with over 19,000 students, were selected using a purposeful sampling technique. Data were collected through a series of one‐on‐one interviews. Students were interviewed three times during a 10‐week course entitled "Clinical Integration," which used a case‐based instructional methodology. From these interviews, six major themes were identified: (1) value of cases to evoke learning as an outcome, (2) integration of knowledge and stimulation of thinking, (3) motivational aspects of cases, (4) stress, (5) organizational strategies, and (6) group dynamics and interaction skills. Students indicated that cases served as a stimulus for clinical thinking and promoting an indepth thought process. Cases were motivating because they were complex, challenging, realistic, and required the integration of classroom material versus factual recall. Organizational strategies included problem identification and generation of ideas for approaching the cases using references, brainstorming, and outside sources. Collaboration fostered a sharing of ideas and clinical knowledge but also caused stress due to conflicting group goals. An understanding of students' experiences with casebased instruction has implications for the design of instruction and the classroom context in physical therapy education. This information can be used to generate, evaluate, and improve the curriculum by encouraging and promoting the learning strategies used by successful students and by identifying the problem areas experienced.


Twenty six years after the Mw 7.3 Bolu/Gerede Earthquake of 1944, Ambraseys (1970) first recognized, in the offset of a manmade wall constructed across the fault in 1957, the signature of slow aseismic slip along the central segment of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF). Following this discovery, many studies have characterized the behaviour of this aseismic slip with land- and space-based geodetic techniques, and with creepmeters. It is now recognized that the rate of aseismic slip decreases logarithmically from more than 3 cm/yr in the years following the Gerede Earthquake to approximately 6±2 mm/yr today. Of this rate, approximately 1.2 mm/year is residual afterslip and the remainder appears to be linear creep interrupted by creep events. In the last two decades, InSAR allowed the derivation of maps of ground velocities that indicates aseismic slip extends along a 100-km-long section of the fault, with a spatially variable aseismic slip rate, reaching its peak value approximately 15-24 km east of the city of Ismetpasa. Furthermore, creepmeter measurements and InSAR time series indicate that surface aseismic slip in the region of Ismetpasa is largely episodic, alternating between quiescent periods and transient episodes of relatively rapid aseismic slip. These observations raise questions about how slip accommodates tectonic stress along the fault with significant implications in terms of hazard along the seismogenic zone.

 In July 2016, we established ISMENET (Ismetpasa Continuous GNSS Network) to monitor spatial and temporal variations in the aseismic slip rate and detect slow slip events along the fault. ISMENET stations are distributed along 120 km long segment of the fault. In order to explore the shallow, fine spatio-temporal behavior of aseismic slip, 19 stations are located within 200 m to 10 km of the fault with 30 and 1 sec sampling rate. We analysed the GNSS time series to extract the signature of aseismic slip using a principal component analysis to reduce the influence of non-tectonic noise. We compared results with creep events quantified by creepmeters.

Keywords: Ismetpasa, Aseismic slip, GNSS, PCA, Time Series Analysis, NAFZ


The main topic of this thesis is integer quadratic programming with applications to problems arising in the areas of automatic control and communication. One of the most widespread modern control p ...


Comparing self-build experiences in city-regions over three continents, this book spans gigantic local differences. In order to make sense of comparison, a strict selection of paradigm is made to focus the analysis in all cases on the same relationships. The paradigm combines critical economic theory (coined by David Harvey) and cultural institutional analysis (inspired by Henri Lefebvre) in order to focus on the struggle between material and immaterial forces underlying the local performances. The analysis focuses both on the micro level performances and at the trans scalar social and political conditions to these practices. The commissioning role of residents vis-à-vis the role of the leading social movements focus on the social normalisation of moral ownership of the poor residents. The challenge is to sustain this active institutionalisation also in future processes of professionalization as the relationships on the lower segments of housing markets appear to be vulnerable for commercial economic exploitation.


Kemalism in Turkey is often presented as an exemplary case of paternalistic and authoritarian modernisation from above, and lauded or condemned for that very reason. Represented in these terms, certain analytic and political binaries are also activated: state versus society; world-view versus life-world; universality versus particularity; inauthenticity versus indigeneity; homogeneity versus heterogeneity/ resistance. By contrast, in this paper I seek to sidestep these organising categories to focus on Kemalism and Islamism as rival forms of the same social imaginary signification, and not as shorthand for these polarities. Using a number of representative texts, I argue that the extravagance of Islamist resistance in Turkey post-1980 brings to light the fantastical power of Kemalism itself, exposed as a project of the triumph of the will. This being the case, what has been written in anthropology about acts of 'self-institution'? The work of Nigel Rapport and Cornelius Castoriadis emphasises, in different ways, the arbitrariness and gratuity of social creation out of nothing or self-institution. Pierre Bourdieu's work, on the other hand, is radically contrary to Rapport's in its structuralist elaboration of agency as guided action. My analysis of processes of change within both the Islamist and Republican social movements in Turkey from the early 1990s to the present seeks a temporary rapprochement, at least in this case, between Rapport's methodological individualism and Bourdieu's methodological holism.


The aim of this study was to define the thyroid hormone-like activity of closantel in sheep by measuring some blood parameters that are known to be influenced by thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). Our hypothesis was that, if closantel possesses thyroid hormone-like activity, its use under in vivo conditions will result in changes similar to those in hyperthyroidism. The study was conducted in 20 Jezersko-Solchava breed sheep. Blood sampling was performed before and 10 days after routine anthelmintic treatment with closantel. Complete blood count, plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, protein, and albumin levels, as well as those of serum T3 and T4, were compared before and 10 days after closantel administration. This routine anthelmintic treatment of sheep with closantel did not significantly influence hematological parameters, thyroid hormone levels, or most of the biochemical parameters. No evidence was found for thyroid hormone-like activity of closantel in sheep. However, significantly (P < 0.01) elevated levels of plasma triglycerides were present 10 days after closantel administration.


Purpose. To identify the peculiarities of the recovery territories of the ecological network of Zhmerinsky district of Vinnytsia region.
Methods: field, cartographic  system  analysis.
Results. The total area of the recovery territories of the ecological network of Zhmerinsky district is 5449,61 hectares, that is 4.8 % of the area of the district. They include Dubovska, Zorincivska, Lisogirkivska, Petranivska, Sloboda-Mezhirivska, Karmalyukovska, Vasilivkivska, Pultivcivska, Lyudavska, Demidivska, Potokivska, Rizhavska, Zhmerinska, Petrivkivska, Kichmanska, Yaroshenkivska, Tarasivkivska, Travnevska, Noskivecka, Luka-Movchanska, Murashkivska, Chapayivska, Oleksandrivska territories. They cover channel, floodplain, slope and watershed types of landscape terrains. Balka tracts on the slopes of river valleys with forest and meadow vegetation are dominant. It was revealed that the main anthropogenic factors of nature degradation of the recovery territories are cattle grazing, haymaking, gathering of mushrooms, berries, flowers, illegal felling of trees, pollution by household waste, discharge of household sewage into rivers and streams. The main environmental measures should be the cessation of erosion processes, restoration of diversity and protection of flora and fauna, elimination of natural landfills of household waste.
Conclusion. 23 recovery territories are identified in the structure of the ecological network of Zhmerinsky district of Vinnytsia region. To compensate for the small number of biocenters in the future, most recovery territories have been allocated in the north-western, southern and south-eastern parts of the district. Their characteristic features are analized and renaturalization measures are proposed. Due to these measures it will be possible to restore degraded areas of nature, increase the number and the area of key, connecting and buffer areas. As a result, the state of the environment, living conditions of flora, fauna and vital activities of the population will improve.


: Aspects of discrimination against women in India are summarized, a case study of a rural district in Orissa is presented, and the article follows with a suggested 3-part strategy of education, employment and appropriate technology. The economic role played by women is difficult to quantitate because of their lifestyle that combines domestic work and unpaid family or low-paid outside farm or cottage industry labor. Besides these tasks, women usually care for dairy animals, and carry water and firewood. Discrimination against women in this system is evident, however, from some available statistics. 46% of women, as opposed to 20% of men, work as agricultural laborers. Women are denied education because they are not expected to do responsible work, then they are denied employment because they are not educated. Their work is counted as worth only half that of men, and based on this assumption, they are paid less then men. The male heads of 124 households in 7 villages in the Orissa area were interviewed to study labor participation of household members. 89% of the people worked in agriculture, 94% in rice paddy and 6% in oilseed or pulses for cash crops. The average farm size was 2.29 acres. Female literacy had risen to 14.3% from 1% 10 years before. Women usually worked in transplantation, weeding, harvesting and threshing, but also in heavier farm labor, construction of roads and buildings, quarrying and forestry. In this poor, hilly region, the custom of purdah was not practiced to the extent of keeping women from doing day labor outside the home. The authors' suggested strategy for women's development included appropriate technology such as the Gobar methane gas plant, provision of credit for women's industries, retention of girls in school and literacy programs for girls and women, and higher wages for women.


Quality of life has emerged as an important concept and outcome in health and health care. This study was performed to evaluate the ability of the health education program to improve quality of life of patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). In pre operation period, 70 patients were randomized in two groups, experimental and control group (35 patients in each). The demographic information, SF-36 and Nottingham Health Profile questionnaire were administered before surgery to all patients. Patients in the experimental group received the educational intervention according to Mico's education planning model. These patients were followed up to 1-month. At result, SF-36, Nottingham Health Profile questionnaires were administered 1-month after education by patients again. Significant improvements in quality of life between two groups, as measured by the Nottingham Health Profile, were seen in energy (P < 0.001), pain (P < 0.006), emotional reaction (P < 0.00001), sleep (P < 0.01), physical mobility (P < 0.00001) and total average quality of life (P < 0.00001). Significant improvements in quality of life between two groups, as measured by the SF-36, were seen in physical function (P < 0.00001), role limitations resulting from emotional status (P < 0.007), role limitations resulting from physical status (P < 0.05), mental health (P < 0.03), vitality (P < 0.02) and total average quality of life (P < 0.02). The findings demonstrate that health education result is improved quality of life for patients with CABG.


Background Effect of inhalational anesthetics on diastolic function in humans is still controversial, although inhalational anesthetics have been shown to have negative lusitropic action in experimental studies, which were explained by interference of inhalational anesthetics with calcium homeostasis. Aim This prospective randomized study aims to evaluate and compare the effects of sevoflurane and desflurane on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in patients with impaired LV relaxation due to ischemic heart disease using transesophageal Doppler echocardiography. Patients and methods After approval from the local ethics committee and informed consent, 24 patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery were enrolled in the study. Patients were selected by a preoperative transthoracic echocardiographic diagnosis of impaired relaxation or grade 1 diastolic dysfunction. Anesthetic induction was standardized in both groups. Patients randomly received 1 MAC of sevoflurane (n = 12) or desflurane (n = 12) for maintenance of anesthesia. Hemodynamic parameters and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) derived ventricular diastolic relaxation indices before and after the study drug administration were compared. LV filling pressures were kept within normal range throughout the study period to exclude the effect of the loading conditions on diastolic function. Results The two study drugs significantly reduced the systemic vascular resistance index with a significant increase in the cardiac index. Hemodynamic changes measured by invasive arterial line and pulmonary artery catheter were comparable between the two groups. In terms of LV relaxation indices, the two agents led to a significant improvement in diastolic function. Transmitral and tissue Doppler E/A and Em/Am ratios improved significantly accompanied by a significant decrease in deceleration time and isovolumetric relaxation time. The effect of the two agents on diastolic relaxation parameters was comparable. Conclusion Sevoflurane and desflurane appear to improve LV relaxation. This can be explained by a significant reduction in afterload produced by these vapors. The positive effect of these inhalational agents on LV relaxation can have a beneficial effect on the anesthetic management of patients with diastolic dysfunction.


Smart physical products increasingly shape a connected world and serve as boundary objects for the formation of 'smart service systems'. While these systems bear the potential to co-create value between partners in various industries, IS research still struggles to fully capture the phenomenon to support successful digital innovation in IoT settings. In our work, we analyze the phenomenon of smart service systems taking an affordance-actualization perspective. Based on a qualitative content analysis of a multi-case study, we identify elements and propositions to build mid-range theoretical knowledge for smart service systems. These conceptual findings are further illustrated with a real-world case study. We suggest that providers and users of smart products not only realize their own affordances via their actions but can affect the immediate concrete outcomes of partners. The developed theoretical framework and six distinct propositions should build the theoretical base for further research into the phenomenon in related disciplines.


Abstract The Persianate genre of the tazkira, or biographical compendium, typically concerns poets and Sufi saints, but a different approach is taken in Yadgar-e Rozgar, published in 1931 by Sayyid Badr al-Hasan, an aristocrat and honorary magistrate from Patna. Hasan focuses on the ordinary people—landlords and courtesans, doctors and bakers, lawyers and counterfeiters—who made up Patna's social world as the city transformed from a provincial town into the capital of a new province. While many Patnaites celebrated these changes, Hasan was deeply ambivalent about the dilemmas of colonial modernity. He struggled to reconcile modernist ideals with his sense that older ways were essential to Patna's cohesion and distinctiveness. As he worriedly put it, 'Asian breeding' had been replaced by a fickle disregard for social norms, as 'nationality' increasingly gave way to 'fashionality'.


Aim We play the role of an ice age ecologist (IAE) charged with conserving biodiversity during the climate changes accompanying the last deglaciation. We develop reserve-selection strategies for the IAE and check them against rankings based on modern data. Location Northern and eastern North America. Methods Three reserve-selection strategies are developed. (1) Abiotic: the IAE uses no information about species–climate relationships, instead maximizing the climatic and geographic dispersion of reserves. (2) Species distribution models (SDMs): the IAE uses boosted-regression trees calibrated against pollen data and CCSM3 palaeoclimatic simulations from 21 to 15 ka bp to predict modern taxon distributions, then uses these as input to the Zonation reserve-ranking program. (3) Rank-and-regress: regression models are used to identify climatic predictors of zonation rankings. All strategies are assessed against a Zonation ranking based on modern pollen distributions. Analysis units are ecoregions and grid cells. Results The abiotic strategy has a negative or no correlation between predicted and actual rankings. The SDM-based strategy fares better, with a significantly positive area-corrected correlation (r = 0.474, P < 0.001) between predicted and actual rankings. Predictive ability drops when grid cells are the analysis unit (r = 0.217, P = 0.058). Predictive ability for the rank-and-regress strategy is similar to the SDM results. Main conclusions For the IAE, SDMs improve the predictive ability of reserveselection strategies. However, predictive ability is limited overall, probably due to shifted realized niches during past no-analogue climates, new species interactions as species responded individually to climate change, and other environmental changes not included in the model. Twenty-first-century conservation planning also faces these challenges, and is further complicated by other anthropogenic impacts. The IAE's limited success does not preclude the use of climate scenarios and niche-based SDMs when developing adaptation strategies, but suggests that such tools offer at best only a rough guide to identifying possible areas of future conservation value.


Introduction. In writing of Brazil, Louis Agassiz[*][1] says that—

"The decomposition of the surface rocks to the extent to which it takes place is very remarkable, and points to a new geological agency thus far not discussed in our geological theories. It is obvious here . . . that the warm rains falling upon the heated soil must have a very powerful action in accelerating the decomposition of rocks. It is like torrents of hot water falling for ages in succession upon hot stones. Think of the effect, and instead of wondering at the large amount of decomposed rocks which you meet everywhere you will be surprised that there are any rocks left in their primitive condition."[*][1]

By decomposition, decay and disintegration as used in the present paper I refer only to the phase or phases of rock decay which can be detected by the eye. I shall not attempt . . .

 [1]: #fn-1


In 1991, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development initiated a locomotive conspicuity research program with the Volpe Center, to evaluate experimental locomotive alerting light devices and patterns. The FRA Office of Safety used the results in its rulemaking activity, initiated in response to a 1992 congressional mandate to issue interim regulations to improve conspicuity of locomotives to motorists. Preliminary results of the program were considered by FRA in issuing of two interim rules in 1993 and 1994. Upon conclusion of the program in 1995, the research results served as the basis for the final rule issued in 1996 and amended in 2003 and 2004. The study consisted of two components: (1) technology assessment and (2) human perception and recognition. The technology assessment addressed the luminous intensity, flash rate, cost of auxiliary lighting components, and the potential for a selected auxiliary lighting system to reduce the number of accidents at highway-rail grade crossings. It consisted of literature reviews, laboratory tests, and 3 years of in-service testing of a triangular alerting pattern using active warning crossing lights in combination with standard headlights. The human perception and recognition research consisted of controlled field tests to evaluate the ability of three auxiliary lighting systems to enable motorists to recognize the locomotive as a potential hazard and estimate its arrival at a grade crossing. Each system consisted of a pair of auxiliary lights (crossing lights, ditch lights, or roof-mounted strobe lights) that formed a triangle with the headlights. All three alerting light systems evaluated in the human perception and recognition tests were found to be more effective as warning devices than standard headlights alone. FRA regulations now require use of one of those systems. The crossing light system provided the greatest advance warning of train arrival at the grade crossing during the human perception and recognition tests. Data from the technology assessment indicated a potential for significant accident rate reduction with use of the crossing light system.


A Rb–Sr geochronologic study of rocks of the Rice Lake – Beresford Lake area, southeastern Manitoba, shows that gold-quartz veins containing sericite and fuchsite were emplaced at 2720 ± 185 m.y. ago (λ87Rb = 1.39 × 10−11 yr−1). The mineralization postdates, and thus provides a minimum age for, the Rice Lake Group as well as for the successively younger intrusive basic rocks, quartz diorite plutons, and the San Antonio Formation. A whole-rock isochron for the potassic granite that lies north of the greenstones indicates an age of 2550 ± 80 m.y., with an initial 87Sr/86Sr of 0.7031 ± 0.0021, which we also consider as the age of regional metamorphism. This is in agreement with a metamorphic age of 2490 ± 90 m.y., as registered by phyllites from the Rice Lake Group. The gneisses and granites that lie south of the greenstone belt are older than 2630 m.y., as determined by a cross-cutting pegmatite. Because the northern granite is younger than the gold-quartz veins, extensive prospecting of the northern granit...


Despite the growing recognition of gender equality worldwide, plausible strategies that reduce young children's gender stereotypes remain limited. Cognitive-based interventions have been widely used in school settings and have been suggested to play important roles in children's gender stereotyping and in their processing of counter-stereotypic information. We aimed to determine whether exposure to counter-stereotypical information could break gender stereotypes in kindergarten children. Fifty-four children (61–79 months old) from two public kindergarten classes in northern Taiwan participated in this study. One of the two classes was randomly selected as the experimental group (n = 28), and the other was the control group (n = 26). The experimental group consisted of a gender equality curriculum including script relationship training for two months, while the control group continued their regular curriculum. The picture classification task (PCT) was measured before and after the intervention to assess gender stereotypes. Before interventions, 87.50% of the children chose a gender stereotypic relationship, while 12.50% chose script/other relationships in PCT. After the interventions, the gender stereotypic relationship dropped to 73.22% in the experimental group. Children in the control group were more likely to maintain their gender stereotypic relationship choices in PCTs. Our findings suggest that cognitive-based interventions, such as a gender equality curriculum, have the potential to break gender stereotypes in kindergarten children.


EXPERIENCE indicates that 22 days ordinarily elapse from the time of exteriorization of the small bowel until the performance of the operation of complete exclusion for the control of the resulting fistula. The time will be shortened as one gains confidence in the exclusion operation, and Middleman 1 has successfully reoperated as early as the fifth day after exteriorizing gangrenous ileum. To wait as long as 47 days, for instance, after exteriorizing gangrenous ileum before excluding the resulting fistula seemed to Probstein 2 "what I now feel much too long a time," so that when next he had occasion, after exteriorizing jejunum, to use the exclusion operation, he waited only 14 days. The urgent need for hastening the exclusion operation for the control of jejunal or ileal fistulas is therefore the topic of this presentation. How long a patient may be expected to survive exteriorization of gangrenous small bowel without


The paper deals with the electromagnetic compatibility between a traditional Italian DC railway lines and the new Italian High Speed / High Capacity AC railway lines. In particular, the aim of this work is to analyze the possible interference sources between the two signaling systems in order to avoid malfunctioning and safety problems. Moreover the adopted solution to electrically separate the two supply systems will be analyzed and discussed. For this purpose, an electromagnetic software model of the whole system has been implemented and many simulation will be presented.


Background Effectiveness of pharmacist-led educational interventions on self-care activities and glycemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients is vague. The purpose of this review is to appraise the effect of pharmacist-led educational interventions on self-care activities and levels of glycated hemoglobin of T2DM patients. Methods Five electronic databases were searched from date of database inception to September 2017. Randomized clinical trials examining the effectiveness of pharmacist-led educational interventions, directed at T2DM patients only, were included for systematic review and meta-analysis. The protocol is available with PROSPERO (CRD42017078854). Results Eleven studies, involving n=1,544 T2DM patients, were included in this systematic review. Meta-analysis demonstrated that pharmacist-led interventions had a significant effect on lowering of the levels of glycated hemoglobin (−0.66; 95% CI [−0.83, −0.50]; I2=58.3%; P=0.008), in comparison to usual care. Self-care activities were assessed by using Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities tool in eight studies. Overall meta-analysis of self-care activities for included studies demonstrated a significant effect of pharmacist-led interventions on improvement of self-monitoring of blood glucose (1.62; 95% CI [0.92, 2.32]; I2=70.5%; P=0.005), foot care (1.20; 95% CI [0.49, 1.90]; I2=95.0%; P<0.001), and overall diet (1.16; 95% CI [0.38, 1.93]; I2=64.2%; P=0.094). Conclusion The findings of this review demonstrate a significantly positive effect of pharmacist-led educational interventions on HbA1c levels and self-care practices among T2DM patients.


This study purpose is to determine the direct effect of strategic HR practices and knowledge management on organization performance, and to examine whether the strategic planning is a mediating variable. This study is conducted at Mandiri Islamic Bank in Malang, East Java. This is explanatory research type, with questionnaire as a tool for data collection. Analysis unit is employee of Independent Islamic banks in Malang. Data is analyzed by path analysis using SPSS. Analysis results showed that knowledge management affect on strategic planning, while strategic HR practices has no effect. Strategic HR practices directly affect on organization performance. Strategic planning mediates the affect of knowledge management on organizational performance. Knowledge management has indirect effect on organizational performance. It is necessary for good planning strategy. Using innovation, opinions sharing, employee's involvement in decision making process will create better strategic planning, which in turn will affect on organizational performance. Strategic HR practices affect on organization performance because HR become vital resource for companies. Without HR role, automatically organizational performance can not be maximized. Islamic banking leader need to socialize to employees how to apply knowledge management rightly. High SOP allows a leader to motivate and affect subordinates by exchanging rewards with specific performance.


Objective: Maternal factors such as age, health, diet, and environment are significantly associated with low birth weight. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence, distribution and major risk factors of low birth weight in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Materials and methods: A hospital based case–control study was done in Obstetric Ward of Maternity Hospital in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Data was obtained using questionnaire and Performa. Out of 1021 deliveries, 330 were selected randomly as respondents that comprises of 110 cases and 220 controls. The outcome measure was low birth weight (<2500 grams). Results: The incidence of low birth weight was 10.8%. Among races, the highest occurrence of low birth weight was in Malay, while the highest age group was between 21 years old to 34 years old with majority of the respondent were married. Among the maternal socio-demographic factors, maternal height of less than 150 cm has a significant relationship with low birth weight. In addition, maternal weight of 45 kg and less and maternal weight gain during pregnancy of less than 10 kg were also found to be risk factors. However, none of the socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with low birth weight deliveries. Similarly, signs of premature delivery, maternal vaginal bleeding and fetal growth retardation (IUGR) had a significant association. Conclusion: The mothers that have experienced any of the risks that were identified should be monitored and effective prevention should be taken to decrease the chances of low birth weight but not forgetting to promote a health lifestyle to the mother and father as well.


Quantile regression is an important tool for conditional quantiles estimation of a response Y for a given vector of covariates X. It can be used to measure the effect of covariates not only in the center of a distribution, but also in the upper and lower tails. Regression coefficients for each quantile can be estimated through an objective function which is weighted average absolute errors. Each quantile regression characterizes a particular aspect of a conditional distribution. Thus we can combine different quantile regressions to describe more completely the underlying conditional distribution. The analysis model of quantile regression would be specifically useful when the conditional distribution is not a normal shape, such as an asymmetric distribution or truncated distribution. In general, rainfall in Indramayu regency during 1972-2001 at 23 stations is highly variable in amount across time (month)andspace. So,the first objective of the research is reducing the variability in space using classification of the rainfall stations. The second objective is modelling the variability in time using quantile regression for every cluster of rainfall stations. The result shows that there are two clusters of rainfall stations. The first cluster has higher amount of rainfall than the second cluster. The coefficient of quantile regression for quantile 50 and 75 percent are similar, but for quantile 5 and 90 percent are very different. Exploring pattern of rainfall using quantile regression can detect normal or extreme rainfall that very useful in agricultural.


The global economic crisis leads to important changes in investment policies that hit scientific research too. Scientists are currently facing a period of limited availability of research funds. However, this period of shortage of economic resources may also represent an opportunity of re- newal for scientific research, since it may call for improved efficiency and effectiveness and lead to a critical re-evaluation of strategies and priorit- ies. In this opinion paper, we collated a scattered and non-exhaustive list of suggestions for mammal research during a period of limiting financial resources. Our main objective is to stimulate debate, and possibly provide some useful hints, especially to young mammalogists.


A new chart to monitor maternal weight gain during pregnancy is presented. The chart is based on the adequacy of maternal weight for height, as suggested by a modified table of weight for average frame size, and the data were derived from a low-income racially-mixed population living in New York City. A nomogram accompanies the chart and is used to calculate values of percentage of "standard weight" at various gestational ages. The chart establishes a desirable weight near term which is equivalent to 120 percent of "standard weight" for women with a pre-pregnancy weight equal to or lower than 100 percent of "standard weight". For women with pre-pregnancy weight above 100% of "standard weight" the desirable weight near term varies according to the initial weight but includes a minimal weight gain of 7 kg for women with pre-pregnancy weight over 120% of standard. Women who attained or exceeded body weight near term equivalent to 120 percent of "standard weight" in low income populations in the US and Chile delivered infants with significantly higher mean birth weight than those from mothers who did not meet this goal.


Effect of acute multiple (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg body wt, i.p.) doses of C. colebrookianum leaf extract on behaviour, convulsion, analgesia and sedative-hypnosis was studied in mice. A marginal reduction of awareness and motor activity was observed in low (20 mg) and moderate (40 mg) dose level of extract. However, 80 mg dose caused marked inhibition of awareness and motor activity. Grip strength and stereotypy was observed in all the dose levels. The extract alone did not show loss of righting reflex but it prolonged the effect of meprobamate, diazepam, chlorpromazine and pentobarbitone significantly in a dose dependent manner. The extract neither produced analgesia alone nor it altered analgesic effect of morphine and pethidine. Pretreatment of the extract caused significant protection of strychnine and leptazol induced convulsion and mortality. The results suggest a mild (or dose dependent) CNS depressant action of leaf extract of C. colebrookianum in mice.


It has been suggested that nucleic acids are involved in protein synthesis, and considerable data have been collected, some supporting this view and some conflicting with it.' A useful system for the study of this relationship would appear to be enzyme induction in microorganisms, since it has recently been shown that this process involves formation of new protein from amino acids.2' 3 The determination of enzyme activity as a means of following the formation of small amounts of new protein is advantageous because it is a more sensitive criterion than direct protein analysis. If a process is essential for protein synthesis, as soon as it is halted enzyme induction should stop. This is in contrast to processes essential for other phases of cell duplication or protoplasmic increase which eventually halt all cell metabolism. Thus, if formation of nucleic acids, rather than simply the presence of nucleic acids, is directly essential for protein synthesis, any process which prevents nucleic acid synthesis should at the same time stop enzyme induction. An effect that seemed to be of this sort has recently been observed by Monod et al.3 In testing the requirement for the presence of a number of amino acids or amino acid components for enzyme induction, they also found that a uracil-requiring mutant of Escherichia coli was unable to produce f-galactosidase in the absence of uracil. In the present work, experiments are conducted in which it is shown that removal of the nucleic acid components, purine, pyrimidine, or phosphate, abruptly prevents enzyme induction in E. coli strains which require these compounds for growth, and some hypotheses regarding these observations are tested. Methods.-Various strains of E. coli were used in these experiments. Strain 550-460 (requiring cytosine or uracil) was obtained from the American Type Culture collection (ATCC No. 11548). Strains 6386 (requiring pyrimidines) and M45B4 (requiring adenine, guanine, or xanthine), isolated by Dr. B. D. Davis, were obtained from Dr. I. J. Slotnick. Strain B96, isolated by Dr. J. S. Gots, was obtained from Dr. R. Guthrie. Strain M4834 (PABA-less) was isolated by Dr. B. D. Davis. Cells were grown with aeration by shaking at 370 in a minimal medium4 [7 gm. K2HPO4, 2 gm. KH2PO4, 0.5 gm. Na3-citiate 5H20, 0.1 gm. MgS0417H20, 1 gm. (NH4)2SO4 per liter plus 0.5 per cent glycerol (rather than glucose) as a carbon and energy source] supplemented with the compound necessary for growth. The division time was about 70 minutes. The cells were grown to approximately 7 X 108 cells per


There is a consensus that deep geological disposal is one of the most appropriated solution to store radioactive waste, and that argillaceous rocks have great potential as possible geological host formation. In this context, The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra), is leading the design of a deep geological radioactive waste repository to be located in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (COx), at about 500 m depth (Cigéo project).
Radioactive waste disposal aims to protect the environment over a period of several thousands of years. For this purpose, these facilities are designed following the multi-barrier concept, in which engineered and natural barriers are combined, each one providing a degree of safety to the overall system [1]. The long-term safety of Cigéo relies on the COx claystone, the natural barrier that plays the main role, and also on the so-called sealing structures. These structures, installed after the operational phase at some key positions in shafts, ramps and horizontal galleries, are intended to limit the flow of water and the migration of radionuclides to the biosphere, ensuring the post-closure safety over the entire storage life.
Excavation of underground drifts generally causes damage to the rock around the openings [2]. Controlling the preferential pathways of groundwater through the fractures generated by excavation is a key objective related to the long-term safety of a radioactive waste repository. The sealing structures should be designed not only to seal the drifts so that they do not become preferential radionuclide migration pathways, but also to reduce the permeability of the excavation-induced damaged zone (EDZ) to a low value, re-creating conditions similar to those of the intact host rock.
Andra's current sealing concept for large diameter galleries (~ 10 m) is based on the installation of a confined expansive bentonite-based sealing core occupying the entire cross-section area (Figure 1(a)).  The expansive core will be confined by two concrete plugs placed at both ends and the remaining section of the gallery will be filled with a backfill consisting of disaggregated and recompacted excavated COx. Swelling under confined conditions leads to the development of a swelling pressure that the core exerts on the surrounding materials. In this way, as the sealing core is saturated, the EDZ will be gradually compressed by the increasing swelling pressure, favoring the self-sealing of existing fractures, and leading to a gradual recovery of the rock low permeability [3]. The sealing core will also exert a pressure on the concrete plugs. As a result, the plugs will slide, compressing the backfill and releasing some of the swelling pressure in the core. The performance of this type of solution therefore relies on the development and long-term stability of the core swelling pressure, which is strongly related to the stability of the entire system.
Numerical simulation is a potentially useful tool for a better understanding of the behaviour of these engineered barriers. This work aims to assess numerically the phenomenology underlying the response and performance of large diameter sealing structures under real disposal conditions. The simulations presented address the complexity of the problem by considering large scale 3D geometries including the main components of the sealing structure (Figure 1(b)), realistic and advanced constitutive models, complex hydro-mechanical (HM) coupled formulation, and key geometric details at decimeter scale such as lining and interfaces between the different components.
Simulations were carried out with the finite element code CODE_BRIGHT [4]. Particular features of the models include:

a) advanced constitutive laws to capture the non-linear time-dependent anisotropic response of the COx claystone;
b) the development of the fractured zone around excavations;
c) the multi-scale expansive response of the bentonite-based core material.

Physico-chemical processes between bentonite and the nearby materials that could affect the long-term sealing performance, and gas pressurization due to degradation and corrosion of the support elements are not considered at this stage of the work.
These challenging simulations have provided qualitative and quantitative results on key aspects of the performance and long-term integrity of the current sealing concept in the Cigéo facility. From a practical point of view, the performance was evaluated considering the response associated with the capability of the core to reach full saturation at all points and to develop the target swelling pressure as uniformly as possible, the capacity of the stabilizing components (plugs and backfill) to provide long-term stability, and the capability of the sealing core to recompress the EDZ. The influence of the plug-lining interface shear strength was particularly examined.
Results show that the sealing core reaches a full saturation state around 2000 years after its construction, and that final hydro-mechanical equilibrium with hydrostatic conditions and the supporting elements is reached after an additional 1000 years. During this period, the plugs move around 0.5 m in the longitudinal direction due to the pressure exerted by the expansive core. As a result, the expansive core density and swelling capacity reduce due to deconfinement (Figure 1(c)). Despite this, the central part of the core maintains a swelling pressure within the admissible design range: the value of radial swelling pressure obtained is around 3 MPa (≈ 75% of the target swelling pressure). During the post-closure phase, the EDZ is recompressed by the swelling of the core and part of the initial stresses are recovered.


Abstract. The cryptic behavior and appearance of some reptile species lead to difficulty in conducting effective surveys to estimate abundance. As an example, Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma spp.) often have a pattern of camouflage on the dorsum and they sometimes become motionless upon the approach of a human observer. However, they also venture onto roads to thermoregulate. When basking on a road surface, they are much easier to visually detect; hence, road-cruising surveys are an effective technique for surveying. We designed and implemented a survey protocol for a population of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) at the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) in south Texas, USA. The protocol involved repeatedly driving a continuous 64-km survey route while visually scanning for lizards. Over the course of 17 survey days in summer 2015, we obtained 167 observations of lizards. To estimate lizard density, we used N-mixture models on datasets in which the route was divided into either 39, 77, or 117 segments (survey units) with lengths of 1,651, 836, and 550 m, respectively. Density estimates ranged from one to six lizards per 10 ha, depending on how the route was subdivided into segments and assumptions about the amount of roadside area surveyed. The density estimates were extrapolated to an estimated population size of 1,000–2,800 Texas Horned Lizards at the CWMA. Because this is a species of conservation concern, populations should be monitored within protected areas and perhaps elsewhere in landscapes where road surveying is possible.


In 2019, memes containing the phrase Ok, Boomer flooded social media as conflict between generations became more prevalent. Terms with similar connotations, like snowflake, already maintained a stronghold in mainstream discourse, creating a niche for additional age-related terms. Examining memes, tweets, and podcasts, I work to examine the impact terms like Ok, boomer have on online discussions. While it can be argued this type of communication reflects ritualized insults similar to that found in Labov's writings or Delfino's examination of joning, such comments show an ideology deeper than hierarchal establishment. When compared to samples found in social media and a National Public Radio podcast, this research indicates a larger age-based language ideological issue, reflecting presumption and negative stereotypes related to age. These ideologies echo the tension between generations online, demonstrating issues similar to that discussed by Crystal Kadakia in her book discussing the difficulties millennials encounter in the workplace. This project examines the usage of age-related insults in modern discourse and the language ideologies it reflects using a digital discourse analysis.


The article deals with the psychological aspects of police structures in the context of building relationships with the community. Study the relationship between social-oriented approach to the implementation of policing and professional effectiveness of law enforcement officers. Analyzes the foreign experience of police relations and civil society.


The current study investigated the effects of termite insecticide, Termex® (imidacloprid 35.50% SC), on biometric variations and oxidative stress biomarkers in Clarias gariepinus. Fish were exposed to 4.00 and 6.00 µg l–1 sublethal Termex® concentrations in 2017. The gill and liver tissues were sampled on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 and the results indicated that hepatosomatic index (HSI) decreased significantly when compared with the control on days 14, 21 and 28. The condition factor (CF) and viscera-somatic index (VSI) also decreased during the study period. The decrease was greater at 6.00 µg l–1 Termex® concentration on days 21 and 28 for CF and days 14 to 28 for VSI, respectively. The lipid peroxidation (LPO) in both tissues was highest in the 6.00 µg l−1 Termex® and increased with the duration. There was significant decrease (p < 0.05) in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase values, but significant increase in catalase activity in both tissues. The values of glutathione reductase in both tissues were comparable to the control, except on days 21 and 28 in the liver. There was negative correlation between the LPO in tissues and the HSI, CF and VSI values. The use of Termex® in the environment should be monitored to safeguard the health of aquatic organisms.


UV/VIS spectroscopy was used in conjunction with a calibration method to determine the mixing ratio of samples of beer-mixed drinks with mineral water (sour Radler beers) from the food service industry. For this purpose, calibration lines were constructed based on absorptions at the two wavelengths 380 nm and 430 nm. To create these calibration lines, blending ratios were prepared from beers from three southwestern German brands and mineral water. The samples of the sour Radler beers were taken from restaurants and bars, which are all located in Baden-Württemberg. It has been shown that the calibration lines can be used to determine mixing ratios with an average deviation of approximately 7% and 9%. Thereby, the calibration line based on the absorption at 430 nm represents a higher accuracy. Using this calibration line, the sour Radler beer samples have percentage ranges of beer of approximately 50% to 90%. This method could serve as a rapid quantitative quality control of the mixing ratios of sour Radler or other beer-mixed drinks. It could be used in breweries for routine control.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of ego-resilience, family strength, and school life satisfaction according to their family structure. 303 cases of them were selected from 912 elementary students' data in Busan and analyzed using the independent-samples t-test, Pearson's coefficient of correlation, and multiple regression. The results of the study were as follows: First, it was shown that children of parents family had positive perception on the ego-resilience, family strength, and satisfaction with school life than children of nontraditional family. Second, in children with parents family, family strength is a more powerful predictor of satisfaction with school life than ego-resilience. Finally, in children with nontraditional family, ego-resilience is a more powerful predictor of satisfaction with school life than family strength. The results implicated that ego-resilience and family strength of children influence on their school life satisfaction differently according to their family structure and therefore it needed for family structure-based mediation program to improve children' school life.


In contrast to statistical methods, a number of case study methods—collectively referred to as Mill's methods, used by generations of social science researchers—only consider deterministic relationships. They do so to their detriment because heeding the basic lessons of statistical inference can prevent serious inferential errors. Of particular importance is the use of conditional probabilities to compare relevant counterfactuals. A prominent example of work using Mill's methods is Theda Skocpol's States and Social Revolutions. Barbara Geddes's widely assigned critique of Skocpol's claim of a causal relationship between foreign threat and social revolution is valid if this relationship is considered to be deterministic. If, however, we interpret Skocpol's hypothesized causal relationship to be probabilistic, Geddes's data support Skocpol's hypothesis. But Skocpol, unlike Geddes, failed to provide the data necessary to compare conditional probabilities. Also problematic for Skocpol is the fact that when one makes causal inferences, conditional probabilities are of interest only insofar as they provide information about relevant counterfactuals.Jasjeet S. Sekhon thanks Walter R. Mebane Jr., Henry Brady, Bear Braumoeller, Shigeo Hirano, Gary King, John Londregan, Bruce Rusk, Theda Skocpol, Suzanne M. Smith, Jonathan N. Wand, the editors of Perspectives on Politics, and three anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and advice.


THE PROBLEMOne of the major crises facing the world today is ever increasing biodiversity loss; the primary cause of which stems from land-use change (Sih et al., 2011). Land-use changes have a wider impact on biotic and abiotic life than what becomes evident in the immediate landscape surroundings. The five main impacts on landscape are habitat loss/fragmentation and isolation, the spread of exotic species, harvesting, pollution, and climate change (Sih et al., 2011).
In Aotearoa New Zealand, land cover has changed significantly from 80% native forest to only 20% in the 800 years of human settlement (Ministry for the Environment, 2019), leading to a huge loss of habitat for native bird species. With a growing population the demand for land dedicated to new housing continues to transform the New Zealand landscape.
This investigation considers how green-field housing expansion is changing land-use and land-cover, by examining the relationship between bird life and suburban landscapes. It seeks to identify and demonstrate ways landscape architecture can positively intervene in biodiversity loss and its associated environmental degradation, at the local scale. It speculates on how biodiverse communities are achieved or maintained in areas of human inhabitation.
IS IT A QUESTION OF PRESERVATION?
Habitat loss is a major reason for the loss of native bird species in New Zealand. As an attempt to mitigate this, New Zealand's environmental legislation focuses primarily on preserving remnant patches of native vegetation. Around 32% of New Zealand's land area is currently zoned as a protected area1. These areas are managed to protect biodiversity and typically allow low level of human activity (eg. walking, biking) but no permanent occupation.
There are also several laws in place to protect native bush and prevent deforestation and between 80-90% of surviving native bush is under management of the Department of Conservation. The Resource Management Act is key to the governance of this protection along with the New Zealand Forest Accord (Ministry of the Environment, 1997). Additionally, individual trees may be identified as significant or heritage trees by individual councils that require consent to remove.
It is evident in New Zealand that conservation methods are deployed to protect rare and vulnerable elements of biodiversity as a priority (Anderson, 1998, as cited in Midler, 2007). This approach creates pockets of native vegetation that can provide habitat for bird species, but such a focus does not address or guide a holistic approach to habitat protection within New Zealand. Whilst protected areas are vital habitat for many human sensitive native species, such as Kiwi, in most cases preservation is not enough to prevent overall species decline. As such, despite preservation efforts an estimated "eighty percent of our bird species are now threatened with extinction" (Forest & Bird, 2018).
WHAT ABOUT COHABITATION?
As preservation areas alone do not allow native bird species to thrive, opportunities to create habitats for wildlife within human-dominated landscapes become necessary (Rosenweig, 2003a).
When considering human-dominated areas, low levels of biodiversity are seen in dense urban areas1 and rural areas2, but there is a peak in low residential/ suburban areas. This peak is often attributed the wide variety of plant species occurring within residential homes. Though the use of exotic plant species is generally high, these species are often flowering or fruiting species which can provide year-round food sources for wildlife. The low density and restrictions on site coverage make the areas more easily traversed, with many trees and bushes providing resting points. (Beninde et al, 2015; Donnelly & Marzuff, 2004).
Settlements currently make up less than 10% of New Zealand's land-use, but growing populations are leading to a rapid expansion of urban areas (Falconer, 2015). This expansion is in part vertical, with many city councils supporting increased densification in their central areas; but horizontal sprawl remains prevalent, with continued pursuit of low density residential development on land at urban margins.
The legal protection of state-owned reserve land and native bush remnants means that most land converted to housing in New Zealand is privately owned farmland. Given that suburban density affords higher levels of biodiversity than farmland, this would indicate that within a New Zealand context, suburban expansion actually has the potential to improve national biodiversity. Current New Zealand suburban environments support only a limited number of native bird species and the prevailing suburban design would have to change to support a wider range of native birds.
Additionally, surrounding land-use is shown to have an impact on the biodiversity value of reserve lands (Beninde et al, 2015). This research suggests a new suburban landscape could not only provide an expansion of habitable areas for native avian species, but also increase the success of existing local reserve lands, through improving the suburban environment, thus decreasing the negative impacts of habitat fragmentation.
The practice of landscape architecture offers the capacity and responsibility to consider how human occupied areas can begin to accommodate non-human species and direct our urban landscapes towards becoming co-habitable spaces. This research will therefore aim to capitalise on the potential of suburbia as a habitat for native bird species through the method of a design-led research. Using the potential of cohabitation as a driver, it will explore an alternative approach to green-field housing development. Here ecological principles are placed at the forefront of design, using a 'green-field' case-study site in Plimmerton's designated Northern Growth Area of Porirua.


We present a novel method to simulate Cosserat rods with Projective Dynamics (PD). The proposed method is both numerically robust and accurate with respect to the underlying physics, making it suitable for a variety of applications in computer graphics and related disciplines. Cosserat theory assigns an orientation frame to each point and is thus able to realistically simulate stretching and shearing effects, in addition to bending and twisting. Within the PD framework, it is possible to obtain accurate simulations given the implicit integration over time and its decoupling of the local‐global solve. In the proposed method, we start from the continuous formulation of the Cosserat theory and derive the constraints for the PD solver. We extend the standard definition of PD and add body orientations as system variables. Thus, we include the preservation of angular momentum, so that twisting and bending can be accurately simulated. Our formulation allows the simulation of different bending behaviors with respect to a user‐defined Young's modulus, the radius of the rod's cross‐section, and material density. We show how different material specifications in our simulations converge within a few iterations to a reference solution, generated with a high‐precision finite element method. Furthermore, we demonstrate mesh independence of our formulation: Refining the simulation mesh still results in the same characteristic motion, which is in contrast to previous position based methods.


The Vendetta Game dynamically models conflict resolution processes in which players can take turns to steal from one another probabilities of winning a prize. Vendettas are far more prevalent in the laboratory than predicted in equilibrium, assuming self-interest or even spite. To make sense of this, we identify four behavioral types each with their temperaments: melancholic Gamesmen (27%) who play equilibrium, antisocially sanguine Sharks (53%) who optimistically demand more than their equilibrium share, choleric Educators (17%) who punish greedy co-players or otherwise play equilibrium, and phlegmatic Meeks (3%) who demand less than their equilibrium share. Within games, i.e. through the course of stealing and counter-stealing, non-Sharks become greedier. Across games, the characteristic profiles of subject types sharpen with experience. Sharks earn least and Meeks earn most. The clash of temperaments perpetuates feuds. We compare our four types with the types of players observed in the related Repeated Prisoner's Dilemma game.


Some aspects of the quasi-free production of mesons in the near threshold region are discussed. A method of data analysis used by WASA/PROMICE Collaboration to extract the excitation function for eta production on neutron target is briefly presented. Feasibility of similar study with WASA at COSY is discussed.


Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can affect the menstrual cycle and menstrual flow. To examine changes in menstrual symptoms of women recovering from COVID-19 and to identify factors that influence these changes. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire, prepared using Google Forms, was completed by 180 women (26.08±6.62 years) recovered from COVID-19. The menstrual symptoms, menstrual pain, fatigue severity and anxiety level of the participants were evaluated respectively with the Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ), visual analogue scale (VAS), fatigue severity scale (FSS), and coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS). Results: Post-COVID-19 individuals' MSQ totals, subgroup scores, FSS scores and menstrual pain levels showed significant increase compared to pre-COVID-19. Regression analysis identified that age at menarche, changes in FSS and VAS scores as contributors to 38.4% of the variance explained in the significant regression for change in MSQ score. Individuals with prolonged fatigue, muscle– joint pain and dyspnea symptoms showed increase in MSQ total scores (P=0.006, P=0.009, P=0.046 respectively) and MSQ negative effects/somatic complaints scores (P=0.004, P=0.002, P=0.017 respectively). Individuals with prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms showed increase in MSQ pain symptoms (P=0.029) and MSQ coping methods scores (P=0.002), while those with prolonged muscle and joint pain showed increase in MSQ coping methods (P=0.022) scores. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that menstrual symptoms, fatigue, and menstrual pain severity are deteriorated in women recovered from COVID-19. Age at menarche, changes in fatigue and menstrual pain after COVID-19 were determiners of the deteriorated menstrual symptoms. Menstrual symptoms were more severe in those who have prolonged fatigue, dyspnea, muscle– joint pain and gastrointestinal symptoms.


For the past six years, a high-accuracy reflectance calibration system has been under development at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The system utilizes Los Alamos National Laboratory's Beamlines X8A and X8C. Its purpose is to calibrate the reflection efficiencies of witness coupons associated with the coating of the eight mirror elements composing the High Resolution Mirror Assembly for NASA's Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF). During the past year, measurements of reflectances of numerous iridium- coated witness flat mirrors have been obtained to a relative statistical precision of 0.4 percent, and an overall repeatability within 0.8 percent in the overlapping energy regions. The coating processes are strikingly repeatable, with reflectances in the 5-10 keV range for off-end witness flats nearly always being within 1 percent of one another, excluding interference fringes. The comparison reflectances between flats obtained from qualification coating runs and production runs of the Wolter Type I mirror elements are in turn nearly equal, indicating that the qualification run witness flats provide a good representation of the flight optics. Results will produce a calibration of AXAF with extremely good energy detail over the 2-12 keV range, which includes details of the M-absorption edge region for Ir. Development of the program to cover 0.05-2 keV continues.


A retrospective review of social insurance claim files of male blue collar workers was conducted to compare the social insurance costs of percutaneous lumbar nucleotomy with standard lumbar discectomy ; 29 percutaneous nucleotomy procedures were matched with 58 standard discectomies all carried out between January 1992 and December 1994. It was concluded that a standard discectomy procedure results in significantly higher costs during hospitalisation with respect to surgery, anaesthesia and hospital stay. A percutaneous nucleotomy leads to a significantly higher outpatient expenditure especially in radiology and medical devices. The relative proportion of outpatient practitioner's visits and hospital stay costs was significantly higher for the standard discectomy whereas medical devices had a relatively higher share in outpatient expenditure for the percutaneous nucleotomy. In this population of 87 compensation claimants, the average social insurance costs did not significantly differ between the percutaneous nucleotomy and the standard discectomy.


Abstract Nowadays the most important problem in the treatment of bacterial infections is the appearance of MDR (multidrug-resistant), XDR (extensively drug-resistant) and PDR (pan drug-resistant) bacteria and the scarce prospects of producing new antibiotics. There is renewed interest in revisiting the use of bacteriophage to treat bacterial infections. The practice of phage therapy, the application of phages to treat bacterial infections, has been around for approximately a century. Phage therapy relies on using lytic bacteriophages and purified phage lytic proteins for treatment and lysis of bacteria at the site of infection. Current research indicates that phage therapy has the potential to be used as an alternative to antibiotic treatments. It is noteworthy that, whether phages are used on their own or combined with antibiotics, phages are still a promising agent to replace antibiotics. So, this review focuses on an understanding of challenges of MDR, XDR, and PDR bacteria and phages mechanism for treating bacterial infections and the most recent studies on potential phages, cocktails of phages, and enzymes of lytic phages in fighting these resistant bacteria.


Neoclassicism still determines our idea of museums, especially with regard to their architecture; but the policies implemented at the time concerning the display of antiquities in the vicinity of museums were also to be very influential in the long term. During the Enlightenment, the first museums of art and archaeology were often preceded by public displays of classical monuments assembled in porticoes and courtyards, sculpture gardens more or less accessible to visitors and other spaces of intermediation surrounding art institutions. As the nineteenth century advanced, that tradition was reinterpreted in such open-air environments, substituting ancient sculptures by new statues made in classical materials and attitudes. Recently, some postmodern practices have returned to the installation of ancient art works in front of museums.


Positive attitudes to information technology (IT) among relevant stakeholders are an important precursor to the effective IT use at different levels of education. This paper presents the findings of a study that investigated the relationships between the individual characteristics of Nigerian university lecturers and their attitudes towards the use of information technology (IT) for teaching, research and related purposes. The study used a
self-administered questionnaire to collect data from 718 lecturers sampled randomly from 10 of the 40 federal and state universities in Nigeria at the time of the study in 2003. Findings from the study showed that Nigerian university lecturers generally have positive attitudes towards IT and its use in education. Attitudes were independent of age, academic rank and, to some extent, academic discipline, but were not independent of gender and experience of using IT. Previous negative experience with using IT had a significant influence on attitudes towards IT. The study concluded that programmes aimed towards facilitating the use of IT for teaching, research and related processes by lecturers in Nigerian universities are more likely to succeed if they are both gender - and discipline-targeted, and also provide effective support for everyday use of IT by the lecturers. African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science Vol. 18 (2) 2008: pp. 131-146


SAR444245 (THOR-707) is a recombinant human IL-2 molecule that includes a PEG moiety irreversibly bound to a novel amino acid via click chemistry to block the alpha-binding domain while retaining near-native affinity for the beta/gamma subunits. In animal models, SAR444245 showed anti-tumor benefits, but with no severe side effects, both as single agent and when combined with anti-PD1 comparing with historical data from aldeslukin. Preclinical study demonstrated SAR444245 enhances ADCC function of cetuximab. The HAMMER trial, which is the FIH study shows preliminary encouraging clinical results: initial efficacy and safety profile with SAR444245 monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab or with cetuximab support a non-alpha preferential activity, validating preclinical models. The Pegasus Head and Neck Ph 2 study will evaluate the clinical benefit of SAR444245 in combination with other anticancer therapies for the treatment of patients with R/M HNSCC.The Pegasus Head and Neck will enroll approximately 272 patients in 4 separate cohorts concurrently. In cohorts A1 & A2, 1L R/M HNSCC patients will receive SAR444245 + pembrolizumab, or SAR444245+ pembrolizumab+ cetuximab respectively. In cohort B1 & B2 patients with 2/3L R/M HNSCC failed a checkpoint based regimen & a platinum containing regimen will receive SAR444245 + pembrolizumab, or SAR444245 + cetuximab. Patients to be enrolled in cohort B2 need to be cetuximab-naïve in R/M setting. SAR444245 is administered intravenously IV at a dose of 24 ug/kg Q3W until disease progression (PD) or completion of 35 cycles. Pembrolizumab is administered at a dose of 200 mg Q3W until PD or completion of 35 cycles. Cetuximab is administered at a dose of 400/250 mg/m2 QW until PD. The study primary objective is to determine the antitumor activity of SAR444245 in combination with other anticancer therapies. Secondary objectives include confirmation of dose and safety profile, assess other indicators of antitumor activity, and assess the pharmacokinetic profile and immunogenicity of SAR444245. The study will be conducted in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan.The Pegasus Head and Neck study is sponsored by Sanofi.


The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized clinically by refractory cytopenias in one or more myeloid cell lines and an increased probability of transformation to acute leukemia. Supportive care remains the mainstay of therapy in MDS and frequently includes monotherapy and combination therapy with hematopoietic growth factors, such as erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Clinical trials have demonstrated the ability of growth factors to improve neutropenia and anemia in selected patients with MDS, which may have clinical, quality-of-life, and economic benefits for patients even though overall survival has not been improved. This paper reviews the role of hematopoietic growth factors in the treatment of MDS.


Many performance models exist for energy yield prediction. Most of the performance models use physical parameters determined from measured current density-voltage (JV) curves. However, there is no uniform parametrization method. Using the Karmalkar-Haneefa (KH) fit the physical parameters are obtained from one fitting equation. In addition, we investigate different linear parametrization methods and show that the parameters obtained from the KH model are comparable to those determined from two linear fits. Thereby, it is recommended to use a weighting factor of around 30 near the short circuit current for the KH fit to achieve better comparison with the linear fits. Thus, they can be used for performance models like the Loss Factor Model. For the analysis we used outdoor data for thin-film modules measured over one year in Cologne, Germany.


Abstract: Health research is generally undertaken to resolve existing health problems or enhance existing solutions. Research ethics committees have been the main governance tool for research for more than half a century. Their role is to ensure that research is undertaken ethically. To close the increasing gap between science and society, other governance tools are required. The European Commission recommends and actively promotes the policy of responsible research and innovation (RRI). In addition to sound research ethics, a key feature of RRI is the involvement of different societal stakeholders throughout the research process. But how accepted is the involvement of societal stakeholders in the research of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the health care sector? This question is examined based on 18 in-depth interviews with private health care industry representatives from across Europe in companies focusing on developing medical device technology. Findings suggest that SMEs are reluctant to undertake research involving patients, especially in the early stages of the research and innovation process. For some SMEs this is due to concerns about the dangers of raising expectations they cannot meet, while for others the main concerns are increasing costs and producing less competitive products. Implications of the research findings are discussed.


Unobserved heterogeneity in random utility choice models can be dealt with by specifying either a multinomial or a normal distribution of the coefficients, leading to finite mixture logit and mixed logit models. Focusing on the former, we show that individual-level estimates and predictions of finite mixtures estimated by maximizing the likelihood function can be improved through integration over the estimation error of the hyperparameters, using an empirical Bayes approach. We investigate the conjecture that this approach is more robust against departures of the underlying assumptions of the finite mixture model in two Monte Carlo studies. We show that our approach improves the performance of the finite mixture model in representing individual-level parameters and producing hold-out forecasts. We illustrate with two examples that our approach may offer advantages in empirical applications involving the analysis of heterogeneous choice data.


The focus of the paper is on the current progress of a research project of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR) Division of Building and Construction Technology in developing a performance assessment model for contractors. The South African Construction Excellence Model (SACEM) is based on the South African Excellence Model (SAEM), an internationally recognised framework for business performance assessment. The paper describes the some problems caused by poor performance of contractors in South Africa. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), an important force driving the construction industry reforms, is described. In attempting to provide solutions to challenges facing contractors the paper introduces the South African Construction Excellence Model. The model's basic structure, function, benefits and its relationship with industry development strategy is elaborated. The promotion of "best practice" culture is advocated by the authors as a critical aspect of improving overall performance of contractors. SACEM is seen as a relevant tool, a starting point for adopting this a culture of excellence. The model's long-term objective is to contribute to the promotion of a culture of business performance excellence in the construction industry by complementing many existing, and possible future, performance improvement programmes.


This paper describes synthetically the design, development and characterization of two wireless instrumented crutches for monitoring lower-limb rehabilitation activities. These sensorized crutches allow monitoring axial and shear forces and tilt angles in real time. Each crutch is composed of three strain-gauge bridges measuring axial and shear forces, a conditioning and transmission circuit, a tri-axial accelerometer and a battery power management circuit. The data are transmitted wirelessly via Bluetooth to a remote computer, no further readout unit is necessary. The instrumented crutches have been tested and characterized using an ad-hoc experimental setup and they have been used for the first tests on one subject. This paper shows, in a concise manner, the description of the system and the first experimental results on one crutch obtained in laboratory. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of Eurosensors 2014.


Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination can confound tuberculin skin test (TST) reactions in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The TST was compared with a Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-specific enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay during an outbreak of MTB infection at a police academy in Germany. Participants were grouped according to their risk of LTBI in close (n = 36) or occasional (n = 333) contacts to the index case. For the TST, the positive response rate was 53% (19 out of 36) among close and 16% (52 out of 333) among occasional contacts. In total, 56 TST-positive contacts (56 out of 71 = 78.9%) and 27 TST-negative controls (27 out of 298 = 9.1%) underwent ELISPOT testing. The odds ratio (OR) of a positive test result across the two groups was 29.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5–245.0) for the ELISPOT and 19.7 (95% CI 2.0–190.2) for the TST with a 5 mm cut-off. Of 369 contacts, 158 (42.8%) had previously received BCG vaccination. The overall agreement between the TST and the ELISPOT was low, and positive TST reactions were confounded by BCG vaccination (OR 4.8 (95% CI 1.3–18.0)). In contrast, use of a 10-mm induration cut-off for the TST among occasional contacts showed strong agreement between TST and ELISPOT in nonvaccinated persons. In bacille Calmette–Guérin-vaccinated individuals, the Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific enzyme-linked immunospot assay is a better indicator for the risk of latent tuberculosis infection than the tuberculin skin test.


Introduction

Remote monitoring (RM) for patients with chronic pulmonary disease is desirable but there is uncertainty about test feasibility, validity, cost and patient adherence. ATS/ERS recommendations for performing forced spirometry require 3 acceptable and repeatable tests. Whilst appropriate for one-time testing, these recommendations are not practicable for daily RM.

Aims and Objectives

Our aims were to use statistical process control and a new algorithm (SPC) for the interpretation of serial spirometry obtained from RM, to reduce the required number of daily manoeuvres and to reduce the burden on patients whilst not compromising test validity.

Methods

The CLEAR study at UCLA enrolls patients with moderate to severe COPD for 12 months of RM. Subjects perform daily slow and forced spirometry(SpiroPro). They also measure pulse oximetry and complete daily electronic questionnaires. Data are transferred by modem and secure internet protocol to UCLA servers.

Results

From 12 subjects in RM, aged 72.6 (7.3) years, mean(SD), FEV1 51.1 (16.0)%, we accumulated 1,063 days of spirometry using ATS/ERS criteria. Subjects performed 4.5 (0.5) manoeuvres/day (range 3-5) spending 14:11 (5:51) min/day with 71.6% adherence. Best FEV1 from first 2 manoeuvres, 0.940 (0.419) L, was clinically equivalent to that from 5 manoeuvres, 0.954 (0.424) L, (difference 14.2 ml; P<0.001). Using SPC for 205 days, (1-2 manoeuvres) measurement time decreased to 5:59 (1:47) min/day and adherence improved to 91.7%.

Conclusion

We demonstrated the feasibility of using SPC for RM of COPD patients and reduced monitoring time to less than 6 min/day with >90% adherence. We also showed that 2 manoeuvres are sufficient for daily spirometry.


The characteristics of hot-electron substrate-current generation in n-channel MOSFET's during switching transients of an inverter are studied. The amount of substrate current generated depends strongly on the loading and the input transition time (switching speed) of the inverter. Most circuit elements including inverters, source followers, and transfer gates have similar behaviors in transient substrate-current generation. An analytical model is proposed to calculate the substrate-current generation with various supply voltages and input transition times. This model not only establishes the relationship between dc and transient substrate-current measurements, but also serves as a useful tool in predicting circuit/device reliability during actual circuit operations.


In this work, for understanding bio-information transmission through long distance a type of nonlinear master equation is studied. We found that the nonlinear power term can introduce a novel solution of the equation, in which a possible invariant structure as an information soliton can exist when time elapses long enough. This provides a sort of constructive channel for bio-information transmission for long distance.


The operation, analysis, and optimization of a complementary impulse commutated inverter using current impulse instead of voltage impulse for commutation is presented. The operation of the inverter is described, and its salient features are discussed in relation to other commonly used inverters. The trapped energy in the commutation circuit is studied, and methods of feeding back or dissipating this energy are discussed. The optimum operating parameters are derived analytically. This inverter combines the good features of auxiliary commutation with the simplicity of complementary commutation. The advantages of this inverter in pulsewidth modulated (PWNM) inverter applications are examined. A three-phase PWM inverter with a novel switching strategy to minimize losses is designed, tested, and experimental results are presented.


Framework development is very expensive, not only because of the intrinsic difficulty related to capturing the domain knowledge, but also because of the lack of appropriate methods and techniques to support the evolution of the framework architecture. Extension rules in combination with the refactoring approach can be used to support framework evolution, assuring consistency with the previously instantiated applications. In this paper we present a refactoring tool that has been extended to support most complex refactorings to implement the extension rules. This feature allows framework redesign and evolution that are consistent with its application instances.


This paper reports on the simulation of a marine Integrated Electric Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system to assess its ability to absorb variations in propulsion or auxiliary load without excessive degradation of the electrical supply quality or imposing excessive demands on the prime movers. IFEP systems are expected to yield economic benefits to ship operators by permitting the capacity of ship engines in use to be more closely tailored to the electrical demand of auxiliary and propulsion systems. However, the extent to which these savings can be realised at times of low demand is dependent on the ability of the shipboard electrical system to absorb disturbances. In this paper, simulations are conducted for a variety of frequencies of load variation, and the results assessed. Measures which might be taken to reduce the observed effects are suggested.


In this paper we describe the digital emulation of a optical photosonic instrument. First we briefly describe the optical instrument which is the basis of this emulation. Then we give a musical description of the instrument implementation and its musical use and we conclude with the "duo" possibility of such an emulation.


This chapter aims to establish the relationship between inequality and poverty to explain why poverty persists. For this purpose, four parts are developed. The first one illustrates data on inequality and poverty in the world. In the second one, the background of both problems is traced in order to conceptualize them and determine their relationship. In the third one, a simulation exercise is carried out to show the mentioned relationship; besides, correlations between corruption, inequality, and poverty are made for 18 coun‐ tries around the world that bear witness to the link between these variables. Finally, it is pointed out that persistent poverty reduction will only succeed if the different types of inequalities are reduced or limited, since it is unacceptable that more than 10% of the inhabitants of the earth live in extreme poverty or that just eight people have the same wealth as half of mankind.


This article introduces a design research mediation project, Anti-amnesia, that explores various connotations of 'wealth' as embedded in the material culture and human narratives surrounding traditional crafts in Portugal. The project argues that 'wealth' is
 undergoing a process of signification that is semantically reductive, being brought to tacitly invoke monetary gain rather strictly, if on an underwritten basis, and this is bearing an adverse effect in terms of perceptions towards other consequential but intangible values related to craft
 practices. In this regard, it presents the case of traditional Azulejos tilemaking, a long-established cultural archetype in Portugal, whose original technique is on the brink of dissipation due to the emergence of newer manufacturing and architectural paradigms. The article respectively reviews
 the actions of a collaborative initiative Azulejos do Porto that is focusing on the craft's reanimation through making creative connections between culture and community development. The article correspondingly presents a case for design research and pedagogy to establish long-term hands-on
 collaboration with such restorative initiatives that are oriented towards traditional making. The project conjectures that the resulting interknowledge can reveal complementarities between all stakeholders: which can be tactical towards addressing critical issues that are affecting traditional
 crafts' relevance to contemporaneity; provide suitable conditions for an extended evaluation of crafts' multifaceted nature in terms of value to culture and society and can connect newer generations of creatives to their making heritage, thereby ensuring a continuity of specialized
 know-how.


Cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD) aims at re-establishing dopamine neurotransmission in the striatum by grafting dopamine-releasing cells. Chromaffin cell (CC) grafts produce some transitory improvements of functional motor deficits in PD animal models, and have the advantage of allowing autologous transplantation. However, CC grafts have exhibited low survival, poor functional effects and dopamine release compared to other cell types. Recently, chromaffin progenitor-like cells were isolated from bovine and human adult adrenal medulla. Under low-attachment conditions, these cells aggregate and grow as spheres, named chromospheres. Here, we found that bovine-derived chromosphere-cell cultures exhibit a greater fraction of cells with a dopaminergic phenotype and higher dopamine release than CC. Chromospheres grafted in a rat model of PD survived in 57% of the total grafted animals. Behavioral tests showed that surviving chromosphere cells induce a reduction in motor alterations for at least 3 months after grafting. Finally, we found that compared with CC, chromosphere grafts survive more and produce more robust and consistent motor improvements. However, further experiments would be necessary to determine whether the functional benefits induced by chromosphere grafts can be improved, and also to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the functional effects of the grafts.


In today's literature Model-Free Control, or MFC, and Active Disturbance Rejection Control, or ADRC, are the most prominent approaches in order to keep the benefits of PID controllers, that are so popular in the industrial world, and in the same time for attenuating their severe shortcomings. After a brief review of MFC and ADRC, several examples show the superiority of MFC, which permits to tackle most easily a much wider class of systems.