The acetabular crease is a linear indentation located in the antero-superior quadrant of the surface of the acetabulum at the level of the Byers Feature 17. Considered by palaeoanthropologists as a discrete trait, it has received scarce attention and the mechanisms underlying its formation and variations according to sex and age remain largely unclear. The purpose of this study, carried out on a large sample from a historic population in France, was to (i) analyse variations according to side, sex and estimated age at death; (ii) assess diachronic variations; and (iii) compare prevalence in various prehistoric and historic populations. Hip bones from a total of 425 subjects of both sexes and all ages were studied. Specimens were from two French historic samples dating from the 11th to 13th centuries and 16th to 17th centuries. The proportion of subjects that died young was higher in the 11th to 13th century group, but the prevalence of the acetabular crease was comparable between the two groups regardless of site or laterality (unilateral or bilateral). No sexual dimorphism or correlation with age was noted at either period. The acetabular crease appears to be a stable anatomical trait throughout adult life, with no predominant side and no correlation with sex. The significantly higher prevalence of the acetabular crease in some historic French samples and in prehistoric native Canadian populations could be linked to greater biomechanical stress during childhood in rural medieval populations and in the prehistoric period. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Abstract The arts and cultural sectors have been used by many cities in recent decades to bring about effects such as economic diversification, image enhancement, and increased social cohesion. In Scotland, such approaches have been encouraged by the Scottish Executive which has prepared a National Cultural Strategy to ensure that maximum benefit is obtained from cultural development, together with guidance for local authorities in how to implement such a strategy. An important mechanism used in Scottish cities in this context is the encouragement of cultural clustering by means of "cultural quarters", namely areas that contain a high proportion of cultural uses and are considered appropriate for further concentration of such uses. They may involve uses related to cultural production or cultural consumption, or both, and further spatial concentration is assumed to lead to synergy, agglomeration economies and minimization of amenity loss. However, the designation of such quarters is contested. First, the notion of cultural clustering and designation of cultural quarters in principle may be questioned in terms of its contribution to urban regeneration; and second, there is contention over the optimum orientation of such quarters—for instance whether they should be oriented primarily to consumption, production or both. The cases of cultural quarters in Dundee (formally-designated) and Glasgow (informally-designated) are compared to explore these issues and to highlight conclusions for practice in the field of culture-led regeneration.


Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a local treatment of cancers. The principle of PDT is the production of reactive oxygen species, in particular singlet oxygen, by light activation of a photosensitizer introduced into the target cells. The direct photochemical and subsequent redox reactions can lead to cell death. This study sought to identify effects occurring during PDT and some of their consequences in surviving cells. Using epithelial cells in tissue culture and in tumors, several distinct PDT-mediated reactions were found, including global dephosphorylation of proteins, induced phosphorylation of a 71-kDa protein, initiation of cellular stress responses, structural modification and loss of epidermal growth factor receptor, and cross-linking of proteins. Specific covalent cross-linking of nonactivated signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3, and to a lesser extent of STAT1 and STAT4, correlated with PDT dose. Cross-linked STAT3 was primarily localized to the cytoplasm and failed to bind to DNA. The combination of STAT cross-linking and inactivation of receptor functions rendered PDT-treated cells refractory for at least 24 hours to interleukin-6 and oncostatin M, cytokines known to be elevated at site of tissue damage and inflammation. It is suggested that the loss of responsiveness to these inflammatory cytokines in the PDT-treated field assists tumor cells in evading the growth-suppressive activity of these mediators expected to be present at tissue sites after PDT.


Crowdsourcing has been the prevalent paradigm for creating natural language understanding datasets in recent years. A common crowdsourcing practice is to recruit a small number of high-quality workers, and have them massively generate examples. Having only a few workers generate the majority of examples raises concerns about data diversity, especially when workers freely generate sentences. In this paper, we perform a series of experiments showing these concerns are evident in three recent NLP datasets. We show that model performance improves when training with annotator identifiers as features, and that models are able to recognize the most productive annotators. Moreover, we show that often models do not generalize well to examples from annotators that did not contribute to the training set. Our findings suggest that annotator bias should be monitored during dataset creation, and that test set annotators should be disjoint from training set annotators.


There are many industrial factories in the central Nakdong river basin and have been occurred water pollution accidents by hazardous chemicals such as phenol, 1,4-dioxane and perchlorate. In this study, ten compounds of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) (dichlorvos, toluene-2,4-diisocyanate, 4,4"-methylenedianiline, 4,4"-methylenebis (2-chloroaniline), diethyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthaltate, bis (2-ethylhexyl) adipate, benzophenone, 4,4"-bisphenol A) of hazardous chemicals which may be potentially discharged into the Nakdong river, were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with disk-type solid-phase extraction. Accuracy and precision were in the range of 75.6~110.5%, and 4.6~12.7%, respectively and recovery was in the range of 72.4~127.9%. Three compounds (bis (2-ethylhexyl)adipate, benzophenone, 4,4"-bisphenol A) were detected in industrial wastewater such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and wastewater discharge facilities in the Nakdong River basin.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the independent predictors of medication adherence among Singaporean patients following an ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack.

BACKGROUND
Secondary prevention of stroke includes optimal control over modifiable risk factors, and medication adherence is important in controlling the effect of comorbidities. However, there is a paucity of published literature on the topics of medication adherence among stroke patients, especially in the Asian population.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study.

METHODS
One hundred and twenty-one patients with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Singapore. Data collection included the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8), General Self-Efficacy Survey (GSES) and Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate predictors of medication adherence, measured by MMAS-8.

RESULTS
The mean score of the MMAS-8 was 5.07 (SD = 2.20, range 0-8), and more than 80% of the participants had low (n = 65, 53.7%) or medium (n = 34, 28.1%) levels of medication adherence. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that two factors, namely "understanding the benefits of medications" (β = 0.238, p = .010) and "having suffered from stroke twice or more" (β = 0.235, p = .014), were identified as independent predictors of medication adherence in stroke patients while the other variables were adjusted. These two factors accounted for 12.4% of the variance.

CONCLUSION
Medication adherence was poor in Singaporean patients following an ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. The independent predictors identified in this study will support healthcare professionals to develop tailored intervention to improve medication adherence among this group of patients.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Nurses play an important role in promoting patients' medication adherence. Helping stroke patients understand the long-term benefits of their medications is essential to enhance patients' medication adherence and results in better health outcomes.


Background
The VP shunt operation is one of the most common in neurosurgical practice for treatment of hydrocephalus. However, malfunction due to proximal obstruction of the ventricular catheter caused by improper placement of the ventricular catheter tip is still a common occurrence. This retrospective study aimed to provide information on proper placement for problem evaluation and further planning in order to improve surgical outcomes in Rajavithi Hospital.

Objective
The present research in Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, examined the outcomes of ventricular catheter tip position in patients undergoing VP shunt operations using the parietal approach and parameters related to improper placement.

Material and Method
This was a retrospective study of 42 adult patients who underwent VP shunt operations via the parietal route. Only post-operative images (CT or MRI) obtained from Rajavithi Hospital's PACS between November 2012 and
September 2014 were included. Baseline characteristics (sex, age, etiologies of hydrocephalus) and associated parameters (burr hole location, ventricular size, angle of catheter to midline, length of catheter) were recorded and analyzed. From postoperative images, the positions of ventricular catheter tips were evaluated and graded on a 3-point scale as: 1) grade 1 - optimal position, free-floating in cerebrospinal fluid in frontal horn; 2) grade 2 - touching choroid plexus or ventricular wall;
and 3) grade 3 - tip within or passing through brain parenchyma.

Results
From 42 parietal approach operations, grade 1 placement was found in 15 cases (35.7%), grade 2 in 11 (26.2%) and grade 3 in 16 cases (38.1%). Length of ventricular catheter and ventricular size were significant parameters in this study (p<0.001). The average length of catheter in grade 3 placements was significantly greater (139.04 mm) and ventricular size was significantly larger (22.59 mm) than in the other two grades.

Conclusion
Overlong ventricular catheter and large ventricular size were significant variables in poor placement outcomes in the present study. Pre-operative planning from CT or MRI can be used to determine the optimal length in order to improve
the outcomes.


SUMMARY The poor quality of the natural vegetation in the dry season affects both animal productivity and the lives of the pastoral community in the Adamawa Plateau of Cameroon but may be improved by introduction of the forage legume Stylosanthes guianensis. When used in a 'fodder bank' system, Stylosanthes grew to an average plant height of 1.41 m, had a dry matter productivity of 5.5 t ha−1 and comprised 93.4% of the pasture's botanical composition at the end of the growing season, indicating that fodder banks have considerable potential to enhance animal and crop production in Cameroon. Complementary studies conducted in Nigeria on the yield benefits of cropping leguminous pastures support the feasibility of using fodder banks as a means of improving the livelihoods of small scale farmers.


Abstract We introduce a connection between a near-term quantum computing device, specifically a Gaussian boson sampler, and the graph isomorphism problem. We propose a scheme where graphs are encoded into quantum states of light, whose properties are then probed with photon-number-resolving detectors. We prove that the probabilities of different photon-detection events in this setup can be combined to give a complete set of graph invariants. Two graphs are isomorphic if and only if their detection probabilities are equivalent. We present additional ways that the measurement probabilities can be combined or coarse-grained to make experimental tests more amenable. We benchmark these methods with numerical simulations on the Titan supercomputer for several graph families: pairs of isospectral nonisomorphic graphs, isospectral regular graphs, and strongly regular graphs.


In this study, we try to investigate the fiscal policy empirically inquiry for overall and rural-urban poverty for Pakistan. Fiscal policy has so many economic and social implications for every country of the world, including stable economic development, employment opportunities, and poverty evaluation among others. Generally, supply-side and demand-side fiscal policy tools are utilized to achieve economic and social improvement. The time-series data is employed from1980 to 2019. To test for both short-run and long-run relationships between fiscal variables and poverty, the Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) is adopted. Pakistan is an important case study because of the emergence of dual rural agricultural traditional and urban modern industrial sectors. The empirical investigation shows that government expenditure and per capita growth have a negative and significant impact on an aggregate and rural-urban poverty. Inflation and public tax have a positive impact on all tiers of poverty.


The article deals with 83 cases of carcinoma of the thyroid gland (CTG) which were recognized in 1973-1991 among the population during annual screening. The morbidity rate was 0.18 per 1,000 population, and increased by 3.4 times. Guidelines for Active Detection of Nodular Masses and Malignant Tumors of the Thyroid were elaborated. Their essence is as follows: during regular medical screening a group of individuals is distinguished in whom palpable abnormalities are found in the thyroid and focal changes are revealed in it by ultrasonic examination whose performance is recommended once every two years; the revealed group of individuals is subjected to complex examination for establishing the diagnosis, after which the tactics of their management are determined; a oncorisk group is formed to be kept under active observation. After introduction of the Guidelines into practice, recognition of CTG in stages I-II increased from 67.8 to 80%, which testifies to their effectiveness.


Monitoring charts play an essential role in statistical process control. Shewhart charts are commonly used due to their computational simplicity, and have seen many extensions that attempt to improve their performance. Most univariate charts operate under the assumption that data follow a normal distribution, are independent and contain only a moderate level of noise. Unfortunately, most practical data violate one or more of these assumptions. Wavelet-based multiscale representation of data possess characteristics that can help address these assumptions violations, and may be exploited to improve the performance of the conventional Shewhart chart. In this paper, a multiscale Shewhart chart is developed to deal with violation of these assumptions. The advantages brought forward by the developed multiscale Shewhart chart fault detection algorithm are illustrated through simulated examples. The results clearly demonstrate that the developed method is able to provide lower missed detection and comparable false alarm rates under violation of the above mentioned assumptions.


Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA), and other methods based on the same principle, are sensitive and specific, but they suffer from several disadvantages, such as their inherent complexity and requirement for multiple reagents, incubation and washing steps and require a relatively large sample size. We have adapted a new carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNT-FET) based platform to capture Escherichia coli antigens using only the capture anti-body showing good correlation with an established ELISA assay contrived positive and negative specimens were used to test the new CNT-FET platform and results were obtained within three minutes per each sample. The test is easy to perform, rapid, and cost efficient making it a valuable screening tool for E. coli. In this study, we looked at the applicability of using CNT field effect transistor based biosensor as a rapid diagnostic platform for Escherichia coli O157:H7. The CNT-FETs platform detected positive E. coli samples in three minutes using only 2.5 μL of sample volume. This low sample volume required by the CNT-FET platform can be especially advantageous for diagnostic tests constricted by limited amount of samples.


Stress-assisted grain boundary motion is among the most studied modes of microstructural evolution in crystalline materials. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were used to systematically investigate the influences of triple junctions on the stress-assisted motion of symmetric tilt grain boundaries in Cu by considering a honeycomb nanocrystalline model. It was found that the grain boundary motion in nanocrystalline models was highly sensitive to the loading mode, and a strong coupling effect which was prevalent in bicrystal models was only observed when simple shear was applied. In addition, the coupling factor extracted from the honeycomb model was found to be larger and more sensitive to temperature change than that from bicrystal models for the same type of grain boundary under the same loading conditions. Furthermore, the triple junctions seemed to exhibit unusual asymmetric pinning effects to the migrating grain boundary and the constraints by the triple junctions and neighboring grains led to remarkable non-linear grain boundary motion in directions both parallel and normal to the applied shear, which was in stark contrast to that observed in bicrystal models. In addition, dislocation nucleation and propagation, which were absent in the bicrystal model, were found to play an important role on shear-induced grain boundary motion when triple junctions were present. In the end, a generalized model for shear-assisted grain boundary motion was proposed based on the findings from this research.


Paramagnetic centres in a solid hold promise in future sensing applications. Numerous sensing applications have been theoretically and experimentally demonstrated. However, sensitivity improvements remain challenging. One approach to overcome this is hybrid quantum sensing with quantum memories. We propose hybrid quantum sensing with virtual quantum memories using dressed states. We also observe the generation of more than four dressed states in a single paramagnetic centre based on Autler-Townes splitting (ATS) and demonstrate the extension of the coherence time to $T_2 \sim$ 1.5 ms for dressed states, which is more than two orders of magnitude longer than that of the undressed spin. Furthermore, we theoretically estimate the enhancement of sensitivity by more than an order of magnitude compared with that without memory. The results and our approach will pave the way for new hybrid quantum sensing.


This paper investigates the performance characteristics of the reduced common mode voltage (RCMV) PWM methods for three phase voltage source inverters and provides a comparison with the standard PWM methods. PWM methods are reviewed and their pulse patterns and common mode voltage patterns illustrated. The AC output current ripple, DC link input current ripple, and output voltage linearity characteristics of each modulation method are thoroughly investigated by analytical methods and simulations. The analysis leads to important results regarding the practical use of the investigated PWM methods. The paper aids in selection of appropriate PWM methods in drives that have low common mode voltage requirements


Water is the most important resource issue in the 21 Century, given the current conflicts over the use of the resource both by human and wildlife. There is therefore need for better methods of conservation and management of water resources to increase not only the quantity of available water but also to ensure good quality. This study was carried out in Sirimon Sub-catchment of the Ewaso Ng'iro Basin, Nanyuki area, Northwest of Mt. Kenya. It was aimed at establishing the extent of irrigation within the sub-catchment and to determine the quality of river water for both River Sirimon and River Kongoni. The study aimed also to establish whether there is any pollution of the river water due to increased irrigation activities in the study area. Questionnaires were administered to 115 households selected at random for generation of information regarding the study area. Water sampling stations were mapped after a reconnaissance survey in the field using Geographical Positioning System devices. Surface water samples were collected in 1 litre amber glass bottles and half litre plastic bottles at all the sampling sites and transported to the lab inside a cooler box. Water quality determination was done for a period of five months between November 2005 and February 2006. The sampling was done once a week for two weeks in both wet season in November and dry season in February and early March 2006. The following parameters were determined on site: pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity and total dissolved solids by using portable paqualab equipment. The samples in plastic bottles were taken to Nanyuki CETRAD offices for the testing of: ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, iron, manganese, phosphates and sulphate. Portable palintest equipment was used for the chemical analysis of these elements. This study established that 41 % of the interviewed farmers practice irrigation using sprinklers and furrows with a minority using drip method. Most of the homesteads use domestic water from river Sirimon. It was established further that, although peasant farmers owning on average 2.8 acres of land were using commercial fertilizers, they were not affecting the water quality of the rivers as was the case with the irrigated large horticultural farms i.e. over 9 ha within the study area. The study established that there were sulphates and phosphates mean concentrations of 22mgL-I and 1.3mgLrespectively in the Kongoni River waters associated with the use of commercial fertilizers as compared to mean values of 7mgLand 0.15mgLrespectively along Sirimon River. Like wise, mean salinity concentrations of 3mgL-, were recorded at Kongoni River as compared to relatively lower mean value of 0.47mgLalong Sirimon River. On average, mean nitrates concentrations of 1.7mgLwere recorded for Kongoni River, higher than those recorded for Sirimon River (0.033mgL-I). These concentration levels were however within the standard levels set by WHO. Most of the significant ions' mean concentrations between upper and lower Kongoni had significant differences while there were no significant differences for corresponding sites along Sirimon River. It is recommended that continuous monitoring of the seasonal and periodic changes in the water quality of these rivers should be done. River Sirimon contains relatively low concentrations of pollutants as compared to River Kongoni. This is because River Kongoni has two major horticultural farms across it i.e. Homegrown and Kongoni Farms hence these irrigated farms were polluting the rivers during the time of this study. After water samples were subjected to Gas Chromatography for pesticide residue analysis it was established that all the water samples were not polluted with any pesticide residues.


The regime that emerged with the peace treaties concluded after World War I chopped up the Kingdom of Hungary and rewarded its neighbours, helping them to establish themselves on the basis of the principle of national self-determination, by giving them two-thirds of Hungary's areas and one-third of its Hungarian-speaking population. During the settlement that followed World War II, the great powers repeatedly forced this shocking decision upon Hungarians drifted to the losing side. This essay sums up the causes and events of this difficult-to-survive historical traumatism and its adverse impacts on the Central European region, in retrospect after more than a century.


For spacetimes that are not asymptotic to anti-de Sitter (non AAdS) space, we adapt the Lewkowycz-Maldacena procedure to find the holographic entanglement entropy. The key observation, which to our knowledge is not very well appreciated, is that asymptotic boundary conditions play an essential role on extending the replica trick to the bulk. For non AAdS, we expect the following three main modifications: (1) the expansion near the special surface has to be compatible with the asymptotic expansion; (2) periodic conditions are imposed to coordinates on the phase space with diagonalized symplectic structure, not to all fields appearing in the action; (3) evaluating the entanglement functional using the boundary term method amounts to evaluating the presymplectic structure at the special surface, where some additional exact form may contribute. An explicit calculation is carried out for three-dimensional warped anti-de Sitter spacetime (WAdS_{3}) in a consistent truncation of string theory, the so-called S-dual dipole theory. It turns out that the generalized gravitational entropy in WAdS_{3} is captured by the least action of a charged particle in WAdS_{3} space, or equivalently, by the geodesic length in an auxiliary AdS_{3}. Consequently, the bulk calculation agrees with the CFT results, providing another piece of evidence for the WAdS_{3}/CFT_{2} correspondence.


Introduction Due to COVID-19 outbreak, since January 24, 2020, national medical teams from across the country and the armed forces have been dispatched to aid Hubei. The present review was designed to timely summarize the existing frontline information about nursing scheduling mode with special focus on the length of shifts with the aim to contribute to improve the nurses' job satisfaction and the quality of nursing services. Methods Articles from Jan 2020 to October 2020 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data and Weipu Information, with the terms "COVID-19", "designated hospital", "Hubei-assisted", "makeshift hospital", "nursing", "nursing shift", "whole-system takeover" and variations of these, in the title and abstract fields and the Boolean combinations of these words as the retrieval strategy. Results Seventeen journal articles have been included in the target field, from the nurses in aiding Hubei Province, four kinds of shift length, 2-hour (h), 3-h, 4-h and 6-h shift have been considered, the main nursing scheduling mode adopted in designated hospitals for COVID-19 patients was dynamic scheduling based on workload, flexible scheduling based on working hours, workload and the number of critically ill patients admitted, humanized scheduling based on the daily reported health status of the nurses, and professional-integrated scheduling according to the professional distribution of nurses on the basis of four-hour shift length, and in makeshift hospitals for mild patients, the scheduling mode was 6-h based correspondingly. Conclusion The descriptive results of the present systematic review shed light on the challenges and practical solutions of nursing scheduling mode in the context of cross-regional medical assistance. Additionally, the present systematic review could provide the academic community of nurses, nurse managers and administrators with baseline information and scientific productions from the content's points of view in the target field.


The main goal of this work is to evaluate and select the best strategy for the development of the field in the first stage of development. To solve this problem, a full-scale integrated model was created that takes into account the physics of the reservoir, wells and surface infrastructure, as well as their mutual influence. The integrated model was calculated for the full development of the asset.
 The integrated model of the A. Zhagrin field is based on three simulation models, well models and surface infrastructure, which are linked through an integrator program. All constituent parts of the model are configured to accurately reproduce their actual operation.
 Greenfield is characterized as active drilling, so the planned well count is modeled by replacing wells with "typical" well models, which are selected by taking into account the expected input flow rate, well design, well completion and well trajectory. Fields of the first stage of development are characterized by limitations related to oil transportation and treatment. These constraints are also specified and taken into account in the model
 The concept of surface infrastructure is formed depending on the potential production capabilities of the reservoir and has considerable variability.
 The total number of actual and planned wells in the field is more than 1,300, including more than 700 production wells and about 600 injection wells. All wells are ESP lifted.
 Considering infrastructure capacity constraints and requirements for optimal pipeline utilization, the use of different numbers of drilling rigs directly affecting the utilization of oil treatment and delivery facilities was evaluated.
 29 main variations of the field development strategy until 2060 were formed and calculated, based on the integrated model. The main parameters of variation were the capacity of preparation facilities, the degree of oil separation, the scheme of product transportation, gas utilization capabilities, drilling rigs and subsurface equipment. All scenarios in the integrated model took into account constraints - on target bottomhole, wellhead and line pressures, in order to operate real facilities in accident-free mode.
 In the course of calculations, an optimal scenario was selected, which made it possible to increase oil production in 2021 by optimizing the transportation of produced products to the treatment facilities. This scenario formed the basis of the asset development strategy.


The purpose of this study was to discriminate important variables among general self-efficacy, peer attachment, and parent-child communication that could predict internalizing problems(anxiety, depression) of Korean children of divorce. The participants were 101 children aged from 10 to 13. They completed questionnaires and discriminant function analyses were performed. The results showed that (a) the discriminant function derived from 3 variables was effective in classifying high, moderate, and low group of children's anxiety and depression, (b) parent-child communication plays a key role in predicting anxiety and general self-efficacy plays a key role in predicting depression of Korean children of divorce, (c) but peer attachment plays a significant role only to predict depression. This means that anxiety and depression of Korean children of divorce result from different kind of interactions among children's important contexts.


We present an image-based approach to infer 3D structure parameters using a probabilistic "shape+structure" model. The 3D shape of an object class is represented by sets of contours from silhouette views simultaneously observed from multiple calibrated cameras, while structural features of interest on the object are denoted by a number of 3D locations. A prior density over the multiview shape and corresponding structure is constructed with a mixture of probabilistic principal components analyzers. Given a novel set of contours, we infer the unknown structure parameters from the new shape's Bayesian reconstruction. Model matching and parameter inference are done entirely in the image domain and require no explicit 3D construction. Our shape model enables accurate estimation of structure despite segmentation errors or missing views in the input silhouettes, and it works even with only a single input view. Using a training set of thousands of pedestrian images generated from a synthetic model, we can accurately infer the 3D locations of 19 joints on the body based on observed silhouette contours from real images.


Macrophages are important drug targets as they mediate a wide variety of infectious diseases. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), schistosomiasis, brucellosis, and salmonellosis are some of the well‐known infectious diseases in which macrophages play a prominent pathophysiological role. For instance, VL parasites exclusively house in the macrophages of liver and spleen. They are resistant to lysosomal degradation by unknown mechanisms, they survive and thrive safely within macrophages, they multiply, and they ultimately affect visceral organs, leading to severe pathological and sometimes even fatal conditions. The majority of routinely used drugs administered in free form distribute all over the body via systemic circulation, leading to relatively low therapeutic activity and a certain degree of toxicity. Unlike for nonmicrobial diseases, targeting parasites procuring resistance and ineffective therapeutic outcome can be obviously speculated in case of infectious disease. The preferential uptake by macrophages, intended to improve the balance between efficacy and toxicity, can be achieved by the use of nanomedicines, i.e. submicron‐sized macromolecular or particulate drug delivery systems. This insight has stimulated researchers to use nanomedicines – which tend to be recognized by macrophages as 'foreign' and consequently are taken up by the intended target cells much more effectively than their free drug counterparts – to improve the treatment of infectious diseases. The literature reports extensively on such approaches; however, there are several constraints that limit the application of nanomedicine in macrophage‐mediated drug targeting. Here, we briefly describe the strategies that are used to achieve effective drug targeting to macrophages, using VL as a model disease, and we also put forth an understanding of the most important limiting factors. Various physicochemical and biological factors used by researchers as reported in the literature are addressed, and the most important mechanisms and modes by which macrophage‐specific drug targeting can be achieved are summarized. Based on the evidence obtained to date, it can be concluded that targeting macrophages is a valuable and validated strategy for improving the treatment of infectious diseases.


Exchanged information on the Web becomes very important. Information research is therefore vague and slow. XML common language enriched by the metadata was insufficient. In order to satisfy the enormous number of users, it will be necessary to introduce the data semantics concept. This latter allows defining the semantic Web project also called "Web 2.0". Web 2.0 uses the Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools especially Knowledge Engineering (KE) where ontology formalism was used. Moreover, some research works added functional level to the Web. On this level, Web services satisfy interoperability. Therefore, an explicit semantic annotation (Benslimane, Amar Bensaber, & Malki, 2004) is necessary to improve interoperation. In this AbsTRACT


Prostaglandins are well known for their ability to stimulate contraction in gastrointestinal smooth muscle, yet very little information is available on how their activity affects propulsion in vivo. Thus, studies were undertaken to determine the effect of various prostaglandins on gastric emptying (GE) and small intestinal transit (SIT) in unanesthetized fasted rats. Rats were treated with intravenous, subcutaneous, or oral PGF2 alpha, PGE2, or 16, 16 dimethyl PGE2 at various doses, followed 1 (intravenous), 20 (subcutaneous) or 10 (oral) mins later by intragastric 51Cr oxide in black ink. Forty-five mins later, rats were sacrificed by CO2 asphyxiation, the pylorus clamped, and the gut excised. SIT was expressed as the percent of intestinal length traveled by the most distal portion of ink. GE was expressed as the percent of the 51Cr emptied into the intestines. If GE was affected by prostaglandin treatment, the experiments were repeated with rats pre-implanted with duodenal cannula. This preparation allowed the visual transit marker to be deposited directly into the duodenum, thus avoiding acceleration or delay of SIT caused by fluctuations in GE. The results of these studies show that: (1) intravenous 16, 16 dimethyl PGE2 (5-50 micrograms/kg), but not PGF2 alpha or PGE2, accelerates GE and delays SIT; (2) oral prostaglandin administration increases SIT; (3) oral 16, 16 dimethyl PGE2 delays GE; (4) subcutaneous 16, 16 dimethyl PGE2 accelerates, has no effect upon, or delays GE depending upon dose, but accelerates SIT at all doses tested; and (5) subcutaneous PGE2 accelerates SIT while PGF2 alpha does not. Thus, the effect of prostaglandins on GE and SIT depends upon the dosage and route of administration as well as type of prostaglandin used.


See also the article in the (2011). Volume 19, issue 4, pages 528-536. Commuting is, therefore, an important equilibrating vehicle in a city network constellation. Cities act as attractors of commuters, as most economic activity occurs in cities, thus providing a high share of attractive workplaces. Cities that are centrally connected in a network may act as both centripetal and centrifugal forces in the whole system. The present paper focuses on what is named the City Network (CN) approach. A central idea is the accessibility concept, which is interpreted here as the potential of opportunity for interaction, which has a positive impact on economic growth. In our paper, the accessibility concept and the CN concept are linked together by positioning accessibility in the CN system. Since accessibility measures give geographical insights into the distribution of economic activities and the related (dis)equilibrium of regional development patterns, the connection with the labour market is evident, and, therefore, a second focus of our analysis. In an applied setting, our paper aims to investigate spatial accessibility patterns in the main CN in Germany. The 17 districts which belong to the country's CN were chosen from the 439 German labour market districts on the basis of three criteria: (a) their connection to the high speed railway network; (b) the most accessible districts according to previous results (2002); (c) relevant districts for the German economy. Our applied modelling research concerns home-to-work commuters travelling between the selected districts belonging to the German CN, for both 2003 and 2007. Here, a comparative analysis of the ranking of the most accessible districts - also for different intra-zonal travel times - is carried out in order to map out the changes in accessibility between 2003 and 2007, especially in the light of new high speed connections and commuting flow dynamics.


WorldFish is leading the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems together with two other CGIAR Centers; the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Bioversity. In 2012 and 2013 the AAS Program rolled out in Solomon Islands, Zambia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and the Philippines. Aquatic Agricultural Systems are places where farming and fishing in freshwater and/or coastal ecosystems contribute significantly to household income and food security. The program goal is to improve the well-being of AAS-dependent people. A hub is a geographic location that provides a focus for learning, innovation and impact through participatory action research. In Solomon Islands AAS works in Malaita Hub (Malaita Province) and Western Hub (Western Province). In each hub we identify a 'Development Challenge' that the Program will address to give us focus and motivation.


Objective:To investigate the association between an unexpected increase in the blood plasma HIV-1 viral load in chronically untreated HIV-infected patients and the occurrence of an HIV superinfection, we analyzed the HIV-1 quasispecies in plasma samples before and at peak level in 14 patients. Results:Phylogenetic analysis of HIV-1 env-V3 fragments showed that in 2 patients a superinfection had occurred: their dominant V3 population at the peak level clustered separately from the V3 sequences in a sample predating the peak level. The rapid rise in viral load could be attributed to upper respiratory tract infections or a vaccination in 4 patients, suggesting that even minor health problems can result in significantly increased HIV-1 replication. In most other patients, no minor or major medical condition accompanied the rise in HIV-1 viral load, implying that in these patients the viral load increase was probably associated with disease progression. Conclusion:This study suggests that an unexpected rapid rise in the plasma HIV-1 viral load of untreated patients can infrequently be ascribed to an HIV-1 superinfection.


A safety audit measures the safety of 36 exterior attributes of properties and streets in a low-density residential neighbourhood in terms of four principles of modern crime prevention through environmental design, namely, territoriality, natural surveillance, activity support and access control. Eighty-three residents have walked around each of their small neighbourhoods, and audited the safeties of its area, individual private properties, and adjacent area in daylight; and the safeties of its area, properties, and exterior lighting in darkness. Findings are that older-urban neighbourhoods' overall safety percentages and attribute safeties in daylight and darkness were consistently lower than those in newer suburban, rural or small-town ones; and frequently lower than those in newer-urban neighbourhoods, or older suburban, rural or small-town ones. Recommendations are about improving 12 less safe or unsafe attributes by means of physical planning and environmental design. Also having identified those attributes, we speculate about replicating the safety audit via online Street Views of existing Canadian neighbourhoods.


ObjectiveExamine whether a low serum level of apolipoprotein A-I at intensive care unit (ICU) admission is associated with a further increase of the number of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria. DesignProspective observational study. SettingA 20-bed, university-affiliated, surgical ICU. PatientsPatients admitted after major surgery, multiple trauma, or acute pancreatitis without septic shock. InterventionsWe defined as the SIRS Exacerb group patients who presented a further increase of the number of SIRS criteria during their ICU stay or, in the presence of four SIRS criteria at ICU admission, those who presented a further aggravation of organ failure. Other patients were attributed to the SIRS No Exacerb group. From day 1 to 6, we measured apolipoprotein A-I, high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, serum amyloid A, interleukin 6, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, albumin, and other nutrition-linked variables. We looked at laboratory values or factors present at ICU admission according to the two groups. Measurements and Main ResultsFrom 63 patients analyzed, 29 (46%) were assigned to the SIRS Exacerb group. Age, sex, and SAPS II and SIRS scores at ICU admission did not differ between the groups. Patients in the SIRS Exacerb group presented more often a septic event (5/29 vs. 0/34, p = .02), had a higher hospital mortality (6/29 vs. 0/34, p = .007), and had a longer ICU stay (p = .0023). At admission, inflammatory variables such as the C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, interleukin 6, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist plasma levels, and other lipid or nutrition-linked variables were similar between the two groups. Apolipoprotein A-I levels were lower in the SIRS Exacerb group (median [interquartile range]: 68 [56–81] vs. 84 [69–94] mg/dL, p = .028). ConclusionA low serum level of apolipoprotein A-I at ICU admission is associated with an increase of the number of SIRS criteria during the ICU stay.


BACKGROUND
Popliteal sciatic nerve catheters (PSNCs) are associated with a high frequency of displacement. We aimed to estimate the frequency of catheter displacement after 48 h with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with PSNCs after major foot and ankle surgery randomized to catheter insertion either with a short-axis in-plane (SAX-IP) approach perpendicular to the nerve or with a short-axis out-of-plane (SAX-OOP) approach parallel to the nerve.

METHODS
Forty patients were randomly allocated to SAX-IP or SAX-OOP PSNC. Ropivacaine 0.75% 20 ml was injected via the catheter followed by ropivacaine 0.2% 10 ml h(-)1 infusion. Correct primary catheter placement was ensured after initial injection of local anaesthetic via the catheter. Forty-eight hours after insertion, MRI was performed after injection of saline with added contrast (Dotarem) via the catheter. The primary outcome was catheter displacement estimated as the frequency of spread of contrast exclusively outside the paraneurium.

RESULTS
All patients had correct primary catheter placement. The frequency of displacement 48 h after insertion of the PSNC was 40% when inserted perpendicular to the nerve vs 10% parallel to the nerve (difference was 30 percentage points, 95% CI: 3-53 percentage points). The relative risk of displacement was four times larger (95% CI: 0.8-10, P<0.028) in the SAX-IP vs the SAX-OOP group. The morphine consumption was 150% greater in the SAX-IP compared with the SAX-OOP group.

CONCLUSION
Popliteal sciatic nerve catheters for major foot and ankle surgery inserted with ultrasound guidance parallel to the sciatic nerve have a significantly lower frequency of displacement compared with those inserted perpendicular to the nerve.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
NCT02200016.


The Song-Ma suture zone including the "classical Song Ma suture" and the Nam Co antiform between Indochina and South China blocks in northern Vietnam is a crucial area for understanding the tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia. To explore their natures and evolutionary history, this paper reports new petrological studies and SIMS zircon U-Pb age data for the Song Ma ophiolites, metabasites and fine-grained quartzite. The Song Ma ophiolites consist mainly of peridotite (Fo90-91, En92), basalt and gabbro, and experienced greenschist- to lower amphibolite-facies ocean-floor metamorphism. Lenses of rodingite and altered pyroxenite in serpentinites formed during alternation of peridotite. We identified two types of zircon in the altered pyroxenite: I uniform metamorphic (70 vol.%), and II, zircon having inherited magmatic cores and metamorphic rims (30 vol.%). All U-Pb analyses of both zircon types yield an upper intercept age of 340 ± 29 Ma that we interpret as the protolith age. Type I zircon and Type II metamorphic rims together yield a mean 206Pb/238U age of 280 ± 2 Ma, with rodingite forming broadly coevally at 283 to 282 Ma. Metabasalt (plagioclase-amphibole schist) has a MORB-type geochemical affinity. Magmatic zircon from a plagioclase-amphibole schist yields a protolith age of 315 ± 4 Ma. High-pressure eclogite, garnet-phengite-quartz schist, and garnet-hornblende rock are distributed in the northwestern Nam Co antiform. Zircon crystals from both eclogite and garnet hornblende rock have low Th/U ratios of 0.01 to 0.07 and 0.02 to 0.06, and yield metamorphic ages of 231 ± 8 Ma and 228 ± 3 Ma, respectively. The ages of detrital zircon grains from fine-grained, banded quartzite from the Nam Co antiform range from Paleozoic to Proterozoic with a peak at 1.7 to 1.8 Ga. All available data indicate a three-stage tectonic evolution: (1) 340 to 280 Ma: the Paleotethys that separated the Indochina and South China blocks was characterized by oceanic crust formation at 340 to 315 Ma and ocean-floor metamorphism at 283 to 280 Ma, (2) <280 to 230 Ma: the Paleotethyan oceanic lithosphere was subducted and subjected to HP metamorphism at ca. 230 Ma; closure of the Paleotethys led to collision between the Indochina and south China blocks in the Middle Triassic; and (3) <230 Ma: breakoff of the Paleotethyan oceanic lithosphere with subsequent exhumation of the subducted slabs. The HP metamorphic rocks were tectonically juxtaposed against the Nam Co complex. However the subduction polarity (northward versus southward subduction) is problematic, and requires more investigation.


Clinical Presentation The first patient presented with a headache and was found to have an enlarging 6.6cm left frontal lobe cystic mass. The second presented with diplopia secondary to left third nerve palsy and was found a have 1.7cm left superior prepontine lesion. Results Both patients had the working diagnosis of arachnoid cyst. They respectively underwent a left frontal craniotomy and a transphenoidal endoscopic osteotomy for resection and fenestration of the cystic lesions. Histopathology evaluation revealed type A neurenteric cysts respectively with respiratory and gastrointestinal epithelia.


Strategic resilience concerns broad societal issues and long-term processes to successfully handle severe disturbances such as crises and war. This paper presents a case study of a Swedish exploration project to investigate how civil defence interests may influence land-use planning through legislation on national interests. The project brought together two disparate areas and involved collaborative exploration through representatives from both communities. Through a large workshop, representatives from a number of governmental agencies came together to develop and discuss examples of national interests for civil defence. Continued work following the workshop revealed five key questions, each contributing towards a shared understanding of specific possibilities and limitations. The questions concerned issues of boundaries, contents, importance, location, and value, thereby providing input to a proposed sector description to be used when deciding whether to start handling actual national interest claims for civil defence or not. Through the work reported, the paper illustrates recurring challenges with handling divergent and shared meanings, balancing of logical and physical aspects, and bridging of means and ends in collaborative exploration.


Optical absorption, excitation, and fluorescence were investigated in Eu ion-doped CdWO4 single crystal grown by a modified Bridgman method. The results indicate that Eu2+ and Eu3+ ions coexist in CdWO4 crystal and an energy transfer occurs between these Eu2+ and Eu3+ ions. When the crystal is excited by 266-nm light, the energy corresponding to the 4f65d to 8S7/2 transition of Eu2+ ions results in the excitation of the Eu3+ ions to the 5DJ level. The effect on fluorescence of annealing in oxygen at various temperatures was investigated. The excitation intensity of Eu2+ ions at 266 nm decreases as annealing temperature increases from 300 K to 1073 K, but it remains at a certain equilibrium level when the annealing temperature is further increased.


Using a counter rotating parallel plate shear flow cell, shape relaxation of fibrils in a quiescent matrix is studied microscopically. Both the effects of geometrical confinement and component viscoelasticity are systematically explored. By applying a supercritical shear flow for varying amounts of time, droplets with a wide range of initial elongation ratios have been generated. The shape relaxation of these elongated droplets occurs in two stages; the first one consists of shape changes and retraction from a fibril to an ellipsoid, the second one is the retraction of this ellipsoid to a sphere. During both stages of the relaxation process, droplet viscoelasticity has no influence on the relaxation, whereas matrix viscoelasticity and geometrical confinement result in a slower retraction. However, the effect of confinement on the shape relaxation during the first stage of the relaxation process is less pronounced than its influence on the retraction of ellipsoidal droplets. The relaxation time of the second stage of the relaxation corresponds to the relaxation time of initially ellipsoidal droplets. Finally, for confinement ratios up to 0.75 and Deborah numbers around 1, no effect of confinement and component viscoelasticity on the critical initial elongation ratio for breakup during relaxation has been found


INTRODUCTION
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health concern. The spread of AMR-encoding genes between enterobacteria, especially in Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, lead to failure in the treatment of most individuals. The aim of this study was to characterize multi-drug resistant (MDR) clinical K. pneumoniae isolates that produce extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) from Algeria.

METHODOLOGY
The isolates were identified using biochemical tests, and the identification was confirmed by mass spectrometry using VITEK® MS (BioMerieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France). Antibiotic susceptibility testing was assessed by the disk diffusion method. Molecular characterization was performed by whole genome sequencing (WGS) using Illumina technology. Sequenced raw reads were processed using bioinformatics parameters: FastQC, ARIBA, and Shovill-Spades. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to estimate the evolutionary relationship between isolate strains.

RESULTS
Molecular analysis resulted in the first detection of blaNDM-5 encoding K. pneumoniae in Algeria. Other resistance genes were blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M, aac(6')-Ib-cr, qnrB1, qnrB4, qnrB19, qnrS1, gyrA and parC variants.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data demonstrated a very high level of resistance in clinical K. pneumoniae strains which were resistant to most common antibiotic families. This was the first detection of K. pneumoniae with the blaNDM-5 gene in Algeria. Surveillance of antibiotic use and measures for control should be implemented to reduce occurrence of AMR in clinical bacteria.


Calculated energy spectra, B(E2) branching ratios, absolute B(E2) values and quadrupole moments are compared with experiment. The model shows a transition of the Pt isotopes from the gamma -soft nearly triaxial 78196Pt to gamma -unstable 78190Pt. Two minima appear in the case of 78186Pt, one at the oblate and the other one at the prolate axis. Similar structure is obtained for 76184Os: the character of the potential changes in the Os chain from prolately deformed minimum to gamma -soft nearly triaxial behaviour in the case of 76192Os. The W isotopes continue the properties of the isotopes 78186Pt and 76184Os. The capabilities of the model and the illustrative way of presenting the collective properties by potential energy surfaces are demonstrated.


Mental illness is a risk factor for HIV infection. It brings a number of behavioral correlates that put patients at risk for getting infected. As HIV infection worsens, it begins to affect the brain, and cyclical relationship between the disease and mental illness begins.


A 16-year-old white boy developed a solitary lesion on his thigh which, when excised two years later, proved to be urticaria pigmentosa. To the best of our knowledge, this is the third reported case of solitary mastocytoma occurring in an adult.


Extreme programming (XP) is the most well known agile software development method. Many experience reports have been published in recent years. Successful XP adoptions have however been criticized for the lack of concrete data. While some exist, the studies are often difficult to compare due to different settings and the varying level of XP adoption. We report the first result (concrete data from 2/5 releases) from a controlled extreme programming case study. Four software engineers were acquired to implement a system in a tight delivery schedule of eight weeks. Development environment was close to the agile home ground. A comparison of the collected data from the first two releases is provided. Analysis shows that while the first release is a learning effort for all stakeholders, the second release shows clear improvement in all regards, e.g., estimation accuracy is improved by 26%, productivity was increased by 12 locs/hour and yet the post-release defect rate remained low, i.e., 2.1 defects/KLoc.


Heparin-releasable liver-lipase like activity was studied in adrenals of intact, gonadectomized and gonadectomized-testosterone or estradiol replaced rats. Besides acid lipase, rat adrenals contain a neutral lipase activity. From both male and female adrenals about 70% of this activity is extractable by heparin containing medium. Activity of this lipase in 8000 g supernatant was higher in female than male adrenals. Orchiectomy of 12 weeks duration increased neutral lipase activity in rat adrenal, an effect reversed to normal level by testosterone replacement. On the other hand ovariectomy had no effect while estradiol replacement resulted in an increased activity of the neutral lipase of rat adrenal gland. The results showed a distinct sex-difference in heparin-releasable liver-lipase like activity of rat adrenals which depends on the inhibitory action of testosterone on the enzyme activity.


N/A Type of Report: MS Project Report Department of Computer Science & Engineering Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1045 St. Louis, MO 63130 ph: (314) 935-6160


Layered black phosphorus (LBP) is drawing increasing attention because of its excellent potential in biomedical applications. Properties and bioeffects of LBP depend on its layer number (LN). However, the variation of LN during applications, especially in organisms, is largely unknown. Herein, LBP is found to be exfoliated by human serum albumin (HSA) after the formation of protein coronas. The sorption of HSA on LBP exhibits multiple intermediate equilibrium and size-dependent capacity and is distinguished from traditional multilayer sorption. The loss of LN for LBP increases with the increase of HSA concentrations, e.g., 2, 4, and 6 layers of LBP are exfoliated at 35, 135, and 550 mg/L HSA, respectively. The energy distribution shows that at low HSA concentrations, exfoliation is mainly driven by electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions. With middle or high HSA concentrations, exfoliation is mainly driven by p-π or hydrophobic interactions, respectively. Layer exfoliation causes the continuous emergence of an unsaturated LBP surface available for adsorbing further HSA, breaking previous sorption saturations. The complete exfoliation of LBP weakens cytotoxicity and promotes internalization to the A-549 cell line compared with pristine or less exfoliated LBP. This finding unveils the exfoliation mechanism of proteins toward LBP and is of benefit to evaluating application performance and biosafety of LBP.


The implementation of the EU Bird and Habitat Directives by the ports and dredging industry caused severe project disruptions across North-West Europe in the past. The prevalence of negative experience triggered a new approach, which aims to integrate site-specific ecosystem characteristics and project objectives during the development of the initial project design. This approach is termed 'Building with Nature'. The authorities and practitioners hope that the new approach will improve project implementation within the existing framework of the Bird and Habitat Directives. In this paper we review a total of twelve projects in the field of dredging against the definition of 'Building with Nature'. For each project we highlight the outcome of assessment according to article 6 of the EU Habitat Directive. In conclusion we assess if there is a connection between the application of Building with Nature and the outcome of assessment under article 6 Habitat Directive.


The effectiveness and the promise a surface discharge for UV lasing was demonstrated for the C3πu—Bπg self-terminating transition in molecular nitrogen. A study of the UV lasing kinetics showed that the main processes leading to population inversion occur during the discharge formation stage. UV nitrogen lasers with a transverse surface discharge are characterised by a higher radiation power density, sufficient for lens-free pumping of organic dyes, and a high repetition frequency of the output pulses.


Background: Treatment confers an evolutionary bottleneck for cancer. Little data exists on the genomic evolution of CLL under different treatment pressure and disease compartments.
 Methods: We identified 13 patients uniformly treated with chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) as first-line therapy and a BTK inhibitor (BTKi) as second-line. We collected peripheral blood (PB) samples before CIT, at relapse after CIT (which was also before starting a BTKi), and 6 months on a BTKi. Five patients on a long-term BTKi were additionally tested at two years on BTKi. Two patients had samples from bone marrow (BM) and/or lymph node (LN) compartments at 6 months on a BTKi. In total, 48 tumor samples paired with saliva serving as a germline control were tested with whole exome sequencing (WES). We used high confidence variants identified by at least two variant callers for somatic single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertion-deletion variants, and TitanCNA for copy number variations. Clonal composition was reconstructed using PhyloWGS.
 Results: The median age of the cohort was 60 years at the start of CIT. The median duration of follow-up was 7 years. Median time between the start of CIT and a BTKi was 43 months (range 10-135). To date, eleven patients are alive and remain in response to a BTKi. Two patients died, one due to hepatitis B virus reactivation, and one with Richter's transformation.
 The median tumor mutational burden (TMB), defined as the number of nonsynonymous coding mutations per Mb, was 1.9 before CIT, 2.1 after CIT, and 1.9 after 6 months on a BTKi, consistent with previous reports in CLL. TMB was loosely associated with time since CIT exposure (R2=0.12, P=0.014). All patients had at least one mutation in known driver genes, most commonly NOTCH1 and SF3B1 (31% each; Figure A). Most of these mutations were subclonal and remained subclonal throughout the treatment course. The number of known driver gene mutations per patient remained relatively stable during the treatment course (median: 2 before CIT, 3 after CIT, 3 at 6 months on a BTKi; all P>0.05).
 We recomposed clonal structures and estimated the cancer cell fraction (CCF) of each clone. Phylogenetic analysis showed branching evolution in most patients with a median of three child clones originating from a parent clone. In these patients, multiple clonal branches and its descendants were simultaneously being selected during therapy. In addition, we observed linear evolution in three (23%) patients, characterized by a repetitive selection of one parent clone and its leading progeny per generation. Treatment with CIT and a BTKi selected for distinct sets of clones. BTKi therapy effectively downsized clones which grew to dominance after CIT, except in one patient whose subclone with concurrent NRAS and TP53 mutations remained dominant throughout CIT and BTKi therapy. The median CCF decrease of CIT-selected clones was 18% during BTKi therapy (range 1-52). In all patients with SF3B1 mutation, clonal fractions of SF3B1 mutated clones were higher at relapse after CIT and lower during BTKi therapy. There was no consistent pattern of clonal selection for NOTCH1 mutation.
 We compared patterns of clonal evolution in different compartments in two patients who had PB, LN and/or BM samples available. Each compartment had a distinct clonal composition. Notably, one patient who progressed with Richter's transformation after 6 months on a BTKi showed three main clones shared among all compartments and a set of compartment-restricted clones (Figure B). The LN was preferentially enriched with clones carrying HIST1H1E mutation and complex copy number changes, reflecting transformed clones. The NOTCH1 mutated clone and its progeny, reflecting CLL clones, were dominant in PB and BM, but not in LN.
 Conclusion: The number and clonality of somatic mutations affecting known driver genes, remained relatively stable over the course of treatment with CIT followed by a BTKi at relapse. Distinct sets of clones evolved under each line of therapy. Clonal composition is shaped by the growth potential of individual clones, the selective pressure of the therapy used, and the tumor microenvironment.
 Figure

 Wiestner: Pharmayclics: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; Nurix: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding.


Introduction: COPD is an inflammatory systemic disease, and its base seems to be a subclinical inflammation Objective : To analyze the characteristics on inflammatory parameters in a group of patients diagnosed with COPD in our Basic Health Area, compared with a group of subjects without COPD Methods : Cross-sectional study, developed in primary care center, attending 15,855 users. Random sample of 869 individuals over 18 years, whit medical history, anthropometric parameters and risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesity) and basic analytical/inflammatory parameters (fibrinogen, blood, platelet and leukocyte counts, C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) Results: Of 869 subjects, 37 had COPD diagnosis confirmed by spirometry (4.2%). The following table [table 1]reflects some of the analytical parameters: Conclusions : COPD group shows a greater inflammatory component that the group exempt from this condition with regard to fibrinogen, leukocyte count and hs-CRP. We had also been identified significative differences in the values of uric acid. In contrast, the platelet and blood counts had not shown differences. So, it means that COPD is a systemic disease and is accompanied by an inflammatory component of different degrees.


Abstract Kim, Y.C.; Choi, M., and Cho, Y.-S., 2012. Tsunami hazard area predicted by probability distribution tendency. The recent occurrence of tsunamis that have caused a significant loss of human life and property has aroused considerable attentions to the natural disaster. Tsunami disaster prevention policy is generally focused on the creation of hazard maps based on virtual tsunamis. To increase the efficacy of such maps, the flooding hazard area at one location, Jumunjin Port, was predicted in this study. The flooding height expected to cause human losses was determined, and the probability of the simulated tsunami flooding exceeding this height was calculated at each point of the grid covering the flooding hazard area. To obtain the flooding data, a numerical simulation was conducted of the propagation and inundation of a virtual tsunami. To determine the probability distribution type of the flooding data, a goodness-of-fit test, namely, the probability plot correlation coefficient (PPCC) test, was used, and the normal, lognormal, exponential, and Gumbel distributions were assumed to be the probability distribution types of the flooding height data. The best-fit probability distribution type among the four probability distribution types was determined at each point. The probability of flooding exceeding the criterion height was calculated for each grid point using the cumulative distribution function (CDF) that corresponded to the best-fit probability distribution. The lognormal distribution was found to be the most appropriate distribution type for the tsunami flooding height.


Situations in which several agents must interact to achieve goals present difficulties of coordination and cooperation not found in single-agent problem solving contexts. Techniques for coordination and cooperation required in group problem solving are not well understood because most AI models deal with cases in which problems are solved by a single agent. In this paper we present a framework for distributed problem solving that describes some of the expertise an agent working in an multi-agent environment must have. An application of the framework to the domain of air-traffic control is discussed. Here each aircraft is viewed as an agent that must cooperate with others to achieve a conflict-free plan.


The main argument in favor of a fixed exchange rate regime (ERR) is its ability to maintain lower inflation in the long run compared to a flexible ERR (Mundell, 1963; Fleming, 1962). This paper empirically tests whether the fixed ERR of the CFA franc currency union provides lower inflation to its members relative to inflation in the non-CFA Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. SSA countries are grouped by their exchange rate regimes using the International Monetary Fund (IMFs) de facto classification to analyze the dynamics of inflation within the groups of fixed ERR in comparison to the non-fixed ERR groups. The empirical results support the inflation-growth trade-off in the CFA zones. While the CFA countries experience a relatively lower inflation in the short and long run, they suffer from a pronounced output loss relative to all other non-CFA countries in general and relative to the non-CFA countries with pegged ERR in particular. As individuals' welfare depends on the change in their consumption of goods and services rather than the growth level of inflation (Aiyagari, 1990), the finding of this paper suggests that the CFA countries' fixed ERR compounded with an alignment to a common currency undermines their economic performances.

 Key words: Inflation, exchange rate regimes, CFA franc currency union, Sub-Saharan Africa.


This article discusses depictions of the Warsaw ghetto in Polish poetry, prose fiction, and drama. Of all the ghettos established by the German authorities in the former Second Republic of Poland, the Warsaw ghetto is portrayed most frequently by writers. Here, representations of the Warsaw ghetto are presented in chronological order. The article covers portrayals of the Warsaw ghetto during the war, in the immediate postwar years, in the period between the 1950s and 1980s, and after the fall of communism in 1989. The article also discusses selected literary topoi related to the Warsaw ghetto. The biggest changes in the literary portrayal of the ghetto took place after 1989 and were related to the abolition of censorship, the influence of popular culture, and the emergence of writers born after the war, including representatives of the "third generation."


Researchers employ various measures of risk attitudes to investigate their relation to market behavior with mixed results. We find that a higher-order global risk attitude construct, developed using survey scales and experiments based on expected utility theory, is related to several marketing alternatives, but does not exhibit substantially greater explanatory power than underlying measures. With few exceptions, scales yield greater significance of risk attitudes for these choices, but experimental measures reveal other insights, e.g., differential attitudes in gain and loss domains. Given recent concerns with experimental measures in the literature, we suggest studies include scales as a low cost supplemental measure.


Despite their reputation as an evolving shared knowledge repository, Wikis are often treated with suspicion in organizations for management, social and legal reasons. Following studies of unsuccessful Wiki projects, a field study was undertaken of a corporate Wiki that has been developed to capture, and make available, organizational knowledge for a large manufacturing company as an initiative of their knowledge management program. A Q methodology research approach was selected to uncover employees' subjective attitudes to the Wiki so that the firm could more fully exploit the potential of the Wiki as a ubiquitous tool for tacit knowledge management.


Anaerobic non-spore-forming gram-negative bacteria colonize the human body by a large number, their primary function being to stabilize the normal resident microbiota. They prevent colonization by pathogenic microorganisms from exogenous sources, participate in the digestion of food and stimulate host immunity. These microorganisms are primarily opportunistic pathogens involved in endogenous infections, usually in polymicrobial associations of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. About 10 – 12 strains of anaerobic bacteria are most commonly isolated from infected root canals and associated with apical periodontitis (Bacteroides, Prevotella, Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium, Veillonella). In this review are presentedthe microbiological characteristics of anaerobic gramnegative, non-spore forming bacteria of the genus Bacteroides that are commonly isolated in endodontic studies.


T he terrorist attacks of the past few years have made us all more aware that the threat from biological weapons needs to be tackled urgently and on many fronts. International agreements such as the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) are one vital component. The next meeting of the BWC signatories will take place this month in Geneva, from 11 to 22 November. The last meeting, in December 2001, did not reach agreement; the next formal treaty review conference is scheduled for 2006. This month's meeting reminds us that our nations' best scientists must support policy-makers in their efforts to make progress toward measures that will counteract the threat from advances in weapons technology that could be misused by governments or as terrorist threat agents; we must also devote attention to blocking the proliferation of biological weapons capabilities around the world.

Collectively, the scientific community can provide a range of tools that reduce the threat from biological weapons. In the wake of 11 September 2001, major increases in funding are becoming available for research on improved vaccines, antivirals, and antibiotics, as well as for new detection methods. We also need an increased understanding of the spread of potential agents. The expertise required to achieve these important goals is spread across many scientific disciplines, and it will require newly intensified efforts in academia, industry, and government research facilities.

The increased funding for this research has been accompanied by a debate about the level of security restrictions that should be placed on it. We recognize the difficulties inherent in achieving an appropriate balance between scientific openness, which is crucial for scientific progress, and the restriction on public information needed to safeguard security. However, clear distinctions must be made between classified and unclassified research. Poorly defined third categories of "sensitive but unclassified information" that do not provide precise guidance on what information should be restricted from public access, as currently being debated in the United States, generate deep uncertainties among both scientists and the officials responsible for enforcing regulations. Experience shows that this makes the best scientists reluctant to work in the affected area, stifles creativity in fields where it is most needed for defensive purposes, and consequently weakens national and international security.

In defining clear boundaries between what is classified and unclassified, governments must have access to the best scientists in each field. Advice is needed on which current research should be classified and on how such a classification system can evolve to reflect scientific advances. The National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society are willing to contribute their expertise as they have done previously in other areas. Cutting-edge science is truly international, and to be effective, the regulations that define classified material related to research will need to be harmonized across national borders. This is another area where our two academies are well placed to contribute.

Individual scientists also have a key role to play. Every researcher, whether in academia, in government research facilities, or in industry, needs to be aware of the potential unintended consequences of their own and their colleagues' research. In 1975, scientists agreed to the "Asilomar moratorium," which gave guidance to researchers in the emerging field of recombinant DNA research. Today, researchers in the biological sciences again need to take responsibility for helping to prevent the potential misuses of their work, while being careful to preserve the vitality of their disciplines as required to contribute to human welfare.

The meeting in Geneva provides an important reminder for scientists to assist their governments and to become more involved in these critical issues. The threat from biological weapons must be addressed by both the individual and the collective actions of the international scientific community.


ABSTRACT Mineral oil hydrocarbon (MOH) contamination of various foods in the past few decades has raised much concern due to its potential adverse health effects. Since infant formulas (IF) is the major food source for infants, it is necessary to understand MOH contamination level in IF and consequent potential food safety risks. Data on the contamination of IF by mineral oil are lacking in China. On the other hand, the analysis of MOH in food is difficult. There is no harmonised standard analytical method for testing MOHs in IF. GC-FID/MS was chosen as the analytical tool being more convenient for surveys at a national level. Fifty-one IFs comprising dairy milk-based IFs (n = 39) and goat milk-based IFs (n = 12), including different stages (Stage 1, 2 and 3), package type (metal cans and paper boxes) were collected in China market in 2018 for this survey. 17 of 51 IFs were found positive, but trace levels MOAH were found (≤0.7 mg/kg). For the positive samples, all the MOSH and MOAH hump fell into the C16-C25 fraction. MOH humps were found in all the 12 goat milk-based IFs, even 4 samples are reported with quantifiable values which are higher than the method defined LOQ. The highest quantifiable MOH contamination level of goat milk-based IFs were MOSH = 3.5 mg/kg and MOAH = 0.7 mg/kg. Further root cause analysis of contamination is highly recommended to control the MOH contamination for goat milk-based IFs.


Ebola virus is an aggressive pathogen that causes a highly lethal hemorrhagic fever syndrome in humans and nonhuman primates. The Ebola virus (EBOV) genome is 19 kb long; with seven open reading frames encoding structural proteins and nonstructural proteins, and its glycoprotein (GP) is responsible for binding and viral entry. Garcinia kola which is commonly called bitter kola has been implicated with antiparasitic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, and antihepatoxic activities. In this study, selected bioactive components of Garcinia kola were computationally evaluated for therapeutic potential in relevance to Ebola virus disease (EVD) using standard bioinformatics tools such as Blastp, Hmmer, ClustalO, Swisstargetprediction and Swissadme. The result showed that EBOV-GP is a distant homolog of three human endogenous retrovirus proteins (HERV), and the probable targets of G. kola include cannabinoid receptor 1 and 2, matrix metalloproteinases (e.g. Collagenase-3) and cyclin dependent kinases, of which they have been implicated in human pathology such as viral infections and cancer.


We simulate the glide motion of an assembly of interacting dislocations under the action of an external shear stress and show that the associated plastic creep relaxation follows Andrade's law. Our results indicate that Andrade creep in plastically deforming crystals involves the correlated motion of dislocation structures near a dynamic transition separating a flowing from a jammed phase. Simulations in the presence of dislocation multiplication and noise confirm the robustness of this finding and highlight the importance of metastable structure formation for the relaxation process.


Many tax-simplification advocates say just amending current laws doesn't go far enough and call instead for a major overhaul of the tax system. One reform many policy experts advocate is introducing a consumption-based tax system. Such a tax could be imposed indirectly through a value-added tax (see "The Value-Added Tax," by Charles E. Price and Thomas M. Porcano, JofA, Oct.92, page 44) or a national sales tax. It also could be imposed directly (as an income tax is), except savings and investment would be exempt. This article reviews the conceptual and administrative aspects of a consumption-based tax, presents the major arguments for and against it and discusses some implementation problems. A consumption tax has been under consideration for a number of years. In 1977, the Treasury Department published Blueprints for Basic Tax Reform. In 1992, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., published the first report of the CSIS Strengthening of America Commission cochaired by Senators Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). Senators Nunn and Domenici expect to propose a bill in Congress providing for hearings on a new consumption-based tax system and setting a deadline for a vote in 1996 or 1997. In addition, Senators David Boren (D-Okla.) and John Danforth (R-Mo.) established a study group to develop a legislative proposal for a consumption tax. WHAT IS A CONSUMPTION TAX? When discussing a consumption-based income tax, theorists usually begin with a comprehensive income tax. The most common definition of income is Haig-Simons's--consumption plus accretions in wealth--which implies an individual's income can be either spent or saved. The Haig-Simons definition is typical of a comprehensive income tax base because it includes all income regardless of source and limits deductions. Mathematically, Haig-Simons income can be represented as C + S = I, where C is consumption, S is savings and I is income. From this formula, a consumption base can be derived as C = I - S, which essentially is an income base with savings deducted. In its 1977 study, the Treasury Department expanded this simple formula and defined consumption as: Consumption = Income receipts (cash and noncash) + Gifts and inheritances received (?) - Gifts and bequests given (?) - Cost of earnings - Other outlays - Savings Income receipts include wages, employee benefits, interest, dividends and asset sale proceeds. Gifts, inheritances and bequests are followed by question marks because their inclusion or deductibility is controversial (as discussed below). Cost of earnings includes business expenses and certain employment-related expenses. Other outlays include medical expenses, charitable contributions, state and local taxes and other expenditures that, for policy reasons, are not viewed as consumption. Savings include, among other things, net deposits to savings accounts and the cost of assets purchased. NUTS AND BOLTS OF A CONSUMPTION TAX A consumption tax differs from an income tax in that savings are exempt until spent. The Treasury Department study, the CSIS commission and others recommended implementing a consumption tax using a cash flow model because of the relative ease of administering it. The cash flow model would use two methods to exempt savings--the cash flow method and the prepayment method. Cash flow method. If this method was adopted, "qualified accounts" could be established and managed by financial institutions in much the same way individual retirement accounts are handled. However, qualified account contributions would be deductible from the consumption base without limit, and withdrawals could be made at any time without penalty. Withdrawals would be included in the consumption base unless reinvested. This approach is particularly well suited to financial investments, such as stocks and bonds, and for savings accounts. …


We propose two improvements to the SSD—single shot multibox detector. First, we propose an adaptive approach for default box selection in SSD. This uses data to reduce the uncertainty in the selection of best aspect ratios for the default boxes and improves performance of SSD for datasets containing small and complex objects (e.g., equipments at construction sites). We do so by finding the distribution of aspect ratios of the given training dataset, and then choosing representative values. Secondly, we propose an ensemble algorithm, using SSD as components, which improves the performance of SSD, especially for small amount of training datasets. Compared to the conventional SSD algorithm, adaptive box selection improves mean average precision by 3%, while ensemble-based SSD improves it by 8%.


Objectives Providing care for family members of individuals with dementia can be accompanied by a myriad of emotions, usually involving negative as well as positive feelings, or "ambivalent feelings." Recent studies conducted among family caregivers of people with dementia have shown ambivalent feelings to be associated with serious psychological consequences, such as increased depression. However, little is known about the path leading from ambivalent feelings to depression. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the interplay of ambivalent feelings and depression with family caregivers' psychosocial resources—that is, their coping strategies and social support. Methods A cross-sectional study using face-to-face interviews (via structured questionnaire) was conducted with 175 Israeli Arab family caregivers (adult children and spouses) of elderly people with Alzheimer's disease (87.4% female; 72% adult children; mean age = 54.28). Results Overall, the participants reported a mild level of depression (mean = 7.93; SD = 4.30; range 0–15) and a moderate level of ambivalent feelings (mean = 1.63; SD = 1.04; range 0–3). Additionally, as expected, ambivalent feelings made a unique—although modest—contribution, adding an additional 6% (p < 0.001) to the explanation of depression (R2 = 0.56, p<0.001). Whereas, neither problem-focused coping nor emotion-focused coping played a significant role in mediating the relationship between ambivalent feelings and depression, social support did mediate the relationship between these variables. Conclusions Our findings show that strengthening and expanding social networks among Israeli caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease can minimize the impact of experiences of emotional feelings on depression.


WOMEN'S COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT Kristen A. Renn Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014 Women's education is a complex and urgent matter as it relates to global gender equity and is necessary for improving societies, argues Kristen A. Renn, in her book, Women's Colleges & Universities in a Global Context. Renn investigates the role that women's colleges and universities play in the twenty-first century, using on-site studies of thirteen schools in ten countries worldwide including Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. In her analysis, Renn identifies five roles that women's colleges and universities play contemporarily. They are (1) providing access, (2) campus climate, (3) leadership development, (4) gender empowerment, and (5) symbolism and paradox. Renn utilizes a vertical case study, in which she compiles data from all levels of the institution and provides a variety of methodological approaches including interviews and focus groups with students, faculty, and administration; data such as documents and websites; and informal observations of and participation in campus life. By utilizing this approach, Renn paints a rich picture of women's colleges and universities globally, engaging in a productive discussion of the commonalities and differences of each role/theme across institutions. In clear and accessible chapters on each role/theme, Renn success fully makes the claim of the importance of women's colleges and universities, as well as the complexities and contradictions that emerge in these spaces. First, she argues that these spaces provide access to women who may not otherwise have a chance to attend school and also provide financial and academic access to certain types of education, for example in fields not typically dominated by women, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Secondly, womens colleges and universities provide welcoming campus climates where students are taken seriously by their teachers, potentially have more space to speak up, and are not minorities in traditionally male-dominated disciplines. In the third role, these spaces provide students with more opportunities for leadership on campus in student governments, publications, sports, and public services in ways that some women may not have access to in co-educational institutions. Renn also argues that womens colleges and universities make intellectual, cultural, and activist contributions to womens movements, which contribute to women's empowerment globally. …


Abstract In 2001, predator exclosures were used to protect nests of the Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) in western Alaska. During the exclosure experiment, nest contents in exclosures had significantly higher daily survival rates than control nests, however, late in the study predators began to cue in on exclosures and predate the nest contents. An Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus) dug under one exclosure and took the newly hatched chicks, and Long-tailed Jaegers (Stercorarius longicaudus) learned to associate exclosures with active nests and repeatedly visited them. The jaegers attempted to gain access to exclosed nests and pursued adult sandpipers as they emerged from the exclosures. The exclosures were removed to reduce potential mortality to adult and young sandpipers, but subsequently, post-exclosure nests had lower daily survival rates than controls during the same time period. Predation of post-exclosure eggs and chicks highlighted the lasting influence of the exclosure treatment on offspring survival because predators probably remembered nest locations. Researchers are urged to use caution when considering use of predator exclosures in areas where jaegers occur.


I n the current issue of the Journal of Hypertension, Duncombe et al. [1] conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to investigate the accuracy of oscillometric and aneroid blood pressure (BP) devices compared with the mercury sphygmomanometer for the measurement of BP in children. Following a well designed search strategy, and after a careful selection, they retained 38 studies including 26 879 children. Oscillometric devices yield slightly higher readings of SBP than auscultation with a mercury sphygmomanometer, with a difference of þ2.5 mmHg [95% confidence interval (CI): þ0.6 to þ4.5]. The difference was smaller in the 12 studies using clinically validated devices (þ1.8 mmHg; 95% CI: þ0.6 to þ2.8). There was no statistically significant difference for DBP (þ1.6 mmHg; 95% CI: 0.2 to þ3.3). However, there was a large heterogeneity between studies, explained only in part by differences in manufacturer, study setting, and observer training. Only three studies compared BP using aneroid and mercury device with, on average, comparable BP readings. The current study is an excellent example of the growing number of systematic reviews in medicine and public health, particularly in the field of hypertension [2–5]. Initially, systematic reviews were designed to analyze together relatively small and inconclusive clinical trials [6,7]. Pooling data from these trials, to conduct a metaanalysis, results in a gain of statistical power, increasing the confidence in the effect estimates of the treatment. In cases of substantial clinical heterogeneity, however, pooling data and meta-analysis can be misleading [6,8] but, even without meta-analysis, systematic reviews are vital to have a comprehensive overview of all the available evidence on a given clinical question. Nowadays, systematic reviews are not limited to the estimation of drug treatment effect using data from clinical trials.


Providing a modern approach to classical fluid mechanics, this textbook presents an accessible and rigorous introduction to the field, with a strong emphasis on both mathematical exposition and physical problems. It includes a consistent treatment of a broad range of fluid mechanics topics, including governing equations, vorticity, potential flow, compressible flow, viscous flow, instability, and turbulence. It has enhanced coverage of geometry, coordinate transformations, kinematics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and nonlinear dynamics. To round out student understanding, a robust emphasis on theoretical fundamentals and underlying mathematical details is provided, enabling students to gain confidence and develop a solid framework for further study. Included also are 180 end-of-chapter problems, with full solutions and sample course syllabi available for instructors. With sufficient coverage for a one- or two-semester sequence, this textbook provides an ideal flexible teaching pathway for graduate students in aerospace, mechanical, chemical, and civil engineering, and applied mathematics.


This paper focuses on the creation of political space for women in social and national domains in Ama Ata Aidoo's collection of short stories, The Girl Who Can and Other Stories , with particular reference to "Heavy Moments;" "She–Who–Would–Be-King" and the title story, "The Girl Who Can." That is because Aidoo believes that the improvement of the condition of women's lives should not be separated from their contribution to nation–building through alternative roles other than those of marriage, hitherto, prescribed for them by the society. It might be natural that man and woman should copulate to bear children. However, most of the rest of the ordering of the society is man–made or artificial. Gender hierarchy, marriage, womanhood, female inferiority and the arrogance of male superiority are all socio-cultural constructs. That is why feminists like Ama Ata Aidoo and the rest strive to create political space for women in nation–building in fiction so that other women can emulate such successful female characters in everyday life. In the following short stories in this collection, Aidoo breaks down complacencies and reveals that most of those myths which tend to inhibit woman are all social constructs and can be reversed. Aidoo seems to input that if women could be so self-effacing, other-oriented and generous as to produce such achievers and rivals to men in their, hitherto, exclusive domains of life's endeavour, then they should all be allowed to participate as collaborators in the development of Africa in alternative economic and political roles and in the enjoyment of the fruits of their labour and the natural resources of their African continent. LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research , 8(3), 149-168, 2011


In this paper, we consider coexistence of secondary and primary users who share particular portions of the spectrum and propose a delay-constrained power and rate allocation scheme for the secondary user link. Secondary users are allowed to access the spectrum occupied by a primary user subject to satisfying interference-power limitations imposed by the primary user. Applying this limitation, we obtain the maximum arrival-rate supported by the secondary channel in Nakagami-m block-fading environment subject to satisfying a given statistical delay quality-of-service (QoS) constraint. In this respect, we derive the optimal rate and power adaptation policy that maximizes the effective capacity of the channel, and provide closed-form expressions for the power allocation and the effective capacity. In addition, we obtain closed-form expressions for the expenditure-power that is required at the secondary transmitter to achieve the above-mentioned capacity metric. Moreover, for comparison purposes, we consider two widely deployed power allocation strategies, namely, optimal power and rate allocation (opra) and channel inversion with fixed rate (cifr), and investigate the effective capacity of the channel under these power transmission techniques. Numerical simulations are conducted to corroborate our theoretical results.


The ability to effectively lead schools serving Indigenous students in the United States is contingent upon one's ability and willingness to acknowledge and honor the cultural, linguistic, and tribal diversity of Indigenous peoples and communities, coupled with a commitment to abiding by the federal trust responsibility for the education of Indigenous peoples—a federal responsibility unique to American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. This also requires educational leaders to create and sustain educational environments that are culturally relevant and responsive and that respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and their tribal nations to be involved in, and ultimately to determine, the educational pathways and futures of their tribal citizens.


Nucleic acid amplification technologies (NAATs) have become fundamental tools in molecular diagnostics, due to their ability to detect small amounts of target molecules. Since its development, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has been the most exploited method, being stablished as the "gold standard" technique for DNA amplification. However, the requirement for different working temperatures leads to the need of a thermocycler machine or complex thermal apparatus, which have been preventing its application in novel integrated devices for single workflow and high throughput analysis. Conversely, isothermal amplification methods have been gaining attention, especially for point-of-care diagnosis and applications. These non-PCR based methods have been developed by mimicking the in vivo amplification mechanisms, while performing the amplification with high sensitivity, selectivity and allowing for high-throughput analysis. These favorable capabilities have pushed forward the implementation and commercialization of several platforms that exploit isothermal amplification methods, mostly against virus, bacteria and other pathogens in water, food, environmental and clinical samples. Nevertheless, the future of isothermal amplification methods is still dependent on achieving technical maturity and broader commercialization of enzymes and reagents.