In industry, flow instabilities are important in journal bearings at high rotational speeds. For inviscid flows between two rotating coaxial cylinders, an instability criterion was introduced by Taylor-Couette. However, viscosity may play as stabilizer or destabilize in such flows. In this work, stability theories were reviewed for two coaxial rotating cylinders. Then, flow instability patterns, velocity, pressure, and vorticity fields were simulated using Fluent. In this method, the fluid flow was assumed laminar and by gradually increasing the relative rotational speeds between two coaxial cylinders, the critical Taylor number was calculated and compared with Taylor analytical solution. By increasing Taylor number, it is observed that vortices become stronger and instabilities appear in the form of cellular square patterns. The characteristics of these cellular square patterns were examined.


Youth Justice Board chair Charlie Taylor says slimmed-down national standards reflect a more mature youth justice system that needs the freedom to innovate to improve the lives of the most vulnerab...


The burgeoning literature on matching managerial skills to business strategy is a testimony to the fact that people now recognize the increasing importance of human resources in creating value and sustaining the competitive advantage of a firm. In the light of this, could employers in Tanzania follow this approach? This paper looks at the selection methods used by organisations in Tanzania and models of matching managerials skills to business strategy advocated by a number of authors. The paper then concludes that matching a manager to a business strategy needs learning. However managerial characteristics are difficult to change as business change. At best the matching concepts suits manual and technical jobs.
 African Journal of Finance and Management Vol.8(2) 2000: 32-36


Human Epithelial Type-2 (HEp-2) cells are essential in diagnosing autoimmune diseases. Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) imaging is a fundamental technique for detecting antinuclear antibodies in HEp-2 cells. The four main patterns of HEp-2 cells that are being identified are nucleolar, homogeneous, speckled and centromere. The most commonly used method to classify the patterns is manual evaluation. This method is prone to human error. This paper will propose an automated method of classifying HEp-2 cells patterns. The first stage is image enhancement using Histogram equalization contrast adjustment and Wiener Filter. The second stage uses Sobel Filter and Mean Filter for segmentation. The third stage feature extraction based on shape properties data extraction. The last stage uses classification based on different properties data abstracted. The results obtained are more than 90% for nucleolar and centromere and about 70% for homogenous and speckled. For future work, another feature extraction method need to be introduced to increase the accuracy of the classification result. The method suggested is to analyze and obtain the data based on the texture of the image.


years ago the Power Electronics Group at PSI, Switzerland developed power supplies (PS) for the magnets of the Swiss Light Source (SLS). These PS are based on switched mode converters with fully digital control. During the 12 years of operation of the SLS they have shown a very good reliability but also revealed some potential for improvement: After several years of operation the many fans installed started to fail more frequently and the same was observed for "off-the-shelf" AC/DC converters for the DC link. For the new SwissFEL, which shall be in service by 2016, approx. 670 PS rated at 10 A and 20 PS rated at 50 A will be necessary. As for any accelerator application high stability and reliability of the magnet PS are essential for high beam quality and availability. The development of the SwissFEL PS aims to raise the already good reliability by omitting as many fans as possible and adding redundancy for the AC/DC converters. Presently, a prototype rack with 21 10 A PS is available and the mass production has started. The presented paper describes the PS concept and test results of the prototype regarding stability and efficiency are given.


A Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite cathode material was obtained by a sol-gel method using deionized water and organic solvents as mixed solvents. Ethanol, ethylene glycol, and 1,2-propylene glycol were used as the organic solvents and polyacrylic acid (PAA) was used as the chelating agent and carbon source. The structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the synthesized materials were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), charge-discharge tests, and cyclic voltammetry. XRD analysis showed that all the materials were well crystallized and that the addition of organic solvents did not affect the crystal structure of Li3V2(PO4)3. The results of galvanostatic cycling showed that the electrochemical performance of the products was improved by the addition of organic solvents. The material synthesized using 1,2-propylene glycol had the best electrochemical performance. It exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 132.89 mAh·g-1 at 0.1C (1C=150 mA·g-1) in the voltage range of 3.0-4.5 V. The initial discharge capacity was as high as 125.42 mAh·g-1 upon discharging at 10C, and it had a capacity retention of 95.79% after 700 cycles. These results indicate a good rate and cycling performance in the voltage range of 3.0-4.5 V; while in the voltage range of 3.0-4.8 V, it exhibits a bad rate performance. SEM images indicated that the sample prepared using the mixed solvents had a flake-like and needle-like shape, which facilitates the interface ion-transfer process and thus improves the overall electrochemical properties.


Identification of the benthonic foraminiferal assemblages from ten stratigraphic sections from the inner platform limestones of the Middle Cenomanian−Coniacian successions of the Bey Daglari carbonate platform (BDCP) allowed the recognition of one biozone and two subzones. The lower part of the platform limestones (Middle−Upper Cenomanian) is represented by relatively rich benthonic foraminiferal assemblages, while the upper part (Turonian−Coniacian) contains poor assemblages. The benthonic foraminiferal assemblages determined in the BDCP are dominated by long-ranging species. The shorter-ranging, stratigraphical index species have been selected to date the Upper Cretaceous platform limestones of the BDCP based on the distributions of the species in the circum- Mediterranean region. The Pseudolituonella reicheli-Pseudorhapydionina dubia Concurrent Range Zone is defined from the Middle−Upper Cenomanian platform limestones. The biozone includes the Cisalveolina lehneri Subzone and the Coxites zubairensis Subzone of Middle Cenomanian and Upper Cenomanian age respectively. The first occurrences of Moncharmontia apenninica-compressa and Pseudocyclammina sphaeroidea indicate the Late Turonian and the Coniacian respectively. The spread of hemipelagic limestones in the BDCP during the Coniacian shows that neritic accumulation on the BDCP persisted from the Middle Cenomanian to the Coniacian. These data indicate that the global sea level rise at the Cenomanian−Turonian boundary, which caused the general demise of many Tethyan carbonate platforms, did not result in deepening on the BDCP.


Purpose

– This paper aims to make a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate about the potential of open access publishing and institutional repositories to reform the scholarly communication system. It presents the views of senior authors on these issues and contextualises them within the broader framework of their journal publishing behaviour and preferences.

Design/methodology/approach

– A highly representative online opinion survey of more than five and half thousand journals authors, building on an earlier (January 2004) benchmarking study carried out by CIBER.

Findings

– Senior researchers are rapidly becoming more informed about open access publishing and institutional repositories but are still a long way off reaching a consensus on the likelihood that these new models will challenge the existing order, nor are they in agreement whether this would be a positive or a negative development. Disciplinary culture and, to a less extent, regional location are key determinants of author attitudes and any policy response should avoid "one‐size‐fits‐all" solutions.

Research limitations/implications

– This survey reflects the opinions of senior corresponding authors who have recently published in a "top" (i.e. ISI‐indexed journal) with 95 per cent confidence. The findings should not be generalised to represent the views of all authors in all journals, open access or otherwise.

Originality/value

– The journal publishing sector is facing enormous challenges and opportunities as content increasingly migrates to the web. The value of this research is that it provides an objective, non‐partisan, assessment of the attitudes and opinions of more than 5,000 senior researchers, a key stakeholder group, and thus contributes both to the development of public policy as well as more realistic commercial strategies.


Ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS) constitutes a valid ablative treatment for superficial vein diseases for the great saphenous vein (GSV), but no standardized protocol for its execution has yet been defined. Different variable factors involved in this procedure influence the final outcome and clinical results. The aim of our study was to analyze the respective influence on efficacy and side effects of three variable factors (foam volume, foam concentration, and contact time between the foam and the endothelium) for UGFS procedures for GSV insufficiency in order to select the best protocol for treatment. A retrospective analysis was made of UGFS procedures (190 patients, 201 legs) performed for GSV insufficiency in our institute from January 2007 to January 2010. All great saphenous veins included in our study exhibited a trans-ostial reflux and caliber range was 7-11 mm. In all cases, foam was prepared according to the Tessari method, using polidocanol (POL) and a gas mixture of CO2 (70%) and filtered room air (30%), in a proportion of 1:4. A single injection procedure in the GSV was performed under Doppler ultrasound guidance at mid to lower third of the thigh. Legs were randomly assigned to one of three different treatment protocols: - Group A (71 legs): POL 3%, mean foam volume 4.5 cc, intermittent groin pressure 5 min, supine bed rest 10 min; - Group B (61 legs): POL 2%, mean foam volume 9 cc, intermittent groin pressure 5 min, supine bed rest 10 min; - Group C (69 legs): POL 2%, mean foam volume 9 cc, continuous groin pressure 5 min followed by intermittent groin pressure 5 min, continuous leg compression 5 min, supine bed rest 10 min. Efficacy of treatment and occurrence of side effects were evaluated in each group at two weeks and again at two years after the procedure and the cumulative results compared. Analysis of outcomes did not show any significant difference between the complete obliteration rate (P=0.825) or occurrence of local inflammatory reactions (P=0.883) between legs in Group A and in Group B. However, a significantly better outcome was observed between the complete obliteration rates and the local inflammatory reaction for legs in Group C compared to both legs in Group A (P=0.020 and P=0.015, respectively) and legs in Group B (P=0.013 and P=0.018, respectively). The type of procedure did not seem to have any effect on the extent of recanalization (over or less than 50% of the original lumen). No major adverse events such as deep vein thrombosis, significant allergic reactions, or serious neurological events occurred in any patient in any group. Further studies are still necessary to identify the best concentration ratios, volumes and length of contact time between foam and endothelium according to class size of specific veins to promote possible standardization of the procedure. However, measures to increase the contact time between foam and endothelium were shown to improve late results. In addition, the same efficacy and side effects are observed with lower POL concentration if foam volumes are increased.


In this paper we evaluate the empirical performance of a medium‐scale DSGE model (Smets and Wouters 2007) when agents form expectations about forward variables by using small forecasting models. Agents learn about these simple AR and VAR forecasting models through Kalman filter estimation and they combine them either using a prediction based weighting scheme or fixed weights. The results indicate that a model, in which agents use a mixture of simple forecasting models to form expectations, does fit the data better than the full rational expectations model. Adaptive learning leads to substantial time variation in the coefficients of the forecasting models. Especially the beliefs about the dynamics of the inflation process turn out to be very important for the overall performance of the model. Agents' beliefs about the persistence of inflation display a peak the late seventies, and follow a clear downward trend starting during the Volcker disinflation period. This pattern in beliefs, which is in line with other recent evidence in the literature on inflation persistence, implies that the response of inflation to the various shocks declined significantly over the last 25 years. In this way, adaptive learning about inflation persistence also explains the observed decline in both the mean and the volatility of inflation as well as the flattening of the Phillips curve. Allowing for learning about inflation dynamics also results in lower estimates for the persistence of the exogenous processes that drive price and wage dynamics in the Rational Expectation version. We also find that the implicit beliefs of agents based on small forecasting models are more closely related to the survey evidence on inflation expectations than the beliefs under rational expectations. JEL codes: C11, D84, E30, E52


New concatenated mtDNA sequences (three genes; n = 22) of Siberian taimen Hucho taimen primarily from west Siberian and European regions of the species' range were added to 12 previously published sequences to provide a phylogeographic overview of the species. European samples show only very minor divergence from west Siberian populations, supporting a late Pleistocene expansion from Siberia into the Urals, with no particular relation to the Danube River basin huchen Hucho hucho as once hypothesized. The disjunct distribution of the genus is most likely based on an early Pleistocene vicariant event.


Diving, initially motivated for food purposes, is crucial to the oil and gas industry, search and rescue, and is even done recreationally by millions of people. There is a growing need however, to monitor the health and activity of divers. The Divers Alert Network has reported on average 90 fatalities per year since 1980. Furthermore an estimated 1000 divers require recompression treatment for dive-related injuries every year. One means of monitoring diver activity is to integrate strain sensors into a wetsuit. This would provide kinematic information on the diver potentially improving buoyancy control assessment, providing a platform for gesture communication, detecting panic attacks and monitoring diver fatigue. To explore diver kinematic monitoring we have coupled dielectric elastomer sensors to a wetsuit worn by the pilot of a human-powered wet submarine. This provided a unique platform to test the performance and accuracy of dielectric elastomer strain sensors in an underwater application. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of strain sensors to monitor the kinematics of a diver. This study was in collaboration with the University of Auckland's human-powered submarine team, Team Taniwha. The pilot, completely encapsulated in a hull, pedals to propel the submarine forward. Therefore this study focused on leg motion as that is the primary motion of the submarine pilot. Four carbon-filled silicone dielectric elastomer sensors were fabricated and coupled to the pilot's wetsuit. The first two sensors were attached over the knee joints, with the remaining two attached between the pelvis and thigh. The goal was to accurately measure leg joint angles thereby determining the position of each leg relative to the hip. A floating data acquisition unit monitored the sensors and transmitted data packets to a nearby computer for real-time processing. A GoPro Hero 4 silver edition was used to capture the experiments and provide a means of post-validation. The ability of the sensors to measure joint angles was assessed by examining GoPro footage in the image processing software, ImageJ. This paper applies dielectric elastomer sensor technology to monitoring the leg motion of a diver. The experimental set-up and results are presented and discussed.


During the preparation of a prospective study of exhaustion as a precursor of myocardial infarction (MI), the authors found that many coronary patients said that they had been burned out at some time in their lives. Therefore, the question, "Have you ever been burned out?" was included in the study. The cohort was formed by 3,877 men, aged 39 to 65, and was followed up on for 4.2 years. Among the men who were free of coronary heart disease (CHD) at screening, 59 subjects experienced a fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction during follow-up. Those who endorsed the above question when they entered the study were found to be at increased risk for myocardial infarction when the authors controlled for age, blood pressure, smoking, and cholesterol; RR (relative risk) = 2.13; p less than .01. About one third of those who were exhausted before myocardial infarction had been burned out at some time in their lives, chi 2 = 7.09, p less than .01. The data indicate that a state of exhaustion before myocardial infarction is often a reactivation of earlier periods of breakdown in adaptation to stress.


The purpose of this pragmatic action research study was to explore our re-conceptualization efforts in preparing pre-service teachers to guide the inquiry process with formative assessment and subsequently use the understandings to improve our teacher preparation program. The process was guided by two questions: to what extent did course re-conceptualization efforts lead to a more informed understanding of formative assessment by pre-service teachers and did strategies enacted in the re-conceptualized methods course foster or hinder pre-service teachers' understanding of formative assessment? Data from this study support the following findings: (1) a substantial pre- to post-methods course difference was realized in the pre-service teachers' understanding of formative assessment; (2) explicit and contextualized approaches to formative assessment in the methods course led to increased understandings by pre-service teachers; (3) an implicit approach led to improvements in course structure but did not foster pre-service teachers' understanding of the reflexive nature of formative assessment; and (4) a field-based case study on elementary science teaching both hindered and fostered our efforts with formative assessment. This study yields implications for pre-service teacher education on formative assessment. To foster pre-service teachers' knowledge and skills, we suggest explicit instruction on formative assessment combined with case studies, field experiences, and ongoing reflection. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 402–421, 2010


Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina, is a constraint to durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) production, and landraces are reported to be an important source of resistance. Two Portuguese landraces (Aus26582 and Aus26579) showed resistance against durum-specific P. triticina races and were crossed with a susceptible landrace (Bansi) to develop recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations. Monogenic segregation for leaf rust resistance was observed among both RIL populations. The underlying locus, temporarily named LrAW2, was mapped to the short arm of chromosome 6B in the Aus26582/Bansi population and five DArTseq markers cosegregated with LrAW2. Simple sequence repeat markers sun683 and sun684, developed from the chromosome survey sequence (CSS) contig 6BS_2963854, identified through BlastN search of cosegregating DArTseq markers in the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium database, cosegregated with LrAW2. Comparison of the CSS contig 6BS_2963854-based sequences amplified from parental genotypes led to the development of marker sunKASP_60, which also showed close linkage with LrAW2. Markers sun684 and sunKASP_60 showed close association with LrAW2 in both RIL populations. The amplification of LrAW2-specific products by linked markers in Aus26582, Aus26579, and Guayacan (Lr61) indicated that LrAW2 may be Lr61. The alternate amplicon or haplotype produced with LrAW2-linked markers in Australian durum cultivars demonstrated their effectiveness in marker-assisted selection.


In this paper, we are interested in wireless sensor networks trying to collect data from all the nodes to a "sink"-node as long as possible. We present a simple distributed algorithm which compute several Connected Dominating Sets (CDS) so that each sensor belong to the fewest possible number of CDS. The results we will show seem promising and may also be used in order to increase the reliability of the network.


The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of three concentrations (3, 6, and 9%) of forage turnip (Raphanus sativus) and physic nut (Jatropha curcas) cakes on dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin, acid detergent insoluble nitrogen neutral detergent insoluble nitrogen contents, in vitro dry matter digestibility, pH values and concentrations of N-NH3 in elephant grass silages. It was used an entirely randomized design in factorial arrangement [(2×3)+1]. Experimental PVC silos were used and ensiled material was kept for 62 days. The addition of cakes increased the dry matter contents (P<0.05). The fibrous fractions were reduced (P<0.05) with the inclusion of cakes during the grass ensilage and the CP contents increased (P<0.05). The forage turnip cake provided the same pH and N-NH3 values in ideal levels and the physic nut, added to 9%, increased those values (P<0.05). IVDMD was reduced (P<0.05) when the cakes were added. These co-products can be used in small amounts for elephant grass ensilage in order to provide improvement in chemical and fermentation characteristics of the silages. Nevertheless, physic nut cake shows limitations for its use in animal feeding due to the presence of toxic compounds, making necessary studies for their identification and elimination.


The present paper proposes some hints to set up a number of prototypical vowels as acoustic-perceptual targets (APT). APTs are defined using theoretical considerations and the extensive use of an articulatory model for exploring the acoustic and perceptual space. This paper is a revisit of the notion of Cardinal Vowels, which were mainly described in articulatory terms. Our approach avoids the problem of the articulatory system's compensatory abilities to attain a given APT with different articulatory strategies. The availability of well-defined APTs makes it possible to characterize both acoustically and articulatorily subtle but audible deviations between the different renditions of some of the sounds. Moreover, the proposed notation has the potential to highlight the acoustic characteristics common to all phonemes (vowels, semi-vowels, consonants) that share a similar place of constriction, on the one hand, and coarticulatory effects (such as palatalization, labialization and velarization), on the other hand.


Knowledge of business process analysis instruments and methods enhance the possibility to quantify process management decisions and to achieve organizations' goals. While the amount of research on business process analysis and evaluation increases, there is a need to outline the intellectual structure of scientific research as embodied in business process scientific literature in order to define the streams of research. The purpose of this paper is to present actionable knowledge of business process performance analysis and evaluation, based on the framework, integrating business process research domains and levels of analysis. In order to establish a framework, integrating the domains of business process analysis, the research questions were formulated and the analysis of the scientific literature was carried out applying the method of structured literature review. Literature review was based on a research papers that were available through the EBSCO host, Academic search complete databases. References were searched using the keywords that are formed as combinations of words: business process, analysis, performance, evaluation. Research contributions, addressing the business process analysis topic, were selected by the keywords within the papers' title, abstract and in the keywords specified in the article. After the initial evaluation of 677 papers, 62 articles were selected for in-depth analysis. This paper contributes to the business process management research by proposing the framework to integrate various business process analysis research streams and highlighting exploratory potential areas for future inquiry.


Background/Aims The most appropriate treatment for acute gastric variceal bleeding (GVB) is currently endoscopic gastric variceal obturation (GVO) using Histoacryl®. However, the secondary prophylactic efficacy of beta-blocker (BB) after GVO for the first acute episode of GVB has not yet been established. The secondary prophylactic efficacy of BB after GVO for the first acute episode of GVB was evaluated in this study. Methods Ninety-three patients at Soonchunhyang University Hospital with acute GVB who received GVO using Histoacryl® were enrolled between June 2001 and March 2010. Among these, 42 patients underwent GVO alone (GVO group) and 51 patients underwent GVO with adjuvant BB therapy (GVO+BB group). This study was intended for patients in whom a desired heart rate was reached. The rates of rebleeding-free survival and overall survival were calculated for the two study groups using Kaplan-Meyer analysis and Cox's proportional-hazards model. Results The follow-up period after the initial eradication of gastric varices was 18.14±25.22 months (mean±SD). During the follow-up period, rebleeding occurred in 10 (23.8%) and 21 (41.2%) GVO and GVO+BB patients, respectively, and 39 patients died [23 (54.8%) in the GVO group and 16 (31.4%) in the GVO+BB group]. The mean rebleeding-free survival time did not differ significantly between the GVO and GVO+BB groups (65.40 and 37.40 months, respectively; P=0.774), whereas the mean overall survival time did differ (52.54 and 72.65 months, respectively; P=0.036). Conclusions Adjuvant BB therapy after GVO using Histoacryl® for the first acute episode of GVB could decrease the mortality rate relative to GVO alone. However, adjuvant BB therapy afforded no benefit for the secondary prevention of rebleeding in GV.


BACKGROUND
Studies have shown that thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) is associated with increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between TAI and embryo quality in euthyroid women undergoing in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI).

METHODS
This retrospective cohort study included euthyroid infertile women with and without TAI (defined as a serum thyroperoxidase concentration ≥ 34 IU/mL or thyroglobulin concentration ≥ 115.0 IU/mL) who underwent their first complete IVF/ICSI treatment cycles at a tertiary referral center between April 2016 and February 2022. Embryo quality measurements and clinical outcomes were compared between women with (TAI-positive) and without TAI (TAI-negative). The high-quality cleavage embryo rate and cumulative live birth rate (cLBR) were the primary outcomes.

RESULTS
A total of 499 TAI-positive and 2,945 TAI-negative women were included in this study, and their mean (standard deviation) ages were 31.6 (4.5) and 30.9 (4.4) years, respectively (p = 0.001). The overall analysis showed no significant differences between TAI-negative and TAI-positive women in the high-quality cleavage embryo rate (n/N: 11,139/22,553 vs. 1,971/3,820; adjusted rate: 52.8% vs. 51.6%, p = 0.66) and cLBR (1,917/2,945 vs. 327/499; 53.4% vs. 56.2%, p = 0.31). Moreover, no significant differences were observed between TAI-negative and TAI-positive women in the rates of oocyte retrieval (35,078/51,978 vs. 5,853/8,628; 69.1% vs. 67.4%; p = 0.65), fertilization (23,067/34,197 vs. 3,902/5,728; 61.1% vs. 62.2%, p = 0.34), embryo utilization (18,233/22,553 vs. 3,156/3,820; 80.2% vs. 80.8%, p = 0.61), blastocyst formation (7,051/13,721 vs. 1,192/2,330; 48.5% vs. 48.4%, p = 0.97) and high-quality blastocysts (4,819/13,721 vs. 799/2,330; 29.9% vs. 29.4%, p = 0.73). Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between TAI-negative and TAI-positive women in the clinical pregnancy rate (1,524/2,808 vs. 248/482; 46.7% vs. 44.6%, p = 0.40), early pregnancy loss rate (156/1,524 vs. 23/248; 13.5% vs. 11.5%, p = 0.44) and live birth rate (1,338/2,808 vs. 218/482; 37.4% vs. 36.0%, p = 0.55) of the first transfer cycle.

CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated that TAI in women was not associated with embryo quality or the cLBR following IVF/ICSI. Future large prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.


Citation Chu, Xiang-qiang. et al. "Low-temperature dynamics of water confined in a hydrophobic mesoporous material. Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters.


One dimensional nanofibers of organic and inorganic materials have been used in filters, optoelectronic devices, sensors etc. It is difficult to obtain ultra fine fibers of inorganic materials having lengths in the order of millimeter as they tend to break during formation due to thermal and other mechanical stresses. In this study, we have investigated the mechanism to prevent the defect formation and the breaking of CuO nanofibers by using optimized heat flow rates. CuO nanofibers were obtained by heat treating the poly(vinyl acetate) PVA composite fibers formed by electrospinning. The morphology and structural characteristics of prepared samples were investigated by Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the morphology of the composite and annealed nanofibers could be influenced by the concentration of the polymer content. A lower concentration favors the formation of defects along the fiber and the number of defects reduces when the concentration is increased. Copyright © 2013 VBRI press.


Abstract The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact in almost all areas of human activity around the world with education being unquestionably affected as well. Universities and Vocational Training Institutes have been forced to close their doors in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. To ensure pedagogical continuity, distance learning courses have been recommended as immediate alternatives. The purpose of this contribution is to investigate how students of Vocational Training Institutes perceive distance education and effectiveness of online foreign language teaching. To this end, a quantitative research based on an online survey was conducted, which included 206, students of five (5) public Vocational Training Institutes and different specialties. The questions were intended to examine the participants' views on the use of platforms and the collaborative tools, the utility of the educational materials and activities proposed, the learning outcomes in the target language, and, the benefits and limitations of distance synchronous language learning.


Twenty years of long-term maize monoculture that began in the 1990s have resulted in the heavily maizedependent economy of the northwestern mountainous region of Vietnam, especially in Yen Chau, the core production area. Before 2014, maize accounted for over 70 % of the agricultural area. The continuous decrease in maize production value has strongly affected the Tai Dam community in Yen Chau and led to the replacement of various livelihood activities. This contributed to a major shrinkage of the maize area by 28.2 % by the end of 2017. This study aims to investigate the determinants of the rapid development of different livelihood trends in Lac Ken, Suoi Bun, and Luong Me villages. A detailed social and statistical investigation was conducted of 198 households in 2016 and 220 households in 2017. The findings of this study indicate that small differences in cultivated land areas and infrastructure facilities have fostered the formation of and changes in livelihood structures. The areal withdrawal of maize occurred concurrently with the increasing trend of fruit tree and sugarcane cultivation. Neverbefore-seen migrant work unexpectedly became a promising livelihood activity for local farmers. Differences in internal and external forces are believed to be the driving factors behind the new forms of livelihood activities.


In this paper we demonstrate that modulator sequences upstream of the enhancer of the major immediate-early promoter of human cytomegalovirus exert a differential effect on the level of transcription in a variety of cells and that this region has the capacity to interact with specific nuclear protein. Depending on the cell type, these modulator sequences increased or decreased transcriptional activation from the IE1 gene promoter-enhancer. The cell lines identified in this report should be useful to study the molecular mechanism of cell-specific transcriptional repression and activation exerted by the major immediate-early promoter upstream region.


"Imaging of the Spine" - an exhaustive, full-color reference - combines the ease of use of an atlas with the comprehensive coverage of a definitive reference work, in print and online. Renowned experts Drs. Thomas P. Naidich, Mauricio Castillo, Charles Raybaud, James G. Smirniotopoulos, Soonmee Cha, and Spyros Kollias cover every aspect of spine imaging, including the latest diagnostic modalities, interventional techniques, and image-guided procedures through over 1300 digital quality illustrations.


Motor and sensory nerve conduction studies have been performed on the peripheral nerves in the upper and lower limbs of 30 control subjects, and 36 subjects with leprosy from the Aboriginal population of the Northern Territory of Australia. Impairment of conduction was demonstrated in the vast majority of clinically abnormal nerves, and a large proportion of nerves which appeared clinically to be uninvolved. In a third group of subjects, abnormal conduction was demonstrated in a significant number of nerves which were considered to be clinically enlarged but in whom the diagnosis was initially in doubt. The majority of these patients were subsequently proven to have leprosy. It is concluded that nerve conduction studies are of considerable value in the diagnosis and management of leprosy.


We consider a decentralized multisensor estimation problem where L sensor nodes observe noisy versions of a possibly correlated random source. The sensors amplify and forward their observations over a fading coherent multiple access channel (MAC) to a fusion center (FC). The FC is equipped with a large array of N antennas, and adopts a minimum mean square error (MMSE) approach for estimating the source. We optimize the amplification factor (or equivalently transmission power) at each sensor node in two different scenarios: 1) with the objective of total power minimization subject to mean square error (MSE) of source estimation constraint, and 2) with the objective of minimizing MSE subject to total power constraint. For this purpose, we apply an asymptotic approximation based on the massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) favorable propagation condition (when L ≪ N). We use convex optimization techniques to solve for the optimal sensor power allocation in 1) and 2). In 1), we show that the total power consumption at the sensors decays as 1/N, replicating the power savings obtained in Massive MIMO mobile communications literature. Through numerical studies, we also illustrate the superiority of the proposed optimal power allocation methods over uniform power allocation.


Two methods of constructing binary constant-weight codes from (1) codes over GF(q) and (2) constant-weight codes over GF(q) are presented. Several classes of binary optimum constant-weight codes are derived from these methods. In general, we show that binary optimum constant-weight codes, which achieve the Johnson bound, can be constructed from optimum codes over GF(q) which achieve the Plotkin bound. Finally, several classes of optimum constant-weight codes over GF(q) are constructed.


Background. Severe bronchiolitis caused by respiratory sincitial virus (RSV) has been associated with recurrent wheezing in the first years of life. The role of other respiratory viruses is less known. Objectives. To evaluate the mid-term outcome of bronchiolitis caused by RSV, rinovirus, metapneumovirus (HMPV) or bocavirus (HBoV) and compare it with children who had not experienced bronchiolitis. Methods. We included the children of at least 4 years of age, hospitalized for bronchiolitis caused by RSV, rinovirus, HMPV or HBoV (single infections) from 2003-04 to 2008-2009 at Hospital Severo Ochoa (Leganes, Spain). We collected clinicoepidemiological variables and performed prick-test to inhaled allergens and spirometry in the bronchiolitis group. The control group was telephonically interviewed. Results. We included 144 cases (28 HMPV, 70 RSV, 36 rinovirus and 10 HBoV) and 144 controls. RSV-negative cases had more hospital admissions for respiratory conditions (17% vs 30% p=0.075), persistent asthmatic symptoms (7% vs 25% p= 0.003) and asthmatic exacerbations in the last year (22% vs 40% p=0.023), compared to RSV-positive children. The frequency of recurrent wheezing, wheezing between the first and fifth year after bronchiolitis, asthma and use of controller medication were similar between the cases and significantly higher than in the control group. There were no differences between the cases regarding prematurity, day-care attendance, atopic dermatitis, allergic sensitization and pulmonary function. Conclusions. Respiratory symptoms in the 5 years after a severe non-RSV bronchiolitis are significantly more frequent than among the general population and at least as frequent as in RSV-bronchiolitis.


We demonstrate that light-induced heat pulses of different duration and energy can write skyrmions in a broad range of temperatures and magnetic field in FeGe. Using a combination of camera-rate and pump-probe cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy, we directly resolve the spatio-temporal evolution of the magnetization ensuing optical excitation. The skyrmion lattice was found to maintain its structural properties during the laser-induced demagnetization, and its recovery to the initial state happened in the sub-{\mu}s to {\mu}s range, depending on the cooling rate of the system.


Introduction The Logistic Clinical Syntax score, developed by combining clinical variables with the Syntax score, has been shown to perform better than the Syntax score alone in predicting 1-year outcomes after PCI. However, the ability of this score to predict long-term survival is unknown. We aimed to update this score to predict 3-year survival after PCI and compare its performance with the Syntax score. Methods Patient level data (n = 6,304) from seven contemporary PCI trials (SIRTAX, ARTS-II, STRATEGY, MULTI-STRATEGY, LEADERS, SYNTAX, and RESOLUTE) were analysed. We revised the overall risk and the predictor effects in the core model (Syntax score, age, creatinine clearance and left ventricular ejection fraction) using Cox regression analysis to predict mortality at 3-year. We also developed a core-plus model by combining core model with additional independent predictors of 3-year mortality i.e. diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease and body mass index. Results There were 399 deaths over 3-year follow-up (cumulative risk 6.3%).The revised Clinical Syntax models showed better discriminative ability than the anatomical Syntax score for prediction of 3-year mortality after PCI (c-index: Syntax score 0.61; core model 0.71; and core-plus model 0.73). The core-plus model particularly performed better in differentiating low and intermediate risk groups.Cross validation confirmed the good agreement between the observed and predicted risks.The final model is presented as a score chart and the sum scores can be used to predict risk of mortality (Figure 1). Abstract 68 Figure 1 Conclusion The Clinical Syntax plus score outperforms the Syntax score to predict 3-year mortality.


This paper describes an execution unit capable of computing the Paeth predictor, as used in the portable network graphics (PNG) standard. PNG is a rather new, lossless compression method for real-world pictures. It features five prediction schemes, of which the modified Paeth predictor is the most computational intensive. This paper focuses on a hardware implementation of the Paeth predictor and a hardware Paeth codec capable of computing three different quantities: the Paeth predictor of three inputs, the difference of the current pixel and the Paeth predictor of the other inputs (coding), and the sum of the coded input and the Paeth predictor of the other three inputs (decoding). The proposed Paeth codec takes two cycles, where a cycle is comparable to an general purpose ALU cycle. Depending on the mode of operation, the proposed mechanism produces the predictor or the (de/en)-coded pixel value.


There is a growing trend in hospitals throughout the world to incorporate mobile phones and other wireless technology to offer more efficient, cost effective, and higher quality healthcare. Misunderstanding of mobile phone systems, electromagnetic interference with medical devices, and available management solutions, however, has led to a wide range of inconsistent hospital policies. Recent reviews and commentaries on the subject have provided inconsistent and in some cases factually incorrect information that confuses the issue. At one extreme, unmanaged use of mobile phones in areas where life-critical medical devices are in operation can result in atypical situations that may place patients at risk. At the other extreme, overly-restrictive policies based upon speculation may deny benefits by acting as an obstacle to technology. Overly-restrictive policies may also not address growing and legitimate communication needs of patients and visitors in times of crisis. While it may not be feasible for hospitals to manage every mobile phone handset that is randomly brought into their facility without certain limits on use in areas where life-critical devices are commonly in operation, restrictions are not usually necessary throughout the entire facility. Restrictive policies are also better facilitated when easily accessible areas are designated where mobile phone use is encouraged. Controlled mobile phone systems for use by doctors and staff for hospital-specific communication, by contrast, can operate compatibly throughout the entire hospital facility with appropriate system design and management, even in sensitive areas, and such systems have already been deployed in a number of hospitals throughout the U.S.


In this paper, a task-oriented grasp performance criterion for robot hands is discussed. The objectives of grasp criteria proposed in the past are stable grasping and the tasks that require adequate forces and moments on the grasped object. These criteria do not mainly consider the other physical quantities such as positions and velocities on the grasped object and the mechanical property of robot hands. We propose a grasp criterion for various kinds of tasks that evaluates the feasibility of the task with considering hand mechanisms and hand configurations. Our proposed method determine the grasping position by considering the efficiency of grasped object's position, velocity, and force. As a result, this criterion decides the grasping position and the hand configuration. Additionally, we have shown that our proposed criterion can be applied to the design problem of robot hands.


At Hewlett-Packard, we have had visible divisional software reuse efforts since the mid-1980s. In 1990, we initiated a multi-faceted corporate reuse program to gather information about reuse from within HP and from other companies. As we studied the existing reuse programs, we discovered that certain issues were poorly understood, and as a consequence, mistakes were made in starting and running certain programs at HP and elsewhere. Our corporate reuse program focused on packaging best-practice information and guidelines to avoid common pitfalls. We also developed technology transfer and educational processes to spread this information and enhance reuse practice within the company. In 1992, we launched a multi-disciplinary research program to investigate and develop better methods for domain-specific, reuse-based software engineering. We have learned that for large-scale reuse to work, the problems to be overcome are mostly non-technical.<<ETX>>


to cut to the chase. Lift-up flaps reveal tidy little career bios (ostensibly Ella's notes) for each inventor, and longer double spreads examine the work of James West (microphones), Frederick Jones (refrigeration), Percy Julian (cortisone), and Garrett Morgan (firefighters' safety hood) in more detail. Boos and Ford's illustrations for the framing story veer to the garish, while portraits of the inventors themselves, and several line-and-watercolor spreads of sequential art, are more restrained and successful. A list of books, websites, and videos is also included. EB


Objective To explore the experiences and lessons learnt by the study team and participants of the Workplace-based HIV self-testing among Men trial during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. Design An explorative qualitative study comprising two virtual focus group discussions (FGDs) with 12 trial team members and 32 in-depth participant interviews (N=44). Data were collected via telephone calls for in-depth interviews or Zoom for FGDs and manually analysed by inductive content analysis. Setting Fourteen private security companies in two Uganda districts. Participants Members of the clinical trial study team, and men working in private security companies who undertook workplace-based HIV testing. Results The key themes for participants experiences were: 'challenges in accessing HIV treatment and care, and prevention services', 'misinformation' and 'difficulty participating in research activities'. The effects on HIV treatment and prevention resulted from; repercussions of the COVID-19 restrictions, participants fear of coinfection and negative experiences at health facilities. The difficulty in participating in research activities arose from: fear of infection with COVID-19 for the participants who tested HIV negative, transport difficulties, limited post-test psychosocial support and lack of support to initiate pre-exposure prophylaxis. The key study team reflections focused on the management of the clinical trial, effects of the local regulations and government policies and the need to adhere to ethical principles of research. Conclusions Findings highlight the need to organise different forms of HIV support for persons living with HIV during a pandemic. Additionally, the national research regulators and ethics committees or review boards are strongly urged to develop policies and guidelines for the continuity of research and clinical trials in the event of future shocks. Furthermore, this study calls on the appropriate government agencies to ensure public and researchers' preparedness through continuing education and support. Trial registration number Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04164433; Pre-results.


Crystal structure data represent one of the most important resources for developing scientifi c knowledge and should be archived in ways that make them easy to access and preserve. The American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database currently contains every crystal structure published in American Mineralogist, The Canadian Mineralogist, European Journal of Mineralogy, and Physics and Chemistry of Minerals. It is maintained by the American and Canadian mineralogical societies and is freely accessible through the Internet. The database consists of the data, server-side search and retrieval software and user-side analysis software. It is managed through a partnership of PHP and MySQL programming that provide dynamic construction of Web pages and search procedures. The purpose of this paper is to describe the database and its implementation and to illustrate how to construct similar small, interactive Internet databases.


Studies of entrepreneurship in nineteenth century Japan typically focus on the activities of leading industrialists who founded large, family-owned conglomerates known as zaibatsu. These individuals do not conform well with the archetypal Schumpeterian entrepreneur, but this discrepancy may be more an issue of context than behavior. However, due to a lack of documentation for smaller independent firms, it is difficult to make this comparison. To broaden the scope of analysis, I use data drawn from corporate genealogies, which provide a more complete cross-section of entrepreneurial activity. This dataset of firm entry during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) covers a wide range of industries, allowing me to analyze aspects of Japan's early industrialization that heretofore have relied on anecdotal or case evidence. I also propose a game-theoretic model of entry appropriate for entrepreneurs in late developing economies that exploit the qualitative nature of these data.


We describe four classical undergraduate physics experiments that were done with everyday objects and low-cost sensors: mechanical oscillations, transmittance of light through a slab of matter, beam deformation under load, and thermal relaxation due to heat loss. We used these experiments to train students for experimental homework projects but they could be used and expanded in a variety of contexts: lecture demonstrations, low cost students' labs, science projects, distance learning courses...


Iron sulphide nanocrystalline (FeS NCs) may have significant potential for applications in many areas. Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) method is used to deposit mackinawite FeS NCs film on glass substrate at 335 C in this study. The film was characterized by vibrational (FTIR and Raman) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-vis spectra. The observed diffraction peaks at 2θ angles 28.12° and 50.45° correspond to the lattice planes (103) and (112) respectively. The crystallite size was calculated to be around 10 nm by using the Scherrer equation with the peak corresponding to the (112) plane. Raman spectrum revealed four peaks placed in the region of 200-750 cm due to mackinawite FeS phase. FTIR spectrum revealed two peaks at 649 cm and 827 cm that are attributed to stretching frequency of FeS. Optical band gap of the FeS film was determined to be 2.52 eV. Refractive index, extinction coefficient and optical conductivity of this film were determined using transmittance and reflectance spectra.


The transition-metal disulfide (MoS2) is a fantastic material used in diverse fields of applications. Ionic diffusivity and interfacial exchange current density are model parameters that play a crucial role for the optimization of device performances, which are not clearly known for this material. The additive-free dense film of MoS2 has been deposited by a facile electrodeposition approach and characterized by structural, morphological, and compositional analyses. This report provides the characterization of interfacial charge-transfer kinetics and diffusion of lithium ion in the MoS2 films as a function of lithium concentration at 25 °C temperature. The interfacial exchange current density is observed to be varied barely, ∼0.069-0.066 mA/cm2, with the change of lithium content, from x = 0.01-0.25, in Li xMoS2. The ionic diffusivity of the film is found to be in the range of ∼3 × 10-11-10-11 cm2 s-1 and does not vary much with the measured lithium concentration window. The electrochemical performances of the material are limited by the transport of lithium ion and interfacial kinetics over the measured state of lithium content. A submicron-size particle with high surface area is needed to be used as an electrode of the material for practical C-rates.


A membrane can be represented by an energy landscape that solutes or colloids must cross. A model accounting for the momentum and the mass balances on the membrane energy landscape establishes a new way of writing for the Darcy law. The counter pressure in the Darcy law is no longer written as the result of an osmotic pressure difference but rather as a function of colloid-membrane interactions. Physically, the colloid-membrane interactions are slowing down the colloid velocity thus inducing a relative fluid-colloid motion that in turn leads to the counter pressure. The ability of the model to describe the physics of the filtration is discussed in detail. This model is solved on a simplified energy landscape to derive analytical relationships that describe the selectivity and the counter pressure from ab-initio operating conditions. The model shows that the stiffness of the energy landscape has an impact on the process efficiency: a gradual increase in interactions (like with hourglass pore shape) can reduce the separation energetic cost. It allows the introduction of a new paradigm to increase membrane efficiency: the accumulation that is inherent to the separation must be distributed across the membrane.


Introduction . This article reviews main steps of the transfer of analytical procedures following the recommendations of the Russian and foreign regulatory bodies. Each step provides thorough evaluation of an analytical procedure, checks its current validation status and readiness of the receiving laboratory. Each step of the process is crucial for a reliable transfer. The article contains examples of formatting of analytical procedures to be revalidated, characteristics of test samples, reference standards of impurities. The authors described procedures to be transferred depending on the dosage form. Text . The aim of this article is to review possible types of the transfer, including a transfer waiver, and main components of a transfer protocol following the information from the Russian and foreign literature sources. Conclusion . Reliability and reproducibility of analytical method data are crucial as they form the basis for a decision-making process. Therefore a procedure should be capable of producing consistent data.


Four cases of people infected with the Zika virus have been confirmed in the United Kingdom since the start of this year, experts have told MPs.

These cases may have come to light because of the recent focus on a large rise in infections in Brazil, experts told MPs on the House of Commons science and technology committee during a one-off evidence session on 10 February looking at the Zika virus.

Since last October, Brazil has reported around 1.5 million cases of the Zika mosquito-borne virus and 4000 suspected cases of microcephaly—the condition that leads to babies being born with underdeveloped brains—and fears have arisen about a possible link between the two. On 1 February, the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency over the virus.1

One of the public health experts giving evidence to the committee said that the United Kingdom had recorded a …


The activities of extreme right political groups and their relationship with cases of victimisation of so-called 'others' are the main focus of this article. Following the rise of racism, violence, and hate speech towards minority groups based on people's national, ethnic, religious, sexual and political identities, the article examines the engagement in violence or incitement of violence in the case of two political groups: Golden Dawn from Greece and the English Defence League from the UK. From the 'national demonstrations' of EDL, a street movement, to the 'Committee of National Memory' of GD, a political party that emerged as a third force in the national parliament, the challenge of how to perceive the activism of such groups in institutionalised democracies is highlighted. Based on the analysis of the two cases it is argued that with the idea of the nation at the centre of their construction, the phenomenon of such groups sheds light on a contemporary and popularised version of hate crimes spreading across Europe.


This paper analyzes the effects on the growth rate and economic welfare if the social planner engages in selfish behavior. These effects are dis-played in a model of endogenous growth with productive governmental spending. The budget maximizing social planner determines how the public input is to be financed. The integration of selfish behavior by the social planner into a dynamic context combines the endogenous growth theory with the public choice theory. It will be shown that selfish behavior by the planner does not automatically lead to a sub-optimal supply level of the public good with an ensuing welfare loss. Although maximizing his personal utility, the planner may realize an efficient provision. Rather, the consequences of selfish behavior on welfare significantly depend on the formulation of the planner's personal preferences.


It is a well known fact that user-chosen passwords are somewhat predictable: by using tools such as dictionaries or probabilistic models, attackers and password recovery tools can drastically reduce the number of attempts needed to guess a password. Quite surprisingly, however, existing literature does not provide a satisfying answer to the following question: given a number of guesses, what is the probability that a state-of-the-art attacker will be able to break a password? To answer the former question, we compare and evaluate the effectiveness of currently known attacks using various datasets of known passwords. We find that a "diminishing returns" principle applies: in the absence of an enforced password strength policy, weak passwords are common; on the other hand, as the attack goes on, the probability that a guess will succeed decreases by orders of magnitude. Even extremely powerful attackers won't be able to guess a substantial percentage of the passwords. The result of this work will help in evaluating the security of authentication means based on user- chosen passwords, and our methodology for estimating password strength can be used as a basis for creating more effective proactive password checkers for users and security auditing tools for administrators.


. Authors are developing precedent approach to solving the problem of optimal decision making. The method they develop makes it possible to make the most adequate precedent selection in conditions where the object under consideration is not fully described, and cannot be estimated unambiguously. The originality of the approach offered by authors is in its focus on functioning with varying set of features (attributes). It is important for different applications, but it is especially important while supporting physician's decision making, who often has a lack of time and resources. The method presumes the need in differentiating possible object membership that may be done by widening of its feature space. This task may in its turn be reduced to investigating of feature's roles and their combinations (as in differential diagnosis and semiotics in medicine). In order to determine in what way should one retrieve missing features the authors offer to use the following conceptions: range, persistent feature combination, frequency of occurrence, availability of a feature, and object category. This work is supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (projects 15-01-02362 and 15-07-02355).


Because output of multi-code CDMA system adapted high speed data transmission becoming multi-level system use linear amplifier in output stage and complex output signal. Therefore, Multi-Code CDMA system has shortcoming of high price, high complexity etc. Binary CDMA technology that allow fetters in existing CDMA technology to supplement this shortcoming proposed. In binary CDMA system When correlator process high speed data, bottle-neck phenomenon is happened on synchronization acquisition process, it is very important parameter. Because existent correlator must there be advantage that power consumption is small but flow addition of several stages to receive correlation's value, the processing speed has disadvantage because the operation amount is much. Therefore in this paper, proposed correlator has characteristic such as data is able to high speed processing, chip area is independent and power consumption is constant in structure in binary CDMA system.


This paper describes a dynamic service differentiation scheme based on access category (AC)'s traffic flow for QoS provisioning in the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN). The proposed scheme adjusts contention window sizes by considering the contributions of each traffic instead of each node on the network contention rate. There have been research efforts to improve IEEE 802.11 EDCF. However, these approaches have some limitations in that they do not consider that how much each AC traffic affects the packet collision rate. We propose a novel scheme based on traffic flow named T-EDCF. The difference between T-EDCF and existing schemes is that the former considers traffic categories' effects on the throughput, jitter, and delay of a node. When there are a lot of flow and nodes in WLAN, T- EDCF outperforms other schemes proposed for enhancing the IEEE 802. lie.


Abstract The evidences for and the mechanism of a negative curvature bias in the Florida Current off Miami are presented. The evidences consist of a re-examination of the data and tests by Schmitz (1969) and Stubbs (1971). Three different approaches are used in re-examining the first work, and all three clearly give a negative curvature bias. In revealing consistent evidence for a supergeostrophic flow, the second work supports the same bias. Thus bush works indicate a persistent tendency for fast, inertial flows to meander even when within a channel. Apparently tiggered by and hence tied to the channel constriction off Miami, the curvature mechanism involves a divergence with magnitude an order larger than the geostrophic divergence, and correspondingly large inertial torques in both the cross- and downstream directions.


We investigate the rudiments of Riemannian geometry on orbit spaces M/G for isometric proper actions of Lie groups on Riemannian manifolds. Minimal geodesic arcs are length minimising curves in the metric space M/G and they can hit strata which are more singular only at the end points. This is phrased as convexity result. The geodesic spray, viewed as a (strata-preserving) vector field on TM/G, leads to the notion of geodesics in M/G which are projections under M → M/G of geodesics which are normal to the orbits. It also leads to 'ballistic curves' which are projections of the other geodesics. In examples (Hermitian and symmetric matrices, and more generally polar representations) we compute their equations by singular symplectic reductions and obtain generalizations of Calogero-Moser systems with spin. Table of contents


The objectives of this study were to describe the nature and distribution of microscopic lung lesions in feedlot cattle with interstitial pneumonia and to determine whether bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) antigen was present in affected lungs. Lungs with macroscopic lesions compatible with interstitial pneumonia were collected from cattle from 5 west-central Saskatchewan feedlots that had been on feed for greater than 60 days at the time of death. Interstitial pneumonia was most consistently present in dorsal portions of caudal lung lobes and in 21/28 cases (75%) had a multifocal to coalescing distribution. All 28 lungs exhibited hyaline membrane formation and some degree of type II alveolar epithelial cell hyperplasia, consistent with an acute to subacute duration. Twenty-one of 28 cases (75%) had concurrent bronchopneumonia in at least 1 lung lobe; bronchopneumonia was grossly evident in 9/28 cases (32%). Chronic bronchitis or bronchiolitis was present in at least 1 section in 12/28 (43%) of the lungs, and 25/28 (89%) had at least 1 focus of bronchiolitis fibrosa obliterans. Bronchopneumonia and bronchiolitis fibrosa obliterans were markedly less common in 10 sets of bovine lungs obtained from an abattoir. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus antigen was demonstrated using immunohistochemistry in 2/28 cases and was associated with bronchiolar epithelial necrosis that was more severe than the bronchiolar lesions in the BRSV antigen-negative cases. Interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle in this study was more frequently associated with suppurative bronchopneumonia and bronchiolitis fibrosa obliterans than with BRSV infection.


The objective of this study was to evaluate quality parameters of magistral topical solutions containing minoxidil (A, B and C), comparing the results with the ones obtained for the industrial formulation. Organoleptic tests, evaluation of the pH and density, centrifuge test, drug content determination, comparison of indicated dosages and in vitro follicular penetration of minoxidil were performed. Regarding the organoleptic properties, differences in color and viscosity were observed between the magistral (composed of minoxidil sulfate) and the industrial formulations (composed of minoxidil base). For pH values, the magistral solutions presented considerably more acidic pH, compared to the industrial sample. For the density test, the samples with the highest ethanol percentages (B and C) presented lower density. In the centrifuge test, none of the samples showed changes. Considering the drug content test, only the industrial sample and the magistral sample C showed drug percentage within the expected (90-110%), indicating lack of correction factor determination by the magistral pharmacies. Furthermore, it was observed that the dosage indicated by the magistral pharmacies do not correspond to the dose indicated by the industry, being significantly lower. All topical solutions tested presented hair follicle penetration of minoxildil, without statistical difference. The results indicate that there is a failure in the magistral pharmacies regarding the production and the indication of dosage of minoxidil topical solutions.


Many safe and effective treatments are available to the acne sufferer. The clinician is encouraged to offer treatment to the adolescent with a face full of pimples, even if not asked for by the patient, as psychosocial underpinnings may be present but not obvious on examination. Obvious physical benefits will result, but psychosocial improvements also may occur.


Introduction: Maximus dental implants are used when there are limitations like inadequate mesiodistal space. This study was carried out to clinically and radiographically investigate Maximus implants which were installed in the regions of maxillary lateral and mandibular incisors using immediate nonfunctional loading. Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial study, approved by ethical committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 21 implants for 12 patients (2 male and 10 female) between 18 and 42 years old were inserted. Clinical and radiographic measurements were recorded in recall sessions and analyzed statistically using t.test and ANOVA. Results: After one year of examination, none of the implants failed and the mean bone resorption was 1.06±0.90. The means for pocket depth and plaque index were 1.62±0.3 and 14.57±2.56, respectively. The mean of gingival index after 6 months was 0.21±0.36 and it reached 0 after one year. The mean of bleeding index after 6 month was 0.03±0.085 and after one year it was equal to 0. Conclusion: Considering the very high success rate and low bone resorption around Maximus implants with immediate nonefunctional loading during one year of examination, it appears that using low diameter implants for edentulous regions of small bone width or mesiodistal space is a suitable treatment.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA

3030

Aberrant glycosylation is commonly seen in lung cancer, suggesting a considerable alteration in glycosyltransferase activities occurring upon malignant transformation. Previously, we had investigated the expression of mRNA of α1,3/4-fucosyl-transferase (Fuc-T) enzyme families (Fuc-T III, IV, V, VI, VII) in 70 pairs of lung cancer and adjacent non-malignant lung tissues by multiplex RT-PCR. Fuc-T III-VII mRNA increased in >50% of lung cancer tissues when compared with adjacent non-malignant lung tissues. The expression of Fuc-Ts are not related to histology and pathological stage of lung cancer. Survival analysis demonstrated that patients bearing tumors with overexpression of four genes (FucT III,IV,VI,VII) tended to have shorter survival. Stable transfection of FucT-IV gene was established in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line. A clone (A549 FucT4A4) with expression of highest amount (206.5 folds to parental A549 by real time PCR) of FucT-IV mRNA was selected. The A549FucT4A4 cells express abundant Lex antigen (demonstrated by flow cytometry) recognized by a specific monocloncal antibody(P12). Compared to parental A549 cell line, A549 FucT4A4 cells possessed higher growth rate (2 folds), higher adhesiveness to collagen (5 folds), fibrinogen (3 folds), and vitronectin (3 folds), but has similar invasiveness and migration ability. In vivo tumorigenicity was performed by subcutaneous injection of tumor cells on the back of SCID mice. After 8 weeks, A549 FucT4A4 formed a tumor weighted 10 times of that formed from mock cell line. Multiple metastasis foci to lung, liver and kidney were observed in A549 FucT4A4, but not in mock cell line. In conclusion, dysregulation of glycosyl-transferases is frequently detected in lung cancer. The expression of specific Fuc-Ts is related to cancer invasiveness and metastasis.


An efficient method for calculating the reflection coefficient matrix of open-ended coaxial lines with an infinite flange is proposed in this letter. The matrix equation containing double surface integrals on the aperture can be derived using the mode-matching method. These surface integrals are then converted to line integrals in the spectral domain by the Sommerfeld identity. Then the matrix pencil method is employed to fit the integrands with exponential series so that the integrals can be analytically expressed in closed form. An open-ended coaxial line is considered to verify the validity of the formulation. It is shown that the proposed method is very efficient in calculating the reflection coefficient matrix of open-ended coaxial lines.


—This letter proposes a modified constant modulus algorithm (CMA)-based beamforming method for a multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) radar to track and detect vital signs via blind processing. Our method consists of two key functions: 1) the beamforming weight and dc offset are jointly updated to remove the semiconstant clutter and maintain the constant amplitude, which is the original function of CMA, and 2) the weight is updated by considering the phase variance owing to the typical respiratory response to make the weight converge to the vital signs. The proposed method was experimentally evaluated by comparing its heart rate estimation accuracy with that of the conventional CMA-based and maximal-ratio combining (MRC)-based beamforming methods. The experimental results showed that the proposed beamforming method with and without the phase variance constraint achieved the median errors of 3.45 and 4.06 bpm from the reference electrocardiogram, respectively, whereas the conventional CMA-based and MRC-based beamforming methods achieved the median errors of 21.1 and 9.79 bpm, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Research background: Faculties of private universities are under immense working pressure, which causes stress and burnout. The job burnout triggers the psychological pressure, which increases the turnover intention. Purpose of the article: The undertaken study aims to evaluate the scale of burnout with its three-element model, which affects faculty members of private universities of Pakistan. This research also aims to examine the mediating effect of organizational commitment (e.g., affective, normative & continuance commitments), and moderating influence of subjective vitality in a relation- ship of job burnout and its constituents, for example exhaustion, efficacy & cynicism, and the turnover intention. Methods: The 712 responses were collected through a structured questionnaire from the junior and senior faculty members of private universities of Pakistan. The data was examined by using second order partial least square — structural equation approach — PLS-SEM. Findings & value added: The research findings exhibited that emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy have a direct significant influence on job burnout. The findings further demonstrated that the job burnout has a cogent and negative impact on faculty turnover intention. The findings demonstrated that elements of organizational commitment (e.g., normative, affective & continuance commitments) have a forceful serial mediating influence between burnout & its constituents for example exhaustion, efficacy & cynicism, and turnover intention. Finally, the findings have revealed that subjective vitality has a significant and positive impact as a moderat- ing variable in a relationship between job burnout and turnover intention. This research has a long-term theoretical contribution, as it provides a novel conceptual framework, which can be replicated in different industries. Thus, this unique model provides the solution to reduce employees' turnover for other industries as well.


Enzymatic hydrolysis residues (EHR) are the solid wastes from enzymatic hydrolysis and/or fermentation of the cellulosic bioethanol industry. These byproducts have not been effectively used. Thermogravimetric analysis with infrared spectroscopy (TG-IR) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were used to quantify the pyrolytic bioenergy potential of EHR with alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) and bisulfite (BSF) pretreatment through assessing their pyrolysis behaviors, kinetics, and byproducts. The TG-IR analysis showed that the EHR pyrolysis temperature range was 180 °C to 620 °C and consisted of three consecutive stages: dehydration, rapid pyrolysis, and carbonization. The main volatile products evolved from the EHR pyrolysis were CO, CO2, H2O, and CH4. Fast pyrolysis results from Py-GC/MS indicated that the main pyrolytic byproducts of EHR were phenols (30.68%), furans (14.27%), and acids (8.52%) for AHP-EHR; and phenols (26.75%), furans (15.54%), and acids (10.33%) for BSF-EHR. The results provide insights for expanding the potential of bioenergy and increasing the value-added byproducts based on the biomass part of EHR.


A Nolen matrix design method is proposed as an asymptotic singular case of a recent Blass matrix design algorithm. The procedure is illustrated by a 4 x 4 Nolen matrix, which design is centred at 2.2 GHz, with the amplitude and phase output excitation laws of a Butler matrix using 90deg hybrids. Simulation and measurement results are presented in this paper.


A novel microcomputer-based ultrasonic distance measurement system is presented. This study proposes an efficient algorithm which combines both the amplitude modulation (AM) and the phase modulation (PM) of the pulse-echo technique. The proposed system can reduce error caused by inertia delay and amplitude attenuation effect when using the AM and PM envelope square wave form (APESW). The APESW ultrasonic driving wave form causes a phase inversion phenomenon in the relative wave form of the receiver. The phase inversion phenomenon sufficiently identifies the "measurement pulse" in the received wave forms, which can be used for accurate time-of-flight (TOF) measurement. In addition, combining a countertechnique to compute the phase shifts of the last cycle for TOF, the presented system can obtain distance resolution of 0.1% of the wavelength corresponding to the 40 kHz frequency of the ultrasonic wave. The standard uncertainty of the proposed distance measurement system is found to be 0.2 mm at a range of 50-500 mm. The APESW signal generator and phase detector of this measuring system are designed on a complex programmable logic device, which is used to govern the TOF measurement and send the data to a personal computer for distance calibration and examination. The main advantages of this APESW system are high resolution, low cost, narrow bandwidth requirement, and ease of implementation.


The aim of this project was to study the in vitro release of cephalothin, vancomycin and strontium from hydroxyapatite particles and its PMMA composite. The hydroxyapatite spheres containing strontium were prepared in the laboratory. The in vitro release study for the hydroxyapatite was carried out in phosphate buffer saline solution (PBS) with differing pH value at 37 °C for five days and the PMMA composites for 21 days.All of the releases showed a burst release within the first 24 hours followed by a slow release. The pH value of the release medium had influence on the release rate to some extent for the antibiotic release and the acidic solution had a more significant impact on the strontium release. All of the composite groups had a much lower strontium release rate than the strontium release from the hydroxyapatite spheres.


We propose a scheme allowing us to observe the evolution of a quantum system in the semiclassical regime along the paths generated by the propagator. The scheme relies on performing consecutive weak measurements of the position. We show how "weak trajectories" can be extracted from the pointers of a series of devices having weakly interacted with the system. The properties of these weak trajectories are investigated and illustrated in the case of a time-dependent model system.


This essay reviews five important recent books on party system institutionalization, party collapse and party building. The first section analyses broader lessons about party system institutionalization derived from these books. What have we learned about how party system institutionalization varies over time and space and about its causes? All five volumes underscore the difficulty of institutionalizing democratic party systems in contemporary Asia, Africa and Latin America. At the same time, they demonstrate that there have been some successful cases of party building and party system institutionalization. In all three regions, variance across countries is great. The three books on Latin America show that sharp conflict and programmatic differences are good for institutionalization, partially countering earlier arguments about the perils of polarization. Across regions, erstwhile authoritarian ruling parties have sometimes helped to forge institutionalized party systems under competitive regimes. The rest of the essay analyses the three single-authored books in some detail and provides brief overviews of the two edited volumes.


ABSTRACT Objectives: This is an in vitro study to develop a formulation of a hypochlorite solution for root canal irrigation that lacks a chlorinated odor. The antibacterial effect, tissue dissolution efficacy, and the cytotoxicity of the solution were assessed in cell culture and were compared with those of commercial sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions. Materials and Methods: Trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCA) was used as the source of hypochlorite ions in solution. All required properties of the NaOCl irrigant were evaluated and compared with those of original 2.5% NaOCl solutions currently in use. Results: Our results revealed that a TCA 3.5% + 1/6 Buffer-1 solution passed the short-term stability test. Moreover, no odor of chlorine gas was detected by three independent observers. The hypochlorite ion content and pH were stable over an incubation period of 4 weeks. The new solution did not differ from commercial products in terms of the dissolution property on bovine pulpal tissue (P > 0.05). Moreover, the antibacterial effect of this solution on Enterococcus faecalis did not differ from that of the commercial products (P > 0.05). In addition, our biocompatibility analysis demonstrated no difference among the tested solutions (P > 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results of all properties tested, TCA 3.5% + 1/6 Buffer-1 could be considered an option for NaOCl irrigation with the benefit of no detectable chlorine odor.


Leishmania donovani-infected Syrian hamsters were treated intraperitoneally with 0.23 mmoles/kg/day of EDTA, EGTA, HEEDTA and 100 mg/kg/day of Pentostam R. The control group received 0.1 ml of phosphate buffered saline. After 30 days of treatment, the animals were sacrificed. Of the Pentostam-treated animals, 5 out 6 had negative spleen cultures, while all the chelator and PBS-treated ones yielded parasites. While all the Pentostam-treated animals had negative bone marrow cultures, only 1 out of 6 HEEDTA-treated hamsters yielded parasites. Spleen, liver and bone marrow parasite- loads calculated from chelator-treated animals were consistently significantly higher than for Pentostam-treated animals. These results suggest that although metal ion chelators have some antileishmanial potential, their in vivo activity against L. donovani is low compared to Pentostam.


Basic Human Needs/Basic Needs emerged in the middle 1970s as a widely debated way of analysing and formulating development. It has a number of elements and has drawn upon a number of country experiences and is to many proponents an attempted synthesis rather than a slogan. BHN and BN are only partly compatible with each other because of their quite different emphases on participation and equality versus organisation and minimum standards, reflecting broadly divergent political economic goals and perceptions. BHN as a strategy goes further than the provision (production and distribution) of basic goods and services to include full and fairly remunerated employment and participation.


Transcription of the HIV-1 provirus generates a viral pre-mRNA, which is alternatively spliced into more than 50 HIV-1 mRNAs encoding all viral proteins. Regulation of viral alternative splice site usage includes the presence of splicing regulatory elements (SREs) which can dramatically impact RNA expression and HIV-1 replication when mutated. Recently, we were able to show that two viral SREs, GI3-2 and ESEtat, are important players in the generation of viral vif, vpr and tat mRNAs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that masking these SREs by transfected locked nucleic acid (LNA) mixmers affect the viral splicing pattern and viral particle production. With regard to the development of future therapeutic LNA mixmer-based antiretroviral approaches, we delivered the GI3-2 and the ESEtat LNA mixmers "nakedly", without the use of transfection reagents (gymnosis) into HIV-1 infected cells. Surprisingly, we observed that gymnotically-delivered LNA mixmers accumulated in the cytoplasm, and seemed to co-localize with GW bodies and induced degradation of mRNAs containing their LNA target sequence. The GI3-2 and the ESEtat LNA-mediated RNA degradation resulted in abrogation of viral replication in HIV-1 infected Jurkat and PM1 cells as well as in PBMCs.


There is considerable evidence of several kinds that L-threonine supplied to Escherichia coli in a mineral salts-glucose medium is used by the organism not only for threonine in its protein but also for conversion to isoleucine (Abelson, 1954; Adelberg, 1955; Garner and Teas, 1954; Umbarger, 1955a). Studies with mutants of E. coli have indicated that D-threonine can also be converted to L-isoleucine, but does not serve as a growth factor for specific L-threonine requiring mutants (Umbarger, 1953). The pathways by which Dand L-threonine are converted to isoleucine have not been established. Deamination of the threonines would yield a-ketobutyric acid, a compound that probably lies directly on the pathway of isoleucine biosynthesis (Adelberg, 1955). A limited deamination activity against Dthreonine by D-erine dehydrase of Neurospora has been reported by Yanofsky (1952). Metzler and Snell (1952) studied a D-serine dehydrase activity in E. coli but did not report activity against D-threonine. A re-examination of the E. coli system (Umbarger, 1955b) showed it also to be active against D-threonine. Thus, this enzyme might be the means by which certain E. coli mutants utilize D-threonine in place of a-aminoor a-ketobutyric acid for isoleucine biosynthesis. The deamination of L-threonine by E. coli has been described by Wood and Gunsalus (1949) using extracts of dried celLs and by Boyd and Lichstein (1955) using resting whole cells. In the present study of the deamination reactions of Dand L-threonine, the experiments were designed to aid in deciding for or against the possible role of these activities in isoleucine biosynthesis.


Irrigation research in Bolivia, and particularly in the Andean region, has focused mainly on watershed or irrigation system management. Few studies have scrutinized how peasant families develop and sustain the everyday management of water as a fundamental, integrated component of their individual productive strategies while simultaneously embedding these individual water control schemes and irrigation practices in the broader norms, rules and organizational forms of peasant communities' collective work and subsistence endeavors. This thesis fills this gap by posing the following central research question: How do collective action and individual strategies entwine in peasant irrigation to foster diverse patterns of irrigation management and production organization in response to the quest for autonomous water control? This research question has been responded through the study of three sub-questions. The first sub-question seeks to understand the institutional framework of the irrigation sector and the respective water use and control systems, which in the Bolivian case strongly grounds in collective action and customary norms and practices, even though in recent years the state has tried to formalize and regulate the sector. The second sub-question focuses on understanding collective action and its implications for water control in its different dimensions. Finally, the third sub-question focuses on family production strategies and scrutinizes the link between mercantile and non-mercantile spheres of production. The analysis shows how these interact with the collective domain of water control. Chapter two presents the conceptual framework that was developed to analyze the interrelationships between the collective and the individual domains, as well as their link with the state, institutions and the market. The chapter identifies the object of study, which is defined as the peasant dynamics in irrigation systems. These are divided in two analytical categories. The first category constitutes collective action for irrigation management, which is analyzed based on the concept of socio-technical "water control". The second category corresponds to the concept of "peasant strategies" that, in the collective domain and especially in the individual (family) domain, serves as a lens to better understand the logic behind the decisions that peasant families make about what, when and how much to produce with the water they are able to access through individual and collective action. Chapter three analyzes the institutional development of irrigation in Bolivia, highlighting the role of peasant organizations in this process. It starts with the description and discussion of the different expressions of the so-called "uses and customs" in the study cases, illustrating the form and dynamics of water management and governance in the sector. In turn, these uses and customs demonstrate the different dimensions in water control and show the need to analyze these dimensions simultaneously. The chapter explains the risks and difficulties that accompany state attempts to formalize these customary norms in official legal frameworks and shows the resilience and adaptation strategies of existing customary practices that shape the daily functioning of irrigation systems and peasant communities. "Usos y costumbres" include more than just rules, norms and agreements for the access to resources; they actively interrelate organizational practices, administrative arrangements and the mobilization of resources. In the irrigation systems' water management and governance domains, these shape very specific operational aspects, such as water distribution rules and infrastructure's operation and maintenance activities. I argue that the principles and practices that are framed as 'uses and customs' essentially constitute peasant strategies to achieve their autonomy from institutions and state norms, which seem to create greater uncertainty and lack of control in families and communities' efforts to manage their resources and direct their livelihoods. Chapter four, first, analyzes the history of collective action in the region, showing how, gradually, after the struggles for land water became the binding factor within and among communities in the region. Then water control arrangements in different irrigation systems are examined, focusing on the interrelatedness of modes of individual and collective action, and their links to formal organizations, politics, infrastructure and water flows. This chapter shows that the changes and interactions in, and between these elements, constantly redefine "water control systems" in their different components and levels. This chapter highlights the importance and dynamism of collective action to both make these systems function internally and ensure that the small-farmer sector is visible vis-a-vis the State, donors and non- governmental organizations. The latter have been important in financing the development of irrigation infrastructure and have commonly used this intervention to try to impose specific organizational forms and related norms. However, this chapter shows that "peasant principles" for managing their resources are deeply entrenched and resilient as they form the basis for the quest for autonomy in managing key resources and livelihoods. Chapter five focuses on peasant households and their production systems. It starts with a discussion of the different strategies that peasant households implement for materializing water access, and how this is done through diverse interactions with their own community or third organizations in the collective domain. These take place through locally institutionalized practices and social networks; by means of monetary transactions; or through a very creative combination of commodity and non-commodity strategies. A second important element discussed in this chapter is how peasant families organize labor as the basis for controlling the production process. Family labor, analyzed here as the working force but also as the knowledge and skills involved and deployed in the labor process, constitutes a key factor for resource control, and for the production and reproduction of the family farm. The chapter also demonstrates how peasant families strategically interact in and entwine very diverse spheres of operation: that of the market through commoditized interactions and with their own non- monetarized rural activities and organizations – this takes place at different levels in both community based organizations and water-use based organizations. The chapter shows how families sustain their livelihoods through this interplay of market and non-market based exchanges that enable families to obtain sufficient control over their own production and thereby over the reproduction of their livelihoods. The thesis findings question the 'participatory water management' literature that finds much resonance in Bolivia and around the world and they challenge many of the popular 'empowerment approaches'. The cases show that local water users are the most important actors in shaping local irrigation development, water governance and local production practices. Users, since long, have actively involved themselves as 'participants' in struggles for irrigation, long before external 'participatory' intervention projects have come to 'develop' irrigation systems. These peasant strategies and practices show that the common claim that is made by intervening external actors -- that their intervention projects aim to incorporate 'the locals' through participatory projects – is to be considered as the world upside down. From a local perspective, it is the external intervention projects that 'participate' for a short specific phase in the transformation of local water control realities and (re)production practices. The results highlight the dynamism and adaptive capacity of the peasantry in Bolivia. They show that, despite changing socio-economic pressures, increased and sometimes problematic state and third party external involvement, this sector actively shapes and deploys strategies to sustain itself. This is done through the interplay between creative adaptation at individual and family level as well as through collective action at community and supra-community level. These adaptations go hand in hand with the transformation of peasant family strategies regarding their agricultural (re)production. In this process, external interventions and relations with state and none state actors are not only inevitable but often also keenly strategized, especially when it concerns the construction of large hydraulic works. But also in cases where external interventions and support are mobilized, peasant water users commonly are the ones who make such interventions work for themselves, shaping their own projects whereby their organizations, principles and practices are tactically adapted, inserted and mobilized. Despite deeply adverse contexts, these strategic and rooted modes of operation and practice-based governance seek to guarantee the sustainability of the peasantry's mode of life in the region, with families in charge of their own irrigation systems dynamically shaping their livelihood strategies.


Since the promulgation of the Basic Act for Suicide Prevention, suicide prevention in Japan has developed rapidly. In order to further reinforce such activities, it is necessary to balance universal, selective, and indicated prevention. For the revision of the General Principles of Suicide Prevention Policy, the Center for Suicide Prevention announced this recommendation with 29 societies. We hope that it will promote suicide prevention in Japan and lead to expansion of the suicide prevention network by academic organizations, NGOs, as well as local and central government.


Liposomes encapsulating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were prepared by sonication, and the liposomes were evaluated for use in a drug delivery system. The liposomes, which were composed of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, were about 1.1 microm in size, as observed under a microscope. From their size, the vesicles were thought to be multilamellar. The maximum concentration of ATP in the liposomes was 1.0 mM, when the initial concentrations of lipid and ATP were 20 mM and 300 mM, respectively. The maximum entrapment ratio of ATP in the liposomes was 88%, when the initial concentrations of lipid and ATP were 20 mM and 500 mM, respectively. About 4% of ATP was encapsulated in these experiments. When liposomes contained 4-7% of cholesterol, about 35% of encapsulated ATP was released from the liposomes for 90 hours at 37 degrees C in vitro. These findings indicated that liposomes encapsulating ATP could be used for the treatment of ischemic retina.


Objective: Neonatal hypoglycemia may lead to severe acute, and chronic neurological injuries. Hypoglycemic seizure usually follows long lasting periods of hypoglycemia and worsens cerebral injury as well as the prognosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate neurological and developmental outcomes of children with a history of neonatal hypoglycemic seizures. Methods: 21 patients who had neonatal hypoglycemic seizures and followed up in Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology between January 1999 and May 2011 were included in this study. The electroencephalography, brain magnetic resonance imaging and visual evoke potential results of the patients were recorded. Mental and motor developmental outcomes were evaluated. Results: The development of epilepsy, abnormal visual evoked potential responses and abnormal brain magnetic resonance findings in infants with a history of neonatal hypoglycemic seizures were found to be associated with poor neurodevelopmental outcome. Conclusion: Newborns should be carefully monitored for hypoglycemia which causes severe and permanent but preventable neurological sequelae.