In cattle referred to the Clinic of Ruminants at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna by local veterinarians from Lower Austria, the number of animals positive for antibodies against pestiviruses decreased from 11.9% in 2004 to 7.4% in 2007. In other Austrian regions the seroprevalence of 17.6% in 2004 dropped to 12.2% in 2007. The seroprevalence rates were considerably higher in older animals than in younger indicating a marked decrease of new infections (8.2% in 7.5 years). These data nevertheless also demonstrate that new pestivirus infections occur, although at a lower rate. We report the case of a calf persistently infected with Border disease virus-3 (BDV-3) detected in a mixed cattle and sheep farm with the status "BVDV-free". Earlier investigations have shown that BDV-3 is endemic in Austrian sheep populations and seems to be a potential risk factor for the reintroduction of pestiviruses in BVDV free cattle herds. Serological findings among the investigated sheep population showed in four out of nine sheep samples considerably higher titres to the BDV strain Moredun than to the BVDV strain NADL. Seroconversion against pestiviruses was also detected in contact cattle and the mother of the persistently infected calf. Pestivirus specific RNA was neither detected in the blood samples collected from the patients of the Clinic for Ruminants nor in the sheep or cattle investigated on the farm described.


Shadow IT can be used by one individual or a group of employees, which suggest two levels of use: an individual and collective use of shadow IT. The study takes a social influence perspective to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the dissemination process of shadow IT among users and uncover the reasons why they use shadow IT. We performed a survey among employees of four companies. The results show that the social influence varies depending on the group of reference in question (peer, superior, mass influence). We found that employees are strongly influenced by their peers and by a mass of people to use a shadow IT, such as co-workers, professional workmates, and employees from other departments, suggesting a broader range of social influence that can affect the use of shadow IT. We aid to clarify some reasons why employee uses shadow IT and how the dissemination process occurs among users. Also, as social influence is based on communication and social interactions, organizations may pay attention in creating initiatives and taking actions to engaged users in the information security policies, which is one of the primary concern related to shadow IT.


The development of technology and the internet caused intense competition in the retail industry. This encourages retail industry players to innovate. The live streaming feature addresses the problem of lost aspect from the offline shopping experience as result of online shopping. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of shopping value on customer engagement through trust in product and sellers. In this study, the data were analysed with descriptive and SEM-PLS analysis methods. Respondents who fulfilled the requirements in this study were 109 respondents. Based on the data analysis, the three shopping values (utilitarian value, hedonic value, and symbolic value) have a positive influence on customer engagement without going through the variable of trust. Among the three shopping values, symbolic values is proven to have the greatest influence on customer engagement.


Objective To observe the changes of tumor necrosis factor-a(TNF-a)、inter-leukin-6(IL-6)in plasma and the expression of nuclear factor-KappaB(NF-κB)in lungs in rabbits with septic shock induced by endotoxin,and to explore the prote-ctive the effection and mechanism of different doses of Ulinastatin(UTI).Methods 50 male Japanese flap-eared white rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups:Endotoxin induced septic shock control group(group con),Dexamethasone treated group(group DXM),(2.5×104)u/kgUTI treated groups(group U1)、(5.0×104)u/kgUTI treated groups(group U2)and(10.0×104)u/kgUTI treated grou-ps(group U3).Septic shock models of the rabbits were replicated by intravascularET injection(2mg/kg).Then 0.9% physiological saline(2.0ml),DXM(1.0mg/kg),and UTI in doses of(2.5×104)U/kg、(5.0×104)U/kg,and(10.0×104)U/kg were respectivel-y given in 2.0ml 0.9% physiological saline after the septic shock models wereset up.At oh after shock and 2h、4h、6h、12h after treated,The changes of me-an arterial blood pressure(MAP)and Respiratory Rate(RR)were determined,The levels of TNF-a and IL-6 in plasma of the rabbits were measured by using E-LISA;The morphological changes of lungs were observed under microscope,The expression and distribution of NF-κB in rabbits'lungs were detected by immun-ohistochemistry.Results The levels of MAP、RR and TNF-a、IL-6 at oh after the septic shock showed not significant difference among the five groups,however,the levels of MAP、RR and TNF-a、IL-6 at 2h、4h、6h、12h in the three UTI group were significant decreased as compared with group con and group DXM(P0.05),and group U3 were lower than group U1 and group U2(P0.05);The mor-phological changes of lungs in group Con were the most obvious,group U3 wer-e the lightest as compared with other groups(P0.05).The expression of NF-κB in group Con was the most obvious,groupU3 was the lightest as compared wi-th other groups(P0.05).The leveles of MAP、RR and TNF-a、IL-6 and the ex-pression of NF-κB were degraded with the increasing doses of UTI(P0.05).Conclusion UTI can improve the changes of MAP、RR and TNF-a、IL-6 in septic shock induced dy ET in rabbits and the lung protective function is the positive correlation with the dosage.Inhibiting NF-κB signal transduction pathwa-ys to inhibit the expression of TNF-a and IL-6 is one of UTI lung protective function important mechanisms.


Over the past few years it has become clear that the Internet will play an ever greater role in the distribution of digital contents. Our main aim is to provide businesses in the digital contents sector with a tool, which enables them to take informed business strategy decisions and become more competitive by adapting their traditional business models to the new, demanding reality. To achieve this objective, we have implemented a first version of a music market model called SimWebA that is based on multiagent simulation technology. In our simulations, agents represent market stakeholders that act autonomously according to their interests and interact with other agents inside the market environment. This allows end users to investigate the implications of a variety of decisions and strategies by running simulations starting from different initial conditions.


The influence of contextual factors on encoding and retrieval in recognition memory was investigated using a retroactive interference paradigm. Participants were randomly assigned to four context conditions constructed by manipulating types of presentation modality (pictures vs words) for study, interference, and test stages, respectively (ABA, ABB, AAA, & AAB). In Experiment 1 we presented unrelated items in the study and interference stages, while in Experiment 2 each stage contained items from the same semantic category. The results demonstrate a dual role for context in memory processes—at encoding as well as at retrieval. In Experiment 1 there is a hierarchical order between the four context conditions, depending on both target–test and target–interference contextual similarity. Adding a categorical context in Experiment 2 helped to specify each list and therefore better distinguish between target and interferer information, and in some conditions compensated for their perceptual similarity.


Human sulfite oxidase (hSO) was immobilised on SAM-coated silver electrodes under preservation of the native heme pocket structure of the cytochrome b5 (Cyt b5) domain and the functionality of the enzyme. The redox properties and catalytic activity of the entire enzyme were studied by surface enhanced resonance Raman (SERR) spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and compared to the isolated heme domain when possible. It is shown that heterogeneous electron transfer and catalytic activity of hSO sensitively depend on the local environment of the enzyme. Increasing the ionic strength of the buffer solution leads to an increase of the heterogeneous electron transfer rate from 17 s(-1) to 440 s(-1) for hSO as determined by SERR spectroscopy. CV measurements demonstrate an increase of the apparent turnover rate for the immobilised hSO from 0.85 s(-1) in 100 mM buffer to 5.26 s(-1) in 750 mM buffer. We suggest that both effects originate from the increased mobility of the surface-bound enzyme with increasing ionic strength. In agreement with surface potential calculations we propose that at high ionic strength the enzyme is immobilised via the dimerisation domain to the SAM surface. The flexible loop region connecting the Moco and the Cyt b5 domain allows alternating contact with the Moco interaction site and the SAM surface, thereby promoting the sequential intramolecular and heterogeneous electron transfer from Moco via Cyt b5 to the electrode. At lower ionic strength, the contact time of the Cyt b5 domain with the SAM surface is longer, corresponding to a slower overall electron transfer process.


BACKGROUND
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the Open Payments database (OPD) detailing payments from industry to physicians and teaching hospitals. We seek here to provide an overview of the data with a focus on the orthopaedic community.

METHODS
We analyzed payments in the OPD from August 1 to December 31, 2013. The OPD consists of three individual databases: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership. Physician identification number, physician specialty, payment type, and payment value were collected. Physicians assigned to multiple specialties were excluded. Comparisons were made between orthopaedic surgeons and the remainder of the top fifteen specialties by payment value.

RESULTS
In all, 2,697,015 payments with physicians were recorded; 491,223 of these payments (18.2%) were made to physicians with multiple listed specialties and were excluded. Excluding these potentially misattributed payments did not have a significant impact on the trends identified, and $394.5 million in payments remained. Orthopaedic surgeons represented 3.4% of payments but 25.6% of value, and 13,347 orthopaedic surgeons (68.9% of all active orthopaedic surgeons) were listed in the OPD. Payments over $10,000 represented only 1.6% of payments to orthopaedic surgeons but 75.5% of value. The majority of these payments (56.1%) were royalties. The median payment value for orthopaedic surgeons listed in the OPD was $38.11, with two payments per surgeon; the median aggregated value was $132.56 per surgeon. Orthopaedic surgeons listed in the OPD were more likely to receive payments for travel compared with all other specialties (p < 0.001) and more likely to receive payments for royalties compared with all other specialties (p < 0.001) except neurological surgery.

CONCLUSIONS
Financial interactions between orthopaedic surgeons and industry are highly prevalent. A small subset of orthopaedic surgeons received large royalties, which accounted for a majority of the transactional value provided by industry. Orthopaedic surgeons were the recipients of more payments for travel and for royalties than all other specialties except neurological surgery; however, the median value of these and other payments was similar to that for other specialties.


The Journal of Management Inquiry astutely predicted in 2004 that the Americanization of business education would not just continue but increase. Ten years later, it is arguable that the acceleration of the Americanization of management education has exceeded all expectations. To theoretically build toward understanding how and why the American business education model has been adopted to different extents, this comparative study builds on the institutional logics perspective, arguing that different institutional logics can potentially explain the various forms and patterns of Americanization and how they are manifested in the world's business schools.


Purpose. The paper aims to examine the impact of the oblast center on regional socioeconomic development in the context of the center-periphery relationship. Methodology / approach. The general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, systematization, graphic method) and special ones (statistical analysis, comparison, organizational and managerial modeling) were the basis of the methodological approach. The author improved the scientific-methodological approach to the comprehensive evaluation of a region's socio-economic development in terms of the center-periphery relationships based on interrelated stages and methods. It stipulates the research of the impact each district of a region has on the major socioeconomic parameters of an oblast; calculation of the District Socio-Economic Development Index and its comparison with the district's distance to the oblast center; evaluation of interdependencies between the districts' shares in major socio-economic parameters of respective oblasts and their distance to the oblast center; and analysis of the development intensity of the oblast districts depending on their distance to the oblast center. Results. Testing the scientific-methodological approach on the example of three oblasts of Ukraine (Lvivska, Poltavska, and Chernihivska), which are developing in different spatialgeographic, socio-economic, and demographic conditions, has contributed to substantiating the features of generation and development of the center-periphery relationships in the regions with different initial development conditions; outlining the areas of socio-economic centers' impact on the districts; detecting the intensity of positive stimulus generation and their absorption in the region considering the role of local "growth poles" in the process. Originality / scientific novelty. The paper further develops the theoretical-methodological foundations of researching the center-periphery relationships in a region at the oblast center – oblast area level. The results of calculations following the author's methodological approach have allowed developing the space structure for Ukrainian regions under research in the context of the center-periphery relationships. Practical value / implications. The conducted research based on the methodology developed by the author is quite important both in terms of the scientific-methodological aspect and in the context of addressing the important regional development tasks and searching for balanced and coherent spatial development.


Future manycore Systems-on-Chip will integrate tens or even hundreds of cores. Tiled architectures have come to the focus of research and industry. Such platforms integrate processing cores in clusters and connect those 'tiles' with a global interconnect. Message passing programming models are favored to program such complex distributed memory systems. A significant performance overhead is involved with the message passing communication and especially with collective communication, that involves several tasks in one communication. To tackle this overhead, we propose a concept for an interface between processing elements and a Network-on-Chip. The primary idea is to offload the software from processing intensive functionalities. This includes collective communication operations, like broadcast, scatter, gather and reduction. The conceptual design of the functionality of such a Smart Network Adapter is presented in this paper. An analytical estimation of the performance gain shows promising results to support our work in progress.


Mechanical responses to dopamine of isolated human and monkey veins were isometrically measured and compared to those of the arteries. Human gastroepiploic and monkey mesenteric veins responded to dopamine with contractions, whereas the arteries in the same region responded with relaxations. Treatment with phentolamine converted the venous contraction to a relaxation, which was not influenced by propranolol but was abolished by droperidol. The relaxation was endothelium-independent and converted to a contraction by SCH23390 but unaltered by domperidone. Dopamine increased the cyclic AMP content in the human veins. Monkey vena cava and portal vein did not respond to dopamine with relaxation even under alpha-adrenoceptor blockade. It is concluded that primate veins and arteries from the gastric and mesenteric regions respond quite differently to dopamine; the alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated contraction predominates over the relaxation mediated via D1-receptor in the veins, and vice versa in the arteries. In monkey large veins, dopamine receptor does not appear to play a functional role. The veno-constrictor action of dopamine, together with actions on myocardium and resistance vessels, would contribute to increasing of the cardiac output.


Information Communication Technologies are the power that has changed many aspects of the lives. The impact of the ICT on each sector of the life across the past two-three decades has been enormous. The way these fields act today is different as compare to their pasts. Across the past twenty years the use of ICT has basically changed all forms of endeavour within business, governance and off-course education! ICT has begun to have a presence but unfortunately we are lacking to achieve desired impact. The education is a socially oriented activity. It plays vital role in building the society. The quality education traditionally is associated with strong teachers having high degrees. Using ICTs in education it moved to more student – centered learning. As world is moving rapidly towards digital information, the role of ICTs in education becoming more and more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in 21 st century. This paper highlights various impacts of ICT on contemporary higher education and also discusses potential future developments. The paper argues the role of ICT in transforming teacher-centered learning to competency based learning. It also explores some challenges in higher education like cognitive tutors, need for developing a model, collaborative authoring etc.


Abstract:The Chilean police keep firing pellets and tear gas bombs in the streets, blinding and injuring people by the hundreds. The people keep demonstrating. Two months before the protests of October 2019, a problematic documentary play, Animales invisibles, while distorting the genre, prophesied what was to come precisely in the way it departed from the documentary.


ABSTRACT Introduction To evaluate the relationship between the genetic polymorphism of matrix metalloproteinases 1 and 13 and posttraumatic elbow stiffness, as well as the association of other risk factors with this condition. Materials and methods We evaluated 20 patients with posttraumatic elbow stiffness and 12 controls with traumatic elbow disorders without contracture. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was obtained from buccal mucosa epithelial cells of the volunteers. The MMP-1 and MMP-13 genotypes were determined using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism assays. Results We did not find any significant differences in the frequency of genotypes and alleles between the test and control groups for the polymorphism of metalloproteinases 1 and 13. We observed that genotypes 1G/2G and 2G/2G of MMP-1 were present in 65% (13/20) of patients with articular stiffness and 50% (6/12) of controls (p = 0.599). Genotypes A/A and A/G of MMP-13 were obtained in 95% (19/20) of patients and 91.6% (11/12) of controls (p = 0.491). Among the prognostic factors for elbow stiffness, only immobilization time correlated positively. The mean immobilization time for cases and controls were 16 ± 10 days and 7 ± 7 days, respectively (p = 0.017). Conclusion The genetic polymorphism of MMP-1 at position -1607 and MMP-13 at position -77 was not associated with post-traumatic elbow stiffness. Level of Evidence III; Prognosis Study; Case-Control Study.


We consider signed networks in which connections or edges can be either positive (friendship, trust, alliance) or negative (dislike, distrust, conflict). Early literature in graph theory theorized that such networks should display "structural balance," meaning that certain configurations of positive and negative edges are favored and others are disfavored. Here we propose two measures of balance in signed networks based on the established notions of weak and strong balance, and we compare their performance on a range of tasks with each other and with previously proposed measures. In particular, we ask whether real-world signed networks are significantly balanced by these measures compared to an appropriate null model, finding that indeed they are, by all the measures studied. We also test our ability to predict unknown signs in otherwise known networks by maximizing balance. In a series of cross-validation tests we find that our measures are able to predict signs substantially better than chance.


Introduction: Studies suggest that iron metabolism is associated with tumor progression, but a mechanism and the relative importance of different iron handling proteins still remain to be elucidated. We investigated the effects of the frequently polymorphic high iron gene (HFE), on tumor growth. This study is significant because of the ability of HFE mutant protein to alter iron handling and because our previous studies have shown the presence of this mutation is associated with altered cancer phenotype in cells. Hypothesis: Mutations in the HFE protein modify tumor progression and metastatic potential. Methods: C57BL/6 mice possessing either H67D/H67D (H63D in humans) or WT/WT HFE genotype, aged 18 months, were injected subcutaneously with 4x106 B16F10 cells. After 2 weeks, mice were sacrificed and the tumors were weighed and prepared for analysis of RNA, protein, and histology. At the same time, plasma was collected by cardiac puncture. Animal methods were approved by our IACUC, protocol 04-166. RT-PCR analysis of tumors was performed using the Mouse Cancer Pathwayfinder Array (SABiosciences). In parallel, bone marrow derived macrophages were cultured to determine how B16F10 cell cultures react to conditioned media from macrophages of each genotype. ELISAs were performed for ferroportin and ferritin. Secreted cytokine and chemokine content of macrophage media was assessed with an ELISA array (Qiagen). Results: H67D mice had significantly smaller tumors (t-test, P = 0.0166) after two weeks. The two-week time frame was selected because rapid tumor growth affected animal survival at longer incubations. Exploratory qRT-PCR analysis of tumors revealed that the H67D host may promote epithelial phenotype and suppress angiogenesis and growth. In culture, macrophages derived from H67D mice express higher levels of MCP1 (p = 0.0169). Conditioned media from the H67D macrophages was associated with significantly less B16F10 cell growth compared to WT (p Conclusions: Tumors grown in H67D mice are significantly lower in weight than control mice. Macrophages from H67D mice neither load iron nor support tumor cell proliferation as well as WT controls. Our data reveal the importance of HFE genotype on macrophage function and tumor growth. The H63D HFE allele is seen in approximately 15% of the human population so its impact on cancer studies is likely significant. Citation Format: Cody L. Weston, Ahmed Alkhateeb, William Hund, James R. Connor. HFE genotype affects tumor progression and macrophage behavior in a mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 24. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-24


Peak oxygen uptake, ventilatory threshold (VT) and leg extension power were measured in 832 apparently healthy subjects (421 males, 411 females) aged 30-60 decades who performed medical examination at 4 health check up facilities. 1) Peak oxygen uptake was greater in male than female, and decreased with age in both sexes. Single regression formula on age were Y (ml/kg/min) = 46.6 - 0.36 x AGE, (r = 0.447, p < 0.001) in male and Y (ml/kg/min) = 35.3 - 0.23 x AGE, (r = 0.407, p < 0.001) in female. 2) VT was greater in male than female, and less decreased with age compared to maximal aerobic power. Single regression formula on age were Y (ml/kg/min) = 22.6 - 0.13 x AGE, (r = 0.371, p < 0.001) in male, Y (ml/kg/min) = 20.0 - 0.10 x AGE, (r = 0.301, p < 0.001) in female. 3) Leg extension power was greater in male than female, and decreased with age in both sexes. Single regression formula on age were Y (W/kg) = 31.9 - 0.27 x AGE, (r = 0.539, p < 0.001) in male and Y (W/kg) = 20.9 - 0.18 x AGE, (r = 0.510, p < 0.001) in female. Subjects in the present study showed height, weight and walk steps per day similar to those in National Nutrition Survey. Comparison of Peak oxygen uptake, ventilatory threshold and leg extensor power to previous studies revealed that these parameters were quite similar to the counterparts in the previous studies with less selection bias. It was suggested that subjects in this study were quite similar to normal Japanese population, and that Peak oxygen uptake, VT and leg extension power in the present study were of value for the evaluation of health related fitness in community and workplace.


The lack of an efficient and safe carrier is a major impediment in the field of gene therapy. Although gelatin (GT), a naturally derived polymer, is widely used in drug delivery applications, it is unable to bind DNA efficiently. In this study, a novel polycationic gene carrier was prepared by conjugation of low molecular weight polyethyleneimine (LPEI) with GT through 4-bromonaphthaleic anhydride as a coupling agent to avoid self crosslinking. Self-assembly of LPEI conjugated GT (GT–LPEI) with plasmid DNA (pDNA) yielded nanoparticles with high gene complexation ability to form ∼250 nm cylindrical nanoparticles with a zeta potential of ∼27 mV. GT–LPEI showed exceptionally high transfection efficiency (>90%) in various mammalian cells including primary stem cells with minimal cytotoxicity. The transfection efficiency of GT–LPEI significantly surpassed that of many commercial reagents. The high gene transfection expression was confirmed in vivo. Thus, GT–LPEI is shown to be a promising nonviral carrier for potential use in gene therapy.


ABSTRACT Methodologically, Peace Research has long been dominated by words, numbers, and sometimes images. This article suggests also integrating Video Data Analysis (VDA) into the analytical toolbox of Peace Research so as to explore the potential of the millions of videos of relevance for the study of peace and conflict that can be found online and beyond. The article introduces VDA and shows how the method can be applied to analyse micro-dynamics of phenomena such as violence, conflict, mediation, and peacebuilding. Videos enable researchers to observe events that no or few researchers would otherwise have access to from their armchairs, integrating the attentiveness to interaction and atmosphere that only ethnographers would have. While losing the ethnographer's benefit of 'being there', videos allow researchers to replay events in slow motion and thus capture subtle dynamics of timing, interaction, and affect. The article discusses the epistemological challenges, ethical dilemmas, and future promises of applying VDA in Peace Research and provides concrete examples of how the observation of affects reflected in body postures and facial expressions, as well as the social bonds reflected in the rhythm and content of interaction, can be of value in peace research.


Variation in the numbers of silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions (Ag-NORS) were examined in 36 breeds of domestic pig of different geographic origins and five subspecies of wild boar. The relationship between Ag-NORs and evolution of domestic pigs was investigated. In all pigs observed, Ag-NORs were localized on the secondary constriction of chromosomes 10 and 8. The mean Ag-NOR numbers varied from 2.0-4.0, and decreased gradually with the different geographical distribution from south to north in China and from east to west in Europe. This regular change was caused mainly by the differences of frequency in chromosome 8 Ag-NOR type and was closely related to the evolution of domestic pig breeds.


A structural design featuring rattle-type silver/titania (Ag/TiO2) core/shell, that is, Ag@TiO2, composite microcapsules is produced. The TiO2 shell protects the encapsulated, movable Ag nanoparticles from breaking away under moderate loading, minimizing hence adverse environmental and biological exposure due to the metal loss, whereas the mesoporous shell serves as conduits for Ag ions released from the caged Ag nanoparticles to kill Escherichia coli in aqueous solutions under dark condition. The anatase TiO2 shell imparts an additional, synergistic photocatalysis activity under ultraviolet irradiation. A pronouncedly enhanced photocatalysis activity results when the Ag@TiO2 composite capsules were thermally annealed under vacuum. This "rattle-in-ball" hybrid architecture enables bifunctional bactericide and photocatalysis capability under both light and dark conditions, as well as mitigated environmental and biological impact in practical use.


Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a treatment-refractory disease. Characterizing PDAC by mRNA profiling remains particularly challenging. Previously identified bulk expression subtypes were influenced by contaminating stroma and have not yet informed clinical management, whereas single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) of fresh tumors under-represented key cell types. Here, we developed a robust single-nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) technique for frozen archival PDAC specimens and used it to study both untreated tumors and those that received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CRT). Gene expression programs learned across untreated malignant cell and fibroblast profiles uncovered a clinically relevant molecular taxonomy with improved prognostic stratification compared to prior classifications. Moreover, in the increasingly-adopted neoadjuvant treatment context, there was a depletion of classical-like phenotypes in malignant cells in favor of basal-like phenotypes associated with TNF-NFkB and interferon signaling as well as the presence of novel acinar and neuroendocrine classical-like states, which may be more resilient to cytotoxic treatment. Spatially-resolved transcriptomics revealed an association between malignant cells expressing these basal-like programs and higher immune infiltration with increased lymphocytic content, whereas those exhibiting classical-like programs were linked to sparser macrophage-predominant microniches, perhaps pointing to susceptibility to distinct therapeutic strategies. Our refined molecular taxonomy and spatial resolution can help advance precision oncology in PDAC through informative stratification in clinical trials and insights into differential therapeutic targeting leveraging the immune system.


Studies of the effect of gonadotrophins on the cumulus and oocyte or on the whole follicle in vitro offer a good tool for understanding the mechanisms of oocyte maturation, the ability of follicles of different sizes to respond to gonadotrophins and the processes of atresia. The birth of normal young from intrafollicular oocytes matured in vitro furnishes proof that in-vitro techniques are valuable as long as follicular integrity is maintained during the whole culture period.


This paper investigates the robustness of automatic wound segmentation. The work builds upon an automatic segmentation procedure by the support vector machine (SVM)-classifier presented in [M. Kolesnik et al. (2004), (2005)]. Here we extend the procedure by incorporating textural features and the deformable snake adjustment to refine SVM-generated wound boundary. The robustness of SVM-based segmentation is tested against different feature spaces using a long sample of training images featuring a broad variety of wounds' appearance. Recommendations drawn from these experiments provide a useful guideline for the development of a software support system for the visual monitoring of chronic wounds in wound care units


This paper presents a timing-driven circuit partitioning algorithm for the general delay model. The proposed algorithm consists of the clustering and iterative improvement phases. In the first phase, we reduce the problem size, that is the size of a given graph, with a new clustering algorithm to obtain a partition in a short computation time. Next, the iterative improvement phase based on the Fiduccia and Mattheyses algorithm is applied and then a new path-based timing violation removal algorithm is also performed so as to remove all the timing violations. From experimental results for ISCAS89 benchmarks, we have demonstrated that the proposed algorithm can produce the partitions which mostly satisfy the timing constraints.


It is a well-known fact that undergraduate students have to be equipped with relevant types of key competencies in order to be successful in the job market. Complex challenges that companies face in today?s world and the fast development of technology shift employer?s expectation for knowledge towards competency and abilities to use skills and talents (European Commission, 2010). Higher Education Institutions need to create a curriculum that will support students to develop a correct set of life long competencies. However, in many cases students struggle to recognize the importance of developing key competencies during their time at University and only focus on key knowledge. That is why Higher Education Institutions struggle to convince students of the value of certain activities which take place within the curriculum. The aim of this paper is to investigate the perception of Business School Students of key competencies of lifelong learning. The applied research procedure combines analysis of the literature with empirical research and is based upon searching for the answer to the questions about how Business School students view the importance of lifelong learning competencies.The research shows that the most desired lifelong learning competencies by business programme students are experience, industry expertise, certificates, awards confirming completion of studies/programs/skills, followed by technology competencies and cultural awareness.


Cardiomyopathy is a disease of myocardium categorized into three major forms, hypertrophic (HCM), dilated (DCM) and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), which has recently been demonstrated to be a monogenic disease due to mutations in various proteins expressed in cardiomyocytes. Mutations in HCM and RCM typically increase the myofilament sensitivity to cytoplasmic Ca(2+), leading to systolic hyperfunction and diastolic dysfunction. In contrast, mutations in DCM typically decrease the myofilament sensitivity to cytoplasmic Ca(2+) and/or force generation/transmission, leading to systolic dysfunction. Creation of genetically-manipulated transgenic and knock-in animals expressing mutant proteins exogenously and endogenously, respectively, in their hearts provides valuable animal models to discover the molecular and cellular mechanisms for pathogenesis and promising therapeutic strategy in vivo. Recently, cardiomyocytes have been differentiated from patient's induced pluripotent stem cells as a model of inherited cardiomyopathies in vitro. In this review, we provide overview of experimental models of cardiomyopathies with a focus on revealed molecular and cellular pathogenic mechanisms and potential therapeutics.


Objective: To understand the routes of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases with heterosexual mode of transmission in six districts of Chongqing city, and to provide evidence for HIV/AIDS prevention and control programs regarding heterosexual mode of transmission on HIV. Methods: HIV/AIDS cases that were newly reported as with heterosexual mode of transmission in six districts of Chongqing from July 1st to October 1st in 2019, were recruited in the study. Information related to their sociodemographic characteristics and heterosexual behaviors was collected. A self-designed questionnaire was used in this face-to-face survey. Results: A total of 312 HIV/AIDS cases with heterosexual mode of transmission were recruited. Most of them were males (207, 66.3%), aged 50 years or over (210, 67.3%), having junior high school or lower education (252, 80.8%), married or cohabitating (200, 64.1%). 48.7% (152/312) of them were infected through commercial sexual contact while 40.4% (126/312) of them were infected by spouses or stabled partners. 10.9% (34/312) of them were infected by non-marital and non-commercial sexual contacts. Significant differences were noticed on the infection mode of heterosexual transmission in gender, age and occupation (P<0.05). Results from the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that: male (OR=822.34, 95%CI: 103.99-6 503.10), junior high school and lower education level (OR=3.02, 95%CI: 1.05-8.66), household chores and underemployed (OR=0.23, 95%CI: 0.07-0.76) were influencing factors on HIV infection that were through commercial sexual contacts. Male (OR=29.20, 95%CI: 9.40-90.75), junior high school and lower education level (OR=4.28, 95%CI: 1.24-14.81) were influencing factors on HIV infection, through non-marital and non-commercial sexual contacts. In addition to meeting sexual partners in offline places, some HIV/AIDS patients with heterosexual mode of transmission had developed sexual partnerships through online dating and with low-grade venue as the main place for sex engagement. Conclusions: Newly reported HIV/AIDS cases under heterosexual mode of transmission in Chongqing were mainly infected from offline low-grade venues, and caused by commercial sexual engagement. The routes of HIV infections that caused by heterosexual contact should be deeply understood in order to develop targeted intervention programs.


This thesis aimed to develop and create a tool for 3D-artists at Sony Mobile Communications to improve and simplify the work when rendering new materials for their new products. The tool consists of a new product that would capture images for a panorama, where the images would contain a lot of light information, resulting in high dynamic range (HDR) files. This would be done by using the camera of the company's own product, a Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, and a method to assemble the images to create the environment with the 3D software Maya.

The thesis work has followed the product development method created by Ulrich and Eppinger and started with research on photography, 3D-visualisation and rendering. Since there was no existing product to compare with, benchmarking had to be done with other types of products that could implement the same usage of this new product with some modifications. The benchmarking resulted in purchasing an existing 360° camera modified with custom applications which made it possible to create the desired HDRI-environment for rendering. This modified product laid the foundation of the identification of the customer needs since it could be used as a reference at interviews.

Concepts were generated in different stages and the problem was broken down in to partial problems. In the end, a complete concept customized for rapid prototyping was developed and could then be manufactured. Wiring diagrams were designed and the product could be assembled. This part of the work was an iterative process that had to be re-made several times before all components were fitting and the product was complete.

The final product was tested out at the office at Sony where a user/employee had to use the product in its environment with the right surroundings. The product managed to capture the photos without any assistance of the user and the post-processing tools created a HDRI-panorama which was used as a lighting environment in the rendering program Maya.


A convenient route for the synthesis of heparin oligosaccharides involving regioselective protection of D-glucosamine and a concise preparation of rare L-ido sugars from diacetone α-D-glucose is described. Stereoselective coupling of a D-glucosamine-derived trichloroacetimidate with a 1,6-anhydro-β-L-idopyranosyl 4-alcohol gave the desired α-linked disaccharide, which was used as repeating unit for dual chain elongation and termination. Stepwise assembly from the reducing to the non-reducing end with a D-glucosamine-derived monosaccharide as starting unit furnished the oligosaccharide skeletons having different chain lengths. A series of functional group transformations afforded the expected heparin oligosaccharides with 3, 5 and 7 sugar units. Interaction of these oligosaccharides with eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), a cationic ribonuclease and a mediator produced by human eosinophils, was further investigated. The results revealed that at 5 μg mL(-1), the heptasaccharide has sufficiently strong interference to block EDN binding to Beas-2B cells. The tri- and pentasaccharides have moderate inhibitory properties at 50 μg mL(-1) concentration, but no inhibition has been observed at 10 μg mL(-1). The IC(50) values of the tri-, penta- and heptasaccharides are 69.4, 47.2 and 0.225 μg mL(-1), respectively.


PURPOSE
Using Proplan virtual software to construct a virtual teaching platform for orthognathic surgery, and to explore an effective teaching model for orthognathic surgery.

METHODS
One-hundred grade four students of stomatology in Fujian Medical University were divided into two groups. Traditional orthognathic surgery teaching method and Proplan virtual software teaching method were employed to teach the two groups of students, respectively. Orthognathic-surgery-related paper test was used to evaluate how the two groups of students understand orthognathic surgery; then the students were switched to the other teaching method, respectively. A follow-up questionnaire survey was conducted to further evaluate students' acceptance of the two teaching methods. Finally, a comprehensive statistical analysis was performed for students understanding of orthognathic surgery using SPSS 11.0 software package.

RESULTS
According to the test scores, students in the experimental group scored higher than the control group, the difference was significant (P<0.01). The acceptance of different teaching methods displayed remarkable difference between the two groups. Token together, our finding showed that virtual model surgery teaching was an easier teaching method for students to understand and accept.

CONCLUSIONS
Proplan virtual software teaching improves the teaching efficiency of orthognathic surgery and deserves further promotion.


Optimal growth and development depend not only on food quality and availability, on access to health care services and a healthy environment but also on the care provided to the child especially during the first few years of life. Care refers to the actions and practices of caregivers on a day to day basis that translate food, heakh care, and water and sanitation supplies into good growth and development of children. It includes behaviours such as feeding, sanitation and hygiene, home health practices, preparing food for children, and providing psychosocial support for development. Families also are responsible for providing care for girls in the family and women. Care requires resources--both skills and capabilities, as well as economic resources. Some resources are easily recognised, such as education of the caregiver, but others are less often seen, including time of the caregiver, motivation of caregiver and male family members, organisational resources such as child care centres, and the caregiver's ability to influence decisions about child care. It must be noted that the poorer the family, the more risks for children in the environment. Therefore, the poorer the environment, the more important a role care has in children's survival, growth and development. Implications for health care providers include assessing the care practices in the home, and resources for care when making recommendations; supporting positive practices already being performed in order to empower the caregiver; checking the understanding and recall of the caregiver; and finally, recognising that all children, regardless of gender, ethnicity, case, economic level, etc, have a right to good nutrition and health care in order to develop to their fullest potential under the Convention for the Rights of the Child, acceded to by India in 1992.


Power factor correction (PFC) is the capacity of generating or absorbing the reactive power produced by a load. Single-stage AC/AC converters are the most popular structure widely applied in various industrial applications. These AC/AC converters are traditionally implemented by voltage regulation technique. However, they have high total harmonic distortion (THD), low power factor (PF) and poor power transfer efficiency (n). This paper introduces a novel approach method - DC-modulation that implements DC/DC conversion technology into the AC/AC converters. The DC-modulated single-stage power factor correction AC/AC converters effectively improved the power factor up to PF = 0.999 and the power transfer efficiency up to 97.8 %. The experimental results verified our design and calculation. This technique will be widely applied in many industrial applications.


The present work analyzes from the perception of disability, which means that it is an inability to be gifted in some areas, including the school environment. In this perspective, it analyses the operation of parent and disabled child relationship. Carters of the relationship between the level of education, the educational style of parents and school resilience in hearing impaired children, of Ivorian school of deaf. To this end, we were interested in 18 ivoirians children and their parents, 9 girls and 9 boys aged 10 to 12years, from disadvantaged social background. From the scale of parental educational styles of Terrisse and Larose (2000), the inventory forms of resilience of Bekaert, Masclet and Caron (2011) and the Rorschach test (1921), we observed the different educational styles and types of resilient behavior. Overall, the results obtained show that, the educational level and educational style parents, influence the different forms of academic resilience, in hearing deficient children. However, this work could not demonstrate the relationship of the level of secondary school and academic resilience challenge type. The results validate the whole analysis of certain theoretical constructs and the facts noted by other studies, according to which, parents play a role in the autonomy and self-determination of disabled children.


We present a numerical study of stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers based on a full modal analysis of the acoustic and optical properties. The computation of each acoustic mode supported by the fiber structure allows us a deep and detailed investigation of the characteristics of the Brillouin gain spectrum. We focus our attention on optical fibers acting as acoustic antiwaveguides where the biggest contribution to the Brillouin response often comes from very high-order modes but it is sometimes overlooked because of computational issues. Our analysis clearly highlights their role and their dependence on the physical and geometrical structure of the fiber.


A new high efficiency active clamp forward converter for the sustaining power module of a plasma display panel is proposed. It features zero voltage switching, a simpler structure, lower cost, less mass, and no effective duty loss. Furthermore, voltages across all rectifier diodes are clamped on the output voltage, which results in higher efficiency.


A traditional argument in favor of flexible exchange rates is that they insulate output better from real shocks, because the exchange rate can adjust and stabilize demand for domestic goods through expenditure switching. This argument is weakened in a model with high foreign currency debt and low exchange rate pass through to import prices. We analyze the transmission of real external shocks to the domestic economy under fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes for a broad sample of countries in a Panel VAR and let the responses vary with foreign currency indebtedness and import structure. We find that flexible exchange rates do not insulate output better from external shocks if the country imports mainly low pass-through goods and can even amplify the output response if foreign indebtedness is high.


Trypanosomosis is one of the major causes of livestock death that leads to drastic reduction in meat supply in Africa. In this study, three types of dispersion indices were used to detect the dispersion of trypanosomes in the blood of rats. These dispersions included regular, random and contagious dispersions. The dispersion index revealed a contagious dispersion in T. vivax and mixed infection, while T. congolense was regularly dispersed. The trypanosomes in the blood of rats were not randomly dispersed. It was observed that the probability of a tsetse fly picking up infection from the trypanosome dispersions is higher in contagious dispersion, p(5) =0.1027 than regular dispersion p(5) = 0.054. It was also noted that the dispersion of trypanosomes in the blood had direct bearing on the spread of the disease to new foci. Thus, several natural trypanosomiasis in animals arise from mixed infection, which remains economically important in animals in Nigeria as it affects the physical condition and subsequently the market value of such animals. Keywords: Trypanosomosis, tsetse fly, livestock, rat, dispersion of trypanosomes


OBJECTIVES
Cognitive-behavioral models highlight the role of learning and memory biases in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. However, the extent to which a memory bias is a consequence of the clinical state of being a chronic pain subject is unknown. This article presents a study which delineates the influence of chronic and acute pain on autobiographical memory retrieval.

METHODS
16 healthy controls and 16 individuals with chronic pain participated in an autobiographical memory task during two sessions (a current pain and a pain-free session for the chronic pain subjects) and received neutral words that served as a cue for the retrieval of past life events.

RESULTS
The valence of remembered life events in individuals with chronic pain was more negative when they were in pain compared to pain-free states. Conversely, both groups did not differ in their ratings of the reported memories during the pain-free condition. In addition, no significant relationship between mood and the valence of retrieved memories was found.

CONCLUSIONS
The present data demonstrate that current pain but not chronic pain per se can exert specific influences on remembering in participants with chronic pain. This memory bias could be a predisposition for the development of chronic pain but could also be a pain-maintaining consequence of painful experiences. This should be addressed in longitudinal studies.


Periphyton harbours a complex microbial food web with different trophic levels, but little is known about trophic interactions within this food web and its response to factors that potentially control the entire community. We used natural periphyton communities from Lake Erken (Sweden) in 2 experiments manipulating grazer presence. In addition to an ungrazed control, we included natural densities of either of 2 snail species (Theodoxus fluviatilis and Bithynia tentaculata) in order to test how generalist consumers affect different components of the periphyton. In the second experiment, we additionally manipulated light supply to alter the heterotroph-autotroph ratio in the periphyton and thus potentially the trophic interactions. In both experiments, grazer presence decreased algal biomass immediately and shifted the community composition from dominance of large filamentous forms to dominance of prostrate and motile unicellular species. Biomass of bacteria, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliates and meiofauna also decreased with grazing, but with differentiated temporal dynamics and effect strength. In the ungrazed control, first heterotrophic protists and later meiofaunal biomass increased, indicating strong bottom-up and top-down propagation of trophic interactions in the microbial food web. High light increased the biomass of mixotrophic ciliates and nanoautotrophs but not total algal biomass. Grazer presence decreased algal richness in the second experiment, but increased evenness of the algal community under high light conditions. We conclude that grazer presence puts different pressure on the components of the periphyton, which are further linked by direct or indirect internal trophic processes.


Hylocereus undatus is rich in protein, amino acid, mineral elements, vitamins, fatty acids and other nutrients. There are 17 kinds of amino acids in hylocereus undatus, including leucine and isoleucine. The content of amino acids in hylocereus undatus seeds is also very rich, among which the content of glutamic acid is the highest. In this paper, the author analyse the imported hylocereus undatus nutrition and optimization of e-commerce transnational trade mode.At present, China has realized the deep integration of new trade formats and manufacturing industries of cross-border e-commerce. While driving the globalization of trade industry, cross-border e-commerce also affects the main links of cross-border e-commerce transaction chain, such as commodity manufacturing industry and consumer industry, related payment industry and logistics industry. Cross border e-commerce logistics is an important fulcrum for the development of cross-border e-commerce. Choosing a suitable cross-border e-commerce logistics mode, improving the operation efficiency of cross-border e-commerce logistics and reducing the cost of cross-border e-commerce logistics play an important role in promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce transactions.


Existing question answering datasets mostly contain homogeneous contexts, based on either textual or visual information alone. On the other hand, digitalization has evolved the nature of reading which often includes integrating information across multiple heterogeneous sources. To bridge the gap between two, we compile a Diverse Visuo-Lingustic Question Answering (DVLQA) challenge corpus, where the task is to derive joint inference about the given image-text modality in a question answering setting. Each dataset item consists of an image and a reading passage, where questions are designed to combine both visual and textual information, i.e. ignoring either of them would make the question unanswerable. We first explore the combination of best existing deep learning architectures for visual question answering and machine comprehension to solve DVLQA subsets and show that they are unable to reason well on the joint task. We then develop a modular method which demonstrates slightly better baseline performance and offers more transparency for interpretation of intermediate outputs. However, this is still far behind the human performance, therefore we believe DVLQA will be a challenging benchmark for question answering involving reasoning over visuo-linguistic context. The dataset, code and public leaderboard will be made available at this https URL.


Spoken dialogue based information retrieval systems that are used in mobile environments are becoming popular. However, mobile environment is dynamically changing and there exists many interfering signals. These two effects result in degradation in automatic speech recognition (ASR) accuracy and hence, degradation in performance of spoken dialogue based information retrieval systems. One way to improve the speech recognition accuracy is to separate the intended speech signal from the interference signals and use the enhanced speech signals in recognition. In this paper, we describe a technique that we applied for speech signal enhancement. We also provide the relative improvement in recognition accuracy that we obtained by using such enhanced speech signals in an ASR system. For speech signal enhancement, we apply the Over-complete Blind Source Separation (OCBSS) technique that we developed. For ASR, a continuous speech recognizer was used. In this paper, we also compare the recognition accuracy results of another BSS technique that is based on Independent Component Analysis (ICA) – JADE-ICA with OCBSS. The results indicate that as the complexity of signal separation problem increases i.e., close to real scenarios, the OCBSS provides about 30% better relative improvement in recognition accuracy as compared to JADE-ICA.


Leishmania mexicana amazonensis was cyclically transmitted in the laboratory from hamster to hamster by single bites of experimentally infected Lutzomyia longipalpis. The sandflies were denied suitable conditions for oviposition and were induced to take a second, infecting, meal while still gravid. In three transmissions, cutaneous lesions developed rapidly on two hamsters, whereas that on the third remained small for 8 months, almost disappeared, and then grew to the usual large size. In some infected flies, parasites migrated to the pharynx and buccal cavity but then died and disintegrated; in others, healthy parasites were attached to the cuticular intima of the oesophagus and pharynx by hemidesmosomes. The common failure of leishmaniae to become established in the foregut of many experimentally infected sandflies may be because parasites die after migration and not because they fail to migrate. One cause of the death may be a lack of plant juices, a food of sandflies in nature. At the second potentially infecting feed, sandflies usually probed many times and took either no blood or only a small meal. It is suggested that parasites in the foregut block the pores of cibarial sensilla which probably control engorgement; such an interference would be an advantage in the evolution of Leishmania.


1. The savagery of empire - Matthew P. Fitzpatrick and Peter Monteath 2. 'No alternative to extermination': Germans and their 'savages' in Southern Brazil at the turn of the nineteenth century - Stefan Rinke 3. 'Far better than their reputation': the Tolai of East New Britain in the writings of Otto Finsch - Hilary Howes 4. The goddess and the beast: African-German encounters - Eva Bischoff 5. Wine into wineskins: the Neuendettelsau missionaries' encounter with language and myth in New Guinea - Daniel Midena 6. Signs of the savage in the skull? German investigations of Australian Aboriginal skeletal remains, c. 1860 - Antje Kuhnast 7. 'Scientific tourism': colonialism in the photographs and letters of the young cosmopolitan Carl Heinrich Becker, 1900-02 - Ulf Morgenstern 8. Through a German lens: the Australian Aborigines and the question of difference - Judith Wilson 9. The savagery of America? Nineteenth-century German literature and indigenous representations - Nicole Perry 10. Incompetent masters, indolent natives, savage origins: the Philippines and its inhabitants in the travel accounts of Carl Semper (1869) and Fedor Jagor (1873) - Hidde van der Wall 11. Social Democrats and Germany's war in South-West Africa, 1904-07: the view of the socialist press - Andrew G. Bonnell Index -- .


A new approach for spatial direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation, denoted as re-iterative superresolution (RISR), is developed based upon a recursive implementation of the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) framework. This recursive strategy alternates between updating an MMSE filter bank according to the previous receive spatial power distribution and then subsequently applying the new filter bank to the received data snapshots to obtain a new estimate of the receive spatial power distribution. Benefits of this approach include robustness to coherent sources such as can occur in multipath environments, operation with very low sample support to enable "tracking" of sources with rapidly changing DOA (e.g., bistatic pulse chasing), intrinsic determination of model order, and robustness to array modeling errors by exploiting approximate knowledge of array calibration tolerances. From an implementation perspective RISR belongs to a class of recursive algorithms that includes Interior Point methods, the minimum-norm-based FoCal underdetermined system solver (FOCUSS) algorithm, and the iterative reweighted least squares (IRLS) algorithm. However, the structure of RISR also enables the natural inclusion of spatial noise covariance information as well as a mechanism to account for array modeling errors which are known to induce degradation for existing superresolution methods. The inclusion of the latter is also found to facilitate an adaptive form of regularization that establishes a feasible (given model uncertainties) dynamic range for source estimates.


Elevated tumor cyclooxygenase‐2 is associated with poor overall survival in patients with a variety of cancers. Patients with elevated COX‐2 that receive a COX‐2 inhibitor have demonstrated improved survival. Indomethacin (IM) is a COX‐non‐selective inhibitor with demonstrated anticancer activity in patients. The anticancer effects of IM are related to inhibition of COX‐2 as well as COX‐independent targets. We now report the synthesis and activity of novel IM‐sila‐ amide derivatives where strategic silicon addition results in COX‐2 selective IM derivatives that demonstrate activity in mouse models of human cancers and are devoid of the COX‐1 associated toxicities. The sila‐IM compounds demonstrated improved inhibition of purified human COX‐2, IC50 0.2 µM and limited inhibition of COX‐1 up to 10 µM. Sila‐IM derivatives were also found to be potent inhibitors of NFκB transcription activating function at concentrations below 1.0 µM. A sila‐IM derivative Silexsyn was tested in various animal models of human cancer following oral administration. Significant activity was observed in models of non‐small cell lung cancer and pancreas cancer. Potent synergism was observed for Silexsyn in combination with EGFR inhibitors. A synthetic methodology incorporating a heteroatom in the amino‐functional silane has been developed and used to generate second‐generation sila‐IM derivatives that could have improved pharmacological properties. The introduction of silicon into an approved scaffold represents an efficient strategy for the rapid production of biologically relevant therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(23 Suppl):C50.


This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study into learners' experiences with social presence and technology-mediated social processes. The presentation addresses three key questions: (a) Do learners in technology-mediated learning situations experience social presence as a property of media or as a feature of human activity and agency? (b) How does social presence operate within the tension between technological determinisms and human agency to promote productive learning activity? (c)What are the implications for the design, development and use of technology-mediated learning situations in networked learning? The findings from this study highlight the subjective nature of social presence and, in particular, the role of human agency (as a form of subjectivity) in the establishment, development and operation of social presence. Three key features of social presence emerged from the findings: First, it is demonstrative insofar as it premised upon an individual's ability to make observable demonstrations of presence and project her/himself into a technology-mediated social situation. Second, it is dynamic in the sense that a participant's social presence fluctuates based on the number, frequency and quality of interactions. Third, it is cumulative insofar as it is based upon ongoing demonstrations of presence which produce a sense of continuity in others' experience of an individual's social presence. In this view, social presence represents an example of democratic rationalization by users of networked environments to overcome the technological determinism of the environments. This view contrasts historical perspectives which emphasise the role of media and technologies in determining social presence and sociability of technology-mediated spaces. These findings contribute not only to understanding of the operation of social processes in technology-mediated networked learning situations, but also to the broader understandings of the operation of networked learning systems. In particular, they reinforce the notion that social presence can be cultivated and the ability to do so must be learned. This point has important implications for the development and support of networked learning systems and consideration for the cultivation of skills required for successful networked learning. Similarly there are implications for the development of skills related to the wider uses of technology and the role of human agency in the ongoing evolution and use of technologies.


Preface Acknowledgements Part I. Introduction: 1. Introduction 2. Excerpts from 1994 and 1995 IPCC Reports Part II. The Missing Carbon Sink: 3. Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption and cement manufacture, 1751-1991 and an estimate of their isotopic composition and latitudinal distribution 5. Emissions of carbon from land-use change 6. The CO2 fertilizing effect: relevance to the global carbon cycle 7. Soils and the global carbon cycle 8. Grasslands and the global carbon cycle: modeling the effects of climate change 9. Constraints on the atmospheric carbon budget from spatial distributions of CO2 10. Estimating air-sea exchanges of CO2 from pCO2 gradients: assessment of uncertainties 11. Atmospheric oxygen measurements and the carbon cycle a strategy for estimating the potential soil carbon storage due to CO2 fertilization Part III. Paleo-CO2 Variations: 12. Isotope and carbon cycle inferences 13. Shallow water carbonate deposition and its effect on the carbon cycle Part IV. Modeling CO2 Changes: 14. Future fossil fuel carbon emissions without policy intervention: a review 15. The future role of reforestation in reducing the buildup of atmospheric CO2 16. Simple ocean carbon cycle models 17. Very high-resolution estimates of global ocean circulation, suitable for carbon cycle modeling 18. Effects of ocean circulation change on atmospheric CO2 19. Box models of the terrestrial biosphere 20. Impacts of climate and CO2 on the terrestrial carbon cycle 21. Stabilization of CO2 concentration levels Part V. Appendix 1. Organizing committee Appendix 2. Working group members Appendix 3. Reviewers.


Reducing the concentration of the metallic impurities present in silicon-based electronic components plays a vital role in manufactures. Gettering by induced mechanical damage is one of the methods used in neutralizing these impurities. To simulate this type of gettering, we explicitly include the role of the traps due to mechanical damage, based on the mechanism of kick-out. In our model, we choose the essential parameters including concentration of impurities, thickness, temperature, time, etc. The diffusion coefficient and equilibrium concentration of the silicon interstitials estimated from the literature have been adjusted to be in good agreement with the experimental data.


We evaluated a new method of segmental analysis of the array of numbers representing the depths at points on the optic nerve as generated by a computerized retinal topographic imaging system (the Humphrey Retinal Analyzer). We divided the observed optic nerve head into five rectangular areas, determined the mean depth of each of these areas, and compared them statistically. Intraobserver, interimage, and interobserver variability were calculated. The range of intraobserver variability (+/-SEM) was +/-1.2 to +/-12.0 mum, median 4.6 mum. Interimage variability ranged from +/-3.0 to +/-30.8 mum, median 14.7 mum. Interobserver variability, assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient and two-way analysis of variance, showed observer-to-observer variability was not significant as compared to subject variance and subject-observer interaction variance. Clinical studies further evaluating this segmental analysis of computerized data from the Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph are in progress.


We investigate the effect of Europe's largest multilateral subsidy program for R&D-performing, small and medium-sized enterprises on firm growth. The program was organized under a specific budget allocation rule, referred to as Virtual Common Pot (VCP), which is designed to avoid cross-subsidization between participating countries. This rule creates exogenous variation in treatment status and allows us to identify the local average treatment effect of public R&D grants. In addition, we compare the program's effect under the VCP rule with the standard situation of a Real Common Pot (RCP), where program authorities allocate a single budget according to uniform project evaluation criteria. Our estimates suggest no average effect of grants on firm growth but treatment effects are heterogeneous and increase with project quality. A Real Common Pot would have reduced the cost of policy-induced job creation by 27%. We discuss the implications of our findings for the coordination of national policy programs within the European Research Area.


Reports on effects of chlordecone on brain catecholamine concentrations have been inconsistent. Because various studies indicate the potential for toxic effects on neurotransmitter systems, the following study was performed to assess effects of chlordecone on brain adrenergic systems. Male Sprague-Dawley rats dosed once with chlordecone at 100 mg/kg were sacrificed after 24 hr, then brain norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) levels were assayed. Another group was fed chlordecone at 10 mg/kg for 10 days. Additionally, animals treated with 10 mg/kg/day were injected iv with 3H-tyrosine at two intervals prior to sacrifice in order to estimate NE and DA synthesis rates. Whole brain concentrations of NE, DA, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol sulfate (MOPEG-SO4) were measured. No changes were observed in whole brain catecholamine or metabolite concentrations, nor in NE or DA synthesis rates. In another experiment, administration of chlordecone (10 mg/kg for 10 days) was found not to alter the rate of incorporation of 3H-tyrosine into NE or DA in any brain area tested. Results suggest that the initial functional deficits responsible for neurological symptoms do not result from inhibition of synthesis and transport of brain catecholamines.


ABSTRACT The current study assessed (1) the importance of six caregiver interactions skills (sensitive responsiveness, respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting, verbal communication, developmental stimulation, and fostering positive peer interactions) as rated by several stakeholders, (2) the quality of caregiver interactive skills, and (3) the effectiveness of a training program in early child care centers (children 0- to 6-year-olds) in Bangladesh. Using a quasi-experimental study design, 20 caregivers were allocated to the experimental condition (receiving a training) and 20 caregivers to the control condition (no training). Research Findings: Results showed that the importance of the six caregiver interactive skills was acknowledged by parents, managers/factory owners, and caregivers. Caregivers scored on average in the inadequate range for five out of the six CIP skills (except structuring and limit setting). Using a newly developed training program, quality of caregiver interactive skills improved. Finally, caregivers' overall training satisfaction as rated at posttest was high. The relatively low scores on caregiver interactive skills underscore that it is important to assess and monitor pedagogical quality in child care. Practice or Policy: Our findings indicate that the quality of caregiver–child interactions in the Bangladesh child care context can be strengthened by training.


The seed reserves of Euterpe edulis finished when the seedlings showed the 2nd green leaf completely expanded. This fact could be the cause of the great mortality observed in field conditions by seedlings showing the 3rd green leaf. Seedlings of Euterpe edulis, until age of five months, did not present higher growth under higher nutrition. Older seedlings, however, presented higher shoot dry weight when Hoagland solution was added.


A personal opinion about the labor pain management was presented from my experience in Japanese and French institutions of obstetric anesthesia. Establishment of obstetric anesthesia as a specialized field is the primary goal. However, the author has an impression that one of the solutions to the problem of manpower or emergency service is the close interaction between the department of anesthesia located at the surgical operating room and the obstetric ward rather than being separated especially in Japan. Flexible management system is necessary for successful service of epidural analgesia for labor pain.


Introduction: Flat foot is a condition with decreased neutral foot arch due to different factors such as muscle weakness. It can cause excessive pronation of subtalar joint in the stance phase of the gait cycle, increasing of external rotation of the femur, apparent changes in lower limbs kinematics and also gait dysfunctions. Various studies showed the effects of the whole-body vibration on the strengthening of knee musculature, especially in a patient with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency. None of the study reported the positive impact of whole-body vibration in foot dysfunctions. The current study aimed to evaluate the navicular drop changes in children aged 6-12 years with flexible flat feet. Materials and Methods: The current Quasi-Experimental study enrolled 44 children (girls and boys, aged 6-12 years) with a flexible flat foot and divided into two groups of 22 participants. One group received whole-body vibration, and the other group received routine exercise therapy for six weeks. The navicular drop was measured before and immediately after six weeks. Results: The results showed a significant change in both the groups in the direction of treatment of flat foot (p<0.001). However, the changes were more prominent in whole-body vibration group (47%) than the exercise group (15%) (p<0.001). Discussion: These findings show that both the presiders of the whole-body vibration and routine exercise therapy could make significant changes in treatments groups. However, whole-body vibration could be more efficient than the exercise therapy. Further studies in this field are recommended using higher number of samples and different age groups. Key words: Whole Body Vibration, Flexible Flat Foot, Exercise Therapy, child, Medial Longitudinal Arch


Patient participation is highlighted in healthcare policy documents as an important area to address in order to improve and secure healthcare quality. The literature on healthcare quality and safety furthermore reveals that transitional care carries a risk of adverse events. Elderly persons with co-morbidities are in need of treatment and healthcare from several care professionals and are transferred between different care levels. Patient-centered care, shared decision-making and user involvement are concepts of care that incorporate patient participation and the patients' experiences with care. Even though these care concepts are highlighted in healthcare policy documents, limited knowledge exists about their use in transitions, and therefore points to a need for a review of the existing literature. The purpose of the paper is to give an overview of studies including patient participation as applied in transitional care of the elderly. The methodology used is a literature review searching electronic databases. Results show that participation from elderly in discharge planning and decision-making was low, although patients wanted to participate. Some tools were successfully implemented, but several did not stimulate patient participation. The paper has documented that improvements in quality of transitional care of elderly is called for, but has not been well explored in the research literature and a need for future research is revealed. Clinical practice should take into consideration implementing tools to support patient participation to improve the quality of transitional care of the elderly.


From the late 1970s onwards, a considerably body of literature related to user innovation has been published. Despite the increasing number of studies that have been conducted in user innovation during the last forty years, little attempt has been made to translate those findings systematically into a comprehensive review of current knowledge. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap, by providing a rigorous systematic literature review on the field of user innovation, thereby enhancing our understanding of the different user innovation streams and the evolution of the community of scholar. The research provides a systematic review of the conceptual, analytical and empirical user innovation literature from 1970 to 2013. It follows the process of a systematic review in management research. Conceptual, analytical and empirical contributions have been progressively extended by scholars to several research streams: 1. Lead users; 2. Product – Service development; 3. Users´ role and types; 4. Online user communities; 5. Toolkits; 6. User entrepreneurship; 7. User innovation. In the same manner, several avenues of future research have opened to junior and senior researchers.


Recognition of inorganic phosphates PO(4)(3-), P(2)O(7)(4-), and P(3)O(10)(5-) and nucleotides AMP(2-), ADP(3-), and ATP(4-) by Zn(2+)-salophen complexes 1 and 2 in ethanol was investigated by different spectroscopic techniques. (31)P NMR and mass spectrometry showed that anions of both series are bound by 1 and 2, while absorption and emission studies revealed that only nucleotides produce relevant changes in the spectral properties of the two hosts. (1)H NMR studies proved that the adenine aromatic group is involved in the complexation, thus pointing out the role of supramolecular ditopic receptors played by salophen derivatives toward this class of biologically relevant substrates. The lifetime of the photogenerated triplet state of the Zn(2+)-salophen compounds was measured by nanosecond laser flash photolysis, and the observed changes upon increasing the concentration of nucleotides allowed the identification of the formation of a 1:0.5 host/guest intermediate complex additionally to the formation of a 1:1 complex.


Abstract Aim Research is lacking in terms of reading decoding skills among clinical samples of Swedish-speaking children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Method The present cross-sectional study included a sample of 61 children (8-12 years) with DLD attending school language units, years 1 to 5. Our purpose was to study reading decoding skills and predictors for decoding, such as a phonological processing skill (nonword repetition), working memory, and a family history of literacy problems. Results The results on a combined measure of the word and nonword decoding indicated that only 18% of the children had age-adequate decoding skills. The proportion of age-adequate decoders did not change noticeably with the school year. The participants' decoding skills showed larger deviations to test norm means with higher school years. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the best predictors of decoding skills were measures of working memory and nonword repetition, followed by school year. These factors significantly contributed to the variance in decoding among our sample of children with DLD. A family history of literacy problems made no contribution to the variance. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the necessity of assessing and following up on literacy development in children with DLD.


An analytical and numerical investigation into pure-slip and stick-slip oscillations induced by dry friction between a rigid mass linked by an inclined spring, modeled by the archetypal self-excited smooth and discontinuous (SD) oscillator, and the classical moving rigid belt, is presented. The friction force between surface contacts is modeled in the sense of Stribeck effect to formulate the friction model that the friction force firstly decreases and then increases with increasing relative sliding speed. Some perturbation methods are considered into this system for establishing the approximate analytical expressions of the occurring conditions, vibration amplitudes, and base frequencies of dry friction-induced stick-slip and pure-slip oscillations. For pure-slip oscillations, two different approaches are applied to analyze this self-excited SD oscillator. One of them is the homotopy perturbation method by constructing the nonlinear amplitude and frequency. Based on the multiple-scales homotopy perturbation method, a nonlinear equation for amplitude of the analytical approximate solution is constructed, which containing all parameters of problem. For stick-slip oscillations, the analytical approximations for amplitude and frequency are obtained by perturbation methods for finite time intervals of the stick phase, which is linked to the subsequent slip phase under the conditions of continuity and periodicity. The accuracy of analytical approximations is verified by the comparison between analytical approximations and numerical simulations. These analytical expressions are needed for gaining a deeper understanding of dry friction-induced pure-slip and stick-slip oscillations for the friction system with geometric nonlinearity.


Recent advantages in changing faces using DeepFake algorithms, which replace a face of one person with a face of another, truly represent what artificial intelligence and deep learning are capable of. Deepfakes in still images or video clips represent forgeries and tampered visual information. They are becoming increasingly successful and even difficult to notice in some cases. In this paper we analyze deepfakes using SIFT (Scale-Invariant Feature Transform) features. The experimental results show that in deepfake analysis using SIFT keypoints can be considered valuable.


The determination of salivary drug concentrations is one of the major domains for the application of saliva in laboratory medicine. Its usefulness, however, has been criticized for many drugs because of the variability of the saliva/plasma concentration ratio (saliva/plasma ratio). Considering saliva as a model for transmembrane transport, drugs can be divided into 4 groups. The first group is characterized by a saliva/plasma ratio less than 1.0. In extreme cases a drug with negligible transport is either not detectable in saliva or is found in very low concentrations which are hard to measure or difficult to interpret. A second group leads to saliva/plasma ratios which are approximately constant and about 1.0 under most of the conditions studied. This group is ideal for monitoring salivary drug concentrations. A third group is sufficiently transferred into saliva, but the saliva/plasma ratio varies under different conditions. The reason for this variation is that the transport is influenced by several factors including an active transport mechanism. The varying influence of these factors on the saliva/plasma ratio largely depends on the physico-chemical characteristics of the particular substance. In a fourth group very high saliva/plasma ratios are observed primarily due to the degree of ionization of weak bases. A representative of each group is presented with its saliva/plasma ratio and its physico-chemical properties: ceftazidim, ethanol, digoxin and prilocain. In all cases the salivary concentration probably reflects the intracellular concentration in target tissues. All examples confirm saliva as an ideal in vivo model for the study of transmembrane transport in the human organism.


This article introduces the latest international and national legal frameworks effecting an international exchange of financial accounts data as well as other general anti tax avoidance legislation based on the work of the OECD carried out over the past decade. It asks whether internationalisation as effected through the OECD can be trusted to respect constitutional guarantees of the rights of individuals and companies by adopting this novel set of rules. The author critizises the present proposals and enactments with particular reference to current and proposed tax law in the UK and Germany and proposes an alternative way forward based on crucial and internationally accepted fundamental rights and civil liberties.


Abstract : This paper presents a taxonomy of replay attacks on cryptographic protocols in terms of message origin and destination. The taxonomy is independent of any method used to analyze or prevent such attacks. It is also complete in the sense that any replay attack is composed entirely of elements classified by the taxonomy. The classification of attacks is illustrated using both new and previously known attacks on protocols. The taxonomy is also used to discuss the appropriateness of particular countermeasures and protocol analysis methods to particular kinds of replays.


Silicone rubber (SR)/Mg–Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites were prepared by the solution intercalation of SR crosslinked by a platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction into the galleries of dodecyl sulfate intercalated layered double hydroxide (DS–LDH). X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the formation of exfoliated structures of organomodified LDH layers in the SR matrix. The tensile strength and elongation at break of SR/DS–LDH (5 wt %) were maximally improved by 53 and 38%, respectively, in comparison with those of the neat polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the thermal degradation temperature of the exfoliated SR/DS–LDH (1 wt %) nanocomposites at 50% weight loss was 20°C higher than that of pure SR. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis data confirmed that the melting temperature of the nanocomposites increased at lower filler loadings (1, 3, and 5 wt %), whereas it decreased at a higher filler loading (8 wt %). The relative improvements in the solvent-uptake resistance behavior of the SR/DS–LDH nanocomposites were also observed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


The main purpose of conducting this study was to explore the socioeconomic determinants of child educational attainment in Pakistan. Data on selected variables is extracted from nationally representative survey of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) 2013-14. The study considers the children of age 5-18 years who ever attended any or currently attending any educational institution. Censored Ordered Probit model is employed. The results at aggregate level reveal that child's gender, child's age, age of household's head, parental education, household assets and availability of private schools positively affect child educational attainment in Pakistan. Children belong to Baluchistan province and urban region of Pakistan also get more education as compare to reference categories. Gender of household head and distance to school has negative effect on child educational attainment. To explore the inconsistency in effect of these factors across region and across gender, separate analysis is conducted for urban, rural, male and female sample. The results of gender specific analysis indicate that income of the household, region of residence (urban) and annual school fee are the main factors causing gender disparity whereas estimates at regional level analysis show that parental education, agricultural land ownership and, distance to school are the factors responsible for regional disparity in child educational attainment. Keywords


A case of anterior interosseous neuritis due to compression of the nerve over an abnormally large tendon of origin of the flexor digitorum profundus is described. Excision of the band relieved the paralysis.


The Internet can be a useful tool that can enhance interactivity in classes. Accordingly, offering distance learning courses using the Web, especially in the asynchronous mode for the additional flexibility of time, is becoming an established practice in higher education. Web-based distance learning comes with numerous benefits, but not without worries for potentials deficiencies. One such deficiency in the current distance learning framework is the lack of lecture, the most relied-upon and proven means of instruction in the traditional classroom settings. This paper raises an issue of the lack of lectures in Web-based distance learning, and proposes that streaming video take the role of online lecture in that setting. Described in this paper are the rationale to put the lecture back into elearning in higher education, two case studies in which the steps were taken to implement the proposed method, and the feedback from the students who took such courses in the undergraduate business curriculum and the MBA program.


The article begins by noting that the widespread assumption that the social basis of more difficult or cosmopolitan art has been undermined in later modernity should lead to blander, less controversial art. An alternative interpretation is briefly described in which cosmopolitan art has become a spectacular tourist attraction. Significant questions that would follow such a development are: how national cultural institutions have been co-opted into a global spectacular culture and whether the work displayed in these settings can be radically critical of dominant social values; and the implications of the development of a public culture focused on spectacular attractions for notions of cultural citizenship. In the article these questions are explored through a brief history of changing attitudes and values in British public culture, leading to a suggestion that we are experiencing an era of cultural fragmentation. The article concludes with a consideration of the possibilities for cultural citizenship in these changing circumstances.


Tuberculosis (TB) is an illness that results from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). This aerobic bacillus have the cell wall with a high lipid contend which result in a high degree of lipophilicity and resistance to alcohol, acids, alkali and some disinfectants. TB is the leading worldwide cause of mortality resulting from an infectious bacterial agent. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that almost one-third of world's population is infected with MTB, with 8.9-9.9 million incident cases by year (WHO, 2010).


Graph classification aims to learn models to classify structure data. To date, all existing graph classification methods are designed to target one single learning task and require a large number of labeled samples for learning good classification models. In reality, each real-world task may only have a limited number of labeled samples, yet multiple similar learning tasks can provide useful knowledge to benefit all tasks as a whole. In this paper, we formulate a new multi-task graph classification (MTG) problem, where multiple graph classification tasks are jointly regularized to find discriminative subgraphs shared by all tasks for learning. The niche of MTG stems from the fact that with a limited number of training samples, subgraph features selected for one single graph classification task tend to overfit the training data. By using additional tasks as evaluation sets, MTG can jointly regularize multiple tasks to explore high quality subgraph features for graph classification. To achieve this goal, we formulate an objective function which combines multiple graph classification tasks to evaluate the informativeness score of a subgraph feature. An iterative subgraph feature exploration and multi-task learning process is further proposed to incrementally select subgraph features for graph classification. Experiments on real-world multi-task graph classification datasets demonstrate significant performance gain.


via simple hydrothermal method, CeO2 was in-situ grown onto the CNTs to form CeO2/CNTs nanocomposites were synthesized with cerium nitrate as Ce resource. The morphology and structure were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The characterizations reveal that CeO2 nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed onto the surface of the pre-acidified CNTs. The electrochemical property of the synthesized nanocomposite was investigated in 0.1 M KCl electrolyte containing 2 mM [Fe(CN)6]3-/4-. The nanocomposites were employed to fabricate electrochemical sensor for phenol detection. The linear range for phenol detection measured by the differential pulse voltammetry method is 1–500 μM. The sensor also exhibits good selectivity, reproducibility and stability. When applied for the river and tap water analysis, it shows good recovery rate.


We developed an accurate nonradioactive colony hybridization assay (NCHA) using a digoxigenin-labeled polynucleotide probe and an antidigoxigenin alkaline phosphatase conjugate for the identification of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) harboring genes for colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I), coli surface antigen 4 (CS4), or putative colonization factor O166 (PCFO166). In this 2-day assay, visual registration of color intensity could be used to distinguish between CFA/I-positive strains and strains with the genetic potential to express CS4 or PCFO166. A rapid NCHA was developed by which the results could be read visually 7 h and 45 min after inoculation of the bacteria. In the rapid NCHA, densitometry verified the visual discrimination between four groups of E. coli; ETEC with the CFA/I gene, ETEC with the CS4 gene, ETEC with the PCFO166 gene, and E. coli strains that lack such genes. As a confirmatory test, plasmids from ETEC with the CFA/I, CS4, or PCFO166 gene were differentiated by their characteristic restriction fragment patterns in nonradioactive Southern blot hybridization.


A methodology is described for determining the mechanical properties of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) in a resistance spot weld. To perform detailed finite-element analyses of spot weld overload failures, it is necessary to have the mechanical properties of the various HAZ subzones. To this end, simulated HAZ material samples were fabricated in a process that utilized a resistance spot welding machine fitted with specially modified electrodes. Tensile tests at several loading rates were performed on miniature notched-bar specimens machined from the simulated HAZ material. These tests provided the empirical data from which the strain hardening capacities and strain rate sensitivities of the weld HAZ were determined through detailed finite-element analyses of the notched-bar tensile tests.


Spectroscopy of the broad iron iron with ASCA and BeppoSAX has up opened the innermost regions of accreting black hole systems to detailed study. In this contribution, I discuss how observations with future X-ray missions will extend these studies and all us to observationally address issues which are currently only in the realm of the theorists. In particular, high-throughput spectroscopy with XMM and, eventually, Constellation-X will allow the full diagnostic power of iron line variability to be realized. Instabilities of the inner accretion flow, the geometry of the variable X-ray source, and the black hole mass and spin will all be open to study. Eventually, X-ray interferometry will allow direct imaging of the black hole region in nearby active galaxies, thereby providing the ultimate probe of black hole astrophysics.


Every rhinoplasty begins with the analysis of the patient. For this analysis it is very important to carefully assess not only the nose, but also the facial features and the morphological characteristics of the patient s body. After this evaluation a list of the surgical techniques necessary to achieve the desired nose is drawn and, according to this surgical planning, the surgical approach is selected. The surgical approach should provide adequate exposure of the nasal structures that are to be addressed by surgery, and should allow the various surgical techniques to be executed without difficulty and without jeopardizing the nasal structures. For providing adequate exposure, however, every approach has to divide or to elevate nasal cartilaginous and soft tissues structures, and this may interfere, to a certain degree, with the natural mechanisms of tip support and strength. Several nasal structures are unanimously recognised as contributing to the tip support. The factors influencing this support are usually classified as the major and the minor tip support mechanisms. The major tip support mechanisms are: the size, shape, thickness and resilience of the alar cartilages; the upper lateral cartilages attachment to the cephalic margin of the alar cartilages; the attachment of the medial crura footplates to the caudal septum. The minor tip support mechanisms are: the ligamentous sling spanning the domes of the alar cartilages; the membranous septum; the cartilaginous septal dorsum; the nasal spine; the sesamoid complex extending the support of the lateral crura to the piriform aperture; the attachment of the alar cartilages to the overlying skin and musculature. (3,4). Recent studies have underscored the role of the upper lateral cartilages attachment to the cephalic margin of the alar cartilages to maintain a strong tip support (5,6). It has been demonstrated that this attachment is made of fibrous tissue consisting of dense collagen fibers, all orientated in a single direction, thus fulfilling the criteria of a true ligament (5). Another study demonstrated that the most efficient way to release the tip as to be freely moved is severing these fibrous attachments between the upper lateral and the alar cartilages (6), thus highlighting the role of this ligament to the tip support. Every effort should be made, therefore, to preserve these collagen fibres during rhinoplasty, in order not to weaken the support of the nasal tip. This should be kept in mind while performing rhinoplasty, as well as while choosing the approach for surgery.