Glacierized mountain ranges such as the Himalaya comprise a variety of glacier types, including clean and debris-covered glaciers. Monitoring their behaviour over time requires an assessment of changes in area and elevation along with surface features and geomorphology. In this paper we quantify the surface evolution of glacier systems in the Manaslu region of Nepal over the last five decades using 2013/2019 multi-sensor imagery and elevation data constructed from 1970 declassified Corona imagery and 1970 declassified Corona imagery. We investigate area changes, glacier thickness, geodetic glacier mass balance and surface velocity changes at regional scales and focus on the Ponkar Glacier and Thulagi Glacier and Lake for an in-depth assessment of surface geomorphology and surface feature dynamics (ponds, vegetation and ice cliffs). The time series of surface elevation changes for the lower ablation area of Ponkar Glacier is extended using 2019 UAV-based imagery and field-based ablation rates measured over the period 2016–2019. Glaciers in the Manaslu region experienced a mean area loss of −0.26 ± 0.0001% a−1 between 1970 and 2019. The mean surface lowering was −0.20 ± 0.02 ma−1 over the period 1970 to 2013, corresponding to a regional geodetic mass balance of −0.17 ± 0.03 m w. e.a−1. Overall, debris-covered glaciers had slightly higher thinning rates compared to clean ice glaciers; lake-terminating glaciers had double thinning rates compared to land-terminating glaciers. Individual glacier mass balance was negatively controlled by glacier slope and mean glacier elevation. During the period 1970 to 2013, Ponkar Glacier had a geodetic mass balance of −0.06 ± 0.01 m w. e.a−1, inversely correlated with parts of the central trunk thickening. Between 2013 and 2019 there was a nine-fold increase in the thinning rates over the lower parts of the glacier tongue relative to the period 1970–2013. Ice-surface morphology changes between 1970 and 2019 on Ponkar Glacier include a decrease in ogives and open crevasses, an increase in ice cliffs and ponds and the expansion of the supraglacial debris and ice-surface vegetation. These changes point to reduced ice-dynamic activity and are commensurate with the observed recession and negative glacier mass balance over the last five decades.


It is recognized that an increased level of consumption in industrialized countries is one of the main factors contributing to continual environmental degradation and does not contribute to our overall wellbeing (Seyfang, 2009; Green and Vergragt, 2002; Tukker et al., 2006). Mont and Plepys (2008) argue that the rising levels of consumption are a result of a growing population and increasing affluence. As such, the paper first addresses the importance of sustainable consumption and defines the focus of research. Then it talks about the influence of business on consumers and refers to the need for an in-depth focus on consumers as they account for a large proportion of environmental and social impacts (Defra, 2008; Sto et al., 2006). The paper also identifies user-centred design (UCD) as an approach that can support sustainable consumption as it is used to gain in-depth knowledge of the consumer and their context (Haines et al., 2010; Fulton, 2004).
The paper describes the initial findings of research, which aims to create a framework to help 'business to consumer' i.e. fast consumer goods, electronic consumer goods, e-commerce and services, to understand how UCD can be part of their strategy to enable sustainable consumption. The paper presents the initial framework, which is built on findings from the literature review; semi-structured interviews with experts related to UCD, design, sustainability, and business consultants; a workshop with UCD experts, and a business case analysis (Unilever Sustainable Living Plan launch event).


Polycythemia vera is a condition that surgeons do not commonly encounter. Advances in medical management have largely led to avoidance of surgical intervention in most patients. Indications and timing of splenectomy have been the subject of debate since the disease was first described in the late 19th century. Though anemia and thrombocytopenia associated with polycythemia vera only transiently respond to splenectomy, painful splenomegaly with infarction or compression of surrounding viscera are presently accepted indications for surgery. Special consideration must be given to polycythemia vera patients both preoperatively and postoperatively due to altered coagulation and anatomy. We present a review of the pathophysiology, medical treatment, indications for surgical intervention, and perioperative considerations for polycythemia vera.


This review is based on results from our laboratory and those published by others, and is focused on the early stages of pathogenesis that can be studied mostly in animals. Gastric mucosal injury is analysed on the examples of ethanol- and aspirin-induced lesions. Ethanol (50-100%) rapidly penetrates the mucosa, causes directly and/or indirectly (e.g., release of vasoactive products) endothelial damage in superficial and deep capillaries and venules. The vascular damage results in increased vascular permeability and decrease in blood flow leading to complete circulatory standstill in superficial capillaries 1-2 min after intragastric administration of concentrated ethanol. The direct chemical damage to surface mucosal epithelium is then followed by hypoxia and deep hemorrhagic necrosis in 1-5 min (erosion or ulcer). Unionized aspirin initiates a similar and complex yet slower progressing and less extensive erosion than alcohol. Duodenal erosion and ulcer produced by cysteamine, mepirizole or MPTP are preceded by excess acid in the proximal duodenum. This could be due to increased gastric acid output (1-4 hr), decreased bicarbonate secretion or duodenal dysmotility (0.5-8 hr) preventing the proper mix of acid and base in duodenal bulb. Necrosis and desquamation of absorptive cells in duodenal villi are evident 2-4 hr, followed by villus amputation (4-8 hr), erosion and ulcer (8-24 hr). The pathogenesis of gastroduodenal mucosal injury can thus be reconstructed from results obtained with animal models and from human studies. The results should serve as a basis to design protective drugs that are active on the basis of pathogenetic events.


Abstract This article describes the FAIRification process (which involves making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable—or FAIR—for both machines and humans) for data related to the impact of COVID-19 on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia, Libya and Niger, according to the scheme adopted by GO FAIR. This process was divided into three phases: pre-FAIRification, FAIRification and post-FAIRification. Each phase consisted of seven steps. In the first phase, 118 in-depth interviews and 565 press articles and research reports were collected by students and researchers at the University of Sousse in Tunisia and researchers in Niger. These interviews, articles and reports constitute the dataset for this research. In the second phase, the data were sorted and converted into a machine actionable format and published on a FAIR Data Point hosted at the University of Sousse. In the third phase, an assessment of the implementation of the FAIR Guidelines was undertaken. Certain barriers and challenges were faced in this process and solutions were found. For FAIR data curation, certain changes need to be made to the technical process. People need to be convinced to make these changes and that the implementation of FAIR will generate a long-term return on investment. Although the implementation of FAIR Guidelines is not straightforward, making our resources FAIR is essential to achieving better science together.


Background: Lynch syndrome (also Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colon Cancer, HNPCC) represents the most common, autosomal dominantly inherited cancer predisposition worldwide and accounts for 3-5% of the total colorectal cancer (CRC) burden. It is caused by germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes (mainly MLH1 and MSH2). MMR deficiency results in microsatellite instability (MSI), i.e. genome-wide accumulation of somatic alterations at repetitive DNA sequence motifs, mostly non-coding microsatellite markers. MSI, used as a diagnostic tool to identify HNPCC-related CRCs, can also affect repeat tracts within or immediately adjacent to the coding sequence of so-called target genes (like TGFbRII, BAX, etc) which are thought to fuel carcinogenesis in HNPCC. In search for novel target gene loci we identified a large poly-T tract, (T)16, in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1 (EWSR1) gene. Aims: To determine i) type and frequency of instability at the EWSR1 (T)16 in 78 HNPCC and 85 sporadic colorectal cancers and ii) its possible effect on EWS expression Materials and methods: We determined the length of the EWSR1 3'UTR tract motif, (T)16, by PCR amplification and fragment analysis of 78 CRCs from HNPCC patients with identified germline mutation (MLH1: n=50; MSH2: n=28), 85 sporadic microsatellite-stable CRCs as well as 5 CRC cell lines (2 MMR proficient, 3 MMR deficient). EWS protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) on a tissue microarray and immunoreactivity scored semi-quantitatively. Statistical comparisons were performed using Chi-square or Student9s t test where appropriated (two-tailed p values, considering p Results: Novel alleles at the EWSR1 3'UTR (T)16 tract were observed in all (n=78) HNPCC but none (0/85) of the sporadic CRCs. The type (insertion/deletion) and frequency of somatic alterations were: ins1-2 (2.5%), del1-3 (22.6%), del4 (34.4%), del5 (28.54%) and del>6 (11.92%). Similar observations were made for the MMR-deficient cell lines (HCT116/MLH1: del3/del4; LoVo/MSH2: del4) whereas the MMR-proficient ones were stable. RNA secondary structure prediction suggested gross structural alterations for deletions >4 Ts. IHC showed significant downregulation of EWS expression in sporadic CRCs (p Conclusion: The (T)16 tract in the 3'UTR of the EWSR1 gene represents a novel target gene locus in Lynch syndrome allowing for highly sensitive and specific identification of MMR-deficient CRCs. Moreover, IHC analysis suggests a regulatory role of this locus on EWS protein expression in HNPCC colorectal cancers. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3802. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3802


One of the most common abnormalities associated with olives pickled in California is known throughout the industry as "yeast spots." This blemish, shown in figure 1, is characterized by the formation of raised white spots or pimples between the inner surface of the skin and the flesh of the olive. Although in general, the Sevillano variety most frequently shows this blemish, the spots may be found on all varieties and types of olives which have undergone fermentation in salt brines.' Because such olives are considered unsightly, some loss of value of the pickled fruit may be experienced, although the olives may be perfectly normal and healthful in other respects. These small white spots actually are colonies of microorganisms which have developed during the fermentation. Vaughn, Douglas and Gililland (1943) reported that most of the pimples examined in the laboratory contained lactobacilli, some cultures of which were identified as Lactobacillue plantarum. Then a deliberate search for yeasts was initiated because general use of the term "yeast spots" indicated that yeasts actually had been observed in the pimpled olives. No yeasts were found. After it was apparent that most, if not all, of the spots contained bacteria, it was decided to determine the predominating types. These investigations are described in the following pages.


Venous thromboembolism (comprising deep venous thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism) is a common disease, often of multifactorial cause. Focal iliac artery aneurysms are relatively rare, and only a few reports exist in the literature describing patients with venous thromboembolism resulting from venous floe disruption due to iliac artery aneurysm. Thus, we report a case of a 65-year-old male presenting with pulmonary embolism and bilateral deep vein thrombosis associated with a contained rupture of the right common iliac artery aneurysm.


The force balance equation describing the motion of a small paramagnetic particle near a cylindrical ferromagnetic collector is presented in general form. The capture cross-section for a particle approaching a bare wire is found to be a function of the coefficient of magnetic force and the magnetization of the cylinder. Calculations show that the assumption of potential flow versus creeping flow is a critical one which can change the capture cross-section by as much as a factor of three.


Vincent Tabone may be unique in the history of ophthalmology. He practiced ophthalmology for 40 years in his homeland, the Republic of Malta. During that time, he became well known as a pioneer in the international effort to eradicate trachoma worldwide. At age 53, he began a long and successful political career as a member of parliament, then as a cabinet minister, and, finally, as the democratically elected president of the Republic. He was active in European diplomacy and made important contributions at the United Nations. He may be the only ophthalmologist who has made great contributions in the field of medicine and in the democratic development of his country.


Concomitant chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CCRT) has recently been shown to improve treatment outcome in a range of solid tumors. Pegylated liposomes have the potential to target drugs directly to tumors and may increase the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of CCRT by selectively delivering radiosensitizing agents to tumor, as opposed to normal, tissues. In these studies, we have assessed CCRT using pegylated liposome encapsulated doxorubicin (PLED) and pegylated liposome encapsulated cisplatin (PLEC) against KB head and neck cancer xenograft tumors in nude mice. The addition of low-dose (2 mg/kg) PLED (P < 0.001) and PLEC (P < 0.001) significantly increased the effect of 4.5 Gy, but not 9 Gy, single-fraction radiotherapy (SFRT). Both PLED and PLEC were significantly more effective than their unencapsulated counterparts in increasing the effect of SFRT. In addition, PLED (P < 0.001) and PLEC (P < 0.05) significantly increased the effect of fractionated radiotherapy (9 Gy in 3 fractions) in two different dosing schedules (2 mg/kg single dose or three sequential doses of 0.67 mg/kg). Unencapsulated diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and pegylated liposomal diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid were used as controls to test the effect of the liposome vehicle and showed no interaction with 4.5 Gy or 9 Gy SFRT (P > 0.1). CCRT was well-tolerated, with no evidence of increased local or systemic toxicity, as compared with radiotherapy alone. This study is the first to demonstrate the value of pegylated liposomes as vehicles for the delivery of radiosensitizing drugs in CCRT strategies.


Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) empowered communications with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) has recently become an appealing research direction for next-generation wireless communications. In this paper, we propose a novel NOMA solution with RIS partitioning, where we aim to enhance the spectrum efficiency by improving the ergodic rate of all users, and to maximize the user fairness. In the proposed system, we distribute the physical resources among users such that the base station (BS) and RIS are dedicated to serve different clusters of users. Furthermore, we formulate an RIS partitioning optimization problem to slice the RIS elements between the users such that the user fairness is maximized. The formulated problem is shown to be a non-convex and non-linear integer programming (NLIP) problem with a combinatorial feasible set, which is challenging to solve. Therefore, we exploit the structure of the problem to bound its feasible set and obtain a sub-optimal solution by sequentially applying three efficient search algorithms. Furthermore, we derive exact and asymptotic expressions for the outage probability. Simulation results clearly indicate the superiority of the proposed system over the considered benchmark systems in terms of ergodic sum-rate, outage probability, and user fairness performance.


Rationale

Increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass contributes to chronic airflow obstruction, chronic airway inflammation and airway wall remodelling. The novel chemical probe for BET bromodomians (JQ1/SGCBD01) was more potent at inhibiting TGF-β-induced ASM cell proliferation, IL-6 and CXCL8 release in cells from healthy individuals than in cells from non-severe and severe asthma. JQ1 can affect c-Myc expression or c-Myc association with proliferative gene promoters. Here, we compared the anti-inflammatory effects of JQ1 with that of a specific c-Myc inhibitor in ASM cells from asthmatics.

Methods

ASM cells were grown from healthy subjects and severe or non-severe asthmatics. Cells were pre-treated with the c-Myc inhibitor 10058-F4 or with JQ1 before being stimulated with FCS±TGF-β. IL-6 and CXCL8 secretion and cell proliferation were measured by ELISAs. mRNA expression was examined by RT-qPCR. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was performed using a specific c-Myc antibody and PCR primers against transcriptional start site of the IL-6 and CXCL8 promoters.

Results

10058-F4 inhibited ASM proliferation with no effect upon IL-6 or CXCL8 release. JQ1 had no effect on FCS+TGF-β-induced c-Myc expression. ChIP analysis found association of c-Myc with either the IL6 or CXCL8 promoters in ASM cells at baseline or following stimulation with FCS+TGF-β in the presence or absence of JQ1.

Conclusion

IL-6 and CXCL8 release from ASM cells is not affected by inhibition of c-Myc which corresponded with the failure to show c-Myc association with IL6 and CXCL8 promoters. The effect of JQ1 on c-Myc expression seen in cancerous cells and non-primary cells is different from that seen in primary asthmatic ASM cells.


Abstract : The responsibilities for aircraft icing forecasts in the U.S. lie with the National Weather Service (NWS) for civilian operations and the U.S. Air Force Air Weather Service (AWS) and Naval Weather Service for Military operations. Forecasting technology is based upon empirical rules and techniques that were developed in the 1950s. The AWS is the only forecasting agency which issues explicit numerical icing products to aid the forecaster. These products are also based upon the application of techniques developed long ago. The NWS has no rigorous guidelines for developing icing forecasts, thus individual forecasters adopt their own preferred methods. The tendency is generally to "over-forecast, that is, to forecast too large an area of icing for too long a time. A major shortcoming in the ability to produce more accurate forecasts is that atmospheric parameters critical to icing are not routinely observed.


Defects in the expression of the mitochondrial protein frataxin cause Friedreich's ataxia, an hereditary neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by progressive ataxia and associated with reduced life expectancy in humans. Homozygous inactivation of the frataxin gene results in embryonic lethality in mice, suggesting that frataxin is required for organismic survival. Intriguingly, the inactivation of many mitochondrial genes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by RNAi extends lifespan. We therefore investigated whether inactivation of frataxin by RNAi‐mediated suppression of the frataxin homolog gene (frh‐1) would also prolong lifespan in the nematode. Frataxin‐deficient animals have a small body size, reduced fertility and altered responses to oxidative stress. Importantly, frataxin suppression by RNAi significantly extends lifespan in C. elegans.


A low power Read-Out Integrated Circuit (ROIC) for a short-wave Infra-Red Focal Plane Array (IRFPA) is designed as a prototype for 1024×1024 image system. Ripple integration and readout scheme as well as highly efficient power management is introduced to this design in order to decrease total power dissipation. To overcome the charge sharing problem caused by this low power readout scheme, novel low input capacitance column amplifier is proposed. The Data rate is about 10 M/s per channel, with a total power dissipation of 56 mW.


Sanjad Sakati Syndrome is an Autosomal Recessive disorder found exclusively in people of Arabian origin. It was first reported from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1988. This is a report of a family with this rare disease in Oman. The syndrome comprises of congenital hypoparathyroidism, severe growth retardation, low IQ and typical facial features. Supportive treatment in the form of vitamin D and growth hormone is often offered to these children.


This article analyses three key texts in Arthurian literature to illustrate the changes the myth has undergone from its popularisation in the twelfth century to its rediscovery in the nineteenth century. It compares Geoffrey of Monmouth's unfounded insistence on historical accuracy with Chrétien de Troyes' focus on interiority and male–female dynamics before making a leap in time to explore Lord Alfred Tennyson's Idylls of the King and its anxieties concerning gendered power dynamics and material culture. The paper draws on these comparisons to demonstrate the malleable nature of the Arthurian myth, as well as its status as both a reflection of Western values and a focus point for the authors' priorities within their own environments and cultures. This is achieved through a focus on social commentary and the creation of a plethora of characters and symbols that will become rooted in the European psyche.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate a relationship between gingival tissue biotypes and arch form with Schneiderian membrane thickness, using limited cone beam computed tomography. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 subjects were selected. For each subject three parameters were assessed – gingival biotype - clinically by Probe transparency method as thin or thick and coded as 0 and 1, respectively, gingival thickness and Schneiderian membrane thickness in mm, arch form as square, oval, or tapered (radiographically by cone beam computed tomography images). Central incisors and first molars were assessed for gingival biotype and gingival thickness and Schneiderian membrane thickness was determined at 16. Numerical data were estimated for normal distribution. Analysis of Variance test was followed by Tukey honestly significant difference test and Pearson's correlation coefficient test for analysis. Results: Thin gingival biotype was found associated with the central incisors and thick gingival biotype with molars. Limited cone beam computed tomography scans evaluation revealed highest prevalence of square arch form followed by oval, and tapered. The average thickness of the Schneiderian membrane was 1.18 ± 0.43 mm on left side and 1.09 ± 0.41 mm on right side with a range of 0.50 – 2.00 mm. Mean Schneiderian membrane thickness was more in case of thick gingival biotype and with square arc form both on right and left sides. Conclusions: The Schneiderian membrane thickness was positively and highly associated with gingival biotype. The gingival biotype and arch form had significant effect on Schneiderian membrane thickness and can provide valuable clinical information on Schneiderian membrane thickness preoperatively for implant placement and sinus lift procedures.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of direct moxibustion at Sihua points on immune function and life quality of chemotherapy patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODS
Eighty cases were randomly divided into a chemotherapy and moxibustion group (group A) and a chemotherapy group (group B), 40 cases in each one. Navelbine and cisplatin were applied in both groups. In addition, direct moxibustion at Sihua points which included Geshu (BL 17) and Danshu (BL 19) was used in the group A. Three moxa-cones were given on each acupoint, once a day, ten days treatment made one session and totally one session was required. The change of colony stimulating factor (CSF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-2 (IL- 2) and Karnofsky scale was compared between the two groups before and after treatment.

RESULTS
After the treatment, the levels of serum CSF, IL-2 in the group A were higher than those in the group B (both P < 0.01), while the level of TNF in the group A was lower than that in the group B (P<0. 01). Although Karnofsky score was decreased in the two groups (both P < 0.01), the score in the group A was higher than that in the group B (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
Direct moxibustion at Sihua points could increase the levels of CSF and IL-2 and reduce TNF in the chemotherapy patients with lung cancer, which could improve immune function, clinical efficacy and life quality.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the publication rate of Canadian health sciences librarians, post-conference presentation. Discover barriers that prevent librarians from taking conference presentation to full publication. Assess the metrics available to librarians for scholarly output measurement by examining metrics, traditional and altmetrics, of articles resulting from conference presentation.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey using FluidSurveys was distributed via e-mail to authors of poster and papers presentation presented at Canadian Health Libraries Association/Association des bibliotheques de la sante du Canada conferences from 2004 to 2009. A literature search for articles matching presentations in National Library of Medicine's PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts was conducted to determine publication rate. Metrics of retrieved articles were gathered and analyzed to gage scholarly output of Canadian health sciences librarians.

Findings

A publication rate of 31.5 percent was determined by literature search. Time restriction was the most common reported reason for not publishing. The altmetric analysis included 71 articles, of which 52 percent had at least one value in various metrics, with Mendeley counts being the most common value represented.

Research limitations/implications

Not all survey respondents may be library science professionals, so that survey findings may not be generalizable to the Canadian health librarian profession. While every effort was made to find and confirm publications related to conference presentations, the reported publication rate may be either an over estimate or under estimate of the true rate. Current altmetric science is very dynamic and evolving.

Originality/value

This study provides a baseline publication rate, identifies barriers librarians face to publication and provides a glimpse into the state of metrics available to Canadian librarians for evaluation of their scholarly output.


Surveillance for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in sentinel Canadian hospitals has been conducted since 1999. From 1999 to 2005, the rate of VRE detection increased from 0.37 to 1.32 cases per 1,000 patients admitted, and the rate of VRE infection increased from 0.02 to 0.05 cases per 1,000 patients admitted. Thirty-three percent of all patients with VRE detected that were reported during 1999-2005 were identified in 2005, with increases seen in all regions of Canada. Although the incidence rate of VRE carriage in Canada is increasing, it remains very low.


Losses in light-emitting-diode (LED) driver cause increasing temperature and shorten their lifespan. Therefore, improving the efficiency of LED drivers not only saves energy but also is indispensable to increase their lifespan. In this article, a new LED driver topology is proposed to improve the performance of valley switching by decreasing the mosfet switching losses. The proposed topology is designed in a way that the mosfet works at the significantly lower switching and conduction losses in compared with conventional LED drivers. It elaborates how the proposed topology also improves the overall efficiency by decreasing power losses in other main elements of the driver, including inductance and diode. In addition, a new valley switching implementation is introduced for the new converter, which decreases the cost and dimension of the LED drivers. The experimental results confirm the high efficient operation of the proposed LED driver by reaching the efficiency up to 97% at a wide range of operating voltage.


Bayer red mud was selected, and the NH3-SCR activity was tested in a fixed bed in which the typical flue gas atmosphere was simulated. Combined with XRF, XRD, BET, SEM, TG and NH3-Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) characterization, the denitration characteristics of Ce-doped red mud catalysts were studied on the basis of alkali-removed red mud. The results showed that typical red mud was a feasible material for denitration catalyst. Acid washing and calcining comprised the best treatment process for raw red mud, which reduced the content of alkaline substances, cleared the catalyst pore and optimized the particle morphology with dispersion. In the temperature range of 300–400 °C, the denitrification efficiency of calcined acid washing of red mud catalyst (ARM) was more than 70%. The doping of Ce significantly enhanced NH3 adsorption from weak, medium and strong acid sites, reduced the crystallinity of α-Fe2O3 in ARM, optimized the specific surface area and broadened the active temperature window, which increased the NOx conversion rate by an average of nearly 20% points from 250–350 °C. The denitration efficiency of Ce0.3/ARM at 300 °C was as high as 88%. The optimum conditions for the denitration reaction of the Ce0.3/ARM catalyst were controlled as follows: Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV) of 30,000 h−1, O2 volume fraction of 3.5–4% and the NH3/NO molar ratio ([NH3/NO]) of 1.0. The presence of SO2 in the feed had an irreversible negative effect on the activity of the Ce0.3/ARM catalyst.


The aim of this research study is to determine the effect of firm performance on audit committee diligence. The research concentrates on the relationship between audit committee meeting frequency and firm age. In this regard, the data of 12 banks operating in the financial sector in the BIST over the period 2010-2021 are examined in the research study. The variables such as "the number of years since the establishment of the company", "logarithm of total assets", "debt to assets ratio", "return on equity" and "return on assets" are used as independent variables; whereas "the number of audit committee meetings held during the year" is used as the dependent variable. Panel data analysis is conducted to consider the effect of firm age on audit committee meeting frequency. A regression model, which is established with the obtained data, is analyzed with the help of STATA software. The findings obtained from the analysis indicate that the firm age has a positive and statistically significant effect on the audit committee meeting frequency at the 1% significance level. The other independent variables have no statistically significant effect on the dependent variable. Consequently, this study indicates that the firm's audit committee diligence is closely associated with its market experience and active operating process.


This article considers the determinants of the corporate acquisitions made in the American pharmaceutical industry between 1978 and 2002. We seek to evaluate the robustness of the "pipeline gap" hypothesis through a larger, more exhaustive sample, and extend it to patent data. In line with the pipeline gap hypothesis, estimations from a Cox duration model show that the Tobin's q exerts a negative in?uence on the decision to acquire another pharmaceutical firm. On the other hand, several indicators of patent quality have a positive in?uence, indicating that acquiring firms also have a significant innovative potential.
 Classification JEL: L13, L65


A suspected leak in a "sealed" monitor chamber in the Siemens Mevatron 74 linear accelerator is investigated experimentally and results are given.


This study aims to analyze the effect of cultural, social, personal, and psychological on consumer decision in visiting the Malino Highland, Gowa. The population were the visitors of Malino Highland, and sampling technique used purposive sampling, which are the people who visited Malino Highland. A questionnaire was deployed to collect the primary data. The number of respondents that meet the sampling criterion was determined by 150 visitors. The data was measured by multiple regression analysis with the assistant of SPSS software. The results shows that the cultural, social, personal, and psychologal affect simultaneously and partially towards the visitors decision to visit the Malino Highland, Gowa. Psychological variable is the most dominant effect with the value of 0.330. This founding is important for marketing strategy ecotourism to maximizing the value creation to the consumers.


Considering the possibility that pesticides used in main crops, such as soybeans, cotton and corn, generate toxic residues that contaminate the environment, a preliminary analysis of the possibility of groundwater contamination is necessary in the main agricultural regions in Brazil. One of these agricultural areas is located in Campo Novo do Parecis, Mato Grosso, the study area of this work. The main pesticides used in different cultures of this region were evaluated considering their physicochemical properties, their contamination potentials according to criteria of the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States and the groundwater ubiquity score index (GUS). The information obtained was used to assess the risk of groundwater contamination. According to the results, the region presents a real risk of environmental contamination by pesticide residues, since 45.6% of the pesticides commonly used in local agriculture are classified as extremely toxic or highly toxic. In addition, several of these pesticides, about 22%, have been detected in different environmental compartments from other regions of the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.


Abstract : The aftershocks of the Rat Islands earthquake of 4 February 1965 provided a large volume of data for processing with a T-phase source location program. Although the earthquake epicenters were somewhat uniformly distributed through the Rat and Near Islands region, the computed T-phase sources were grouped in six clusters along the Aleutian arc. The clusters are considered to represent radiation from distinct sites along the Aleutian ridge. These sites are evidently submarine promontories which, due to their exposure, radiate energy over broader arcs of the Pacific than do intervening regions. The relationship of T-phase strength to earthquake magnitude varied little among these radiators; however, T-phases from sources south of the Aleutian trench were significantly weaker. Identification of the arrivals from separate radiators in the signal from the main shock allowed an estimation of the length and velocity of the faulting. The estimate was 500 km and 3.5 km/sec. (Author)


A series of six pharmaceuticals were degraded by continuous wave (CW) and pulsed wave (PW) ultrasound at 205 kHz using deionized water, wastewater effluent, and its isolated organic matter matrices. In deionized water, we observed that hydrophobicity is superior to diffusivity (D(W)) for predicting degradation kinetics. Enhancements in degradation kinetics by the PW mode were greatest for the highest DW (i.e., fluorouracil (5-FU)) and K(OW) (i.e., lovastatin (LOVS)) compounds, indicating that a pharmaceutical with either high diffusivity and low hydrophobicity or low diffusivity and high hydrophobicity benefits from additional time to populate the bubble-water interface during the silent cycle of PW ultrasound. Degradation of 5-FU and LOVS were inhibited by wastewater effluent to a greater extent than the other pharmaceuticals. In addition, a pulse enhancement (PE) for 5-FU and LOVS was not present in wastewater effluent. Irradiating 5-FU and LOVS in hydrophobic (HPO), transphilic (TPI), and hydrophilic (HPI) fractions of effluent organic matter (EfOM) showed that the TPI fraction reduced the PE the most, followed by the HPI and HPO fractions. The smaller size of the TPI over the HPO fraction and higher hydrophobicity of TPI over HPI implicate both size and hydrophobicity of EfOM in hindering degradation of pharmaceuticals.


Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) is a mediator of acute lung injury after endotoxemia, but the precise mechanism of TNF-induced lung injury remains unclear. To clarify the role of oxygen radicals, especially superoxide anion, in TNF-induced lung injury, we examined the effects of recombinant human superoxide dismutase (rhSOD; 4,200 U/mg) on lung physiological and biochemical changes after TNF infusion in awake sheep (n = 17). We prepared chronically instrumented sheep for lung lymph collection and hemodynamic monitoring. Recombinant human TNF (3.5 micrograms/kg iv) induced a biphasic response in awake sheep. Pulmonary hypertension peaked within 15 min of initiation of TNF and remained elevated for 3 h, followed by increased lung vascular permeability. rhSOD attenuated the pulmonary hypertension in both early and late phases but caused no change in the timing or magnitude of lung fluid balance changes during the late phase. Thromboxane A2 (thromboxane B2) and prostacyclin (6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha) metabolite levels in plasma and lymph increased after the TNF infusion, and rhSOD attenuated these changes. The intravenous infusion of rhSOD resulted in the appearance of significant levels of SOD activity in both plasma and lung lymph before and after TNF infusion. These findings suggest that superoxide anion may be implicated in the pathogenesis of the pulmonary hypertension induced by TNF in sheep.


Taking into account the commercial evolutions, the three components (dimensions) of operational management may be emphasised, which support logistics, such as: management of flows necessary for responding to the intensification of the commercial exchanges; management of the interfaces used for responding to issues occurred and formation of the networks; management of sustaining the product, having as aim the improvement of the service at the client. The involvement of logistics leads to satisfying the client and reducing costs. In order to accomplish this performance, it is recommended to use four organising principles, namely: knowing and accelerating the flows of information; knowing and accelerating the flows of products; knowing and complying with the mutual commitments; knowing and managing the risk. �LMKNEMNK�;��H�;��FI�>�C


As an extensively glycosylated transmembrane protein of epithelium, Mucin1 (MUC1) mostly protects cells from tensions induced by external milieu. Physiologically, during stress condition, MUC1 separates into MUC1-N and MUC1-C moieties, resulting in transduction of inward survival signals, essential for maintaining cell's functionality. Recent studies have proposed a significant correlation between MUC1 overexpression and amplification of cancer cell's proliferation and metastasis through modulation of multiple signaling pathways and cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. It has been shown that MUC1- Cytoplasmic Domain (MUC1-CD) accelerates development of resistance to several anti-cancer therapeutic agents including bortezomib, trastuzumab and tamoxifen. Furthermore, MUC1-CD is also involved in promoting expression of multi drug resistance (MDR) genes and finally, silencing MUC1 expression was together with resensitization of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) and/or estrogen receptor (ER+) positive breast cancer cells to bortezomib, trastuzumab and tamoxifen respectively. In this review, we briefly describe the role of MUC1 proto-oncogene in cancer cell's survival, tumor progression and metastasis and then continue with mentioning the mechanisms through which MUC1 induce resistance to various currently existing therapeutic agents in market including bortezomib, trastuzumab and tamoxifen.


Abstract Researchers and managers have suggested that a narrow range of ground-cover structure resulting from fire might be necessary for suitable Kirtland's warbler nesting conditions. Yet, Kirtland's warblers have bred successfully in numerous unburned stands and there is little direct evidence to indicate that ground cover structure is a limiting factor for nest sites or habitat suitability within appropriate landform-ecosystems. We documented the range of percent cover for dominant ground-cover structural components in burned and unburned habitat (stand ages 7–23 y) occupied by Kirtland's warblers. The mean percent cover for the dominant ground-cover structural components was lichen/moss (12.1%), blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) (9.5%), bare ground and litter (5.6%), sedge/grass (5.2%), deadwood (4.3%), sand cherry (Prunus pumila) (3.3%), sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) (2.3%), coarse grass (1.8%) and bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursai) (1.2%). Burned sites had significantly more deadwood, sweet fern and lichen/moss cover, while unburned sites had significantly more bare ground and sedge/grass. We also investigated how fire, shade-history (i.e., pre-fire tree crown cover approximated by tree height and density) and succession influenced the percent cover of the dominant ground-cover structural components from 1 to 5-y after wildfire disturbance. The magnitude of differences in percent cover among shade-histories changed through time for the ground-cover components sand cherry, deadwood, grass/sedge and coarse grass. The percent cover of sweet fern, bearberry and bare ground was significantly different between some shade-histories. All dominant ground-cover components showed significant difference between at least one shade-history when compared to an unburned harvested reference stand. This suggests that more similarities exist among the three burned sites than between the burned sites and the unburned reference site. Our results suggest that fire, shade-history and succession influence ground-cover, but that various ground-cover components are affected differently by these factors. Because of the complex role disturbance history plays in maintaining ground-cover in Kirtland's warbler habitat, optimal management prescriptions are difficult to specify, especially when aspects of Kirtland's warbler ecology other than nest location are also considered. Although suitable ground cover structure can result without fire, maintaining prescribed fire is still desirable because this is a historically fire-regulated system. However, the range of ground-cover structures accepted by the Kirtland's Warbler and its resilience to disturbance suggests that suitable ground-cover for Kirtland's warbler could be maintained in some stands without burning after every timber harvest.


The Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the nature of radio markets. Recent policy recommendations from the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Congress have led to questions about localism in local radio markets. This study analyzes station ownership, the number of clusters, radio programming, and audience data from 32 radio markets and compares the information for the years 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2010. The results suggested a degree of stability for the types and size of radio owners, the market power of local radio clusters, and the number and type of formats.


For the first time, the compositions of argon and methane high-pressure gas hydrates have been directly determined. The studied samples of the gas hydrates were prepared under high-pressure conditions and quenched at 77 K. The composition of the argon hydrate (structure H, stable at 460-770 MPa) was found to be Ar.(3.27 +/- 0.17)H(2)O. This result shows a good agreement with the refinement of the argon hydrate structure using neutron powder diffraction data and helps to rationalize the evolution of hydrate structures in the Ar-H(2)O system at high pressures. The quenched argon hydrate was found to dissociate in two steps. The first step (170-190 K) corresponds to a partial dissociation of the hydrate and the self-preservation of a residual part of the hydrate with an ice cover. Presumably, significant amounts of ice Ic form at this stage. The second step (210-230 K) corresponds to the dissociation of the residual part of the hydrate. The composition of the methane hydrate (cubic structure I, stable up to 620 MPa) was found to be CH(4).5.76H(2)O. Temperature dependence of the unit cell parameters for both hydrates has been also studied. Calculated from these results, the thermal expansivities for the structure H argon hydrate are alpha(a) = 76.6 K(-1) and alpha(c) = 77.4 K(-1) (in the 100-250 K temperature range) and for the cubic structure I methane hydrate are alpha(a) = 32.2 K(-1), alpha(a) = 53.0 K(-1), and alpha(a) = 73.5 K(-1) at 100, 150, and 200 K, respectively.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how China's approach to a nuclear North Korea has changed and find key variables that explain the changes.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts the traditional qualitative method, referring to different types of reliable and authoritative Chinese and English scholars, books and articles.

Findings
Although China has accumulated distrust of North Korea and reprimanded the regime for its nuclear program, it has never ignored the strategic value or balance – especially vis-à-vis the USA – the neighboring country provides for it. And for that matter, it has been keen to prevent North Korea from bypassing it and getting closer to the USA. With this strategic calculation in mind, China has mostly made gestures in implementing the UN sanctions against North Korea, though not always.

Originality/value
This paper proves that China's strategic calculation has been a constant key variable that explains its approach toward a nuclear North Korea since the inception of the issue in the early 1990s.


The supersymmetric Lagrangian compatible with the presence of torsion in the background spacetime requires, in addition to the minimal coupling, an interaction between the spin and the torsion of the form ${1/2} N_{\mu\nu\lambda\rho}\psi^\mu\psi^\nu\psi^\lambda\psi^\rho$, where $N$ is the Nieh-Yan 4-form. This gives rise to a coupling between helicity ($h$) and the Nieh-Yan density of the form $hN$. The classical Lagrangian allows computing the index for the Dirac operator on a four-dimensional compact manifold with curvature and torsion using the path integral representation for the index. This calculation provides an independent check for the recent result of the chiral anomaly in spaces with torsion.


Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is a chronic malignancy of the gall bladder and intrahepatic and extrahepatic common bile ducts with a high mortality rate and forms the fifth common cancer of gastrointestinal tract globally. Women remain at higher risk than men and recent studies have reported the highest rate of incidence in women from Delhi, India. GBC treatment suffers from the disadvantage of lack of suitable biomarkers for early diagnosis of the disease. Different proteomic approaches including (i) 2D gel electrophoresis (ii) Mass spectroscopic studies (iii) Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantization (iTRAQ) -based quantitativeproteomicsstudies are being employed for detection of biomarkers in order to undertake early diagnosis of the disease. In this review we focus on (i) risk factors in GBC, (ii) diagnosis and treatment, (iii) molecular markers, and (iv) proteomic studies in GBC. The future scope of this review lies in the identifying biomarkers of GBC, and may provide directions to unraveling future implications in disease treatment.


This article contains the most up-to-date information about bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is the most common chronic lung disease in infants and a serious complication of prematurity and respiratory therapy in the neonatal period. This summary will be particularly valuable for pediatricians. We provided the information about epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, pathomorphology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, diagnostic algorithm, classification and diagnostic criteria for BPD. We also covered the principles of outpatient management, including approaches to oxygen therapy, diet therapy, immunoprophylaxis of respiratory syncytial viral infection, personalized drug therapy for BPD and its complications, in particular pulmonary hypertension. We listed possible BPD complications (such as acute bronchiolitis, obliterating bronchiolitis, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and their prevention. Key words: outpatient management, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, diagnosis, immunoprophylaxis of respiratory syncytial virus infection, therapy


The Wnt pathway is a key regulator of embryonic development and stem cell self-renewal, and hyperactivation of the Wnt signalling is associated with many human cancers. The central player in the Wnt pathway is β-Catenin, a cytoplasmic protein whose function is under tight control by ubiquitination and degradation, however the precise regulation of β-Catenin stability/degradation remains elusive. Here, we report a new mechanism of β-Catenin ubiquitination acting in the context of chromatin. This mechanism is mediated by the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complex component TRRAP and Skp1, an invariable component of the Skp-Cullin-F-box (SCF) ubiquitin ligase complex. TRRAP interacts with Skp1/SCF and mediates its recruitment to β-Catenin target promoter in chromatin. TRRAP deletion leads to a reduced level of β-Catenin ubiquitination, lower degradation rate and accumulation of β-Catenin protein. Furthermore, recruitment of Skp1 to chromatin and ubiquitination of chromatin-bound β-Catenin is abolished upon TRRAP knock-down, leading to an abnormal retention of β-Catenin at chromatin and concomitant hyperactivation of the canonical Wnt pathway. These results demonstrate that there is a distinct regulatory mechanism for β-Catenin ubiquitination/destruction acting in the nucleus which functionally complements cytoplasmic destruction of β-Catenin and prevents oncogenic stabilization of β-Catenin and chronic activation of the canonical Wnt pathway.


It was intended by a recycling process of professional use video camera scraps to obtain ingots that satisfy the JIS for chemical composition of AZ91D magnesium alloy. The paint finishing was removed firstly by a shot blast method and the scraps were melted. The removal decreases the generation of toxic gases during heating stage. The recovery rate of metals is remarkably improved to be more than 80% due to depression of Mg oxidation accompanied by the paint combustion. The chemical composition of recycled ingots meets the JIS and such impurities detrimental for corrosion resistance as Fe, Ni and Cr are little contained. The corrosion resistance of recycled specimens exhibits the same level as a virgin AZ91D magnesium alloy. Their tensile properties satisfy the JIS for castings, and their 0.2% proof stress is higher than that of specimens recycled from non-professional use video cameras.


Multivariable systems exhibit complex dynamics because of the interactions between input variables and output variables. In this paper an approach to design auto tuned decentralized PI controller using ideal decoupler and adaptive techniques for controlling a class of multivariable process with a transmission zero. By using decoupler, the MIMO system is transformed into two SISO systems. The controller parameters were adjusted using the Model Reference Adaptive reference Control. In recent process industries, PID and MRAC are the two widely accepted control strategies, where PID is used at regulatory level control and MRAC at supervisory level control. In this project, LabVIEW is used to simulate the PID with Decoupler and MRAC separately and analyze their performance based on steady state error tracking and overshoot.


The purpose of this work was to study the comparative and combination enhancement of an almost ideal transdermal drug through physical and chemical penetration enhancement methods. Tolterodine tartrate loaded invasomes were prepared using soya lecithin, ethanol and three different terpenes viz. limonene, fenchone and anethole. The FT-IR results showed the compatibility of these excipients with the drug. The obtained invasomes were of a sufficiently small vesicle size (1.3μm) with polydispersity index of 0.188. The vesicles were stable with no significant changes in the entrapment efficiency for a period of two months and there was no observed erythema which was proved by skin irritation studies on rabbits. Exvivo skin penetration data revealed that the invasome dispersion showed a significantly enhanced penetration of the drug through the skin compared to vesicles without terpenes, ethanolic drug solution and drug solution. Invasome formulation containing limonene showed high penetration because of its lipophilicity and low boiling point. The results of iontophoretic drug transport showed that the permeability of tolterodine tartrate released from invasomes was higher compared with that of free drug proving the additive effect of invasomes and iontophoresis. Hence successful transdermal penetration was obtained in combination with both physical and chemical penetration techniques.


Introduction. In the Philippines, data on road traffic injuries show that road injury is the 11th leading cause of premature deaths in the Philippines. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.24 million die globally due to road traffic crashes.
Objectives. This study aimed to show the trend of the road crash situation in Metro Manila, Philippines, over eleven years (2005–2015) and to analyze human error and other associated hazard factors for road crashes.
Methods. This study is a secondary analysis of an 11-year database culled from 2005–2015, for Metro Manila, Philippines. The variables included road crash classification, incidence over months and time of the day, road crash disaggregated by location, region, and city, and type of vehicle. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the incidence of a road crash, road crash fatalities, and risk factors associated with a road crash in Metro Manila.
Results. The incidence of road crashes in Metro Manila has increased from 65,111 in 2005 to 95,615 in 2015. Fatalities also increased from 348 to 536. The most predominant type of vehicle involved in road crashes were cars from 46% to 67%, followed by jeepneys, vans, and motorcycles. The most commonly reported human errors were speeding, inattentive and bad turning. The reported percentage of speeding from 2005–2010 ranged between 32% and 58%. In 2014, speeding (96%) was the most reported human error among the other reported errors; such as inattentiveness (range, 28 to 41%) and bad turning (0.6% and 33%). Fatigue and traffic violation made up 0.02% to 0.45% of the reported human factors of road crash-related hospitalization cases in Metro Manila for the period. Suspected alcohol use accounted for 0.04% to 4.57% of the human errors reported. For non-fatal and fatal crashes, the associated human errors were suspected alcohol use, inattentiveness, and speeding. The highest adjusted residual for both fatal and non-fatal (injurious) crashes was for inattentiveness. Human error was associated with years, suggesting that for some years, the number of crashes caused by human errors is significantly higher than expected. Alcohol-suspected crashes are significantly higher than expected for 2005 and 2011, with 2011 having the highest adjusted residual. Inattentiveness-caused crashes were significantly higher than expected for years 2005 to 2010, with 2007 having the highest adjusted residual. Bad turning was significantly higher from 2005 to 2007; while disobedience was significantly higher for 2005 to 2008. Speeding was significantly higher than expected from 2005 to 2010.
Conclusion. There is a need to address the public health concern posed by road crashes in Metro Manila, as well as to rectify the ergonomically related risk factors and human error components in a road crash.


Observations of physiotherapy consultations and qualitative interviews with patients were conducted to explore the clinical explanation for sciatic pain. We report three themes which illustrate the contested and negotiated order of the clinical explanation: anchoring; resistance; and normalisation. We show using the theory of social representations how the social order in the physiotherapy consultation is maintained, contested and rearticulated. We highlight the importance of agency in patients' ability to resist the clinical explanation and in turn shape the clinical discourse within the consultation. Social representations offer insights into how the world is viewed by different individuals, in our case physiotherapists and patients with sciatic pain symptoms. The negotiation about the diagnosis reveals the malleable and socially constructed nature of pain and the meaning-making process underpinning it. The study has implications for understanding inequalities in the consultation and the key ingredients of consensus.


Proteins from watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) seed were isolated using acid-induced precipitation method and then hydrolysed using pepsin, trypsin and alcalase. The hydrolysates were investigated for in vitro antioxidant and α-amylase inhibitory properties. The yield of peptic hydrolysis (68.9 ± 1.0%) was significantly higher than of tryptic (41.4 ± 1.1%) and alcalase (38.5 ± 0.5%) hydrolysis. Peptic hydrolysate showed the highest radical-scavenging ability whereas tryptic hydrolysate gave the highest reducing ability. In a concentrationdependent manner, the hydrolysates demonstrated potent α-amylase inhibitory ability with alcalase and tryptic hydrolysates exhibiting 86.0 ± 3.9 and 83.0 ± 3.5% α-amylase inhibition respectively (IC50 0.149 to 0.234 mg mL –1). Kinetic analysis revealed that the three enzyme hydrolysates inhibited α-amylase activity via a non-competitive inhibition mechanism. The results therefore indicate that these multidirectional bioactivities of watermelon seed protein hydrolysates may serve as useful tools in the formulation of antidiabetic agents.


Recurrent herpes simplex infection of the lips and perioral skin is a very common problem in the general population, often leading patients to seek diagnostic and therapeutic intervention from their dental practitioner. Mechanisms for viral reactivation are well known and have led to the development of new classes of systemic and topical drugs that have been shown to be clinically effective in reducing recurrence frequency and duration. This article presents current treatment choices within the context of healthy and immunocompromised patients, as well as more traditional therapies.


Abstract Introduction/Background The Paediatric Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Specialist often has to manage a large caseload of children and young people. Paediatric Rheumatology is an umbrella term of over 80 conditions, most of which are long-term chronic illnesses which can be challenging for families to manage. The Clinical Nurse Specialist is therefore the first point of contact for families who want answers and guidance in caring for their child/young person. The UK and Ireland Paediatric Rheumatology Nurses Group, in turn, provides peer support to these nurses. This abstract will present the growth of this network, particularly over the last two years. Description/Method Over two decades ago, a UK Paediatric Rheumatology Nurses group was established. Since the group's formation, membership has grown from 20 to over 100 nurses, and has expanded into the Republic of Ireland. All nurses work in paediatrics and most are working solely in Rheumatology as Clinical Nurse Specialists (various titles exist). However, the group also contains nurses who may not solely focus on Rheumatology, but who also manage a number of specialities (one being Rheumatology), and those who have developed their own specialist interest in Rheumatology, often derived from providing clinical support to weekly Rheumatology clinics. The group's Lead Nurse has also encouraged Clinical Research Nurses supporting Paediatric Rheumatology studies to join, as the shared learning is useful to support their clinical practice too. Currently we only have one Paediatric Rheumatology Senior Clinical Research Nurse, but we do have some nurses who manage Paediatric Rheumatology studies as part of their wider clinical roles. Members are located across 37 different centres in the UK and Ireland. Four of these centres have joined in the last month, with nurses hearing about the group and approaching the steering committee about their participation. The centres range from district general hospitals through to specialist regional Children's hospitals. The seniority of our members ranges from band 5 through to band 8b, with three members managing Rheumatology services in a matron capacity. In fifteen of these centres, there is only one Paediatric Rheumatology Nurse within that centre, which can be isolating. The UK and Ireland group is accessible through email and WhatsApp and is always available for a quick question or check in. Keeping membership up to date, particularly with some nurses only joining for short periods of time to cover maternity leave, can be challenging. Tomorrow the numbers may have changed again! Discussion/Results The growth of this group, particularly over the last two years, could be for a number of reasons: 1. Regular virtual meetings have been advertised on social media channels, especially via the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR). These don't have to be sighted by Rheumatology nurses themselves but may have been noticed from other Rheumatology multidisciplinary team members, who then encouraged their nurses to make contact. 2. Having regular virtual meetings ensures that all of the Paediatric Rheumatology Nurses are invited and can take turns in attending and sharing best practice, so it is in a team's best interest to encourage more hesitant nurses to ask to join. 3. The development of the WhatsApp group has provided quick and instantaneous responses and has clearly proven beneficial according to member feedback. 4. During the Covid-19 pandemic, working patterns changed with nurses being allowed to work from home. This change contributed to nurses feeling isolated from their peers, and also not having the wider multi-disciplinary team easily on hand and therefore asked the group their clinical questions. 5. Some members of the group have taken on additional roles, either within BSR or the Royal College of Nursing and this offers wider communication channels and increased visibility of the group through advertising. 6. Membership growth appears to mirror the growth seen in Rheumatology services, for example some centres have appointed Uveitis Clinical Nurse Specialist posts to work in conjunction with the Rheumatology Nursing Team. 7. The change in societal ways of working, with more work and meetings occurring virtually, and outside of the 9-5 office hours, means that nurses can attend meetings easier than having to expend time and finances to travel to face-to-face meetings. 8. New members joining naturally increases word of mouth and the wider reach of the group. Key learning points/Conclusion Raising and maintaining the profile of this group is important. We know that there is no similar group for adult Rheumatology Nurse Specialists in the UK. Also, there is no other similar European Paediatric Rheumatology Nurses group. Paediatric Rheumatology is a huge speciality with nurses needing to be able to support families in their management of conditions outside of hospital appointments to prevent hospital admissions. The scope of the Rheumatology nurse is also always increasing, with pressure on nurses to undertake postgraduate studies, become nurse prescribers, carry out joint examinations, deliver nurse-led clinics and manage patients on immunomodulatory therapies in the community. The Paediatric Rheumatology Nurse also requires knowledge and skills in best practices for young people transitioning into adult services and be an expert in child development stages and the implications of these, whilst managing the needs and expectations of the child's main carer and wider family. For these reasons alone, it is vital that we protect the Paediatric Rheumatology Nurse Specialist and ensure that they are supported, developed and valued, and therefore, stay in Rheumatology. The ask of the wider multidisciplinary team is to allow Paediatric Rheumatology Nurses time to attend group meetings, encourage them to ask questions of the wider nursing group and to promote the group to new nurses or those who may not be aware of the group, to reach out and seek expert peer support. Please contact: Dr Polly Livermore (PhD, MSc, BSc, Dip HE Nurse), Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology Nurses Lead for the UK and Ireland, if you would like to join this national group: email@example.com


PostNL Parcels (PNP) is the market leader in the Dutch domestic parcels market. This booming market is growing with almost 11% per year in revenue. PNP can keep up with this trend due to shipment volumes provided by its larger business senders belonging to the Key Account Managers. However, with the middle and smaller business senders PNP is losing revenue and market share. This will lead to an unstable situation in which larger senders can become too demanding. PNP's position with the middle and smaller senders must be strengthened in order to stabilize the power distribution of its senders and regain market share. Internal and external analysis results PNP positions itself as a high quality player and therefore has premium pricing. However, the senders do not perceive PNP´s quality high which makes the acceptance of PNP´s premium pricing more challenging. This is particularly the case for the middle and smaller senders since they pay higher prices than the larger senders due to less shipment volume discount. Analysis showed that PNP's inside-out developed shipment services are not customer directed. It is unknown whether PNP is offering what senders want. Furthermore, the target group of senders currently is one large group. There is no segmentation present and communicating propositions is challenging. Not knowing the concrete shipment service needs of senders and being unable to justify one´s premium pricing is the root cause of the decline in the middle and smaller senders. Customer Research The average middle and smaller sender of PNP sends more than 88% of its parcels using a single shipment service. An unique approach using Adaptive Choice Based Conjoint (ACBC) analysis was adopted to determine the optimal configuration of this shipment service. Based on these configurations, a cluster analysis was conducted. Four distinctive segments are discovered: the basic shipments, the business shipments, the important shipments and the modern shipments segment. Compared to the current amount of approximately 40 shipment services configurations this is a very large reduction. Market simulation tested a higher buying propensity for the new configurations. Interactive Tool A means of applying the new shipment services and communicating them needs to be developed. An interactive communication tool is proposed to do this. In order to gain more senders, the influx of business senders must be larger than its outflow. To accomplish this, the tool increases influx by interesting senders for PNP's shipment services, increasing requests for quotations and helping senders to choose for PNP during negotiations. Next to that the tool decreases outflow by re-ensuring senders that PNP has the best propositions at the end of a contract. The purpose of this tool is to fill the communication gap of the shipment services, gain competitive advantage in key moments of a sender's journey and strengthen PNP's brand image. Conclusion The new configuration of shipment services and the concept of the tool are the results of a first step explorative study in customer directed shipment service development for PNP. It is recommended that PNP does not deny this approach to sender segmentation and shipment service development. Altogether it leads to a strategy to grow further with the middle and smaller senders, reclaim the lost market share and strengthen PNP's position in the market.


ABSTRACT Taking the German picture-encyclopedia Picture Book for Children (1790–1830) of Friedrich J. Bertuch as a vantage point, this article presents a thick historiographical description of the concept of experience and the role of visual material in relation to the figure of the child. I am interested here in the formation of the notion of experience and specifically in the ways experience has played a key role in the debates over the concepts of vitalism, epigenesis, and experience-based (verbal) imagery in the Enlightenment. The broad call for clearness, vividness and the employment of images in the literature of the period highlights crucial negotiations of sense-based practices in education and scholarly knowledge production. Experience, sensation, perception, and observation became catchwords within anthropological and philosophical reflections on how to showcase life itself. Through a careful analysis of early biological images and image practices in Bertuch's Picture Book, I show the picture was supposed to initiate interaction. Pictures become a crucial part of communication processes and practices of bourgeois self-assurance, also with regards to racialized, sexualized and gendered subject formation.


The purpose of this research was to obtain the ratio of soyghurt and low fat milk in produce a functional ice cream with best of a value overrun, melting point, total lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and total solids. This research used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments and four replications. The treatments were SSr1 (soyghurt 100 : 0 low fat milk), SSr2 (soyghurt 80 : 20 low fat milk), SSr3 (soyghurt 60 : 40 low fat milk), and SSr4 (soyghurt 40 : 60 low fat milk). The data obtained were analyzed statistically by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).  If the F count was greater than or equal to F table then continued with DNMRT test at 5% level. The results of this research showed that the ratio of soyghurt and low fat milk in produce functional ice cream indicated significant effect (P<0,05) on overrun value, melting point, total LAB, and total solids.  The treatment SSr4 having overrun value of 35.98%, melting point 20.14 minutes, total LAB 8.77 log CFU/ml, pH 5.24, and total solids 26.80% was relatively better than other treatments. The functional ice cream obtained from SSr4 was also preferred by panelists than other treatments especially for hedonic acceptance test. Keywords : Soyghurt, low fat milk, functional ice cream


A novel mobile position location procedure, based on the relaying capability of the mobile stations in a hybrid cellular/peer-to-peer ad hoc network to improve positioning coverage and accuracy, is proposed. The proposed mobile location scheme is a hierarchical-structured flooding procedure, making use of the relaying capability of mobile stations to achieve location diversity. Simulation results show that the proposed positioning scheme offers improvement in coverage and accuracy compared to conventional positioning methods reported in the literature. With the increase of the mobiles in the system, the coverage of the conventional system does not change. However, the coverage of the proposed discovery mechanism monotonically increases towards 100% by exploiting location diversity. The gain of the coverage is also promising when cell size is large, where the conventional methods suffer the hearability problem.


Object relations theory is seen as a conceptual framework that adds to the classical Freudian structural theory. The synchrony between the two theories is manifest in psychodynamic group psychotherapy. This paper explores the convergence of these theories, emphasizing concepts from object relations theory and focusing on three major aspects as they appear in therapy groups: the evolution of the transference neurosis, group membership as a transitional phenomenon, and group therapy for the resolution of ego-syntonic character pathology. Examples of patients emerging from schizoid to paranoid and then to depressive positions of ego organization illustrate the concepts.


Background Increase in test use over recent decades has occurred despite disappointing results from test accuracy evaluations. Difficulties with understanding and application of test accuracy information are purported to be important contributors to this observed evidence 'gap'. Empirical research to date is based on the premise that formal probability revision is a necessary pre-requisite for informed diagnostic decison making and is characterised by self selected samples with recent experience or expertise in test evaluation. The survey aims were to describe how clinicians apply existing test accuracy metrics for diagnostic decision making. Methods An incentivised, electronic survey was used. Informed application of test accuracy information was evaluated by asking respondents to indicate their management decision following presentation of nine different representations of the same test accuracy information to a common hypothetical scenario. Quantitative and qualitative synthesis was employed based on closed and open responses to management decisions. Results A total of 204 General Practitioners (response rate 95%) did not appear to be self-selected on the basis of academic position, involvement in policy or experience in test evaluation. Sensitivity and specificity, the annotated 2x2 diagnostic table and predictive values were reported to be familiar metrics by the most respondents. Likelihood ratios the DOR and AUC were familiar to less than 1/3 of respondents. Application of test accuracy metrics resulted in marked variation in responses to both positive and negative test results although greater inconsistency and management uncertainty was observed following presentation of a negative test result. Formal probability revision was not a feature of the diagnostic decision making process. Test errors (false negatives and false positives) were prominent as part of the translational pathway from quantitative summary estimates of test accuracy to management decisions. Summary measures that separate the two dimensions of test accuracy in the absence of prevalence information (for example sensitivity and specificity) appeared to result in a misplaced emphasis on one or other of false positive or false negative test errors. Presenting test accuracy data using the 2x2 diagnostic table or a pictograph attenuated this effect. Conclusion Choice of test accuracy metric appears to have a profound effect on diagnostic decision making. Understanding, contextual factors and motivational biases are likely to be contributing factors to the observed variability. It is unclear to what extent any advantage of test accuracy metric for informed decision making is based on familiarity as opposed to their intuitive nature. Simultaneous illustration of both dimensions of test accuracy in order to facilitate informed diagnostic decision making requires further exploration.


Studies are now underway to establish initial design characteristics for the pulsed neutron source NSNS facility and to optimize the design. In this paper the methodology of calculation is presented together with the calculated facility characteristics. Optimization studies are discussed and initial results shown. This paper addresses the target station of the NSNS.


In recent years, generative adversarial networks (GNAs), consisting of two competing 2D convolutional neural networks (CNNs) that are used as a generator and a discriminator, have shown their promising capabilities in hyperspectral image (HSI) classification tasks. Essentially, the performance of HSI classification lies in the feature extraction ability of both spectral and spatial information. The 3D CNN has excellent advantages in simultaneously mining the above two types of features but has rarely been used due to its high computational complexity. This paper proposes a hybrid spatial-spectral generative adversarial network (HSSGAN) for effective HSI classification. The hybrid CNN structure is developed for the construction of the generator and the discriminator. For the discriminator, the 3D CNN is utilized to extract the multi-band spatial-spectral feature, and then we use the 2D CNN to further represent the spatial information. To reduce the accuracy loss caused by information redundancy, a channel and spatial attention mechanism (CSAM) is specially designed. To be specific, a channel attention mechanism is exploited to enhance the discriminative spectral features. Furthermore, the spatial self-attention mechanism is developed to learn the long-term spatial similarity, which can effectively suppress invalid spatial features. Both quantitative and qualitative experiments implemented on four widely used hyperspectral datasets show that the proposed HSSGAN has a satisfactory classification effect compared to conventional methods, especially with few training samples.


The protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 1B gene (PPP1R1B; also known as dopamine and cAMP‐regulated phosphoprotein; DARPP32) is a target for the actions of dopamine. Because the mesolimbic dopaminergic system is implicated in the reinforcing effects of many drugs, including nicotine, PPP1R1B is considered a plausible candidate for involvement in the development of vulnerability to nicotine dependence (ND). Further, this gene is located within a region on chromosome 17 that demonstrated "suggestive linkage" to ND in our previous genome‐wide scan. In the present study, we analyzed six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within PPP1R1B for association with three ND measures: smoking quantity (SQ), the heaviness of smoking index (HSI), and the Fagerström Test for ND (FTND) score. Our sample consisted of 602 nuclear families of African‐American (AA) or European‐American (EA) origin. No significant associations were found for single SNPs after correction for multiple testing. However, haplotype analysis indicated that in the EA sample, the C‐T‐G‐C haplotype formed by rs2271309‐rs907094‐rs3764352‐rs3817160 with a frequency of 32.0% was significantly associated with SQ (Z = 2.50; P = 0.01), even after Bonferroni correction. No significant associations with haplotypes were found in the AA sample. In summary, our findings provide the first evidence for the potential involvement of PPP1R1B in the etiology of ND and further investigation is thus warranted. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A new incremental harmonic balance (IHB) method with two time scales procedure is used to analyze quasi-periodic motion of multiple degrees of freedom systems with cubic nonlinearity. An amplitude increment algorithm is adapted to deal with cases where the two frequencies are unknown a priori, in order to automatically trace frequency response of quasi-periodic motion of the system and accurately calculate all frequency components and their corresponding amplitudes. Results of application of the present IHB method to quasi-periodic free vibration of the nonlinear system are shown and compared with previously published results with Lau method and those from numerical integration. While differences are noted between results predicted by the present IHB method and Lau method, excellent agreement is achieved between results from the present IHB method and numerical integration even in cases of strongly nonlinear vibration.


Problem. Research indicates that students who receive an exclusively academic education that does not include emotional intelligence skills may not be prepared for future challenges of the 21st century because traditional intelligence contributes to only 20% of the factors that determine life success. Students with learning disabilities have average or above average cognitive intelligence. However, many do not demonstrate academic and social behaviors that normally would be compatible with average intelligence. Even though their cognitive intelligence has been tested, their emotional intelligence has not been tested. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and reading comprehension in high-school students with learning disabilities. Method. A total of 47 males and females with learning disabilities, ages 15 to 18, in Grades 10, 11, and 12 were studied. The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth Version was utilized to measure emotional intelligence. The Wide Range Expanded Group Assessment was administered to assess reading comprehension. To determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and reading comprehension, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was utilized. t tests were used to determine the influence of reading comprehension and emotional intelligence on gender, and one-way ANOVA was performed to determine the influence of emotional intelligence on grade level. Results. Results of the study indicated a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and reading comprehension in high-school students with learning disabilities. Gender and grade level did not seem to be related to either emotional intelligence or reading comprehension. Conclusion. Since a relationship does exist between emotional intelligence and reading comprehension, teaching emotional intelligence skills to students with learning disabilities may be beneficial to them both academically and socially.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the individual- and neighborhood-level predictors of frequent nonprescription in-pharmacy counseling.

DESIGN
Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study.

SETTING
New York City (NYC) during January 2008 to March 2009.

INTERVENTION
130 pharmacies registered in the Expanded Syringe Access Program (ESAP) completed a survey.

PARTICIPANTS
477 pharmacists, nonpharmacist owners/managers, and technicians/clerks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Frequent counseling on medical conditions, health insurance, and other products.

RESULTS
Technicians were less likely than pharmacists to provide frequent counseling on medical conditions or health insurance. Regarding neighborhood-level characteristics, pharmacies in areas of high employment disability were less likely to provide frequent health insurance counseling and pharmacies in areas with higher deprivation were more likely to provide counseling on other products.

CONCLUSION
ESAP pharmacy staff members are a frequent source of nonprescription counseling for their patients in disadvantaged neighborhoods of NYC. These findings suggest that ESAP pharmacy staff may be amenable to providing relevant counseling services to injection drug users and warrant further investigation.


Abstract The following tests were performed on a total of 20 eyes: Schirmer tear test, intraocular pressure (IOP), assessment of conjunctival flora, and pupillary diameter with application of topical tropicamide in 10 healthy captive red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) under manual restraint. The mean Schirmer tear test value was 22.6 ± 6.07 mm/min. The mean intraocular pressure was 17.45 ± 7.23 mm Hg. Values did not differ between eyes or gender for either test, but significant differences were identified for IOP values according to age. The most common bacteria isolated from the conjunctival fornix were Staphylococcus epidermidis (54.5%) and Corynebacterium sp. (18.2%). The mean onset of mydriasis after instillation of 1% tropicamide ophthalmic solution was 16.7 ± 3.34 min and the mean duration of effect was 17.6 ± 8.26 hr. The data obtained in this investigation will aid veterinary ophthalmologists and zoo veterinarians to diagnose ocular diseases in the red kangaroo accurately.


Myasthenia gravis (MG) is present in 50% of thymomas and is rarely associated with thymic carcinoma. We present the case of a 49-year-old woman with malignant thymoma, treated with surgery followed by radiotherapy, and a late seronegative MG diagnosis. This case reports the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the management of the potential correlation of malignant and benign diseases.


Recent evidence of successful Internet-based attacks and frauds involving financial institutions highlights the inadequacy of the existing protection mechanisms, in which each instutition implements its own isolated monitoring and reaction strategy. Analyzing on-line activity and detecting attacks on a large scale is an open issue due to the huge amounts of events that should be collected and processed. In this paper, we propose a large-scale distributed event processing system, called intelligence cloud, allowing the financial entities to participate in a widely distributed monitoring and detection effort through the exchange and processing of information locally available at each participating site. We expect this approach to be able to handle large amounts of events arriving at high rates from multiple domains of the financial scenario. We describe a framework based on the intelligence cloud where each participant can receive early alerts enabling them to deploy proactive countermeasures and mitigation strategies.


Allah gives human being the ability to find out their Creator and Sustainer and show them the evidence to identify the facts and truth as Allah Says: We will show them Our Signs in the universe and in their own selves until it becomes clear to them that this Quran is the Truth). This article is humble effort to identify the sources and causes of Hidayah, which leads a person to believe in Allah. Is Ahd-e-Alst (Allah covenant with the souls of humans before creation that I am your creator and Sustainer) should be consider a source of Itmam-e-Hujjat (Completion of Proof)? This paper will present and discuss the views and arguments of different scholars and exegetes and the role of this covenant in the reward and punishment of a human being and is this mere "pledge" enough to make a man Muslim or Pagan? We will explain the issues relates to this covenant also.


The authors describe the occurrence of high levels of S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) activity in the rat epididymis, and its ontogeny and androgenic control. As early as 15 days of age, SAMDC activity exists, although a peak of activity is observed at 25 days. Bilateral orchidectomy resulted in a decline of epididymal SAMDC activity. However, an androgen-independent fraction, accounting for 34% of total activity, appears to exist in the epididymis. In 45-day-old orchidectomized rats, SAMDC activity was stimulated by testosterone treatment in a dose-dependent manner. However, treatment of 45-day-old intact animals with a high dose of the androgen failed to modify SAMDC activity, indicating that, at this age, the enzyme is maximally stimulated by endogenous androgens. The observed effect of testosterone on castrated rats was completely abolished by concomitant treatment with the antiandrogen flutamide. This compound was ineffective on the androgen-insensitive fraction. To assess the contribution of circulating and luminal androgens to the maintenance of epididymal SAMDC, rats were unilaterally orchidectomized and activity was determined in both epididymides after 7 days. The SAMDC activity was identical in epididymides from both sides, suggesting circulating androgens suffice to maintain normal levels of activity. It was concluded that androgens regulate epididymal SAMDC activity, although an androgen-independent fraction appears to exist.


Quantitative analysis of the intracellular trafficking of nonviral vectors provides critical information that can guide the rational design of improved cationic systems for gene delivery. Subcellular fractionation methods, combined with radiolabeling, produce quantitative measurements of the intracellular trafficking of nonviral vectors and the therapeutic payload. In this work, differential and density-gradient centrifugation techniques were used to determine the intracellular distribution of radiolabeled 25 kDa branched polyethylenimine (bPEI)/plasmid DNA complexes ("polyplexes") in HeLa cells over time. By differential centrifugation, [(14)C]bPEI was found mostly in the lighter fractions whereas [(3)H]DNA was found mostly in the heavier fractions. A majority of the intracellular polymer (∼60%) and DNA (∼90%) were found in the nuclear fraction. Polymer and DNA also differed in their distribution to heavier and denser organelles (lysosomes, mitochondria) in density-gradient centrifugation studies. An unexpected finding from this study was that between 18 and 50% of the DNA applied to the cells became cell-associated (either with the cell membrane and/or internalized), while only 1-6% of the polymer did so, resulting in an effective N/P ratio of less than 1. These results suggest that a significant amount of cationic polymer is dissociated from the DNA cargo early on in the transfection process.


From 'one nation under God' to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness', what we say about being American is closely linked to how we understand ourselves as Americans. Through a close examination of four representative post-World War II novels, Christopher Douglas illuminates the complex relationship between being American and reciting American discourses. "Reciting America" provides fresh readings of Russell Banks' "Continental Drift", Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man", Maxine Hong Kingston's "Woman Warrior", and T. Coraghessan Boyle's "East Is East", as well as other texts such as the cartoons of Matt Groening and the inaugural poems of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.Considering these works in light of theories of Mikhail Bakhtin, Sacvan Bercovitch, and others, Douglas suggests that the American Dream and several other national vocabularies have become inflexible forms of language that disallow apprehension of the real. He explores how these novels and other texts confront national discourse and strive, though with inconclusive results, to open America up to new subject positions by offering alternatives to the dominant ideology.Douglas finds contemporary intellectual and political life, against the backdrop of a mythology enshrined in proclamations, pledges, and public documents, to be impoverished by the pervasive use of cliches, which he identifies as figures of speech that stimulate emotion or action while short circuiting reflection. In its extreme cliched form, the American Dream consists of nothing more than advertising slogans and popular culture images; yet these pronouncements retain a powerful hold on the will and imagination of U.S. citizens. Probing the limits of public discourse, the power of the American Dream cliche, and the complexity of identity in the United States, "Reciting America" is a sophisticated look at the range of motion available to individuals trying to act on the official texts that produce them as social beings.


Islamic tourism is a new field of study in Malaysia due to the fact that Malaysia is a unique and harmonious country consisting of many races of different faiths. The tourism industry being one of the national economic stimulus, has given the signs for the government to develop the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) Malaysia to promote a new strategy of Islamic tourism at the local and international levels. Islamic tourism sector covers a wide range of services; mostly in food and beverage, hospitality and leisure. However, the feature of Islamic tourism differs from the conventional tourism. Therefore, this study will identify the meaning of tourism from the Islamic perspectives from the assured sources, which are the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Definitely, Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country and Islamic tourism has been proclaimed as one of the niche areas because the demand from Muslim travelers is huge. Nevertheless, the understanding on Islamic tourism concept is still vague. Therefore, the objectives of this research are; to explore the meaning of Islamic tourism from the perspective of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, to uncover the classical jurist perception on Islamic tourism and to identify Islamic tourism practices in Malaysia. This study is a qualitative approach and the data is collected from previous literatures and in-depth interviews. This study will give a clear understanding on the concept of Islamic tourism to the public. Generally, Islamic tourism is the way of obedience to the Almighty, where the rules and obligations as the caliph in this world are fulfilled. The concept of Islamic tourism is related to social development, physical development, spiritual development,tourism as Ibadah, educational value, cultural value, religious value, Halal and Haram and ethics. The implementation of Islamic tourism concept is also seen to positive impacts to individuals, society, country and the whole wide world. This study shall be useful to become a guideline and reference to policy makers, service providers, tourists and academicians on Islamic tourism now that the industry has started to bloom in the recent years. Especially that Islamic tourism is much related with the halal concept and Malaysia is now going towards becoming a global halal-hub.


Syndecan‐1 is a cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan with various biological functions relevant to tumor progression and inflammation, including cell–cell adhesion, cell–matrix interaction, and cytokine signaling driving cell proliferation and motility. Syndecan‐1 is a prognostic factor in breast cancer, and has a predicitive value for neodadjuvant chemotherapy. It is still poorly understood how syndecan‐1 integrates matrix‐dependent and cytokine‐dependent signaling processes in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we evaluated the potential role of syndecan‐1 in modulating matrix‐dependent breast cancer cell migration in the presence of interleukin‐6, and its potential involvement in resistance to irradiation in vitro. MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells were transiently transfected with syndecan‐1 small interfering RNA or control reagents, and this was followed by stimulation with interleukin‐6 or irradiation. Cellular responses were monitored by adhesion, migration and colony formation assays, as well as analysis of cell signaling. Syndecan‐1 depletion increased cell adhesion to fibronectin. Increased migration on fibronectin was significantly suppressed by interleukin‐6, and GRGDSP peptides inhibited both adhesion and migration. Interleukin‐6‐induced activation of focal adhesion kinase and reduction of constitutive nuclear factor kappaB signaling were decreased in syndecan‐1‐deficient cells. Focal adhesion kinase hyperactivation in syndecan‐1‐depleted cells was associated with dramatically reduced radiation sensitivity. We conclude that loss of syndecan‐1 leads to enhanced activation of β1‐integrins and focal adhesion kinase, thus increasing breast cancer cell adhesion, migration, and resistance to irradiation. Syndecan‐1 deficiency also attenuates the modulatory effect of the inflammatory microenvironment constituent interleukin‐6 on cancer cell migration.


The aim of this dissertation is the analysis of a French manuscript of the Legende Doree, written at the end of the 13th century by the Dominican Jacques de Voragine and translated into French before 1348 by Jean de Vignay. This manuscript is number 266 in the Bibliotheque Municipale of Rennes; it was produced at about the end of the 14th century. After studying the history of the text and its reception, I applied a codicological approach of the manuscript and sixteen other extant manuscripts of the text, made between 1348 and 1430, in order to compare them to each other. Also, those sixteen manuscripts have been fully described. . Next to these comparisons about the way how the books were made, I compare the iconographic choices of the Rennes manuscript with the others to show the relations between text and images and the originality of each iconographic program although they use traditional motives. The themes of the iconography seem to have played a major role in the conception of the program by the workshop and show how the artists expressed the main subjects of the text of Voragine. Once the stylistic characteristics of each artist were defined in order to give evidence of an organisated workshop, I went back to the whole corpus to research former owners of the books, using the inventories. As I did not want to accept the idea that the manuscripts were made just to prove the wealthy situation of these people, I used the fact that they had close relationships with new religious trends in order to demonstrate that the Legende Doree was read with a sincere devotional purpose. In this way, the Rennes manuscript has found its place in the medieval artistic production and in a larger debate, the French Legende Doree has been reevaluated in the medieval society.


Excavations conducted at Morgantina by Princeton University and the University of Illinois have revealed substantial Iron Age remains beneath the Greek town on the Cittadella hilltop. In this volume, Robert Leighton presents a full study of this extensive protohistoric settlement in Sicily. The broad scope of evidence, particularly the survival of long houses and tombs with much of their structures and contents preserved, permits an unusually thorough examination of indigenous cultural traditions prior to the foundation of the Greek town in the Archaic period. An illustrated catalogue of the finds presents more than 700 artifacts from the site, most of which are previously unpublished. The author discusses all the excavated protohistoric areas in detail, and presents a full range of maps, plans, excavation photographs, reconstruction drawings, and radiocarbon dates. The diverse body of finds includes a wide variety of pottery forms as well as tools and ornaments of both metal and stone that document local crafts, metallurgy, and numerous aspects of daily life. In studying these objects, Leighton draws on parallels with material from the Italian peninsula and considers the evidence of the historical sources, revealing links between Sicily and Italy in the protohistoric period.