This chapter begins with a short story based on a personal memory which is about how the interplay between 'human' and 'technology' may indicate a level of mastery in knowing in practice. The story suggests that 'human' and 'technology' can perform tasks that could not be performed by only one element. I turn to discuss how papers could be designed to be accepted as 'scientific', providing examples of the use of stories in research and explicitly sets 'story' in relation to Dewey's 'art as experience'. Dewey states that we should pay attention to what a product does with and in experience; something that is relevant for scientific products. Different forms of writing contribute knowledge that lie outside the strict framework of scientific articles. Notwithstanding this, a story needs a framework of some sort if it is to connect to a scientific discourse. To be able to write differently, we need arenas for publications that are accepted within the evaluation systems that govern academic careers. This matters to researchers' careers and to the relevance of the knowledge that is developed in the scientific community and the relevance of universities as 'knowledge providers'. If the formal structure of an academic article determines what researchers can say, then the scope of scientific knowledge will be limited. The inclusion of stories can stimulate dialogue, potentially link creative and logical thinking together, and bridge theoretical and practical knowledge. We need stories to heal and unite separated life worlds.


Measurement of a single marker of coagulation may not provide a complete picture of hemostasis activation and fibrinolysis in patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases. We assessed retrospective orders of a panel which included prothrombin fragment 1.2 (PF1.2), thrombin: antithrombin complexes, fibrin monomers, and D-dimers in patients with heart assist devices, cardiomyopathies, atrial fibrillation and intracardiac thrombosis (based on ordering ICD-10 codes). During 1 year there were 117 panels from 81 patients. Fifty-six (69%) patients had heart assist devices, cardiomyopathy was present in 17 patients (21%) and 29 patients (36%) had more than 1 condition. PF1.2 was most frequently elevated in patients with cardiomyopathy (61.1%) compared to those with cardiac assist devices (15.7%; P = 0.0002). D-dimer elevation was more frequent in patients with cardiac assist devices (98.8%) compared to those patients with cardiomyopathy (83.3%; P = 0.014). Patients with cardiomyopathy show increases of PF1.2 suggesting thrombin generation. In contrast, elevations of D-dimers without increase in other coagulation markers in patients with cardiac assist devices likely reflect the presence of the intravascular device and not necessarily evidence of hemostatic activation.


The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system transports folded proteins across bacterial plasma membranes and the chloroplast thylakoid membrane. A twin-arginine motif in the signal peptide sequence plays a key role in the signal process. In this article we report the results of molecular dynamics simulations on a typical Escherichia coli RR-signal peptide and two mutant variants in both aqueous and trifluoroethanol (TFE) solutions. It has been found that the peptide switches between two distinct states: random coil in water and some helical content in TFE. Our simulations demonstrate that the wild-type peptide is considerably more flexible than either of the mutants in both the solvents investigated. The twin-arginine motif was found to provide a nucleation point for the formation of an α-helix in water, but also appears to destabilise α-helices in other regions of the peptide when dissolved in TFE.


Iodine is essential for thyroid function. Thyroid disorders related to iodine deficiency decreased progressively with the continuous iodine prophylaxis and the increased iodine intake. An adverse effect resulting from iodine prophylaxis may be the induction of thyroid autoimmunity. Although experiments performed in animal models suggest that iodine could initiate or exacerbate thyroid autoimmunity, the role of iodine in humans remains controversial. Several observational studies in areas with adequate or high iodine intake suggest that there is an increase in the incidence of thyroid autoimmune disease. Moreover, intervention studies suggest that increased iodine intake may enhance thyroid autoimmunity too. However, not all studies generated the same findings, probably because of genetic, racial, and environmental differences. It seems that autoimmune exacerbation is a transient phenomenon. Studies have shown that in persons presenting thyroid antibodies, the levels of these antibodies progressively decrease when the majority of them react against a nonspecific pattern of thyroglobulin (Tg) epitopes. However, in a small number of these persons, the anti-Tg antibodies are similar to those in patients with patent thyroid autoimmune disease, reacting against specific immunodominant Tg epitopes, and their levels persist. One possible attractive explanation is that enhanced iodine intake increases the antigenicity of Tg through the incorporation of iodine into its molecule and the formation of iodinated Tg epitopes or even the generation of noniodinated pathogenetic Tg epitopes that are normally cryptic.


Laboratory tests are conducted with asphalt concrete materials to determine the expected in-situ performance. In addition, laboratory test results are commonly used in mechanistic-empirical design methods for material characterization to improve the predictive accuracy of the models. However, the effectiveness of laboratory tests in characterizing the long-term performance of asphalt concrete materials needs to be validated to be able to use the results for pavement design and long-term performance prediction. Inaccurate performance characterization and prediction can directly affect the decision-making process for pavement maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction and result in unexpected early failures in the field. The major objective of this study is to determine the impact of using laboratory-measured asphalt stiffness on the prediction accuracy of mechanistic-empirical models. In addition, the effect of using linear-elastic modeling assumptions (layered elastic theory) and neglecting the nonlinearity of pavement response at high load levels (and/or at high strain levels for weaker structures) on the predicted rutting performance was determined. In this study, the effectiveness of the use of laboratory asphalt stiffness tests for in-situ asphalt stiffness characterization was determined by comparing the rutting performance predicted using laboratory-measured stiffness to rutting predicted using strain-gauge backcalculated stiffness. It was determined that laboratory tests are able to characterize the in-situ stiffness characteristics of the asphalt mix used in this study and the stiffness characterization process suggested in this study can provide reliable rutting performance predictions. Results of this study are only applicable to tested rubberized asphalt concrete mixtures.


There is evidence that atmospheric concentrations Of C0{sub 2}, tropospheric 0{sub 3}, and CH{sub 4}, among other gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, have increased in recent decades, and that these changes may induce changes in global air temperatures and regional climate features in coming years. A literature review was conducted to sample the literature base on which our understanding of the water resource impacts of climate change rests. Water resource issues likely to be important include hydrologic response to climate change, the resilience of water supply systems to changing climatic and hydrologic conditions, and the effects of climate change on water quality and water uses (such as navigation and energy generation). A computer-assisted search of literature on the effects of climate change on these subjects was conducted. All studies were classified by type of paper (e.g., review, discussion, case study), region, water resource variable studied, and source of climate scenario. The resulting bibliography containing more than 200 references was largely annotated. Case studies of potential hydrologic impacts have been more common than studies of impacts on water management or water use, but this apparent research gap is decreasing. Case studies demonstrating methods of incorporating potential risks of climatemore » change into water project planning and management have been performed. Considerable variability in regional coverage exists; the Great Lakes basin and California receive relatively more attention than such regions as New England and the Missouri River basin. General circulation model-based and hypothetical climate scenarios have been the dominant sources of climate scenarios used in case studies, although a variety of other methods for developing climate scenarios have been developed.« less


Oil pulling (extended mouth swishing) is a long-established ancient herbal practice that includes swishing of oil for a prolonged period in the mouth for maintaining better oral environment and providing systemic healthy effects. There are number of edible oils which are used in this therapy but the scientific evidence is limited. Recent literature shows that coconut is one of the most popular pulling oil amongst all. Coconut oil is effective against many oral and systemic conditions and also in bacterial and fungal infections because of the presence of lauric acid which is a major fatty acid component. This article reviews the literature regarding the mechanism, composition, benefits and scientific clinical studies related to coconut oil pulling therapy on oral health.


Dr C. M. Bell has provided the following Introduction to the published papers: The Andes have been described as typical of an orogenic belt produced by subduction of an oceanic plate beneath a continental margin. Models of Andean geological evolution are, however, commonly poorly constrained due to the limited amount of data available from this very large area. Much research has been directed towards specific problems such as the magmatic rocks, but knowledge and understanding of many other aspects of Andean geology are still in their infancy. The purpose of the meeting of 5 October was to encourage geologists currently working in the Andes to provide up-to-date accounts of research in progress. Consequently the resulting collection of papers covers a wide range of topics and geographical areas. A major problem of Andean geology is the relative inaccessibility of much of the published data. This results both from language barriers and the limited distribution of some South American publications. One of the aims of this set of papers is to provide access to aspects of this widely scattered and somewhat obscure literature. The authors of the first two papers both consider aspects of Andean subduction. Wortel highlights the fact that despite a relatively constant convergence rate along the length of South America the late Cenozoic geology shows distinct variations in seismicity, tectonics and magmatic activity. He considers that the main factor controlling these variations is the age of subducted lithosphere. A lesser factor is the subduction of aseismic ridges and seamount


Abstract The historical view of an equable Jurassic greenhouse world has been challenged by recent studies documenting recurrent alternation between contrasting climate modes. Cooling of high-latitudinal areas may have been caused by orogenic processes at the northern margin of the Tethys Ocean that reduced heat transport towards the polar regions. Warm phases correlate to periods of intensified volcanism. The Jenkyns Event occurred during the transition from a late Pliensbachian icehouse into an early Toarcian greenhouse. Parallel evolution of different environmental processes, including sea level, climate and carbon cycle, indicate a causal mechanism tied to astronomical forcing. Insolation-controlled variations in the extent of the cryosphere (ice caps and permafrost) facilitated orbitally paced sea-level cycles via waxing and waning of the polar ice caps, and negative carbon isotope excursions via the release of cryosphere-bound 12C-enriched carbon. This review and synthesis of sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological palaeoenvironment indicators, and of simulations from climate models, aims to reconstruction, in particular, the high-latitudinal environmental conditions of late Pliensbachian–early Toarcian times. Focus is laid on the extent of the regions that were potentially suitable for hosting a cryosphere. An environmental response to cryosphere dynamics is considered to have been a key component of the Jenkyns Event.


The syntheses of four derivatives of gamma-vinyl-GABA, in which vinylic hydrogen atoms were replaced by fluorine, are described. With use of 5-ethenyl-2-pyrrolidinone as starting material, the E and Z isomers of 4-amino-6-fluoro-5-hexenoic acid were prepared. The 6,6-difluoro and 5,6,6-trifluoro analogues could be synthesized from 4-oxobutanoic acid tert-butyl ester and (2,2-difluoroethenyl)- and (trifluoroethenyl)lithium correspondingly. The compounds were tested as inhibitors of GABA-T, and their in vitro and in vivo biochemistry is reported. The most active derivative was (Z)-4-amino-6-fluoro-5-hexenoic acid; the structure-activity relationship in the series is discussed.


Periodic temperature oscillations are generated at the surface of a reference layer contacting the solid slab specimen and the temperature wave propagates through the reference layer into the specimen. Measuring and evaluating the amplitude attenuation and/or the phase shift between the fundamental temperature oscillations at the surface of the specimen and at a well defined position inside the specimen enables one to determine the thermal diffusivity. Knowing the thermal diffusivity of the specimen the thermal conductivity is determined using the measured amplitude attenuation and/or the phase shift between the fundamental temperature oscillations at both the surfaces of the reference layer. With an additional measurement inside the specimen the thermal contact resistance between the surface of the reference layer and the specimen can be estimated as well.


Mortgage is for grasping only the exchange value of a mortgage object, and its establisher occupying and using the object, so having a third party use the object or separating the subordinated object from the mortgaged property does not infringe the mortgage. That is, mortgage is a nonpossession security, so the mortgagee can not intervene in using and benefiting the mortgaged property. Also mortgage is a right to preferentially receive payment to the exchange value of an object, and the right to use and benefit the property still resides with the establisher, so the owner of a mortgage land or third party constructing a building on the land by possession title can be said to fall under the exercise of use and benefit right.
However, the establisher can dispose of and use the property even after the establishment, but is not allowed to manage and use the object threatened to the mortgagee's dominant power, that is, that of exchange value and that of disposal vale as its prerequisite. Mortgage does not deprive the establisher of its use and benefit right, but preferentially receives the payment from the property, so the establisher is obliged not to reduce the property value, that is, keep 'the security value'. This obligation to keep this security value is grounded on the security relation ruled by good faith, so naturally imposed on the establisher. In addition, if the obliger's credit status is at risk due to dishonor, or the mortgagee is entitled to execute the mortgage for credit collection, the mortgagee needs to collect the credit through auction execution, and for auction realization like stability of auction procedures, the mortgagee's benefits to execute mortgage and realize the land exchange value need to be more valuable than the property owner's use benefits. Thus, the right to realize the auction object through the auction procedure and preferentially receive the secured liabilities of mortgage can be said to the fundamental content of mortgage, so in case of any infringement in this basic content, in other words, high feasible degradation of a optimal successful price at the auction procedure, and damaging the realization power of mortgage may be considered to have an adverse effect on the realization power, and the mortgagee can claim the obstacle elimination such as suspension of the infringement act.
Thus, the establisher's or obliger's reduction acts of exchange value can be deemed as infringing on the mortgage, and if the mortgage establisher on a empty land is constructing a new building, while the mortgagee enters into the execution of the mortgage, whose construction act is feared to impede the proceeding of the auction procedure, and damage the mortgagee's realization right, then for the smooth auction of the land, the prohibition of construction act on the land can be pursued as a claim to eliminate the obstacle by statutory mortgage. This is a preservative disposition for compulsory management system or doe sale recognized in our civil execution law, which is necessary for balancing with the procedural law for property damage prevention.


Take system dynamics (SD) as the framework of study, use support vector machines (SVM) to obtain the non-linear relationship among units of product development complex system; and then use rough set (RS) method to analysis the feedback loop of flow-chart of the system, so as to find the non-linear dynamics correcting mechanism of product development. The simulation model can illuminate factually the essentiality of the evolution process of new product development. The essential factors of product development was found with Rough Set method by the simulation model, and it was found that the system of essential factors in certain space can play an important role in the steady of the system. It was proved that the managers can raise the success rate of new product development and make it easy to forecast and control the evolution process of product development by regulating the essential factors.


We consider embedded systems structured as a graph of communicating components [1]. In this model, we define a data matching property based upon the interactions of the data flow paths passing through common components. If a component uses inputs which indirectly depend on the same component output, these inputs have to depend on a same execution step of the producer component, even when several independent paths link these two components, and when the components have different timing characteristics (esp. different periods). We analyze the system architecture to detect situations that can cause data matching problems. Depending on the system needs, we propose several approaches to manage data matching.


A project was developed to provide older residents in care homes with hip protectors if they were at risk of falling. The aim was to reduce the number of hip fractures sustained through falls. During the project it became apparent that care home staff had little knowledge of hip protectors, and felt unable to take steps to prevent falls. The project extended its scope to raise the awareness of falls-risk assessments and prevention strategies, and developing structures through which best practice could be shared between homes.


Summary: Populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with plasma membranes enriched in phosphatidyl-ethanolamine lost viability and released cations at a greater rate when suspended in buffered sodium dodecyl sulphate than did populations with membranes enriched in phosphatidylcholine. However, when suspended in buffered sorbitol (1.2 M) containing sodium dodecyl sulphate, sphaeroplasts from organisms with phosphatidylcholine-enriched membranes released cations faster than did sphaeroplasts with membranes enriched in phosphatidylethanolamine. Liposomes prepared in potassium chloride from mixtures of phospholipids from organisms enriched in phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylethanol-amine lost potassium ions at the same rate when suspensions were supplemented with sodium dodecyl sulphate. Organisms enriched in phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidyl-ethanolamine did not differ in appearance in scanning electron micrographs, in electrophoretic mobilities over the pH range 2 to 9, in the ease with which they were converted into sphaero-plasts by β-glucanase, or in permeability to a range of polyethylene glycols. Walls from phosphatidylcholine- and phosphatidylethanolamine-enriched organisms had the same contents of β-glucans, α-mannan and protein.


Recent work in the area of model-based safety analysis has demonstrated key advantages of this methodology over traditional approaches, for example, the capability of automatic generation of safety artifacts. Since safety analysis requires knowledge of the component faults and failure modes, one also needs to formalize and incorporate the system fault behavior into the nominal system model. Fault behaviors typically tend to be quite varied and complex, and incorporating them directly into the nominal system model can clutter it severely. This manual process is error-prone and also makes model evolution difficult. These issues can be resolved by separating the fault behavior from the nominal system model in the form of a "fault model", and providing a mechanism for automatically combining the two for analysis. Towards implementing this approach we identify key requirements for a flexible behavioral fault modeling notation. We formalize it as a domain-specific language based on Lustre, a textual synchronous dataflow language. The fault modeling extensions are designed to be amenable for automatic composition into the nominal system model.


Using [(3)H]inulin uptake as a measure of pharyngeal pumping activity, we have investigated and compared the effects of glutamate, ivermectin, and moxidectin on inulin uptake in susceptible and ivermectin-selected Haemonchus contortus. Inulin uptake is inhibited by glutamate, ivermectin, and moxidectin, at biologically relevant concentrations. Glutamate influences the responses to both ivermectin and moxidectin, suggesting that these three substances share a common mechanism of action. The effects of ivermectin on inulin uptake, but not moxidectin, are significantly altered as a result of selection with ivermectin. These results suggest that ivermectin and moxidectin may differ, to some extent, in their mode of action responses or mechanisms of resistance.


The fundamentals associated with the three-dimensional effects of acoustic excitation and flutter suppression in a transonic turbomachinery flow are studied. A high-resolution aeroacoustic Euler flow solver that can capture shock waves and resolve acoustic waves was developed and validated. This numerical procedure employs the modified Osher-Chakravarthy upwind total variation diminishing scheme for acoustic and discontinuity capturing. Time accuracy is accomplished by using implicit approximate lower-upper factorization together with Newton subiterations. Sound source modeling and characteristic far-field treatment are carefully implemented to result in an accurate aeroacoustic solver. Numerical simulation of a three-dimensional transonic rotor blade row (NASA rotor 67) is performed. Both internal and external acoustic excitations have been studied to investigate these acoustically excited flowfields. It is found in the present simulation that internal trailing-edge forcing is 3-5 times more effective than that excited by means of external methods, although the internal hardware implementation is much more difficult. External casing forcing of rotor 67 operated at peak-efficiency condition was also simulated. The physical mechanism of how a ducted transonic rotor flow that can be externally excited is explained. It is concluded that blade flutter in a three-dimensional turbomachine can be acoustically suppressed, either internally or externally, provided a proper control logic and sensor device is selected.


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
To determine predictive factors allowing to improve the results of fusion in low back pain treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
Fifty six patients were retrospectively reviewed. Average age at surgery was 42. In 29 cases, discectomy or nucleolysis had been previously performed. All patients were treated by anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Functional results were assessed by the Beaujon index, with determination of a relative improvement rate. Results were analyzed according to clinical symptoms, fused level, previous surgery, association to posterior osteosynthesis and MRI changes. MRI changes were classified according to Modic types.

RESULTS
The average relative improvement rate was 66 per cent. Pain topography, previous surgery, fused level, association with posterior osteosynthesis had not statistical effect on the functional result. Inversely, a close relation was observed between pre-operative MRI changes and the result of surgery: best results were observed in Modic I changes on adjacent vertebral end plates, with decreased signal of T1 and increased signal on T2 weighted images, suggesting inflammatory changes; poor results were observed in isolated disc degeneration without vertebral end-plates changes; poor results were observed in Modic II changes with increased signal on both T1 and T2 weighted images, suggesting degenerative changes; but among 5 non unions, 3 were observed in Modic II changes.

DISCUSSION
The authors identify a lumbar disc dysfunction syndrome characterized by mechanical pain, with disc narrowing and anterior condensation of the vertebral plates on MRI (Modic I changes). This syndrome should be differentiated from common degenerative disc disease, without vertebral plates abnormalities (the "black disc" on MRI).

CONCLUSION
Anterior fusion is effective for the treatment of low-back pain due to degenerative disc disease, when associated to vertebral plate changes; as the pathology is mainly anterior. We prefer an anterior mini-invasive approach; furthermore, posterior elements are intact and canal exploration is unnecessary. However, an additional posterior osteosynthesis is preferable in Modic type II, as non union rate is increased by fatty degenerative involution.


BACKGROUND
Dyslipidemia is often observed in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and is associated with cardiovascular diseases. Peritoneal dialysis treatment may further deteriorate the lipoprotein abnormalities, suggesting that peritoneal dialysis alters lipid metabolism.

METHODS
To study the mechanisms involved in these abnormalities in peritoneal dialysis, we measured insulin sensitivity, free fatty acids release, de novo lipogenesis (DNL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) apoB100 kinetics and cholesterol synthesis in vivo in ESRD (N= 6), peritoneal dialysis patients (N= 5), and controls (N= 7) using stable isotopes.

RESULTS
Insulin sensitivity, as assessed by an euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, tended to be lower in ESRD and peritoneal dialysis compared to controls [P= 0.08 by analysis of variance (ANOVA)]. Free fatty acid release during the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp tended to be higher in ESRD and peritoneal dialysis compared to controls (P= 0.08 by ANOVA), while DNL and fractional cholesterol synthesis were normal. VLDL-1 apoB100 (P < 0.05) and VLDL-2 apoB100 pool sizes (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in peritoneal dialysis patients compared to controls. The increased VLDL-1 apoB100 pool size was explained by increased VLDL-1 apoB100 synthesis (P < 0.05) in combination with reduced VLDL-1 apoB100 catabolism (P < 0.01), while the increased VLDL-2 apoB100 pool was explained by reduced catabolism (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
Both VLDL-1 apoB100 and VLDL-2 apoB100 pool sizes are increased in peritoneal dialysis patients, due to disturbances both in synthesis and catabolism. VLDL-1 apoB100 production is, at least partially, explained by increased free fatty acid availability secondary to peripheral insulin resistance, thus identifying insulin resistance as potential therapeutic target in peritoneal dialysis patients.


Multi-task reinforcement learning is a rich paradigm where information from previously seen environments can be leveraged for better performance and improved sample-efficiency in new environments. In this work, we leverage ideas of common structure underlying a family of Markov decision processes (MDPs) to improve performance in the few-shot regime. We use assumptions of structure from Hidden-Parameter MDPs and Block MDPs to propose a new framework, HiP-BMDP, and approach for learning a common representation and universal dynamics model. To this end, we provide transfer and generalization bounds based on task and state similarity, along with sample complexity bounds that depend on the aggregate number of samples across tasks, rather than the number of tasks, a significant improvement over prior work. To demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method, we empirically compare and show improvements against other multi-task and meta-reinforcement learning baselines.


This study aimed to analyze the correlation between the phenotype and genotype of Chinese patients with early-onset lamin A (LMNA)-related muscular dystrophy (MD). The clinical and myopathological data of 21 Chinese pediatric patients with early-onset LMNA-related MD were collected and analyzed. LMNA gene mutation analysis was performed by direct sequencing of genomic DNA. Sublocalization of wild-type and mutant proteins were observed by immunofluorescence using cultured fibroblasts and human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cell. Seven patients were diagnosed with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) and 14 were diagnosed with LMNA-associated congenital muscular dystrophy (L-CMD). Four biopsy specimens from the L-CMD cases exhibited inflammatory changes. Abnormal nuclear morphology was observed with both transmission electron microscopy and lamin A/C staining. We identified 10 novel and nine known LMNA gene mutations in the 21 patients. Some mutations (c.91G>A, c.94_96delAAG, c.116A>G, c.745C>T, c.746G>A, and c.1580G>C) were well correlated with EDMD or L-CMD. LMNA-related MD has a common symptom triad of muscle weakness, joint contractures, and cardiac involvement, but the severity of symptoms and disease progression differ greatly. Inflammatory change in biopsied muscle is a characteristic of early-stage L-CMD. Phenotype–genotype analysis determines that some mutations are well correlated with LMNA-related MD.


We propose a set of methods to classify vendors based on estimated CPU performance and predict CPU performance based on hardware components. For vendor classification, we use the highest and lowest estimated performance and frequency of occurrences of each vendor to create classification zones. These zones can be used to identify vendors who manufacture hardware that satisfy a given performance requirement. We use multi-layered neural networks for performance prediction, which account for non-linearity in performance data. Various neural network architectures are analysed in comparison to linear, quadratic, and cubic regression. Experiments show that neural networks obtain low error and high correlation between predicted and published performance values, while cubic regression produces higher correlation than neural networks when more data is used for training than testing. An analysis of how the neural network architecture affects prediction is also performed. The proposed methods can be used to identify suitable hardware replacements.


The dynamic analyses and studies on earthquake resistance of underground structures in soft soil both at home and abroad are introduced from the aspects as dynamic characteristics of the soft soil, soil structure dynamic interaction, dynamic response of soft soil ground and calculation of dynamic reliability of underground structures. The results of study by the authors are given as well.


Sulphamethoxazole, sulphadimethyloxazole and sulphadimethoxine were once administered in goats via oral and i.v. route (100 mg/kg b.wt.) for determination of plasma and urine concentrations of the unchanged sulphonamides and their acetylated derivatives, kinetic behavior, systemic bioavailability, tissue levels and acetylation. The highest plasma concentrations of sulphamethoxazole, sulphadimethyloxazole and sulphadimethoxine were reached after 0.64, 1.31 and 0.46 hr following oral administration, with an absorption half-life of 0.84, 1.31 and 0.38 hr and an elimination half-life of 3.51, 5.01 and 5.55 hr, respectively. Following a single i.v. injection, the kinetic disposition of sulphamethoxazole and sulphadimethoxine followed a one-compartmental model with an elimination half-life of 1.48 and 1.76 hr and a total body clearance-time curve of sulphadimethyloxazole, after a single i.v. injection, could be described by a two-compartmental open model with an elimination half-life of 3.27 hr, a volume of distribution of 248.07 ml/kg and a total body clearance of 0.82 ml/kg/min. The systemic bioavailability was 19.95, 11.37 and 23.27% after oral administration of sulphamethoxazole, sulphadimethyloxazole and sulphadimethoxine, respectively. The percentages of serum protein binding of sulphamethoxazole, sulphadimethyloxazole and sulphadimethoxine were determined in most of the body tissues, collected 4 hr after i.v. injection. The highest concentration was found in kidney and liver. On the other hand, sulphamethoxazole, sulphadimethyloxazole and sulphadimethoxine were N4-acetylated in the body tissues to a higher extent than that in plasma. Acetylation was highest in rumen and skeletal muscle.


This paper presents theoretical assessment of controlled fragmentation (CF) warhead and its application for (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) UAV. It is a great challenge to the designer to make small warheads with precision for defeat ofground targets. Attempts have been made to optimize the performance parameters of small warheads to be used in UAVs for defeat of specified ground targets. Warhead performance parameters are characterized by mass distribution and special distribution, velocity of fragments and penetration performance of fragmets against ground targets. Lethality of warhead depends on explosive filling, case materials and controlled fragmentation techniques. Parametric studies are carried out to improve the performance parameters in the best possible manner. The theoretical model shows that the warheads in the weight class of 1kg can defeat simulated targets of 5-mm thick mild steel at a lethal radius of 10m, generating more than 250 numbers of 1 to 2-g compact fragments in beam angles of the range of 100-120.To check out the efficacy and effectiveness, two cylindrical warhead prototypes using controlled fragmentation were fabricated and tested in similar conditions.


In this study, total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity were determined in various products made from two cultivars of jamman fruit (Eugenia jambolana) i.e. improved (V1) and indigenous (V2). Five products were made from each cultivar such as jam, squash, ready-to-drink juice, pulp powder and seed powder. Fruit cultivars were endogenous to the typical region of Sindh-Pakistan. Total phenolic contents were analyzed by Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method, whereas, the total antioxidant activity was analyzed by using the 2, 2-diphenil-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity (DPPH) assays. The highest total phenolic contents and antioxidants were observed in freeze dried seed powder while the lowest contents were found in squash. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5951.2011.01.01.08


The problem of dynamic prediction with time‐dependent covariates, given by biomarkers, repeatedly measured over time, has received much attention over the last decades. Two contrasting approaches have become in widespread use. The first is joint modeling, which attempts to jointly model the longitudinal markers and the event time. The second is landmarking, a more pragmatic approach that avoids modeling the marker process. Landmarking has been shown to be less efficient than correctly specified joint models in simulation studies, when data are generated from the joint model. When the mean model is misspecified, however, simulation has shown that joint models may be inferior to landmarking. The objective of this article is to develop methods that improve the predictive accuracy of landmarking, while retaining its relative simplicity and robustness. We start by fitting a working longitudinal model for the biomarker, including a temporal correlation structure. Based on that model, we derive a predictable time‐dependent process representing the expected value of the biomarker after the landmark time, and we fit a time‐dependent Cox model based on the predictable time‐dependent covariate. Dynamic predictions based on this approach for new patients can be obtained by first deriving the expected values of the biomarker, given the measured values before the landmark time point, and then calculating the predicted probabilities based on the time‐dependent Cox model. We illustrate the approach in predicting overall survival in liver cirrhosis patients based on prothrombin index.


Major structural rearrangements are uncommon causes of mutation in human genetic diseases. We have previously described that a significant proportion of unrelated patients of western European descent who are deficient in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity have a major structural rearrangement in the LPL gene. Here we report the detailed characterization of this mutation. We show that this rearrangement is due to a duplication of approximately 2 kb which results from juxtaposition of intron 6 to a partially duplicated exon 6. We have sequenced both the junction fragment of this duplication and the corresponding wild-type regions and have found that the breakpoint in intron 6 is associated with the simple repeat found at the 3' end of an Alu element. The breakpoint within exon 6 shows no homology to this simple repeat. This result both suggests that this interchange arose as a nonhomologous recombination event and shows that such events resulting in duplication which occur in normal gene evolution may also lead to genetic disease. Cloning of the junction fragment has allowed synthesis of appropriate primers for rapid screening for this rearrangement in other families with LPL deficiency.


As Dr. Walk properly emphasizes, it is not valid for us today to ascribe a knowledge of modern clinical psychiatry to St. Paul. As Dr. Walk also points out, our interpretation of St. Paul's brief and ambiguous phrases are derived from the interpreta tions placed upon them by John Cassian and a con siderable number of later medieval and renaissance philosophers. Unfortunately, the gap between Paul and Cassian is not a mere hiatus—it is a complete void. We know that Cassian studied in the East before establishing himself at Marseilles, and hence we may assume that at least some of his ideas origin ated in his earlier studies. However, currently avail able sourcesgive no indication of why Cassiancame to interpret St. Paul as he did. In passing, it is interesting to note that Cassian's descriptions of the psychology of oung students is also surprisingly modern.


Teaching programming courses have always been a challenge faced by many lecturers and instructors of programming courses, even though much effort has been put in by institution involved. There are many approaches in teaching programming such as through application software on line and offline, through software application games) and physical activities such as board games, dancing and computational thinking activities. The objective of our teaching approach is to introduce playing physical games using learner's body movement) in contrast to purely computer-based or board games as a tool to teach programming related subjects. This is closely related to computational thinking activities
approach discussed by others. The motivation behind this approach is firstly based on learning style theories that many students are of the kinaesthetic typed compared to the visual and auditory and this is also true in the context of computer science students. Kinaesthetic students process new knowledge (or understanding) with the involvement of their body movement. In context of teaching programming, we feel that most of the teaching approaches only benefit the visual and auditory students even though many are among the kinaesthetic typed. We produced in total 10 lesson games to illustrate variables, swapping, arrays, sorting algorithm particularly bubble sort, quicksort, selection sort, graph theory, dynamic programming, amortized analysis and trees. The activities were conducted involving first and fourth year undergraduate students and Master students in Programming 1 (31 students), Data Structure (6 students), Analysis of Algorithm (12 students) and Advanced Algorithm (22 students) courses respectively. In total, they were 66 students. We observed that this approach was very well accepted by students as an alternative to lectures in conveying knowledge in the classroom. All students who came gave full participation and were much more committed to complete the intended objectives of the lesson involved. We regularly discussed and improved on how the steps of the games should be executed especially regarding the sorting algorithm. We also tested the lesson games in our community initiate programmes with the aborigines of Suku Kaum Temuan (28 children and teenagers between 7 to 18 years) and a local community in Subang Bestari, Shah Alam through a computational thinking game competition (32 children and teenagers between 6 to 15 years) supported by the local "Persatuan Penduduk". Similarly, (to that of the university scenario), we observed that, all children and teenagers gave full participation and learned computational thinking concepts effectively by executing the computational thinking through the physical games. Therefore, our execution of the physical game to explain programming concepts especially in a competition scenario, clearly showed a tremendous potential to instil interest, capture focus and increase grade performance in university students as well as children and teenagers.


We study the noncontact friction between an atomic force microscope tip and a metal substrate in the presence of bias voltage. The friction is due to energy losses in the sample created by the electromagnetic field from the oscillating charges induced on the tip surface by the bias voltage. We show that the friction can be enhanced by many orders of magnitude if the adsorbate layer can support acoustic vibrations. The theory predicts the magnitude and the distance dependence of friction in good agreement with recent puzzling noncontact friction experiment [B. C. Stipe, H. J. Mamin, T. D. Stowe, T. W. Kenny, and D. Rugar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 096801 (2001).]. We demonstrate that even an isolated adsorbate can produce high enough friction to be measured experimentally.


Even a cursory survey of museum collections will reveal the preservation potential of many elements of the postcranial skeleton to be higher than that of intact dental series or nearly complete skulls. Recognition of morphologic characters which would permit these elements to be assigned to particular genera (or species) would facilitate correlation and zonation of many fossil-bearing sequences. The proportions of the metapodials of the Neogene camels Aepycamelus, Hemiauchenia, Alforjas, Camelops, Procamelus, Megatylopus and Titanotylopus are sufficiently different from one another to permit cannon bones not associated with cranial and dental material to be referred to particular genera with some certainty. Furthermore, the range zones and concurrent-range zones of these genera can be used to partition the late Barstovian through Blancan interval. High preservation potential and distinctive morphology make the cannon bones of these camels useful biostratigraphic indicators.--Modified journal abstract.


: We conclude from our studies and data from the literature that ACE inhibitors belong to the proper basic therapy of cardiac failure because of their marked influence on progression and death by pump failure. The therapeutic gain per 100 patients treated for one year exceeds that of other medications used commonly for secondary prophylaxis.


Effect of ascorbic acid on testicular steroid dehydrogenase activity and testosterone concentration, using in vitro preparation of rat testis, was studied. A significant stimulation of enzyme activity and rise in testosterone content were observed.


In this paper, we give a general framework for the analysis of block ciphers using the statistical technique of likelihood estimation. We show how various recent successful cryptanalyses of block ciphers can be regarded in this framework. By analysing the SAFER block cipher in this framework we expose a cryptographic weakness of that cipher.


The theme of this dissertation is the study of fundamental groups and classifying spaces in the context of the etale topology of schemes. The main result is the existence of K(pi,1) neighborhoods in the case of semistable (or more generally log smooth) reduction, generalizing a result of Gerd Faltings. As an application to p-adic Hodge theory, we use the existence of these neighborhoods to compare the cohomology of the geometric generic fiber of a semistable scheme over a discrete valuation ring with the cohomology of the associated Faltings topos. The other results include comparison theorems for the cohomology and homotopy types of several types of Milnor fibers. We also prove an l-adic version of a formula of Ogus, describing the monodromy action on the complex of nearby cycles of a log smooth family in terms of the log structure.


Professional practice amongst health professionals is at its peak when conducted free of bias and founded in accurate, up-to-date knowledge. If tarnished by judgmental attitudes or inadequate or inaccurate knowledge, individuals receiving health care or education may be disadvantaged or, worse, stigmatized. This study sought to detect if pre-service health professionals possess weight bias and quantify the degree of bias if present. It also sought to measure the level of nutrition knowledge that pre-service health professionals possess and compare these attitudes and knowledge to professionals whose roles are not incumbent on providing health education or counselling. Participants (n=174) were enrolled in an undergraduate nutrition elective and completed a survey containing the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire, Crandall's Antifat Attitudes Questionnaire, and the Fat Stereotyping Questionnaire. Students in non-health-related degrees (n=92) displayed higher levels of nutrition knowledge than those in health-related streams (n=82). Weight bias was detected amongst both groups and was stronger in students enrolled in health degrees. Fat stereotyping was detected at a medium level and, although insignificant, was higher amongst pre-service health professionals. Results of this study support the call for attitudes and knowledge to be addressed during the formal period of higher education, with the aim of reducing weight bias and improving nutrition knowledge before pre-service professionals graduate and enter the workforce.


Of all the available methods for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, bacteriological examination is the most reliable. Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis is chiefly done by sputum microscopy and culture. This paper discusses sputum microscopy from various points of view. Sputum, which forms the basis of bacteriological diagnosis, is a variable source material. Type of specimen, its quality, quantity, bacterial content and viability of organism considerably influence the sensitivity and the specificity of the methods; and these in turn would vary under different diagnostic situations. One of the reasons for the observed variations could be the different criteria adopted for examination; another might be due to the observed range of diagnostic situations varying from an epidemiological survey situation at the one extreme to the other where cases seek treatment in a comparatively backward community with poor tuberculosis diagnostic services. In epidemiological community survey (ICMR 1968), it has been found that culture positives that were also smear positives varied from 73% to 87%, whereas among patients attending rural general health institutions for diagnosis, about 82% of the infectious cases found by culture could also be discovered by microscopy of single spot specimens (Rao, 1966). Sikand (1965) from New Delhi Tuberculosis Centre, could get 67% of culture positives by microscopy, whereas Mitchison (1967) found that 35% were smear positive among the sputum positive patients reporting for the first time. In the longitudinal epidemiological study carried out in the Bangalore rural area, it was found that about 40%-48% were positive by both direct smear and culture and the rest by culture only. Reasons for these variations could be (i) different criteria adopted for examination (ii) different situations from where the sputum specimens were collected (iii) sensitivity and specificity of sputum microscopy technique adopted and (iv)the experience of the trained technician. It was observed that over diagnosis by the trained auxiliary staff in the general health institutions (1.9%) compares favourably with the over diagnosis of 1.3% by experienced technicians indicating simplicity of smear examination. Besides these aspects, other factors like the quality of sputum smear, time spent on examination, type of sputum specimen, the use of multiple smears, etc., also influence the results. The cost of bacteriological examination have also been studied, and the cost ratio between microscopy and culture have been worked out to be 1:6.6. Cost can become an important factor in deciding the suitability of bacteriological methods for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in various countries and in different diagnostic situations.


We characterize a tree's spatial foliage distribution by the local leaf area density. Considering this spatially continuous variable allows to describe the spatiotemporal evolution of the tree crown by means of 3D partial differential equations. These offer a framework to rigorously take locally and adaptively acting effects into account, notably the growth toward light. Biomass production through photosynthesis and the allocation to foliage and wood are readily included in this model framework. The system of equations stands out due to its inherent dynamic property of self-organization and spontaneous adaptation, generating complex behavior from even only a few parameters. The density-based approach yields spatially structured tree crowns without relying on detailed geometry. We present the methodological fundamentals of such a modeling approach and discuss further prospects and applications.


Product structure management (PSM) is a process that affects many different disciplines in a company. Different disciplines have different demands on the decomposition of the product structure and the functionality of the information systems used. Different disciplines therefore often work in different information systems. If several information systems to some extent contain the same information, it is important that the information is updated in all systems if it is changed. Since PSM is a change intensive activity, it is difficult to perform PSM in an environment consisting of several different information systems. There is a need for strategies for PSM that considers all relevant aspects of an information system, such as the process it supports, the information handled, the information systems used and the organisation. This paper discusses different disciplines requirements on the product structure based on a case study at an automotive manufacturing firm. The paper proposes strategies for PSM that can be used as a guide and for categorisation when analysing the information system before restructuring and/or introduction of new systems.


Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS CoV 2) seems to display an increasing affinity for the nervous system. The ongoing pandemic has made evident that diverse neurological manifestations may occur with COVID 19. Headache and dizziness remain the most common symptoms however stroke, seizures, encephalopathy, neuropathy and skeletal muscle injury may be seen. An increasing number of patients report initial anosmia and ageusia. Tendency for serious illness is believed to be in the elderly or people with a history of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Many patients on immunosuppressive therapies such as multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis or sarcoidosis are additionally high risk. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2) has been identified as the cellular receptor for SARS CoV 2 present in both neurons and glial tissue. The pathophysiology of neurotoxicity at best remains elusive with dysregulation of homeostasis and pro inflammatory cytokine production causing direct, indirect and post infectious neurological complications. Vigilant observation for neurological involvement is important not only to prevent spread of this highly contagious disease but also for appropriate, timely management. A directed neurological examination limiting exposure of medical personnel to potentially infected patients is mandatory. Appropriate constrained investigations should be considered only if there is a likelihood of changing management. Tele neurology consultations, whenever possible is the need of the hour. Outcomes of COVID 19 patients with severe illness and neurological complications remains grave. Pharmaceutical research needs to change directions to expedite the development of a possible vaccine and also accelerate in the quest for newer antiviral agents.


Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.) is an important vegetable crop cultivated widely in India. During a field survey in November 2021, about 60% of plants exhibited characteristic powdery mildew disease symptoms and signs in a 15 ha field in Northern Karnataka (Raichur), India. Initially, the symptoms and signs appeared as tan lesions, which later became small, circular and chlorotic. The abaxial surface turned yellow and was covered with white mycelial growth. As the disease progressed, white mycelia grew on the adaxial leaf surface, stems and pods as well. In severe infections, drying and premature defoliation of infected leaves were observed. Infected leaf samples with mycelia were collected (n=8) and the fungus was subjected to morphological and molecular observations. Mycelia on leaves was characterized as epiphytic, amphigenous, producing dense, white patches on the upper and lower leaf surfaces, stem and young pods. Hyphae were hyaline, thin-walled, 1.8 to 4.2 µm wide with erect conidiophores consisting of a cylindrical foot-cell, straight flexuous at the base and measured 20 to 36 × 6 to 9 μm (n=30), followed by 1 to 2 shorter cells. Ellipsoid conidia were produced singly and measured 28 to 42 × 12 to 20 μm (n=30) without fibrosin bodies. Chasmothecia were not observed. A reference specimen was deposited at the Institution of Excellence, University of Mysore Herbarium (UOM-IOE 2022_1). The morphology and other characteristics of conidia were consistent with an Erysiphe species (Braun and Cook 2012). Genomic DNA was isolated from a conidial suspension harvested from the powdery mildew affected cluster bean samples. The ITS region was amplified from three samples using powdery mildew-specific primer pair PN23/PN34 and sequenced directly (Chen et al. 2008). nBLAST analysis revealed that the ITS sequence shared 100% similarity with the reference sequence (E. diffusa vouchers HMJAU02177 - KM260363, BRIP 71013 - MW009058) of Erysiphe diffusa (Cooke & Peck) U. Braun & S. Takam. In addition to 100% match to voucher specimens of E. diffusa, there were no vouchers from other species that also had 100% match. The representative sequences were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers OM669776 - OM669778. Koch's postulates were conducted on healthy cluster bean plants grown under greenhouse conditions. Conidia were harvested from infected leaves, suspended in water and sprayed on 40 to 50-day-old cluster bean plants (28 ± 2°C and >70% relative humidity). The development of powdery mildew symptoms was recorded on 22 plants after 10-14 days of post inoculation. Control plants inoculated with sterile water remained healthy without powdery mildew symptoms. Microscopic observation of spores from inoculated plants confirmed the pathogen as E. diffusa. The genus Erysiphe is known to infect many crop plants. E. diffusa has been reported to infect Vigna radiata, Glycine max and Phaseolus mungo in Australia (Kelly et al. 2021). No reports are available at USDA's host-fungus database for cluster bean and E. diffusa (Farr and Rossman 2022). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of E. diffusa associated with powdery mildew of cluster bean in India. Further comprehensive investigations will shed a light on the economic impact of powdery mildew disease on the cluster bean in India.


Certain types of infrastructure--critical infrastructure (CI)--play vital roles in underpinning our economy, security and way of life. These complex and often interconnected systems have become so ubiquitous and essential to day-to-day life that they are easily taken for granted. Often it is only when the important services provided by such infrastructure are interrupted--when we lose easy access to electricity, health care, telecommunications, transportation or water, for example--that we are conscious of our great dependence on these networks and of the vulnerabilities that stem from such dependence. Unfortunately, it must be assumed that many terrorists are all too aware that CI facilities pose high-value targets that, if successfully attacked, have the potential to dramatically disrupt the normal rhythm of society, cause public fear and intimidation, and generate significant publicity. Indeed, revelations emerging at the time of this writing about Al Qaida's efforts to prepare for possible attacks on major financial facilities in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia remind us just how real and immediate such threats to CI may be. Simply being aware that our nation's critical infrastructure presents terrorists with a plethora of targets, however, does little to mitigate the dangers of CI attacks. In ordermore » to prevent and preempt such terrorist acts, better understanding of the threats and vulnerabilities relating to critical infrastructure is required. The Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) presents this document as both a contribution to the understanding of such threats and an initial effort at ''operationalizing'' its findings for use by analysts who work on issues of critical infrastructure protection. Specifically, this study focuses on a subsidiary aspect of CI threat assessment that has thus far remained largely unaddressed by contemporary terrorism research: the motivations and related factors that determine whether a terrorist organization will attack critical infrastructure. In other words, this research investigates: (1) why terrorists choose to attack critical infrastructure rather than other targets; (2) how groups make such decisions; (3) what, if any, types of groups are most inclined to attack critical infrastructure targets; and (4) which types of critical infrastructure terrorists prefer to attack and why. In an effort to address the above questions as comprehensively as possible, the project team employed four discrete investigative approaches in its research design. These include: (1) a review of existing terrorism and threat assessment literature to glean expert consensus regarding terrorist target selection, as well as to identify theoretical approaches that might be valuable to analysts and decision-makers who are seeking to understand such terrorist group decision-making processes; (2) the preparation of several concise case studies to help identify internal group factors and contextual influences that have played significant roles in leading some terrorist groups to attack critical infrastructure; (3) the creation of a new database--the Critical Infrastructure Terrorist Incident Catalog (CrITC)--to capture a large sample of empirical CI attack data that might be used to illuminate the nature of such attacks to date; and (4) the development of a new analytical framework--the Determinants Effecting Critical Infrastructure Decisions (DECIDe) Framework--designed to make the factors and dynamics identified by the study more ''usable'' in any future efforts to assess terrorist intentions to target critical infrastructure. Although each is addressed separately in the following chapters, none of the four aspects of this study were developed in isolation. Rather, all the constituent elements of the project informed--and were informed by--the others. For example, the review of the available literature on terrorist target selection made possible the identification of several target selection factors that were both important in the development of the analytical framework and subsequently validated by the case studies. Similarly, statistical analysis of the CrITIC data yielded measurable evidence that supported hypotheses derived from the framework, the case studies, and the writings of various experts. Besides providing an important mechanism of self-reinforcement and validation, the project's multifaceted nature made it possible to discern aspects of CI attack motivations that would likely have been missed if any single approach had been adopted.« less


The innovation and evolution of technologies in smartphone industry has enabled users to efficiently achieve many tasks including utilizing search engines for instant information retrieval anytime and anywhere. Nonetheless, some users choose not to use these smartphone features including search engines to seek information. This study explores the factors that impact the likelihood of information seeking via smartphones. Privacy concern was found to be one of the main factors influencing the likelihood of seeking information. Android users were more likely to seek information compared to iPhone users, possibly due to the differences in the features of the operating systems of these phones. Motivation to seek information captured by technology ownership increases the likelihood of information seeking. The diversity of social network connections also plays a significant in information seeking behavior of the users. Do Privacy Concerns Affect Information Seeking via Smartphones?


A large modern wind farm should satisfy the requirements for a grid and accomplish the optimization of the wind farm system. The wind farm intertie protection system should consider a Fault Ride-Through (FRT) requirement for more reliable protection. The wind farm should keep connected to the grid in the case of a grid fault whilst it should be isolated for an intertie fault. This paper proposes a distance relaying algorithm suitable for wind farm intertie protection considering the FRT requirement. The proposed algorithm estimates the impedance based on a differential equation method because the frequency of the voltage and current deviates the nominal frequency. The algorithm extends the reach of Zone 1 up to 100 % of the length of the intertie to implement the FRT requirement. To discriminate an intertie fault from a grid fault, the algorithm uses a voltage blocking scheme because the magnitude of the voltage at the relaying point for an intertie fault becomes less than that for a grid fault. The performance of the algorithm is verified using a PSCAD/EMTDC simulator under various fault conditions. The algorithm can discriminate successfully the intertie fault from grid fault and thus helps to implement the FRT requirement of a wind farm.


While the GeV 𝛾 -rays emission of starburst galaxies (SBG) is commonly thought to arise from hadronic interactions between accelerated cosmic rays and interstellar gas, the origin of the TeV 𝛾 -ray emission is more uncertain. One possibility is that a population of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) in these galaxies could be responsible for the TeV 𝛾 -ray emission. In this work, we first synthesize a PWNe population in the Milky Way, and assessed their contribution to the 𝛾 -ray emission of the Galaxy, using a time-dependent model to calculate the evolution of the PWN population. Such synthetic PWN population can reproduce the flux distribution of identified PWNe in the Milky Way given a distribution of the initial state of the pulsar population. We then apply it to starburst galaxies and quantitatively calculate the spectral energy distribution of all PWNe in the SBG NGC 253 and M82. We propose that TeV 𝛾 -ray emission in starburst galaxies can be dominated by PWNe for a wide range of parameter space. The energetic argument requires that 𝜂 𝑒 × 𝑣 SN > 0 . 01yr − 1 , where 𝜂 𝑒 is the fraction the spin-down energy going to electrons and 𝑣 SN is the supernova rate. By requiring the synchrotron emission flux of all PWNe in the galaxy not exceeding the hard X-ray measurement of NGC 253, we constrain the initial magnetic field strength of PWNe to be < 400 𝜇 G. Future observations at higher energies with LHAASO or next-generation neutrino observatory IceCube-Gen2 will help us to understand better the origin of the TeV 𝛾 -rays emission in SBGs.


A steep rise in Hepatitis E diagnoses is currently being observed in Germany and other European countries. The objective of this study was (i) to assess whether this trend mirrors an increase in infection pressure or is caused by increased attention and testing and (ii) estimate individual and population‐based Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) seroconversion and seroreversion rates for Germany. We measured anti‐HEV IgG prevalence in 10 407 adults participating in two linked, population‐representative serosurveys (total n = 12 971) conducted in 1998 and 2010. In this period, we found a moderate but statistically significant decline of overall anti‐HEV IgG prevalence from 18.6% to 15.3%. At both time points, seroprevalence increased with age and peaked in persons born between 1935 and 1959 suggesting a past period of increased infection pressure. Paired samples of individuals participating in 1998 and 2010 (n = 2564) revealed respective seroconversion and seroreversion rates of 6.2% and 22.6% among seronegative and seropositive individuals during 12 years, or 5.2 and 2.9 per 1000 inhabitants per year. This corresponds to a total of 417 242 [95%CI: 344 363‐495 971] new seroconversions per year in the German population. While anti‐HEV seroprevalence has decreased in the last decade, infection pressure and seroincidence remains high in Germany. Continuously rising numbers of Hepatitis E diagnoses in Europe are likely due to an increased awareness of clinicians and indicate that still there is a gap between incident and diagnosed cases. Studies on the true burden of the disease, specific risk factors and sources of autochthonous infections as well as targeted prevention measures are urgently needed.


We produced alloimmune sera against erythrocytes of the marsupial, Monodelphis domestica. By absorption fractionation, six operationally monospecific blood typing reagents (hemolysins) were prepared. Using segregation analyses, we found that each reagent detects a blood group antigen controlled by an autosomal dominant gene. With the description of these genetic markers, the utility of M. domestica as an animal model is enhanced.


Theoretical and experimental studies of nonlinear magneto-optical rotation in the principal series of calcium are reported. These are believed to be the first experiments on high magnetic field Faraday rotation (defined as achieving rotation angles of the order of or more) in which the nonlinear optical regime has been entered by using laser fields. The present theory is valid both in the linear and nonlinear domains and our theoretical predictions which take into account propagation effects agree very well with experimental results over the entire range of laser strengths.


This study tested the hypothesis that benefits of positive and expressive writing accrue when the intervention matches or activates the participant's personal resources. Students were randomly assigned to keep a newly developed resource diary (RD, n = 114), which asked the participants to write about positive experiences and personal resources, or an expressive writing diary (ED, n = 114), which asked the participants to engage with negative emotional experiences, at home on three consecutive days per week for four weeks. Participants keeping the RD perceived significantly more social support and reported a significantly better mood at post-test than participants keeping the ED. Compared to a control group (n = 81) treatment effects of both writing interventions were higher for participants with lower pre-test values of well-being and brooding as well as for participants who wrote in an 'atmosphere of activated resources.' It is suggested that research should move away from testing deficit-compensating hypotheses towards a stronger resource orientation.


Computer studies of the electric fields and fluid fields in an electrofluid dynamic generator of complex electrode designs are presented. Results of studies are presented for both basic configurations and configurations which simulate real experimental designs. A comparison of experimentally determined I-V curves is made with an I-V curve determined from the computer results. The computed results predicted higher values of current than were achieved in the experimental configuration. The computer studies indicated that the current cut off by breakdown on the inlet nozzle was quite sensitive and that this may account for the difference between the experimental and calculated I-V curves. The results obtained from the basic studies indicate design considerations that could improve the power output of electrofluid dynamic generators. Some results are also presented for the fluid fields in the generator, and a discussion of various fluid flow models is presented. The results presented for turbulent mixing studies indicate the need for a large secondary stream and a value approaching unity for the ratio of the secondary velocity to that of the primary. (GRA)


Despite the substantial benefit of TNFi therapy for psoriatic arthritis, as demonstrated in clinical trials and in over a decade of clinical use globally, there remains an unmet medical need for effective therapies for patients who do not benefit from TNFi initially, lose response over time, or have adverse effects, even with trials of multiple TNFi agents and traditional oral DMARDs. The definition of adequate response (low disease activity or remission) for PsA is evolving, as is the concept of treatment to target. The target of response in PsA is constituted by several clinical domains: arthritis, enthesitis, dactylitis, spondylitis, and dermatitis, all of which effect function and quality of life, and should be considered when determining a comprehensive treatment response. An understanding of the pathophysiology of the clinical domains of PsA provides a basis for selecting targets of therapy. Many of the pathophysiologic features of PsA overlap with those of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriasis, and so it is natural to consider effective treatments for these conditions for the treatment of PsA. Preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of drugs with varying mechanism of action, shown to be effective in RA and/or psoriasis, exists or is being developed in PsA and will be reviewed. These include cellular modulators: co-stimulatory blockade agents which modulate T cell activity (abatacept and alefacept) and an agent which ablates B cells (rituximab). Several key pro-inflammatory cytokines other than TNF are being targeted, such as IL-12/23, IL-17, IL-6, and the multiple cytokines inhibited by the JAK inhibitors or the phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor, apremilast, supported by data in RA, AS, and/or psoriasis. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This book is a practical, step-by-step introduction to microsimulation in demography. It shows how to use Modgen, a powerful and free microsimulation platform built by Statistics Canada. The authors' hands-on explanation of model development will help readers make their own. The book teaches how to create and run a simple cohort model with a single fixed-rate event, and builds upon this concept. It introduces how to develop both a single state life table as well as a multiple increment-decrement life table using the tools provided by Modgen. The authors illustrate how to easily upgrade an existing model by adding new modules and new dimensions as determinants of a risk already modeled. The integration of a fertility module and a base population allows the user to bring new actors into the simulation and transform a cohort-based model into a population-based one. The final addition of an international migration module allows the user to accomplish fully open, multi-regional projections. This accessible introduction will be of interest to researchers and students in population studies and other social sciences. It will also appeal to anyone interested in the computational modeling of population dynamics.


We present a global model of dynamic topography and lithospheric stresses for the last 400 Ma. Our starting point is a simple geodynamic model combining both contributions of subducted lithosphere and long‐wavelength upwellings in a reference frame linked to the fixed African plate. A dominant feature of plate tectonics is the quasi permanence of a girdle of subductions around the Pacific Ocean (or its ancestor), which creates large‐wavelength positive topography anomaly within the ring they form. The superimposition of the resultant extension with the one induced by the dome leads to a permanent extensional regime over Africa and the future Indian ocean which creates faults with azimuth directions depending on the direction of the most active part of the ring of subductions. We thus obtain fractures with NW‐SE azimuth during the period 275–165 Ma parallel to the strike of the subduction zone of the West South American active margin, which appears to be very active during this period. Between 155 and 95 Ma, subduction became more active along the Eastern Australian coast involving a change in the direction of the faults toward an E‐W direction, in agreement with the observed fault systems between Africa and India, Antartica and Australia. During the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic, we correlate the permanent extensional regime over Africa and Indian Ocean with the observed rift systems. Finally we emphasize the role of three primary hotspots as local additional contributors to the stress field imposed by our proposed subduction‐doming system, which help in the opening of Indian and South Atlantic Oceans.


Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) is a rare disease of unknown etiology characterized by cutaneous nodules and destructive, sometimes crippling, polyarthritis. The diagnosis is confirmed by histopathologic features of the cutaneous nodules or synovial tissue, including an infiltrate composed of histiocytes, many of them multinucleate, with a ground glass appearance. Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis has been associated with a number of chronic conditions and various malignancies. We report a case of MRH in a patient with Burkitt lymphoma and metastatic adenocarcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract.


The history of the discovery of combination (Raman) scattering of light in Moscow and Calcutta is briefly described. Moscow physicists observed the lines due to the new effect on February 21, 1928 and published their results on July 13, 1928, whereas for Indian physicists the respective dates are February 28, 1928 and April 21, 1928. Raman alone was to be awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery. Research conditions in Russia and India are discussed in brief.


C-arm computed tomography (C-arm CT) represents the next generation of imaging technology available in the angiography suite that is predicted to be the platform for many of the three-dimensional (3D) road mapping and navigational tools that will emerge in conjunction with its implementation. The combination of current and unappreciated capabilities may be the foundation on which improvements in both safety and effectiveness of complex hepatic vascular interventional procedures become possible. These improvements include multiplanar soft tissue imaging, pretreatment target lesion vascular road mapping, and the ability for immediate posttreatment assessment. These key features alone may translate into a reduction in the utilization of iodinated contrast used by the operator, as well as a decrease in the radiation dose to the patient and the operator, in addition to increasing the therapeutic index (increase in the safety versus benefit ratio). In routine practice, imaging information obtained with C-arm CT provides a subjective level of confidence factor to the operator that has not yet been quantified.


Recent studies have shown that xenobiotics which induce oxidative stress result in an increased production and excretion of acetaldehyde (ACT), formaldehyde (FA), acetone (ACON) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the urine of rats. We have therefore examined the effect of acute and chronic ethanol administration on the excretion of these four lipid metabolites in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Urine samples were collected over dry ice for 6 hr time periods. Aliquots of urine were derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine HCl, and extracted with n-pentane. High pressure lipid chromatogrpahy (HPLC) was used to quantitate and the hydrazones of the four lipid metabolite products. Following a single, oral, acute dose of 5 g ethanol/kg, urinary excretion of ACT increased approximately 5.8-fold from 6 to 12 hr posttreatment, and decreased thereafter. FA excretion decreased by approximately 50% from 0 to 12 hr, returned to control values in the 18-24 hr urine samples, and was 1.3-fold greater than control values at 42-48 hr. ACON increased 3.1-fold over control values from 0 to 30 hr and remained elevated throughout the remaining 18 hr of the study. The excretion of MDA increased approximately 1.5-fold from 18 to 36 hr, then remained constant through the 48 hr time point. In a separate series of experiments, a chronic oral dose of 0.5 g ethanol/kg was administered to rats for 10 consecutive days and the urinary excretion of the lipid metabolites MDA, FA, ACT and ACON was examined for 11 days, beginning with the first day of ethanol administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This paper presents a reflection on the ICNP and CIPESC construed as a technological innovation capable of sustaining the nursing knowledge. They may be considered as product and process innovations that, inserted on complex realities, must estimate values and local cultures. The CIPESC strengthens the presence of phenomena from the nursing practice in the SUS and to survive with autonomy and sharing information, it should be combined with institutional information systems and the ICNP, thus it will establish cultural values strong enough to be available and to interact with systems of language of the profession as well as with systems in use in the SUS context. Our challenge is to overcome the use of a classification system as a mere instrument of work and view it as a technological innovation able to produce changes that will give the opportunity for nursing work.


Objective: To observe the clinical effect of zoledronic acid (ZA) in patients with cervical spondylosis and osteoporosis after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery. Methods: All selected patients were divided into the study group and the control group according to the sequence of surgery time. In the study group, 5 mg (100 ml) of ZA was applied intravenously as intervention on the 5 day after ACDF surgery. Patients were followed up regularly after surgery. Results: Forty-three cases completed the follow-ups (21/22), the neck disability index (NDI) score significantly decreased at the 3rd month after surgery in both groups, it came to a plateau at the 6th month after surgery, and it had some rise at the 12th month after surgery, but the NDI score was lower in the study group at the 12th month after surgery (p < 0.05). C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) and amino terminal propeptide of type I procollagen of bone turnover markers in the study group showed a downward trend after surgery, among which CTX decreased significantly and no significant changes in the control group. At the 12th month after surgery, the bone mineral density of lumbar spine area in the study group was significantly improved (p < 0.05). During the 3rd and the 6th month follow-up after surgery, 1/2 osteogenesis rate of the study group was significantly higher (p < 0.05). However, all patients in the two groups obtained stable fusion at the 12th month follow-up after surgery. Conclusions: For patients with cervical spondylosis and osteoporosis, intravenous application of ZA after ACDF surgery can shorten the time of cervical osteogenesis, promote local bone graft fusion, and improve the postoperative clinical effect to some extent.


Dendropanax morbifera Leveille, an endemic species in Korea, is best known as a tree that produces a resinous sap. Although D. morbifera is used in folk medicine for various diseases, its active ingredients are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated antioxidative activities of ethanolic extracts of three parts of this plant including leaves, debarked stems, and roots. The root extracts exhibited strong 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity compared with leaf or stem extracts. The root extracts showed hepatoprotective activity against t-butyl hydroperoxide-induced HepG2 cells, and reduced the ROS level in the cells. The root fractions lowered the mRNA level of COX-2 on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Raw246.7 cells. These results suggest that ethanolic root extracts of D. morbifera are a source of antioxidant and hepatoprotective compounds, which indicate a potential for a botanical drug.


Application Layer Multicast (ALM) is highly expected to be the new technological choice contents delivery in lieu of IP multicast. Depending on each node's streaming application, ALM constructs multicast trees and delivers the stream through those trees. The problem of ALM is that when a node resides in tree leaves, the stream cannot be delivered to descendant nodes. To overcome this problem, Topology-aware Hierarchical Arrangement Graph (THAG) was proposed. By employing Multiple Description Coding (MDC), THAG first splits the stream into a number of sub-streams, and then uses Arrangement Graph (AG) to construct an independent tree for each sub-stream. However, using the same size of AG in THAG has a difficulty delivering a stream appropriately across a heterogeneous network. In this paper, we propose a method to change the size of AG dynamically in enhancing THAG performance well even in a heterogeneous network. Finally, we evaluate the proposed scheme by experiments in ns -2. By comparing with THAG, we show that our proposal scheme provides a better performance in throughput and Bandwidth Satisfaction Rate (BSR).


The last few decades have seen an increased interest in 'Mental Health Literacy (MHL)' which addresses knowledge and beliefs relating to mental health problems and is likely to hinder treatment-seeking behaviors. Although MHL research to date has explored various mental disorders, far too little attention has been paid to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Problematic Smartphone use (PSU). The objective of this study is to develop an MHL questionnaire for IGD and PSU by adopting the MHL approach in the previous literature and examine MHL of IGD and PSU in Korean teenagers by focusing on their ability to recognize addictions, and perceptions and help-seeking attitudes towards a person with addictions. The current study also aimed to compare Korean teenagers' MHL depending on low- and high-risk of IGD and PSU. A total of 169 teenagers aged 10 and 16 years were recruited from schools and children's centers in Seoul and completed the newly developed MHL questionnaire and screening questionnaires for IGD and PSU. The MHL questionnaire for IGD and PSU was designed as a vignette-based questionnaire that depicted behavioral characteristics of a severe problem with Internet and smartphone usage. Korean teenagers had a poor ability to recognize IGD and PSU and were more prone to seek parental help than professional help. The current study also showed that teenagers had better recognition of IGD than PSU and perceived that a person with IGD has a more difficult life than a person with PSU. Furthermore, a low-risk or high-risk group of IGD or PSU showed minimal differences in MHL. The current study provided empirical evidence to support a need to develop educational programs to improve Korean teenagers' MHL for both IGD and PSU.


This paper provides new evidence on the determinants of the U.S. federal budget allocation to the states. Departing from the existing literature that gives prominence to Congress, we carry on an empirical investigation on the impact of presidents during the period 1982–2000. Our findings suggest that federal budget allocation is affected by presidential politics. States that heavily supported the incumbent president in past presidential elections tend to receive more funds, while marginal and swing states are not rewarded. Party affiliation also matters since states whose governor belong to the same party of the president receive more federal funds, while states opposing the president's party in Congressional elections are penalized. These results show that presidents are engaged in tactical distribution of federal funds and also provide good evidence in support of partisan theories of budget allocation.


This letter addresses multi-agent consensus networks where adverse attackers affect the convergence performances of the protocol by manipulating the edge weights. We generalize (Fabris and Zelazo, 2022) and provide guarantees on the agents' agreement in the presence of attacks on multiple links in the network. A stability analysis is conducted to show the robustness to channel tampering in the scenario where part of the codeword, corresponding to the value of the edge weights, is corrupted. Exploiting the built-in objective coding, we show how to compensate the conservatism that may emerge because of multiple threats in exchange for higher encryption capabilities. Numerical examples related to semi-autonomous networks are provided.


A new type of ion-electron source based on a hollow anode discharge is presented. In such a type of discharge the maximum plasma density is localized at the exit aperture. Constant hydrogen ion current in excess of 1 mA has been obtained with the 1 mm diam. exit aperture and the extraction voltage of 3 kV.


NLRP6, a member of the Nod-like receptor family, protects against chemically induced intestinal injury and colitis-associated colon cancer. However, the cellular mechanisms involved in this NLRP6-mediated protection remain unclear. Here, we show that NLRP6 was down-regulated in approximately 75% of primary gastric cancer cases and exhibited significant associations with advanced clinical-stage lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival. Functional studies established that ectopic overexpression or down-regulation of NLRP6 inhibited cancer cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase via P21 and Cyclin D1 both in vitro and in vivo. Activation of the P14ARF-P53 pathway played a crucial role in the observed cellular senescence. We further demonstrated that ectopic overexpression of NLRP6 combined with inactivation of NF-κB(p65) and Mdm2 activates P14ARF-P53 to promote the senescence of gastric cancer cells. These findings indicate that NLRP6 functions as a negative regulator of gastric cancer and offer a potential new option for preventing gastric cancer.


The evidence is provided of a close relationship between the features of women's reproductive behaviour, their health status and the health of their children: the lack of rational planning child-birth results in increasing maternal and infant mortality rates, prematurity, birth of unwanted children. The use of abortions as one of the basic means of birth control produces a negative effect, i.e. they are a frequent cause of sterility, gynaecological diseases, complicated future pregnancies and deliveries. There is a description of the priority tasks and conditions for the effective introduction of family planning into the everyday life--the necessity of taking into account sociopsychological, regional aspects of birth control within a family, demographic situation at the local level; identification of women populations which are in need of family planning activities.


Citizenship is a way of defining personhood which links rights and agency: 'citizenship as rights enables people to act as agents' (Lister, 1997). It is consequently, a powerful word, with connotations of respect, rights and dignity. As Fraser and Gordon (1994) remark: 'We find no pejorative uses. It is a weighty, monumental, humanist word'. For all that, however, the history of citizenship has been one of terrible exclusions, stemming from the denial of respect, rights, dignity and even humanity by some groups to others. Indeed, from its earliest inception, citizenship has been as much about exclusion as inclusion.


The purpose of this master thesis is to develop a digital application for the Android platform. The
app will find and display movies based on keywords, filters and the camera. Initially a summary
of introductory information about the Android operating system and similar apps will be
presented. Continuing the development of the app will be presented. The app using the cloud
storage of the firebase will allow the user to create a personal account and log in to the app
using it, through the APIs of the tmdb.org the user will be able to search and find details about
the movie and its cast, he will also be able to save and share movies. He will have the ability to
modify his personal account and change the way the application looks. Also available to the
user are the application usage stats. Finally, the steps of creating the application are described,
from the functional requirements, the apps architecture and the app development, to the
presentation of the final thoughts and possible future improvements.


Objective. Secretory carcinoma is a recently described entity with characteristic immunoprofile and ETV6 (12p13) rearrangement. Before its initial description, it was generally diagnosed as acinic cell carcinoma (ACCi). We evaluated immunoprofile and ETV6 rearrangement in cytological and surgical cases of previously diagnosed ACCi, in an attempt to identify any misclassified SC. Methods. Fifteen cytology and surgical cases of ACCi diagnosed over a 13-year period were retrieved and subjected to immunohistochemistry for S-100, mammaglobin, GATA-3 and DOG-1 as well as FISH for ETV6 (12p13). Results. Of the 8 cytology cases, only 1 was positive for S100, GATA-3, and mammaglobin, and negative for DOG-1. It also demonstrated ETV6 rearrangement and was reclassified as SC. The same immunoprofile was present in 2 of the 13 surgical cases. ETV6 rearrangement characterized by 3′ interstitial deletion was detected in one of these cases and was reclassified as SC. Immunohistochemistry and ETV6 rearrangement were useful in identifying 2 (13.3%) cases misclassified as ACCi. Conclusions. Characteristic immunoprofile and ETV6 gene rearrangement may prove useful in identifying cases of SC. The presence of ETV6 3′ interstitial deletion in one of our cases suggests that there may be additional ETV6 related genetic alterations contributing to the pathogenesis of SC.


Immunization of CBA mice with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) plus a non-toxic adjuvant consisting of complexes of the homoribopolymers of polyadenylic acid and polyuridylic acid (poly(A:U)) induces the formation of a population of immunocytoadherent cells which is enriched in thymus-derived lymphocytes (T-cells). Four days after immunization, approximately 50% of specific rosette-forming cells (RFC) from mice given SRBC plus poly(A:U) bear the θ antigenic marker. In contrast, the number of θ-positive RFC in animals given SRBC alone does not constitute a significant proportion of the population. The capacity of both immune lymphocyte populations to bind SRBC is abrogated by treatment with antiserum specific for the light chain of normal mouse immunoglobulins. The inhibitory activity of this antiserum is completely blocked by addition of purified mouse γG immunoglobulin.
 These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that immunoglobulin functions as the receptor for antigen on the surfaces of T-cells induced by antigen and poly(A:U).


Twenty patients who underwent uninephrectomy for kidney donation between 1964 and 1968 participated in a long-term study of the function of the solitary kidney. Mean follow up after uninephrectomy was 15.8 +/- .3 years. One patient with a strong family history of essential hypertension developed de novo mild hypertension. The current creatinine clearance of the donors was 80 +/- 4 ml/min. The 1-week, 3-6 months and 14-18 years postuninephrectomy percentages of predonation creatinine clearance were 72 +/- 3%, 76 +/- 3% and 78 +/- 2%, respectively. The 24-hr urine protein excretion in kidney donors was significantly higher than in controls (141 +/- 20 mg vs. 74 +/- 3 mg, respectively, P less than .0005). Except for one donor who may have developed glomerulonephritis, the donors had normal urinary albumin excretion. The cause of the slightly elevated nonalbumin proteinuria is not known. However, this long-term study of kidney donors shows no adverse effects on the blood pressure and renal function after many years of compensatory hyperfiltration.


Clinical leadership and engagement across organisational boundaries has been gaining significant attention over the last few years. Within the NHS, there has been an increased focus within policy directives and the literature on partnership working, collaborations, cross-organisation and cross-profession working. These innovative ways of working are a means of improving the quality and co-ordination of patient care across the pathway, thus influencing the patients' experience. Despite this focus, the evidence of what constitutes and therefore what can deliver effective inter-organisational clinical leadership and engagement within this context is sparse. This paper identifies the characteristics and impact of effective clinical leadership, clinical engagement and team effectiveness when working across organisational boundaries. The paper demonstrates that there are significant improvements in the delivery of healthcare and patient experience when clinicians work effectively across the whole of the patient pathway, spanning organisational boundaries. Guidelines on critical areas for future development and sustainability is expounded upon as an outcome of this study


The thesis is designed to demonstrate the importance of work experience in explaining the ideology and organisational structure of the labour movement during 1850-1914. To do this three contrasting occupations - textile, coal and engineering workers - are examined. It is argued that the significance of craft unionism did not lie essentially in the nature of the skill involved, but in the strategy of social action adopted by the union to maintain its interests. To do this the following must be researched: (1) the consequences of pioneer industrialisation, the narrow base of the technological breakthrough, and the 'late' arrival of competition. (2) The economic and social structures of the three industries, focusing particularly on markets, unit size, capital/labour ratio, concentration or dispersal geographically, technology and working methods. (3) The labour aristocracy question. The politics of 'labourism'. (4) A theoretical statement of the relation between work and industrialisation. (5) The history of working methods in the three industries, in particular, the extent and nature of control, socio-technical constraints on workgroups, the internal hierarchy within the occupation, the degree of resistance to change. The impact on the rest of the workforce of the strategies adopted. (6) The significance of the incentive principle in the ideological development of the three occupational groups. From this basis It will be argued that an understanding of work experience has been undervalued in past evaluations of the labour movement, and in particular the explanations of 'reformist' or 'corporate' responses to industrialisation.


We have used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the formation of single- and two-component molecular patterns by direct photochemical grafting of alkenes onto hydrogen-terminated diamond surfaces using sub-band gap 254 nm ultraviolet light. Trifluoroacetamide-protected 1-aminodec-1-ene (TFAAD) and 1-dodecene were used as model systems for grafting. Illumination with sub-band gap light can induce several different kinds of excitations, including creation of mobile electrons and holes in the bulk and creation of radicals at the surface and in the adjacent fluid, which induce grafting of the alkenes to the surface. SEM images of patterned molecular layers on nanocrystalline diamond surfaces reveal sharp transitions between functionalized and nonfunctionalized regions consistent with diffraction-limited excitation. However, identical experiments on type IIb single-crystal diamond yield a significantly more extended transition region in the molecular pattern. These data imply that the spatial resolution of the direct molecular photopatterning is affected by diffusion of charge carriers in the bulk of the diamond samples. The molecular contrast between surfaces with different terminations is consistent with the expected trends in molecular electron affinity. These results provide new mechanistic insights into the direct patterning and imaging of molecular monolayers on surfaces.