Objective Intracranial large artery disease (ICLAD) is a common stroke subtype that carries a poor prognosis. We studied the association of arterial stiffness, a recognized risk factor for atherosclerosis and ICLAD among ethnic Chinese and South Asian ischemic stroke patients. Methods In this prospective study, we recruited consecutive ischemic stroke patients of Chinese and South Asian ethnicity. ICLAD was assessed by transcranial color-coded Doppler or magnetic resonance angiographic studies. Arterial stiffness was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cPWV). Results Among the 268 patients studied, the prevalence of ICLAD was 54% and median cPWV was 11.4 m/s (interquartile range 9.0–13.6 m/s). Patients with ICLAD had higher cPWV compared with those without (median 11.7 vs. 11.0 m/s, P = 0.015). In multivariate analysis, patients with ICLAD were significantly more likely to have cPWV measurements in the highest quintile (>14.1 m/s) compared with patients without ICLAD independently of other covariates [odds ratio 2.21, P = 0.038]. Conclusion This study revealed a novel association between arterial stiffness and ICLAD among ischemic stroke patients. The findings suggest that arterial stiffness may be involved in the pathophysiology of ICLAD. Future studies should investigate the effects of reducing arterial stiffness among stroke patients with ICLAD.


Lacticaseibacillus zeae strains, isolated from raw milk and fermented dairy products, are closely related to the Lacticaseibacillus species that has beneficial probiotic properties. However, it is difficult to distinguish those using conventional methods. In this study, a unique gene was revealed to differentiate L. zeae from other strains of the Lacticaseibacillus species and other species by pan-genome analysis, and a real-time PCR method was developed to rapidly and accurately detect the unique gene. The genome analysis of 141 genomes yielded an 17,978 pan-genome. Among them, 18 accessory genes were specifically present in five genomes of L. zeae. The glycosyltransferase family 8 was identified as a unique gene present only in L. zeae and not in 136 other genomes. A primer designed from the unique gene accurately distinguished L. zeae in pure and mixed DNA and successfully constructed the criterion for the quantified standard curve in real-time PCR. The real-time PCR method was applied to 61 strains containing other Lacticaseibacillus species and distinguished L. zeae with 100% accuracy. Also, the real-time PCR method was proven to be superior to the 16S rRNA gene method in the identification of L. zeae.


The pandemicity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) necessitated its novel biomarkers in prognosis and monitoring in low resource settings. Changes in total white blood cell counts have been associated with the progression of diseases. This study determined the prognostic value of some cellular inflammatory cells and their indices in relation to duration of hospital admission, gender, and age of COVID-19 patients. This longitudinal and case–control study determined blood cell components (total white blood cells (TWBC), neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and platelet) and inflammatory indices (neutrophil lymphocyte ratio [NLR], lymphocyte monocyte ratio [LMR], platelet lymphocyte ratio [PLR], derived NLR [DNLR], and systemic immune inflammatory index [SII]) in 95 symptomatic hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 45 COVID-19 free controls. These parameters were related to age, sex, and days of admission of the patients. Blood samples obtained were analyzed using hematological autoanalyzer (Sysmex XN-450) and indices calculated. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., USA) version 20.0. The mean platelet count (P = 0.016) and PLR (P = 0.000) were significantly lower while TWBC counts (P = 0.013) were significantly increased in COVID-19 patients compared with control. The mean TWBC count (P = 0.030) and SII (P = 0.029) were significantly increased while lymphocyte count (P = 0.015) and LMR (P = 0.026) were significantly decreased in COVID-19 patients at discharge compared with COVID-19 patients at admission. The mean neutrophil count (P = 0.048), PLR (P = 0.015), and SII (P = 0.022) were significantly lower while mean lymphocyte count (P = 0.026) was significantly higher in COVID-19 patients aged <40 years compared with patients aged ?40 years. This study concluded that inflammatory response is a phenomenon in COVID-19 patients especially in patients ?40 years of age and that this inflammation persist till discharge, though gender has no influence on cellular inflammatory indices of COVID-19 patients.


Mobile devices can motivate learners through moving language learning from predominantly classroom-based contexts into contexts that are free from time and space. The increasing development of new applications can offer valuable support to the language learning process and can provide a basis for a new self regulated and personal approach to learning. A key challenge for language teachers is to actively explore the potential of mobile technologies in their own learning so that they can support students in using them. The aim of this paper is first to describe the basic theoretical framework of Mobile Learning and Personal Learning Environments. Secondly, it intends to assist language teachers and learners in building their own Mobile Personal Learning Environment providing a useful classification of iPhone applications with a description and examples. The paper concludes with the proposal of ideas for practical, personal language learning scenarios, piloted in an Italian language learning context.


The development of a BINAPHANE-catalyzed formal [2 + 2]-cycloaddition of disubstituted ketenes and inexpensive N-tosyl arylimines that provides access to a variety of highly substituted β-lactams (16 examples) is described. The BINAPHANE catalytic system displays moderate to excellent enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee) and high diastereoselectivity in most cases, favoring formation of the trans-diastereomer (13 examples with dr ≥ 90:10).


Lovastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, lowers cholesterol saturation of bile. To determine the mechanism of this effect and further define the role of cholesterol synthesis in regulation of biliary lipid metabolism, we studied ten human volunteers in a control period and again after 5-6 weeks on lovastatin, 40 mg b.i.d. Mean sterol production from acetate in mononuclear leukocytes fell from 1.18 to 0.84 pmol/min per 10(6) cells on lovastatin (P less than 0.02). Concomitantly there was reduction in mean biliary secretion of cholesterol from 143 to 96 mumol/h (P less than 0.02). On lovastatin, mean pool size of bile acids by the Lindstedt method fell from 3193 to 2917 mumol (one-sided P = 0.05) and mean pool size by the one-sample method fell from 5158 to 4091 mumol (P less than 0.002). Lovastatin had no effect on mean fractional turnover rate of either cholic acid (0.77 vs. 0.74 day-1) or chenodeoxycholic acid (0.51 vs. 0.54 day-1). Mean total bile acid synthesis was lower on lovastatin (1443 vs. 1240 mumol/day), but the difference did not quite achieve statistical significance. In humans, inhibition of cholesterol synthesis by lovastatin lowers biliary cholesterol saturation by reducing cholesterol secretion into bile. Bile acid pool size, and perhaps bile acid synthesis, are also reduced by this inhibition.


Graphite oxide immersed in excess of basic or acidic water media was studied using synchrotron X-ray diffraction at high pressure using diamond anvil cells. The lattice spacing of graphite oxide in excess of NaOH solution increases by the enormous value of 85% at 1.6 GPa. In contrast, structure expansion of graphite oxide immersed in liquid water with added HCl is significantly less pronounced compared with compression in pure water. The point of media solidification correlated with a sharp decrease in graphite oxide layers separation because of partial withdrawal of water from the structure. Therefore, pressure-induced structural breathing of graphite oxide due to insertion/desertion of water into/from interlayer space is strongly enhanced in basic media and suppressed in acidic media. The magnitude of structural breathing also depends on relative amounts of graphite oxide powder and solution. Strongly diluted samples with low relative amount of graphite oxide powder in the suspension exhibited less pron...


Background
Breast cancer mortality rate is increasing among women in developing countries a condition that might be brought about by lack of knowledge of fundamental elements necessary for cancer prevention.
Purpose To ascertain level of breast cancer knowledge across some socio-demographic variables among women in Ebonyi State Nigeria

Method
A total sample of 1,845 women was used for the study selected through multistage sampling technique. A 40-items questionnaire eliciting answers on knowledge of cancer symptoms, risk factors, prevention methods and cancer treatment options was used for the study. Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage were used to answer the research question while Chi-square statistic was used to test the hypotheses at an alpha level of 0.05.
Results
Knowledge of breast cancer was found to be on the average (48.72%); differed by age with younger women(35-44 yrs/56.43%) displayed higher knowledge of breast cancer than the older ones (45-54/46.03%); women with post-secondary education (67.66%) had higher knowledge than those with secondary (60.16%), primary (49.03%) and non-formal education (39.01%); urban women (55.61%) were more knowledgeable than rural women (47.81%). Chi-square analysis indicated that difference in knowledge was significant for educational attainment,age and location of residence.

Conclusion
Breast cancer knowledge of women in Ebonyi State is on the average and differed significantly by education,age and location of women. Consequent it is recommended that breast cancer education should be used to improve their knowledge of the disease, especially for those with non-formal education, older women and those in the rural areas through interventions by government and non-governmental agencies and through curriculumrevision for schools.


Adding the two residues comprising the conserved proton-transfer network of Class 2 dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHOD) to the Cys130Ser Class 1A DHOD did not restore the function of the active site base or rapid flavin reduction. Studies of triple, double, and single mutant Class 1A enzymes showed that the network actually prevents cysteine from acting as a base and that the network residues act independently. Our data show that residue 71 is an important determinant of ligand binding specificity. The Leu71Phe mutation tightens dihydrooroate binding but weakens the binding of benzoate inhibitors of Class 1A enzymes.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Background. Circulating blood platelet numbers are frequently altered in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Thrombocytopenia is associated with smaller tumors and thrombocytosis with larger tumors (Oncology 2013;85:153-9). Recently, platelet extracts have been shown to enhance HCC cell growth and have anti-apoptotic effects.

Methods. Human HCC cell lines were used to evaluate the actions of time-expired mixed human platelet lysates on the inhibition of HCC growth by MTT assay, as well as on migration and Matrigel invasion mediated by Sorafenib or Regorafenib in vitro and Western blots were performed for cell signaling and apoptosis.

Results. Sorafenib or Regorafenib-mediated inhibition of cell growth, migration and invasion was antagonized by platelet extracts. The multi-kinase inhibitor-mediated induction of apoptosis and decrease in phospho-ERK levels were both blocked by the platelet extracts, which also increased anti-apoptotic phospho-STAT, Bax and Bcl-XL levels.

Conclusions. In addition to their effects on coagulation and wound healing, platelet factors can antagonize growth inhibition and apoptosis induction by multi-kinase inhibitors Sorafenib or Regorafenib. This could be due to several growth factors or inflammatory cytokines that are produced by platelets. Targeting platelets might be a novel approach to increasing multi-kinase inhibitor actions.

Citation Format: Brian I. Carr, Rosalba D'Alessandro, Maria Grazie Refolo, Catia Lippolis, Caterina Messa, Aldo Cavallini. Antagonism of sorafenib and regorafenib-mediated HCC growth inhibition by platelet factors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 685. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-685


Background Prescribing errors in hospitalised patients in pulmonary units have a high incidence due to the complexity of their pharmacotherapy. Purpose The goal of this study was to assess differences in prescribing errors between manual and electronic prescriptions. Material and methods Longitudinal, prospective, controlled study of medical prescriptions registered in the pharmacy department during the implementation period of a computerised order entry in a pulmonary unit of a tertiary hospital. Prescribing errors in hospitalised patients were analysed in three periods of 1 week: the week before the implementation of the computerised order entry (MP: control group) and the last weeks of the first and second months after implementation of the system (EP1 and EP2: experimental groups). Results 3257 drugs prescribed in 309 different therapy orders were analysed (medium of 10.5 drugs per patient). 422 prescribing errors were detected, 352 (34.9%) in the first phase of the study, corresponding to manual prescriptions (MP), 45 (4.1%) a month after implementation of the electronic prescription (EP1) and 25 (2.2%) 2 months after the implementation (EP2). This reduction was statistically significant (p < 0.001) when comparing results in the MP phase with results in the EP1 and EP2 phases. These figures represent a relative risk reduction of 88.2% when comparing EP1 versus MP, 93.7% comparing EP2 versus MP and 46% comparing EP2 versus EP1. Most of the prescribing errors were related to posology, basically to dose and units of measurement. Conclusion When using a computerised order entry in pulmonary hospitalised patients, the number of drug prescribing errors significantly decreases. Reduction in prescribing errors is basically due to drug posology (dose and units of measurement). References and/or Acknowledgements Pneumology unit staff. No conflict of interest.


A new ultra-wideband technique to detect a sea-skimming missile in a sea-surface clutter background is presented. This technique, based on the E-pulse concept, is shown to be effective in maximizing the target to clutter ratio. Results using both measured and theoretical data from simulated sea surfaces demonstrate the usefulness of this method.


In this paper, we propose an efficient image compression framework that is optimized for subjective quality. Our framework is mainly based on the NLAIC (NonLocal Attention Optimized Image Coding) model which applied Variational Autoencoder (VAE) and non-local attention module to end-to-end image compression. This work makes two major contributions to the NLAIC framework. First, our models are optimized for subjective-friendly loss functions rather than conventional MSE (Mean Squared Error) or MS-SSIM (Multiscale Structural Similarity) which was widely used in previous works. Second, we introduce block-based inference mechanism to reduce the running memory consumption of the image compression network, and suggest a partial post-processing step to alleviate block artifacts caused by block-based inference in a lightweight computational fashion. Experiments have proved that the image reconstructed by our method can preserve more texture details than models trained for optimal MSE or MS-SSIM and also present capability for high-throughput decoding.


The mechanical properties of the cell components, cell plasma membrane and cytoskeleton, as well as membrane-cytoskeleton associations, determine the mechanical properties of the whole cell which is important in cellular shape change behavior and mechanical signal transduction in living cells. Examples of biologically important processes involving cellular shape changes are deformation of erythrocytes in capillaries, cell division, phagocytosis, pseudopodium and dendritic spine formation, and electromotility of the outer hair cells. This dissertation focuses on investigating the mechanical properties of the living cell plasma membrane and the local mechanical associations of the plasma membrane with the underlying cytoskeleton. Mechanical properties of the living cell plasma membrane are investigated by forming membrane nanotubes (tethers) from human embryonic kidney cells using optical tweezers technique. In order to analyze the role of membrane composition on its nano-mechanical properties, the membrane cholesterol content, the major lipid component of the plasma membrane, is manipulated and the obtained membrane mechanical properties are correlated to the membrane cholesterol content. The results reveal significant effects of membrane cholesterol in specific, and membrane composition in general, on membrane nano-mechanical properties. Specifically, decreases in membrane cholesterol content were associated with increased plasma membrane equilibrium force, plasma membrane tether stiffness and plasma membrane-cytoskeleton adhesion energy per unit area. Elevation of the membrane cholesterol content was followed by lower membrane tether equilibrium force, lower stiffness values, and lower membrane-cytoskeleton adhesion energy. The membrane bending modulus was almost unchanged upon membrane cholesterol manipulations. In order to discern the role of cell cytoskeleton on membrane mechanical properties the experiments were repeated after F-actin disruption and in control cell and cholesterol manipulated cells. The disruption of F-actin filaments showed a noticeable impact on the membrane mechanical properties and diminished the observed disparity in membrane mechanical properties upon cholesterol depletion and cholesterol enrichment. This dissertation also focuses on local cell deformations (protrusions). These deformations occur at an intermediate region between deformations at cell plasma membrane level and whole cell deformation, and are biologically important in formation of pseudopodia and filopodia, deformation of macrophages to engulf particles, and the surface protrusions on the cells preceding formation of membrane tethers. We used a combined optical tweezers-fluorescent microscopy technique to study cellular protrusions in adherent living cells. The mechanical properties of the protrusions were analyzed by obtaining the associated force-length plots and a Maxwell viscoelastic model is used to fit the force-length plots a. The experiments are performed on adherent human embryonic kidney cells, under cholesterol depleted and cholesterol enriched conditions to examine the effects of membrane cholesterol on protrusions. The experiments indicated greater maximum protrusion forces and shorter protrusion length under cholesterol depleted conditions in addition to greater values of the protrusion stiffness. Cholesterol enrichment experiments were associated with lower values of maximum protrusion force and protrusion stiffness, and formation of longer protrusions The observations suggest a significant contribution of the cytoskeletal F-actin filaments on the observed mechanical properties of protrusion regardless of membrane cholesterol content.


OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively analysis the curative effect of wrist scaphoid bone fracture,and explore the causes and preventive methods of misdiagnosis.

METHODS
From September 2007 to September 2010,16 patients with wrist scaphoid bone fractures were treated with plaster cast and cannulated screws fixation. There were 10 males and 6 females,ranging in age from 26 to 44 years with an average of 35 years. Among them, 12 cases manifested swelling pain of radial lateral wrist, tenderness at snuffbox area, wrist pain aggravated when stretching wrist joint, thumb or forefinger; 4 cases manifested no obviously symptoms and limited movement; 9 cases were early diagnosed; 5 cases were treated by plaster cast; 4 cases were treated with cannulated screws fixation; Among 7 cases with misdiagnosis, there were 4 cases without obvious symptoms and they were dealt with activating blood to dissipate swelling and pain process in preliminary stage. Four cases were treated with plaster cast and 3 cases with cannulated screws fixation.

RESULTS
All the patients were followed up from 3 months to 39 months (averaged 21 months). Among 16 patients, 9 cases were early diagnosis, 7 cases were misdiagnosis and the rate of misdiagnosis was 43.8%. Seven cases with screws fixation were no wound infection. There was 1 case with occurred chronic pain and declining wrist mobility in both plaster cast and screw group, and both of them were misdiagnosed. According to curative effect rating criteria,these 2 cases were classified into moderate, other 14 cases were excellent.

CONCLUSION
Wrist scaphoid bone fracture are easy to misdiagnose, so early diagnosis and treatment is particularly important. The main causes of misdiagnosis are nonspecific symptoms at early stage, combination with other injuries, lack of knowledge and ignorance of the further examination. Therefore, detailed inquiries and particular examination, multi-dimensional radiography and CT scan or MRI scan are the main measures for prevention.


We report on our study of flavor-singlet mesons in three-flavor QCD with dynamical overlap quarks. Gauge ensembles are generated on a 16^3 x 48 lattice at a lattice spacing of 0.10 fm with the strange quark masses around its physical value m_s,phys and up and down quark masses down to m_s,phys/5. Connected and disconnected meson correlators are calculated using the all-to-all quark propagator. We present our preliminary results on the spectrum of flavor-singlet pseudoscalar and vector mesons.


Endophytic fungi are prolific generators of bioactive metabolites with natural antioxidant properties that have a range of potential uses. In the present work, the antioxidant activity and phylogenetic diversity of endophytic fungi obtained from semi-arid terrestrial plants and the fungi obtained from the mangrove soil samples is investigated. The fungal isolates were identified by employing morphological features and phylogenetic characterization by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Six taxonomic orders of Ascomycota associated with nine genera were identified, these being Diaporthales, Eurotiales, Hypocreales, Onygenales, Pleosporales and Xylariales. The antioxidant activity methanolic extracts of the fungal isolates were determined using modified 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonicacid) (ABTS) methods. Among the fungal isolates, Aspergillus sp. AREF023 and Fusarium sp. AREF014, obtained from different parts of Datura metel, displayed the highest level of radical inhibition (80.76% and 70.62% respectively). GC/-MS analysis of the active isolates confirmed the presence of known antioxidant phenolic compounds, including 2-tert-Butyl-5-hydroxymethyl-5-methyl-[1,3]dioxolan-4-one and Phenol, 2,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl), in the their crude extracts. Our findings suggest that fungal isolates from D. metel can be a sustainable resource for natural antioxidants.


This paper presents a novel method for computation of capacitance in integrated passive components (IPCs) containing floating conductors. The IPC is a multiterminal device which is arbitrarily shaped and may be composed of inhomogeneous as well as field-dependent dielectric. The one-port capacitance between any pair of terminals is determined directly, without the need to calculate the capacitance matrix. The computational technique is based on incorporating the floating conductor concept into the finite difference solution to the Laplace equation. Numerous data for practical IPCs are presented, with the results validated against measurements.


An instrument and computer algorithm is described which measures fabric color variations known as barré. The instrument consists of a phototropic photometer focused on a small spot on a fabric sample which is mounted on a rotating cylinder that moves past the photometer. The analog output is digitized and processed by a computer. The logarithm of the average relative peak-to-peak re flectivity of a series of fabrics of two different colors and two barré widths correlated with the logarithm of the subjective visual grading of the fabrics using the HATRA standard. The coefficient of deter mination for the raw data was 0.78. Replicate runs had good reproducibilities. Blocked photo metric HATRA grade data from the two colors and two barré width fabrics gave a good one-to-one comparison to blocked, visually-determined HATRA grade data.


Abstract : The purpose of this study was to describe the health promotion activities related to tobacco cessation utilized by Air Force nurse practitioners (NP). The military environment places strong emphasis on the importance of optimal physical fitness in order to meet the demands of deployed readiness for missions of national and international peace and freedom. Tobacco use in the active duty population remains above the targeted goal of 20% set by the Healthy People 2000 Objectives. The Department of Defense has issued directives which direct health care providers to address and provide intervention regarding tobacco topics. A questionnaire was developed to elicit information about health promotion activities Air Force NPs use in order to meet Healthy People 2000 Objectives with regards to tobacco cessation. It consisted of four parts: demographic data, clinical practice setting, nurse practitioner education, and nurse practitioner activities relating to tobacco cessation. The questionnaire was evaluated by a two (2) NP panel of experts for face and content validity. A pilot study consisted of four (4) NPs was conducted to evaluate test-retest reliability. The major study consisted of forty-seven (47) Air Force NPs serving at conus locations, functioning within their specialty area (pediatrics, adult, family, women's health, primary care). The sample was obtained through stratified random sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Study findings suggest that NPs are involved in multiple tobacco cessation activities in their clinical practice in varying degrees and frequencies. Knowledge and skill levels differ among NPs. Inconsistencies may exist between performance of tobacco cessation activities, knowledge and skill levels, resources that may hinder or support those activities in the clinical setting, and attitudes toward tobacco users.


Snow water equivalent (SWE) is one of the most hydrologically important physical properties of a snowpack. The U.S. National Weather Service's Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) provides snow products at high spatial (~1 km2) and temporal (daily) resolution for the contiguous United States and southern Canada. This study evaluated the SNODAS SWE product in the boreal forest, prairie, and Canadian Rockies of western Canada against extensive snow survey measurements. SNODAS was found to work well in sheltered environments, to overestimate SWE under needle‐leaf forests, and to be unable to capture the spatial variation of SWE in windswept prairie and alpine environments. Results indicate that SNODAS SWE accuracy is strongly influenced by the missing blowing snow redistribution and canopy energetics and snow interception and sublimation processes in the mass balance calculations of the SNODAS model and by erroneous precipitation data forcing the model. To demonstrate how errors caused by missing processes can be corrected in areas with low assimilation frequency, SNODAS data were assimilated into a physically based hydrological model created using the modular Cold Region Hydrological Modelling (CRHM) platform that includes blowing and intercepted snow redistribution and subcanopy melt energetic processes. This approach decreased the overestimation of SWE compared to SNODAS from 135 to 79% in the study area and suggests that snow assimilation modeled SWE quality can be improved if snow redistribution, sublimation, and subcanopy melt processes are incorporated.


A previously healthy 38-year-old man was admitted to hospital with chest pain. The day before the patient had been to a karate session and had received multiple punches and kicks to the chest region. An ECG showed Q-waves in V1 and V2 and flattening of the T-waves in V1-V6. Levels of cardiac enzyme markers were elevated. The patient subsequently underwent coronary angiography with supplemental optical coherence tomography that revealed a bifurcate dissection involving the proximal parts of left ramus interventricularis anterior and circumflex coronary artery. Two drug-eluting stents were implanted with good angiographic result.


The short timer's syndrome (STS) was first described and studied in the military. Although not a new phenomenon, it was more formally recognized in the 20th century during the two World Wars. The STS has been well documented during all major military conflicts and deployments since then. In a way, STS can be viewed as an extreme form of burnout. As such, STS can be observed among medical trainees who are on busy clinical services for prolonged periods of time. In addition to its negative effects on the health-care team, burnout and STS have the potential to adversely affect patient care. It is important to be aware of signs and symptoms associated with medical trainee burnout and STS because early recognition of these signs may allow prompt intervention and prevent further progression of burnout. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Interpersonal and communication skills, Professionalism, Systems-based practice. Republished with permission from: Stawicki SP. Short timer's syndrome among medical trainees: Beyond burnout. OPUS 12 Scientist 2008;2(1):30-32.


Variations in the incidence and prevalence of diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across racial and ethnic groups have been described in many western industrialised settings. The reasons for these variations are unclear. However, an understanding of their determinants is required in order to develop and refine targeted HIV/STI prevention interventions. This thesis brings together a collection of studies exploring the relationship between ethnicity and the epidemiology of STIs (including HIV infection). It is divided into three main sections. Section one outlines the aims and objectives of the thesis explores concepts of race and ethnicity provides an historical and demographic overview of Black and ethnic minority communities in Britain and critically reviews and summarises the research evidence in this field. Section two outlines the rationale, methodology and outcomes of four studies developed to explore and quantify the nature and range of ethnic variations in sexual health outcomes in Britain. The concluding section summarises key themes arising from this work and relates findings back to set objectives. This thesis confirms the existence of variations in the prevalence of diagnosed STIs among Britain's main ethnic groups. The inequalities are found across a variety of settings, for both reported and prevalent diagnosed infections. Compared with the ethnic majority, adverse sexual health outcomes are more prevalent among Black British ethnic groups, and less so among Indians and Pakistanis. The collated studies confirm that ethnic differences in the prevalence and distribution of high-risk behaviours exist (particularly among men) and may, to a large extent, explain the variations in adverse outcomes. However, behaviour alone cannot account for the observed differences. Other factors, including patterns of health-seeking behaviour, genetic susceptibility, patterns of sexual mixing and background prevalence of disease also contribute, to the observed variations in incidence. Recommendations for future studies and interventions in this field are made.


The heterogeneity of the sintering transversal thermal state is one of the decisive factors of sinter quality and productivity. However, it is difficult to quantify directly the heterogeneity. In the paper, a computer vision-based online assessment method is proposed for the heterogeneity of the sintering transversal thermal state. The method makes use of the flame front distribution in the real-time collecting image of the sintering machine end section. First, the flame front was extracted using image segmentation methods. Second, the heterogeneity of the sintering transversal thermal state was converted into the spatial heterogeneity of the flame front distribution, by introducing the spatial point patterns. Finally, the sintering transversal heterogeneity index was established to evaluate quantifiably the transversal heterogeneity, by integrating the conventional spatial heterogeneity assessment methods and the features of the flame front. The proposed method performs more accurately, robustly, and comprehensively, in comparison with other existing heterogeneity assessment methods, and the sintering expertise. It was integrated into a sintering condition assessment and quality prediction system in a steelmaking plant. The industrial application of it proves its efficiency and significance for guiding the sintering operation, and improving the sinter quality and productivity.


Customer satisfaction is important for services company. The study aims to look out issues that need to be concern of Islamic bank as implications related to the quality of mobile banking services which can increase customer satisfaction of Islamic banks. This article reviews some previous study of customer satisfaction on mobile banking service quality of Islamic Bank. As a result, Islamic banks need to make improvements in online information system quality, where Islamic banks must be able to provide the quality of information presented in their mobile banking applications, form and manage qualified human resources, who understand in the fields of Islamic economics and banking as well as information technology and use sophisticated IT systems in their mobile banking products to compete with conventional banks.


In patients that have undergone liver transplants, a postoperative reduction in the blood flow of the liver graft represents a critical complication. We recently encountered an interesting phenomenon; that is, we found that the rSO2 level of the liver graft, as measured by NIRS, drops in patients that subsequently require an emergency liver biopsy. An 8‐month‐old female and an 8‐month‐old male underwent living donor liver transplants for biliary atresia. In both cases, a reduction in rSO2 was detected before an emergency liver biopsy was required. As a result of biopsy examinations, both patients were diagnosed with acute graft rejection. NIRS might be useful for graft management during the postoperative period in pediatric patients that undergo liver transplantation. After a liver transplant, a reduction in the rSO2 of the graft might be indicative of the onset of vascular complications.


In modern clinical practices, accurate orientation for needle-like tools inserting into soft tissues is cumbersome, mainly due to the tissue's non-linear deformation and the complicated combination of forces between the tissue and the tool. In this paper, the interaction between tissue deformation and friction forces has been discussed. We consider the relative velocity and contact length as the main factors of friction force during tissue deforming. An available friction model has been built for dynamic needle insertion simulation based on Finite Element (FE) framework. A Local Constraint Method (LCM) is proposed to calculate the tissue deformation and apply the friction forces to the tissue frame for avoiding remeshing. In our approach a series of equivalent constraints and forces are generated by decomposing them inside Local Regions (LRs) to nodal points. Simulations based on this method to realize the dynamic needle insertion have been conducted for validation.


The ANSI/SPARC three-level database architecture proposes an architecture layer which decouples external views on data and the implementation view of data. It is one of the classic fundamental database architectural models. In this paper we shall study the ANSI/SPARC database architecture and its various components and applications.


This thesis attempts to provide an historicised account of excuse-making strategies in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century literature. This issue is considered, broadly, in the light of the pervasive influence of rhetoric in early modem culture at large, and specifically, as an aspect of the rhetorical construction of moral ambiguity in Shakespearean drama. Its chief concern is with the intractable ambiguity of 'favourable interpretations' or 'charitable constructions' of actions or events, the apparent desirability of which seems beyond doubt. Chapter I uses the 'generosity' often regarded as Shakespeare's own trademark as a way into exploring the aims of the thesis. Its central section focuses more closely on the ambiguity inherent in a 'female rhetoric' of mitigation, apology and extenuation. Where these chapters concentrate on 'covert' excuse-making strategies. Chapter V, by contrast, begins with an exploration of the early modern transformation (or domestication) of classical, female orators into decent, modest, seventeenth-century women. The thesis concludes with an account of Shakespeare's suppliant women, a group of petitioners who are repeatedly represented 'between men'. The persistence of this pattern, I argue, stresses the extent to which excuse-making is gendered, and might be read, as well, as the playwright's own attempt to 'contain' the radical moral ambiguity (radical because as difficult to condone as to condemn) generated by such 'female' excuse-making.


"Non licet esse vos!" ‒ The Legal Basis of the Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire from Nero to Valerian (AD 64‒260)

The Roman legal system did not discriminate the citizens on the basis of their religious affiliation. We are aware of individual cases in which certain ethnic groups and/or religions – mostly Greeks, Egyptians, Jews – have suffered certain disadvantages or restrictions, but we have no knowledge of a case in which the practice of a religion was forbidden in toto. It seems that until the persecution of Diocletian, which is already outside the time frame of this study, Roman laws (leges publicae populi Romani) did not name Christianity, therefore they could not prohibit its practice. Although imperial letters – such as Trajan's, Hadrian's, or Marcus Aurelius' sacrae litterae – were also considered legal sources, and these occasionally referred to the Christians by name, they did not speak of the legal basis for the persecution, but only regulated the order of proceedings against Christians who have been already arrested. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, we would search in vain for the origin of the "You are not allowed to exist!" (non licet esse vos) quoted by Tertullian in the Roman laws of the 1st‒3rd century AD. The Roman legislators were aware of the origin and essence of Christianity, so instead of an open ban – which, I repeat, would have been unprecedented in the history of Roman law – they tried to repress them by laws and regulations about which they knew exactly that Christians would not obey them because they could not without breaking their religious precepts.


Map Matching Algorithms (MMA) are developed to solve spatial ambiguities that arise in the process of assigning GPS measurements onto a digital roadway network. There is a lack of systematic parameter tuning approaches for optimizing the MMA performance. Thus, a novel integrated framework is proposed for a systematic calibration of the parameters of a post-processing MMA. The calibration approach consists of an Instance-specific Parameter Tuning Strategy (IPTS) that employs Fuzzy Logic principles. The proposed fuzzy IPTS tool determines the best algorithm parameter values by using instance-specific information a priori to the execution of the MMA. A preliminary prototype of an IPTS system is designed based on real-world data, which identifies the explanatory variables that condition the MMA performance. The implementation of the fuzzy IPTS tool on real-word data yields an enhanced MMA performance in the solution quality and computational time compared to the results of the execution of the MMA with constant algorithm settings.


In this paper, a procedure for analyzing a water resource system with special emphasis on evaluation of acceptable economic risk due to occasional failures to deliver water is proposed. The basic methodology includes the development of a simple mathematical model which describes the physical hydrologic and economic characteristics of a single reservoir irrigation and city water supply system and an evaluation of economic benefits of the system with full and partial deliveries of water. The system is simulated for various combinations of decision variables (system magnitudes) and an optimum design is obtained by response surface technology. Emphasis is placed on the basic model and methodology although, in order to introduce some realism, the procedure is applied to data based on the existing reservoir system on the South Concho River in West Central Texas.


The use of syndrome coding in steganographic schemes tends to reduce distortion during embedding. The more complete model comes from the wet papers (J. Fridrich et al., 2005) and allow to lock positions which cannot be modified. Recently, binary BCH codes have been investigated and seem to be good candidates in this context (D. Schönfeld and A. Winkler, 2006). Here, we show that Reed-Solomon codes are twice better with respect to the number of locked positions; in fact, they are optimal. First, a simple and efficient scheme based on Lagrange interpolation is provided to achieve the optimal number of locked positions. We also consider a new and more general problem, mixing wet papers (locked positions) and simple syndrome coding (low number of changes) in order to face not only passive but also active wardens. Using list decoding techniques, we propose an efficient algorithm that enables an adaptive tradeoff between the number of locked positions and the number of changes.


Objectives: To assess the oral health (OH) needs and barriers to OH care in Gullah African American communities.Methods: A community advisory board (CAB) was formed to guide the research study. Five focus groups (n = 27 participants) were conducted to explore the OH needs/barriers. Participants completed demographic surveys and participated in discussions facilitated by open-ended questions. All sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using NVivo8.Results: Facilitators of OH included positive experiences and modeling. Fear and access to care were the most cited barriers. Tooth extraction was the dental treatment of choice. Intervention recommendations included improving clinic access, using the churches to socially influence receipt of OH care, providing group educational sessions with OH specialists, and having local "lay people" to provide support and help to navigate OH care systems.Conclusions: The design of a multilevel, culturally and locally relevant intervention may lead to a decrease in OH disparities in Gullah communities.


An optical scanning technique is presented as an alternative to white light interferometry. In this technique, it is possible to eliminate the receiving interferometer used in a conventional two-interferometer white light interferometric system and hence a simple, stable and compact sensor device may be realized. A high resolution and large operating range also becomes possible with this system. >


A binary matrix has the Consecutive Ones Property (C1P) if its columns can be ordered in such a way that all 1's on each row are consecutive. A Minimal Conflicting Set is a set of rows that does not have the C1P, but every proper subset has the C1P. Such submatrices have been considered in comparative genomics applications, but very little is known about their combinatorial structure and efficient algorithms to compute them. We first describe an algorithm that detects rows that belong to Minimal Conflicting Sets. This algorithm has a polynomial time complexity when the number of 1s in each row of the considered matrix is bounded by a constant. Next, we show that the problem of computing all Minimal Conflicting Sets can be reduced to the joint generation of all minimal true clauses and maximal false clauses for some monotone boolean function. We use these methods on simulated data related to ancestral genome reconstruction to show that computing Minimal Conflicting Set is useful in discriminating between true positive and false positive ancestral syntenies. We also study a dataset of yeast genomes and address the reliability of an ancestral genome proposal of the Saccharomycetaceae yeasts.


A method for spatially resolved measurement of the minority carrier diffusion length in silicon wafers and in silicon solar cells is introduced. The method, which is based on measuring the ratio of two luminescence images taken with two different spectral filters, is applicable, in principle, to both photoluminescence and electroluminescence measurements and is demonstrated experimentally by electroluminescence measurements on a multicrystalline silicon solar cell. Good agreement is observed with the diffusion length distribution obtained from a spectrally resolved light beam induced current map. In contrast to the determination of diffusion lengths from one single luminescence image, the method proposed here gives absolute values of the diffusion length and, in comparison, it is much less sensitive to lateral voltage variations across the cell area as caused by local variations of the series resistance. It is also shown that measuring the ratio of two luminescence images allows distinguishing shunts or surface defects from bulk defects.


TMC278 is a diarylpyrimidine (DAPY) nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that is highly effective in treating wild-type and drug-resistant HIV-1 infections in clinical trials at relatively low doses (∼25–75 mg/day). We have determined the structure of wild-type HIV-1 RT complexed with TMC278 at 1.8 Å resolution, using an RT crystal form engineered by systematic RT mutagenesis. This high-resolution structure reveals that the cyanovinyl group of TMC278 is positioned in a hydrophobic tunnel connecting the NNRTI-binding pocket to the nucleic acid-binding cleft. The crystal structures of TMC278 in complexes with the double mutant K103N/Y181C (2.1 Å) and L100I/K103N HIV-1 RTs (2.9 Å) demonstrated that TMC278 adapts to bind mutant RTs. In the K103N/Y181C RT/TMC278 structure, loss of the aromatic ring interaction caused by the Y181C mutation is counterbalanced by interactions between the cyanovinyl group of TMC278 and the aromatic side chain of Y183, which is facilitated by an ∼1.5 Å shift of the conserved Y183MDD motif. In the L100I/K103N RT/TMC278 structure, the binding mode of TMC278 is significantly altered so that the drug conforms to changes in the binding pocket primarily caused by the L100I mutation. The flexible binding pocket acts as a molecular "shrink wrap" that makes a shape complementary to the optimized TMC278 in wild-type and drug-resistant forms of HIV-1 RT. The crystal structures provide a better understanding of how the flexibility of an inhibitor can compensate for drug-resistance mutations.


The bedrock morphology of Start Bay and structures within overlying sediments have been determined by a combined geophysical and geological survey. Analysis of about 50 vibrocore and 200 bottom samples show that three discrete lithologic units, invariably defined by sharp boundaries, can be identified within the Bay. These have been described as barie, bay and bank deposits. The barrier deposits consist of shingle or beach gravel and occupy a relatively narrow zone extending from the backshore of barrier beaches to about 200 m beyond low water mark. The main constituents are flint, chert and quartzite with a small amount of rhyolite, felsite and granite. In contrast, the bay deposits are composed of medium- to fine-grained sand, with varying concentrations of silt, and whole and broken shell. Although the bay deposits attain a maximum thickness of 28 m, there are several areas in the nearshore zone where they are less than 1 m thick and where bedrock is exposed. The bank deposits are mainly coarse shelly sand and approximately occupy the area of the Skerries Bank which, in fact, consists of a drape of possibly unconsolidated material overlying the bay deposits. A break of slope in the bedrock surface, traced along the entire length of Start Bay, and a step profile in the southern part of the Bay, may be either a legacy of submerged topography produced by vigorous tidal action or, alternatively, the product of subaerial and marine processes. Other significant geological features include buried channels and relict barrier beaches.


We analyze the performance of a time-division synchronous code-division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) system. In particular, we investigate the impact of packet switched applications (for instance Web browsing sessions) on the overall performance of the network. Here, we quantify the degradation of the voice users' quality in the presence of packet data services and vice versa. Finally, we investigate the impact of some power control parameters on the overall quality and we show that these parameters should be carefully chosen to balance the quality of voice and data users.


The subject of the thesis was the use of borosilicate glass (Duran®) tubes as an interface to wafer-level microfluidic devices. The tubes are compatible with the standard fluidic connectors and can be used as a package for the so-called MEMS-ona- tube assembly. The connection technology is based on the brief reflow of the glass tubes after they are placed on single crystal silicon wafers. Because of the decreased viscosity of the glass at the bonding temperature, the glass at the interface with the silicon flows slowly over time enabling the voids at the interface to be filled, producing a permanent bond between the glass and the silicon substrate. The selection and cleaning of the silicon substrates, the selection and surface preparation of glass tubes, positioning of the samples in an oven and the formation of the bond at high temperature were explained and the selection of bonding parameters was discussed. The heterogeneous nucleation and growth of crystals in borosilicate glass during its heat treatment for the reflow bonding above its glass transition temperature were investigated, although the bulk of the borosilicate glass remained unaffected by crystallisation. The activation energy for crystal growth was estimated and attributed to the diffusion of boron being the rate-limiting step within the borosilicate framework. Interfacial effects on nucleation were shown and the implications of the devitrification of glass on the reflow bonding were discussed. The strength of the connections between borosilicate glass tubes and silicon substrates has been tested by pressurising it to failure. Failure occurred in the bonded materials rather than along the bond itself. The bond formed was hermetic. The only leakage was due to gas diffusion through the glass. The interface of borosilicate glass tube–silicon joins formed after the reflow bonding was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Amorphous borosilicate glass has been found to be fully intact with silicon even at the atomic scale. Cristobalite crystals trapped at the interface have been occasionally observed with cracks around them. The compositional analysis of glass–silicon interface has revealed the formation of a thin amorphous silica layer adjacent to the silicon. The incorporation of in-plane electrical interconnects to reflow bonding has been studied. After joining the tubes to silicon substrates, the electrically conductive lines will allow probing into the volume confined by the tube. Therefore methods of fabrication of electrical interconnects, which would survive the bonding and not alter the quality of the bond interface, were investigated. Lastly, the examples of applications of borosilicate glass tubes as package or fluidic interconnects were given and the concept of long term encapsulation of MEMS structures under vacuum or selected gas environments was explained. The thesis was concluded with a detailed summary of the results and an outlook for the reflow bonding process.


We developed a prototype 256-slice CT scanner that employs continuous rotation of a cone-beam with a larger cone angle than conventional multidetector CTs (MDCT) to ensure a wide field of view. However, a larger cone angle may result in image deterioration due to increased x-ray scatter. Scattered radiation causes the detected signals to deviate from the true measurement of primary x-ray intensity and may result in artifacts (e.g., cupping and streak artifacts), quantitative inaccuracy in reconstructed CT number, and degradation of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). To reduce the effects of scatter, the 256-slice scanner incorporates an antiscatter collimator. Here, we estimated the magnitude of x-ray scatter in the prototype 256-slice CT scanner under clinical scan conditions and quantified the effects of this scatter on CT number accuracy, image noise, uniformity, and low contrast detectability. Although most experiments were performed with the antiscatter collimator, we also estimated the magnitude of x-ray scatter without the collimator to evaluate the scatter rejection efficiency of the collimator. The scatter-to-primary energy fluence ratio (SPR) without the collimator increased as cone angle increased, with estimated values of 49.7% for a 138 mm beam width with a phantom of 200 mm diameter, and 78.5% for a 320 mm diameter phantom. Estimated SPR was drastically decreased with the collimator, with an SPR reduction rate (ratio of SPR with and without the collimator) of 12.7% and 16.8% for the 200 and 320 mm diameter phantoms, respectively. The reduction in x-ray scatter by the collimator resulted in a considerable reduction in scatter effects. The measured uniformity was good and was independent of scatter amount. Although scatter still affected CT number accuracy, this could be corrected by rescaling. Further, although the CNR was decreased, in theory at least, the change was so subtle that it had no substantial effect on low-contrast detectability.


This work presents a mathematical-computational model of the development process of Alzheimer's disease, based on the assumption that cholesterol plays a key role in the formation of hallmark neuropathological lesions that characterize the disease: the senile amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The final model, conceived as a system of equations, was implemented as a computer program and, thereafter, two sets of tests were carried out. In the first set of tests, aimed at validating the model, the results obtained from the simulations carried out were qualitatively coherent with in vivo or in vitro experiments found in the consulted literature. In the second set, we performed simulations in order to test a number of hypotheses about the development process of the disease, collected from the literature but yet without experimental confirmation. From the results of these simulations, it was possible to validate those hypotheses and to draw some conclusions about the development process of the disease.


This paper examines the effects of market power and product differentiation on demand for grocery products in Australia over the period 2002 to 2005. We construct a model of the relationship between demand, market power and brand characteristics and then estimate the model using monthly data on price, quantity and volume sold for a bundle of 92 brands in 12 product categories from major supermarket stores across Australia. We also use data on the characteristics of each brand such as whether the product is environment-friendly, is a "private label", or is made from recyclable materials. Our results suggest that firms are able to affect their demand curves through both product differentiation strategies and through market power.


Abstract Religious movements have long been challenging the modernist and secularist ideas around the world. Within the last decade or so, pro-religious parties made significant electoral advances in various countries, including India, Sudan, Algeria, and the Palestinian territories. In this article, we focus on the rise of the pro-religious Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi- AKP) to power in the 2002 elections in Turkey. Using the Turkish experience with political Islam, we evaluate the explanatory value of Mark Juergensmeyer's rise of religious nationalism theory, with a special emphasis on the "failed secularism" argument. Our analysis indicates that the theoretical approach formulated by Juergensmeyer has a great deal of explanatory power; however, it does not provide a complete explanation for the success of the AKP. The rise of religion in Turkish politics is the result of a complex process over long years of encounter and confrontation between two frameworks of order, starting with the sudden imposition of secularism from above, when the republic was established. Hence, to understand the rise of religion in contemporary Turkish politics, an in-depth understanding of history, politics, and the sources of tension between secularists and Islamists is essential. The findings of this article have important implications for other countries, especially those that are experiencing a resurgence of religion in politics, and are struggling to integrate religious parties into a democratic system.


A case of spinal cord compression secondary to steroid-induced epidural lipomatosis is reported. The epidural lipomatosis developed in a setting of spinal lymphomatous leptomeningitis secondary to adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, an unusual type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a high frequency of leptomeningeal involvement. Computed tomography was invaluable in diagnosing epidural lipomatosis, despite the concomitant spinal lymphomatous leptomeningitis. To our knowledge this is the first case of epidural lipomatosis following chemotherapy for a malignancy.


Machine generated contents note: Part I. Introduction: 1. Issues in materials development and design Nigel Harwood; Part II. Perspectives on Materials: 2. Second language acquisition research and language teaching materials Rod Ellis; 3. The theory and practice of technology in materials development and task design Hayo Reinders and Cynthia White; 4. Principles of successful materials development Brian Tomlinson; 5. Critical praxis as materials development: responding to military recruitment on a U.S. campus Sarah Benesch; Part III. Materials for the Language Syllabus: 6. A principled approach to content-based materials development for reading Norman Evans, K. James Hartshorn, and Neil J. Anderson; 7. A genre-based approach to developing materials for writing Chris Tribble; 8. Listening as process: learning activities for self-appraisal and self-regulation Christine Goh; 9. Materials to develop the speaking skill Rebecca Hughes; 10. Developing materials for discipline-specific vocabulary and phrases in academic seminars Martha Jones & Norbert Schmitt; Part IV. Materials for Specific and Academic Purposes: 11. Materials for university essay writing Martin Hewings; 12. Writing for publication: corpus-informed materials for post-doctoral fellows in perinatology Chris Feak & John Swales; 13. Research-based materials to demystify academic citation for postgraduates Nigel Harwood; 14. Making professional academic writing practices visible: designing research-based heuristics to support English-medium text production Mary Jane Curry & Theresa Lillis; 15. English for nursing: developing discipline-specific materials Susan Bosher; 16. Using textbook and real life data to teach turn taking in business meetings Jo Angouri; 17. Designing materials for community-based adult ESL programs Cori Jakubiak and Linda Harklau.


Inflammation contributes to ANG II-associated impairment of renal autoregulation and microvascular P2X1 receptor signaling, but its role in renal autoregulation in mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension is unknown. Autoregulatory behavior was assessed using the blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron preparation. Hypertension was induced in uninephrectomized control rats (UNx) by subcutaneous implantation of a DOCA pellet plus administration of 1% NaCl in the drinking water (DOCA-salt) for 3 wk. DOCA-salt rats developed hypertension that was unaltered by anti-inflammatory treatment with pentosan polysulfate (DOCA-salt+PPS) but was suppressed with "triple therapy" (hydrochlorothiazide, hydralazine, and reserpine; DOCA-salt+TTx). Baseline arteriolar diameters were similar across all groups. UNx rats exhibited pressure-dependent vasoconstriction with diameters declining to 69 ± 2% of control at 170 mmHg, indicating intact autoregulation. DOCA-salt treatment significantly blunted this pressure-mediated vasoconstriction. Diameters remained between 91 ± 4 and 98 ± 3% of control over 65-170 mmHg, indicating impaired autoregulation. In contrast, pressure-mediated vasoconstriction was preserved in DOCA-salt+PPS and DOCA-salt+TTx rats, reaching 77 ± 7 and 75 ± 3% of control at 170 mmHg, respectively. ATP is required for autoregulation via P2X1 receptor activation. ATP- and β,γ-methylene ATP (P2X1 receptor agonist)-mediated vasoconstriction were markedly attenuated in DOCA-salt rats compared with UNx (P < 0.05), but significantly improved by PPS or TTx (P < 0.05 vs. DOCA-salt) treatment. Arteriolar responses to adenosine and UTP (P2Y2 receptor agonist) were unaffected by DOCA-salt treatment. PPS and TTx significantly reduced MCP-1 and protein excretion in DOCA-salt rats. These results support the hypothesis that hypertension triggers inflammatory cascades but anti-inflammatory treatment preserves renal autoregulation in DOCA-salt rats, most likely by normalizing renal microvascular reactivity to P2X1 receptor activation.


A long-term (17-year duration) field experiment was started on newly cleared zinc (Zn)-deficient sandy duplex soil (sand with lateritic ironstone gravel over clay) in south-western Australia that had never been fertilised to measure the residual value of Zn oxide for growing spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). When wheat was grown in the field experiment different amounts of Zn were applied once only to plots in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1997, and 2000. When the field experiment was terminated, we collected soil samples from the top 0.10 m of the field plots to do a glasshouse experiment reported here. In the pot experiment 5 amounts of Zn were applied to subsamples of soil collected from each plot of the field experiment. When a yield increase (response) to the freshly applied Zn was obtained in the pot study the maximum yield plateau for the relationship between yield of 54-day-old dried wheat shoots and the amount of Zn freshly applied was similar regardless of when and how much Zn was applied in the field. The amount of Zn freshly applied to soil in the pots required to produce 90% of the maximum yield of dried wheat shoots was determined for soil previously treated with no Zn or different amounts of Zn in different years in the field to provide DM90 values. The DM90 values were largest when no Zn was applied in the field, decreased as more Zn was applied in the field and, for each amount of Zn applied in the field, increased as the number of years from application of Zn increased. For soil treated with 0.5 and 1.0 kg Zn/ha in the field the relationship between DM90 values and the number of years since Zn was applied in the field was approximately linear. The projected number of years taken for soil previously treated with Zn in the field to require the same DM90 values as soil samples collected from the nil-Zn treatments in the field was 23 and 40 years for the 0.5 and 1.0 kg Zn/ha treatments, respectively. In the pot experiment the Zn concentration in plant parts that was related to 90% of the total yield of dried wheat shoots (critical Zn concentration) was ~12 mg/kg for youngest mature growth (YMG) and 22 mg/kg for rest of shoots (ROS). The relationship between yield of dried wheat shoots and DTPA soil test Zn before sowing was similar for all the Zn treatments applied in both the field and pot studies, and the critical value was ~0.17 mg Zn/kg soil.


Many of the buildings which experienced damage in recent earthquakes such as the 2015 Nepal Earthquake were reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings with unreinforced masonry infill walls. This study proposes a simplified procedure to estimate the in-plane seismic capacity of masonry infilled RC frame buildings based on concepts of the Japanese seismic evaluation standard (JBDPA, [1]). The correlation of seismic capacity and observed damage obtained using a database of 370 existing RC frame buildings with masonry infill that experienced earthquakes in Taiwan, Ecuador and Nepal is investigated. The Is index, which represents the seismic capacity of buildings in the Japanese standard, showed good correlation with the observed damage and proved to be effective as a simple method to estimate seismic capacity. The method was then applied to 103 existing buildings in Bangladesh that have not experienced a major earthquake recently. The results emphasize the necessity for urgent seismic evaluation and retrofitting of buildings in Bangladesh.


How, when, and why does a state take repressive action against individuals residing outside its territorial jurisdiction? Beyond state-led domestic forms of control over citizens living within their legal borders, autocracies also seek to target those abroad—from African states' sponsoring violence against exiled dissidents to Central Asian republics' extraditions of political émigrés, and from the adoption of spyware software to monitor digital activism across Latin America to enforced disappearances of East Asian expatriates. Despite growing global interconnectedness, the field of international studies currently lacks an adequate comparative framework for analyzing how autocracies adapt to growing cross-border mobility. I argue that the rise of global migration flows has contributed to the emergence of "transnational authoritarianism," as autocracies aim to both maximize material gains from citizens' "exit" and minimize political risks by controlling their "voice" abroad. I demonstrate that governments develop strategies of transnational repression, legitimation, and co-optation that transcend state borders, as well as co-operation with a range of non-state actors. Bringing work on the international politics of migration in conversation with the literature on authoritarianism, I provide illustrative examples drawn from a range of transnational authoritarian practices by the fifty countries categorized as "Not Free" by Freedom House in 2019, covering much of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. I sketch an emerging field of international studies research around the novel means that autocracies employ to exercise power over populations abroad, while shedding light on the evolving nature of global authoritarianism.


Background: Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a lifesaving therapy but is associated with gut atrophy and cholestasis. While bile acids (BAs) can modulate intestinal growth via gut receptors, the gut microbiome likely influences gut proliferation and inflammation. BAs also regulate the bile salt export pump (BSEP) involved in cholestasis. We hypothesized that the BA receptor agonist oleanolic acid (OA) regulates gut TGR5 receptor and modulates gut microbiota to prevent PN-associated injury. Materials and Methods: Neonatal piglets were randomized to approximately 2 weeks of isocaloric enteral nutrition (EN), PN, or PN + enteral OA. Serum alanine aminotransferase, bilirubin, BAs, hepatic BSEP, gut TGR5, gut, liver morphology, and fecal microbiome utilizing 16S rRNA sequencing were evaluated. Kruskal-Wallis test, pairwise Mann-Whitney U test, and multilevel logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: PN support resulted in gut atrophy substantially prevented by OA. The median (interquartile range) for villous/crypt ratio was as follows: EN, 3.37 (2.82–3.80); PN, 1.73 (1.54–2.27); and OA, 2.89 (2.17–3.34; P = .006). Pairwise comparisons yielded P = .002 (EN vs PN), P = .180 (EN vs OA), P = .026 (PN vs OA). OA upregulated TGR5 and BSEP without significant improvement in serum bilirubin (P = .095). A decreased microbial diversity and shift toward proinflammatory phylum Bacteroidetes were seen with PN, which was prevented by OA. Conclusions: OA prevented PN-associated gut mucosal injury, Bacterioides expansion, and the decreased microbial diversity noted with PN. This study demonstrates a novel relationship among PN-associated gut dysfunction, BA treatment, and gut microbial changes.


The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive strength estimates of the major muscle groups of the lower limbs for a group of elite sprinters by comparing both the eccentric and concentric and the agonist and antagonist peak torques. The peak torque values of the flexor and extensor muscle groups of the hip, knee, and ankle joints of the lower extremities were tested in a group of elite male and female sprinters. These values were measured both eccentrically and concentrically for each of the joint movements tested, using a Kin/Com isokinetic dynamometer. The peak torque values for the knee joint were found to be substantially larger than those reported for nonathletes, and comparable to those for other athletic populations. No comparable scores were located for the results of the hip and ankle scores. The flexion and extension ratios for the knee joint, at approximately .60, were similar to others reported, whereas the ratios for the hip joint were larger at .76. The concentric and eccentric ratios varied, depending on the speed of testing and the joint tested.


Abstract : To conduct a metallurgical examination of the subject projectiles and to evaluate their design, manufacture, and performance characteristics. Complete engineering drawings were made of each projectile after which they were subjected to metallurgical examination including chemical analyses, hardness surveys, and macroscopic and microscopic examination of all components. The bodies of the shot were made from me - dium carbon manganese silicon-chromium steel. The 45MM and 85MM shot were machined from barstock while the ogive of the 57MM shot was hot formed. The 45MM and 57MM shot were uniformly heat treated to a hardness of approximately Rockwell C 50-55 while the 85MM shot was decrementally hardened from Rockwell C 46-50 a t the nose to Rockwell C 25 a t the base. All shot bodies were deeply notched circumferentially above o r below the bourrelet, the two smaller caliber shot with two notches and the 85MM shot with one notch. The nose of the 45MM shot was flat with slightly rounded edges, that of the 57MM shot was knob shaped while the 85MM shot had a conventional ogival nose. The 45MM and 57MM shot were fitted with deep drawn low carbon steel ogival windshields which were crimped into grooves knurled into the forward end of the shot. The 45MM shot was fitted with a single copper rotating band and the 57MM and 85MM shot with double copper rotating bands. All band seats were undercut from 15O to 20 .


Background: Orchidopexy is a procedure of securing the testis inside the scrotum in patients with cryptorchidism. In the literature, various dissection techniques have been described to lengthen the spermatic cord to ensure a tension-free fixation of the testis to the lowest point of the scrotum. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine if incorrect measurement of the spermatic cord's length during open inguinal orchidopexy had led surgeons to over dissect the cord in a way that may pose an increased risk of testes, vas deferens and spermatic vessels. Materials and Methods: We prospectively studied the results of 40 orchidopexies performed in 40 patients with peeping or canalicular undescended testis , which was done at the Jordan university hospital in Amman from April 2018 to March 2019 , We compared the position of the testis before and after tunneling inside the inguinal canal. The difference in length is measured and analyzed. Conclusion: Failure to account for the subcutaneous fat layer thickness during orchidopexy increases the likelihood of over dissecting the spermatic cord which increases the risk of vas and vessels injury In this study we found that there is a difference between the cord length outside and inside the canal with excess length after passing the cord inside the canal ranges from 1-3 cm . This means that we do not need to dissect the cord to make the testis reaches the scrotum from outside. This decreases the risk of harming the cord and its contents.


The design of the control system for a scanning tunneling microscope is described. The control system was optimized for a tube scanner instrument and for constant‐current‐mode operation. The optimization process included measurement of the transient and frequency responses of the instrument, design of the appropriate control electronics, and development of software consistent with the characteristics of the instrument and electronics. The limiting factor for tube scanner performance was found to be the transient settling time rather than the lowest mechanical resonant frequency of the tube. The settling time for the mechanical resonances of the tube scanner was reduced from 100 to 1 ms by potting the device with silicone rubber. After the potting procedure, the sensitivity of the tube scanner was essentially unchanged.


of the notes themselves. The proofreading has been poorly done, especially in the Sanskrit names and quotations, where there is frequent omission or misplacement of the macron and confusion of s with 5 and n with n. This is regrettable, since the book deserves better. Bhattacharji's judgements on the literature are often stimulating, even when one dissents from them, and do reflect a willingness to come to an independent assessment of the material. However, the book's weaknesses mean that it is not a suitable introduction to the subject for students.


Hydatid cyst disease, introduced by E. Granulosus, is a parasitic disease which is possible in any organ or tissue but more commonly in liver (75%) and lungs (15%). Urinary tract involvement develops in only 2- 4 % of cases and isolated renal cysts are extremely rare. In this article, we present a case preoperatively radiologically  diagnosed as liver cyst hydatid but during the operation who  turns out to be a renal cyst hydatid and discussed it  in the light of the current literature.


Metabolic characterization of single cells serves as a powerful measure of the molecular activity state of cells, but is dependent on the availability of specialized analytical technologies. Capillary electrophoresis (CE)–mass spectrometry (MS) is one such technology that integrates sensitivity, label-free detection, and capability for quantification. This chapter discusses key steps of a successful single-cell study using CE–MS. Discussions are dedicated to the identification of cells, collection of sample materials, metabolite extraction, separation by CE, ionization by an electrospray or alternative ion source, and detection by MS. Where applicable, suggestions are provided to aid the robustness and confidence of single-cell measurements. Finally, representative successes are highlighted from contemporary studies on single cells using CE-MS.


To estimate possible biological activity of conjugates based on nanodiamond with an NV center inside (ND[NV]), with various functional groups located on its surface, their structural, electronic, and spin properties were calculated using the PM6 method. The energy gap between HOMO and LUMO of the complex was used as a main indicator of biological activity. It has been shown that complexes with OH or H groups attached to the (111) surface are most stable in an aqueous medium. Analysis of spin density and HOMO and LUMO localization shows that complexes ND[NV] may be not just an inert carrier of a biologically active drug or means of visualizing drug delivery, but are also directly involved in the formation of the biological activity of the conjugate.


Purpose
The primary aim of this paper is to present a novel design approach for a ring voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) suitable for L-band applications, whose oscillation frequency is less sensitive to power supply variations. In a few decades, with the advancement of modern wireless communication equipment, there has been an increasing demand for low-power and robust communication systems for longer battery life. A sudden drop in power significantly affects the performance of the VCO. Supply insensitive circuit design is the backbone of uninterrupted VCO performance. Because of their important roles in a variety of applications, VCOs and phase locked loops (PLLs) have been the subject of significant research for decades. For a few decades, the VCO has been one of the major components used to provide a local frequency signal to the PLL.

Design/methodology/approach
First, this paper chose to present recent developments on implemented techniques of ring VCO design for various applications. A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based supply compensation technique is presented, which aims to reduce the change in oscillation frequency with the supply. The proposed circuit is designed and simulated on Cadence Virtuoso in 0.18 µm CMOS process under 1.8 V power supply. Active differential configuration with a cross-coupled NMOS structure is designed, which eliminates losses and negates supply noise. The proposed VCO is designed for excellent performance in many areas, including the L-band microwave frequency range, supply sensitivity, occupied area, power consumption and phase noise.

Findings
This work provides the complete design aspect of a novel ring VCO design for the L-band frequency range, low phase noise, low occupied area and low power applications. The maximum value of the supply sensitivity for the proposed ring VCO is 1.31, which is achieved by changing the VDD by ±0.5%. A tuning frequency range of 1.47–1.81 GHz is achieved, which falls within the L-band frequency range. This frequency range is achieved by varying the control voltage from 0.0 to 0.8 V, which shows that the proposed ring VCO is also suitable for low voltage regions. The total power consumed by the proposed ring VCO is 14.70 mW, a remarkably low value using this large transistor count. The achievable value of phase noise is −88.76 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz offset frequency, which is a relatively small value. The performance of the proposed ring VCO is also evaluated by the figure of merit, achieving −163.13 dBc/Hz, which assures the specificity of the proposed design. The process and temperature variation simulations also validate the proposed design. The proposed oscillator occupied an extremely small area of only 0.00019 mm2 compared to contemporary designs.

Originality/value
The proposed CMOS-based supply compensation method is a unique design with the size and other parameters of the components used. All the data and results obtained show its originality in comparison with other designs. The obtained results are preserved to the fullest extent.


A case of simultaneous occurrence of ovarian torsion and gangrenous strangulation through a congenital opening in the mesosalpinx is presented. This case closely resembles that of intestinal strangulation through a mesosalpingeal defect, which is also very rare. 1) The condition was recognized at laparotomy performed for symptoms and signs of "an acute abdomen"; 2) the patient was a pregnant woman; 3) the final outcome was good after prompt surgical intervention.


Introduction: The first year after a woman has given birth is crucial period for uptake of contraceptives to prevent
 unintended pregnancy. However, many women do not realize that they are at risk for pregnancy during this period.
 Hence, the first year after birth is given less emphasis regarding contraceptive utilization and the contraceptive use
 by women during this period is low. Objective: To assess postpartum contraceptive utilization and associated factors in the last 12 months in
 Kebribeyah town, Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia.
 Methods: A cross-sectional community based survey was conducted from October, 2015. A random sample of
 556 postpartum women was included in the study. Epi data version 3.1 for data entry and SPSS version 20
 statistical software packages for analysis were used. Bivariate analyses were done to select candidate variables for
 the multivariable analyses with P-value less than 0.25 and Variables which showed significant association with the
 outcome variable on bivariate analysis were entered to multivariable logistic regression model to identify
 independent association. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% Confidence interval were used to determine the strength
 and presence of association. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered to declare significance.
 Result: The prevalence of contraceptive utilization was found to be 67 (12.3%) among women in the postpartum
 period. The majority of current contraceptive users were injectables 26 (38.8%). Predictors of postpartum family
 planning utilization were, educational status of respondents (AOR=3.37; 95% CI: (1.029-11.033)), counseling for FP
 during delivery (AOR=6.8; 95% CI: (1.875-24.492)), counseling during ANC (AOR=3.9; 95% CI: (1.234-12.065)),
 duration of postpartum period (AOR=3.11; 95% CI: (1.01-9.67)), information about FP from health facility. (AOR=4.0;
 95% CI (1.170-14.302)), Favorable attitude (AOR=19; 95% CI: (3.676-98.705)).
 Conclusion: Postpartum family planning utilization by the women during postpartum period is low and requires
 urgent and effective response by Kebribeyah woreda health office to enhance the uptake of postpartum
 contraceptive in order to reduce maternal and new-born mortality and morbidity. Health service providers should
 provide/promote contraceptive service and counseling during PNC, ANC, delivery for postpartum women were
 recommended as a short term interventions.


Novel agents, including the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, have significantly improved the response and survival of patients with multiple myeloma over the last decade. Despite these advances, many patients relapse or do not benefit from the currently available therapies; thus, multiple myeloma remains an incurable disease. Deacetylase inhibitors (DACi), including panobinostat and vorinostat, have recently emerged as novel agents being evaluated in the treatment of multiple myeloma. Deacetylases are a group of enzymes with effects on various intracellular proteins, including histones, transcription factors, and molecular chaperones. Although DACi inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells as a single agent, synergistic activity has been observed when they were used in combination with bortezomib. The mechanistic basis of synergy is multifactorial and includes disruption of protein degradation and inhibition of the interaction of multiple myeloma cells with the tumor microenvironment. This review summarizes recent advancements in the understanding of the mechanism of action of proteasome inhibitors and DACi in multiple myeloma and examines the biological basis of their synergistic effects. Data from the studies summarized here have been used as the rationale for the implementation of phase II and III clinical trials of DACi, alone and combined with bortezomib, in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(11); 2034–42. ©2011 AACR.


This article examines the relationship between competition and the performance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). We measure competition by constructing a Lerner index. Next, we assess the association between increased competition among MFIs on the one hand and outreach and loan repayment performance of individual MFIs on the other. The empirical investigation is based on data from 362 MFIs in 73 countries for the period 1995–2008. Based on our analysis we do find a general trend of increased competition in microfinance during the last decade. Moreover, our econometric analysis provides evidence that competition among MFIs is negatively associated with their outreach and repayment performance.


Hampton Court Palace, to the south-west of London, is one of the most famous and magnificent buildings in Britain. The original palace was begun by Cardinal Wolsey, but it soon attracted the attention of his Tudor king and became the centre of royal and political life for the next 200 years. In this new, lavishly illustrated history, the stories of the people who have inhabited the palace over the last five centuries take centre stage. Here Henry VIII and most of his six wives held court, Shakespeare and his players performed, and Charles I escaped arrest after his defeat in the Civil War. William III and Mary II introduced French court etiquette, and Georgian kings and princes argued violently amid the splendid interiors. Alongside the royal residents, there have been equally fascinating characters among courtiers and servants. Queen Victoria opened the palace to the public in the nineteenth century, and since then millions of visitors have been drawn to Hampton Court by its grandeur, its beauty and the many intriguing stories of those great and small who once lived here.


It is possible to place constraints on non-Standard-Model gauge-boson selfcouplings and other new physics by studying their one-loop contributions to precisely measured observables. We extend previous analyses which constrain such nonstandard couplings, and we present the results in a compact and transparent form. Particular attention is given to comparing results for the light-Higgs scenario, where nonstandard effects are parameterized by an effective Lagrangian with a linear realization of the electroweak symmetry breaking sector, and the heavy-Higgs/strongly interacting scenario, described by the electroweak chiral Lagrangian. The constraints on nonstandard gauge-boson self-couplings which are obtained from a global analysis of low-energy data and LEP/SLC measurements on the Z pole are updated and improved from previous studies.


Freud, in his studies of hysterics, and the contemporary nerve specialists George Savage and Silas Weir Mitchell, in case studies, treat bereaved women as mentally unbalanced. They assume a causal link between grief and madness without any analysis or explicit justification. Because women had traditionally been the primary mourners, they became the primary patients of rest cures and talking cures. As one of Savage's patients and as the subject of much biographical writing, Virginia Woolf embodies the effects of this easy correlation between madness and grief. In Woolf's case, the issue becomes crystallized in a specific moment: why was the family physician called in to treat the thirteen-year-old Virginia Stephen after her mother died? That moment marks a break with Victorian mourning ritual, and makes vivid the transition from social grief practices to medical and psychological therapies. Her own writings, both autobiographical and fictional, offer a critique of this transition and describe a post-Freudian form of grief work. In Mrs. Dalloway Woolf tells a cautionary tale of the fatal results of the feminization and medicalization of grief, but offers no viable alternative. In To the Lighthouse she removes mourning from the realms of femininity and medicine, and provides a positive model for grief work. As is well documented, her mother's death triggered Virginia's first breakdown; her father's death when she was twenty-two precipitated a severe breakdown and a suicide attempt. Recent theorists consider eating and sleep disorders, hallucinations, anger, and depression to be nonpathological manifestations of grief.(1) Bereavement which prompts a suicide attempt is pathological, but short of that, what constitutes disordered grief? This question becomes particularly difficult to answer when we compare the reactions of Virginia and Leslie Stephen to Julia's death. According to Quentin Bell, both experienced their bereavement as a kind of imitation death, but while Leslie's was comprehensible in terms of Victorian mourning ritual, his daughter's was not. "For a long time he abandoned himself to grief; his life, like his writing paper, was confined within a deep black border" (1:40). Virginia's "breakdown" was "a great interval of nothingness, a kind of positive death which cannot be described and of which Virginia herself probably knew little" (1:44). In Bell's words, Leslie "broke down utterly" after Julia's death, but he did not suffer a "breakdown." There is a fine but definite line between "broke down" and "breakdown," between what can be described in terms of social conventions and what cannot. In "Reminiscences" Woolf compares her father's grief unfavorably to her own and that of her sisters and brothers. In her analysis it is Leslie's grief that is transgressive. She felt that the "Oriental gloom" which her Victorian father imposed on the household was excessive: his "groans [and] passionate lamentations . . . passed the normal limits of sorrow" (Moments of Being 40). She characterizes his expression of grief as both foreign and feminine, as inappropriate; he is like "a Hebrew prophet" (40) and "the Queen in Shakespeare" (94) in his self-dramatization. But Woolf's notion of "the normal limits of sorrow" is very different from her father's Victorian idea. Leslie Stephen was a distraught widower, living in a conventionally darkened house, visited by female relatives and friends who offered sympathy and comfort. The trappings of "Oriental gloom" were the trappings of Victorian mourning ritual. Woolf's insistence on the strangeness of her father's behavior manifests her complete rejection of nineteenth-century modes of grief as emotionally oppressive, excessive, and perhaps even pathological. The profound difference between Leslie's and Virginia's bereavements was both gendered and generational. Woolf's rejection of her father's Victorian bereavement is characteristic of her generation's wholesale rejection of things Victorian, but to her family and to many of her critics Virginia's grief was a disease; Leslie's was normal. …


The existence of an effective financial and economic security system, which will provide the protection of the enterprise from the threats is one of the most important aspect of sustainable business growth providing and formation of positive results of its financial activities in modern conditions of the economic processes imbalance. The protection is conditioned by the ability of enterprise authorities on appropriate levels to provide sustainable business growth of the enterprise, to neutralize the negative impact of the crisis economy, to form an adequate accounting system of financial flows, to strengthen the operational effectiveness of the control system, to provide the protection of information confidentiality which is a trade secret. The purpose of study foundation the conceptual aspects of the financial and economic security, the disclosure of the functioning of the system's financial and economic security business as well the isolation of the structural elements development strategy in the context of financial and economic security of current economic business processes. Research methods. The main method of research is general scientific methods of cognition phenomena and processes of financial and economic security business as a system of economic categories. Research methodology is based on a systemic approach to the category functioning financial and economic security business. Results. Developed and systematized structural and logical scheme of financial and economic security business, which includes block diagrams regulation: progressive cost management company; budgeting; cash management; diagnosis of the enterprise; management of working capital; application of international standards to ensure safety; tax planning and so on. Practical value. The use of structural and logical scheme of the system financial and economic security business different business structures provides an opportunity to assess the prospects of business, develop its tactics and strategies to reduce the effects of financial crisis and the negative impact of new threats and dangers.


Elizabeth Bowen subjects both her characters and her readers to the dynamics of nostalgia in two of her novels. The House in Paris and The Little Girls are unique in Bowen's oeuvre in their use of "structural nostalgia"--a tripartite structure containing a section that takes place in the past put between two sections that take place in the present. Though this structure suggests that readers may simply engage in a nostalgic return along with the characters, Bowen uses it instead to force both her characters and her readers into a conscious examination of both the pleasures and the problems created by nostalgia. "Do we compromise in this matter of loving life by loving it at one remove-- in the past?" --Elizabeth Bowen, "The Bend Back" Of the enduring concerns that characterize twentieth-century fiction, an interest in the plasticity of narrative conventions and a sense of irrevocable change in the perception of time and history most fundamentally transformed our understanding of the novel. Nor are these two interests unrelated, for, as Paul Ricoeur asserts, "narrativity is the mode of discourse through which the mode of being we call temporality is brought to language" (99). A certain perception of time is inherent in any narrative, and narrative is one of the means by which we both depict and examine our conceptions of time. Therefore, it is not surprising that with the sense of rupture between past and present at the turn of the century came an unprecedented degree of experimentation with the form of narrative itself, and, indeed, Ricoeur calls the works of Woolf, Mann, Proust, Conrad, and Joyce "veritable laboratories for a fictive experience of time" (350). The authors of these laboratories push narrative conventions literally to their breaking point--to the point at which they no longer function as instruments of communication, which is what conventions are designed to enable and facilitate, but instead impede communication so that each text becomes, as Robert D. Newman suggests, "a narrative combated by its narration" (83). Elizabeth Bowen's interest in the way we live in time places her in direct dialogue with her experimental contemporaries. While her novels appear traditional by comparison, they nonetheless betray a high awareness of the intersection of time and narrative that manifests itself in Bowen's examination of the mechanics of nostalgia. This focus resonates with the project of writers like Woolf, who, horrified by the fragmentation of modern life, depict the unifying potential in shared nostalgia. Bowen's interest, however, lies more in exploring the dangers of an overwhelmingly personal and therefore isolating nostalgia, as the contrast between herself and her fellow countryman W. B. Yeats makes clear. Yeats, a supporter of the Gaelic League and its efforts to recover a culture that is all but, lost exploits popular nostalgia in an attempt to bring the Irish nation together, but Bowen, more properly a member of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy than Yeats, saw too much of the damage that nostalgia can do to a culture unwi lling to face present realities. The Big House culture that Bowen knew clung to a narrowly focused nostalgia that, far from uniting it with the rest of its country, further isolated it and led to its eventual dissolution. Consequently, Bowen is sensitive to nostalgia's negative effects more than its positive potentials, and her fiction reflects her own attempts to confront and correct the excesses of nostalgia. Two novels in particular stand out from her larger oeuvre because of the way in which they structurally recreate the disjunction between past and present. In both The House in Paris (1935) and The Little Girls (1964), Bowen twists the chronology of her fairly typical tripartite structure so that the middle section takes place in the past and divides the two sections that deal with the present. On one level such a framework implies simply a nostalgic return, but Bowen does much more than this with her temporal architecture. …