Protein kinase, casein kinase II (CK2), is ubiquitously expressed and highly conserved protein kinase that shows constitutive activity. It phosphorylates a diverse set of proteins and plays crucial role in several cellular processes. The catalytic subunit of this enzyme (CK2α) shows remarkable flexibility as evidenced in numerous crystal structures determined till now. Here, using analysis of multiple crystal structures and long timescale molecular dynamics simulations, we explore the conformational flexibility of CK2α. The enzyme shows considerably higher flexibility in the solution as compared to that observed in crystal structure ensemble. Multiple conformations of hinge region, located near the active site, were observed during the dynamics. We further observed that among these multiple conformations, the most populated conformational state was inadequately represented in the crystal structure ensemble. The catalytic spine, was found to be less dismantled in this state as compared to the "open" hinge/αD state crystal structures. The comparison of dynamics in unbound (Apo) state and inhibitor (CX4945) bound state exhibits inhibitor induced suppression in the overall dynamics of the enzyme. This is especially true for functionally important glycine‐rich loop above the active site. Together, this work gives novel insights into the dynamics of CK2α in solution and relates it to the function. This work also explains the effect of inhibitor on the dynamics of CK2α and paves way for development of better inhibitors.


On the Spanish Mediterranean continental shelf, late-autumn echo-integration acoustic surveys have been performed annually since the 1990s. The surveys coincide with the recruitment season of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and the start of the spawning season of sardine (Sardina pilchardus), and they provide estimates of stock size for the main fisheries in the area. Latitudinal distribution of the abundance of the two species from 2003 till 2006 is evaluated, and transitive geostatistical techniques applied to estimate the sampling uncertainty of the overall abundance estimate. The anchovy stock was found mainly in areas influenced by river run-off, in well-known anchovy spawning areas, suggesting that anchovy remained on their spawning grounds until late autumn or that survival was higher in these regions of enhanced productivity. By the time of the surveys, sardine were already occupying their spawning grounds over the continental shelf. The precision of the abundance estimates was generally high. The few cases of low precision were re-examined and found to stem most probably from processing errors, so the re-examination has contributed to an improvement in the accuracy of the estimates. The greater precision obtained in the southern subarea suggested a greater homogeneity in the spatial distribution of both species.


Recent papers have shown that climate change affects many species, including birds. Several papers from different areas have devoted attention to the negative correlation between the dates of breeding and year, and also negative correlation between the dates of breeding and air spring temperatures. Recent work give some firm evidence for postulating causal relationship between spring temperature and laying dates. We used 31 years (1979-2009) of data from blackcap Sylvia atricapilla in Mokrice area, Northwestern Croatia to assess whether there has been any systematic change in breeding phenology through time.Among environmental factors possibly affecting the breeding date, consideration was given to mean monthly air temperatures (April-May). Over the past three decades, the breeding date of blackcap in our study population has changed significantly: They started breeding progressively earlier (11.77 days). Two regression analysis with laying date as criterion variable showed that spring temperatures can significantly predict variation of laying date and that there are also some other unknown factors which significantly explain variation of laying date. We conclude that blackcaps across Northwestern Croatia are breeding earlier and that mean air spring temperatures is probably the most important factor causing it, among other factors.


This perspective appraises the pathology, etiology, clinical presentation and therapy of osteoporosis, and focuses on implications for oral healthcare. Osteoporosis is a chronic insidious, debilitating disease of aging, slowly affecting the quality of life of both genders. Very few people show no signs of OP as they age. A healthy balanced diet, rich in calcium combined with daily rigorous exercise seems to be the sole natural formula for retarding OP. Osteonecrosis of the Jaws (ONJ) is a rare complication and precise management is unresolved; management is by prevention of ONJ, is feasible mainly by completing all invasive dentistry before prescribing bisphosphonates.


Cultural heritage is an extremely valuable set of materiality, traditions and knowledge from the Past that should be used to better understand the Past itself. However, even nowadays there are still some difficulties to manage, preserve and disseminate cultural heritage sites. The usage of multimedia technology and 3D environments in cultural heritage has reduced these difficulties; nonetheless, there are still some remaining problems. In the last years, some multimedia technology and 3D environments have been applied to the cultural heritage in Portugal. A few of them are used for scientific research purposes and others are used for dissemination purposes. In this article, the authors will refer to some representative Portuguese case studies using Virtual Environments to maintain, preserve and promote Cultural Heritage. A critical reading of these projects will be made in order to stress out their success and to point out their weaknesses and limitations.


Hepatic protein catabolism was measured in rats which were pair-fed a liquid diet containing either ethanol or isocaloric maltose-dextrin (control diet). Within 12 days after initiation of pair feeding, the level of total hepatic protein in ethanol-fed rats was 26% higher than that in pair-fed control rats. During this time interval, the catabolic rates of both short-lived [3H]puromycin-labeled proteins and long-lived native [14C]bicarbonate-labeled proteins were measured in the two groups of animals. The degradation rate of short-lived [3H]puromycinyl proteins and peptides was the same in ethanol-fed and pair-fed control rats. However, the overall catabolic rate of long-lived proteins in rats fed the ethanol liquid diet for 2-10 days was 37-40% lower than that in pair-fed controls. This difference in protein turnover was not a general phenomenon, since the time-dependent decay of [14C]proteins in the hepatic microsome fraction of ethanol-fed rats was 33% slower than that in pair-fed controls, but the apparent rate of cytosolic protein catabolism was the same in both groups of animals. The differences in protein turnover did not reflect quantitative changes in lysosomal proteases since the activities of four hepatic lysosomal cathepsins were unaffected by alcohol administration. When rats were subjected to longer periods of pair feeding (16-25 days), the difference in overall hepatic protein catabolism between ethanol-fed rats and their pair-fed controls was considerably attenuated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


(Received 28 July 2015 ; in final form 19 January 2016) Abstract In this paper, the electronic transport of a graphene nanoribbon including a bond defect as well as a polyacetylene nanowire, including an extra bond, has been studied based on Green's function technique at the tight-binding approach. The results show that the behavior of electronic conductance is different in resonance and nonresonance cases with respect to variation of bond defect position. The conductance value at the zero energy tunes by variation of defect position, only for the cases which includes double bonds. These changes is more observable especially at the polyacetylene nanowires. The amount of antiresonance shift with respect to bond defect position, in conductance spectrum, strongly depends on type and shape of center wire structure.


Paskas, S., Miocinovic, J., Savic, M., Vejnovic, B. & Becskei, Z. (2020). The quality of goat milk and hygiene management practices on farms in Vojvodina. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 26 (5), 1053–1061 The present work aimed to study the goat farms concerning different hygiene-sanitary and health management practice. Also, bulk tank milk of Alpine breed goats was used to investigate changes in the composition of milk during lactation on six farms in Vojvodina Region. The results showed that although 96.67% of farmers were familiar with mastitis, approximately 56.67% of farmers reported a lack of knowledge about subclinical mastitis and therefore not intensely monitoring udder health during the lactation period. Somatic cell count (SCC) and total bacteria count (TBC) were the most variable traits in our research and lactation average SCC between investigated farms showed a significant difference (P < 0.01) (a range from 1088×103/ml to 3129×103/ml). At the same time, TBC was found in a wider range, from 66×103/ml to 3508×103/ml. Furthermore, SCC and TBC often did not meet the recommended quality level. Therefore, during the entire lactation period, 63% of the milk samples contained above 1.5 million SCC/ml and 37% of the samples were contained TBC above 1.5 million CFU/ ml. Results also confirmed considerable seasonal variations of goat milk composition and the milk fat was the component that most varied (cv: 33.16%). It was observed that organic in comparison to conventional milk chemical composition, was significantly different, especially in terms of protein content (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, goat dairy production could be of considerable importance in Vojvodina but dairy goat sector requires a more systemic approach, better hygiene milking conditions and implemented prevention and control programmes during the milking routine.


Although a definite diagnosis of renal cortical necrosis can be made only by biopsy or at necropsy (Lloyd-Thomas, Balme, and Key, 1962), the history, clinical course, and radiological findings in our case provide good evidence of this. According to McAlister and Nedelman (1961), renal cortical necrosis must be considered in acute renal failure in children, especially when diarrhoea, vomiting, and dehydration are part of the clinical picture. The necrotic lesions are attributed to renal ischaemia and the numerous causes of the disease have been extensively reviewed (Lauler and Schreiner, 1958; McAlister and Nedelman, 1961; Black, 1967; Remy et al., 1968). Though the first radiological manifestation is renal enlargement, recognition of this may well be difficult. Gradual decrease in kidney size, owing to shrinkage of the necrotic tissue follows, and calcification of the necrotic areas become the outstanding features. According to Black (1967) renal calcification is of three types: (1) fine diffuse and chiefly cortical, (2) coarse and mainly medullary, and (3) localized. In our case shrinkage of the kidneys and irregularity of the renal contour became evident, and the pattern of nephrocalcinosis was of the first of the above types. Black (1967) states that the most frequent causes of this type of nephrocalcinosis are renal cortical necrosis and chronic glomerulonephritis. Lloyd-Thomas et al. (1962) considered a 'tram-line' pattern of calcification characteristic of renal cortical necrosis. There must be a time relation between the onset of the disease and the x-ray appearance of renal calcification (Whelan et al., 1967). In our case nephrocalcinosis was detected radiologically on the 50th day of the illness. McAlister and Nedelman (1961) suggested that 11 to 2 months may elapse before calcification occurs. There is no doubt that our patient survived mainly because of prolonged peritoneal dialysis. This procedure is especially applicable to infants and small children, and its application is likely to lead to an increasing number of patients with this disease surviving.


Background Between 22% and 58% of patients in primary care settings complain of somatic symptoms. Previous research has found that somatization was associated with anger traits and family functions. However, studies that specifically assess the moderating effect of family function in how anger traits become somatic complaints are lacking. Aim This study was designed to examine whether the variances in family cohesion and family adaptability moderated the strength of the relationship between anger traits and somatization. Methods A cross-section design was conducted and 2008 college students were recruited from a comprehensive university in Shanghai. All participants finished questionnaires including Symptom Check List- 90 (SCL-90), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory 2 (STAXI-2, Chinese version) and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale, second edition (FACES II, Chinese Version) to assess their degree of current somatization, anger trait and family function. Hierarchical linear regression analysis (Enter) was conducted respectively for men and women to examine the moderation effect of family cohesion and family adaptability in the association between anger and somatization. Results Somatic symptoms were significantly linked in the expected directions with depression and anger trait for both genders. Family cohesion and family adaptability were negatively associated with somatic symptoms. For female college students family cohesion was found to moderate the link between anger trait and somatization, but for male college students the moderation effect of family cohesion was marginally significant. The moderating role of family adaptability was significant for neither male nor female after current depressive symptoms were accounted for. Conclusion Proneness to anger is an independent predictor of somatization. For women, a high level of family cohesion was a protective factor which could reduce the influence of anger trait on somatic symptoms. Without comorbidity of current depression, family adaptability to some degree exempted individuals with anger proneness from developing somatic complaints. Interventions that integrate family cohesion cultivation, family flexibility fostering and depression treatment might be more effective for somatic patients high in anger trait.


In this paper, the Langevin dynamics simulation method is used to study magnetic interactions between a pair of multicore magnetic nanoparticles subjected to a uniform magnetic field. Multicore nanoparticles are modelled as spherical rigid clusters of single-domain superparamagnetic cores coupled via dipole-dipole interactions. It is shown that the magnetic force between two well-separated clusters in a strong applied field can be accurately described within the induced point-dipole approximation. However, this approximation also assumes that there are no interactions between clusters in the zero-field limit. On the contrary, simulations indicate the existence of a relatively small attractive magnetic force between clusters, even in the absence of an applied field. It is shown that this force is a direct superparamagnetic analog of the van der Waals interaction between a pair of dielectric spheres.


The regulation of autophagy initiation is a key step in autophagosome biogenesis. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the stepwise assembly of ATG proteins during this process remains incomplete. The Rab GTPase Ypt1/Rab1 is recognized as an essential autophagy regulator. Here, we identify Atg23 and Atg17 as binding partners of Ypt1, with their direct interaction proving crucial for the stepwise assembly of autophagy initiation complexes. Disruption of Ypt1‐Atg23 binding results in significantly reduced Atg9 interactions with Atg11, Atg13, and Atg17, thus preventing the recruitment of Atg9 vesicles to the phagophore assembly site (PAS). Likewise, Ypt1‐Atg17 binding contributes to the PAS recruitment of Ypt1 and Atg1. Importantly, we found that Ypt1 is phosphorylated by TOR at the Ser174 residue. Converting this residue to alanine blocks Ypt1 phosphorylation by TOR and enhances autophagy. Conversely, the Ypt1S174D phosphorylation mimic impairs both PAS recruitment and activation of Atg1, thus inhibiting subsequent autophagy. Thus, we propose TOR‐mediated Ypt1 as a multifunctional assembly factor that controls autophagy initiation via its regulation of the stepwise assembly of ATG proteins.


The spherical domains with conical singularities are a convenient arena for studying the properties of tensor Laplacians on arbitrary manifolds with this type of singular point. In this paper the vector Laplacian on is considered and its spectrum is calculated exactly for any dimension d. This enables one to find the Schwinger - DeWitt coefficients of this operator by using the residues of the -function. In particular, the second coefficient, defining the conformal anomaly, is explicitly calculated on and its generalization to arbitrary manifolds is found. As an application of this result, the standard renormalization of the 1-loop effective action of gauge fields is demonstrated to be sufficient to remove the ultraviolet divergences up to first order in the conical deficit angle.


OBSERVATIONS ON THE OLEANDER SCALE, ASPIDIOTUS NERII BOUCHÉ (HEMIPTERA: DIASPIDIDAE) AND ITS NATURAL ENEMIES ON BLUELEAF WATTLE IN ADANA PROVINCE, TURKEY. The biology of Aspidiotus nerii Bouché and the overall efficiency of its natural enemies (the aphelinid parasitoid Aphytus melinus DeBach and the coccinellid predators Chilocorus bipustulatus (L.) and Rhyzobius lophantae (Blaisdell)) were studied. Forty leaves were collected at weekly intervals from 5 blueleaf wattle trees (Acacia saligna) from four compass bearings; all live and dead A. nerii and the number and stage of all parasitised scales were counted. There were two population peaks of A. nerii per year, in May/June and July/August. The number of parasitoids, however, fluctuated considerably, especially during the autumn and winter. The scale stage parasitised was primarily the adult female, followed by the pupae and then a few 2ndinstar nymphs. First-instar nymphs were never attacked by parasitoids but predators fed on all stages.


A six‐year monitoring programme characterized the migration/dispersion patterns of sediment slugs generated following typhoon‐induced disturbances in 1993 and 1997 along a single‐thread gravel‐bed stream, Oyabu Creek, on Kyushu Island, Japan. This laterally confined creek comprises riffle–pool sequences with intervening bedrock outcrops. The passage of sediment pulses associated with sediment slug processes reflected, and was controlled by, the riffle–pool structures which provided channel bed roughness, the volume of sediment stored along valley floors, and the distribution of bedrock outcrops. Changes to bed material size following major sediment inputs during the disturbance events also exerted an influence on subsequent sediment slug processes. The sequence of rainfall events, together with changes to channel bed structure, induced different phases in the sediment slug processes. The capacity of a reach to store or trap sediment, as recorded by the longitudinal structure of the channel, varied during these differing phases. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We present a historical trace manager and new dynamic scheduling heuristics that can be used, and are studied, in the client-agent-server model on the `grid'. These heuristics rely on the common acknowledgment of the characteristics of the tasks submitted to the agent, but also on the construction of the underlying historical trace of the different tasks submitted to each server. We study each heuristic and compare them on several metrics to an instantiation of MCT (Minimum Completion time), chosen as reference heuristic. The simulation experiments we have conducted show that they are likely to give good results when tested in a real environment.


Abstract Nakh-Daghestanian languages have encountered growing interest from typologists and linguists from other subdiscplines, and more and more languages from the Nakh-Daghestanian language family are being studied. This paper provides a grammatical overview of the hitherto undescribed Sanzhi Dargwa language, followed by a detailed analysis of the grammaticalized expression of spatial elevation in Sanzhi. Spatial elevation, a topic that has not received substantial attention in Caucasian linguistics, manifests itself across different parts of speech in Sanzhi Dargwa and related languages. In Sanzhi, elevation is a deictic category in partial opposition with participant-oriented deixis/horizontally-oriented directional deixis. This paper treats the spatial uses of demonstratives, spatial preverbs and spatial cases that express elevation as well as the semantic extension of this spatial category into other, non-spatial domains. It further compares the Sanzhi data to other Caucasian and non-Caucasian languages and makes suggestions for investigating elevation as a subcategory within a broader category of topographical deixis.


In the year 2012, for the first time in the history of humanity, the urban population has exceeded the rural population. This change has been conditioned, in large part, by migratory flows in the direction of the field to the cities, singularizing the importance of the situation according to epidemiological, ecological, political, and social aspects. These issues are highlighted by the United Nations (UNICEF and WHO) especially considering the remarkable and growing relevance that the poverty condition of rural families exercises in this displacement, creating a remarkable adverse and conflictive environment, mainly in the health sector. This fact occurs because the infrastructure of urban services is not keeping up with the sprawls in the outskirts of the cities of medium and large sizes. These arguments, of universal character, assume a crucial importance in developing countries, as in the case of Brazil, Latin America, an Asian subcontinent and the greater part of Africa. It is a context that justifies the I Brazilian Workshop on the Health of Subnormal Urban Clusters (old slums) to be held in Recife, as a strategy to consolidate a basic information framework about the epidemiological scenario, the supply and demand for health care services in urban areas of poverty. With an propositional objective: establish an agenda for research and intervention models having as focus the priorities of health of these urban spaces submitted to socio-economic conditions of recognized vulnerability.


A case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis caused by a dimorphic fungus Coccidioides immitis in a mandrill baboon (Mandrillus sphinx) was diagnosed following radiography, ultrasound-guided aspiration of thoracic lesions, and aspiration cytology of skeletal lesions of the left sixth rib. The diagnosis was confirmed by fungal culture and serum quantitative immunodiffusion for antibodies against C. immitis.


PLD2 plays a key role in cell membrane lipid reorganization and as a key cell signaling protein in leukocyte chemotaxis and phagocytosis. Adding to the large role for a lipase in cellular functions, recently, our lab has identified a PLD2‐Rac2 binding through two CRIB domains in PLD2 and has defined PLD2 as having a new function, that of a GEF for Rac2. PLD2 joins other major GEFs, such as P‐Rex1 and Vav, which operate mainly in leukocytes. We explain the biochemical and cellular implications of a lipase‐GEF duality. Under normal conditions, GEFs are not constitutively active; instead, their activation is highly regulated. Activation of PLD2 leads to its localization at the plasma membrane, where it can access its substrate GTPases. We propose that PLD2 can act as a "scaffold" protein to increase efficiency of signaling and compartmentalization at a phagocytic cup or the leading edge of a leukocyte lamellipodium. This new concept will help our understanding of leukocyte crucial functions, such as cell migration and adhesion, and how their deregulation impacts chronic inflammation.


Although the CA3–CA1 synapse is critically important for learning and memory, experimental limitations have to date prevented direct determination of the structural features that determine the response plasticity. Specifically, the local calcium influx responsible for vesicular release and short-term synaptic facilitation strongly depends on the distance between the voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) and the presynaptic active zone. Estimates for this distance range over two orders of magnitude. Here, we use a biophysically detailed computational model of the presynaptic bouton and demonstrate that available experimental data provide sufficient constraints to uniquely reconstruct the presynaptic architecture. We predict that for a typical CA3–CA1 synapse, there are ∼70 VDCCs located 300 nm from the active zone. This result is surprising, because structural studies on other synapses in the hippocampus report much tighter spatial coupling. We demonstrate that the unusual structure of this synapse reflects its functional role in short-term plasticity (STP).


This study sought to contribute to a better understanding of market dynamics of green grams as a traditional crop within a resource poor producer community in Mbeere South sub-County, Kenya. The study aimed to characterize the green gram marketing channels and to evaluate the factors that influence the choice of green gram marketing channel by the producers. A multinomial logit model was estimated through data from households growing green grams. Results show that 70 percent of farmers in the study site grew green grams. On average, each household has 1 to 2 acres of land under green grams production each year. Farmers used three marketing channels, rural retailers (58 percent), wholesalers (14 percent) and assemblers (26 percent). The multinomial results showed that Age of the farmer (P=0.06), access to credit (p=0.065), price of green grams (p=0.079), and selling as individuals (p=0.000) positively influenced the choice of rural assembler marketing channel. Gender of the household head (p=0.001), production cost (p=0.000) and use of mobile phone to access marketing information (p=0.019) positively influenced the probability of choosing rural retailer over wholesaler marketing channel. In conclusion, farmers prefer marketing channels where they incur low production and transport cost and that offer higher prices to maximize profits. The study recommended first, identification and prioritization of unique farmer-trader relations that enhance adaptive resilience and increase farmers marketing options. Secondly, interventions to enhance market-based signals e.g. price should be reinforced.


The article shows that using a CRT to fund a retirement portfolio with a highly appreciated asset can make economic sense, even when a couple (or single person) has no charitable motivation. When the couple uses a CRT to fund their retirement portfolio, the present value of the lifetime retirement income they can expect to receive, the probability that they will receive their target retirement income each year, and the bequest that they can expect to leave to their heirs exceed the results from a directly-funded retirement portfolio. For a couple who has a charitable motivation, but is unable afford to make a charitable contribution, using a CRT can provide the additional benefit of allowing them to do so at no cost to themselves. Furthermore, if they are willing to sacrifice some retirement income and bequest benefits to make or increase a charitable donation, using a CRT can allow the couple to make a charitable contribution that is many times larger than the benefits that they forgo.


The RIPE database specifications and RPSL language define languages used as the basis for representing information in a routing policy system. A repository for routing policy system information is known as a routing registry. A routing registry provides a means of exchanging information needed to address many issues of importance to the operation of the Internet. The implementation and deployment of a routing policy system must maintain some degree of integrity to be of any operational use. This document addresses the need to assure integrity of the data by providing an authentication and authorization model.


A novel statistical scheme for the automatic detection and tracking in time of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in image sequences is described. Coherent space-time regions in a four-dimensional feature space (intensity, position (x,y), and time) are extracted by unsupervised clustering using Gaussian mixture modeling. The segments in the sequence pertaining to lesions are automatically detected by context-based classification mechanisms. Lesion segmentation and tracking are performed in a unified manner and not separately, as in other works. A model adaptation stage, in which space-time regions are merged, is introduced for the improvement of lesions' delineation. Qualitative and quantitative results for a sequence of 24 images are shown. The framework's results were validated by comparison to an expert's manual delineation.


A two-channel lightwave system using differential frequencydeviation multiplexing (DFDM) is presented. Both 90Mbit/s channels are differentially detected using a fibre interferometer. The performance is independent of the absolute optical frequencies and received state of polarisation. Interchannel interference results in a 1 dB penalty for channel separations of 700 MHz.


Fire-barrier performance is an important property where the polymer composite can continue to provide a barrier to spread of fire after the polymer has burned. In this work a barrier is created by formation of a self-supporting ceramic from the inorganic fillers, over a temperature range where the polymer undergoes thermal degradation. Thermogravimetry showed that degradation of the unsaturated polyester resin left a residual char that subsequently degraded in parrale with reactions of the fire-retardants and ceramifying flux.


BACKGROUND
Anastomotic intimal hyperplasia (AIH) remains an unsolved problem. Angiogenesis around the anastomosis is one of the important mechanisms accelerating AIH. In this study, we investigated the effects of an antiangiogenic agent AGM-1470 (O-[chloroacetyl-carbamoyl] fumagillol: AGM) on the thickness of AIH after expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafting.

METHODS
Study 1: Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were cultured to form 3-mm-side square colonies by using 4 kinds of culture medium, containing AGM at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1.0, and 10 ng/mL. The SMC colony spreading distance in each group was measured as an index of mitogenic activity. The isolated proliferative activity of SMCs was also assessed. Study 2: Male New Zealand white rabbits underwent inlay expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafting of the carotid arteries. They were divided in 4 groups (control, vehicle, AGM [0.5], and AGM [5]) in which no topical application, Vaseline ointment, Vaseline ointment containing 0.5 mg AGM, or Vaseline ointment containing 5 mg AGM was applied to the anastomoses, respectively. Rabbits were fed a high-cholesterol diet for 2 weeks before and 8 weeks after the operation. AIH thickness was measured and capillary formation and SMC accumulation around the anastomoses were examined with immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS
Study 1: AGM suppressed SMC migratory activity in a cytostatic, but not cytotoxic, manner. Study 2: AGM ointment inhibited AIH in proportion to its concentration and also suppressed new capillary formation around the anastomoses and SMC accumulation in AIH.

CONCLUSIONS
Topical application of the antiangiogenic agent AGM may become an important strategy for preventing AIH.


Effects of confinement of the 4.0 nm pores of Vycor glass on the alpha relaxation associated with the glass transition were investigated for three glass-forming liquids, glycerol, propylene glycol and propylene carbonate, by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. The relaxation shifts to lower temperatures in the isochronal (constant-frequency) measurements and to higher frequencies in the isothermal measurements for the confined liquids as compared to the bulk. Confinement induces a broadening of the relaxation and a change of its shape, The results are discussed in relation to the characteristic length of the glass transition (cooperativity length).


The magnetic field variations on the ground after Starfish are calculated by the MHDEMP code using input parameters produced by the MICE code. The results agree well with the experimental data at Johnston Island. These magnetic field variations extend over large distances and may cause large potential fluctuations in long-line ground systems.


[1] Evidence is presented that supports the suggestion by Tsunoda (2006) that a polarization electric field, if generated by a sporadic-E (Es) layer instability (Cosgrove and Tsunoda, 2002), should map to the base of the F layer and seed equatorial plasma bubbles. Seeding, which leads to bubble development, seems to be a four-step process operating in the bottomside F layer: (1) amplification of seed perturbations in a region of westward-drifting plasma, which is found below the velocity-shear node; (2) upward transference of this modulation through a rotational velocity shear to eastward-drifting plasma; (3) further seed amplification, when the F layer begins to descend; and (4) bubble growth from the seed via the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The time available for interaction between F-region plasma and elongated channels of enhanced polarization electric field (the latter formed by the mentioned instability) appears to be crucial for seed amplification. The need for a descending F layer to increase interaction time with the eastward-drifting plasma is appealing because plasma bubbles display a propensity to appear after, and not during, the postsunset rise of the F layer. Although plausible, the need for Es presence, perhaps low solar activity, and a multistep process suggest that this mechanism may be a more occasional contributor than the collisional-shear instability (Hysell and Kudeki, 2004).


Recent data have shown that NOS-I is localized almost exclusively to the sarcolemma of fast-twitch fibres, where it probably interacts with the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex. The concentration of dystrophin-related protein at the neuromuscular junctions and the possible involvement of NO in synaptic suppression led us to investigate the presence of NOS-I at the adult motor endplates. Our data clearly show that NOS-I protein, detected by immunohistochemistry accumulates at the adult endplates. Furthermore, the absence of NOS-I protein at the denervated neuromuscular junctions suggest a neural origin of this enzyme. The putative roles of NO at the endplate are discussed.


In the literature on program impact evaluation, the popular impact parameters can the average treatment effect, the average treatment effect on the treated, the average partial effect, and the average partial effect on the treated. In empirical studies, these parameters are not always presented and estimated clearly. In addition, when outcome functions are nonlinear, the estimation of these parameters is not straightforward. This paper discusses the estimation of these parameters in nonlinear models of outcomes and illustrates the estimation in an example of a micro-credit program in Vietnam.


Background/Context There have been numerous studies conducted in the higher education literature to determine whether parental education is related to the academic plans and success of their children. Within this literature, particular emphasis is often given to children who are "first-generation college students." However, researchers and policy makers have not reached agreement on what constitutes a first-generation college student and whether the definition affects the findings from their studies. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study In this study, we examined whether the way in which first-generation college status was defined affected its association with the likelihood of a student going to college. We used data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:02), which is a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 10th-grade students in 2002 who were followed up in 2004, 2006, and 2012. Research Design We used binary and multinomial logistic regression analysis to examine how first-generation college status, as well as other personal, family, and school characteristics, were associated with whether a student took a college entrance exam, applied to college, and enrolled in college. For this study, we constructed eight different definitions of a first-generation college student. The definitions varied with regard to the level of education needed for a parent to be considered "college educated" and the number of parents meeting the education criteria. Conclusions/Recommendations Our results showed that the connection between first-generation college status and these three outcomes varied depending on how first-generation college status was defined. In general, we found larger deficits for first-generation college students when neither parent was college educated and when college educated was defined as earning a bachelor's degree or higher. First-generation college students faced the largest deficits for enrolling in college, and smaller (but often significant) deficits for taking a college entrance exam and applying to college. The results imply that researchers should be very specific about how they are defining first-generation college status and should determine whether their findings are sensitive to how the variable was defined.


Let F be a non-archimedean local field with residual field of odd characteristic. Given a reductive group G defined over F, equipped with an involution denoted g → g*, let K be a maximal compact of G. G acts on the space {x E G |x = x*} by g . x = g x g*. Let s 0 ∈ G be fixed by the involution and let S = G . s 0 and H = Stab G (s 0 ). A relative spherical function on S is a K-invariant function on S, which is an eigenfunction of the Hecke algebra of G relative to K. The problem at hand is to classify all such functions, compute them explicitly in terms of Macdonald polynomials and obtain an explicit Plancherel measure. We obtain a complete solution in three cases relevant to the theory of Automorphic Forms. Namely: Case 1: G = GL (2n, F), H = GL (n, F) × GL (n, F). Case 2: G = GL (m, E), H = GL (m, F). Case 3: G = GL (2n, F), H = GL (n, E). E is an unramified quadratic extension of F.


This paper addresses key issues raised by family carers about the availability of rural mental health services. The findings presented are part of a larger study that investigated the perceptions and experiences of rural families caring for a relative suffering from a mental illness. The move to a community mental health care model has placed families in a primary care role in the mental health care system and the impact that this has on the family is fundamental to the future of community-based care. The results highlight that mental health care services in rural communities are not providing adequate support for the family, with the consequence that too much responsibility for such care is placed on the family.


Patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital were divided according to five broad geographical areas of origin in four continents, and classified according as they had cortical, nuclear, posterior subcapsular cataract or any of their combinations. Relative risk ratios and their tolerances were calculated. Risk ratios for some types of cataract were inter-related. Ethnic traits appear to be more important than climatic conditions.


We review the many open questions and the few things that are known about the average-case complexity of computational problems. We shall follow the presentations of Impagliazzo, of Goldreich, and of Bogdanov and the author, and focus on the following subjects. (i). Average-case tractability. What does it mean for a problem to have an "efficient on average'' algorithm with respect to a distribution of instances? There is more than one ``correct'' answer to this question, and a numberof subtleties arise, which are interesting to discuss. (ii) Worst case versus average-case. Is the existence of hard-on-averageproblems in a complexity class equivalent to the existence of worst-case-hardproblems? This is the case for complexity classes like PSPACE and EXP, but it is openfor NP, with partial evidence pointing to a negative answer. (To be sure, we believethat hard-on-average, and also worst-case hard problems, exist in NP, and if so theirexistence is ``equivalent'' in the way two true statements are logically equivalent. There is, however, partial evidence that such an equivalence cannot be establishedvia reductions. It is also known that such an equivalence cannot be established viaany relativizing technique.) (iii) Amplification of average-case hardness. A weak sense in which aproblem may be hard-on-average is that every efficient algorithm fails on a noticeable(at least inverse polynomial) fraction of inputs; a strong sense is that noalgorithm can do much better than guess the answer at random. In many settings,the existence of problems of weak average-case complexity implies the existenceof problems, in the same complexity class, of strong average-case complexity.It remains open to prove such equivalence in the setting of uniform algorithmsfor problems in NP. (Some partial results are known even in this setting.) (iv) Reductions and Completeness. Levin initiated a theoryof completeness for distributional problems under reductions that preserveaverage-case tractability. Even establishing the existence of an NP-completeproblem in this theory is a non-trivial (and interesting) result.


Professional boundaries are society-defined limits that provide a safe place where relationships can evolve. Although frequently discussed in the mental health and counseling literature, discussion on boundaries regarding the nurse faculty role is sparse. The author explores the concept of professional boundaries, discusses its application to nurse faculty, and provides recommendations for faculty development and orientation programs.


In the last decades almost all countries face the increasing of elderly population [1]. Given these recent changes, there have been appearing a several number of gerontechnologies to enhance seniors' quality of life. In this context and despite the strong investment from the Governments to disseminate services like distance help or provision of medical information, the level of success is still very low. Possibly this failure is due to the fact that most of these approaches requires the user to search for the information (a "pull-oriented" activity from the user's perspective) rather than a "push-oriented" where the user receives the information. Television (TV) is one of the privileged resources to reach the general population, but it is an even more powerful way to achieve older people, limited to their home or in institutional context, due to the fact that almost all seniors are familiar with a TV set. Elderly are commonly in a disadvantaged position, for not knowing how to access public and social services they can benefit from (e.g. medication discounts, medical appointments, etc.). Regarding this, it is being developed an iTV platform (+TV4E) which aims to disseminate information about public and social services for seniors, by interrupting the visualization of linear TV content with audio-visual content about these services. In order to broadcast the information that elderly viewer most need and want to receive, it will defined a set of user profiles. The profiles' definition will be achieved throughout a set of selection phases, and the first phase involves the definition of the individuals that will be able to interact with the +TV4E. In this paper is presented a set of criteria for the first filtration of users who can benefit from this type of iTV services and the respective services that they can be interested in receive information about.


Recent experimental studies of laminar-turbulent transition are presented with
focus on adverse pressure gradient flows. New developments in secondary instability
of streaks and separation control are reported. In the first part of the presentation the
studies of laminar-turbulent transition in non-swept and swept wing boundary layers
are discussed, and in the second part the investigations of separated flows on wings
with ordinary (plain) and modified (wavy-shaped) surfaces are considered. The role of
three-dimensional velocity perturbations such as streamwise vortices and streaks in the
laminar-turbulence transition process is demonstrated, and the importance of
secondary instability mechanisms is outlined. For a straight wing, the experimental
studies of the nonlinear varicose secondary instability are compared at zero and
adverse streamwise pressure gradients. Results obtained testify to the strong influence
of the pressure gradient upon the breakdown of streaks with developed instability [1].
For the swept wings, the stationary vortex packets are most likely to be generated
under natural flight conditions and transition to turbulence is known to be the
quickest within these disturbances. Two modes of the secondary instability are found
to develop and the preferred mode is dependent on the properties of the primary
stationary disturbance. The instability modes studied are the 'y' and 'z' high-frequency
secondary instability modes, which are investigated separately and also their
interaction under fully controlled experimental conditions [2]. Furthermore, the
influence of wing surface modifications on the wing performance and drag is studied.
The results testify that for the low-Reynolds-number flow conditions the critical angle
of attack of a wing with a wavy-shaped surface can be up to 1.5 times or more than
that of a similar plane-surface-wing, and for the attack angles in the range between 5
and 20 degrees the wing with a modified surface reveal higher aerodynamic quality
owing to decreased size of the separated zones [3].1 Litvinenko et al., Phys. Fluids 17, 118106 (2005).2 Chernoray et al., J. Fluid Mech. 534, 295 (2005).3 Kozlov et al., Proc. EUCASS Conf. Moscow, Russia, Paper 2.11.07 (2005).


The structural, elastic, electronic, thermal, and optical properties of superconducting nanolaminates Ti2InX (X = C, N) are investigated by density functional theory (DFT). The results obtained from the least studied nitride phase are discussed in comparison with those of carbide phase having value half as that of the former. The carbide phase is found to be brittle in nature, while the nitride phase is less brittle. Elastic anisotropy demonstrates that the c-axis is stiffer in Ti2InN than in Ti2InC. The band structure and density of states show that these phases are conductors, with contribution predominantly from the Ti 3d states. The bulk modulus, Debye temperature, specific heats, and thermal expansion coefficient are obtained as a function of temperature and pressure for the first time through the quasiharmonic Debye model with phononic effects. The estimated values of electron-phonon coupling constants imply that Ti2InC and Ti2InN are moderately coupled superconductors. The calculated thermal expansion coefficient is in fair agreement with the only available measured value for Ti2InC. Further the first time calculated optical functions reveal that the reflectivity is high in the IR-visible-UV region up to ~10 eV and 12.8 eV for Ti2InC and Ti2InN, respectively, showing these to be promising coating materials.


ABSTRACT Background: Diabetes control in adolescents is a difficult and tedious process. Diabetic teens need training to control it and prevent its complications. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer education on self-care behaviors and glycosylated hemoglobin among adolescents with type 1 diabetes Methods: This controlled clinical trial was conducted in Iran from July 2018 to June 2019. 84 teenagers with type 1 diabetes were selected using a simple random sampling and randomly divided into control and intervention groups using block randomization. The intervention group received 4 sessions of training by peers on self care behaviors in diabetes. The control group received the routine training. The self-care questionnaire was filled out, and glycosylated hemoglobin was measured before and three months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. The significance level was set at P<0.0 Results: Three months after the intervention, the intervention group reported significantly higher levels of score of self-care behaviors (P<0.001) and lower levels of mean glycosylated hemoglobin (P<0.001), as compared with the control. Also, the mean self-care score was not significantly different in the control group before and three months after the intervention (P>0.05). Besides, the mean glycosylated hemoglobin significantly increased three months after the intervention in the controls (P<0.001) Conclusion: The implementation of peer education can improve the self-care behaviors and glycosylated hemoglobin in adolescents. Hence, regarding its low cost and high safety, it is suggested that this approach should be established in the control of other chronic diseases in order to strengthen the self-care behaviors in adolescents. Trial Registration Number: IRCT20180904040944N1.


This work is a micromagnetic simulation-based study on the GHz-frequency ferromagnetic resonances (FMR) for the detection of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using spin current nano-oscillator (SCNO) operating in precession mode. Capture antibody-antigen-detection antibody-MNP complex on the SCNO surface generates magnetic fields that modify the FMR peaks and generate measurable resonance peak shifts. Moreover, our results strongly indicate the position-sensitive behavior of the SCNO biosensor and demonstrate ways to eradicate this effect to facilitate improved bio-sensing. Additionally, a study has been made on how MNPs with different sizes can alter the SCNO device performance. This simulation-based study on the SCNO device shows the feasibility of a frequency-based nano-biosensor with the sensitivity of detecting a single MNP, even in presence of background noise.


Local linear fitting is a popular nonparametric method in nonlinear statistical and econometric modelling. Lu and Linton (2007) established the point wise asymptotic distribution (central limit theorem) for the local linear estimator of nonparametric regression function under the condition of near epoch dependence. We further investigate the uniform consistency of this estimator. The uniformly strong and weak consistencies with convergence rates for the local linear fitting are established under mild conditions. Furthermore, general results of uniform convergence rates for nonparametric kernel-based estimators are provided. Applications of our results to conditional variance function estimation and some economic time series models are also discussed. The results of this paper will be of widely potential interest in time series semiparametric modelling.


This study investigated the histological and serum enzymatic activities of Azadirachta indica, an Indian medicinal plant, on the pancreas in streptozotocin induced diabetic adult wstar rats.
Forty six adult wistar rats weighing 100 g to 220 g were randomly separated into four groups; Group A was regarded as the control , while group B was the diabetic group, C and diabetic – extract treated group. The control group received distilled water throughout the experiment; the remaining three groups were induced with streptozotocin intra-peritoneally to induced diabetes in the wistar rats. After some days, the animals were confirmed diabetic with the help of a measuring glucometer. Thereafter, group B diabetic rats remained untreated while Group C and D were treated with a low dose (250 mg/kg) of the crude neem bark extract and a high dose (500 mg/kg) of the extract respectively for 42 days. The aqueous neem bark extract was suspended in the drinking water of the treated animals for the period of 42 days. The body weights of the animals were weighed weekly and likewise the measurement of the blood glucose level was taken. The animals were sacrificed at the end of 42 days by cervical dislocation and the pancreas was removed and weighed immediately using sensitive weighing balance. The blood samples were collected from the sacrificed animals into EDTA bottle for serum enzymatic analysis. The organ pancreas was fixed in a 10% formol saline, processed and stained with Heamatoxylin and Eosin for general histological study.
The microscopic examination of diabetic group showed some degenerative and necrotic cells which made the pancreatic tissue distorted compared with the control that appeared normal. The diabetic group C and D rats treated with the extract showed ameliorative potentials of the extract with improvement in histo-architecture of the pancreatic tissue following recovery from damage. Analysis of the blood serum level showed that the aqueous neem bark extract has ameliorative effect on the enzymatic activities in serum of the treated rats. The alanine amino transferase, aspartate amino transferase and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly reduced (P<0.05) in the crude extract- treated animals compared with the untreated group B and control group A with significantly increased ( P<0.05 ) enzymatic activities in wistar rats in these groups. The antioxidant status was compromised in diabetic group B with significantly increased (P<0.05) LPO, reduced SOD and GSH compared with significantly reduced (P<0.05) LPO, increased (P<0.05) SOD and GSH in group A- control and Group C and D diabetic-extract treated Wistar rats.
Similarly, the blood glucose level increased significantly (P<0.05) in group B diabetic group compared with significantly reduced (P<0.05) blood glucose level in group A control as well as C and D extract-treated rats. The study concluded that crude extract of neem has ameliorative potentials on streptozotocin-induced diabetic wistar rats characterized by oxidative damage which reveals improvement in tissue morphology.


In consideration of the close relationship between radicular cysts and alveolar bone, it is important to evaluate the potential involvement of the neighbouring bone tissue in such lesions. In the present study, using cytochemical, immunocytochemical and morphological analyses, presumptive osteoclast precursors were revealed in the connective tissue of radicular cyst capsules. The osteoclastic nature of these cells was postulated by their positive staining for the enzyme tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and by the expression of vitronectin receptor (VnR) on their cell surface. However, these cells did not express the vacuolar-type proton pump, suggesting that they may represent early osteoclast precursors infiltrating the cyst capsule. Cysts also contained activated small blood vessels whose endothelial cells expressed the VnR. This integrin receptor is important in the adhesion of preosteoclasts to the endothelial lining, a necessary step for their emigration out of the vasculature. Therefore, the intracystic vessels could represent a substrate for preosteoclast recruitment. These precursor cells may then reach the perialveolar bone surface and contribute to bone demolition together with those recruited by the resorbing surfaces. The bone-destroying potential of radicular cysts was confirmed by the presence of numerous osteoclasts with large resorption areas on the perialveolar bone surfaces exposed to the cyst capsules. The resorbed surfaces were usually located around the vascular canals of the Haversian systems.


Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 E2-specific cell-mediated immunity to the early viral antigen E2 is associated with regression of natural infection in patients with cervical dysplasia. Vaccination strategies that activate this type of immune response may have application in the immunotherapeutic treatment of pre-existing HPV infections. The objective of this study was to test if cell-mediated immunity to E2 could be activated when delivered with the already licensed adjuvant MF 59. We found that immunization of mice with E2 in MF 59 stimulated T-cell responses when administered either intraperitoneally (IP) or subcutaneously (SC), and that the response was polarized to a Th-1 type IgG2a response in the IP immunized mice. The magnitude of the lymphoproliferative response was augmented by reducing the time interval between the primary and secondary immunizations from 12 to 4 wk. Stronger responses to the C-terminal third of E2 were detected, suggesting that one or more immunodominant epitopes were localized to this region. Significantly, immunization with E2 in MF 59 IP was sufficient to stimulate an E2-specific cytotoxic T-cell response. This immunization regimen activates the components of a cell-mediated immunity that are predicted to be efficacious in clearance of pre-existing infection, and supports its testing in a papillomavirus challenge model, as the next step in the progression toward its development as an immunotherapeutic vaccine for use in humans.


2250 Loss of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene function in clear-cell RCC (ccRCC), the most common subtype of RCC, activates tumor progressing pathways that are not yet completely understood. Proteins of the cell membrane are mainly responsible for invasive and metastatic processes thus representing potential molecular anti- cancer drug targets. The aim of this study is to identify such cellular membrane proteins that are highly expressed in VHL negative RCC. Glycosylated cell membrane proteins labelled with biotin hydrazid and enriched using streptavidin- coated sepharose were isolated from VHL null 786-O or 786-O transfectants expressing isoforms VHL19 and VHL30. LC-MS/MS was used to identify and compare isolated proteins qualitatively and quantitatively. Labeling and enrichment of glycosylated cell membrane proteins was highly specific. Classification of identified proteins revealed different functions, e.g. nutrient transport, cell adhesion, cell growth, and signaling. Normal kidney proteins, e.g. kidney cadherin as well as RCC-specific proteins, e.g. NY-REN 47 were also identified. Using a proteomic- based approach, we identified glycosylated membrane proteins that may represent potential biomarkers for RCC. The biological and clinical significance of these proteins in ccRCC are further investigated.


The nonlinear fracture process zones in an impacted unnotched concrete bend specimen, a prenotched ceramic bend specimen, and an unnotched ceramic/ceramic composite bend specimen were estimated through hybrid experimental numerical analysis. Aggregate bridging in concrete, particulate bridging in ceramics, and fiber bridging in ceramic/ceramic composite are modeled by Barenblatt-type cohesive zones which are incorporated into the finite-element models of the bend specimens. Both generation and propagation analyses are used to estimate the distribution of crack closure stresses in the nonlinear fracture process zones. The finite-element models are then used to simulate fracture tests consisting of rapid crack propagation in an impacted concrete bend specimen, and stable crack growth and strain softening in a ceramic and ceramic/ceramic composite bend specimens.


Methods for manufacturing and characterizing permanent-magnet-based short-period undulators are presented. Two fabrication methods, differing by the dimension range of their magnetic period, are described: the mini-undulator, with magnetic periods ranging from 1 mm to 200 μm, fabricated by laser micromachining bulk permanent magnets; and the micro-undulator, with magnetic periods from 200 μm to 10 μm, fabricated by electroplating or sputtering a hard magnetic material onto silicon. The undulator gaps vary from 500 μm down to tens of microns, corresponding to the reduction of the magnetic period. Undulator peak magnetic fields can reach up to 0.7 T while maintaining a reasonable undulator gap. Using these short-period undulators, high-photon-energy radiation can be generated at lower electron beam energies compared to current state-of-the-art undulators. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of HBEB 2013.


The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to explore  the  relevance  of  one of Antonio Gramsci's ideas, namely, intellectuals, to a different context from that in which his writings were conceived.  It has been over seventy years since Gramsci's death in 1937; perhaps the time is appropriate to question whether the ideas of one of the most ingenious thinkers and theorists of the twentieth century still has currency in the transformed circumstances of the twenty-first century. I aim, in fact, to prove the continuing relevance of Gramsci's writings to a context other than early twentieth-century Italy by analysing, interpreting and assessing the ways in which his ideas on intellectuals still speak to us in the circumstances of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.Gramsci is important to South Africa as conditions in this country are notably similar to those prevailing in Italy in Gramsci's time. I will show that South African intellectuals, like the Italian intellectuals described by Gramsci, also face numerous challenges. I will examine the views  of  various  commentators  on  the  roles,  functions  and  challenges  that  South  African intellectuals face in a post-apartheid society.


The maintenance costs associated with wind turbines assumes an important weight in the operation of wind parks. The main objective of wind farms operators is to run their parks most economically, to increase their profits. An adequate maintenance planning is essential to an effective operating costs reduction, compared with traditional maintenance techniques. Tools to detect the onset of mechanical and electrical faults in wind turbines at a sufficiently early stage are very important for well planned maintenance actions, because these actions can reduce the outage time and can prevent bigger faults that can lead to machine outage. The amount of information obtained from SCADA systems of wind farms is huge. The use of neural networks to deal with all the information and try to detect faults in some equipment in a early stage is a promising technique.


Extrusion is a versatile and state-of-art technology and provides enormous opportunity for modifying the functionality of food materials for improved digestibility and high sensory quality. With considerable previous research on cereal based products, the current focus has now shifted towards millets and pulses for enhancing nutritional and functional quality for high-end consumer. The present review highlights the current advances made in development of cereal, millet and pulse based extruded products. In addition, the current trends in use of extruded flours as novel green ingredients as hydrocolloids, fat replacers and for developing gluten-free, phenolic-rich, lowglycemic and functional foods has also been reviewed.


Student disengagement is a multidimensional construct consisting of cognitive, behavioural and affective dimensions. Whilst past research has addressed factors which lead students to become disengaged from school, little research has focused on identifying what works to prevent student disengagement.
This research aimed to explore the views of young persons in their final year of compulsory schooling and who were attending an Alternative Learning Programme (ALP). The research also aimed to develop a theory which could explain the process of student disengagement. In order to investigate this process, grounded theory was used to analyse the data collected from the interviews. A mixed methods research design was applied. The quantitative approach involved the distribution of a questionnaire to all the students attending the ALP to collect demographic information, to inform which areas to explore in the qualitative approach and to select participants for the following phase. The data was analysed through SPSS and descriptive statistics were produced. In the qualitative approach, ten semi-structured interviews were carried out. The participants answered questions about their engagement at school. The emergent theory states that student disengagement is likely to occur when there is an interaction between the variables; unmet needs, unappealing curriculum and hostile relationships. The participants attributed reengagement in learning at the ALP to vocational subjects which were considered as practical and hands-on. Students also considered the curriculum as appropriate for their level. School staff were perceived as caring and supportive and this was key to making them develop a sense of belonging at school. The findings from this research indicate the strong impact teachers have on their students. Thus, teachers need to increase their awareness on how much they can influence their students. Finally, when students find their learning as useful, relevant, and are able to succeed, they are more likely to be engaged at school.


Most researches on post-consolidation in the Nigerian banking industry focused more on how it affects the health of banks and employees' job attitudes, and productivity. Less research attention has been paid on the health of bank employees in the post-consolidation era. This study investigated the extent to which felt obligation affect occupational burnout of post-consolidation bank employees. Data were collected from 162 (89 males; 73 females) post-consolidation bank employees. The correlation results indicated that felt obligation was positively related with occupational burnout. Hierarchical regression revealed that felt obligation significantly predicted occupational burnout such that high felt obligation led to an increased level of occupational burnout. It was concluded that post-consolidation competitions among banks led to an increased level of felt obligation in bank employees, which translated to a high level of occupational burnout. Key words: Occupational burnout, post-consolidation, bank employees, Akure


1937-1979 was a distinctive period in the political history of Wales. It began with a demand by MPs from all parties that a secretary of state be appointed, and ended in 1979 with the referendum on a Welsh assembly, the 'end of an era' in the words of Lord Cledwyn. This book shows how devolution was an issue in Welsh politics during the period under review, how British governments responded to devolutionists' demands, and how much was eventually conceded. Early on, two important developments were the setting up in 1949 of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire and the appointment in 1951 of a minister for Welsh Affairs. Significantly the Council recommended in 1957 that a secretary of state be appointed and Labour acted on that proposal in 1964. The book examines the changing pattern of Labour thinking with regard to Wales and also the various nationalist challenges that threatened its dominance in the 1960s and 1970s. The referendum on the Labour government's devolution proposals is seen as bringing to an end a period in which both Labour and Conservative governments had been forced into a consideration of Welsh matters, and had been made to think about the precise way in which Wales should be administered within the British system.


Urothelial carcinoma usually shows divergent differentiation and variant histology with squamous and glandular morphology being most common. In this report, we present a case of divergent malignant melanocytic differentiation in a high-grade urothelial carcinoma. A 98-year-old East Asian woman with an anterior bladder wall mass underwent resection, which revealed a high-grade poorly differentiated tumor. A minor component of high-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma and carcinoma in situ is also present. The majority of the tumor cells are morphologically and immunohistochemically consistent with melanoma, a minority of cells are positive for urothelial markers, and rare cells coexpress both melanocytic and urothelial markers. Cells that express melanocytic markers or urothelial markers are intimately admixed together. Taken together, a diagnosis of high-grade urothelial carcinoma with malignant melanocytic differentiation was rendered. This is the first report in the literature of malignant melanocytic differentiation in a high-grade urothelial carcinoma, a finding that may have important diagnostic and therapeutic implications.


This article assesses the roles of anxiety and anger in shaping people's perceptions of politicians' integrity. Drawing on recent work on the role of affect in shaping political judgement, the article develops a theoretical model of the anticipated role of anger and anxiety in structuring reactions to allegations of political misconduct. The model is tested on a unique data set that includes results of an experiment fielded as part of a survey carried out in January 2013 among a representative sample of the French adult population. The analysis finds that those in whom politically dubious actions generate anxiety are more sensitive to contextual details than other respondents, although the role of anger in modulating ethical judgements is less clear-cut, dampening attention to information about negatively assessed behaviour but enhancing attention to information about behaviour that is assessed more positively.


ABSTRACT Over 43 million immigrants live in the United States (U.S.). Foreign-born populations experience multiple disparities related to human papillomavirus (HPV), including higher cervical cancer mortality rates, yet little research has examined the prevalence of genital HPV infection among this population. We used data from 1,822 women and 1,622 men ages 20–59 in the U.S. who participated in the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants reported their nativity status (foreign- vs. U.S.-born) and provided biospecimens for HPV testing. We assessed nativity differences in the prevalence of three HPV infection outcomes (any HPV type, high-risk HPV type, and vaccine-preventable HPV type) using weighted logistic regression. Overall, 40% of women and 46% of men tested positive for any type of HPV. Compared to women born in the U.S., foreign-born women had a lower prevalence of infection with any HPV type (32% vs. 42%, p < .01). Compared to men born in the U.S., foreign-born men had a lower prevalence of all HPV infection outcomes (any type: 39% vs. 48%; high-risk: 22% vs. 34%; vaccine-preventable: 12% vs. 16%; all p < .05). Multivariable models attenuated several of these differences, though foreign-born men had lower odds of infection with a high-risk HPV type (OR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60–0.93, p < .01) after adjusting for covariates. Although lower than among their U.S.-born counterparts, HPV infection is prevalent among foreign-born women and men in the U.S. Findings can help inform strategic communication campaigns and targeted HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening efforts for immigrant populations.


In Korea, the major source of serious air pollution is motor vehicles. Air pollution from vehicles has been annually increased. Then the government will try to control the vehicle emission by applying the effective emission management policy for the manufactured and in-used car. It is necessary to correctly calculate the emission factor for successful propulsion of the vehicle emission control policy. In this study, correlation analysis of exhaust emissions from vehicles between CVS-75 mode and Korea mode was conducted. A total of 25 light-duty buses were tested on the chassis dynamometer system in order to measure CO, HC, NOx PM and fuel efficiency (F.E.). For the test modes, 10 different Korea modes and CVS-75 mode were used. As the result of correlation analysis between those modes, most of the correlation coefficients were higher than 0.90. On the basis of high correlation between those modes, correction factors by driving conditions were estimated. Through the results of this study, we obtained essential basic data to correct difference from those modes.


We investigate the impact of restructuring policies before sale and resulting private ownership structures on privatisation sales prices. We use a new dataset of companies privatised in Brazil between 1991 and 2004, covering 118 transactions observed in the period. Our results show that, after controlling for endogeneity, replacing the CEO is associated with an increase in privatisation net prices. Efficiency measures aimed at improving operating performance of the firms and voluntary labour downsizing schemes fail to improve premiums. On the other hand, restructuring measures such as debt absorption and compulsory labour downsizing schemes have a significant negative impact on net prices. We also find that prices are very sensitive to the level of competition in the auction and that the longer it takes to put the company on the block the lower the premium obtained. Finally, prices are shown to depend upon the resulting ownership structures. The more concentrated private ownership is, the higher prices are. Identity of owners on concentration is also shown to matter as domestic institutions and local corporations are associated with higher prices, while employee ownership concentration has a negative impact on premiums. This case suggests conflicts of interest. JEL classification:G32, H10, J45, O1


The acceleration of the digitalisation of grocery shopping is an important trend that shows that this way of sourcing groceries is increasingly accepted by customers. Uncovering, understanding, and describing the differences between online grocery shoppers is interesting from a scientific point of view and a practical one. Correctly targeting a specific customer segment increases the very effectiveness of marketing communication by spending the cost of communicating with those correctly targeted customers that are valuable to the company. Therefore, this paper explores the behaviour of customers when shopping online and tries to find similarities in this behaviour. The aim of the paper is to generate customer segments of online grocery shoppers that provide a more comprehensive insight by reflecting on their shopping behaviour, personality traits and characteristics, loyalty, overall satisfaction with online grocery shopping in the current retailer, and frequency of social media usage. An online questionnaire survey was conducted with a panel of respondents from the IPSOS research agency to obtain primary data. Data were analysed using factor and cluster analysis. These analyses resulted in the creation of a segmentation that identified five main segments of online grocery shoppers. The constructed combined segmentation divides shoppers into five segments: quality-oriented shoppers (18.9%), influential utilitarians (21.7%), loyal traditionalists (16.4%), satisfied conditional loyalists (14.9%), and movable eco-sympathizers (28.1%). Then these category types are characterised in terms of their most salient characteristics. The results of this study show the variables that influence customers in their decision-making process. Outcomes increase knowledge about online grocery shopping behaviour, motives, and purchase requirements. These are also beneficial for grocery retailers for better targeting or fostering loyalty.


Whether we are talking from a pulpit or over a garden fence, Fiona Stewart helps us to give relevant answers to the big issues raised by contemporary popular culture... Storytelling


The benzodiazepines have now been available to the clinician for over 20 years, since the introduction of chlordiazepoxide (Librium) in 1960. The broad and unique spectrum of activity of these compounds as anxiolytics, hypnotics/sedatives, anticonvulsants and muscle relaxants, together with their low toxicity and an essential absence from peripheral side-effects, has resulted in compounds of this class becoming the most frequently prescribed of all psychotropic drugs. Although it is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of their usage in England, in Canada 1 in 10 of the population receives a prescription for these drugs each year, while over 30% of hospitalized patients is given one or other of these agents (Ban el al. 1981).


Weed management strategies are needed for no-till soybean grown on clay soils. The effect of several weed management strategies on weed biomass, soybean yield, and gross return were evaluated in 1993, 1994, and 1995 on clay soils at two locations in southern Ontario. Soybean seeds were planted in narrow (19 cm) and wide (76 cm) rows with or without a rye cover crop. Herbicide treatments included glyphosate alone, glyphosate followed by imazethapyr + metribuzin applied PRE, and glyphosate followed by acifluorfen + bentazon applied POST. Two additional treatments with interrow cultivation were included in the wide-row soybean plots with glyphosate and glyphosate + PRE treatments. A nontreated check plot without rye was also included. Presence of a cover crop did not affect weed biomass or soybean yield. The glyphosate + broadcast PRE treatment provided the most consistent weed control both in narrow- and wide-row soybean. The weed control in this treatment ranged from 92 to 100%. The other treatments provided variable weed control across years and locations. The narrow- row plots with glyphosate + broadcast PRE treatment provided the most consistent soybean yields that were generally higher than the other treatments and ranged from 2,560 to 3,420 kg/ha. Soybean yields varied across locations and years in other treatments. Similar weed control and soybean yields were obtained with banded PRE herbicide + interrow cultivation and PRE treatments; however, herbicide use was 60% lower in banded PRE herbicide + interrow cultivation treatment. Narrow-row soybean averaged 27% higher gross returns than wide-row soybean for all broadcast herbicide treatments. Narrow-row soybean with PRE herbicide provided the highest gross returns. No-till soybean in narrow rows with preplant glyphosate and broadcast PRE treatment was the most risk-efficient weed management system on clay soils.


Abstract Questions about the nature of reality and consciousness remain unresolved in philosophy today, but not for lack of hypotheses. Ontologies as varied as physicalism, microexperientialism and cosmopsychism enrich the philosophical menu. Each of these ontologies faces a seemingly fundamental problem: under physicalism, for instance, we have the 'hard problem of consciousness,' whereas under microexperientialism we have the 'subject combination problem.' I argue that these problems are thought artifacts, having no grounding in empirical reality. In a manner akin to semantic paradoxes, they exist only in the internal logico-conceptual structure of their respective ontologies.


By applying some post-pore-forming treatments, we have achieved solid state electroluminescence of an Au/PS/Si structure. Stable visible light emission is observed under forward bias with a threshold voltage and current density down to 6 V and 30 mA cm-2.


Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors are the critical drivers for blood vessel formation and lymphangiogenesis in diabetic wounds. However, due to the high blood glucose levels, advanced glycation end products release inflammatory mediators, which lead to hypoxic conditions that decrease the synthesis of essential growth factors and degeneration of the blood vessels necessary for the recovery of the diabetic wound. Hence, repurposing statins and identifying the binding potential to the active amino acid residues on the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR 2) and VEGFR 3 receptor could be a preliminary analysis and hypothetical computational challenge that statins can bind to VEGFs. That initiates the VEGF levels and reduces the inflammation associated with the conversion of M2 macrophages. Hence VEGFR 2 and VEGFR 3 are promising therapeutic targets for starting angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in diabetic wounds. Furthermore, the statins (Atorvastatin, Fluvastatin, Lovastatin, Pitavastatin, Pravastatin, Rosuvastatin, and Simvastatin) subjected to computational molecular docking (Lib docking), and the best statins are selected based on the LibDock score and hydrogen and hydrophobic bond interactions. The results revealed that Atorvastatin (125.90 and 126.0), Fluvastatin (126.37 and 120.0), Pravastatin (129.90 and 128.6), and Rosuvastatin (130.01 and 130.62 ) had shown a significant binding potential to VEGFR2 and VEGFR3 protein complex and more excellent LibDock score with less variation when compared with the remaining statin molecules. Furthermore, the selected molecules were subjected to computational pharmacophore modeling and toxicity studies. The pharmacophore modeling was carried out to identify the feature set amino acids between the ligand and protein complex, followed by hypothetical confirmation of toxicity when the statin molecules interact with the skin tissue to determine carcinogenicity and skin sensitivity. The toxicity studies revealed that the four statins molecules showed moderate to less skin sensitivity and non-carcinogenicity. In addition, they have demonstrated different solubility parameters computationally. The preliminary hypothetical analysis can be a computational proof for further targeting statins (Atorvastatin, Fluvastatin, Pravastatin, and Rosuvastatin) to VEGFR2 and VEGFR3 for promoting angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in diabetic wounds. Taking these evidence-based docking results could provide a future pathway to carry out further research characterization and evaluation of statins for treating and managing diabetic wounds.


Significant progress has been made over the last half-century in delivering therapeutics by the pulmonary route. Inhaled therapeutics are administered to humans using metered-dose inhalers, nebulizers, or dry powder inhalers, and each device requires a different formulation strategy for the therapeutic to be successfully delivered into the lung. In recent years, there has been a shift to the use of dry powder inhalers due to advantages in the consistency of the dose delivered, ease of administration, and formulation stability. Numerous preclinical studies, involving small and large animals, have evaluated dry powder drugs, vaccines, and immunotherapeutics delivered by the pulmonary route. These studies used different dry powder delivery devices including nose-only, whole-body, and intratracheal administration systems, each of which works with different aerosolization mechanisms. Unfortunately, these delivery platforms usually lead to variable powder deposition in the respiratory tract of animals. In this review, we will discuss obstacles and variables that affect successful pulmonary delivery and uniform powder deposition in the respiratory tract, such as the type of delivery device, dry powder formulation, and the animal model used. We will conclude by outlining factors that enhance the reproducible deposition of dry powders in the respiratory tract of preclinical animal models and identifying knowledge and technology gaps within the field. We will also outline the important factors necessary for successful translation of studies performed in preclinical models to humans.


In this paper, the 1-D real-valued discrete Gabor transform (RDGT) proposed in our previous work and its relationship with the complex-valued discrete Gabor transform (CDGT) are briefly reviewed. Block time-recursive algorithms for the efficient and fast computation of the 1-D RDGT coefficients and for the fast reconstruction of the original signal from the coefficients are developed in both the critical sampling case and the oversampling case. Unified parallel lattice structures for the implementation of the algorithms are studied. Also the computational complexity analysis and comparison show that the proposed algorithms provide a more efficient and faster approach for the computation of the discrete Gabor transforms.


ABSTRACT The implementation of insurance policy of motor vehicle is based on the Act No. 40 of 2014 concerning to insurance and refers to the Financial Service Authority (OJK) in Circulation No. SE-06/D.05/2013 concerning to the Determining of premium rate. The insurer will provide the insured the compensation as determined in policy. The low consequence of insurer who did not pay the claim will get the sanction such as warning, limitation of business activity and the withdraw of business permit. The procedure of claim by provide the real information about the causal factor of accident, submit the identity of driver, and explanation letter from police if there is lost. Keywordes : Insurance, Motor vehicles,


This study aimed to investigate the effect of charisma, voice pitch, and information richness on followers' perceptions of leadership and task performance. A number of previous studies consistently found significant effects of charisma on performance. Similarly, some studies found the effect of lower voice pitch on leadership perception and effectiveness. In addition, the growth of information technology has changed the way leaders influence followers, making this variable an interesting one to examine. This study employed 2 (charisma vs. non-charisma) x 2 (low vs. high voice pitch) x 2 (strong vs. weak information delivery) experimental design. The participants were undergrad students (N= 259) and most of them were female (Female= 185, Male= 74) with age range from 18 to 31 (mean= 19.76, SD= 2.25). The study found the main effect of charismatic leader (F= \2Al,p< .001) and lower voice pitch (F= 12.89, p< .001) on participants' rating of charisma. In addition, the three-way interaction also occurred on the effect of leader charisma, voice pitch, and information richness on performance (F= 4.41, p< .05). Participants under non-charismatic, low pitch, and strong information delivery performed highest across conditions. Implications are discussed. Running Head: The Effect of Charisma, Voice Pitch, and Information Richness THE EFFECT OF CHARISMA, VOICE PITCH, AND INFORMATION RICHNESS ON LEADERSHIP PERCEPTION AND FOLLOWER PERFORMANCE


FDA has approved the use of Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) as a nonprescription product for all women of child-bearing potential. This action complies with the April 5, 2013 order of the United States District Court in New York to make levonorgestrel-containing emergency contraceptives available as an over-the-counter (OTC) product without age or point-of-sale restrictions.


Nanotechnology is often referred to as the next industrial revolution. During the past six years, approximately US$100 million per year was invested in nanotechnology research by the government of Taiwan. For a small island country with 23 million people, this is quite a significant investment compared to the investment of approximately US$1 billion per year in the United States, which counts a population of about 300 million. Taiwan has achieved quite an impressive accomplishment in establishing nano core facility centers, broadening public nano education, developing a number of world-class research teams in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and promoting the industrialization of nanotechnology.


The evolution of optical interferometers into extreme resolution large dynamic range sensors implemented in a guided wave form is discussed. The design and performance of fibre optic interferometric sensors optimised for specific periodic and quasi-steady-state measurands such as rotation, magnetic field, temperature, etc., are described.


The present research study was conducted on 100 ajwain growers from 10 villages comprising 5 villages each from Akot and Telhara tahasils of Akola district of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state to ascertain the knowledge possessed and adoption level of farmers about recommended cultivation practices of ajwain. The result revealed that near about cent per cent of respondents had high knowledge of cultivation practices recommended for ajwain likewise; soil type, seed rate and sowing type, sowing time, spacing, weed management and intercultural operation, time of harvesting and stage of harvesting whereas minimum knowledge about recommended varieties (27.0%), seed treatment (17.0%), plant protection (33.0%), fertilizer application (13.0%). Likewise, majority of respondent (85.0%) were included under medium level of adoption. As regard to finding of relational analysis revealed that out of ten characteristics studied age, education, area under ajwain crop, irrigation facilities, social participation, sources of information and scientific orientation, were positively and significantly correlated with knowledge and adoption. Likewise, land holding was positively and significantly correlated only with knowledge and non-significantly correlated with adoption. Whereas, annual income was non-significantly correlated with both knowledge and adoption.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
The economic losses due to brucellosis as well as its potential public health in human worldwide encourage more researches to find novel pathways for effective control methods of the disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the most prevalent Brucella strains obtained from cattle and their virulence genes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Three hundred small-holders cows in Menoufia governorate, Egypt, were screened for brucellosis using rose bengal test (RBT) and confirmed by complement fixation test (CFT). Milk samples and supra-mammary lymph nodes of serologically positive cows were collected for bacteriological isolation and identification. The obtained isolates were genotyped using PCR and their virulence genes (omp25, omp31, manA, manB, virB and znuA) were screened.

RESULTS
The prevalence rate of bovine brucellosis was 15 (5%), 11 (3.6%) and 7 (2.33%) by RBT, CFT and bacteriological examination, respectively. The seven isolates were identified and genotyped as Brucella melitensis biotype3. Furthermore, the molecular detection of substantial virulence genes revealed that manA, manB, omp25 and omp31 genes were detected in all tested B. melitensis strains. Meanwhile, the virB genes were detected in 4 strains and the znuA genes were detected in 3 strains among the isolated B. melitensis strains.

CONCLUSION
It was concluded that B. melitensis biotype3 was the pre-dominant Brucella spp. as well as omp25, omp31, manA and manB were the most common related-virulence genes which assumed to play a worthy function in the pathogenesis of brucellosis.


OBJECTIVE
Neuronal number in the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus, the principal source of thalamic projections to the prefrontal cortex, has been reported to be lower in subjects with schizophrenia. The authors tested the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with a selective deficit in a marker of thalamic axon terminals in the middle layers of the prefrontal cortex, the primary zone of termination of thalamic axons.

METHOD
The densities of parvalbumin-immunoreactive varicosities (putative axon terminals) were determined in the superficial and middle layers of prefrontal cortex area 9 from 20 matched pairs of subjects with schizophrenia and normal comparison subjects. In order to determine the specificity of these observations, similar studies were conducted in subjects with major depressive disorder and in monkeys after 9-12 months of haloperidol treatment.

RESULTS
The relative densities of parvalbumin-immunoreactive varicosities did not differ between schizophrenic and comparison subjects in the superficial layers. However, in the middle layers, mean varicosity density was significantly lower (24% difference) in the subjects with schizophrenia. In contrast, neither subjects with major depressive disorder nor haloperidol-treated monkeys exhibited a middle-layer density of parvalbumin-immunoreactive varicosities that was lower than that of their matched comparison groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Although not definitive, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis of fewer projections from the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus to the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenic subjects and thus converge with other lines of evidence demonstrating an abnormality in thalamo-prefrontal cortical circuitry in persons with schizophrenia.


The study aims to examine the effects of ethical leadership on the safety performance of the employees working in the electrical industry. Moreover, team cohesiveness is examined as a mediator. A quantitative study with 202 sampled employees was made through questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis. Ethical leadership positively affected safety performance. Moreover, the team cohesiveness positively mediated this relationship. The managers intended to ensure safety at the workplace and to enhance the safety performance of the employees have to focus on ethical leadership practices in the electrical industry. The study is an important landmark in highlighting the relationship of ethical leadership with safety performance in the electrical industry of Pakistan that is examined for the first time, after reviewing the literature. These results are useful for the ethical leaders of electrical firms to enhance the safety behavior of their subordinates through team cohesion.


Introduction: There are various factors impacting the individuals' behavioral intention including accountants. Organizational commitment and organizational ethical values are among the things that seem to affect the whistleblowing intention of accountants. Accountants' whistleblowing is considered as an ethical behavior and there is no exception in this regard. This survey research was designed and conducted with the purpose of examining that issue. Method: It is a descriptive-survey research. The required data was collected by a questionnaire distributed among a sample of 266 accountants working in the public sector. The research hypotheses were tested through the correlation test. Results: The research findings indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between organizational commitment and the internal whistleblowing intention, while there is no significant relationship between the organizational commitment and external whistleblowing intention. Additionally, organizational ethical values develops a positive and significant relationship with the internal whistleblowing intention and it has a negative and significant relationship with external whistleblowing intention. Conclusion: According to the results, organizational ethical values and organizational commitment affect the internal whistleblowing intention of accountants. Consequently, increasing the level of organizational commitment and improving organizational culture as well as organizational ethical values are considered crucial to raise the probability of whistleblowing by accountants.


Organic matter, including parent materials of hydrocarbons and porphyrins, is produced by phytoplankton living in oceanic surface waters in quantities far greater than required for petroleum. Mostly, however, these materials are regenerated in the water and at the bottom, and thus are lost to petroleum. An understanding of petroleum genesis includes knowledge of how they can be preserved. Radiocarbon age determinations at several depths in cores from basins off southern California show that the rate of deposition of total sediment varies from 8 to 125 mg/cm2/year. Highest rates occur in basins close to shore where rates are similar to those for the now-filled Los Angeles and Ventura basins during the Pliocene epoch; the grain size, content of calcium carbonate, and interruption by turbidity currents also are similar. Most of the sediment is detrital silt and End_Page 1248------------------------------ clay from the mainland. Organic matter is diluted by this detrital sediment so that it forms a lower percentage of total sediment in nearshore than in offshore basins. Even though hydrocarbons and porphyrins are also diluted by detrital sediments in nearshore basins, both are much more abundant (constituting a higher percentage of total sediment) in nearshore than in offshore basins. Thus, it is evident that both hydrocarbons and porphyrins are more easily oxidized than is total organic matter and that their preservation is greatly enhanced by rapid burial which removes them from contact with the oxidizing overlying water. Comparison with estimated ultimate petroleum recovery from Los Angeles basin shows that far more organic matter, hydrocarbons, and porphyrins were produced and depo ited in the basin sediments than were required to form the petroleum. Nevertheless, present production of petroleum from Los Angeles basin is at a rate that appears to be about 150,000 times greater than its rate of formation. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1249------------


Important role of alfalfa in development of animal husbandry, is based on high potential for production of biomass. Reaching of high green (over 80 t ha-1) and dry matter yield (approx. 20 t ha-1) with low investment during all period of utilization makes alfalfa production very economical. Divergent selection materials were used to create high productive domestic alfalfa cultivars with excellent field persistence, which is important factor for high and stable yield during entire exploitation period. On the other hand, alfalfa is a rich source of crude protein with excellent digestibility. Proteins from alfalfa herbage are the cheapest source of protein in animal feed. Content of crude protein strongly depend on development stage of plant material and can be 200 to 240 g kg-1 DM, while crude protein yield can be over 3.5 t ha-1. Besides that, alfalfa herbage had a high content of macro and micro element, which are so important for animal health. It is usually grown in pure stand, although it's a good component of grass-legumes mixtures. Alfalfa biomass can be used in several ways, usually as hay, but also as high quality silages, haylages, dehydrated in form of briquettes or by grazing. Symbiotic N2 fixation gives alfalfa not just economical, but very high ecological importance, too. It's a reason why alfalfa, besides important role in conventional husbandry is getting great role in sustainable agriculture and organic production. All those characteristics confirm, that alfalfa is a really 'queen' of forages.