Viruses pose a constant threat to human health. As a result our innate immune system has evolved multiple strategies to detect the presence of intracellular viral 'pathogen-associated molecular patterns' (PAMPs) (1). The full repertoire of human immune sensors and their PAMP ligands are not completely understood. Here we report that human NLRP1 senses and is activated by 3C proteases (3Cpros) of enteroviruses. Mechanistically, 3Cpros cleave human NLRP1 at a single site immediately after its primate-specific PYRIN domain, leading to oligomerization of its C-terminal fragment. Expression of 3Cpros in primary human cells cause NLRP1-dependent ASC oligomerization, pyroptotic cell death and IL-1 secretion. Consistent with our observation that NLRP1 is the predominant endogenous inflammasome sensor in human airway epithelium, we find that its genetic deletion, or that of ASC, abrogates IL-18 secretion from rhinovirus (HRV)-infected primary human bronchial epithelial cells. Our findings identify the first cognate PAMP ligand for human NLRP1 and assign a new function for the NLRP1 inflammasome in human antiviral immunity and airway inflammation. These results challenge the widely held notion that viral proteases largely serve to disable host immune sensing, and suggest that the human NLRP1 inflammasome may be a therapeutic target to treat inflammatory airway diseases including asthma. One Sentence Summary Human NLRP1 is activated by enteroviral 3C proteases


In the display industry cleanliness of the materials used to build up the display is vital to avoid defects and most major manufacturers use rubber roller contact cleaning systems to remove any particles of contamination. As the films used in displays and backlights get thinner, this type of cleaning equipment can result in process issues relating to the wrapping of the sheets of film around the contact roller due to a variety of adhesion forces.


The depth of the slip surface and thickness of the overburden deposit play a major role in assessing the slope stability of a landslide. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) survey was carried out in the Taprang Landslide, Kaski district, west- central Nepal to determine subsurface lithological conditions, depth and geometry of the slip surface. Wenner and dipole- dipole arrays were mainly applied in this ERT survey. The electrical resistivity survey revealed that there is a wide range of resistivity value which shows different kinds of layers in the subsurface, and the boundaries between these layers played a significant role to identify the slip surface. The data show mainly three layers from surface to bottom. An upper layer represents the dry to saturated colluvium and sandy gravelly soil (500 to 8000 Ωm), the middle layer is highly –saturated soil with low resistivity value (100–700 Ωm) and unweathered fresh bedrock of schist and quartzite with high resistivity value (1000 to 8000 Ωm) at the bottom layer. The slip surface is considered as depth 25 m at the crown, 10–20 m at the main body part, and below 50 m at the toe and curved in geometry which indicates the rotational type of landslide. Investigation of the slip surface in a landslide using the ERT survey aids to know the slope stability.


We present a case of surgical removal of primary amyloidosis of the breast utilizing an oncoplastic reduction pattern technique. Primary amyloidosis of the breast is a very rare benign disease characterized by accumulation of insoluble amyloid protein. Biopsy is required for definitive diagnosis, and surgical removal of the mass with clear margins is the main treatment for primary amyloidosis. Oncoplastic reduction pattern technique allows for removal of large breast lesions and correction of the resulting defect by combining the extirpative principles of surgical oncology with the aesthetic principles of breast reduction surgery.


Improving the representation of cloud-radiation interaction is a major challenge for the global climate simulation. The development of cloud-resolving models (CRMs) and the extensive Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARMs) provide a unique opportunity for shading some lights on this problem. Current general circulation models (GCMs) predict cloud cover fractions and hydrometeor concentrations only in individual model layers, where clouds are assumed to be horizontally homogeneous in a coarse grid. They do not explicitly specify geometric associations or optical variations. Subsequently, clouds within a GCM grid are represented as a single effective volume that impacts radiation using various overlap assumptions (Liang and Wang 1997). On the other hand, the CRMs explicitly resolve convection and mesoscale organization, where cloud microphysical processes and cloud-radiation interactions directly respond to the cloud-scale dynamics (Grabowski et al. 1996, Wu et al. 1999, Wu and Moncrieff 2001). In particular, the fine spatial resolution allows the CRM to more realistically represent the detailed structure of cloud systems, including cloud geometric and radiative properties. The CRM simulations in combination with the ARM measurements thus provide comprehensive datasets, based on which a more realistic GCM parameterization of sub-grid cloud-radiation interactions can be developed.


Recently, the importance of investigation for soft ground has been raised, so that various techniques of the investigation for soft ground are being introduced and applied. In particular, Piezocone penetration test has been utilized frequently home and abroad to identify many features of grounds precisely and gain various results in accordance with dividing strata and depth constantly by measuring continuously. In this study, to identify some features of soft clays distributed in the estuary of Nakdong river, researchers conducted field tests and laboratory tests with boring tests, and analyzed and compared with Piezocone penetration test. In addition, credible Piezocone factor of communities of subjects for this study was estimated to analyze some features of undrained shear strength of clay and calculate Piezocone factor compared with corrected cone resistance and apply some statistical techniques to estimated Piezocone factor.


In the landscape of online social networking sites, many platforms are reaching a scale and longevity that require designers to address the postmortem data interactions that follow people's deaths. To evaluate the experiences and challenges people face when caring for memorialized profiles, we conducted 28 qualitative interviews with people serving as legacy contacts for memorialized Facebook accounts. We report on who legacy contacts are and their practices and their expectations, and find that people were chosen to be a legacy contact for one major reason: trust. In our analysis, we find disconnects between how people understand trust in the context of interpersonal relationships and how trust is technically implemented. We conclude by discussing the persistent challenges of representing the ambiguity of interpersonal trust in impersonal, computational systems.


This page will allow you to retrieve the 2008 PBMAS Region Reports and the PBMAS Region Level Explanation documents.  These documents are available as PDF files.  The reports have been reviewed for any masking as required in order to comply.


Objective In this study, we analyzed the metabolite profile of the tongue coating of patients having gastric precancerous lesion (GPL) with damp phlegm pattern and proposed a mechanism of pathological transition. Methods The changes in tongue-coating metabolites in patients with GPL damp phlegm pattern were analyzed using GC-TOF-MS and UHPLC-QE-MS metabolomics methods. Results When compared with 20 patients who did not exhibit a nondamp phlegm pattern, 12 metabolites were highly expressed and 10 metabolites were under expressed in 40 cases of damp phlegm pattern, of which involved 9 metabolic pathways. Compared with 15 healthy people, 134 metabolites were upregulated and 3 metabolites were downregulated in 40 cases exhibiting a damp phlegm pattern, of which involved 17 metabolic pathways. The patients with damp phlegm pattern were compared with nondamp phlegm pattern patients and healthy people, the main differential metabolites were primarily lipids and lipid-like molecules, and the main differential metabolic pathways were related to glycerophospholipid metabolism. In the glycerophospholipid metabolism, the metabolites with changes were phosphatidylethanolamine and lysoPC(18 : 1 (9z)). Among them, phosphatidylethanolamine exists in the synthesis stage of glycerophospholipid metabolism. Conclusions Abnormal expression of lipids and lipid-like molecules, as the major metabolic change, was involved in the formation of GPL patients with damp phlegm pattern.


Background
Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer, and has been studied extensively. However, resistance to chemotherapeutic agents has become a major problem, leading to treatment failure. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms mediating acquired resistance to cisplatin and fluorouracil (CF) combination-based chemotherapy in GC patients.

Methods
The microarray datasets (GSE14209, GSE30070) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) using the limma package in R/Bioconductor. Possible targets of the DEMs were predicted using miRWalk, and the putative miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was constructed using Cytoscape software. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses were then conducted and visualized using the Search Tool for Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) and Cytoscape. The prognostic value of hub genes was revealed by Kaplan-Meier Plotter. The causal relationships and interactions between proteins were displayed using DisNor. Finally, similarity analysis was conducted using the Connectivity Map (CMap) profiles to predict a group of small molecules in GC treatment.

Results
A total of 394 DEGs and 31 DEMs were identified after analysis of pre- and post-treatment samples of clinical responders to CF therapy. TM9SF4, hsa-miR-185-5p, and hsa-miR-145-5p were found to be critical in the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. The DEGs were found to be mainly enriched in the processes of ribonucleoprotein complex assembly, catalytic activity acting on RNA, mitochondrial matrix, and thermogenesis. The DEMs were predominantly found to be involved in single-stranded RNA binding and endoplasmic reticulum lumen. HDAC5, DDX17, ILF3, and SDHC were identified as hub genes in the PPI network. Of these, HDAC5, DDX17, and ILF3 were found to be closely related to the overall survival of GC patients. DisNor identified the first neighbors of the key genes. Furthermore, CMap profiles predicted a group of small molecules, including several histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs), menadione, and mibefradil, which could serve as promising therapeutic agents to reverse acquired resistance to CF therapy.

Conclusions
Our findings reveal new targets and alternative therapies to overcome the acquired resistance of GC patients to CF treatment.


Herein is a focus on incidence and levels of Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk of breast feeding mothers, cow milk and vended milk products within Minna, Nigeria obtained by analysis of 140 samples of milk and milk products using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The findings reveal; incidence of 77.5% in human milk, and suggests that diet, socioeconomic status and ethnicity influence exposure. Nomadic cow milk samples had the highest incidence of 80%, cheese had 40% incidence, nono had 35% incidence, commercial cow milk had 25% incidence and yoghurt had 10% incidence. In a total of 69 contaminated samples, 51 were at levels above (0.05 μg/L) the EU and Nigerian legislated limit. Exposure to AFM1 from milk and milk products at concentrations demonstrated in this investigation is of great concern as infants in the country are encouraged to be exclusively breast fed for six months after which alternative milk intake sometimes from animal origin can be sourced. Established carcinogenicity and growth impairing potentials of AFM1 stands as sources of concern and hence the need for enforcement of the legislated limit by regulatory agencies in Nigeria.


Gender-based violence and sexual harassment (GBVH) by and towards academics and students has been under-theorised at an organisational level in higher education institutions (HEIs). The methodology involves a critical review of the literature on GBVH and organizational responses to it, locating it in the context of an analysis of organizational power. The theoretical perspective involves a focus on power and workplace bullying. It identifies three power-related characteristics of academic environments which it is suggested facilitate GBVH: their male-dominant hierarchical character; their neoliberal managerialist ethos and gender/intersectional incompetent leadership which perpetuates male entitlement and toxic masculinities. These characteristics also inhibit tackling GBVH by depicting it as an individual problem, encouraging informal coping and militating against the prosecution of perpetrators. Initiating a discussion and action at organizational and state levels about GBVH as a power-related phenomenon, challenging the dominant neo-liberal ethos and the hierarchical character of HEIs, as well as reducing their male dominance and increasing the gender competence of those in positions of power are seen as initial steps in tackling the problem.


Objective:
To assesses the statistical association between exposure to tobacco marketing and tobacco consumption among adolescents in South America, by using data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey.

Materials and methods:
Using data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), the exposure to tobacco marketing at the school level was studied from advertising in TV, radio, massive public events and street advertisement. Tobacco behaviour was considered. The total pooled sample used was 134 073 youths from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Suriname, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela.

Results:
The exposure to tobacco marketing is positively and significantly associated to the probability of youths experimenting with tobacco (at least once in their lifetime). For regular smokers, exposure to tobacco marketing is positively and significantly associated to smoking intensity.

Conclusions:
These results call for the implementation of strong restrictions on tobacco advertisement of various types in South American countries.


This article deals with the implications of assessment for learning (AfL) in upper secondary physical education and health (PEH). Inspired by the research field that emanates from the concept of governmentality, the study is concerned with how AfL guides teachers' and students' actions in certain directions. Based on teachers' descriptions of how they integrate formative assessment in their teaching practice, the purpose of this article is to investigate the possible consequences of AfL for the teacher, the student and the subject content. The findings highlight different implications of AfL when it is viewed as (i) governance through freedom, (ii) governance through control and (iii) a dialectic form of governance. These concepts constitute certain teacher and student subjects and imply specific conditions for the subject content. In their different roles, for example as coach, deliverer/administrator and moderator, teachers expect different things from their students. In the first instance, students are expected to reach the open goals by self-regulation, in terms of individual choice and personal responsibility. In the second instance, students are subjected to disciplinary normalisation through criteria compliance by means of conformative assessment. In the third instance, students are activated as learning resources for one another using physical activities followed by group reflection. The tension between freedom and control can be described as allowing students to make their own choices but ensuring that they do this in relation to a predetermined idea about what is correct.


Decomposition is a dominant design strategy because it enables complex problems to be broken up into loosely-coupled modules that are easier to manage and can be designed in parallel. However, contrary to widely held expectations, we show that complexity can increase substantially when natural system modules are fully decoupled from one another to support parallel design. Drawing on detailed empirical evidence from a NASA space robotics field experiment we explain how new information is introduced into the design space through three complexity addition mechanisms of the decomposition process: interface creation, functional allocation, and second order effects. These findings have important implications for how modules are selected early in the design process and how future decomposition approaches should be developed. Although it is well known that complex systems are rarely fully decomposable and that the decoupling process necessitates additional design work, the literature is predominantly focused on reordering, clustering, and/or grouping based approaches to define module boundaries within a fixed system representation. Consequently, these approaches are unable to account for the (often significant) new information that is added to the design space through the decomposition process. We contend that the observed mechanisms of complexity growth need to be better accounted for during the module selection process in order to avoid unexpected downstream costs. With this work we lay a foundation for valuing these complexity-induced impacts to performance, schedule and cost, earlier in the decomposition process.


A Stone Freedberg was an American cardiologist whose pioneering research of stomach ulcers helped lay the foundation for the later identification of Helicobacter pylori.

It was no doubt one of the sweetest moments of A Stone Freedberg's long life when he opened up the Lancet issue of 4 June 1983 to find letters to the editor from Barry J Marshall and J Robin Warren. The two Australian researchers had identified bacteria, now known as Helicobacter pylori , among patients with stomach ulcers.

After reading the exciting news, Freedberg, at the time a 75 year old professor emeritus of cardiology at Harvard Medical School, typed a short letter, beginning: "Dear Dr Marshall: I was very pleased to see the letters from Dr Warren and you on the spiral bacteria in human stomachs. It's over 40 years since I spent evenings and weekends cutting and staining tissues from stomach operations …."

Indeed, Freedberg in 1939 had suspected that bacteria might be the cause of ulcers. After countless hours in the laboratory he co-authored a paper on the topic that was mostly ignored or ridiculed—medical experts at the time, and for decades to come, blamed ulcers mainly on stress. Freedberg discontinued his research, which remained mostly forgotten until cited in Marshall's 1983 letter in …


Conduction disorders such as left bundle branch block (LBBB) are common after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Consensus regarding a reasonable strategy to manage conduction disturbances after TAVI has been elusive. The European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) conducted a survey to capture contemporary clinical practice for conduction disorders after TAVI. A 25-item online questionnaire was developed and distributed among the EHRA electrophysiology (EP) research network centres. Of 117 respondents, 44% were affiliated with university hospitals. A standardized management protocol for advanced conduction disorders such as LBBB or atrioventricular block (AVB) after TAVI was available in 63% of participating centres. Telemetry after TAVI was chosen as the most frequent management strategy for patients with new-onset or pre-existing LBBB (79% and 70%, respectively). Duration of telemetry in patients with new-onset LBBB varied, with a 48-h period being the most frequently chosen, but almost half monitoring continued for at least 72 h. Similarly, in patients undergoing EP study due to new-onset LBBB, the HV interval cut-off point leading to pacemaker implantation was heterogeneous among European centres, although an HV >75 ms threshold was the most common. Conduction system pacing was chosen as a preferred approach by 3.7% of respondents for patients with LBBB and normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and by 5.6% for patients with LBBB and reduced LVEF. This survey suggests some heterogenity in the management of conduction disorders after TAVI across European centres. The risk stratification strategies vary substantially. Conduction system pacing in patients with LBBB after TAVI is still underused.


Electric vehicles (EVs) have long been recognized as a solution to the shortage of fossil fuels and the environmental problems associated with increasing CO2 emissions. However, charging an electric vehicle can take significant time at certain charging stations. Additionally, the limited deployment of charging stations is a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of electric mobility (e-mobility). In fact, many drivers struggle to locate a convenient charging station before their vehicle's battery runs out. This study introduces a novel approach to addressing the issue of congestion at public charging stations and reducing the amount of time drivers spend waiting in line by predicting their occupancy. Previous research has relied on traditional Deep Learning (DL) techniques for prediction, which require centralized data collection. Nevertheless, each Charging Station Operator (CSO) holds sensitive data about its charging stations and users that cannot be shared with external parties. To address these privacy concerns, we propose a Federated Deep Learning approach where each CSO trains a DL model locally and then sends the model updates (or parameters) to a server for aggregation. Experiments on a real-world dataset demonstrate that predicting occupancy using the Federated Deep Learning approach achieves promising results (86,21% of accuracy and 91,49% of f1-score ), guarantees privacy, minimizes data transfer costs over the network, and allows individual CSOs to benefit from the rich datasets of others without sharing their sensitive data.


Suspended emulsion polymerization was used to prepare poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) resin. Fine PVC particles were formed at low polymerization conversions. The amount of fine particles decreases as conversion increases and disappears at conversions greater than 30%. Scanning electron micrographs show that PVC grains are composed of loosely coalesced primary particles, especially for PVC resins prepared in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) dispersant. The size of primary particles increases and porosity decreases with the increase of conversion. In view of the particle features of PVC resin, a particle formation mechanism including the formation of primary particles and grains is proposed. The formation process of primary particles includes the formation of particle nuclei, coalescence of particle nuclei to form primary particles,and growth of primary particles. PVC grains are formed by the coagulation of primary particles. The loose coalescence of primary particles is caused by the colloidal stability of primary particles and the low swelling degree of vinyl chloride in the primary particles.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative, chronic and irreversible condition. Palliative medicine may play an important role in the care of patients with PD to maintain the quality of life. Scopolamine is a non-competitive antagonist at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, which was used many years ago in the treatment for PD. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previously reported cases of the use of scopolamine for symptom relief at the end of life in patients with PD. The case reported here shows that treatment with a subcutaneous scopolamine was a useful alternative in a terminal cancer patient with severe tremors unable to take oral PD medication.


The pathogenesis of uveitis is not entirely clear. Diverse clinical and experimental findings support the participation of immunologic mechanisms. In fact, uveitis may appear along with many immunologic systemic diseases. In this article, possible etiologic agents of uveitis are described and experimental models discussed. The immunologic mechanisms are analyzed and a unifying hypothesis is presented.


Aero engine is impacted by foreign objects frequently during daily usage, including runway gravel, birds, fuselage components and so on, so the fan and compressor may damage, resulting in serious air crash. Thus, simulating the impact of blades and establishing the numerical analysis model of dynamic response demand immediate attention. In the analysis model, damping coefficient is one of the most important physical parameters of the blade structure and cannot be directly measured. Rayleigh damping is widely applied and can be converted to direct modal damping in ABAQUS. BP neural network is a multi-layer feedforward neural network using back propagation algorithm to adjust the network weights. It can be proved that there exists a three-layer BP network to realize the mapping of arbitrary continuous functions with arbitrary precision. In this study, a novel method for obtaining the damping ratio of the flat blade which applies BP neural network inversion is proposed. In order to demonstrate this method, a simplified experiment was conducted. Firstly, fix a section of aluminum plate and then conduct two set of drop tests on different positions with different impact velocities by a steel ball. At the same time, vibration response was recorded by displacement sensor. Secondly, establish a finite element model using ABAQUS to simulate the drop test. Adopt twenty groups of models with different damping ratio and then obtain their amplitudes and decay time, respectively. Thirdly, train a BP neural network using MATLAB program and then establish the mapping relationship between amplitude, decay time and damping ratio. Fourth, a set of experimental amplitude and decay time is substituted into the previously obtained BP neural network mapping model, and then the real damping ratio is obtained by inference. Finally, the real damping ratio is applied to the flat blade impact simulation of the other set of drop test for validation. The numerical results are consistent with the experimental data, which indicates that the damping ratio obtained by BP neural network inversion is reasonable and reliable.


Ultrasound-activated microbubbles were used as actuators to deform microvessels for quantifying microvessel relaxation timescales at megahertz frequencies. Venules containing ultrasound contrast microbubbles were insonified by short 1 MHz ultrasound pulses. Vessel wall forced-deformations were on the same microsecond timescale as microbubble oscillations. The subsequent relaxation of the vessel was recorded by high-speed photomicrography. The tissue was modeled as a simple Voigt solid. Relaxation time constants were measured to be on the order of ∼10 μs. The correlation coefficients between the model and 38 data sets were never lower than 0.85, suggesting this model is sufficient for modeling tissue relaxation at these frequencies. The results place a bound on potential numerical values for viscosity and elasticity of venules.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the gene mutation of EGFR and KRAS in Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to analyze the relationship between the gene mutations and the clinicopathological features and EGFR-TKI efficiency.

METHODS
EGFR mutation was detected in 120 patients and KRAS mutation in 104 patients with NSCLC in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March 2009 to December 2010, and the correlation of the gene mutations with the clinicopathological features and EGFR-TKI efficiency was analyzed in the study.

RESULTS
EGFR mutation was detected in 44 of 120 (36.7%) patients with NSCLC, in which three types of EGFR gene mutations were found: deletion in exon 19, exon 21 L858R (2573T > G) and Exon 21 L861Q (2582T > A) mutations. There were 29(24.2%) patients with EGFR exon 19 deletion, 14 (11.7%) patients with EGFR exon 21 L858R mutation and one (0.8%) with EGFR exon 21 L861Q mutation in the patients. All the mutations were single point mutations, and no multiple points mutations detected. EGFR mutation rate of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and adenocarcinoma were higher than that of non-adenocarcinoma (P = 0.009). EGFR mutation rate was higher in female patients or patients without smoking history than male patients or patients with smoking history (P = 0.014, P = 0.001, respectively) in NSCLC patients. EGFR mutation rate was higher in patients without smoking history or patients with well-differentiated carcinoma than patients with smoking history or patients with moderately-and poorly-differentiated carcinoma (P = 0.008, P = 0.018, respectively). There was no difference in prognosis and EGFR-TKI treatment response rate between EGFR mutation patients and EGFR wild-type patients. Nine (8.7%) patients with KRAS mutation were detected in 104 NSCLC patients. There were four types of KRAS gene mutations detected: KRAS Gly12Ala (GGT > GCT), KRAS Gly12Arg (GGT > CGT), KRAS Gly12Val (GGT > GTT) and KRAS Gly12Cys (GGT > TGT). There were 4 patients with Cys mutation, 2 with Arg mutation, 2 with Val mutation and 1 with multiple points mutation of both Cys and Arg in exon 12. No relationship was found between KRAS mutation and clinicopathological feature either in NSCLC or in adenocarcinoma. Prognosis was worse in patients with KRAS mutation than in wild-type patients (P = 0.008). No patient with both EGFR and KRAS mutation was detected.

CONCLUSIONS
EGFR mutation rate is related with gender, smoking history and pathological type in NSCLC patients, and is also related with differentiation and smoking history in adenocarcinoma patients. And prognosis is worse in patients with KRAS mutation than that with wild type.


Literature on the immigrant labour market mismatch has not explored the signal provided by the quality of home country work experience, particularly that of education-occupation mismatch prior to migration. We show that type of work experience in the home country plays a significant role in explaining immigrant mismatch in the destination country's labour market. We use the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia and find that having been over-educated in the last job held in the home country increases the likelihood of being over-educated in Australia by about 45 percent. Whereas having been under-educated in the home country has an even stronger impact, as it increases the probability to be similarly mismatched in Australia by 62 percent.


The main problems, associated with the development of a transport network in Ukraine and the need for complex evaluation of the interests of the states, seeking international cooperation in creating transport corridors for transporting tourists and determining the position of Ukraine in this cooperation, are considered. The main requirements to design of highways and transport infrastructure are defined.  Article in Russian


In order to look into the in fluence collective performance activity of students, including chorus and Ensemble, has on the students, a standardized personality test was comducted an some 1,500 primary(mainly fifth and sixth graders), middle and high school students by dividing them into experimental and comparative groups. The result there of was subject to testing using M. SD. and CR, and the resulting finding indicate that there was significant difference in all aspects, including stability, dominance, sociality(cooperativeness), thoughtfulness, collaboration, impulsiveness and predominance. In other words, the students were emotionally stable, able to display leadership, showed sociability and adaptability in human relations, and were confident to handle their assignment in responsible and intellectual manner. A test of scholastic performance among the two groups showed that there was no significant difference in all subjects except for musics. This indicates that the collective performance activity does not have an adverse impact on the scholastive performance of the students involved. In addition, opinion survey of some 300 guidance teachers revealed that the students involved in collective activity such as chorus and Ensemble were genelalry rated high in cooperativeness and sociality than those who stayed away.


Generating and updating lists of empirically supported treatments serves the public interest. Such lists force advocates to test the accuracy of their claims and serve to inform the public regarding the relative benefits of different interventions. Such efforts should cover the full array of types of interventions used to treat a given disorder and be multidisciplinary in nature to guard against bias related to guild identification. I wholly endorse the authors' call for Division 12 to update their list of empirically supported treatments.


Sandhoff disease is a rare neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease associated with the storage of GM2 ganglioside in late endosomes/lysosomes. Here, we explored the efficacy of acetyl-DL-leucine (ADLL), which has been shown to improve ataxia in observational studies in patients with Niemann–Pick Type C1 and other cerebellar ataxias. We treated a mouse model of Sandhoff disease (Hexb-/-) (0.1 g/kg/day) from 3 weeks of age with this orally available drug. ADLL produced a modest but significant increase in life span, accompanied by improved motor function and reduced glycosphingolipid (GSL) storage in the forebrain and cerebellum, in particular GA2. ADLL was also found to normalize altered glucose and glutamate metabolism, as well as increasing autophagy and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Our findings provide new insights into metabolic abnormalities in Sandhoff disease, which could be targeted with new therapeutic approaches, including ADLL.


In this paper, we address the problem of distributed reconfiguration of networked control systems upon the removal of misbehaving sensors and actuators. In particular, we consider systems with redundant sensors and actuators cooperating to recover from faults. Reconfiguration is performed while minimizing a steady-state estimation error covariance and quadratic control cost. A model-matching condition is imposed on the reconfiguration scheme. It is shown that the reconfiguration and its underlying computation can be distributed. Using an average dwell-time approach, the stability of the distributed reconfiguration scheme under finite-time termination is analyzed. The approach is illustrated in a numerical example.


Introduction: enshrined in the legislation the conceptual and categorical framework in the legal regulation of the foreign trade turnover of energy resources will serve to improve the legal regulation of social relations in this area and to ensure the uniformity of the law enforcement practice and judicial practice in solving disputes between the subjects in this sphere of legal relations. Taking into account this thesis and substantiating it, the author of the work sets the goal: to determine the concepts which are general for the foreign trade turnover in the energy area and relevant to the development of civil law as a branch of science and law. Methods: the methodological framework for this study is a set of scientific methods, among which the methods of systematicity, analysis and the comparative law method are of particular importance. Results: the article identifies the concepts which are significant for the legal regulation of the foreign trade turnover in the energy area and important for the development of civil law as a branch of science and law: "foreign trade activity in the energy area" and "foreign trade turnover of energy resources". Conclusions: the formed definitions will promote the developing of civil theoretical knowledge, the eliminating of possible difficulties in forming the uniform law enforcement practice which are related to the lack of the legislative consolidation of these concepts which are key for the legal regulation of the area of economic management under study and facilitate resolving the uncertainty of the doctrinal approaches to this issue.


Teaching and learning of mathematical modelling has become a key competence within school curricula and educational standards in many countries of the world. The term mathematical modelling, its meaning, and how it can be implemented in mathematics lessons have been intensively discussed during several Conferences of the European Society for Research in Mathematics (CERME), particularly in the last few years. The aim of the article is to show the similarities and the differences in the teaching and learning of mathematical modelling within education in Europe.


The article examines how judges and lawyers struggle to legitimise and normalise private property rights against attempts by poor and migrant groups to politicise housing and social needs in Central Asia. It discusses the juridical understanding of justice and equality in relation to property rights violations on the outskirts of major cities in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. It argues that the juridical system is central in construing property rights and obligations, and in so doing social inequalities are legitimised and naturalised in a neoliberalising post-Soviet space. The article uses the concepts of 'the moral economy' and 'the juridical field' to examine how judges and lawyers justify and normalise their ways of interpreting and ordering the social world.


In this study, bio-oil was analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the evaporation characteristics of bio-oil were studied at different heating rates (10, 20, and 30 °C/min) from 35 °C to 250 °C by a thermal analyzer (TG-DSC). The TG-DSC results of bio-oil showed that the heat requirement of bio-oil during the evaporation process ranged from 2.072103 to 2.299103 J/g, and the bio-oil activation energy ranged from 1.22×104 to 3.34×104 J/mol. Moreover, four models with five compounds (methanol, water, ethanol, furfural, and phenol) were established to study the bio-oil evaporation process. By comparing the TG-DSC results of bio-oil and its models at 30 °C/min, it was shown that the optimal model was model 2, which has the following chemical composition: methanol (27.10 wt.%), water (44.96 wt.%), ethanol (16.24 wt.%), furfural (4.40 wt.%), and phenol (7.30 wt.%). Model 2 exhibited a minimal relative error in dynamic parameters and characteristic curve parameters. The errors for activation energy of the TG, activation energy of the DSC, maximum endothermic rates, and the total of the heat absorption were 3.04%, 5.88%, 2.49%, and 1.06%, respectively.


The number of traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases continues to increase each year and it becomes a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of TBI survivors utilizing a qualitative phenomenological design.  Key informants in the study were nine TBI survivors, ages 23 to 59 years old, who had sustained TBI for more than a year. To generate the needed information, a series of in-depth interviews utilizing semi-structured, self-developed open-ended questions, was employed. Findings showed that the survivors experienced a wide range of physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual changes.  These changes affected their independent living, work, and relationships and they struggled to reconstruct their lives by coping with the changes. The physical change commonly reported by the survivors is headache. The mental changes are impaired memory and total memory loss where the survivors have to make checklists, relearn, and observe. The most reported emotional changes are increased anger, increased irritability and depression.  However, for social changes there was a marked disruption and reduction of the social world that attributed to the breakdown of their relationships. Lastly, with the spiritual changes, the survivors experienced positive and negative changes such as increased faith and religiosity and loss of faith. Coping strategies of the TBI survivors were identified. However, the strong self-motivation and courage as the survivors' physical, mental, and emotional coping resources had further alleviated their sufferings. These findings offer insight on how to deal with TBI survivors and what coping strategies can be introduced for faster recovery.


A common accusation against law and economics is that it is based on unrealistic and unreasonable assumptions, such as claiming that people behave rationally. This accusation may very well be true. But it should not stand in the way of progress in legal analysis. The reason is that when something is assumed about facts — for example, how people behave or, alternatively, about the best way to interpret a set of judgments — the test of this assumption is in whether the hypotheses built on it are supported or refuted by other facts. If an assumption does not lead to accurate predictions, it can easily be discarded. In contrast, conceptual analysis of law that tries to assess the nature of a legal norm or field, for example establishing whether investment treaty arbitration is a part of public international law or not, is not assuming anything about facts. Because the only substance that is played with is concepts, no facts can be brought to refute the argument, only competing narratives. The purpose of this paper is to explain why the process of making assumptions is necessary for legal scholarship and why it is impossible to understand the law without assumptions and it could be dangerous to try to do so.


Several traffic modeling tools are currently available for evacuation planning and real-time decision support during emergencies. This paper reviews potential traffic-modeling approaches in the context of wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire-evacuation applications. Existing modeling approaches and features are evaluated pertaining to fire-related, spatial, and demographic factors; intended application (planning or decision support); and temporal issues. This systematic review shows the importance of the following modeling approaches: dynamic modeling structures, considering behavioral variability and route choice; activity-based models for short-notice evacuation planning; and macroscopic traffic simulation for real-time evacuation management. Subsequently, the modeling features of 22 traffic models and applications currently available in practice and the literature are reviewed and matched with the benchmark features identified for WUI fire applications. Based on this review analysis, recommendations are made for developing traffic models specifically applicable to WUI fire evacuation, including possible integrations with wildfire and pedestrian models.


By adopting a condition‐dependent approach to maintenance, facility managers can exercise control over the desired maintenance performance levels and costs. The practice of condition assessment by building inspectors yielded variable results due to subjective perceptions of inspectors. Nowadays well‐trained building inspectors are able to manage condition surveys and provide property managers with objective, reliable information about performance loss and defects in building components. The implementation of various performance levels in planned maintenance requires not only the standardisation of the condition assessment method, but also the related planning methodology. This paper describes the findings from research in the Netherlands which examined the methodology of condition assessment of building components using a six‐point condition scale. Different categories of performance loss in maintenance are distinguished and linked to different kinds of maintenance activities.


ABSTRACT Built environment researchers and practitioners are addressing the current sustainability and energy challenges facing the industry. The shift in building energy and sustainability expectations has led project teams to develop new practices and processes. Owners, project managers, designers and contractors now actively seek opportunities to improve the energy performance of existing buildings through retrofitting. Given that integrated system upgrades result in more significant energy reduction rates than traditional approaches, this study adopted a case-study approach to understand the integrated system design process and its effects on energy-efficiency performance measures in retrofit projects compared to traditional retrofit processes. Within this scope, three retrofit projects with different processes and rate of energy consumption reduction were purposefully selected to meet certain project delivery and system design characteristics. This paper focuses on effects of these characteristics on the collaborative decision-making process and integrated system design. Its main contribution lies in the analysis of critical decisions related to process and performance modelling practices in the delivery of retrofit projects. As a consequence, it was found that while collaborative energy benchmarking and performance goal setting provided a transparent decision-making environment, the review of existing conditions prior to design and the use of historical operational performance data made the iterative energy modelling of an integrated building system design realistic.


AIM To evaluate the effect of a high dose vitamin A and E supplementation on corneal re-epithelialisation time, visual acuity and haze following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). METHODS Two groups of 20 patients who underwent myopic PRK were supplemented with either 25 000 IU retinol palmitate and 230 mg α tocopheryl nicotinate or a placebo. Clinical outcomes were evaluated up to 360 days. RESULTS In the vitamin treated group, re-epithelialisation time was significantly faster (p=0.029) and haze incidence was reduced (p=0.035), especially for high myopic corrections (p=0.043). This group also reported a significantly better uncorrected visual acuity (p=0.043). CONCLUSIONS High dose vitamin A and E oral supplementation may accelerate re-epithelialisation time and may reduce corneal haze formation after PRK.


Currently many power-electronic-based devices are being connected to the electric power grid. An efficient way to study the interaction between these devices' controllers, and the resulting electromagnetic and electromechanical responses is to use hybrid wave-phasor simulations. Many solutions involving the co-simulation of electromagnetic (EMT) and transient stability (TS) models have been proposed in literature, with different techniques being employed for the calculation of a phasor from the wave quantities. This paper presents a Modelica implementation of a hybrid interface that enables the coupling of two portions of a power grid, with each portion defined in models in two different time-scales. The interface is used in Modelica-compliant environment to interface a STATCOM, as an EMT model, with a single machine infinite bus system, as the phasor model. Results to assess the interface performance and the STATCOM implementation are presented.


How does a national movement go local in places with multiple armed actors, simultaneously retaining credibility at the grass roots, while making claims and negotiating with the state? This article explores how a rights-based movement, the Right to Food (RTF) in India, with a strong national core and some state-level support expanded into areas that were experiencing militant insurgency. We find that the RTF movement was able to coexist with the militant groups because the movement: (a) brought new framings and issues to existing groups that were already working with vulnerable populations; and (b) distinguished itself from the militant groups in terms of substantive issues and approach (avoiding issues of displacement and land rights), as it was willing to work with the state to tackle issues of hunger and food entitlements.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered a prototypical inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that affects both myelin and axon. One of the most challenging aspects of MS is understanding the nature and mechanism of tissue injury because inflammation, demyelination, axonal degeneration, microvascular injury, and atrophy are all identified in histopathologic studies. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides an in vivo examination of the brain that directly defines the extent of the pathology. In recent years, extensive MR studies have had a major impact on MS not only in making an early diagnosis but also in understanding of the disease. By exploiting the natural history and histopathologic correlation, conventional and various novel quantitative MR techniques have demonstrated the ability to image underlying pathological processes in MS. This review examines the role of different MR techniques in going beyond anatomical imaging and produces a more comprehensive overview of the pathophysiological changes which occur and evolve in MS.


Mesenchymal neoplasms of the vulvovaginal and inguinoscrotal regions are among the most diagnostically challenging specimens in the pathology laboratory owing largely to their unique intersection between general soft tissue tumors and relatively genital‐specific mesenchymal tumors. Genital stromal tumors are a unique subset of soft tissue tumors encountered at this location, and this group includes fibroepithelial stromal polyp, superficial (cervicovaginal) myofibroblastoma, cellular angiofibroma, mammary‐type myofibroblastoma, angiomyofibroblastoma and aggressive angiomyxoma. Aside from the striking morphologic and immunophenotypic similarity that is seen with these entities, there is evidence that a subset of genital stromal tumors may be linked genetically. This review will focus on simplifying this group of tumors and provide the pathologist or dermatopathologist with practical management information. Smooth muscle tumors of the external genitalia will also be discussed.


We analyzed the consequences of climate change and the increase in soil erosion, as well as their interaction on plant and soil properties in semiarid Mediterranean shrublands in Eastern Spain. Current models on drivers of biodiversity change predict an additive or synergistic interaction between drivers that will increase the negative effects of each one. We used a climatic gradient that reproduces the predicted climate changes in temperature and precipitation for the next 40 years of the wettest and coldest end of the gradient; we also compared flat areas with 201 steep hillslopes. We found that plant species richness and plant cover are negatively affected by climate change and soil erosion, which in turn negatively affects soil resistance to erosion, nutrient content and water holding capacity. We also found that plant species diversity correlates weakly with plant cover but strongly with soil properties related to fertility, water holding capacity and resistance to erosion. Conversely, these soil properties correlate weaker with plant species cover. The joint effect of climate change and soil erosion on plant species richness and soil characteristics is antagonistic. That is, the absolute magnitude of change is smaller than the sum of both effects. However, there is no interaction between climate change and soil erosion on plant cover and their effects fit the additive model. The differences in the interaction model between plant cover and species richness supports the view that several soil properties are more linked to the effect that particular plant species have on soil processes than to the quantity and quality of the plant cover and biomass they support. Our findings suggest that plant species richness is a better indicator than plant cover of ecosystems services related with soil development and protection to erosion in semiarid Mediterranean climates.


Differences in allele frequencies at autosomal genes between males and females in a population can result from two scenarios. Unresolved sexual conflict over survival produces allelic differentiation between the sexes. However, given the substantial mortality costs required to produce allelic differences between males and females at each generation, it remains unclear how many loci within the genome experience significant sexual conflict over survival. Alternatively, recent studies have shown that similarity between autosomal and Y sequence, arising from duplication onto the Y, can create perceived allelic differences, and this represents potentially resolved sexual conflict. However, Y duplications are most likely in species with large non-recombining regions, in part because they simply represent larger targets for duplications. We assessed the genomes of 120 wild-caught guppies, which experience extensive predation- and pathogen-induced mortality and have a relatively small ancestral Y chromosome. We identified seven autosomal genes that show allelic differences between male and female adults. Five of these genes show clear evidence of whole or partial gene duplication to the Y chromosome, suggesting that the male-specific region of the guppy Y chromosome, although relatively small, may nonetheless act as a hotspot for the resolution of sexual conflict. The remaining two genes show evidence of partial homology to the Y. Overall, our findings suggest that the guppy genome experiences a very low level of unresolved sexual conflict over survival, and instead the Y chromosome, despite its small ancestral size and recent origin, acts as a major mechanism of conflict resolution.


The subject of this study is the economic characteristics of Canada's export markets for foodgrains and feedgrains. The focus is on economic analysis of barley export markets. Over time Canada has become the largest barley exporter, replacing France as the leading source of barley. On the import side, developing countries have become the fastest growing market segment for barley imports, replacing developed countries as the leading market outlet. Canada's export profile data reveal that developing and Eastern European countries became expansionary markets in the 1980s while developed countries have imported a decreasing share of Canada's barley exports. Constant market share analyses of the world barley and course grain markets reveal that those exporters with the highest export concentration in the rapidly expanding markets in richer developing countries registered positive export growth impacts due to this concentration. While corn is still the dominant feedgrain traded on world markets, barley became, by 1985, the fastest growing feedgrain export, resulting in positive export growth for exporters, like Canada, for which barley is a prominent feedgrain. Despite appreciable reliance on less rapidly growing import markets for barley, Canada has ben relatively competitive in world barley markets, at least up to the mid 1980s. In wheat, Canada's exports have tended to be mroe concentrated on less rapidly growing market segmetns and on less rapidly growing classes of wheat. Canada's competitve position in world wheat markets has varied over time and, toward the end of the 1980s, was worsened by the United States export enhancement program subsidies. The major determinants of cereal import demand in seventy-four developed countries (LDCs) were analyzed through the use of an econometric cross-sectional model. Key explanators of import demand in these increasingly important markets included the level of income and degree of urbanization, financial capacity proxies, and domestic grain supply variables. A contribution to the study of cereal markets involved the analysis of the impact of income distribution on less developed countries' cereal import demand in1986 and 1987 for a more restricted sample of twenty-three nations. These developing countries exhibit a greater than proportional increase in cereal imports due to an increase in the income share of the poorest 40 percent of their populations. The inclusion of regional slope and intercept dummies in the cereal import demand model was an innovation that provided improved results. High levels of government debt appear to have inhibited cereal importation in nations in South America, but not in Asia and Africa. In all three continental regions, particularly in Africa, there is a positive relationship between food aid and cereal imports. The model predicts cereal imports for nations in Asia and South America more satisfactorily than for those in Africa. The results support the view that improvements in income distribution in developing nations would considerably stimulate cereal imports. In models where cereal imports were disaggregated into feedgrains and foodgrains, the estimated income elasticity of import demand for feedgrains is higher than that for foodgrains. In other words, feedgrain import demand is more sensitive to either upward or downward changes in income than is foodgrain import demand. This is one factor which helps to explain why feedgrain exports grew more rapidly in the 1970s and collapsed to a greater degree than wheat exports in the 1980s. World import demand for wheat appears to be relatively more "recession proof" than is the case for world barley imports. However, World barley markets show potential for greater future growth subject to improvements in the income levels of importing regions. Detailed time series studies of barley import demand in four Canadian export markets--the (former) USSR, Japan, Colombia and China—were undertaken. The results revealed that Russia's characteristic pattern of import fluctuations is caused mainly by domestic barley and livestock production fluctuations. The price of barley imports also affects USSR barley import decisions, implying financial constraints are an important aspect of the Soviet market. In the Japanese market, barley import demand underwent a structural shift around 1972 when usage of barley changed from a foodgrain to feedgrain. Canadian barley changed from an inferior foodgrain to a normal feedgrain, as reflected in the income elasticity of demand. The Canadian dollar-Japanese yen exchange rate is an important determinant of Japan's barley import demand. Colombia's import demand for barley has been influenced by barley import price and foreign exchange reserves. As a developing country, Columbia faces financial constraints that influence import decisions. For China, another developing country, barley imports are affected by the price of barley imports and by the price of wheat imports which is, for China, a substitute for barley imports. Domestic barley and hog production also influence this nation's barley imports. Overall, our empirical analysis supports the contention that the fortunes of the developed and the developing nations are closely intertwined in the world food economy. The pace at which poor nations can develop, both through increasing income levels and improving income distribution, significantly influences their cereal imports and, concomitantly, cereal exports from rich nations such as Canada. A successful conclusion to the negotiations within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and efforts to improve the economic situation of developing countries will benefit the Canadian grain producing and exporting sector.


This paper discusses why, in a medical context, the standard assumption of a risk-neutral social planner is inappropriate and develops a framework for conducting cost-effectiveness (CE) analysis when social planners are risk-averse. This framework demonstrates that if new medical interventions are variance increasing (decreasing), the risk-neutral approach will approve (reject) projects that should be rejected (accepted). This methodology is applied to two medical interventions that have been previously evaluated and considered cost-effective in the published literature. Since both conclusions assumed risk neutrality we determine the level of societal risk-aversion that would be necessary to reject these new interventions and compare these levels to previous estimates of risk-aversion in the economics literature. We find that for reasonable values of the risk-aversion parameter, only one of the two interventions should be approved. It is our recommendation that the cut-off risk aversion parameter (the level of risk-aversion above which a project would be rejected) should become a standard reported figure in future CE studies.


1. Beadle & Booth9s work on grafting oral cones into reconstitution masses of Cordylophora lacustris has been repeated, confirmed and extended. Oral cone grafts induce the development from mass tissue of hydranth regions basal to the oral cone, and other regeneration of the mass is inhibited. Except in the most quickly developing material, induced development is significantly faster than 9spontaneous9development. 2. Inducing action when grafted to a mass is not peculiar to the oral cone but is a property of all tissue with hydranth differentiation (the tentacular ring, subtentacular region, hydranth neck and even pieces of tentacle), and of tissue containing the rudiment of hydranth differentiation (the tips of outgrowths developing from masses). Tissue which does not possess hydranth differentiation (unspecialized stem coenosarc and stolon tips) has no inducing activity but is absorbed into the mass without influencing its regeneration. 3. Grafts of basal hydranth regions and outgrowth tips normally regenerate oral cones out of graft tissue, but induction may occur even when no oral cone is regenerated by the graft. Tentacle grafts do not regenerate an oral cone; the oral cone of the induced hydranth develops from mass tissue. Inducing power therefore does not depend upon the regeneration by the graft of an oral cone. 4. Grafts of inverted oral cones or fragments of oral cones may produce induction. That inducing activity does not depend on the size, orientation or completeness of the grafted differentiated tissue further shows that it is the presence of hydranth differentiation in tissue, rather than any other factor, which confers inducing ability. 5. No induction has been produced when an oral cone graft is separated from the host tissue by an agar or a cigarette paper barrier. Direct close contact between the graft and the host appears to be necessary for induction to be produced. 6. Grafts of agar on to which oral cones have previously been squashed, macerated oral cones or killed oral cones do not produce induction. If macerated oral cone tissue becomes reorganized into a small fragment possessing the histological structure of part of an oral cone, induction may then occur. The separated constituents of differentiated tissue do not appear to be capable of producing induction.


The conducted historical and theoretical review acquaints a reader with a state of the problem of faith in psychology. Basing on an analysis of foreign and domestic researches of faith, the author elicits their theoretical background. The gnoseological "skew" in understanding of faith as a psychological phenomenon is stated as well as methodological errors in researches of faith are fixed: elementarism, abstractness etc. Diff erent definitions of faith in psychology and philosophy are analyzed critically, the limits and philosophical foundations of definitions are disclosed. The structure of faith, proposed by scholars, is considered, the properties of faith are analyzed. The diff erences of concepts such as "faith", "confidence", "trust", "belief" are noted. The author of article considers that the exploration of faith as a person's relation is the most perspective approach. The concept "relation" allows to generalize all phenomenal manifestations of faith in a uniform construct. Faith is connected with a making of meaning process and is the precondition of any human activity (B.S. Bratus). Faith gives a complete image of the future which motivates a person, convincing that plans he or she has are realistic and achievable. The conducted theoretical analysis showed that the problem of faith in psychology is not identified, and various interpretations of this phenomenon are difficult to conceptualize. Psychological investigations of faith have no refl exive character. However, identification of the problem is possible if to be based upon general scientific and general psychological methodologies. As the author of article supposes, contemporary psychology needs to answer a question: whether is the problem of faith a kind of "pseudo-problem" in psychology, and a concept of faith — superfl uous?


In this thesis multipliers with and without completion detection has been implemented using a 90 nm library to compare their properties reguarding completion time, area and power consumption. The structures tested were array and shiftand-add multipliers. The results were that when having larger bit-lengths, an asynchronous shift-and-add multiplier with completion detection can yield good completion times compared to a regular shift-and-add multiplier. Due to the large cost in area and power consumption for large array multipliers, an asynchonous shift-and add multiplier can be a slower, but better alternative in cases with restriction on area use and power consumption. The largest downside of the asynchronous design is the difficulty of verifying the design. Verification and design of an asynchronous circuit is tedious, and require accurate information on the timing of the technology used to be possible at all.


Traditional folk medicine is applied in the treatment of diversity chronic and acute conditions all over the worlds. This study was carried out to assess the capability of aqueous beetle cocoon extract (Lorinus maculates F.) commonly known as (Tihan) in stimulating immune response. Adult mice (5 in each group) were divided into two groups: the first one orally administered with 150 mg/kg and the second group received normal saline as a control group for 14 days. Bone marrow and spleen were proceeding for mitotic index and phagocytosis estimated. The results showed a significant increase in mitotic index and phagocytosis in treaded mice in comparing with the negative control. These results concluded that Tihan has a potential role in innate immune response.


The working principle of the matrix converter has been described by many authors in various ways. Especially, the introduction of the virtual DC link concept was one of the most important milestones in the matrix converter theory. However, the mathematical description is not symmetrical in this case. That is why a new approach presented in this article strives to symmetrize the matrix converter voltage and current transfer functions. For this purpose, new term is defined: DC-space vector.


Fatsia polycarpa, a plant endemic to Taiwan, is an herbal medicine known for treating several inflammation-related diseases, but its biological function needs scientific support. Thus, the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of the methanolic crude extract (MCE) of F. polycarpa and its feature constituents, that is, brassicasterol (a phytosterol), triterpenoids 3α-hydroxyolean-11,13(18)-dien-28-oic acid (HODA), 3α-hydroxyolean-11-en-28,13β-olide (HOEO), fatsicarpain D, and fatsicarpain F, were investigated. MCE and HOEO, but not brassicasterol, dose-dependently inhibited lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-)induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 in RAW 264.7 macrophage line, whereas HODA, fatsicarpain D and fatsicarpain F were toxic to RAW cells. Additionally, MCE and HOEO suppressed LPS-induced production of nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, and interleukin-1β and interfered with LPS-promoted activation of the inhibitor kappa B kinase (IKK)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway, and that of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38. In animal tests, MCE and HOEO effectively ameliorated 12-O-tetradecanoylphorobol-13 acetate- (TPA-)induced ear edema of mice. Thus, MCE of F. polycarpa exhibited an obvious anti-inflammatory activity in vivo and in vitro that likely involved the inhibition of the IKK/NF-κB pathway and the MAPKs, which may be attributed by triterpenoids such as HOEO.


Background: There is concern about the consequences that hypertension has on the well being and mortality of elderly people. Aim: To compare the morbidity and mortality of young and old treated hypertensive subjects. Material and methods: Retrospective analysis of hypertensive subjects treated and followed for a period of 10 ± 9 years. Subjects that started treatment at an age of less than 65 years and those that started treatment after 65 years of age, were analyzed separately. The antihypertensive drugs used for treatment and blood pressure reduction were similar in both groups. Results: Subjects that started treatment after 65 years of age (157 females and 133 males) had lower serum cholesterol levels and a higher prevalence of end organ damage than their younger counterparts. Women over 65 had a higher body mass index than women of less than 65. Males over 65 years had a higher prevalence of diabetes than younger males. Mortality and complications of hypertension were higher in subjects that started treatment after 65 years of age. Conclusions: The higher mortality of subjects that start hypertensive treatment after 65 years of age, is indicative of the need to detect and treat hypertension at the earliest possible moment. (Rev Med Chile 2002; 130: 616-22


As an educator with a large amount of international experience, my pedagogical methods incorporate this internationalism in order to instill the value of global citizenship in my students.  Having first-hand knowledge of works of art and architecture affords me a unique perspective and knowledge of the material that I am then able to relay to my students.  In turn, this contributes to increased student engagement and interest in the works in question.  In addition, it instills in students the importance of international-mindedness and encourages students to be more active participants not only in their own local communities but also in the global community.


The marine pathogen Vibrio vulnificus senses and responds to environmental stimuli via two chemosensory systems and 42–53 chemoreceptors. Here, we present an analysis of the V. vulnificus Aer2 chemoreceptor, VvAer2, which is the first V. vulnificus chemoreceptor to be characterized. VvAer2 is related to the Aer2 receptors of other gammaproteobacteria, but uncharacteristically contains three PAS domains (PAS1‐3), rather than one or two. Using an E. coli chemotaxis hijack assay, we determined that VvAer2, like other Aer2 receptors, senses and responds to O2. All three VvAer2 PAS domains bound pentacoordinate b‐type heme and exhibited similar O2 affinities. PAS2 and PAS3 both stabilized O2 via conserved Iβ‐Trp residues, but PAS1, which was easily oxidized in vitro, was unaffected by Iβ‐Trp replacement. Our results support a model in which PAS1 is largely dispensable for O2‐mediated signaling, whereas PAS2 modulates PAS3 signaling, and PAS3 signals to the downstream domains. Each PAS domain appeared to be positionally optimized, because PAS swapping caused altered signaling properties, and neither PAS1 nor PAS2 could replace PAS3. Our findings strengthen previous conclusions that Aer2 receptors are O2 sensors, but with distinct N‐terminal domain arrangements that facilitate, modulate and tune responses based on environmental signals.


Introduction: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is viral encephalitis that causes high morbidity and mortality and is endemic in large parts of West Bengal. Subclinical infections greatly outnumber overt cases of JE. The objective of this study was to detect cases of inapparent infections and the disease burden of JE in Bendubi garrison considered to be 'endemic' for JE. Methods: JE disease burden was evaluated by detection of anti-JEV IgM in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 510 cases of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) reporting to the base hospital in Bengdubi while inapparent infections were evaluated by detection of serum anti-JE IgG antibodies in a matched sample of 511 individuals. Results: Fourteen (2.7%) of the 510 symptomatic cases that had presented to the hospital with fever or/and symptoms of acute encephalitis, tested positive for JEV infection. In the asymptomatic cohort, 429 out of 511 (83.9%) tested positive for the IgG antibody to JEV, giving an apparent: inapparent ratio of 1: 31. Conclusion: The overall incidence of JE cases was lower than that reported from other 'endemic' regions of West Bengal. Residents of the area developed IgG antibodies and hence longterm immunity against JE, probably as a result of repeated subclinical infections. Anti-mosquito measures, JE vaccination and environmental modifications can break the transmission cycle and eventually eradicate JE completely.


This case study describes a partnership between University College Falmouth (UCF) and Tate St. Ives (TSI). Framed within a national Enquire project (one strand of a DCMS funded commissioning programme) investigating the learning benefits of gallery education, the report tells the story of a successful collaboration which engaged undergraduate Art student mentors from UCF in a peer leadership project at TSI. The project was evaluated using an innovative action research model to explore peer learning through engagement. Outcomes suggest undergraduate student mentors enhanced their learning in a number of ways: experientially developing the 'soft' transferable skills related to employability in the arts; improving their knowledge of employment opportunities in gallery settings; gaining competence in action research.


Abstract A colorless and bidirectional WDM-PON based on wavelength-locked RSOA technology is proposed. In this scheme, two service-ONUs in different wavelength bands are close to the user terminations. The broadband spectrum from either service-ONU is sliced by AWG located at the RN, and then the sliced lightwave is injected into the RSOA for upstream data. The system capacity can be doubled by adding some passive components at the RN. In simulation system, 2.5 Gb/s up/downstream data are transported successfully. In addition, transmission distance can be extended due to the less path loss of injected lightwave.


Nowadays, industrial processes are fully equipped by redundant hardware sensors which can be interfered by random noises. Hence, it is of high importance to develop soft sensing solutions for key variables prediction and process monitoring. Various methods have been carried out to cope with different data characteristics among which auto-correlation and non-stable features have been considered as two challenging tasks. In this paper, a novel weighted autoregressive dynamic latent variable (WARDLV) model is constructed where a weighted log-likelihood function is created combined with high-order dynamic information extraction techniques. Different weights are designed for state transition and emission in latent space and original space, respectively. Compared with previous researches, global weights are completely redesigned and consisted of different window confidences and local weights. The efficiency of the proposed method is further demonstrated with a real industrial application.


This paper provides an overview of the current methods of analysing and repairing cracks in concrete pavements. The Finite element method (FEM) models and non-destructive analysis method, and the repairing methods using electro-deposition, electro chemical, recycled steel fibres are reviewed.


Highly homologous sequences 154–157 bp in length grouped under the name of "conserved non-protein-coding element" (CNE) were revealed in all of the sequenced genomes of baculoviruses belonging to the genus Alphabaculovirus. A CNE alignment led to the detection of a set of highly conserved nucleotide clusters that occupy strictly conserved positions in the CNE sequence. The significant length of the CNE and conservation of both its length and cluster architecture were identified as a combination of characteristics that make this CNE different from known viral non-coding functional sequences. The essential role of the CNE in the Alphabaculovirus life cycle was demonstrated through the use of a CNE-knockout Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) bacmid. It was shown that the essential function of the CNE was not mediated by the presumed expression activities of the protein- and non-protein-coding genes that overlap the AcMNPV CNE. On the basis of the presented data, the AcMNPV CNE was categorized as a complex-structured, polyfunctional genomic element involved in an essential DNA transaction that is associated with an undefined function of the baculovirus genome.


Objective: To examine the prevalence and incidence of hyperglycemia among HIV‐infected patients by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and type of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Design: Retrospective cohort analysis of 1230 persons on their first HAART regimen who had at least 1 random glucose measurement before and during antiretroviral therapy. Methods: The prevalence of hyperglycemia and the incidence of hyperglycemia were compared among persons with and without HCV infection while on a protease inhibitor (PI)‐containing HAART regimen, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)‐containing regimen, or a regimen that contained both a PI and an NNRTI. Hyperglycemia was defined as either 2 random glucose levels > 11.1 mM (200 mg/dL) or documentation of the diagnosis of diabetes in the medical record. Results: The prevalence of hyperglycemia was significantly higher in HCVcoinfected (5.9%) than HCV‐uninfected persons (3.3%, P = 0.02). Among persons receiving HAART, both HCV coinfection (adjusted relative hazard [ARH], 2.28; 95% CI, 1.23‐4.22) and PI use (ARH, 5.02; 95% CI, 1.39‐18.16) were independent risk factors of developing hyperglycemia. The incidence of hyperglycemia was highest among HCV‐coinfected persons receiving a PI (5.6 cases per 100‐person years) and only 1 person who was neither HCV‐infected nor receiving a PI developed hyperglycemia. Conclusion: In this urban HIV cohort, the risk of hyperglycemia was increased in HCV‐coinfected patients and those prescribed a PI.


Minimum toe clearance (MTC) is an event approximately mid-swing in the walking cycle that is critical for preventing unintended foot contact with surface irregularities ("tripping"). Treadmill-based gait training for older adults was undertaken using real-time augmented information to increase foot-ground clearance at MTC (MTC height). Ten young (Y) (Age: 23±2 year) and ten older (O) (Age: 76±9 year) participants undertook 10 min preferred speed treadmill walking (baseline) followed by 20 min with MTC height information (training) and 10 min without augmented information (retention). Three-dimensional lower limb position was sampled at 100 Hz from which MTC height was computed for each step cycle. MTC height data were analyzed using traditional descriptive statistics (mean and SD) and by computing tone (T) and entropy (E) to show, respectively, cycle-to-cycle changes to MTC height and the informational content of the MTC height time-series. There were significant ( ) age-group differences in T-E values of MTC height; Baseline ( Older=-5.40±2.00 (T); 6.63±0.23 (E); Young = -3.00±0.89 (T); 6.20±0.51 (E)), Training ( Older=-5.05±3.45 (T); 6.46±0.42 (E); Young = -2.55±0.67 (T); 6.75±0.39 (E)) Retention ( Older=-3.77±2.59 (T); 6.38±0.46 (E); Young = -2.55±0.67 (T); 6.26±0.39 (E)). Relative to baseline, tone value was significantly ( ) reduced and entropy was elevated in training and vice versa in retention phase for the young group but no significant trends were observed for older group. T and E measures of MTC height considered separately discriminated the age groups only in baseline but distinctive "clusters" were observed in tone versus entropy plots indicating characteristically different patterns of MTC adjustment over step cycles. Treadmill training with MTC height augmented information is a practical intervention for reducing tripping in older people and others with gait impairments. T-E analysis is useful for identifying characteristics of lower limb control with ageing that have not been previously recognized in studies employing traditional statistical analysis of the MTC event.


From 1967 to 1970, ethnic, sectarian war ravaged Nigeria. When the Ibo and other peoples in the Eastern region seceded and formed the Republic of Biafra, the federal government, controlled by the Hausa, Fulani, and Yoruba peoples, responded with total war. Nigeria imposed a blockade and instituted starvation as a deliberate war strategy. In the first genocide since World War II, this policy starved to death more than one million Biafrans. Gilles Caron was among the first western photojournalists to cover the crisis. He made three trips to Biafra in April, July, and November 1968. Photographs from his April trip, published in the May 4, 1968 edition of Paris Match, were the first major reportage of the war in the Western Picture Press, putting this "ignored war" on the public agenda. This article analyzes Caron's coverage of the Biafran crisis. It argues that his humanistic vision helped persuade western readers that the Biafrans were not merely pitiable, but deserving of help; that his thorough approach detailed the multiple dimensions of this complex political and humanitarian crisis, and that several of his images of combat and famine remain among the best in the genre of war photography.


In this paper, a WR‐1.5 band (500–750 GHz) 3rd order waveguide bandpass filter has been designed and fabricated using high precision computer numerically controlled metal micromachining. The filter has been measured with a 7.29% (48.7 GHz) bandwidth at the center frequency of 667.5 GHz. The minimum passband insertion loss is measured to be 0.87 dB and the measured return loss is better than 10 dB across the whole passband. A yield percentage is analysed and estimated based on the fabrication tolerance.


Experimental and numerical results relating to dam-break flows are compared. Dam-break waves were generated by the quasi-instantaneous removal of a plate in a smooth prismatic channel of rectangular cross-section over horizontal dry and wet beds. The laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the initial stages of the free surface profiles using digital image processing. The flow characteristics were detected by applying an adequate, simple and economical measuring technique. The experimental results were compared with the results of a commercially available CFD program, solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with the k–ϵ turbulence model involving the shallow-water equations. Measured and computed free surface profiles during the initial dam-break stages indicate that although both models predict the dam-break flow with a reasonable accuracy, the agreement using the RANS model is better.


Abstract The aim of this report is to demonstrate the success of a teamwork approach for providing instruction in self-hypnosis at a Pediatric Pulmonary Center. In order to add to the hypnosis service provided by a pulmonologist at the Center, the Center social worker learned how to use clinical hypnosis. During a 3-year period, she instructed 72 patients (average age 11.6 years) in self-hypnosis. Eighty-two percent of the patients reported improvement or resolution of the primary symptoms, which included anxiety, asthma, chest pain, dyspnea, habit cough, hyperventilation, sighing, and vocal cord dysfunction. The social worker and pulmonologist consulted with each other on a regular basis regarding their hypnosis work, and achieved similar successful results following their hypnosis interventions. Thus, clinical hypnosis at a Pediatric Pulmonary Center can be provided by a team of varied professionals. As a team, these professionals can support each other in their on-going development of hypnosis skills.


Abstract Neuroscience is not just for neuroscientists. It is for everyone, but it is absent from our high schools. High schools have a huge investment in STEM but do not include neuroscience, although neuroscience is more interesting and relevant to a person's daily life than most other sciences. However, neuroscience opportunities are increasing for teenagers outside the standard curriculum.


Objective: Many pediatric healthcare providers believe that capillary refill time is a measure of perfusion and cardiac output in children. Despite its widespread use, there are no studies examining the relationship of capillary refill time to cardiac output in noncritically ill children. This study examined the inter-rater reliability of capillary refill time and its relationship to hemoglobin and with cardiac output in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Tertiary care pediatric hospital. Patients: A total of 58 children, ages 0.3–17 yrs, with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac catheterization. Interventions: Two clinicians performed two measurements of capillary refill time in a standardized fashion on 58 children undergoing cardiac catheterization. Cardiac output was determined by the Fick method within 15 mins of the first assessment of capillary refill time (time 1). Measurements and Main Results: Capillary refill time and cardiac output measurements were obtained in 44 children, and 108 paired measurements of capillary refill time were obtained to assess inter-rater reliability. The mean capillary refill time was 1.2 secs (±0.5 secs), and the mean cardiac output was 3.6 L/min/m2 (2.2–5.7 L/min/m2). The inter-rater intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.12 (time 1) (95% confidence interval −0.15 to +0.37) and was 0.32 (95% confidence interval 0.058–0.54) at the end of the catheterization (time 2). A significant association was noted between average capillary refill time at time 1 and hemoglobin, with higher hemoglobin correlating with longer capillary refill time (p = .015). There was no significant correlation between the average capillary refill time taken at the time of cardiac output measurement (time 1) and measured cardiac output (r = .331, 95% confidence interval for r, .066–.552). Conclusions: We found that the inter-rater reliability of capillary refill time was poor and variable under controlled conditions and capillary refill time was not correlated with cardiac output in anesthetized nonacutely ill pediatric patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Caution should be used in inferring cardiac output from capillary refill time measurements alone.


Case 34, a true hermaphrodite with ovotestes, was certified as a girl, at 3 registered as a boy, and investigated at the age of 9 in 1936. His build and general behaviour were those of a boy and his penile hypospadias was converted into a urethra. He has proved a useful citizen and is married as a male. Recent examination of his skin by Professor Barr showed the female speck of chromatin. This was at variance with the true sex and is the only wrong answer we have received from him.-I am, etc.,


Energy-Based Models (EBMs), also known as non-normalized probabilistic models, specify probability density or mass functions up to an unknown normalizing constant. Unlike most other probabilistic models, EBMs do not place a restriction on the tractability of the normalizing constant, thus are more flexible to parameterize and can model a more expressive family of probability distributions. However, the unknown normalizing constant of EBMs makes training particularly difficult. Our goal is to provide a friendly introduction to modern approaches for EBM training. We start by explaining maximum likelihood training with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), and proceed to elaborate on MCMC-free approaches, including Score Matching (SM) and Noise Constrastive Estimation (NCE). We highlight theoretical connections among these three approaches, and end with a brief survey on alternative training methods, which are still under active research. Our tutorial is targeted at an audience with basic understanding of generative models who want to apply EBMs or start a research project in this direction.


This paper discusses some General issues of organizing and conducting an empirical study of juvenile delinquency. Special attention is paid to the methodology of research of the problem related to the personality and career of a minor criminal. In particular, the authors consider the peculiarities of using sociological methods to find out the personal qualities of juvenile offenders and the reasons that led to their committing offenses and crimes.


This study attempts to examine the determinants of liquidity risk in Islamic bank by using incorporates several variables that impact the liquidity of Islamic bank. A regression data analysis is conducted on a sample on all of Islamic banks in Indonesia between 2014. 6 and 2019.4. The result show that EQUITY also has a negative relationship with liquidity risk  as a more stable source of funding for Islamic banks tend  a higher ratio of equity lowers liquidity risk.  Then,  SIZE also has a negative relationship with liquidity risk, as larger banks tend customers feel safer dealing with large Islamic  banks. On the other hand, CAR have statistically significant positively relationships with the liquidity risk.  Finally, ROA and FINANCING  are not significance with liquidity risk in Indonesia Islamic Banks


The fundamental and realized niches of phytophagous insects constitute an important topic in contemporary ecology. Hutchinson (1965) formulized the concept of the fundamental and realized niche with regards to species responses to interspecific competition; and for the herbivore insects' community the consequence of interspecific competition is a debatable and questionable from the very beginning to till now. This study investigated the fundamental and the realized niche of two willow leaf beetles, Galerucella lineola and Phratora vulgatissima, on two different Salix host species, S. viminalis and S. dasyclados; and how plant species affect the fundamental and realized niches of these beetle species. To achieve the objective of this study, I focused on the egg-laying preference and placement of Phratora and Galerucella eggs in monospecific and mixed conditions. The results indicate that the fundamental niches of both beetle species are dissimilar to each other and that plant species affect their fundamental niches. The two leaf beetles affect each other's realized niche. One mechanism behind the results may be that the beetles induce changes in their shared host plants, leading to indirect interactions between the two beetles. Females could adjust their egg-laying behavior to different host plant species as well as to the presence of the opposite beetle species while ovipositing.


During ripening, fleshy fruits undergo irreversible changes in color, texture, sugar content, aroma, and flavor to appeal to seed-dispersal vectors. The onset of climacteric fruit ripening is accompanied by an ethylene burst. Understanding the factors triggering this ethylene burst is important for manipulating climacteric fruit ripening. Here, we review the current understanding and recent insights into the possible factors triggering climacteric fruit ripening: DNA methylation and histone modification, including methylation and acetylation. Understanding the initiation factors of fruit ripening is important for exploring and accurately regulating the mechanisms of fruit ripening. Lastly, we discuss the potential mechanisms responsible for climacteric fruit ripening.


We present in this paper a novel calibration method that uses cross ratio to compute world points falling onto any given light stripe plane of a structured light system. We show that, by using 4 known non-coplanar sets of 3 collinear world points, the direct 4/spl times/3 image-to-world transformation matrix for each light stripe plane can also be recovered from plane-to-plane homography. Preliminary experiments conducted with a calibration target and a mannequin suggest that this novel calibration method is robust and is applicable to many shape measurement task.


Automatic sarcasm detection is the task of predicting sarcasm in text. This is a crucial step to sentiment analysis, considering prevalence and challenges of sarcasm in sentiment-bearing text. Beginning with an approach that used speech-based features, sarcasm detection has witnessed great interest from the sentiment analysis community. This paper is the first known compilation of past work in automatic sarcasm detection. We observe three milestones in the research so far: semi-supervised pattern extraction to identify implicit sentiment, use of hashtag-based supervision, and use of context beyond target text. In this paper, we describe datasets, approaches, trends and issues in sarcasm detection. We also discuss representative performance values, shared tasks and pointers to future work, as given in prior works. In terms of resources that could be useful for understanding state-of-the-art, the survey presents several useful illustrations - most prominently, a table that summarizes past papers along different dimensions such as features, annotation techniques, data forms, etc.


The paper examines the character of multipurpose territorial government and explores the meaning of frequent calls for more flexibility in the structures and functioning of local and regional governments. The paper elaborates on a number of starting points of debate concerned with the shift from territorial government to territorial governance. Configurations of territorial governance are operating within a broader and more diverse range of factors at both local and regional levels. These include non-elected agencies of the state, private businesses, voluntary organisations, the mass media, and EU institutions. Situations of diffused accountability arise from continuing interactions between network partners, exchange of resources and negotiation of shared purposes, and they constrain the field of democratic accountability. Importantly, one of the key characteristics of the shift from government to governance is claimed to be increased flexibility and responsiveness, in both the functioning and the structure of territorial government. Finally, building on the foregoing, the paper emphasises the issue of public interest formation and aggregation, and the adverse impacts of the fragmentation on the integrative territorial competence of multipurpose governments. The critical assessment provided shows that the notion of flexibility appears to refer to the capability to react to unpredictable future developments by enlargement of management capacity through new steering and decisionmaking rules. Correspondingly, flexibility does not necessarily refer to changing the existing organisational structures of territorial self-government and administration but primarily to adaptations of their mode of functioning and, therefore, to increasing flexibility of rules and approaches. Het artikel onderzoekt de aard van integraal territoriaal bestuur en gaat de betekenis na van de roep naar meer flexibiliteit in de structuren en het functioneren van lokale en regionale besturen. Het neemt een aantal vertrekpunten van de discussies over de verschuiving van territoriaal bestuur naar territoriale governance onder de loep. Configuraties van territoriale governance zijn werkzaam binnen een breder en losser verband van actoren op lokale en regionale niveaus zoals niet-verkozen overheidsorganen, privé ondernemingen, vrijwilligersorganisaties, massamedia of Europese instellingen. Voortdurende interacties tussen netwerkpartners, uitwisseling van hulpmiddelen en onderhandelingen over gedeelde doelstellingen leiden tot situaties van diffuse verantwoordelijkheid en beperken het veld van democratische aansprakelijkheid. Cruciaal is de bewering dat toenemende flexibiliteit en versneld reactievermogen zowel inzake het functioneren als inzake de structuur van territoriaal Territorial government and flexibility: a critical assessment


Entropy is a measure of information and uncertainty which has been used recently in different areas, besides of its original utilization in physics. Finance, microeconomics, macroeconomics, utility functions or even psychology are approached areas, using analogies between the areas physics and nature, creating a new research area: Econophysics (see, for example, Ausloos et al, 1999 or Bouchaud, 2002). This paper intends to explore the utilization of entropy through politics and election results, an area just slightly explored (Gill, 2005). It generalizes interpretation of entropy, considering it a measure of dissatisfaction and disillusion of populations in relation to politics. Some phenomena like the increase of abstention in a country, consequence of the dissatisfaction of population and of their alienation in relation to politics could be detected and analysed. This discontentment could result, for example, in the appearance of new political parties, with more division of votes and increasing entropy (result of the discontentment and uncertainty by electors). Absolute majorities, while imply less dispersion of votes, are synonym of more confidence in a given party, making a reduction of entropy. Electoral results could also be influenced by particular phenomena, like those terrorist attacks made in vespers of the two last elections in Spain, with consequences on the affluence to the polls by electors, and influencing levels of entropy. Elections' dates could also influence results: for example, elections on summer season suffer from more abstention. Elections' results could also be connected with aspects like safety feeling of citizens, with unpopular socio-economic policies taken by government or even with the economic performance of a country. One of the purposes of this paper is to find these types of phenomena and try to relate them with the concept of entropy. Another objective is to analyse the reality in different European countries.