Abstract Objective: This article explores the relationship between childhood obesity and educational outcomes in Mexico, a country where excess weight is predominant. Design: Using complementary multivariate estimators, we empirically investigate the association between childhood excess weight, measured in 2002, and schooling attainment measured 10 years later. Non-linear specifications are tested, and heterogeneous effects according to gender, living area and economic backgrounds are investigated. Setting: To fill the literature gap, this study focuses on the understudied context of emerging countries such as Mexico. Participants: Panel data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (2002–2012) are used. We restricted the sample to adolescent individuals who had between 9 and 15 years old in 2002 (attended primary or secondary school in 2002). The survey provides an accurate follow-up information on weight, height and waist circumference for each individual. Results: Controlling for a comprehensive set of covariates, we find that the relationship is non-linear in Mexico. While weight-based childhood obesity and abdominal adiposity are significantly associated with lower school attainment, at least in urban settings, no schooling gap is found between overweight students and their normal-weight counterparts. Along with rural–urban heterogeneity, obesity-based educational penalties appear to be stronger for girls and students from privileged economic backgrounds. Conclusions: These results emphasise the co-occurrence of anti-fat and pro-fat social norms in Mexican schools: while anti-fat norms may particularly concern female, richer and urban students, pro-fat norms might persist among male, poorer and rural students. These findings have important implications for public policy, namely about awareness anti-obesity programmes.


A demonstration of the thermodynamic compensation law is given; this law is shown to be a consequence of experimental approximations. It has been shown that the Meyer-Nelder rule is a consequence of experimental methods that consider a straight-line approximation of the In(X) versus 1/T plot of measurements of a physical quantity X in a limited temperature range. The ability of the Meyer-Neldel rule to give meaningful results is linked to the quality of the measurements and approximations made, but it appears that no genuine physical effect or fundamental relationships or universal quantities underlie its applicability.


Summary The ichthyofauna composition of the wetland ecosystem in the Barda~a area (Bosnia and Herzegovina) was described with the aim of indication on the richness and necessary protection of the biodiversity of this sensitive swamp region. During 2004, qualitative and quantitative fish samplings were carried out, according to seasons, in Matura and Brzaja rivers, the main tributaries of the drainage area around the Sava River. Fish samplings were carried out using an electro–generator pulse and removal method. Analysis of the sampled fishes consisted of species determination and estimation of yield for average density and biomass (N/m 2 or m 3 and g/m 2 or m 3 ). It could be said that during one year examinations, the presence of 24 fish species from 7 families has been determinate. In addition, the analysis of fish diversity was carried out by means of species richness, Shanon–Weiner index, evenness and Simpson index. According to analyzed data, it could be observed that 2 allochtonous pest species, Carassius auratus gibelio and Ictalurus nebulosus presents the most dominant fish species in these waters in almost all sampling sea sons.


Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were synthesized by dc-arc discharge in helium atmosphere and the effect of calcination at different temperatures ranging from 300-600 degrees C was studied in detail. The degree of degradation to the structural integrity of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes during the thermal process was studied by Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy and High resolution transmission electron microscopy. The thermal behaviour of the as prepared and calcined samples was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Calcination in air at 400 degrees C for 2 hours was found to be an efficient and simple method to eliminate carbonaceous impurities from the nanotube bundles with minimal damage to the tube walls and length. The impurities were oxidized at a faster rate when compared to the nanotubes and gave good yield of about 50%. The nanotubes were observed to be damaged at temperature higher than 450 degrees C. The results show that this method is less destructive when compared liquid phase oxidation with 5 M HNO3.


Context. The study of periodic (or quasi-periodic) variabilities in optical and radio bands and quasi-periodic radio-jet swings are important to further our understanding of the physical processes in blazars. Among these the correlation between the periodic or quasi-periodic phenomena in radio and optical bands is particularly significant, because it can provide unique information about the relativistic jets and central engines in the nuclei of blazars.
Aims. We aim to investigate the possibility that the radio jet swing on parsec scales observed in PG 1302-102 (z = 0.278) is a quasi-periodic phenomenon and study its correlation with the periodic optical variability claimed in a recently published work, seeking evidence for a binary black hole system.
Methods. The precessing jet-nozzle model proposed in our previous works was applied to simulate the kinematics of the superluminal components. It is shown that the inner-jet kinematic features can well be explained in terms of the precessing nozzle model.
Results. Based on the model simulation (model fitting) of the inner kinematics for its six superluminal components, a precession period of ~5.1583 ± 0.5 yr is derived for the radio jet swing and the kinematics of all the six components are consistently interpreted. The similarity between the radio jet precession period and the optical period found in its optical light curve may be physically significant. Both periodic behaviors in radio and optical bands could be explained in terms of the orbital motion of a black hole binary, if the orbital plane makes large inclinations to the sky plane: the orbital motion of the primary hole produces the periodic jet swing and the orbital motion of the secondary hole produces the periodic optical variability as suggested in the literature. Thus the total mass and the mass ratio of the binary are estimated.
Conclusions. Based on this analysis, we show that PG 1302-102 might have a supermassive black hole binary existing in its nucleus and it is starting to enter its inspiral phase of merging. Gravitational radiation would start to dominate the energy-momentum loss for its orbital shrinkage.


Byline: G. Swaminath A Stitch in Time Despite being one of the most important tools of the physician in ameliorating illness, the singular lack of attention and importance given to the selection and purity of pharmaceutical brands prescribed is shocking. It is often said that the workman is as good as his skill and his tools. Physicians all over the globe spend immense time and effort in upgrading their skills in diagnosis and therapeutic techniques. However, the unshakable faith in the quality of drugs prescribed often results in the change of diagnosis or the therapeutic molecule in case of non-response rather than of the brand, which might be the real culprit. The problem of counterfeit medicines, rare in the developed countries, is an everyday reality in India and other developing countries.[sup] [1] According to a report, Nimulid (Nimesulide) manufactured by Panacea Biotech had more than 35 counterfeits in the market at one time. Counterfeiters not only copy the trademark, the label design and the trade dress of a well-known branded product, they also copy addresses and pose as licensees.[sup] [2] Counterfeit drugs are a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and loss of public confidence in medicines and health structures. Despite close cooperation between drug companies, governments, or international organizations concerned with trade, health, customs and excise, and counterfeiting, the prevalence of counterfeit drugs appears to be rising.[sup] [3] The remedy to this global problem lies in appropriate regulatory processes and rules and strict implementation of these, along with coordination between the players at every level from the policy maker to the regulator to the consumer. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has now taken the lead in the global effort to combat counterfeit medicines.[sup] [1] It has created the first global partnership known as the International Medicinal Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT). IMPACT comprises all 193 WHO Member States on a voluntary basis and includes international organizations, enforcement agencies, national drug regulatory authorities, customs and police organizations, non-governmental organizations, associations representing pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers, health professionals and patients' groups. These groups have joined to improve coordination and harmonization among countries so that eventually the production, trading and selling of fake medicines will cease. To accomplish this mandate, IMPACT will focus on the following five key areas: i) Legislative and regulatory infrastructure, ii) Regulatory implementation, iii) Enforcement, iv) Technology, and v) Risk communication.[sup][1] It is expected to monitor systems, processes and implementation of regulatory and enforcement areas in each country and will advise on measures to effectively implement them.[sup] [1] The government and the regulatory authorities have a major role in servicing and coordination in all five areas, while doctors and pharmaceutical companies have a role in both technology and risk communication (which has been elaborated in this column). To curb the incidence of counterfeit drugs, the governments need to strengthen their drug regulatory authorities and their powers to enforce drug laws and regulations. The governments should re-work the existing law and ensure that selling spurious drugs is no longer considered a minor offence, now punishable by the state drug controller by suspension or cancellation of license.[sup] [4] The Mashelkar committee (1993)[sup] [5] recommends strict vigilance, with regular surprise checks at pharmacies and for the cause checks (suspicious checks). The report recognizes the lack of infrastructure and personnel to carry out these checks and recommends drastic upgradation and overhaul of the vigilance structure.[sup] [5] Incidentally, there are no accessible testing services for fake drugs anywhere. …


Snf1, the yeast AMP kinase homolog, is essential for derepression of glucose-repressed genes that are activated by Adr1. Although required for Adr1 DNA binding, the precise role of Snf1 is unknown. Deletion of histone deacetylase genes allowed constitutive promoter binding of Adr1 and Cat8, another activator of glucose-repressed genes. In repressed conditions, at the Adr1-and Cat8-dependent ADH2 promoter, partial chromatin remodeling had occurred, and the activators recruited a partial preinitiation complex that included RNA polymerase II. Transcription did not occur, however, unless Snf1 was activated, suggesting a Snf1-dependent event that occurs after RNA polymerase II recruitment. Glucose regulation persisted because shifting to low glucose increased expression. Glucose repression could be completely relieved by combining the three elements of 1) chromatin perturbation by mutation of histone deacetylases, 2) activation of Snf1, and 3) the addition of an Adr1 mutant that by itself confers only weak constitutive activity.


In this project, types of human motion studied in kinematics field are walking and running. The area of interest of the analyzing is lower part of human body segment. A video camera with medium resolution and frame rate is used as an image device to capture the human motion. The image is processed and analyzed to determine the location of every marker at each sequence of motion. Each marker represents a specific part of human body. The extracted data of location for specified limbs is used as a basic data. This basic data of coordinate is transformed into angle data to be the raw data in modeling the motion using non-linear identification. The parametric methods are used in modeling human motion. Finally, the identified models are validated using some model validation techniques.


A generalisation of Planck's law for the spontaneous emission from light emitting diodes with direct band gaps allows a calculation of the absolute spectral emission intensity to be performed when the applied voltage, temperature, and absorption coefficient of the light emitting region are known. For given values of these parameters the emission intensity is independent of the diode current and the quantum efficiency of the recombination process. GaAs LED spectra calculated on this basis are compared with measurements at 82 K and at 296 K, and are found to agree quite well. Differences are attributed to the uncertain knowledge of the absorption coefficient of the diode material.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the efficacy of an experimental 1450 ppm fluoride as sodium monofluorophosphate (SMFP)/zinc-based dentifrice (Test), a clinically proven 1450 ppm fluoride as SMFP/zinc-based dentifrice (Positive Control), and a 1000 ppm fluoride as SMFP and 450 ppm fluoride as sodium fluoride (NaF) dentifrice (Negative Control) in delivering 12-hour anti-tartar benefits as measured by calcium buildup after a single product brushing.

METHODS
Fourteen (14) adult subjects completed this single-center, double-blind, randomized, cross-over clinical study conducted in Piscataway, New Jersey. An intra-oral appliance was custom-made for each subject as a surface on which the anti-calculus agents' inhibition of early calculus formation could be analyzed. After brushing with their assigned toothpaste, each subject wore their respective appliance for 12 hours overnight. When the appliance was removed, it was washed, suspended in 0.1 MHCL to release Ca2+ from deposits, and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) for deposited calcium. There was a one-week washout period between each product use. Statistical analyses were performed on the mean level of calcium (μg). Comparisons of the treatment groups with respect to 12-hour post-brushing (overnight) calcium levels were performed via a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), with subjects and products as factors in the ANOVA model. Post-ANOVA pair-wise comparisons of the study treatments were performed using the Tukey's test for multiple comparisons. All statistical tests of hypothesis were two-sided, and employed a level of significance of α = 0.05.

RESULTS
At the 12-hour post-brushing examination, the mean level of calcium buildup was 0.46 μg for subjects assigned to the experimental Test dentifrice, 0.41 μg for subjects assigned to the Positive Control dentifrice, and 2.47 μg for subjects assigned to the Negative Control dentifrice. After 12 hours post-brushing, subjects assigned to the experimental Test dentifrice and Positive Control dentifrice both exhibited statistically significantly (p = 0.005 and p = 0.004, respectively) lower levels of calcium buildup as compared to the subjects assigned to the Negative Control dentifrice. No statistically significant (p = 0.996) difference was observed between the experimental Test dentifrice and Positive Control dentifrice with respect to tartar control efficacy after 12 hours post-brushing. No adverse effects of the hard or soft oral tissue were observed by the clinical investigators or reported by the subjects.

CONCLUSION
Both the experimental Test dentifrice (1450 ppm fluoride as SMFP/zinc-based dentifrice) and the Positive Control dentifrice (1450 ppm fluoride as SMFP/zinc-based dentifrice) provided significantly greater 12-hour tartar control as measured by calcium buildup, as compared to the Negative Control dentifrice containing 1000 ppm fluoride as SMFP and 450 ppm fluoride as NaF.


Three experiments examined psychological factors which inhibit pituitary-adrenal activity in 12-, 16-, and 20-day-old rats. Infant rats were placed in heated novel test arenas for 30 min--a treatment which increases corticosterone secretion--and were presented with different appetitive stimuli in order to determine whether these stimuli inhibit this increased hormone secretion. The first experiment was a factorial combination of two conditions: suckling an anesthetized dam and milk ingestion through an intraoral cannula. At all ages, suckling inhibited corticosterone secretion but milk ingestion did not, nor was there an interaction of these factors. In the second experiment, the importance of suckling was assessed by allowing pups' contact with an anesthetized dam either with or without the opportunity to suckle. At all ages, contact with suckling and contact alone were equally effective in inhibiting corticosterone secretion. The third experiment asked whether contact with a lactating female is necessary for pituitary-adrenal inhibition or whether more distal cues associated with lactation are sufficient. Pups were tested under one of four treatments formed by a 2(Lactating vs. Virgin Female) X 2(Contact vs. No Contact) factorial design. At all ages inhibition of corticosterone secretion occurred only in animals which were allowed contact with an anesthetized female. Lactating and virgin females were equally effective for the 12- and 16-day-old pups, but contact with a virgin female was less effective for the 20-day-old pups. These findings indicate that neuroendocrine mechanisms subserving inhibition of the pituitary-adrenal system exist during the preweanling period in the rat, and suggest the possibility of maternal regulation of this physiological system during development.


Grapevines exhibit a wide spectrum of resistance to the powdery mildew fungus (PM), Erysiphe necator (Schw.) Burr., but little is known about the transcriptional basis of the defense to PM. Our microscopic observations showed that PM produced less hyphal growth and induced more brown-colored epidermal cells on leaves of PM-resistant Vitis aestivalis 'Norton' than on leaves of PM-susceptible Vitis vinifera 'Cabernet sauvignon'. We found that endogenous salicylic acid levels were higher in V. aestivalis than in V. vinifera in the absence of the fungus and that salicylic acid levels increased in V. vinifera at 120 h postinoculation with PM. To test the hypothesis that gene expression differences would be apparent when V. aestivalis and V. vinifera were mounting a response to PM, we conducted a comprehensive Vitis GeneChip analysis. We examined the transcriptome at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h postinoculation with PM. We found only three PM-responsive transcripts in V. aestivalis and 625 in V. vinifera. There was a significant increase in the abundance of transcripts encoding ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, WRKY, PATHOGENESIS-RELATED1, PATHOGENESIS-RELATED10, and stilbene synthase in PM-infected V. vinifera, suggesting an induction of the basal defense response. The overall changes in the PM-responsive V. vinifera transcriptome also indicated a possible reprogramming of metabolism toward the increased synthesis of the secondary metabolites. These results suggested that resistance to PM in V. aestivalis was not associated with overall reprogramming of the transcriptome. However, PM induced defense-oriented transcriptional changes in V. vinifera.


Optical Beamforming Network (OBFN) is a device to receive signal and send them again to the addressed receiver or another device. For the incoming signal to be received by OBFN then the signal of the receiver needs to be at the same phase with the signal of the sender, therefore it is required to have a device to control the phase of the received signal. Optical Ring Resonator (ORR) is a device used for giving a delay to the signal so that the phase received have equal phase with the sended signal. To determine the value of the optimal delay time of the ORR, we use two kinds of optimization method and there are simulated annealing and particle swarm optimization. These two kinds of optimization method used because the values that they produce more optimal than the rest of the other method. When using simulated annealing method, the value that produced use more iteration than when using praticle swarm optimization method. The optimal delay value of the ORR is very important for the OBFN to be able to sum the incoming signal so that the power of the signal did not subtract each other. If signals comes to the OBFN in a large scale, the ORRs that used is installed in cascade setting.


A review is firstly presented about the history of color difference formulas and the development of color difference evaluation for digital images. This study involves two phases of psychophysical experiments. Phase I was implemented via a categorical judgment method to test the typical color difference evaluation methods for digital images, including CIELAB, CIEDE2000, CAM02-UCS, S-CIELAB, and iCAM, which indicates that iCAM performs best in the evaluation of image color difference. Two visual experiments were involved in Phase II, of which the first one was conducted to determine the threshold of image color difference and the second one was carried out based on a magnitude estimation method to evaluate the suprathreshold color difference for digital images. The visual data illustrate that the mean acceptable threshold is nearly twice the perceptible one and the different thresholds of lightness, chroma, hue and sharpness should be considered in the future modeling of color difference evaluation for digital images.


ABSTRACT This paper presents a robust impedance controller for robot manipulators using function approximation techniques (FATs). Recently, some FAT-based robust impedance control approaches have been presented using Fourier series expansion or Legendre polynomials for uncertainty estimation. However, the dimensions of regressor matrices in these approaches are relatively large. This problem becomes hypersensitive especially for higher degree of freedom robot manipulators. In this paper, a simpler and less computational FAT-based robust controller is presented without considering discontinuous nonlinearities. It is assumed that the lumped uncertainty can be modelled by a linear differential equation with unknown coefficients. Then, using the Stone–Weierstrass theorem, it is verified that these differential equations are universal approximators. The advantage of the proposed controller in comparison with previous related works is reducing the dimensions of regressor matrices. Simulation results on a Puma560 robot manipulator indicate the efficiency of the proposed method.


Five kinds of fragments of hen egg-white lysozyme (HL) were tested by macrophage migration inhibition (MMI) assay using peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) of guinea pigs immunized with HL in complete Freund's adjuvant. (See article). These four kinds of HL fragments were also shown to be composed of the immunodominant groups of the HL molecule for circulating antibody against HL in guinea pigs. The relationships between the antigenic sites related to circulating antibody and the cellular recognition sites are discussed.


Abstract Outline shape is a key morphological character of infaunal bivalves that reflects both phylogenetic history and function. A new method of Fourier shape analysis has been used here to study the evolution of shape and size in the Cenozoic genus Spissatella (Crassatellidae), using material from New Zealand. The Fourier method can be used to construct a map of morphological 'geography', to generate synthetic average or extreme morphologies, and to visualize marginal growth fields and allometries. The results demonstrate that growth in Spissatella was strongly allometric and that differences between individual growth stages are commonly far greater than evolutionary changes in shape spanning 20 Ma. In all taxa, allometry was dominated by the relative elongation of the posterior margin with growth, an inferred functional adaptation for life in relatively high-energy environments. Heterochrony was the dominant evolutionary mechanism and, following an initial peramorphic expansion into morphospace, both paedomorphosis and peramorphosis probably occurred in approximately equal proportions. In general, it is not possible to decouple patterns of shape and size evolution. The data reveal no directional trends in evolution of these traits. The ontogenetic pathway followed by Spissatella may be a key genus-level taxonomic character and apparently represents a developmental constraint that largely controlled evolution within the genus.


The Florence branch of an Italian supermarket chain recently implemented a strategy that permanently lowered the price of numerous store brands in several product categories. To quantify the impact of such a policy change, researchers often use synthetic control methods for estimating causal effects when a subset of units receive a single persistent treatment and the rest are unaffected by the change. In our applications, however, competitor brands not assigned to treatment are likely impacted by the intervention because of substitution effects; more broadly, this type of interference occurs whenever the treatment assignment of one unit affects the outcome of another. This paper extends the synthetic control methods to accommodate partial interference, allowing interference within predefined groups but not between them. Focusing on a class of causal estimands that capture the effect both on the treated and control units, we develop a multivariate Bayesian structural time series model for generating synthetic controls that would have occurred in the absence of an intervention, enabling us to estimate our novel effects. In a simulation study we explore our Bayesian procedures' empirical properties and show that it achieves good frequentists coverage, even when the model is misspecified. We use our new methodology to make causal statements about the impact on sales of the affected store brands and their direct competitors. Our proposed approach is implemented in the CausalMBSTS R package. To determine the intervention's impact, we use our Bayesian structural time-series model to estimate the causal effect at various time horizons. The results show that the new strategy had a minor, short-term impact on store brands' sales; interestingly, we do not detect significant effects on the competitor brands. In


The coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, presents as characteristic large expanses of wetlands. Some of these environments are of a temporary nature, and thus have a community adapted to periods with water and periods of drought. Among these communities we can highlight the Cladocera, which have the capacity to form structures of dormancy, and due to this adaptation are effective at colonizing these environments. This study aims to identify the Cladocera species present in the temporary aquatic environments of the southern coastal region of Brazil. Samples were collected in 14 temporary aquatic environments using a classical filtering methodology. As results we obtained 64 Cladocera taxa, representing 54% of the total number of species described in Brazil. The number of taxa was high, the species accumulation curve showed a tendency to stabilization, demonstrating that this region possesses a greater richness.


Usnea species of the Neuropogon group are amongst the most widespread and abundant macrolichens in Antarctic regions. Four principal species, U. antarctica, U. aurantiaco-atra, U. sphacelata and U. subantarctica, have been described on morphological grounds. However, identification to species level is often difficult and atypical morphologies frequently arise. Over 400 specimens were collected on the Antarctic Peninsula and Falkland Islands. Both morphological and molecular characters (ITS and RPB1) were used to compare samples to clarify taxonomic relationships. Morphological characteristics used included presence of apothecia, apothecial rays, soredia, papillae, fibrils, pigmentation and the diameter of the central axis as a proportion of branch diameter. Results revealed a very close relationship between U. antarctica and U. aurantiaco-atra, suggesting that they might constitute a species pair or be conspecific. Usnea sphacelata was comprised of at least two genetically distinct groups with no clear differences in morphology. One group included the first reported fertile specimen of this species. Usnea subantarctica was phylogenetically distinct from the other main Antarctic Usnea species, but clustered with U. trachycarpa. Genetic variation was evident within all species although there was no clear correlation between geographic origin and genetic relatedness. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that species circumscription in the Neuropogon group needs revision, with the principal species being non-monophyletic. None of the morphological characters, or groups of characters, used in this study proved to be completely unambiguous markers for a single species. However, axis thickness was supported as being informative for the identification of monophyletic lineages within the group.


This paper presents the first probability-based record of flooding in Europe that spans the entire Holocene. An analysis of 506 14C dated fluvial units collected across the whole of Great Britain provides a novel and robust methodology for improving flood risk assessment by geographically and temporally extending the record of extreme flood events. Sixteen episodes of increased flooding occurrence are identified, 12 of which (at c. 11 160, 5730, 4840, 4520, 3540, 2730, 2550, 2280, 1950, 1290, 660, 570, cal. BP) are recorded in most regions, whereas four phases (at c. 6820, 5540, 1650, 860 cal. BP) affected some parts of Great Britain more than others. In all regions large variations in flood frequency and magnitude occurred before forest clearance and indicate an underlying climatic control. During the mid-Holocene there is evidence for a hydroclimatic 'system switch', which in terms of catchment hydrology in Great Britain was marked by two sudden increases in both the frequency and severity of floods at c. 5000 cal. BP and, most notably, at c. 3000 cal. BP. The marked non-stationary behaviour of the British flood series at these times reflects a regional hydrologic response to large-scale ocean-atmospheric circulation changes superimposed on a pattern reflecting both long-term land-use change and the preferential preservation of later fluvial units. Centennial-scale variations in the occurrence of extreme flood events in Great Britain appear to be a sensitive indicator of past and present climate change in the North Atlantic region.


Indole frameworks have been extensively known as vital moieties in biological, agrochemical and pharmacological compounds.1 Several MCR methods have been reported for the synthesis of substituted indoles. Within indole derivatives, 3-substituted indoles are versatile intermediates for the synthesis of a widespread range of indole compounds. The conjugate addition of indoles to Michael acceptors affords easy access to 3-substituted indole derivatives. 2
In continuing to our ongoing efforts towards developing efficient catalysts for different MCRs3,4, we report herein a general route to 3-substituted indole derivatives via the three-component reaction of indoles, malononitrile and aldehydes promoted by a new alkaline functionalized chitosan, as a highly efficient and recoverable catalyst (Scheme 1).

 Scheme 1. The three-component reaction of aldehydes, indole and malononitrile.

References
(1) Shiri, M. Chemical reviews 2012, 112, 3508.
(2) Qu, Y.; Ke, F.; Zhou, L.; Li, Z.; Xiang, H.; Wu, D.; Zhou, X. Chemical Communications 2011, 47, 3912.
(3) Dekamin, M. G.; Azimoshan, M.; Ramezani, L. Green Chemistry 2013, 15, 811.
(4) Dekamin, M. G.; Kazemi, E.; Karimi, Z.; Mohammadalipoor, M.; Naimi-Jamal, M. R. International journal of biological macromolecules 2016, 93, 767.


Chromosome analysis is an important procedure in clinical and cancer cytogenetics. Efficient image compression techniques are highly desired to accommodate the rapid growth in the use of digital media for archiving, storage and communication of chromosome spread images. In this paper, we propose a new method based on an important characteristic of these images: the regions of interest to cytogeneticists for evaluation and diagnosis are well determined and segmented. Such information is utilized to advantage in our compression algorithm, which combines lossless coding of chromosome regions with lossy-to-lossless coding of the remaining image parts. This is accomplished by first performing a differential operation on chromosome regions for decorrelation, followed by critically sampled integer wavelet transforms on these regions and the remaining image parts. A modified set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) algorithm is then used to generate separate embedded bitstreams that allow continuous lossy-to-lossless compression of both chromosome regions and the rest of the image (although lossless coding of the former is commonly used in practice). Experiments on sample chromosome spread images indicate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms several reference compression schemes and the techniques currently employed in commercial systems.


In many important hydrocarbon reservoirs, aluminosilicate framework grain dissolution constitutes an important part of the porosity (i.e., the Gulf Coast). Our experimental work has shown that difunctional carboxylic acids can increase aluminum solubility by three orders of magnitude. Oil field brines are observed to contain concentrations of monofunctional carboxylic acids up to 10,000 ppm, but only traces of difunctional acids. Oxidative degradation of kerogen is a commonly used technique in the study of kerogen structure, and results in extremely high concentrations of difunctional carboxylic acids (up to 40% of the carbon released from type 3 kerogen is in the form of oxalic acid). The reduction of mineral oxidants and consequent oxidation of organic matter may be as effective in releasing peripheral difunctional carboxylic acid groups from kerogen as thermal degradation in the natural system. The coincidence in time, temperature, and space of smectite/illite ordering (release of Fe+3 from octahedral layers) and the peak concentrations of carboxylic acids suggests a possible mechanism for the generation of difunctional carboxylic acids. This mechanism would allow highly soluble difunctional carboxylic acids to be swept through adjacent sandstones just prior to hydrocarbon generation. Thus, an ideal mechanism is available for dissolving carbonates and/or aluminosilicates out of pores and pore throats, thereby enhancing porosity and permeability in hydr carbon reservoirs. End_of_Article - Last_Page 532------------


This paper presents a new approach to rescheduling called constraint-based iterative repair. This approach gives our system the ability to satisfy domain constraints, address optimization concerns, minimize perturbation to the original schedule, and produce modified schedules quickly. The system begins with an initiM, flawed schedule and then iteratively repairs constraint violations until a conflict-free schedule is produced. In an empirical demonstration, we vary the importance of minimizing perturbation and report how fast the system is able to resolve conflicts in a given time bound. These experiments were performed within the domain of Space Shuttle ground processing.


Introduction HIV care engagement is lower among black sexual-minority men relative to other racial/ethnic groups of sexual-minority men. Being in a primary relationship is generally associated with more successful HIV care engagement across various populations. However, among black sexual-minority men, the association between primary relationship status and HIV-related outcomes is inconsistent across the HIV care continuum. Given the ubiquity of mobile technology access and use among racial/ethnic minority communities, leveraging mobile technology for HIV care engagement appears a promising intervention strategy. This paper outlines the protocol of the LetSync study, a pilot randomised controlled trial of a mobile health app intervention developed using the Framework of Dyadic HIV Care Engagement to improve care-engagement outcomes among black sexual-minority male couples living with HIV. Methods and analysis Eighty black sexual-minority men in couples (n=160) will be enrolled to pilot test the LetSync app. At least one member of each dyad must be both HIV-positive and self-identify as black/African-American. Couples will be randomised to either a waitlist-control arm or an intervention that uses relationship-based approach to improve HIV care engagement. We will assess feasibility and acceptability of trial procedures and intervention protocols based on predefined metrics of feasibility and acceptability. Execution of the study will yield the opportunity to conduct analyses to test the measurement and analysis protocol on antiretroviral therapy adherence by comparing the intervention and waitlist-control arms on self-reported and biological (hair sample) measures of adherence. Ethics and dissemination Study staff will obtain electronic consent from all participants. This study has been approved by the University of California (UCSF) Institutional Review Board. Study staff will work with the Community Advisory Board at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies Board to disseminate results to participants and the community via open discussions, presentations, journal publications and/or social media. Trial registration number NCT04951544.


Ripening of fleshy fruits involves major changes in physiology and biochemistry that alter their colour, flavour, texture, aroma and nutritional value. These changes affect all cell compartments and require the expression of new genes encoding enzymes that catalyse reactions essential for the development of quality attributes. In climacteric fruits, such as tomato, ethylene functions as a hormone to stimulate changes in gene expression required for ripening. Molecular cloning experiments have led to the isolation of cDNAs encoding many ripening proteins. This has enabled the identification and manipulation of novel plant genes encoding enzymes involved in cell wall texture change, carotenoid biosynthesis, ethylene synthesis and the identification of gene control regions involved in fruit-specific, ripening-specific, and ethylene-regulated gene expression. Antisense and partial sense gene techniques have been developed to generate genetically modified plant lines in which specific genes have been permanently inactivated. These fundamental studies have led to production and evaluation of genetically modified tomato lines with improved colour, texture, storage life, and processing characteristics. Zeneca Seeds has established a new business division, the aim of which is to utilize these techniques for the development of improved fruit and vegetable varieties. In collaboration with Petoseed, Zeneca Seeds is in the process of transferring the genes leading to quality im provement of tomatoes to Petoseed's elite tomato germplasm. The primary focus is on the development of improved processing hybrids. These are being evaluated in collaboration with Hunt Wesson, a large and diversified tomato processing company. It is planned that products based on this research will be introduced in the USA in 1995.


The Ono's rotary bending fatigue test and the cantilever rotary bending fatigue test were carried out on friction-welded 6061 aluminum alloy joints, and the relationship between the deformation heat input in the upset stage or the upset burn-off length and fatigue strength was examined. In the Ono's type test, sound joints, which fractured in the heat affected zone in the tensile test, fractured in the heat affected zone also and the fatigue limit of these joints was slightly lower than that of 6061 aluminum alloy base metal. This is because joints fractured in the softened area in both tensile test and Ono's type test using smoothed test specimens. While, in the cantilever type test, the fatigue limit of sound joints was a little more than or a little less than that of 6061 aluminum alloy base metal. It seems that a weld and a structure at the weld interface affected fatigue strength in the cantilever type test using notched test specimens. Judging from the fatigue limit obtained, sound joints could be produced when either the deformation heat input in the upset stage or the upset burn-off length exceeded a certain value.


This communication reports the results of experimental studies of the electroluminescence (EL) of forward-biased Schottky barrier (SB) diodes fabricated on heterostructures where an InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) layer was placed in the space charge region. In order to reach a higher EL wavelength, the QD layer was overgrown by a thin combined GaAs/InGaAs cladding layer. The heterostructures with Au SBs were found to show pronounced EL originating from several confined exciton states in InAs QDs which is higher at 300 K than at low temperatures. It is shown that the EL wavelength can be tuned within the 1.3–1.57 µm range by changing the thickness and composition of the combined GaAs/InGaAs capping layer. We discuss possible mechanisms of the injection of holes needed for the radiative recombination in the QDs and possibilities of improving the EL quantum yield.


This paper makes exploratory attempts to study Pro-Poor Tourism and its benefits as well as importance to a Locality. The objectives of the study are to: assess the impact of PPT to a locality, investigate the challenges of PPT as it relates to a locality and to propose PPT strategies to facilitate local growth and development. The design employed for this study was that of the exploratory research design and data was collected from 200 respondents representing indigenes from Varanasi through a structured questionnaire as well as from secondary sources. To examine the hypotheses of the study, cross-tabulation analysis, correlation analysis as well as chi-square test were employed as statistical tools for analyzing the study variables. The findings of the study revealed that PPT passes as a vibrant tool for local development since it affords the indigenes the luxury of gaining employment which leads to income generation thereby reducing poverty and largely improving their quality of life. It was therefore recommended that PPT requires multi-level strategies to be able to achieve its objective of developing a locality.


We have previously shown that lamellar body-like particles, the form in which pulmonary surfactant is secreted, spontaneously disintegrate when they contact an air-liquid interface, eventually creating an interfacial film. Here, we combined these studies with a new technique enabling the simultaneous and non-invasive measurement of surface tension (gamma). This method is a refinement of the pendant-drop principle. A sapphire cone with a 300-microm aperture keeps the experimental fluid by virtue of surface coherence in a fixed and nearly planar position above the objective of an inverted microscope. The radius of curvature of the fluid meniscus is related to gamma and determines the pattern of light back-reflection upon epi-illumination. This method, which we name "inverted interface", has several novel aspects, in particular its microscopic dimensions. When using lamellar body-like particles freshly released by alveolar type II cells, we found that their conversion at the interface resulted in gamma-reduction close to 30 mN/m. After a fast initial decay, gamma-decrease proceeded slowly and in proportion to single particle conversions. These conversions ceased with time whereas gamma decreased further, probably due to reorganization of the already deposited material. The present investigation indicates that surface film formation by adsorption of large surfactant aggregates is an important mechanism by which gamma is reduced in the lung.


Presents a multichannel approach to the codec and filter subsystem found at the heart of digital PCM systems. The subsystem consists of a multichannel codec and associated transmit and receive filters, structured to produce a five-chip group handling eight subscriber channels. A 2.048 MHz master clock and a time slot zero (TSO) synchronization pulse are the only external drive requirements other than power supplies. Within the group, timing is generated internally and allows four groups to be cascaded to produce a 32-channel system with only 20 chips. With a target power consumption of only 62.5 mW/channel, the 8-channel group structure offers significant advantages in total power and board area, compared with the single-channel approach.


Anti-Semitism in the form of violent acts is on the rise in France and throughout Europe. These incidents and the looming threat of targeted violence are leading to the outmigration of Jewish individuals in France to Israel, Canada, and the United States. The health impact of this migration on individuals of the French Jewry who are now residing in the United States has not been studied. This paper will propose and address the need for culturally tailored nursing strategies to make a positive impact on the health, well-being, and lives of these individuals. Additionally, the writers will discuss the challenges faced by these new immigrants, how acculturation may be impacted by economic status, and how specifically focused nursing care can impact the physical, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being of these individuals in their new home (or host country).


This paper presents an analytical method based on subdomain method for the computation of open circuit, armature reaction, and on-load magnetic field distribution in integer slot winding parallel double excitation and spoke-type tangential permanent-magnet machines. The proposed model takes into account for stator and rotor slots tooth tips and shape of polar piece. A 2-D exact analytical solution of magnetic field distribution is established. It involves solution of Laplace's and Poisson's equations in semi-closed stator and rotor slots, air-gap, buried permanent magnets into rotor semi-closed slots, and nonmagnetic region under magnets. Obtained exact analytical results of open circuit, armature reaction, and on-load magnetic field distribution are verified with those issued from the finite element method.


We present an update on the current architecture of the Zoea knowledge-based, Composable Inductive Programming system. The Zoea compiler is built using a modern variant of the black-board architecture. Zoea integrates a large number of knowledge sources that encode different aspects of programming language and software development expertise. We describe the use of synthetic test cases as a ubiquitous form of knowledge and hypothesis representation that sup-ports a variety of reasoning strategies. Some future plans are also outlined.


There is evidence that an improvement of the diagnostic abilities could have a value for prognosis and therapy of the ischemic stroke. New neuroradiological strategies could be used with an amelioration of the evaluation and standardization of the ischemic damage. The value of early vascular sign remains controversial as a predictor of patient outcome. Early parenchymal changes are related to a poor outcome. The risk of hemorrhagic transformation increases with trombolytic therapy and especially with the onset of therapy. Between hemorrhagic transformation, only the large hematomas seems to be related to early deterioration and death. Brain Computed Tomography (CT) examination can give information about prognosis and therapeutic choice.


Introduction 1218 I. Background of Internet Harassment and Civil Conspiracy 1221 A. Internet Harassment 1221 B. Civil Litigation and its Internet Inadequacies 1229 1. Lack of Defendants 1230 2. Ease of Access and Anonymity 1236 3. Jurisdictional Issues 1240 C. Civil Conspiracy and its Features Adapted 1241 II. The Problem of Cybermobs and Civil Conspiracy as a Remedy 1245 A. Cybermobs 1245 B. Civil Conspiracy, Copyright Law, and Permissive Joinder 1248 C. Civil Conspiracy and Cybermobs 1251 III. AutoAdmit and Civil Conspiracy in Practice 1255 A. Civil Conspiracy Elements Present 1257 1. Group of Two or More 1257 2. Unlawful Objective/Lawful Objective by Unlawful Means 1258 3. Agreement 1258 4. An Unlawful Act Committed to Further the Agreement 1261 5. Harm that Was Proximately Caused by Conspiracy 1262 B. Possible Inadequacies of Cybermob Civil Conspiracy 1263 Conclusion 1264 INTRODUCTION Cities are centers of culture, learning, and debate. These urban spaces provide a stage upon which discordant voices are brought together, where communities may form, and where ideas can clash. (1) The Internet is the new urban, where dissident voices can find refuge and where the world grows closer. (2) But even as the Internet draws people closer together and allows debate to flourish, the Internet creates new ways for people to harass and harm others. (3) So as exists in cities, structures must be created to safeguard individuals while maintaining the diversity and vibrancy that makes the space desirable. The Internet allows individuals to be hurt in ways that simply did not previously exist. Several examples demonstrate the new types of harms that have become available when people use the Internet as a tool of harassment: from false accusations, gender discrimination, and inexplicable ire, to the scorning of people who tread past certain social norms. After the Boston Marathon Bombing, Sunil Tripathi was falsely accused on Reddit of being the Boston Bomber; his family received hundreds of threatening and anti-Islamic phone calls. (4) Reddit users from around the world trawled through news articles, images, and social media only to misidentify Mr. Tripathi, who had committed suicide days before the Bombing. (5) Steven Rudderham received death threats and hateful comments after accusations that he was a pedophile spread through Facebook; he committed suicide soon after. (6) After posting feminist critiques of video games, Anita Sarkeesian cancelled speaking engagements because of bomb threats, had her website shut down by hackers numerous times, was accused of being a fraud and a liar, and received death and rape threats which included her address and the names of her family members. (7) Jessica Leonhardt was eleven when she faced the ire of a cybermob; in just a few hours after someone posted one of her videos on 4chan, (8) her real name, phone number, real address, and social networking accounts circulated the Internet; harassers spammed her networking accounts, prank-called her home, and threatened her life. (9) As Leonhardt's mother said, "We've had many, many death threats. We're afraid to leave the house. We're afraid to go to bed. We're sleeping in shifts, my husband and I am." (10) Walter Palmer, the dentist who killed Cecil the Lion, received a staggeringly large amount of online abuse that quickly turned into harassment as Internet users shared his address, his phone number, uncovered information about his employees and his patients, and even vandalized his home. …


In this work, we investigate the electrical performance of critical signal paths in IBM S/390 MCM packages. We present lumped RLC-models suitable for standard circuit simulators operating in the time domain, e.g. SPICE. The models are developed from finite element simulations of typical signal path segments. By comparing S-parameters from simulations of the models to two-port network analyzer measurements, we validate the models in a frequency range up to 3 GHz.


: Total daily energy expenditure ("total expenditure", MJ/d) reflects daily energy needs and is a critical variable in human health and physiology, yet it is unclear how daily expenditure 120 changes over the life course. Here, we analyze a large, globally diverse database of total 121 expenditure measured by the doubly labeled water method for males and females aged 8 days to 122 95 yr. We show that total expenditure is strongly related to fat free mass in a power-law manner 123 and identify four distinct metabolic life stages. Fat free mass-adjusted daily expenditure 124 accelerates rapidly in neonates (0-1yr) to ~46% above adult values at ~1 yr, declines slowly 125 throughout childhood and adolescence (1-20 yr) to adult levels at ~20 yr, remains stable in 126 adulthood (20-60 yr) even during pregnancy, and declines in older adults (60+ yr). These 127 changes in total expenditure shed new light on human development and aging and should help 128 shape nutrition and health strategies across the lifespan.


We examine the effect of energy prices and technological knowledge on innovation in green energy technologies. In doing so, we consider both demand-pull effects, which induce innovative activity by increasing the expected value of innovations, and technology-push effects, which drive innovative activity by extending the technological capability of an economy. Our analysis is conducted using patent data from the European Patent Office on a panel of 26 OECD countries over the period 1978-2009. Utilizing a dynamic count data model for panel data, we analyze 11 distinct green energy technologies. Our results indicate that the existing knowledge stock is a significant driver of green energy innovation for all technologies. Furthermore, the results suggest that energy prices have a positive impact on innovation for some but not all technologies and that the effect of energy prices and technological knowledge on green energy innovation becomes more pronounced after the Kyoto protocol agreement in 1997.


Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a primordial versatile autacoid that changes its role from an intracellular energy saver to a signaling molecule once released to the extracellular milieu. Extracellular ATP and its adenosine metabolite are the main activators of the P2 and P1 purinoceptor families, respectively. Mounting evidence suggests that the ionotropic P2X4 receptor (P2X4R) plays pivotal roles in the regulation of the cardiovascular system, yet further therapeutic advances have been hampered by the lack of selective P2X4R agonists. In this review, we provide the state of the art of the P2X4R activity in the cardiovascular system. We also discuss the role of P2X4R activation in kidney and lungs vis a vis their interplay to control cardiovascular functions and dysfunctions, including putative adverse effects emerging from P2X4R activation. Gathering this information may prompt further development of selective P2X4R agonists and its translation to the clinical practice.


In Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine applications a mixture of fuel and oxidizer is compressed in an engine cylinder until self-ignition occurs. Since no flame propagation or fuel-rich regions exists no soot will form and in-cylinder temperatures will be rather low leading to very low NOx emissions. Another benefit is a high, diesel like, efficiency. The problems will HCCI combustion are mainly high hydrocarbon and CO emissions, high peak pressures, control difficulties, etc. A possible way to utilize the benefits is to use a dual mode engine that works in HCCI mode at low and medium loads and in diesel mode at high loads. A way to link CHEMKIN III to the MATLAB environment is presented. The coupling between the programs gives MATLAB access to rate of production, enthalpy and specific heat producing subroutines from the CHEMKIN III package. All modeling is done in MATLAB after the link has been established. The coupling is then used to make a HCCI engine model, consisting of three zones, each of uniform temperatures and composition, of each zone, and the inputs are temperatures of the different zones, pressure and composition of the initial fuel/ox load and engine data. Analysis of a mixture of 84% iso-octane and 16% and n-heptane/air HCCI combustion was presented and compared to experimental results. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 30th International Symposium on Combustion (Chicago, IL 7/25-30/2004).


Introduction The POInT study, an investigator initiated, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicentre primary prevention trial is conducted to determine whether daily administration of oral insulin, from age 4.0 months to 7.0 months until age 36.0 months to children with elevated genetic risk for type 1 diabetes, reduces the incidence of beta-cell autoantibodies and diabetes. Methods and analysis Infants aged 4.0 to 7.0 months from Germany, Poland, Belgium, UK and Sweden are eligible if they have a >10.0% expected risk for developing multiple beta-cell autoantibodies as determined by genetic risk score or family history and human leucocyte antigen genotype. Infants are randomised 1:1 to daily oral insulin (7.5 mg for 2 months, 22.5 mg for 2 months, 67.5 mg until age 36.0 months) or placebo, and followed for a maximum of 7 years. Treatment and follow-up is stopped if a child develops diabetes. The primary outcome is the development of persistent confirmed multiple beta-cell autoantibodies or diabetes. Other outcomes are: (1) Any persistent confirmed beta-cell autoantibody (glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA), IA-2A, autoantibodies to insulin (IAA) and zinc transporter 8 or tetraspanin 7), or diabetes, (2) Persistent confirmed IAA, (3) Persistent confirmed GADA and (4) Abnormal glucose tolerance or diabetes. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by the ethical committees of all participating clinical sites. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations and will be openly shared after completion of the trial. Trial registration number NCT03364868.


Abstract Schwannoma arising in the posterior pharyngeal wall is rare. We report on a 60-year-old man who complained of discomfort in his pharynx, from whom a tumour was excised via an intraoral approach. No recurrence was seen after an 11-year follow-up. The nerve origin of the tumour is most likely to be the peripharyngeal plexus. This is the third such case reported.


Summary

Human activities, invasive species and climate change have altered the composition of native forest plant communities in North America. These changes have, in turn, altered the composition of leaf litter in woodland ponds with consequences for the organisms they harbour, such as amphibian larvae.
We used mesocosms to assess how 10 species of allochthonous litter, which differ in their regional abundance and chemical composition, affect ephemeral ponds. We were particularly interested in effects on larval amphibian fitness, including metamorphic mass, larval period and survival.
Litter had strong effects on the fitness of larval wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus), water chemistry, and phytoplankton and periphyton biomass in the mesocosms. Litter from green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), a tree species in decline, enabled frog larvae to grow larger, develop faster and survive better than larvae from other litter treatments. Interestingly, three invasive wetland plant species produced heavy metamorphs, with shorter larval periods and higher survival relative to native wetland plants. Litter from red maple (Acer rubrum, now among the most abundant native trees in the eastern United States), cattail (Typha latifolia) and sedge (Carex stricta) produced metamorphs that were small and survived poorly.
Mass at metamorphosis was best explained by litter quality (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content) and primary producer biomass, while survival and larval period were best explained by a combination of litter quality, primary producer biomass and water chemistry (polyphenolics and pH). Additionally, litter quality and primary producer biomass explained differences in the elemental composition of metamorphs. Lastly, our data suggest that litter nitrogen may be a limiting resource that affects the export of metamorphic frog biomass from ephemeral ponds.
Overall, our results indicate that anthropogenic changes in plant communities lead to changes in the quality of allochthonous litter input and strongly affect amphibian fitness.


Author(s): Gyorody, Andrea | Advisor(s): Baker, George | Abstract: This dissertation examines the political turn, circa 1967, in the work of German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), and his concurrent development of the concept of "social sculpture," which avowed that everyday actions imbued with creativity could re-shape society. Between 1967 and 1986, Beuys established several political action groups and a free university, lectured widely across Europe and the United States, and campaigned for public office. He also produced a wide-ranging oeuvre of objects, performances, and installations that concretized the rhetoric of his larger projects, while having their purview broadened in turn. This dissertation focuses on Beuys's political organizations, multiples, and the installation 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks) in order to characterize how social sculpture manifested in his work and how it diverged from his stated motives. In contrast to the prevailing understanding of Beuys's work as guided by a totalizing ideology and shamanistic self-mythology, this project demonstrates that Beuys's work was rife with contradiction, ambivalence, tension, doubt, and surprising openness and heterogeneity, all of which was brought to bear on his relationship with the Nazi past. Chapter 1 traces the origins of Beuys's aesthetic ideology, which was informed by contemporaneous neo-avant-garde practices (notably Fluxus), Dada, nineteenth-century Romantic thought, the writings of Rudolf Steiner, and fascist rhetoric. It goes on to analyze Beuys's importation of political forms into artistic contexts under the banner of social sculpture and the impact of his continued creation of art objects alongside dialogic work. Chapter 2 turns to Beuys's production of multiples, arguing that the political work performed by the nascent medium was its staging of tensions between reproducibility and aura, repetition and difference, singularity and plurality, and, finally, individual and community—competing values with implications for Beuys's construction of authorship and authority. Chapter 3 presents a close study of the 1982-87 project 7000 Oaks, installed for documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany. Excavating the project's iconography and historical contexts exposes ambiguity and multiplicity of meaning, as well as social sculpture's dual backwards-looking and utopian aspirations, levels of complexity illuminated most effectively by successive generations of documenta artists.


This dissertation is a compilation of three essays on the role of information frictions in macroeconomics.The first essay contributes to the literature on the impact of uncertainty on the business cycle. The cross-sectional dispersion of firm-level outcomes, such as sales growth or stock returns, is markedly countercyclical. Recent papers have framed this fact as evidence that exogenous "uncertainty shocks" are important drivers of business cycles. This paper provides empirical evidence that the co-movement of various dispersion measures with the business cycle is better understood as the economy's endogenous response to traditional first moment shocks – dispersion is the effect, not the cause. It then develops a theoretical model that links the cross-sectional dispersion of micro-level outcomes to the aggregate state of the economy. The mechanism is based on time-varying rational inattention. In bad times, firms pay more attention to idiosyncratic shocks hitting their business environment. More precise micro- level information about the underlying heterogeneity leads to higher dispersion in realized outcomes. In line with the empirical findings, the model generates countercyclical dispersion without relying on exogenous second moment (uncertainty) shocks.The second essay uses survey expectations to assess the microfoundations of an important class of macroeconomic models. Many theoretical macro models try to explain the pervasive nominal and real stickiness in the data by assuming rational decision-making under imperfect information. The behavior of consensus (average) forecasts is consistent with the predictions of these models, which can be seen as supportive empirical evidence for the models' microfoundations (Coibion and Gorodnichenko, 2012). This paper demonstrates, however, that the individual-level data underlying the consensus forecasts are at odds with this interpretation. In particular, I document that individual expectations in the Survey of Professional Forecasters do not pass a very weak test of rational expectations: current forecast revisions are strong predictors of subsequent forecast errors. Information frictions alone cannot explain this pattern.I go on to propose a simple modification of the noisy information framework that allows for a particular form of non-rational expectations: agents may incorrectly weight new information against their prior. I show that this parsimonious model can match the survey data along several dimensions. Using the structure of the model, I estimate the direction and size of inefficiencies in the expectations formation process. I find that in most cases agents put too much weight on their private information, which can be interpreted as overconfidence in the precision of private information. I also show that there is substantial heterogeneity across agents in the deviation from rational expectations, and I relate these differences to observable characteristics. Finally, I discuss potential interpretations of my empirical results and their implications for macroeconomic theory.The third essay explores the potential trade-off between competition and systemic stability in financial intermediation. Why do banks feel compelled to operate with such high leverage despite the risks this poses? Using a simple model, I argue that the degree of competition goes a long way in explaining capital structure decisions. On the one hand, information frictions (adverse selection) render debt a cheaper form of financing than equity. On the other hand, more reliance on debt increases the probability of bankruptcy, which results in the loss of the bank's charter value. The degree of competition affects charter values, and hence changes the way banks balance between these two forces. A panel analysis of European banks' capital structure around the introduction of the euro reveals statistically and economically significant effects consistent with this hypothesis. Banks, in particular smaller banks, decreased their equity ratios after entering the currency area. Complementary evidence suggests that this effect can be attributed to increased competitive pressures boosted by the euro.


Assuming the world becomes populated with a substantial number of wireless mobile computers, some new problems will arise in the design of software architecture. The article describes three modern paradigms from an application development perspective for mobile computing: the client/server model, the agent based client/server model (also called client-agent-server) and the mobile agent model. We present each of many software components involved in mobile computing solutions from a mobile client's perspective and a schematic of major software components for client and server implementation is presented. Moreover, client device software drivers and network connectivity are introduced. Now this architecture is implemented under our project named 'HBH Concise Data Network'.


Abstract Oxygen isotopic and soluble ionic measurements made on snow-pit (2 m depth) and firn-core (12.4 m depth) samples recovered from the accumulation zone (5100 m) of Inilchek glacier (43° N, 79° E) provide information on recent (1992–98) climatic and environmental conditions in the central Tien Shan region of central Asia. The combined 14.4 m snow-pit/firn-core profile lies within the firn zone, and contains only one observed melt feature (10 m temperature = −12°C). Although some post-depositional attenuation of the sub-seasonal δ 18O record is possible, annual cycles are apparent throughout the isotope profile. We therefore use the preserved δ 18O record to establish a depth/age scale for the core. Mean δ 18O values for the entire core and for summer periods are consistent with δ 18O/temperature observations, and suggest the δ 18O record provides a means to reconstruct past changes in summer surface temperature at the site. Major-ion (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4 +, Cl−, NO3 −, SO4 2−) data from the core demonstrate the dominant influence of dust deposition on the soluble chemistry at the site, and indicate significant interannual variability in atmospheric-dust loading during the 1990s. Anthropogenic impacts on NH4 + concentrations are observed at the site, and suggest a summer increase in atmospheric NH4 + that may be related to regional agricultural (nitrogen-rich fertilizer use) activities.


A utopianism/agroecological utopia is exposed, theorized from southern epistemology, agroecology and transdiscipline. Utopianism evaluates the application of innovations in corn management, identifies and groups corn growers by their yields and proposes as an agroecological utopia the technological pattern applied by efficient milperos at the local level, nurtured by a dialogue of knowledge, which can expand the less efficient milperos food production. The research found that all efficient producers handled corn as a milpa, where radical and progressive innovations interact, and that the corn producers of low and medium productive efficiency Cohetzala and San Nicolas do not fully satisfy the consumption of corn, but if they applied the technological pattern of efficient corn growers, their yields would grow by 91-24% in Cohetzala and in San Nicolas by 150-38%, respectively.


The quality of discourse structure annotations is negatively influenced by the numerous difficulties that occur in the analysis process. In contrast, referential annotation resources are considerably more reliable, given the high precision of the existent anaphora resolution systems. We present an approach based on the Veins Theory (Cristea, Ide, Romary, 1998), in which successful reference annotations of texts are exploited in order to improve arbitrary structural analyses; in this way, the large amount of corpora annotated at reference level can be used for the acquisition of discourse structure annotation resources.


ABSTRACT Four different standardization approaches based on a competitive reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay were compared with a noncompetitive assay based on an external standard curve. Criteria for assessment were accuracy in quantitation, correctness of recovery, sensitivity, dynamic range, reproducibility, throughput, and convenience of sample handling. As a model system, we used the 5′-noncoding region of hepatitis C virus (HCV) for amplification in all quantitative RT-PCRs. A computer program that allowed parallel data processing was developed. Surprisingly, all methods were found suitable for accurate quantitation and comparable with respect to the criterion correctness of recovery. All results differed only by a factor of about 2. The reason for this finding might be that all of our mimics, as well as the wild-type genome of HCV, exhibited exactly the same amplification and hybridization efficacy. Moreover, minimal competition occurred in our experiments over a 5-log dynamic range. A further topic of our investigation was the comparison of two different competitive RNA fragments, mimics, with regard to their suitability as internal standards. One was a heterologous mimic, in which only the primer binding sites were identical to the wild type. The second one was a homologous mimic identical to the wild type except for a small region used for differential hybridization, which was replaced by a permutated sequence of the same length. Both the homologous and heterologous internal mimics were found appropriate for an accurate competitive RT-PCR assay, provided that amplification efficacy, as well as capture efficacy, is proven identical for both analyte and mimic.


Abstract This article discusses the idea of international human rights law as 'constitutional law'. It applies the French concept of Le contrôle de conventionnalité des lois, to demonstrate the constitutional potentials of international human rights law in the domestic sphere. In most monist constitutional systems based on the French civilian model, international law takes precedence over acts of parliament and other domestic legislation. Due in part to that hierarchy, conventionnalité permits the courts to review domestic law for compatibility with international law. From that perspective, international human rights norms can be said to have assumed a 'para-constitutional' function. Using two case studies from francophone Africa, this article argues that conventionnalité has the potential to play a significant role in the domestic implementation of international human rights and ultimately contributing to a more comprehensive domestic human rights regime.


Thyroid glands of 36 chickens of the obese strain with hereditary spontaneous autoimmune thyroiditis were examined by electron microscopy at 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 weeks of age with particular emphasis on basal lamina changes. All chickens were of the B1B1 genotype. The electron microscopic results were compared with six normal White Leghorn chickens of the same age. The major abnormality observed in obese strain chickens was the persistent presence of electron-dense deposits along the follicular basal lamina in the thyroid beginning with 7-week-old chickens. The deposits morphologically comparable to immune complexes were noted either between the basal plasma membrane and the follicular basal lamina or below the follicular basal lamina. In 14-week-old chickens, the electron-dense deposits were observed within abnormally thickened basal lamina. The deposits were not present in the vascular basal lamina adjacent to the thyroid follicles and were not observed in the thyroids of 1- to 5-week old chickens and were also not encountered in normal White Leghorn chickens. Indirect morphologic evidence suggests that these may be antigen-antibody complexes, but characterization of these deposits and their role remain to be determined.


Background: The physiochemical parameters of a river tell much about its quality and suitability for both humans and the survival of the living biota within it. The discharge of untreated wastewater into the surface water bodies such as streams and rivers results in the pollution of such water environments. We aimed to determine the physicochemical parameters and also determine the seasonal variation of the physicochemical parameters river Kaduna. Methodology: The research was carried out within four areas in Kaduna North, Kaduna state, Nigeria. Selected sampling sites include; Gamji Park, Kabala Costain, Malali and Unguwar Rimi. Monthly sampling of the four sites was carried out from each sampling site for a period of eight months covering both the dry and the rainy season between 6:00 am and 8:00 am every sampling day. The following parameters were determined using standard laboratory techniques; temperature, pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, water hardness, nitrate-nitrogen and phosphate-phosphorus. Data was analyzed using simple descriptive statistics to calculate the mean, standard error (SE) and standard deviation of the parameters. Results: The mean water temperature was 23.6±0.90C with a standard deviation of 2.5, the highest temperature (25.7±0.60C) was recorded in the wet season. Mean pH was 7.9±0.1 with a standard deviation of 0.4, the wet and the dry season had the same mean values of 7.9±0.1. The mean turbidity was 60.3±4.6 with a standard deviation of 12.8, the wet season had the highest value (72.5±2.4 NTU). Mean TDS was 72.1±13.9 with a standard deviation of 38.9 and the highest TDS value of 92.7±22.9 mg/L was recorded in the dry season. The mean values of electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and biological oxygen demand was 135±27.7μs/cm, 2.6±0.1mg/L and1.3±0.1mg/L respectively whereas water hardness, nitrate-nitrogen and phosphate-phosphorus had means of 143.5±13.0 mg(CaCO3L-1, 0.3±0.0mg/L and 0.1±0.1mg/L respectively. Conclusion: physicochemical parameters were determined to be within the permissible level and wide seasonal variations were seen among some parameters.


Summary
A high prevalence of hyperproteinemias has been found among the inhabitants of La Arena in Panama in a random sample of 98 individuals. The values for the first, second and third quartiles were 7.24, 7.52 and 7.90 g of total protein per 100 ml of serum, with a range of 6.45 to 8.72. For electrophoretic studies, three subsamples of 9 subjects each were selected, with total serum protein values as follows: Group I, below the median; Group II, between the median and second quartile; and Group III, above the third quartile. Each of the electrophoretic fractions determined (albumin plus alpha1 globulin, alpha2, beta and gamma globulin) was proportionately responsible for the total serum protein elevation.


A set of tasks has to be scheduled on the parallel identical processors of the clusters of a two-levels distributed memory multiprocessor, subject to precedence constraints and small intra-cluster communication delays. The architecture model includes network of shared memory multiprocessors. In this paper, we present a new critical-path like algorithm that finds an optimal solution to this new problem in polynomial time, if task duplication is allowed and the number of available processors is not limited. The solution found is an earliest schedule that spreads the tasks between the clusters and the processors.


Background Primary paranasal aspergillus granuloma (PPAG) is a slowly progressive chronic infection of the sinus extending beyond the confines of the sinus. It has been reported only in patients from the Sudan and India. Microscopically, it differs from chronic invasive fungal sinusitis in that there are pseudotubercles containing giant cells, histiocytes, lymphocytes, plasma cells, newly formed capillaries, eosinophils, and Aspergillus fungal elements. Conclusion We describe the first case of PPAG in the United States in an immunocompetent nonatopic woman who had never left Missouri.


The effect of plant species on soil-clay mineralogy has not been studied widely. In the present study, the clay mineralogy of top soils under Sequoia gigantia and grass regimes, maintained side by side for up to 150 y in the parks of several French chateaux, were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods and chemical analyses of the clay fractions. The seven paired samples that were studied originated from soils developed on calcareous, granitic, and loess substrates. The XRD data indicated the presence of a trioctahedral chlorite with a trioctahedral hydroxy-Mg sheet in sequoia soils observed in four of seven of the sites whereas it was absent from the adjacent prairie-soil samples. Parent materials influenced the formation of magnesian chlorite as it was observed in all soils developed on granite and in none of the soils developed on limestone. The exchangeability of the interlayer hydroxy-Mg sheet replaced by K+ from newly formed chlorite in a 14 y old sequoia-influenced soil suggests that the mineral was initially a hydroxy-interlayered mineral. Increased stability was observed in the older (100 and 150 y) soil chlorites, indicating a progression of polymerization of the Mg hydroxy-interlayered material. The small amount of chlorite in the whole clay assemblage impeded the observation of changes in Mg content by direct chemical measurements of the clay fractions but the systematically greater amount of exchanged Mg2+ ion measured under sequoia compared with adjacent prairie supports the formation of Mg magnesian chlorite.The results presented indicate, on the one hand, the importance of plant regimes in controlling the soil chemistry and hence the clay mineralogy of surface soil horizons (magnesian chlorites were observed only under sequoia), and, on the other hand, that parent material modulates this plant influence (chlorite formation was observed on granite-derived soils).


Whether the effects of exposure to 1 movement generalize to another dissimilar movement was investigated in 37 patients with low back pain (15 men, 22 women). Two movements were executed twice: bending forward while standing and lifting 1 leg while lying down. During each trial, baseline pain, expected pain, and experienced pain were recorded. Similar ratings for perceived harm were obtained. Analyses revealed an initial over prediction of pain, but after exposure the overprediction was readily corrected. This exposure effect did not generalize toward another dissimilar movement. These results were only characteristic for patients with catastrophic thinking about pain. Low pain catastrophizers did not overpredict pain. There were no effects of exposure on perceived harm. Exposure may profitably be conceived of as the learning of exceptions to a general rule.


In philosophy, the woman symbolizes the mother's natural feminine characteristics in the universe. Women are the primary care takers, bearers, and nurturers of the next generation. They are also vulnerable group. Among the women's population in our country, the women under the child bearing age constitutes 22%. The incidence of health problems is high among the women of reproductive age. Women's health is an issue which has been taken up by many feminists, especially where reproductive health is concerned.
Methods: A descriptive research approach was used for the present study. The study comprised of 50 antenatal mothers who fulfilled inclusive criteria and admitted in selected hospital. Knowledge questionnaire was used for data collection. The reliability of questionnaire was done by Guttman Split Half Coefficient method. In order to obtain content validity, the tool was given to 10 experts who included from the field of Obstetric and Gynaecological department and Obstetric and Gynaecological Nursing. Non probability convenience sampling technique was used. Formal permission was obtained from concerned authority from selected Hospital for data collection.
Results: The results showed that most of the samples under study were between the age group of 21-25 years. 54 % of samples were primi gravida. Result interpreted that In pre test knowledge level regarding prevention and management of selected breast complications was 10.4 (41.6 %) and in post test it was 19.20 (76.8 %). It is evident that the calculated't' value was greater than the table value of 't' at 0.05 level. This indicates that planned teaching was effective in improving the knowledge of the antenatal mothers. There was not significant association found with selected demographic variable and knowledge of antenatal mothers.
Conclusion: The analysis of the study revealed that there was a significant improvement in the knowledge of prevention and management of breast complications among antenatal mothers. The Planned teaching proved to be effective in improving the knowledge of antenatal mothers regarding prevention and management of breast complications. Hence in this study Hypothesis H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted.


Background. The relationship between the arterial recanalization after intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and outcomes is still uncertain. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether there is an association between the pulsatility indexes (PI) of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD) after iv rtPA treatment and short- and long-term outcomes in ischemic stroke patients. Methods. Forty-eight patients with acute ischemia in the MCA territory who achieved complete recanalization after the administration of intravenous thrombolytic treatment were included in the study. The TCD was applied to patients after the iv rtPA treatment. Clinical and functional outcomes were assessed by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores and modified Rankin Scores (mRS), respectively. Results. Significant positive correlations were found between the PI value and NIHSS score at 24 hours, NIHSS score at 3 months, and mRS at 3 months (P < 0.005 for all). The cut-off value for PI in predicting a favorable prognosis and a good prognosis might be less than or equal to 1.1 and less than or equal to 1.4, respectively. Conclusions. PI may play a role in predicting the functional and clinical outcome after thrombolytic therapy in acute ischemic stroke patients.


Here, a novel sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor using N doped carbon dots (N-CDs) in situ electro-polymerized onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) as luminophores, and Pd-Au hexoctahedrons (Pd@Au HOHs) as enhancers, was developed for the detection of intracellular lead ions (Pb(2+)).


Abstract : This thesis explores the ability of Wi-Fi technology and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 capability to disseminate various forms of information through densely vegetated, high humidity and high temperature environments. Using a lighter-than-air vehicle (balloon) and existing commercial-off-the- shelf, 802.11b and 802.16 wireless components, real-time information can be brought to the war-fighter. In particular, this thesis experiments with the use of commercially available wireless equipment and various antennae all attached to a helium-filled balloon to send and receive video, audio and digital information. This information is then disbursed to individual members of an established network over a specified land-mass. The balloon plays an important role in connecting network members to information that helps local and national commanders in making tactical decisions. These decisions consist of deploying forces, identifying and targeting the enemy, and deterring hostilities. Identifying the best method to supply real-time data to facilitate the movement of military assets and enhance a military s ability to engage an enemy decisively. Employing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems to disseminate real-time information is a potentially inexpensive solution to enable air and ground components to survey and target adversaries instantaneously. The ability to provide actionable information to the soldier serves as a force multiplier and increases the probability of mission success.


This article presents selected aspects relating to digital signal processing in digital control circuits in power electronics. The following typical problems are discussed in this paper: signal sampling rate (phenomena of aliasing, synchronization) coherent sampling, jitter of sampling pulse, sequential vs. simultaneous sampling in a multichannel system, signal resolution (signal-to-noise ratio, noise shaping circuit, changing of sampling speed) interpolation and decimation, and conversion of analog circuits to digital form. In this paper a new formula for calculation of the resultant signal-to-noise ratio for three stages digital control circuit is presented. Consideration of these sources of error and their subsequent correction allows for a greater signal-to-noise ratio and minimization of distortion components, which in turn results in improved parameters of output/input currents and voltages, which can further affect the quality of energy processing in power electronic circuits.


The paper presents a near-infrared (NIR) optical tissue imaging system, based on the principles of frequency-domain spectroscopy, which uses diffusive photons to detect breast cancer. The light source, a 780 nm laser diode, is modulated at 49.86 MHz. A photomultiplier tube detects the transmitted light and a 50 MHz signal is incorporated to demodulate the detected optical signal. The AC amplitude data is processed by computer, and then the optical mammograms are displayed on a computer screen in real time. Results prove the usefulness of this approach to distinguish between tumor and healthy tissue.


2-Alkoxy-1H-1,3-diazepines 5 and 7, 2-dialkylamino-5H-1,3-diazepines 6, 2,3-dihydro-1H-1,3-diazepin-2-ones 8 and 2,4-diazabicyclo[3.2.0]hepten-3-ones 9 are obtained by photolysis of tetrazolo[1,5-a]pyridines or 2-azidopyridines 1/2, including the unsubstituted parent compounds; the relative stabilities of the 2-alkoxy- and 2-dialkylamino-1,3-diazepines 5 and 6 are in excellent agreement with ab initio energy calculations.


Midpontile ischemic decerebration in vagotomized mesencephalic cats produced marked tachycardia and hypertension. Subsequent transection of the brain stem at or above the midpontile level did not affect the cardiovascular hyperactivity. Transection at the pontomedullary junction abolished the brain stem augmentation of heart rate and blood pressure. The results suggest the existence of a cardiovascular augmenter area in the caudal half of the pons and a cardiovascular depressor area in a more rostral portion of the brain stem.


The synthesis and study of magnetic nanostructures is of both intense scientific and technological interest. A single-molecule magnet (SMM) is a molecular nanomagnet that can be magnetized as a result of having a large spin ground state that experiences appreciable magnetoanisotropy, which leads to a thermodynamic barrier between spin-up and spin-down orientations. The monodisperse nature (same size, shape and anisotropy) of SMMs permits detailed studies of the magnetization and quantum dynamics of nanomagnets. The discovery of SMMs permitted, for the first time, detailed study of quantum effects associated with nanomagnets. The magnetic and quantum properties of these complexes is heavily dictated by molecular and crystal symmetry, and paramount to employing these systems as devices is a need to thoroughly understand and control environmental factors that govern their magnetization and quantum dynamics. To some extent this can be achieved by changing or eliminating co- crystallized solvate molecules and interchanging coordinated peripheral ligands. Magnetic and thermodynamic studies were carried out on a high symmetry system that exhibits a large spin ground state (S =51/2), a preferred orientation in an applied magnetic field, and slow magnetization relaxation dynamics. Strong competing magnetic exchange coupling between paramagnetic copper and manganese ions, in conjunction with high symmetry, gives rise to appreciable spin-frustration and geometric- frustration. These correlated effects lead to slow magnetization relaxation behavior. Detailed magnetization and thermodynamic studies were performed on a series of tetranuclear nickel complexes that exhibit fast magnetization tunneling and magnetic ordering. Magnetic ordering is a collective process that should drastically suppress or terminate quantum tunneling processes. It is revealed that even in an ordered state, the molecules within the crystal lattice act as single domains, thus, molecules quickly switch between magnetic ordering and single-domain quantum tunneling. A series/family of multifunctional tetranuclear manganese SMMs (magnetic and photoluminescent) were synthesized that systematically differ in co-crystallized solvate molecules and peripheral organic ligands to study magneto-structural correlation effects and quantum tunneling of magnetization. The goal is to couple emissive excited states to the magnetic moment of the SMM, which may allow, for the first time, detailed study of quantum dynamics on a 10⁻⁹-10⁻¹²s time scale


MDM2 a nuclear phosphoprotein binds with E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, binds and targets p53 for proteosomal degradation, hence is a negative regulator of p53. Consequently, over-expression of MDM2 results in the loss of p53 tumor suppressor function even in the absence of inactivating mutations in the p53 gene. To date, more than 40 different alternative spliced MDM2 transcript variants have been reported in both normal and tumor cells, with most of these lacking, in part or in full, the p53 binding domain of MDM2. In this study, we examined the levels of MDM2 gene expression in a panel of glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines and in vivo primary tumor xenografts by quantitative PCR /RT-PCR and examined the full length MDM2 cDNAs for the presence of MDM2 splice transcript variants using the nested PCR technique and a combination of direct sequencing and TA vector sequencing. The results showed a significant heterogeneity in MDM2 expression and in MDM2 splice variants among the tumors. Importantly, we identified a novel splice MDM2 transcript that was consistently associated with low MDM2 transcript levels in the tumors. Sequence analysis of this MDM2 spliced transcript showed it to harbor an internal deletion of three exons, namely 7, 8, and 9, containing the nuclear localization signal (NLS), the nuclear export signal (NES) and a portion of the acidic domain (AD). The p53 binding domain was fully conserved. The deletion caused a shift in the MDM2 open reading frame that created a stop codon (TGA) at codon 316. The spliced MDM2 transcript encoded a truncated MDM2 protein that harbors the functional p53 binding motif capable of interacting with the p53 protein but without the ability to localize to the nucleolus. Overall, our results with the 15 tumors showed no strong correlation between the presence of this novel splice MDM2 transcript and the expression levels of p53in the tumors. Studies are ongoing to determine the functional consequences of this novel MDM2 spliced variant on p53 downstream function in glioma cells. Supported by grants RO1CA112519, RO1CA127872, RO1CA91438, P30CA114236 and P5OCA108786 from the National Institutes of Health (USA). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1109.


Abstract This paper asks whether Western empiricist, psychodynamic approaches may be unsuitable in South Africa, and narrative and social constructionist approaches more relevant. Using narrative theory the paper looks at the dominant story of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in its maintenance of power, and explores alternative stories that have become marginalized. The HPCSA's control of art therapy is questioned as yet further colonization in a postcolonial era. It asks how a South African approach to art therapy might be developed, so that art therapists and the HPCSA can develop an interest in, and respect for approaches to the use of artifacts in African healing.


Skeletal muscle metastasis of papillary or follicular thyroid cancer (PTC/FTC) is a rare finding; only 11 cases of skeletal muscle PTC or FTC metastasis have been included in medical literature reviews. The aim of this study was to identify all published cases of PTC and FTC muscle metastases and derive the true incidence of this malignancy. The probability of detecting the skeletal muscle metastasis of PTC and FTC was calculated based on epidemiological data. Databases of scientific literature on the Internet were searched for articles using relevant key words. The analysis of epidemiological data calculated the probability of detecting skeletal muscle lesions of this type as approximately zero. The literature search revealed 44 published international papers, reporting 58 cases of PTC or FTC skeletal muscle metastasis in 45 patients over 110 years, from 1907 to 2017. The most frequent PTC/FTC metastatic muscle was the gluteus. The majority of cases of muscle metastasis were caused by PTC, and metastatic tumors in the skeletal muscle negatively impacted the survival of patients with PTC or FTC.


Decision-making in selecting and recruiting subjects for treatment matching research is a complex process involving conceptual, methodological and practical considerations. In selecting clients, concerns arise about whether the criteria will produce a subject population that is (1) relevant to the dimensions associated with the treatment matching, (2) representative of persons typically seen in alcohol treatment settings and, for practical purposes, (3) able or willing to comply with the requirements of the study protocol. Also, in order to fulfill sampling requirements, it may be necessary to employ a variety of creative outreach methods. However, these recruitment mechanisms can pose additional logistical and methodological problems for the research. This article focuses on various issues arising in the selection and recruitment of subjects in matching research. Project MATCH serves to highlight issues related to client eligibility and recruitment and to discuss effective strategies for resolving these matters.