Introduction: Regular uses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in general and aspirin in particular have been associated with reductions in a number of cancers including, colon, breast, pancreas and others. However, NSAIDs have significant side effects, which precludes their wide spread use. In our search for a "better NSAID", we have synthesized a series of nitric oxide-, and hydrogen sulfide-releasing hybrid compounds that have IC50s for cell growth inhibition in the low nano-molar range. We have termed these NOSH compounds. Our lead agent, NOSH-aspirin is in the order of 100,000 to 250,000-fold more potent than aspirin in inhibiting colon cancer cell growth over a 24-72h-time period. NOSH-aspirin although highly potent, is essentially devoid of any cyto-toxicity as judged by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Here we report our results on the effects of NOSH-aspirin treatment on established tumors in a xenograft model of human colon, breast (both ER- and ER+), and pancreatic cancer cells. Methods: Compound: NOSH-aspirin was synthesized and purified by us with 1H-NMR verification. Cell lines: Colon, HT-29, HCT 15, and SW 480; breast, MCF-7 (ER+), MDA-MB-231 (ER-, PR-, which does not over express Her2), and HMEpC, normal human mammary epithelial; pancreas, MIA PaCa2 and BxPC3. Xenografts: Male athymic nude (NU/NU) mice (N=10 per cell line) were implanted s.c. in the right flank with HT-29, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, MIA PaCa2 cells (2 x 106) suspended in 50% Matrigel, after 10 days the animals from each implanted cell line were randomly divided into 2 groups (N = 5/group) and gavaged daily with NOSH-aspirin (100 mg/kg body weight) or vehicle. Tumor volume and animal weight were recorded every 3 days. After 3 weeks of treatment, mice were sacrificed, tumors excised, weighed, and fixed in 10% buffered formalin for immunohistochemical studies. Results: NOSH-aspirin's IC50 in nM at 24h for cell growth inhibition were HT-29 (50 ± 2), HCT 15 (52 ± 3), SW480 (55 ± 5), MCF-7 (250 ± 10), MDA-MB-231 (95 ± 7), HMEpC (20,000 ± 3,000), MIAPaCa2 (52 ± 4), and BxPC3 (62 ± 5). Aspirin's IC50 in all cell lines was greater than 5,000,000 nM at 24h. In all 4 xenografts, NOSH-aspirin had no effect on the weight of the mice and there were no overt signs of toxicity. Tumor volume was reduced as a function of treatment time in all 4 xenografts. Interestingly, the growth rate of ER(−) xenografts was significantly greater than that of ER(+) ones and NOSH-aspirin had a greater effect on the ER(−) vs ER(+) xenografts. Tumor mass for each group were, colon: 2.8 ± 0.51g in untreated and 0.32 ± 0.067g in treated (89% reduction, P=0.005); breast, ER(+): 0.46 ± 0.056g untreated and 0.21 ± 0.035g treated, (55% reduction, P=0.022), ER(−): 1.2 ± 0.33g untreated and 0.11 ± 0.058g treated (91% reduction, P=0.006); pancreas: 2.47 ± 0.24g untreated and 0.62 ± 0.25g treated, (75% reduction, P=0.0031). NOSH-aspirin inhibited growth of these cancer cell xenografts as a result of reduced proliferation (decreased PCNA expression), and induction apoptosis (increased number of TUNEL positive cells). NF-κB, activated in untreated xenografts was significantly inhibited by NOSH-aspirin. Conclusions: NOSH-aspirin preferentially affects cancer cells and has potent anti-cancer properties. It targets parameters important in determining cellular mass, and inflammation. Citation Format: Mitali Chattopadhyay, Ravinder Kodela, Diana H. Lee, Thuy-Tien C. Le, Khosrow Kashfi. NOSH-aspirin (NBS-1120), a dual nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide-releasing hybrid for treatment of cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B34.


BACKGROUND
The weakness of the linea alba can be caused by congenital and aquired factors. The conventional procedure to correct these imperfections generally involve large incisions with big detachments of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The use of videosurgery for the repair of these weaknesses is still controversy.

AIM
To describe a new procedure using robotics in the repair of the linea alba, associating minimally invasive tecniques by Rives/Stoppa and component separation tecniques.

METHODS
Five patients undergone surgery in the same hospital, the same operating team and using the Da Vinci S. robotics equipment.

RESULTS
Three women and two men undergone surgery, with no mortality. Two of these patients were re-operated due a recurrent hernia between muscle and posterior sheath that was closed in the re-access.

CONCLUSIONS
The robotic procedure in the reconstruction of the linea alba showed itself feasible and aesthetically acceptable. Also, in advantage, the procedure follows the traditional principals reputable by experts of the abdominal wall trough minimally invasive surgery.


Purpose: Transgender (TG) individuals are a historically understudied and underserved patient population. Although clinical guidelines for the care of TG patients exist, quality measures (QMs) specific to this population are lacking. The goal of this study was to obtain expert input on aspects of care for which quality measurement may be appropriate and describe feedback on candidate QMs. Methods: We convened a virtual technical expert panel in September 2020 with six experts in TG medical care. Experts participated in a guided discussion and provided numeric ratings on dimensions of measure suitability (importance, validity/reliability, feasibility, and ease of understanding) for eight candidate QMs spanning multiple care domains (e.g., laboratory testing/monitoring, cancer screening, and sexually transmitted infection screening). Results: Panelists acknowledged high importance and potential to improve care for some candidate QMs, particularly those related to laboratory testing before initiating and during hormone therapy. Numeric ratings of QMs varied but tended to be higher for testing-focused QMs. Experts raised concerns about overly prescriptive language for some QMs and emphasized the importance of considering more flexible specifications to accommodate diverse care scenarios-including care provided to nonbinary individuals-and align with the individualized nature of gender-affirming care. Conclusion: These preliminary findings support a potential role for QMs in improving quality of care for TG patients. Measures related to laboratory testing/monitoring for patients who receive or plan to initiate hormone therapy may be feasible and promising to explore in the future. Additional larger-scale efforts are needed to develop and test QMs for the care of TG individuals.


In order to find optimal policy to govern agents' society, artificial agents have been deployed in simulating social or economic phenomena. However, with an increase of the complexity of agents' internal behaviors as well as their social interactions, modeling social behaviors and tracking down optimal policies in mathematical form become intractable. In this paper, the repeated evaluation genetic algorithm is used to find optimal solutions to deter criminals in order to reduce the social cost caused by the crimes in the artificial society. The society is characterized by multiple equilibria and noisy parameters. Sampling evaluation is used to evaluate every candidate. The results of experiments show that genetic algorithms can quickly find the optimal solutions.


Balance, stability and the prevalence of falls leading to injury are topics of great concern within the older-adult population. It has been suggested that the exercise efficiently counteracts these age related disorders, reducing the risk of falling significantly. The purpose of this study is to consider the effect of Resistance-Balance training on dynamic balance in active elderly males. 20 subjects with average and standard deviation age of 57.83±3.05yr, weight 67.11±4.58kg and height 167.94±4.70cm were randomized to two trial groups. The subjects were randomized consecutively into two Groups: the group submitted for the resistance-Balance Training Program (Intervention Group) for the six week and with 3 sessions per week, consisting of 10 subjects; and the Control group, consisting of 10 subjects without intervention. Dynamic balance was evaluated in all subjects, before and at the end of the trial, with using the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT). Descriptive statistics, Paired sample t-test, and t-test for independent groups used to analyze the data (P≤0.05). Significant differences were seen between pre and post reaching distance using SEBT after the applying resistance-balance training program for practice group in all directions of SEBT. However the results not showed any difference between pre and post reaching distance in SEBT for control group. Resistance- Balance specifically considering the methods of this study could be implemented for older adults.


Ion/molecule reactions of carbon cluster ions (C(n).+, n = 10-18 and 20) in the gas phase with acrylonitrile (ACN) as the neutral reagent were investigated by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance spectrometry (FT-ICR). The carbon cluster ions studied were generated by electron impact ionization of perchlorinated polyaromatic compounds (PPA) and subsequent exhaustive chlorine elimination in the external ion source of the FT-ICR spectrometer. The precursor PPA were prepared by chlorination of the appropriate polyaromatic hydrocarbons using the BMC reagent. The only reaction observed for C(n).+ was the formation of adduct ions stabilized by radiative association (for n = 10-18 and 20) with the exception of C-16.+ which stabilized the adduct ion by loss of a neutral C3. The rate constants for the reaction of C(n).+ with ACN vary from k(bi) = <10(-13) cm3 molecule-1 s-1 (C18.+, C20.+) to k(bi) = 7.1 x 10(-10) cm3 molecule-1 s-1 (C-13.+) and are distinctly larger than with HCN and C2H4 studied before. C-13.+ and C-17.+ exhibit extraordinary reactivity with ACN. For structural information about the product ions C(n+3)H3N.+ formed from C(n).+ and ACN, collision induced dissociation (CID) spectra were obtained by collision of the accelerated product ions of the ion/molecule reactions with argon gas in the FT-ICR cell for two product ions of sufficient large abundances. In addition, the deprotonation of C(n+3)H3N+ (n = 10, 13) product ions by a series of reference bases was studied resulting in a proton affinity of c. 822 and 815 kJ/mol for the conjugate bases C13H2N and C16H2N, respectively.


In this paper a design of Experiments (DOE) approach in a feasibility and design study of a metamaterial structure is presented. The frequency of interest is 40 GHz and the technology used is multilayer Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC). The chosen approach for the Double Negative Metamaterial implementation is a loaded Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) transmission line. The design goals are a resonant frequency of 40 GHz and minimum insertion loss at that frequency. The electromagnetic performance of the loaded transmission line is simulated with a full wave time domain commercial simulator. The results of these simulations are incorporated into the DOE technique. First, the significant factors in achieving each of the goals are identified, then statistical models are developed for the two output variables and applied to optimize the structure.


A new microstructural modifications technique was developed by the Welding Institute (TWI) of United Kingdom in 1991 is known as Friction stir processing (FSP). The FSP is a newer technique used for refining and homogenizing the grain structure of metal sheet. Friction stir processing is a great potential in the field of super plasticity and metal matrix composites. Many investigators observed that the FSP greatly enhances super plasticity in many Al alloys. It is a is a solid-state processing technique based on friction stir welding technique in which a specially designed rotating cylindrical tool that comprises of a probe and shoulder. The probe of the tool is inserted into the sheet material while rotating and the shoulder moves over the surface of the sheet, and then traverses in the desired direction. The contact between the rotating probe and the sheet material generate heat due to friction which softens the material and the mechanical stirring caused by the probe, the material within the processed zone undergoes intense plastic deformation yielding a dynamically-recrystallized fine grain microstructure. This paper mainly deals with friction stir processing of magnesium alloys with different reinforcement and different input parameters. The study consist of the effect of different reinforcement addition methods that i.e. groove method and drill hole method on tribological and mechanical properties. The result shows that the addition of reinforcements improves the ultimate tensile strength, strain rate and wear resistance. © 2018 ijrei.com. All rights reserved


The passive optical network1 has been shown to be a cost effective method of introducing fibre to the access network. However, the expected increase in demand for broadband services will inevitably mean that upgrades in capacity will be needed. Wavelength division multiplexing offers an alternative to increasing the bit rate. Two broad strategies exist for the implementation of multiple wavelengths on passive optical networks (PON), fixed wavelength schemes and dynamic wavelength assessment. Wavelength reallocation at call setup allows a flexible response to changes in network demand. It does not, however, take full advantage of statistical multiplexing and the ATM approach. In order to do so, new protocols need to be developed which combine the allocation of wavelengths and time slots. The approach here shows a method based on wavelength allocation at the frame level. A scheme to reduce cell delay variation recently proposed for single wavelength systems is adopted for WDM and an improvement to it demonstrated.


The combination of an irreparable tear of the rotator cuff and destructive arthritis of the shoulder joint may cause severe pain, disability and loss of independence in the aged. Standard anatomical shoulder replacements depend on a functioning rotator cuff, and hence may fail in the presence of tears in the cuff. Many designs of non-anatomical constrained or semi-constrained prostheses have been developed for cuff tear arthropathy, but have proved unsatisfactory and were abandoned. The DePuy Delta III reverse prosthesis, designed by Grammont, medialises and stabilises the centre of rotation of the shoulder joint and has shown early promise. This study evaluated the mid-term clinical and radiological results of this arthroplasty in a consecutive series of 50 shoulders in 43 patients with a painful pseudoparalysis due to an irreparable cuff tear and destructive arthritis, performed over a period of seven years by a single surgeon. A follow-up of 98% was achieved, with a mean duration of 39 months (8 to 81). The mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was 81 years (59 to 95). The female to male ratio was 5:1. During the seven years, six patients died of natural causes. The clinical outcome was assessed using the American Shoulder and Elbow score, the Oxford Shoulder Score and the Short-form 36 score. A radiological review was performed using the Sirveaux score for scapular notching. The mean American Shoulder and Elbow score was 19 (95% confidence interval (CI) 14 to 23) pre-operatively, and 65 (95% CI 48 to 82) (paired t-test, p < 0.001) at final follow-up. The mean Oxford score was 44 (95% CI 40 to 51) pre-operatively and 23 (95% CI 18 to 28) (paired t-test, p < 0.001) at final follow-up. The mean maximum elevation improved from 55° pre-operatively to 105° at final follow-up. There were seven complications during the whole series, although only four patients required further surgery.


Machine-learned computer vision algorithms for tagging images are increasingly used by developers and researchers, having become popularized as easy-to-use "cognitive services." Yet these tools struggle with gender recognition, particularly when processing images of women, people of color and non-binary individuals. Socio-technical researchers have cited data bias as a key problem; training datasets often over-represent images of people and contexts that convey social stereotypes. The social psychology literature explains that people learn social stereotypes, in part, by observing others in particular roles and contexts, and can inadvertently learn to associate gender with scenes, occupations and activities. Thus, we study the extent to which image tagging algorithms mimic this phenomenon. We design a controlled experiment, to examine the interdependence between algorithmic recognition of context and the depicted person's gender. In the spirit of auditing to understand machine behaviors , we create a highly controlled dataset of people images, imposed on gender-stereotyped backgrounds. Our methodology is reproducible and our code publicly available. Evaluating five proprietary algorithms, we find that in three, gender inference is hindered when a background is introduced. Of the two that "see" both backgrounds and gender, it is the one whose output is most consistent with human stereotyping processes that is superior in recognizing gender. We discuss the accuracy – fairness trade-off, as well as the importance of auditing black boxes in better understanding this double-edged sword.


Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) potently stimulates human immunodeficiency virus type 1-long terminal repeat (HIV-1-LTR) CAT constructs transfected into monocyte/macrophage-like cell lines but not a T cell line. This effect appears to be mediated through the induction of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B). Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrate that LPS induces a DNA binding activity indistinguishable from NF-kappa B in U937 and THP-1 cells. LPS is also shown to dramatically increase HIV-1 production from a chronically infected monocyte/macrophage-like cloned cell line, U1, which produces very low levels of HIV-1 at baseline. The stimulation of viral production from this cell line occurs only if these cells are treated with granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) before treatment with LPS. This stimulation of HIV-1 production is correlated with an increase in the level of HIV-1 RNA and and activation of NF- kappa B. LPS is not able to induce HIV-1 production in a cloned T cell line. The effect of LPS on HIV-1 replication occurs at picogram per milliliter concentrations and may be clinically significant in understanding the variability of the natural history of HIV-1 infection.


The tumor cell line HT‐29 was derived from a primary adenocarcinoma of the rectosigmoid colon. HT‐29 is hypertriploid (3n+) and has accumulated numerous chromosomal structural aberrations. To identify material involved in chromosome rearrangements, we performed a comprehensive cytogenetic analysis using G‐banding, spectral karyotyping (SKY), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The combination of molecular cytogenetic techniques enabled us to define the first comprehensive karyotype for HT‐29. Seventeen marker chromosomes were found in 75–100% of metaphase cells, generally in a single copy per cell. We confirmed the composition of eight previously described markers, refined the classification of seven others, and identified two novel marker chromosomes. Notable aberrations included a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 6 and 14 and an unusual, large derivative chromosome 8 composed entirely of 8q material. The telomere status, evaluated by FISH, revealed telomeric signals at the termini of all chromosomes. No interstitial telomeric sequences were observed in any cell. Although numerous chromosomal aberrations are present in HT‐29, the cell line appears to have retained a high level of genomic stability during passage in culture since undergoing transformation. The excellent resolving power of SKY, coupled with additional information obtained from molecular cytogenetic analyses, will improve our ability to identify genetic lesions characteristic of cancer. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The promotion of autonomy-based approaches to language learning has been increasingly applied in many countries, including Indonesia. This paper presents some recent theoretical studies on promoting English as Foreign Language (EFL) independent learning in several countries including Indonesia through the utilization of means and resources. Using media and technology through the Personal Learning Environment (PLE), computer-based materials, portfolio, and exposure to English Language resources has helped students in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Taiwan, and Indonesia where learning autonomy in English language learning is promoted. The writer also found out significance in promoting learners' autonomy regarding Indonesian education practices and socio-cultural beliefs and traditions. The need for autonomy suggests several strategies that should be promoted to Indonesian EFL learners so that their autonomy is well enhanced. This paper argues that autonomous learning is a good model for Indonesian EFL learners and should be considered as a premier strategy to enhance their English proficiency.


The use of machine learning models to improve industrial production quality is becoming more popular year after year. The main reason is the huge data availability and the impressive boost of performance of such methods achieved in the last decade. In this work we propose an adaptation of three well known machine learning algorithms to estimate the quality of cut in industrial laser cutting machines. The challenge here is to use a pool of multimodal parameters coming from different sensors and fuse them in order to detect the cutting status of the machine in a near-online modality. We analyze then generative and discriminative approaches based on Gaussian Mixture Models, Recurrent Neural Networks, and Convolutional Neural Networks in a supervised setting. Results are computed on a brand-new dataset that is freely available for reference.


With the advent of the era of sharing economy, in order to alleviate traffic congestion, environmental pollution and other increasingly serious urban traffic problems, car-sharing emerged at the historic moment. However, with the rapid development of car-sharing, some problems in the process of users' use are gradually exposed, mainly manifested in the damage of the car body caused by users' non-standard operation, among which the high rate of loss of personal property of users has also caused a certain impact on user experience. This paper investigates user behavior cognition through questionnaires and other forms, studies persuasive interaction design based on user behavior of car-sharing, and attempts to improve user behavior problems in car-sharing by means of behavioral persuasion, i.e. on-board HUD reminder system, which is of certain significance to balance user experience and product value.


Primary hyperparathyroidism is a medical condition caused by overactive of parathyroid gland. It is most commonly caused by solitary adenoma of the parathyroid gland. Other causes of this condition are hyperplasia, multiple adenomas, and parathyroid cancer. Primary hyperparathyroidism has some metabolic consequences in the calcium metabolism. Hypercalcemia in patient with primary hyperparathyroidism will resulted to the most important comorbidity that is chronic deposition of calcium in the kidney forming nephrolithiasis or other urolithiasis. It is not uncommon, patient with parathyroid adenoma come to health care professionals with the chief complain of recurrence nephrolithiasis.


Two-photon ionization of atomic helium has been measured by combining femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulses from the free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH at DESY) with intense light pulses from a synchronized neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride laser. Sidebands appear in the photoelectron spectra when the two laser pulses overlap in both space and time. Their intensity exhibits a characteristic dependence on the relative time delay between the ionizing and the dressing pulses and provides an inherent time marker for time-resolved pump-probe experiments. The measurements of the sidebands are in good agreement with theoretical predictions and allow for a direct analysis of two-photon ionization, free from processes related to interference between multiple quantum paths.


Mobile banking is growing at a remarkable speed around the world. In the process it is creating considerable uncertainty about the appropriate regulatory response to this newly emerging service. This paper sets out a framework for considering the design of regulation of mobile banking. Since it lies at the interface between financial services and telecoms, mobile banking also raises competition policy and interoperability issues that are discussed in the paper. Finally, by unbundling payments services into its component parts, mobile banking provides important lessons for the design of financial regulation more generally in developed as well as developing economies.


The cognitive enhancer XE991 interacts with K(+) channels consisting of KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 heteromultimers to block the M-current. XE991 can also block KCNQ1 K(+) channels expressed in oocytes, but sensitivity is reduced when the channels are coexpressed with minK (KCNE1). The purpose of the study was to examine the interaction of XE991 with other types of K(+) channel, especially those in the basolateral membranes of murine epithelia. K(+) channel blockade was measured by the inhibition of chloride secretion resulting from depolarization. XE991 inhibited the chloride secretory current in colonic epithelia by an interaction with basolateral K(+) channels when forskolin was used as the stimulus. However, when 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (EBIO) was used to stimulate chloride secretion, XE991 was ineffective unless charybdotoxin was also present. Because EBIO also activates Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) channels, whereas forskolin activates only cAMP-sensitive K(+) channels, it is concluded that the latter are the targets for XE991. XE991 had effects similar to those of 293B on epithelial chloride transport, for which the target is known to be KCNQ1/KCNE3 multimers. mRNA for both these components of the cAMP-sensitive K(+) channels were found in high abundance in the colon, whereas KCNE1 was barely detectable. Furthermore, both XE991 and 293B were active in colonic epithelia from KCNE1 knockout mice. By contrast, in nasal epithelium, the forskolin sensitive chloride secretory current was barely sensitive to XE991 but was sensitive to clofilium. Xenopus laevis oocytes in which both KCNQ1 and KCNE3 had been expressed were significantly more sensitive to XE991 than oocytes expressing only KCNQ1.


Although governments as major actors and national political structures are still taken for granted, they start experiencing influences and pressures from non-state actors that perform as "agents of change" developing their own network structures. It is not that states functions and capabilities will diminish soon, but they will have to live up with agents and structures that will persistently question and challenge their authority and legitimacy. The aim of this paper is to review the impact of transnationally operating non-state agents (Gulen's Hizmet Movement and Soros' Open Society) on domestic political structures and social change in two countries (Turkey and Hungary) and discuss why in some cases contentious politics (tension and hostility of relations between these non-state agents and national governments) occur on what could be described as "authority challenge". Challenging official authority and power usually occurs when non-state agents are engaged with promoting agenda and/ or policy initiatives that run counter to state government policies. In such circumstances non-state actors can perform as opposition alternative, reaching the public and influencing its opinion. On grounds of protecting national security, governments counteract by initiating alleged prosecution against non-state actors' representatives, followers and supporters accusing them of state subversion activities and calling the public for unanimous support for the government against the "existential threat". Illustrating this argument, the paper draws on empirical evidence presenting a comparative analysis of two cases that highlight specific features of confrontation and tensions between governments and transnational non-state actors. The cases refer to Hungary and Turkey and the confrontation in recent years between Orban's government in Hungary and Soros' Open Society, on one hand, and between Turkish President Erdogan and Gulen's Hizmet movement, on the other.


Tumors of the brachial plexus are relatively rare and present a clinical challenge for the neurosurgeon. The management of these tumors therefore requires not only an understanding of the complex anatomy of the brachial plexus but also an appreciation of the appropriate surgical approach to the various tumors that may be encountered. Over a 30-year period (1969-1999), 226 patients with brachial plexus tumors were evaluated and surgically treated by the senior authors (R.L.T., D.G.K.). In the present paper they review the most common benign and malignant brachial plexus tumors and discuss management and surgical principles established through their experience at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.


The lymphoid cell population in the peripheral blood in Hodgkin's disease differs from normal blood in three ways. Firstly, the number of large lymphoid cells actively synthesizing deoxyribonucleic acid is increased; secondly, the number of medium-sized lymphoid cells with intensely basophilic cytoplasm is increased; and, thirdly, occasional plasma cells are seen. These changes are related to the activity but not to the stage of the disease. Similar changes are found under conditions of known antigenic challenge—that is, in infections, and after immunization, and in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.


Objective: To assess, using a mathematical simulation model, the participation of each coordinate involved in the formation of cephalometric angles and to determine the extent to which errors in the identification of cephalometric landmarks can, individually and collectively, influence the measurement of these angles. Material and Methods: The reference values and standard errors of 13 landmarks obtained from the analysis of 30 cephalograms were used. For each landmark, 1000 observations were simulated using the Monte Carlo method. On the basis of linear regression models, equations designed to estimate measurement errors due to landmark identification errors were obtained and analysed. Results: The coordinates most involved in the formation of the angles SNA, SNB, ANB, FMA, PPL, DFC, and AEF were Ny, Ny, Ax, Goy, Poy, Poy, and Ptmx, respectively, and the standard measurement errors for these angles were 1.2, 0.9, 0.8, 1.6, 1.5, 1.5, and 1.4, respectively. Conclusion: The standard measurement error of the angle depends on the geometric impact coefficient and the standard error of the coordinates involved in the formation of the angles, and the geometric impact coefficient varies according to the angle analysed.


Purpose: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a fundamental issue for knowledge management in teaching. Teachers get more benefits from it because of the opportunities for participation in training, workshops, seminars, symposiums, mentoring programs, research work, coaching, and others.  This study explores college teachers' perceptions about CPD at the college level for knowledge management and lifelong learning and identifies the factors that contribute to designing CPD.
Methodology: An organizational case study with mixed methods and a multistage cluster sampling technique were applied to carry out this research. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, college teachers' face-to-face appointments were converted to e-mail communication to capture data.
Findings: Of the 63 scheduled appointments, 37 (58.73%) respondents sent their responses via e-mail. For proper empirical evaluation, we used the non-parametric Mann–Whitney and Shapiro–Wilk tests. Tested and confirmed result of the study suggested that age, subject, length of service, gender, in-house training, necessary skills, administrative support, networking capacity, and online facility are the important contributors to CPD and knowledge management.
Implications of the study: The facts and findings of our study are very important for policymakers and stakeholders to formulate appropriate policies.


We have previously demonstrated that fibronectin (Fn) stimulates the proliferation of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cell growth through the induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 secretion. Here, we demonstrate that NSCLC cells express mRNA and protein for the prostaglandin E2 receptor EP4 and that Fn enhances its stimulatory effect by inducing the expression of EP4, but not of EP1, EP2, and EP3 receptor subtypes. The effect of Fn on EP4 was inhibited by an antibody against α5β1 integrin and by inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (wortmannin) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (PD98095), but not by inhibitors of protein kinase C (calphostin C), of protein kinase A (H-89), or of mammalian target of rapamycin (rapamycin). A COX-2 small interfering RNA was also inhibitory. Fn significantly increased AP-2 binding activity in the promoter of the EP4 gene, and AP-2 antisense oligonucleotides blocked Fn-induced EP4 expression. Using full-length and mutated EP4 promoter constructs, we found that Fn stimulation of EP4 gene expression was inhibited when one AP-2 site (–1000 bp) was mutated. Fn induced nuclear AP-2α protein expression through multiple signaling pathways. Our results indicate that Fn-induced NSCLC cell proliferation is mediated through EP4. Furthermore, they show that Fn induces EP4 expression through the activation of α5β1-dependent signals that include induction of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathways as well as expression of COX-2. These events lead to activation of the transcription factor AP-2α, which interacts with specific regions in the EP4 gene promoter, leading to transcription of the EP4 gene.


Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to ergot alkaloids reduces vasoactivity of serotonin (5HT) receptors. Chemical suppression of tall fescue seedhead production is a tool to reduce the level of exposure to ergot alkaloids by a grazing animal. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate contractility of lateral saphenous veins biopsied from mixed breed steers following a 87- to 101-d grazing period on 3-ha pastures of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon; n = 5 steers; BW = 340 ± 9 kg), or toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) that was not treated (n = 5 steers; BW = 300 ± 6; 0.56 ppm ergovaline) or was treated (n = 5 steers; BW = 294 ± 9 kg; 0.24 ppm ergovaline) with herbicide containing aminopyralid and metsulfuron-methyl. To evaluate contractility, biopsied veins were mounted in a multimyograph and exposed to increasing concentrations of a tall fescue seed extract (EXT; ergovaline source) and 5HT1B (CP 93129), 5HT1D (L-694,247), and 5HT2A (TCB2) agonists. All contractility data were normalized to a maximal response of 1 × 10-4 M norepinephrine and were analyzed as a split plot treatment design using SAS for effects of pasture treatment, agonist concentration, and the interaction. There was no contractile response to any concentration of 5HT1B agonist in any of the pasture treatments. There were pasture × concentration interactions for contractile responses to 5HT2A agonist (P < 0.01) and EXT (P < 0.01). For both EXT and TCB2, veins from bermudagrass steers were more vasoactive to the higher concentrations of these compounds (P < 0.05), and there were no differences between veins collected from the unsuppressed or seedhead-suppressed treatments (P = 0.66). There was also a pasture × concentration interaction for the contractile responses to 5HT1D agonist (P < 0.01). However, these responses were not sigmoidal and reached a zenith at 5 × 10-7 and 1 × 10-6 M. At these concentrations, the response was greatest for veins from the unsuppressed treatment (P < 0.05) and did not differ between veins from suppressed and bermudagrass treatments (P = 0.41). Although reduced levels of ergovaline in seedhead-suppressed pastures did not alter vasoactivity of 5HT2A or 5HT1B receptors in the lateral saphenous vein, elevated vasoactivity of 5HT1D in veins from unsuppressed tall fescue pasture treatment suggests that lower ergovaline levels in seedhead-suppressed pastures can influence the vascular effects of ergot alkaloids.


The doctrine of "Political Direction" is incompatible with the government. Breaking with the notion that the latter derives from the former allows to deal more fruitfully with the issues related to the position and the powers of the Government at times of profound transformations like our own. After having described the theoretical foundations of the doctrine of Political Direction in Italian legal scholarship - for which Political Direction is a binding activity - and after having explored more recent elaborations on the "end of politics" and on "government", the essay aims at a theoretical reconstruction of the activity of government. The essay proposes to abandon the notion of Political Direction and to focus on a notion of government understood as an activity which is not pre-determined but free to pursue all ends, and thus separated from other constitutional functions - especially non-political functions and those "of safeguard". The analysis understands government within the current poliarchic landscape, within the various constrains coming from globalization, European integration and international law more generally and shows how this growing complexity makes it ever more urgent to ensure the freedom of the activity of the Government within a political community.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight and summarize the main findings of the theme issue: "Expo 2020: How is Dubai's hospitality and tourism industry preparing?" by drawing on the discussion and recommendations across the collection of articles to identify the key success factors associated with hosting Expo 2020 in Dubai. Design/methodology/approach – The paper profiles the key methodological elements in developing the research agenda for the theme issue "Expo 2020: How is Dubai's hospitality and tourism industry preparing?" Findings – The paper provides a concise summary of recommendations for the various stakeholder groups involved in hosting Dubai's Expo 2020 mega event. Originality/value – Dubai's successful bid to host Expo 2020 was announced in early 2014. Written by industry practitioners, analysts and educators with local knowledge and experience of Dubai's tourism and hospitality industry, the theme issue provides an authoritative review of the main opportunities and challenges fac...


Retina is a neurosensory tissue of ocular system having highly unique lipids which are susceptible to free radical injuries. Chronic ethanol consumption can initiate a wide range of disorders in the CNS and also alteration in the visual system via oxidative pathway. Our study was designed to evaluate the role of vitamin D, a well-known antioxidant and neuroprotective steroid hormone, in the maintenance of ocular health in ethanol induced toxicity. In our present study 4 months old Wistar rats were exposed to ethanol, daily for 6 weeks, while another set of rats received ethanol daily, along with vitamin D for the same duration. A control group consisting of normal rats without any treatment was also included in this experiment. After 6 weeks, Total Anti-Oxidant (TAO) level of eyeball and retinal thickness was measured and statistically analyzed. We observed significantly decreased total antioxidant level in whole eye homogenate in ethanol administered rats which was associated with morphometric changes in the retina. Whereas, vitamin D treated rats showed near to normal retinal morphology as well as TAO level suggesting that vitamin D has the potential to reverse retinal damages caused by ethanol toxicity induced by long term consumption of it.


As the sophistication of computer technology increases, the number of systems in which both a human and a computer take controlling roles will increase. Effective communication between the human and computer is essential to prevent redundant or interfering actions. If a method for accurately predicting the human's actions can be determined, the computer can use the predictions to complement the human's actions rather than interfere with them. This correspondence develops and empirically validates a two-stage mathematical model of human performance in a situation with real time, multiple tasks, and process control. The model is a consistent and accurate predictor of human performance, correctly predicting over 80 percent of the subjects' actions over a range of situations. A subsequent study is suggested to assess the value of this model when the computer is implemented as a parallel decisionmaker, selecting its own actions to complement rather than conflict with the human decisionmaker.


A new approach to quantum gravity is presented based on a nonlinear quantization scheme for canonical field theories with an implicitly defined Hamiltonian. The constant mean curvature foliation is employed to eliminate the momentum constraints in canonical general relativity. It is, however, argued that the Hamiltonian constraint may be advantageously retained in the reduced classical system to be quantized. This permits the Hamiltonian constraint equation to be consistently turned into an expectation value equation on quantization that describes the scale factor on each spatial hypersurface characterized by a constant mean exterior curvature. This expectation value equation augments the dynamical quantum evolution of the unconstrained conformal three-geometry with a transverse traceless momentum tensor density. The resulting quantum theory is inherently nonlinear. Nonetheless, it is unitary and free from a nonlocal and implicit description of the Hamiltonian operator. Finally, by imposing additional homogeneity symmetries, a broad class of Bianchi cosmological models are analysed as nonlinear quantum minisuperspaces in the context of the proposed theory.


Acute toxicity of isoniazid combinations with rifampicin or various streptomycin salts was studied on 1237 noninbred mice. The toxic effect of the combinations of the drugs in different weight ratios was estimated with the method of graphic analysis of Leve and Muischnek. The experiments showed that rifampicin and streptomycin had no effect on isoniazid ability to induce spasms. The combination of isoniazid with rifampicin had an additive action with an insignificant decrease in the toxic effect. 1 : 2 was the most optimal ratio of the drugs. When the mixture of isoniazid and streptomycin was used in the same syringe, the toxicity increased. However, injection of these drugs alone with an interval of 1-2 minutes had a more favourable additive effect when used in an optimal ratio of 1 : 1.6.


Theory predicts that strategically-determined tax rates induce negative externalities across countries in relative prices, the wealth distribution and tax revenue. This paper studies the interaction of these externalities in a dynamic, general equilibrium environment and its effects on quantitative outcomes of tax competition in one-shot games over capital income taxes between two governments that set time-invariant taxes and issue debt. Strategic payoffs correspond to welfare gains net of the cost of transitional dynamics in a standard neoclassical two-country model with exogenous balanced growth. The model is calibrated to European data for the early 1980s starting from a benchmark with symmetric countries. When countries compete over capital taxes adjusting labor taxes to maintain fiscal solvency, the Nash equilibrium replicates calibrated taxes, suggesting that European taxes can be the outcome of Nash competition. When consumption taxes are adjusted to maintain fiscal solvency, competition triggers a race to the bottom' in capital taxes but this outcome is welfare-improving relative to calibrated taxes. Sensitivity analysis shows that competition can produce a race to the top' in capital taxes and that the United Kingdom can benefit from tax competition with Continental Europe. Surprisingly, the gains from coordination in all of these experiments are small.


A new statistical model for the combined effects of decoherence, energy redistribution and dissipation on electron transport in large quantum systems is introduced. The essential idea is to consider the electron phase information to be lost only at randomly chosen regions with an average distance corresponding to the decoherence length. In these regions the electron's energy can be unchanged or redistributed within the electron system or dissipated to a heat bath. The different types of scattering and the decoherence leave distinct fingerprints in the energy distribution functions. They can be interpreted as a mixture of unthermalized and thermalized electrons. In the case of weak decoherence, the fraction of thermalized electrons show electrical and thermal contact resistances. In the regime of incoherent transport the proposed model is equivalent to a Boltzmann equation. The model is applied to experiments with carbon nanotubes. The excellent agreement of the model with the experimental data allows to determine the scattering lengths of the system.


Israel Aircraft Industries has developed a comprehensive educational program in software engineering. Goals of the program include: the retraining of college graduates to become software engineers with specializations in one of three application areas (data processing, embedded computer systems, and CAD/CAM systems), and enhancement of the knowledge of currently practicing software engineers. The program is centered around three distinct full-time courses of study having an average duration of 7 months. The training program also includes a large number of short courses and seminars. The company is currently planning an M.Sc. program in embedded computer systems and software engineering in cooperation with one of the universities in Israel.


A number of studies have previously examined the capacity of intracellular Leishmania parasites to modulate the capacity of macrophages to process and present Ags to MHC class II-restricted CD4+ T cells. However, the bulk culture approaches used for assessing T cell activation make interpretation of some of these studies difficult. To gain a more precise understanding of the interaction between Leishmania-infected macrophages and effector T cells, we have analyzed various parameters of T cell activation in individual macrophage-T cell conjugates. Leishmania-infected macrophages efficiently stimulate Ag-independent as well as Ag-dependent, TCR-mediated capping of cortical F-actin in DO.11 T cells. However, infected macrophages are less efficient at promoting the sustained TCR signaling necessary for reorientation of the T cell microtubule organizing center and for IFN-γ production. A reduced ability to activate these T cell responses was not due to altered levels of surface-expressed MHC class II-peptide complexes. This study represents the first direct single-cell analysis of the impact of intracellular infection on the interaction of macrophages with T cells and serves to emphasize the subtle influence Leishmania has on APC function.


The way in which we view literacy impacts on how we view the process of literacy learning as well as how we view infants as literacy learners. If literacy is viewed narrowly as a set of reading and writing skills then the process of literacy learning becomes limited to the acquisition and refining of these skills. From this perspective our view of infants as literacy learners is strictly limited to what the infant is or is not capable of doing. However, when viewed from a sociocultural perspective, literacy becomes a contextually based, broad concept that is grounded in social practice. Literacy learning then becomes much more than acquiring skills but includes developing knowledge, attitudes and understandings about the forms, functions and purposes of literacy. From this perspective, infants can now be seen as active and capable literacy learners as they experience and engage with a wide range of literacy practices in their everyday contexts. This sociocultural approach to literacy also has some important implications for the way literacy for infants is viewed within the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Wh!riki (Ministry of Education, 1996), and how educators can support and facilitate literacy learning with infants within the early childhood education context.


Following an early controversy concerning its efficacy, the sinus lift and graft technique is now considered to be a state-of-the-art surgery. In 1975, Tatum introduced the technique that increased maxillary bone height by placing graft material under the maxillary sinus and Schneiderian membrane; by the early 1990s, a modification of Tatum's original technique had become a standard procedure. This article describes and illustrates three variations of the basic sinus lift surgery and graft operation--the hinge osteotomy, the elevated osteotomy, and the complete osteotomy. Additional considerations affecting the surgical outcome are also discussed as is the management of possible complications. The learning objective of this article is to obtain up-to-date information regarding the basic technique and variations of the sinus lift procedure to the general practitioner as well as the specialist.


Background We set out to explore if, and how, an archive of qualitative, narrative interviews covering over 60 health issues could be used to inform the development of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standards. We also sought to identify which aspects of health care are important to people facing different health conditions and to test a set of 'core components' in focus groups with people who tend to be less well represented in interview research studies. Objectives (1) To conduct qualitative secondary analysis (of collections of narrative interviews) to identify common, core components of patients' experiences of the NHS. (2) To test these candidate components with (i) further purposive sampling of the interview collections and (ii) a series of focus groups with users. (3) To embed the project alongside the development of NICE clinical guidelines and quality standards. (4) To inform the development of measurement tools on patients' experiences. (5) To develop and share resources and skills for secondary analysis of qualitative health research. Methods and data sources We used qualitative methods including qualitative secondary analysis, interviews with team members and focus groups. We also ran a workshop on secondary analysis practice and a dissemination seminar. The secondary analysis used narrative interviews from the archive held by the Health Experiences Research Group in Oxford. These interviews have been collected over a 12-year period, number over 3500 and are copyrighted to the University of Oxford for research publications and broadcasting. Other data were digital recordings of interviews and observations at meetings. We prepared reports intended to contribute to NICE clinical guidelines and quality standards development. Results We identified eight consistently important aspects of care: involving the patient in decisions; a friendly and caring attitude; an understanding of how life is affected; seeing the same health professional; guiding through difficult conversations; taking time to explain; pointing towards further support; and efficiently sharing health information across services. Expectations varied but we found few differences in what is valued, even when we tested the reach of these ideas with groups who rarely take part in mainstream health research. The asthma report for NICE highlighted several issues, but only the importance of proper inhaler training contributed to a quality statement. Several barriers were identified to using (unpublished) tailor-made analyses in NICE product development. Conclusions We compared the perspectives about what is most valued in health care between people with different health conditions. They were in agreement, even though their experiences of health-care relationships varied enormously. With regard to the NICE clinical guideline and quality standard development process, the usual source of evidence is published qualitative or quantitative research. Unpublished secondary analysis of qualitative data did not fit the usual criteria for evidence. We suggest that targeted secondary analysis of qualitative data has more potential when the qualitative literature is sparse, unclear or contradictory. Further work might include further testing of the identified core components in other patient groups and health conditions, and collaboration with NICE technical teams to establish whether or not it is possible to identify areas of patient experience research where targeted secondary analyses have potential to add to a qualitative literature synthesis. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.


This paper presents a novel approach to timing analysis of complex real-time systems containing data-driven tasks with intricate execution dependencies. Using a system model inspired by industrial control systems, we show how the execution time of tasks can be represented as a mathematical expression instead of a single numeric value. Next, based on this more detailed modeling, we introduce a concrete process of formally obtaining the exact value of both Worst-Case Execution-Time (WCET) and Worst-Case Response-Time (WCRT) of tasks by using upper-part binary search and TIMES (a timed model checker). Finally, in order to show the potential of the proposed approach, we apply it to a model created from a real robotic control system for which the traditional way of obtaining a WCET estimate (through static WCET analysis) on tasks for usage in basic RTA is not appropriate. Our results indicate a significant reduction of pessimism when compared to basic RTA using WCET estimates on tasks given by a basic assumption.


Two decades ago, the U.S. Air Force Air Weather Service space forecasting group began generating what was termed an effective sunspot number (SSNe) by fitting a model of the critical frequency of the F2 layer (ƒoF2) to observedƒoF2 values. Initially a preprocessing step in a larger analysis package, this parameter has taken on a life of its own and is now used in various applications for both forecasts and specification of the globalƒoF2 field. This paper describes the various ways in which this parameter is calculated, investigates the behavior of this parameter over solar cycle 21 (1976 through 1986), and compares it with other solar‐ionospheric indices, including R12, IF2, IG, and the Ionospheric Prediction Service (IPS) T index.


It can be advantageous for an 'office motivated' party A to spend effort to make it public that a group of voters will lose from party A's policy proposal. Such effort is called inverse campaigning. The inverse campaigning equilibria are described for the case where the two parties can simultaneously reveal information publicly to uninformed voters. Inverse campaigning dissipates the parties' rents and causes some inefficiency in expectation. Inverse campaigning also influences policy design. Successful policy proposals hurt small groups of voters who lose a lot and do not benefit small groups of voters who gain a lot.


ABSTRACT Background: Interpersonal violence is a pervasive global public health problem associated with myriad health, social and economic consequences. In recent years the rates of interpersonal violence have decreased, however, high numbers of individuals continue to present to emergency departments for non-fatal violence-related injuries. Objective: This study aimed to examine a range of risk factors associated with violence-related injuries in an emergency department in Denmark. Method: A case-control study was conducted on a sample of 3,940 victims of violence collected by the Accident Analysis Center for Aarhus County Municipality. Using the Danish Civil Registry System, controls were matched 10:1 on age, gender and municipality. Risk factors were rendered from Danish health and social registers five years prior to the violent assault. These included marital status, educational qualification, employment status, national origin, involvement with child protective services (CPS), prior convictions, and a diagnosis of adjustment disorder and alcohol and/or substance use disorders. Results: Multivariate logistic regression identified that being male, divorced, unmarried, non-Danish origin, attending compulsory education, being outside the labour force, students, involvement with CPS, prior criminal conviction and a diagnosis of alcohol and/or substance use disorders were associated with an increased likelihood of being exposed to violence. The dominant risk factors were alcohol and/or substance use disorders (OR = 3.62) and prior criminal conviction (OR = 3.54). Attainment of tertiary education was associated with a reduced likelihood of being a victim of violence. Conclusion: These findings highlight that research into effective interventions offered in emergency departments may help the public health effort to reduce the health, social and economic burden of interpersonal violence. HIGHLIGHTS • Risk factors for violence-related injuries were assessed using a case-control design.• A prior diagnosis of a substance misuse disorder and history of criminal conviction were the dominant risk factors.• Interventions offered in emergency department targeting substance misuse and aggressive behaviours may help public health efforts to reduce the negative outcomes associated with interpersonal violence.


Dramatic geopolitical and geo-economic changes occurring since 2022 have created a new development context for Russian border regions redrawing their economic security boundaries. The latter are also changing, which is understood as the required level of security in the current mode of functioning of the territorial system in terms of its openness or closeness. These regions, especially ones located along the northwestern borders, geo-strategically gain more military and political importance for Russia's national security. Thus, changing boundaries of the border regions' economic security require theoretical understanding and development of measures to ensure it. A socio-geographical approach to addressing this issue allows factoring in the regions' spatial characteristics, in particular, the influence of the border factor. Highlighting the specific functions of border regions that distinguish them from the internal territories of the country, the paper presents a hierarchy of economic security factors. In terms of their content, we consider groups of general and specific factors, while in terms of the character of their impact — constructive (potential-forming) or destructive (potential-destructive). The study shows that the economic security boundaries for a particular territory are determined by the ratio of various groups of factors in establishing the operating regime of the region in terms of its openness or closedness as a territorial system. We use the example of the exclave Kaliningrad region to identify the leading border functions, analyze changes in the economic security boundaries and propose key action areas for ensuring it.


Motivated by a growing awareness of the penetration of developmental idealism into the daily lives of ordinary people, this paper analyzes Taiwanese college students' perceptions of developmental hierarchies, a key element of developmental idealism. We investigate the extent to which Taiwanese students hold hierarchical views of the world, whether these views match the views of the United Nations, the stability of these views across time, and the reliability of measurement. Data for this paper come from the survey of 'Political Values and Attitudes among University Students in Taiwan,' a panel study conducted by the Election Study Center in Taipei, Taiwan. Our results from this panel study conducted in 2006, 2007, and 2008 show that Taiwanese students have worldviews that include developmental hierarchies that are very similar to the country development ratings of the United Nations. We show that these perceptions of developmental hierarchies can be measured reliably at both the individual and the aggregate levels and are stable across the survey years.


Inadequate and erratic rainfall pattern and extreme temperature variations induced by climate change being experienced in Sudan savanna areas have compromised the cropping systems of these areas. A change in the cropping patterns is required to maintain and improve upon crop output levels. The pod yield ha(-1) and other growth and yield components of three varieties of groundnut grown under irrigated conditions were measured in a field experiment conducted at the Irrigation Research Station of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Zaria, from 2003 to 2006 dry seasons. Treatments consisted of three plant populations (50,000, 100,000 and 200,000 plants ha(-1)), three varieties (Samnut 23, Samnut 21 and Samnut 11) and three basin sizes (3 x 3, 3 x 4 and 3 x 5 m) arranged in a split plot design with population and variety as main plot and basin size as sub plot. Treatments were randomly assigned and replicated three times. Plant populations significantly affected plant height and canopy spread but had no effect on number of branches plant. Plants grew significantly taller at 200,000 plants ha(-1) while plant canopy spread was significantly widest at 50,000 plants ha(-1). Samnut 23 grew significantly taller than Samnut 21 and 11 although they exhibited wider canopies. Pod yield ha(-1) and 100 seed weight were significantly highest at 200,000 plants ha(-1). Samnut 23 produced the significantly highest pod yield ha(-1) and number of pods plant(-1). Samnut 11 produced significantly highest 100 seed weight. Samnut 23 planted at 200,000 plants ha(-1) in 3 x 4 m basins is most promising for irrigated groundnut cultivation in the Sudan savanna of Nigeria.


Methods. Renal biopsy specimens from two female patients with serum sickness that ensued after application of antilymphocyte horse globulin for aplastic anemia were analyzed by light microscopy, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. To prove the depositions of foreign protein, frozen sections were incubated with fluorescein-conjugated anti-horse protein serum. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on B5-fixed paraplast-embedded tissue or frozen acetone-fixed sections with the primary antibodies for molecules/cell markers CD35, CD43, CD45RO, CD68, CD2, lysozime, L26, and S100. Results. Diffuse proliferating and necrotizing glomerulonephritis with crescents was found. There were coarse granular mesangial, subepithelial, subendothelial, and intramembranaceous deposits of mainly horse globulin, C3, and IgG. Most mesangium infiltrating cells were macrophages and T-lymphocytes. Electron microscopy revealed hypertrophy of podocytes, but immunohistochemistry did not show their normal CD35 (C3b-receptor) staining. Apart from epithelial cells, main crescent forming cells were macrophages and T-lymphocytes. Rare dendritic cells and abundant infiltration of macrophages, T-lymphocytes, and neutrophiles were found in the interstitium. Conclusion. In severe serum sickness, glomeruli and tubuli are destroyed beyond the range usually seen in other types of glomerulonephritis caused by immune complexes, except in cases with widespread crescents. Hypertrophy of podocytes and loss of their normal C3b-receptor staining has not yet been described in the literature. C3b-receptors on podocytes could play a role in pathogenesis of glomerular injury caused by immune complexes.


In addition to serving as molecular chaperones, heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been implicated in autoimmune diseases, antigen presentation and tumor immunity. Extensive work in the last 10 years has also suggested that HSPs such as Hsp60, Hsp70, Hsp90 and gp96, may be potent activators of the innate immune system capable of inducing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the monocyte-macrophage system, and the activation and maturation of dendritic cells via the Toll-like receptor 2 and 4 signal transduction pathways. However, recent evidence suggests that the reported cytokine effects of HSPs may be a result of the contaminating bacterial cell-wall products. This concise review summarizes the current controversy over the role of HSPs in innate immunity.


BACKGROUND
Photography is an integral component of the international travel experience. Self-photography is becoming a mainstream behaviour in society and it has implications for the practice of travel medicine. Travellers who take selfies, including with the use of selfie sticks, may be subject to traumatic injuries associated with this activity. This review article is the first in the medical literature to address this emerging phenomenon.

METHODS
Articles indexed on PubMed and Scopus databases through 2015 were retrieved, using the search terms 'travel', combined with 'selfie', 'self-photography', 'smartphone', 'mobile phone' and 'social media'. The reference lists of articles were manually searched for additional publications, and published media reports of travel-related self-photography were examined.

RESULTS
The lack of situational awareness and temporary distraction inherent in selfie-taking exposes the traveller to potential hazards. A diverse group of selfie injuries has been reported, including injury and death secondary to selfie-related falls, attacks from wild animals, electrocution, lightning strikes, trauma at sporting events, road traffic and pedestrian accidents. Public health measures adopted by the Russian Federation in response to over 100 reported selfie injuries in 2015 alone are presented. The review also discusses the potential for direct trauma from the use of selfie sticks. Travel-related scenarios where selfies should be avoided include photographs taken from a height, on a bridge, in the vicinity of vehicular traffic, during thunderstorms, at sporting events, and where wild animals are in the background. Recommendations exist which discourage use of mobile phones in drivers and pedestrians.

CONCLUSIONS
The travel medicine practitioner should routinely counsel travellers about responsible self-photography during international travel and should include this advice in printed material given to the patient. The travel and mobile phone industries should reinforce these health promotion messages. Future research should offer greater insights into traveller selfie-taking behaviour.


A study of self-diffusion in anthracene single crystals has been carried out using a radioactive tracer technique. A method was developed for the growth of large single crystals of anthracene from the melt, starting from the Bridgman technique. On to one surface of the crystals was evaporated a deposit of anthracene - 9 - carbon-14, prepared by a seven stage synthesis from barium 14-carbonate, and the crystals and their deposits were heated at constant temperatures in the range 150 -190 G for periods up to 230 hours. The crystals were then sectioned parallel to the initial active face, using a calibrated, hand operated, lathe. The quantity of radioactive material which had diffused into each section was determined by quantitative combustion of the sections to carbon dioxide in an "Empty Tube" rapid combustion apparatus, followed by the determination of the disintegration rate of this gas in a gas counting tube, using carbon disulphide as charge transfer agent. Penetration was found up to a depth of 4 x 10(^-2) cms. It was found that two concurrent diffusion processes were occurring in the crystal. One of these involved only a small proportion of the total diffusing activity and may represent diffusion along intersecting dislocations in the crystal. The second process involved most of the diffusing activity and was thought to represent bulk diffusion in the crystal The temperature dependance of the diffusion coefficient for the second process is given lay the equation. D = (1.31 ± 1.13) x l0(^ll)e (^–(42,400 ± 1,200)/RT) cm. (^2) per second. The pre-exponential factor and activation energy for this process are unusually high. This leads to the conclusion that a co-operative diffusion phenomenon is occurring in the crystal, in which diffusion occurs by way of vacant lattice sites, and that the loosening or premelting of from four to six molecules occurs in the neighbourhood of the vacancy during diffusion. This is one of the few studies of self-diffusion in molecular crystals.


Robots of the future are going to exhibit increasingly human-like and super-human intelligence in a myriad of different tasks. They are also likely going to fail and be incompliant with human preferences in increasingly subtle ways. Towards the goal of achieving autonomous robots, the robot learning community has made rapid strides in applying machine learning techniques to train robots through data and interaction. This makes the study of how best to audit these algorithms for checking their compatibility with humans, pertinent and urgent. In this paper, we draw inspiration from the AI Safety and Alignment communities and make the case that we need to urgently consider ways in which we can best audit our robot learning algorithms to check for failure modes, and ensure that when operating autonomously, they are indeed behaving in ways that the human algorithm designers intend them to. We believe that this is a challenging problem that will require efforts from the entire robot learning community, and do not attempt to provide a concrete framework for auditing. Instead, we outline high-level guidance and a possible approach towards formulating this framework which we hope will serve as a useful starting point for thinking about auditing in the context of robot learning.


In this paper we present an analytical study of a subgrid scale turbulence model of the threedimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, inspired by the Navier-Stokes-α (also known as the viscous Camassa-Holm equations or the Lagrangian-averaged Navier-Stokes-α model. Specifically, we show the global well-posedness and regularity of solutions of a certain MHD-α model (which is a particular case of the Lagrangian averaged magnetohydrodynamic-α model without enhancing the dissipation for the magnetic field). We also introduce other subgrid scale turbulence models, inspired by the Leray-α and the modified Leray-α models of turbulence. Finally, we discuss the relation of the MHD-α model to the MHD equations by proving a convergence theorem, that is, as the length scale α tends to zero, a subsequence of solutions of the MHD-α equations converges to a certain solution (a Leray-Hopf solution) of the three-dimensional MHD equations.


Inclusion policies focusing on Roma groups started in Sweden during the 1950s, when the Swedish government recognized the formal citizen status of the so called "Swedish Gypsies", a group consisting of approximately 740 people. As the Roma were perceived as people living outside the boundaries of normal society, the challenge facing the Swedish authorities was how to outline and organize the new policies. In our analyses we focus on the taken-for-granted premises of these policies. We discuss the "entry process" of these Roma into Swedish society. People-processing organizations classified Roma as "socially disabled" in different administrative contexts. In the early 1960s adult male Roma were classified as socially disabled on the labor market. Later during the same decade, experts and professionals increasingly focused attention on the Roma family as a problematic institution. In this context, Roma adults were classified as disabled in relation to the normative representations of parental capacities during that time, while Roma children of school age were defined as children with difficulties and put in special groups for children with problems. The related interventions were justified by a discourse on social inclusion, but in reality produced a web of measures, practices and yet further interventions, which in the long run have contributed to perpetuate the social marginality of Roma groups.


True frogs of the genus Rana are widely used as model organisms in studies of development, genetics, physiology, ecology, behavior, and evolution. Comparative studies among the more than 100 species of Rana rely on an understanding of the evolutionary history and patterns of diversification of the group. We estimate a well-resolved, time-calibrated phylogeny from sequences of six nuclear and three mitochondrial loci sampled from most species of Rana, and use that phylogeny to clarify the group's diversification and global biogeography. Our analyses consistently support an "Out of Asia" pattern with two independent dispersals of Rana from East Asia to North America via Beringian land bridges. The more species-rich lineage of New World Rana appears to have experienced a rapid radiation following its colonization of the New World, especially with its expansion into montane and tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America. In contrast, Old World Rana exhibit different trajectories of diversification; diversification in the Old World began very slowly and later underwent a distinct increase in speciation rate around 29-18 Ma. Net diversification is associated with environmental changes and especially intensive tectonic movements along the Asian margin from the Oligocene to early Miocene. Our phylogeny further suggests that previous classifications were misled by morphological homoplasy and plesiomorphic color patterns, as well as a reliance primarily on mitochondrial genes. We provide a phylogenetic taxonomy based on analyses of multiple nuclear and mitochondrial gene loci. [Amphibians; biogeography; diversification rate; Holarctic; transcontinental dispersal.


Metal Deposition (MD) is a method to build three dimensional metal geometries by welding using filler wire or powdered metal. NDT of a MD feature is required when the feature is located in an area of high stress or could be a potential hazard to the part. Ultrasonic testing (UT) can be used to detect pores, linear indications and lack of fusion in welds. This method has limitations when it comes to large parts with complex geometries with various shapes and sizes. A flexible method for inspecting complex geometries is to mount an ultrasonic water flow probe (squirter) on a robot. The robot can then follow a pre-programmed path to achieve full inspection of the feature. This paper shows results and functionality from a system where a squirter probe was used together with a standard industrial robot. Results from a scanning of a three-dimensional MD-structure are also presented.


Neural network on Riemannian symmetric space such as hyperbolic space and the manifold of symmetric positive definite (SPD) matrices is an emerging subject of research in geometric deep learning. Based on the well-established framework of the Helgason-Fourier transform on the noncompact symmetric space, we present a fully-connected network and its associated ridgelet transform on the noncompact symmetric space, covering the hyperbolic neural network (HNN) and the SPDNet as special cases. The ridgelet transform is an analysis operator of a depth-2 continuous network spanned by neurons, namely, it maps an arbitrary given function to the weights of a network. Thanks to the coordinate-free reformulation, the role of nonlinear activation functions is revealed to be a wavelet function. Moreover, the reconstruction formula is applied to present a constructive proof of the universality of finite networks on symmetric spaces.


The paper presents the use of computer programming to solving typical engineering problems. First of all, the basic information about the computer programming ideology and types of computer programming languages were outlined. Secondly, the Matlab environment that combines computing, visualization and programming was described. In the final part of the paper the author presented solution of the beam with a uniformly distributed load problem by use of special computer program prepared in Matlab language.


This paper analyzed the grade of iron and sulfur of cobalt concentrate in an iron in the past decade. The utilization of the magnetic separation technology for treating cobalt concentrate was carried out the techno-economic analysis. It was indicated that the cobalt concentrate quality had been improved significantly after magnetic separation; the grade of cobalt has been increased for 0.08 percentage points higher and the sulfur 3 percentage points higher. The recovery operations of cobalt and sulfur were 83.1% and 80.6% respectively, and the product yield of the magnetic was 27.85%, the grade of iron was 42.63% and the sulfur was 17.76%. According to the actual production data in 2009 and the experimental data of magnetic treatment of cobalt concentrate, the benefits of treating cobalt concentrate were calculated. The results showed that 5.342 million was increased for the sales and more than 4.6 million was increased for net returns by the magnetic treatment of cobalt concentrate.


In this paper we empirically analyse two counterfactual situations facing an antitrust au- thority following the merger of two of the largest international cigarette companies. First we estimate a random coecients model of demand for cigarettes. The implied elasticity of demand for smoking and implied marginal costs are consistent with the independent estimates available. We then use the model to simulate the proposed merger and the partial divesti- ture that was accepted by the Australian antitrust authority. A comparison of the relative price changes predicted by the divestiture simulation with the actual post-divestiture price changes shows that the model is partially successful in predicting the ranking of price changes across companies following the divestiture. This suggests structural econometric analysis us- ing a random coecients model can provide information for antitrust authorities assessing the implications of a potential merger and partial divestiture.


Abstract We investigated whether the thermal history of Black Rat Snakes (Elaphe obsoleta) and Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon) during development affected their preferred body temperatures (PBT) after hatching or birth. Eggs of black rat snakes were incubated at high or low temperatures. Gravid female water snakes were maintained in rooms under low, medium, or high ambient temperatures. PBT of neonates were measured in a controlled thermal gradient. We only found plasticity in PBT with developmental temperature for northern water snakes, where offspring that developed under warmer temperatures demonstrated a significant preference for warmer temperatures. Our results suggest that PBT are plastic in only some species of snakes and may explain some of the individual variation in PBT observed in adult snakes.


The Wasserstein distance has become increasingly important in machine learning and deep learning. Despite its popularity, the Wasserstein distance is hard to approximate because of the curse of dimensionality. A recently proposed approach to alleviate the curse of dimensionality is to project the sampled data from the high dimensional probability distribution onto a lower-dimensional subspace, and then compute the Wasserstein distance between the projected data. However, this approach requires to solve a max-min problem over the Stiefel manifold, which is very challenging in practice. The only existing work that solves this problem directly is the RGAS (Riemannian Gradient Ascent with Sinkhorn Iteration) algorithm, which requires to solve an entropy-regularized optimal transport problem in each iteration, and thus can be costly for large-scale problems. In this paper, we propose a Riemannian block coordinate descent (RBCD) method to solve this problem, which is based on a novel reformulation of the regularized max-min problem over the Stiefel manifold. We show that the complexity of arithmetic operations for RBCD to obtain an $\epsilon$-stationary point is $O(\epsilon^{-3})$. This significantly improves the corresponding complexity of RGAS, which is $O(\epsilon^{-12})$. Moreover, our RBCD has very low per-iteration complexity, and hence is suitable for large-scale problems. Numerical results on both synthetic and real datasets demonstrate that our method is more efficient than existing methods, especially when the number of sampled data is very large.


Aircraft simulation software was used together to simulate a humanitarian variant of the MQ-9 Reaper drone as well as its longitudinal stability response upon dropping an aid payload. This project derives stability derivatives from the MQ-9 dimensions using the mass moments of inertia and approximate air- foil shape using Athena Vortex Lattice (AVL) code. The stability derivatives, aircraft properties, weights and control systems were modelled with Presagis FlightSim 14 to approximate the MQ-9 flight model. A graphics model was also built using Presagis Creator and the flight model and graphics model were unified into a virtual environment. Its longitudinal short period and phugoid responses as well as the lateral Dutch mode after dropping a 200 kg payload was recorded and analysed. The older Ryan Navion was also modelled using the same method which was used to model the MQ-9. The same dynamic responses were compared to real Navion flight test and calculated data in order to validate the aforementioned modelling method.


ABSTRACT Diagenesis of lime mud involves mineralogic stabilization, addition of large amounts of porosity-reducing cement and/or compaction, and grain shape changes, processes that may occur rapidly when fresh water invades the sediment pore systems. Scanning electron microscopy of lithified and semilithified Pleistocene lime mudstone from a subsurface location on Barbados (Borehole #17) illustrate some of these early diagenetic processes. Mineralogically stable muds that have resided in fresh water phreatic lenses are well cemented with porosity less than 15%. Mud particles are 0.5 to 2 µm in diameter Three to 8 µm grains of cement occur in aggregates lining irregular coarse silt- and sand-sized cavities (molds?). In the modern zone of mixing of fresh and marine ground water. mineralogically metastable muds contain 20-30% calcite crystals, 3 to 5 µm in size, partially filling micropores and cementing 0.25 to 2 µm mud particles; porosity is 20-40%. These data indicate that early cementation of lime mud can occur in fresh and brackish phreatic environments. Mineralogic stabilization of the muds involves dissolution of 0.25 to 2 µm sized metastable grains and precipitation of calcite crystals up to 8 µm in size. Interpretation of the scanning electron micrographs indicates that aggrading neomorphism has not been an important process in the early evolution of the mud fabric.


This study explores the impacts of bank's diversified operations on their loans, the threshold effect of bank's derivatives trading and the impacts on their financial behaviors are investigated. The results show that there are two separate regime effects for banks in large-sized and medium-sized, and three regime effects for banks in small to medium-sized. Derivatives trading not only make banks easier to diversify their credit risk exposure, but also alter their lending behaviors. As an example of large banks, when banks derivatives' trading is more than US$61 billion, an increase in banks assets will associate with a corresponding increase in loans to SMEs. If trading in derivatives by the banks is less than the threshold value, the banks will make loans less available to SMEs when there is an increase in banks assets. In addition, when banks are less aggressive in derivatives trading, debt ratio, pre-tax earnings and the SME credit guarantee balance all have significantly positive associations with loans to SMEs.


Cytotoxic lymphocytes encompass natural killer lymphocytes (cells) and cytotoxic T cells that include CD8+ T cells, natural killer (NK) T cells, γ, δ (γδ)‐T cells and human CD4 + CD28− T cells. These cells play critical roles in inflammatory diseases and in controlling cancers and infections. Cytotoxic lymphocytes can be activated via a number of mechanisms that may involve dendritic cells, macrophages, cytokines or surface proteins on stressed cells. Upon activation, they secrete pro‐inflammatory cytokines as well as anti‐inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and cytotoxins to promote inflammation and the development of atherosclerotic lesions including vulnerable lesions, which are strongly implicated in myocardial infarctions and strokes. Here, we review the mechanisms that activate and regulate cytotoxic lymphocyte activity, including activating and inhibitory receptors, cytokines, chemokine receptors‐chemokine systems utilized to home to inflamed lesions and cytotoxins and cytokines through which they affect other cells within lesions. We also examine their roles in human and mouse models of atherosclerosis and the mechanisms by which they exert their pathogenic effects. Finally, we discuss strategies for therapeutically targeting these cells to prevent the development of atherosclerotic lesions and vulnerable plaques and the challenge of developing highly targeted therapies that only minimally affect the body's immune system, avoiding the complications, such as increased susceptibility to infections, which are currently associated with many immunotherapies for autoimmune diseases.


Based on new data and new analytical frameworks, this book assesses the forces of change at play in the development of American universities and their prospects for the future. The book begins with a lengthy introduction by Clark Kerr that not only provides an overview of change since the time he coined the phrase "the city of intellect" but also discusses the major changes that will affect American universities over the next thirty years. Part One examines demographic and economic changes, such as the rise of nearly universal higher education, private gift and corporate sponsorship of research, new labor market opportunities, and increasing inequality among institutions and disciplines. Part Two assesses the profound influence of the Internet and other technologies on teaching and learning. Part Three describes how the various forces of change affect the nature of academic research and the organization of disciplines and the curriculum. Part Four analyzes the consequences of change for university governance and the means by which universities in the future can maintain high levels of achievement while maintaining high levels of autonomy. The contributors include many of today's leading scholars of higher education. They are Andrew Abbott, Steven Brint, Richard Chait, Burton R. Clark, Randall Collins, David J. Collis, Roger L. Geiger, Patricia J. Gumport, Clark Kerr, Richard A. Lanham, Jason Owen-Smith, Walter W. Powell, Sheila Slaughter, and Carol Tomlinson-Keasey.


From the earliest days of the Republic, the Supreme Court has subscribed to the idea that judges may deviate from even the clearest statutory texts when a given application would produce otherwise absurd results. This approach has been an important safety valve in the Court's case law even during its most textualist phases. The absurdity doctrine is predicated on the idea that Congress enacts legislation against the constraints of limited foresight, resources, and time, and that general language will sometimes produce unanticipated results. The doctrine then assumes that when a statute's plain meaning produces a result that is contrary to society's widely shared values, the result must have been unanticipated — something Congress would not have "intended" had it considered the question explicitly. Under that assumption, the Court has been able to avoid apparent statutory oddities without perceiving itself to have violated the constitutional premises of legislative supremacy. This article contends that the insights of modern textualism and public choice theory make that assumption harder to sustain. The legislative process is untidy, and the particular wording of a statute may have been, for unknowable reasons, essential to its passage. Thus, rather than identifying legislative intent, the Court's invocation of "absurd results" to disturb a clear statutory text, in fact, risks displacing whatever bargain legislators actually reached through the complex and path-dependent legislative process. Moreover, treating the absurdity doctrine, in the alternative, as a normatively justified element of the federal judiciary's law-declaration power not only violates important assumptions underlying our constitutional structure, but also creates an unexplained incongruity between the constitutional assumptions applied in the Court's statutory cases and those applied in constitutional cases involving rationality review. After developing its critique of the absurdity doctrine, the article then considers alternative interpretive doctrines that have enabled the Court to avoid some but not all statutory absurdities.


Abstract Urban revolution is bringing about a qualitative transform which can be linked to globalization of economy and of technologies. This in turn makes transformations to the "human face" of city. The traditional Islamic city, with its humanisation features, has a cultural, social, political, economic and ecological logic in terms of physical fabric, layout, and uses. This can provide a lesson for modern planning and design practices. Time has come to re-create the conditions that will restore to the metropolises of today their role as centers of cultural influence and democracy. Fight against intolerance, poverty, injustice, social and cultural exclusion, affirmation of solidarity as a fundamental value of democracy and human rights, promotion of a culture of peace and education for citizenship are just few of the challenges still to be taken up along the road to the humanisation city. Consequently, decline of concept and form in contemporary urban planning around the Arab world is discussed through studying the impact of modern Western urbanization on the urban forms in recent decades. Onslaught has affected modern Arab cities that have become culturally, environmentally, and socially inhuman as they lack to strategies and solutions to meet challenges of reducing or repairing damages brought forth. This study discussed the human principles shaping traditional Islamic city, forces that affect modern Arab cities and inhuman aspects of these cities. Furthermore, a case study of human face of Alexandria, the second capital of Egypt, was presented. The study aims at answering questions such as: "What is the meaning of "humanising the city", and what are its requirements?", "Do planning and urban design in our cities respond to human needs?", Could principles of traditional Islamic cities be adapted to meet modern functionality and living standards maintaining its high congruence with our natural, religious and socio-cultural environment?", etc. This study uses a combination of design research methods that combine quantitative and qualitative approaches by including both qualitative and quantitative data. The study concludes that absence of any correlation between humanisation principles and morphological characteristics of the modern Arab cities is the main reason of social, ecological and identity crisis of the urban communities. Some principles of traditional Islamic cities could be adapted to meet modern cities. It is still very relevant and viable to today's urban requirement of our society. Moreover, there is an urgent need to apply these principles in a modern context to bring our cities back to its humanisation feature.


WG strains are new isolates other than E-Coli K12 to be tested for cross-fertility. For sources, see especially correspondence
 with R. S. Benham and C. Phillip Miller. NOTE: Pagination for this notebook is totally artificial.


Edge effects in pixelated CdZnTe detectors are a result of the high dielectric constant of the CdZnTe detector material, and the tendency of the field lines emanating from the "hole" charge carriers to remain within the detector volume. As a result spectra for edge and corner pixels tend to exhibit a longer low energy tail at the expense of the number of events in the photo-peak. We focus on a thick pixelated CdZnTe detector, where, the detector thickness is comparable to the lateral size. We develop a theoretical Monte-Carlo simulation that well describes the experimentally observed edge effects. We show that when the same detector is embedded in an array of similar detector at the same HV, the edge effects disappear, and the spectral properties of even the central pixels improve noticeably.


Digital libraries aim at unhindered access to content over computer and communication networks, and digitization may be taken as a visible proposition to enhance the shelf life of non-digital content by preservation apart from the virtue of increased and easy access, thereby furthering usage. As a fresh, lively and dynamic area with a lot of enthusiasm and activity by researchers from different disciplines, institutions and countries, digital libraries are viewed in different perspectives and the single most development that has brought about sweeping changes in the library and information discipline currently in the developed world is that of digital libraries. Advancements in computer and information technology with breakthroughs in memory technology has not only reduced the cost of infrastructure required for hosting digital libraries, but the demonstrated success of a wide variety of projects in USA and Europe also endorsed the chances of their survival even in a developing country. Though the professionals and libraries in developing countries are also experiencing the virtues of Internet, and electronic information highways, many of these libraries have not gone much farther than the computerization of in-house operations, availing databases in electronic media such as CD-ROMs, and web access of subscribed journals and various free resources. Digital library development should be taken up as an additional task to populate the web sites with valuable in-house content like the research reports, publications of in-house researchers, and so on. Digital library projects and developments in the country are so many, though a large number of them are only at an aggressively enthusiastic preliminary stage. In a country such as India so rich in content of indigenous research and development in disciplines varied from science and technology to social science, humanities and spirituality, there is tremendous need for hosting full fledged digital libraries by appropriately tagging the content with affordable information technology. However, what is lacking, especially in developing countries, is a coordinated collaborative approach to bring in institutions and identifying content valuable for digitization with sufficient monetary and infrastructure support. The digital library development in the country needs a two-pronged strategy (i) to digitize local content, and (ii) to devise options for accessing external resources. Channels for internal content include journals and serials for research, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations and preprints, research and status reports, textbooks and learning materials, government publications, spiritual/heritage sources, tourism information, traditional knowledge, etc. As far as external resources are concerned, there are electronic options from publishers and information provides such as, online access through Web of subscribed journals, CDs and floppies containing supplementary material of printed books, bibliographic/full-text databases, which can be hosted on library servers or intranet along with local content. The problems for digital library development are manifold in India such as lack of interest, non-availability of computer and IT infrastructure for library activities, copyright problems, ensuring secure access, properly selecting content from the mass available, internet bandwidth, absence of sufficient financial support, over concentration of professional time on administrative routines, acute shortage over concentration of professional time on administrative routines, acute shortage of competent manpower, etc. The software boom engulfing the country, as a result of the big leap in computer penetration, sudden rise in proficient manpower, and sizable improvement in communication infrastructure should also be treated as an asset and taken advantage of by authorities and information professionals to create and maintain digital information facilities to usher in the new information age.


BACKGROUND Involvement in service-education linkages by family practice residencies is increasing. In the late 1980s, Swedish Hospital Family Practice Residency in Seattle sought to expand into a new site. At the same time, the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health (SKCDPH) identified the Denny Regrade area of Seattle as medically underserved. METHODS A new clinic was established in the Denny Regrade area through a collaborative effort between Swedish Family Practice Residency and the SKCDPH. The clinic, Downtown Family Medicine, provides the family practice center training for six additional residents, expanding the Swedish Family Practice Residency from 18 to 24 residents. Swedish Hospital finances faculty and residents' salaries and capital equipment at the new clinic, whereas SKCDPH covers ancillary staff and overhead expenses. RESULTS The new linkage clinic offers a unique educational setting, direct service to medically indigent patients, and shared financing. Problems encountered included cost, control, adequate staffing, and availability of specialty physician services. Through negotiation and flexibility, solutions were found to many of these problems. CONCLUSIONS The present linkage demonstrates that training residents in a health department setting is a viable option for expanding a residency and providing care to underserved patients.