Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infects one-quarter of the global population and causes one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Macrophages are the first line of defense against Mtb infection and are typically incredibly efficient at destroying intracellular pathogens, but Mtb has evolved to survive and replicate in this harsh environment. ABSTRACT Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) causes one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Upon infection, Mtb is phagocytosed by macrophages and uses its virulence-associated ESX-1 secretion system to modulate the host cell. We showed previously that the ESX-1 secretion system perturbs the Mtb-containing phagosome, and a population (∼30%) of intracellular Mtb is tagged with ubiquitin and targeted to selective autophagy. However, our understanding of how macrophages sense and respond to damaged Mtb-containing phagosomes remains incomplete. Here, we demonstrate that several cytosolic glycan-binding proteins called galectins recognize Mtb-containing phagosomes; in macrophage cell lines and in primary macrophages, galectin-3, -8, and -9 are all recruited to the same Mtb population that colocalizes with selective autophagy markers (ubiquitin, p62, and LC3). To test whether galectins are required for controlling Mtb replication in macrophages, we generated CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts and found that galectin-8−/− and galectin-3/8/9−/− macrophages were similarly defective in targeting Mtb to selective autophagy and controlling replication. This suggests galectin-8 plays a unique role in anti-Mtb autophagy. In investigating galectin-8's role, we identified a novel and specific interaction between galectin-8 and the selective autophagy adapter TAX1BP1 and found that this galectin-8/TAX1BP1 interaction was necessary for macrophages to efficiently target Mtb to selective autophagy. Remarkably, overexpressing galectin-8 increased targeting of Mtb to autophagy and limited Mtb replication. Taken together, these data demonstrate that while several galectins are capable of recognizing damaged Mtb-containing phagosomes, galectin-8 plays a privileged role in recruiting downstream autophagy machinery and may represent a promising target for host-directed tuberculosis therapies. IMPORTANCE Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infects one-quarter of the global population and causes one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Macrophages are the first line of defense against Mtb infection and are typically incredibly efficient at destroying intracellular pathogens, but Mtb has evolved to survive and replicate in this harsh environment. Previous work has found that a portion of intracellular Mtb bacilli damage their phagosomes, leaving them vulnerable to detection by the host and delivery to an antibacterial pathway called selective autophagy. Here, we show that in macrophages, galectin-8 recognizes damaged Mtb-containing phagosomes and targets Mtb to selective autophagy; we found that galectin-8, unlike other highly similar and closely related galectins, is required for targeting and controlling Mtb in macrophages. The specific role for galectin-8 appears to stem from its interaction with TAX1BP1, a selective autophagy adapter protein. Interestingly, overexpressing galectin-8 helps macrophages target and control Mtb, highlighting the importance of galectin-8 in the innate immune response to Mtb.


A fluorescence microscopy technique has been developed to visualize the behavior of individual DNA and protein molecules. Real-time direct observation of a single DNA molecule can be used to investigate the dynamics of DNA-protein interactions, such as the DNA digestion reaction by lambda exonuclease. In conventional methods it is impossible to analyze the dynamics of an individual lambda exonuclease molecule on a DNA because they can only observe the average behavior of a number of exonuclease molecules. Observation of a single molecule, on the other hand, can reveal processivity and binding rate of an individual exonuclease molecule. To evaluate the dynamics of lambda exonuclease, a stained lambda DNA molecule with one biotinylated terminal was fixed on an avidin-coated coverslip and straightened using a d.c. electric field. Microscopic observation of digestion of a straightened DNA molecule by lambda exonuclease revealed that the DNA digestion rate was approximately 1000 bases/s and also demonstrated high processivity.


In order to improve the free solidification surface of strip, the property in case of semi-solid forming of Al–12 mass%Si strip by melt drag process with a forming roll was studied. The effect of some producing factors, such as, roll separating force, roll angle to contact and roll speed on strip property was investigated. As the result, a higher roll speed or a smaller roll angle to contact made the solid fraction of the solidifying strip between rolls lower. Considering solid fraction, the forming pattern of forming roll side surface was classified into two types. On the condition that the solid fraction between rolls is low, it was possible to produce strip with improved free solidification surface under low roll separating force (0.1 kN). On each roll speed, the roll-separating force which causes sticking between strip and roll was obtained. And the relation between roll separating force and reduction, surface quality and microstructure was made clear. From these results, a roll speed higher than 50 m/min is suited for the melt drag process applied of semi-solid forming.


This article reports a case study that aimed to explore and conceptualize the use of social media in youth outreach engagement in Hong Kong. It used "social media affordance" as a heuristic lens to inform the analysis. This concept refers to the latent utility of social media, which is dependent on both the intrinsic features of social media and the perceptions of the users. In this study, this includes the reviewability, visibility, authoring capabilities, and associative capabilities of social media. We conducted a thematic analysis on data collected including: official service statistics, meeting notes, focus group discussions, and the practitioners' presentation notes. Major and minor themes were organized with reference to the outreach techniques noted by the practitioners. Significant affordance(s) supporting each technique were identified. The findings revealed specific outreach techniques used by the practitioners including: (i) online searches, (ii) initial encounters before direct verbal dialogue, (iii) ice-breaking via multi-modal communication, and (iv) snowballing. Compared to youth outreach in physical settings, online outreach demonstrates greater visibility of interactions and improved immediacy, but also implies losing privacy, and changes in professional identity. Moreover, the findings showed that each technique was arguably related more to particular affordances than some others, denoting a tacit knowledge informing practitioners to make their choices. These observations inspired further discussion about the significance of a reliable conceptual framework that can guide social workers to identify, compare, and further adapt technologies to enhance their current practice.


The paper deals with the application of multiple linear regression and neurofuzzy modelling approaches to 7xxx series based aluminium alloys. 36 compositional and ageing time variants and subsequent proof strength and electrical conductivity measurements have been studied. The input datasets have been transformed in two ways: to reveal more explicit microstructural information and to reflect some empirical findings in the literature. Neurofuzzy modelling exhibited improved performance in modelling proof strength and electrical conductivity cf. the multiple linear regression approach. Electrical conductivity is best modelled using the explicit microstructural input dataset, whilst proof strength is best modelled by a further modification of this dataset, decided upon after inspection of the subnetwork structures produced by neurofuzzy modelling. Neurofuzzy modelling offers a transparent empirically based data-driven approach that can be combined with pre-processing of the data and initialising of the model structure based upon physical understanding. An iterative modelling approach is defined whereby data-driven empirical modelling approaches are first used to assess underlying data structures and are validated against physically based understanding, these then inform subsequent initialised neurofuzzy models and input data transformations to provide both optimal subset and feature representation.


This paper examines post-crisis export performance in Indonesia against the backdrop of pre-crisis experience and the comparative export performance of other Southeast Asian countries. It surveys trends and patterns of export performance, focusing on comparative experience in major commodity categories and changing revealed comparative advantage. It also examines the implications for Indonesia's export performance of China's emergence as a major competitor in world trade, considers market prospects for textile and garment exports following the demise of the Multi-fibre Arrangement, and explores the factors contributing to the post-crisis export slowdown. The findings support the view that Indonesia's poor export performance in the post-crisis era is largely supply driven. They strengthen the case for reversal of recent backsliding in macroeconomic policy reform, and for speedy implementation of the unfinished reform agenda. Prudent macroeconomic management, while necessary, is not sufficient to achieve rapid and sustained export growth in an era of rapid economic globalisation.


PURPOSE
The SIGNIFICANT (Simple Investigation in Neutropenic Individuals of the Frequency of Infection after Chemotherapy +/- Antibiotic in a Number of Tumours) trial reported a reduction in febrile episodes (FEs) among 1,565 patients with solid cancers and lymphomas receiving cyclical, myelosuppressive chemotherapy (causing grade 4 neutropenia) in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of levofloxacin (P = .01). In response to concerns that increased antibacterial prescribing selects for microbial resistance, we examined our data to explore the rationale for more limited prophylaxis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The risk of FE was calculated for control patients on first versus nonfirst cycles, with or without first-cycle FE, and within subgroups defined by cancer type, performance status (PS), age, and treatment context (adjuvant v nonadjuvant). Using the randomized trial data, the prophylactic efficacy of levofloxacin was examined for the same subgroups.

RESULTS
The per-cycle FE incidence was much lower on nonfirst (3.3%) versus first cycles (8.0%). Prophylaxis was less effective for nonfirst (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; P = .16) compared with first cycles (OR = 0.42; P < .001). However, FE on cycle 1 predicted a much higher risk of FE and a trend to continued prophylactic efficacy on subsequent cycles. FE rate was greatest for testicular cancer (27.9%), then small-cell lung cancer (17.3%), and lowest for breast cancer (11.5%). Prophylactic efficacy was consistent across age, sex, PS, treatment context, and disease type (except possibly non-Hodgkin's lymphoma).

CONCLUSION
Under pressure to limit antibacterial use, these exploratory data support offering prophylactic levofloxacin on cycle 1 only of myelosuppressive cancer chemotherapy and on subsequent cycles after a cycle-1 fever. Prophylactic levofloxacin is effective regardless of age, PS, or tumor type.


Background/Aims: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent proangiogenic protein that activates VEGF receptor (VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinases expressed by vascular endothelial cells. A soluble truncated form of VEGFR-1 (sVEGFR-1) binds to VEGF as strongly as full-length VEGFR-1 and inhibits VEGF activity. sVEGFR-1 can be detected in mouse and human plasma but in human milk sVEGFR-1 has not been described previously. Methods: We measured sVEGFR-1 and VEGF in human milk and examined how the concentration varied with gestational age and the duration of lactation after birth. Human milk samples were collected from 29 mothers of preterm (<37 weeks) and from 29 mothers of term (>38 weeks) infants at days 3, 7 and 28 postpartum. Results: The sVEGFR-1 and VEGF concentrations were greater in the human milk of mothers of preterm compared to term neonates (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the concentrations of sVEGFR-1 and VEGF were decreasing during postpartum days 3, 7 and 28. The concentration of sVEGFR-1 showed a positive correlation with the concentration of VEGF in human milk (r = 0.479 and p < 0.001). Conclusion: sVEGFR-1 is present in human milk and has a role in angiogenesis.


Of what use is a book about the Harry Potter series that was published before the series was complete? Having taught an upper-division college course on Philosophy in Harry Potter multiple times, I believe that the early publication of Scholarly Studies in Harry Potter actually increases its potential utility in the classroom. Not only does this book include thoughtful and insightful scholarship, but it is also pedagogically valuable. It raises thought-provoking topics that can serve as the basis for research papers and class presentations, as well as providing important resources for students to use while conducting such research. Because the book was published before the last two books in the series, a number of the chapters lend themselves naturally to assignments in which students study the later books in the Potter series carefully to see whether the claims made by the chapter authors still remain valid. Students may write papers on Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows (the sixth and seventh books of the Harry Potter series), addressing questions such as "Does vision feature significantly in Rowling's ongoing description of the boundaries between the Muggle and Wizarding worlds?" (Chapter 3) or "Do Fred and George continue to enact the dual role assigned to the harlequin?" (Chapter 6). Moreover, the chapters address a wide range of topics and can be used for students from various disciplines and at various stages in their educational careers. For instance, some would be accessible to college freshmen and sophomores, while others would provide a challenging read for juniors and seniors. I find this diversity of levels especially appropriate because the students in my course on Harry Potter range from first-semester freshmen to last-semester seniors. Most of the chapters that are especially conducive to student assignments are in the first portion of the book, "Serious Scholarship and Academic Hocus-Pocus." The second portion of the book, "Conjuring Harry Potter into the Canon," is less directly useful to students, but by offering lively examples of the ways in which the Potter series has been used in the college classroom, may provide inspiration to teachers who wish to use the Potter texts in their courses.


The development of effective protection against exposure to chemical warfare agents (CWAs), such as sarin, relies on studies of its adsorption on the capturing materials and seeking candidates capable of adsorbing large amounts of sarin gas. Many metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for the effective capture and degradation of sarin and simulant substances. Among the simulants capable of mimicking thermodynamic properties of the agent, not all of them have been investigated on the ability to act similarly in the adsorption process, in particular, whether the agent and a simulant have similar mechanisms of binding to the MOF surface. Molecular simulation studies not only provide a safe way to investigate the aforementioned processes but can also help reveal the mechanisms of interactions between the adsorbents and the adsorbing compounds at the molecular level. We performed Monte Carlo simulations of the adsorption of sarin and three simulants, dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), and diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DIFP), on selected MOFs that have previously shown strong capabilities to adsorb sarin. On the basis of the calculated adsorption isotherms, enthalpy of adsorption, and radial distribution functions, we revealed common mechanisms among the particularly efficient adsorbents as well as the ability of simulants to mimic them. The findings can help in selecting a suitable simulant compound to study CWA adsorption on MOFs and guide further synthesis of efficient MOFs for the capture of organophosphorus compounds.


Core momentum and particle transport in ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) have been examined in a wide variety of plasma discharges and via several different methods. Experiments were performed in which ECRH power was added to NBI heated H-modes causing the electron and impurity ion density profiles to peak and the core toroidal rotation to flatten. Turbulence calculations of these plasmas show a change in the dominant regime from ITG to TEM due to the ECRH induced changes in the electron and ion temperature profiles. The impurity and electron density behavior can be fully explained by the changes in the turbulent particle transport. Momentum transport analyses demonstrate that in the TEM regime there is a core localized, counter-current directed, residual stress momentum flux of the same order of magnitude as the applied NBI torque. The initial results from momentum modulation experiments performed on AUG confirm that the Prandtl number in AUG NBI heated H-modes is close to 1 and that there exists a significant inward momentum pinch. Lastly, an intrinsic toroidal rotation database has been developed at AUG which can be used to test theoretically predicted dependences of residual stress momentum fluxes. Initial results show a linear correlation between the gradient of the toroidal rotation and both the electron density gradient scale length and the frequency of the dominant turbulent mode.


Univariate and multivariate methods for association of the genomic variations with the end-or-endo phenotype have been widely used for genome wide association studies. In addition to encoding the SNPs, we advocate usage of clustering as a novel method to encode the structural variations, SVs, in genomes, such as the deletions and insertions polymorphism (DIPs), Copy Number Variations (CNVs), translocation, inversion, etc., that can be used as an independent feature variable value for downstream computation by artificial intelligence methods to predict the endo-or-end phenotype. We introduce a clustering based encoding scheme for structural variations and omics based analysis. We conducted a complete all genomic variants association with the phenotype using deep learning and other machine learning techniques, though other methods such as genetic algorithm can also be applied. Applying this encoding of SVs and one-hot encoding of SNPs on GTEx V7 pilot DNA variation dataset, we were able to get high accuracy using various methods of DMWAS, and particularly found logistic regression to work the best for death due to heart-attack (MHHRTATT) phenotype. The genomic variants acting as feature sets were then arranged in descending order of power of impact on the disease or trait phenotype, which we call optimization and that also uses top univariate association into account. Variant Id P1_M_061510_3_402_P at chromosome 3 & position 192063195 was found to be most highly associated to MHHRTATT. We present here the top ten optimized genomic variant feature set for the MHHRTATT phenotypic cause of death.


Introduction Besides affecting physical health, Oropharyngeal Dysphagia (OD) entails limitations in daily activities and social participation for both patients and their informal caregivers. The identification of OD-related needs is crucial for designing appropriate person-centered interventions. Aims To explore and map the literature investigating the care needs related to OD management of adult persons with OD and their informal caregivers during the last 20 years. Methods A scoping review was conducted and reported following PRISMA guidelines. Five electronic databases and reference lists of eligible publications were searched for original works in English or Italian, published between January 2000 and February 2021. Two independent raters assessed studies' eligibility and extracted data; a third rater resolved disagreements. Extracted care needs were analyzed using a Best fit framework synthesis approach. Results Out of 2,534 records preliminarily identified, 15 studies were included in the review and 266 care needs were extracted. All studies were conducted in Western countries. Research methods primarily consisted of qualitative interviews and focus groups (14 studies, 93.3%); head and neck cancer was the most frequent cause of patients' dysphagia (8 studies, 53.3%); caregivers' perspective was seldom investigated (5 studies, 33.3%). Both patients and caregivers primarily reported social (N = 77; 28.9%) and practical (N = 67; 25.2%) needs, followed by informational (N = 55; 20.7%) and psychological (N = 54; 20.3%) ones. Only patients reported physical needs (N = 13; 4.9%), while spiritual needs were not cited. Conclusions The recurrence of personal and social needs besides physical ones highlighted the manifold impact of OD on patients' and caregivers' lives. Larger and more focused studies are required in order to design tools and interventions tailored to patients' and caregivers' needs.


The analgesic, respiratory depressive, immobilizing effects and a cute toxicity of dihydroetorphine (DHE) have been evaluated and compared with those of morphine and etorphine (E). The minimal analgesic doses of DHE were 0.1—0.5 μg/kg in dogs (im), mice, rabbits and monkeys (sc). DHE injected sc was 6277 and 11488 times more potent than morphine, 5.5 and 2.7 times than E in mice (hot-plate method) and rabbits (K+ iontophoresis method), respectively. DHE caused a respiratory depression in the animals, but was less potent than morphine and E in rabbits. DHE, resembling morphine, caused Straub's tail and a marked increase in locomotor activity in mice, sedation in dogs and monkeys, and miosis in dogs. In contrast to morphine, DHE did not induce emesis in dogs. At high doses DHE resembled E in producing the immobilization of animals. The therapeutic index of DHE was high in animals. The effects of DHE were easily antagonized by nalorphine.


Beneficial microbes and probiotics show promise for the treatment of pediatric gastrointestinal diseases. However, basic mechanisms of probiosis are not well understood, and most investigations have been performed in germ‐free or microbiome‐depleted animals. We sought to functionally characterize probiotichost interactions in the context of normal early development. Outbred CD1 neonatal mice were orally gavaged with one of two strains of human‐derived Lactobacillus reuteri or an equal volume of vehicle. Transcriptome analysis was performed on enterocyte RNA isolated by laser‐capture microdissection. Enterocyte migration and proliferation were assessed by labeling cells with 5‐bromo‐2'‐deoxyuridine, and fecal microbial community composition was determined by 16S metagenomic sequencing. Probiotic ingestion altered gene expression in multiple canonical pathways involving cell motility. L. reuteri strain DSM 17938 dramatically increased enterocyte migration (3‐fold), proliferation (34%), and crypt height (29%) compared to vehicle‐treated mice, whereas strain ATCC PTA 6475 increased cell migration (2‐fold) without affecting crypt proliferative activity. In addition, both probiotic strains increased the phylogenetic diversity and evenness between taxa of the fecal microbiome 24 h after a single probiotic gavage. These experiments identify two targets of probiosis in early development, the intestinal epithelium and the gut microbiome, and suggest novel mechanisms for probiotic strain‐specific effects.—Preidis, G. A., Saulnier, D. M., Blutt, S. E., Mistretta, T.‐A., Riehle, K. P., Major, A. M., Venable, S. F., Finegold, M. J., Petrosino, J. F., Conner, M. E., Versalovic, J. Probiotics stimulate enterocyte migration and microbial diversity in the neonatal mouse intestine. FASEB J. 26, 1960‐1969 (2012). www.fasebj.org


Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is not stranger to the Official Secrts Act. But this is the first time he has been asked to change his identity - and, worse still, his clothes - in service of his country. Whisked to a remote island to interpret a top-secret conference between no-name financiers and Congolese warlords, Salvo's excitement is only heightened by memories of the night before he left London, and his life-changing encounter with a beautiful nurse named Hannah. Exit suddenly, the unassuming, happily married man Salvo believed himself to be. Enter in his place, the pseudonymous Brian Sinclar: spy, lover - and perhaps, even, hero.


Standardization describes all measures taken during manufacturing process and quality control leads to reproducible quality of particular product. Growing need for standardization and quality control of herbal medicines is recognized by WHO that specifies guidelines for the assessment of the safety and quality of herbal medicines as a prerequisite for global harmonization. The present study was focused on an exhaustive standardization of a Herbo-mineral capsule preparation namely "Trichup Capsule" which was carried out employing the basic organoleptic test, physico-chemical tests, and bio-assays by sophisticated instruments like HPLC and HPTLC. HPTLC fingerprinting, assays of marker compounds were carried out to confirm the quantitative presence of the raw materials in the finished product which in turn reflects the quality and potency of product. The study results revealed that the Capsule formulation was well standardized at various levels such as Physical consistency, Chemical profile, Microbial and Heavy metal limits.


Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the action of Citrus limonum essential oil to control free radical-induced lipid peroxidation and preventing tissue damage in skin. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Internal Medicine (University of Roma "Tor Vergata) and A.R.P.A (Aging Research, Prevention and Therapy Association, www.antiaging.it), between January 2010 and June 2011. Methodology: The essential oil was subjected to GC-MS analysis. The superoxide anion scavenging activity of essential oil was evaluated by the enzymatic hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase system. The same oil diluted in DMSO or grape-seed oil was spread on the face of human volunteers after UV exposition. A sample of skin lipids was collected and the presence of peroxyl radicals was detected based on the measurement of light emitted (chemiluminescence) when the excited carbonyl and singlet oxygen decay to ground state. Research Article European Journal of Medicinal Plants, 3(1): 1-9, 2013 2 Results: Our data demonstrate that the lemon essential oil is more active than tocopherol against O2 and peroxide free radical inhibition at 1:100 dilution. A protocol for controlling free radical-induced lipid peroxidation in human skin was thus proposed. Conclusion: The scavenging action of lemon essential oil could have a practical application for treating human skin against oxidative damage.


Summary The benefits of cloud computing are clearly well known which include rapid deployment, ease of customization, reduce cost and low risks. However, some high profile security breaches confuse organizations as they attempt to deploy cloud services in their businesses. Although, the cloud service providers pitch the security of their services. Enhancements in existing security measures and advanced solutions are needed to ensure high level security and privacy of data on cloud. This paper provides a holistic overview of cloud security issues by encompassing unique threats in cloud computing and presents findings of a survey of practitioners view on cloud security. A Virtualized High Trust Zone (VHTZ) is then presented as a solution, especially for infrastructure based cloud services to tackle the attacks and network monitoring in a virtualized infrastructure.


Covalent activation of heteroatoms enabled by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organic catalysts for enantioselective reactions is evaluated and summarized in this review. To date, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms can be activated in this manner to react with another substrate to construct chiral carbon–heteroatom bonds with high optical enantioselectivities. The activation starts with addition of an NHC catalyst to the carbonyl moiety (aldehyde or imine) of substrates that contain heteroatoms. The key in this approach is the formation of intermediates covalently bound to the NHC catalyst, in which the heteroatom of the substrate is activated as a nucleophilic reactive site.


Closed osteosynthesis, using traction screws under arthroscopic inspection, is a therapeutic alternative to handle defined open patellar fractures with due consideration of the specific physiological conditions of the knee joint. Surgical management of this type of fracture is reported with reference to eleven cases of transverse patellar fractures handled by the authors of this paper, between 1985 and 1987.


Abstract This article utilizes the struggles for land rights associated to two sugar cane investments in Cambodia to reflect on the interactions between the multi-territoriality of supply chain capitalism and the multiplication of local spaces of legal intervention. With a combination of legal institutionalism, critical geography and value chains analysis, the article engages with value chains as the new space and form of the global system of production and looks at the theoretical and practical implications that derive from delocalization, outsourcing and the establishment of transnational networks that cut across boundaries and jurisdictions. After discussing the human rights impact of large-scale sugar production in the Koh-Kong region, the article introduces a critical legal chain approach to unpack and make visible the material and legal threads that connect Cambodia with multiple geographies around the world. In its last part, it utilizes the multi-territorial character of production to map its complexity and introduce the notion of 'legal chokeholds'. These are legal structures and spaces of intervention that can be leveraged by human rights scholars, activists and other actors interested in re-defining the way in which rights, bargaining power and value are distributed through the chain of production. The violations and possible defence of the land rights that occurred in Cambodia are thus presented as output of non-linear interactions between legal and non-legal elements that operate at a distance, often unaware of each other.


The Uitpa Formation is a lithostratigraphic unit that crops out in the Guajira peninsula, northeastern Colombia in the Cocinas Basin. This formation consists mainly of marly and argillaceous mudstones of gray to light brown color, intercalated with sandstone and calcarenite beds. The lower contact with de Siamana Formation is unconformable, and at the top the contact with the Jimol Formation is conformable at Uitpa. These units contain an abundant and diverse fauna of planktic and benthic foraminifera that has not been studied in detail yet. In this research, two outcrop sections from the upper Guajira containing the Uitpa Formation were analyzed: the Pisuuluu hill and Jososuwou creek sections. Planktic foraminifera were extracted and taxonomically classified, allowing to assign an age of Chattian (Late Oligocene) (planktic foraminifera biozones O6 - O7). This investigation presents for the first time in Colombia a paleoenvironmental reconstruction integrating various methodologies using quantitative and qualitative analyses in benthic foraminifera. From these analyses an outer neritic to upper bathyal paleodepth was inferred, with environments characterized by high organic matter inputs in eutrophic conditions for both sections. Oxygenation levels were higher in the Pisuuluu hill section, represented by high diversity heterogeneous assemblages, while for the Jososuwou creek section oxygenation was very low producing stressed environments and low diversity homogeneous assemblages.


Abstract:  Little information is available about the prevalence of skin conditions among children in the general population of northern India. Low socioeconomic status, malnutrition, overcrowding, and poor standards of hygiene are important factors accounting for the distribution of skin diseases in developing countries such as India. In order to estimate the burden and relative frequency of dermatologic diseases among children in the community, we measured the point prevalence of skin conditions in 12,586 Indian school children ages 6–14 years. The overall point prevalence of one or more identifiable/apparent skin conditions was 38.8%. Of those studied, 3786 children (30%) had only one skin disease, 765 (6%) had two, and 336 (2.7%) had three skin pathologies. The most common skin conditions and their respective point prevalences were skin infections (11.4%), pityriasis alba (8.4%), dermatitis/nonspecific eczemas (5.2%), infestations (5.0%), disorders of pigmentation (2.6%), keratinization disorders (mostly keratosis pilaris) (1.3%), and nevi/hamartomas (1.1%). This study shows that skin conditions are common in children and about one‐third of them are affected at any given time. The finding that more than 85% of the disorders can be grouped into fewer than eight categories is important in designing training programs for medical teams involved in the delivery of primary health care services in developing countries such as India, where about one‐third of the population is less than 15 years of age.


Introduction: The cannabinoid receptor (CBR) subtypes 1 (CB1R) and 2 (CB2R) are key components of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), playing a central role in the control of peripheral pain, inflammation and the immune response, with further roles in the endocrine regulation of food intake and energy balance. So far, few medicines targeting these receptors have reached the clinic, suggesting that a better understanding of the receptor signalling properties of existing tool compounds and clinical candidates may open the door to the development of more effective and safer treatments. Both CB1R and CB2R are Gαi protein-coupled receptors but detecting Gαi protein signalling activity reliably and reproducibly is challenging. This is due to the inherent variability in live cell-based assays and restrictions around the use of radioactive [35S]-GTPγS, a favoured technology for developing higher-throughput membrane-based Gαi protein activity assays. Methods: Here, we describe the development of a membrane-based Gαi signalling system, produced from membrane preparations of HEK293TR cells, stably overexpressing CB1R or CB2R, and components of the Gαi-CASE biosensor. This BRET-based system allows direct detection of Gαi signalling in both cells and membranes by monitoring bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) between the α and the βγ subunits. Cells and membranes were subject to increasing concentrations of reference cannabinoid compounds, with 10 μM furimazine added to generate RET signals, which were detected on a PHERAstar FSX plate reader, then processed using MARS software and analysed in GraphPad PRISM 9.2. Results: In membranes expressing the Gi-CASE biosensor, the cannabinoid ligands profiled were found to show agonist and inverse agonist activity. Agonist activity elicited a decrease in the BRET signal, indicative of receptor activation and G protein dissociation. Inverse agonist activity caused an increase in BRET signal, indicative of receptor inactivation, and the accumulation of inactive G protein. Our membrane-based Gi-CASE NanoBRET system successfully characterised the potency (pEC50) and efficacy (Emax) of CBR agonists and inverse agonists in a 384-well screening format. Values obtained were in-line with whole-cell Gi-CASE assays and consistent with literature values obtained in the GTPγS screening format. Discussion: This novel, membrane-based Gαi protein activation assay is applicable to other Gαi-coupled GPCRs, including orphan receptors, allowing real-time higher-throughput measurements of receptor activation.


Modular connectionist systems comprise autonomous, communicating modules, achieving a behaviour more complex than that of a single neural network. The component modules, possibly of different topologies, may operate under various learning algorithms. Some modular connectionist systems are constrained at the representational level, in that the connectivity of the modules is hard-wired by the modeller; others are constrained at an architectural level, in that the modeller explicitly allocates each module to a specific subtask. Our approach aims to minimise these constraints, thus reducing the bias possibly introduced by the modeller. This is achieved, in the first case, through the introduction of adaptive connection weights and, in the second, by the automatic allocation of modules to subtasks as part of the learning process. The efficacy of a minimally constrained system, with respect to representation and architecture, is demonstrated by a simulation of numerical development amongst children. The modular connectionist system MASCOT (Modular Architecture for Subitising and Counting Over Time) is a dual-routed model simulating the quantification abilities of subitising and counting. A gating network learns to integrate the outputs of the two routes in determining the final output of the system. MASCOT simulates subitising through a numerosity detection system comprising modules with adaptive weights that self-organise over time. The effectiveness of MASCOT is demonstrated in that the distance effect and Fechner's law for numbers are seen to be consequences of this learning process. The automatic allocation of modules to subtasks is illustrated in a simulation of learning to count. Introducing feedback into one of two competing expert networks enables a mixture-of-experts model to perform decomposition of a task into static and temporal subtasks, and to allocate appropriate expert networks to those subtasks. MASCOT successfully performs decomposition of the counting task with a two-gated mixture-of-experts model and exhibits childlike counting errors.


Background and Purpose Prediction of intracranial aneurysm growth risk can assist physicians in planning of follow-up imaging of conservatively managed unruptured intracranial aneurysms. We therefore aimed to externally validate the ELAPSS (Earlier subarachnoid hemorrhage, aneurysm Location, Age, Population, aneurysm Size and Shape) score for prediction of the risk of unruptured intracranial aneurysm growth. Methods From 11 international cohorts of patients ≥18 years with ≥1 unruptured intracranial aneurysm and ≥6 months of radiological follow-up, we collected data on the predictors of the ELAPSS score, and calculated 3- and 5-year absolute growth risks according to the score. Model performance was assessed in terms of calibration (predicted versus observed risk) and discrimination (c-statistic). Results We included 1,072 patients with a total of 1,452 aneurysms. During 4,268 aneurysm-years of follow-up, 199 (14%) aneurysms enlarged. Calibration was comparable to that of the development cohort with the overall observed risks within the range of the expected risks. The c-statistic was 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.73) at 3 years, compared to 0.72 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.76) in the development cohort. At 5 years, the c-statistic was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.72), compared to 0.72 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.75) in the development cohort. Conclusions The ELAPSS score showed accurate calibration for 3- and 5-year risks of aneurysm growth and modest discrimination in our external validation cohort. This indicates that the score is externally valid and could assist patients and physicians in predicting growth of unruptured intracranial aneurysms and plan follow-up imaging accordingly.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if there is a significant difference in the clinical outcomes of cases treated with 0.018-inch brackets vs 0.022-inch brackets according to the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) Objective Grading System (OGS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Treatment time and the ABO-OGS standards in alignment/rotations, marginal ridges, buccolingual inclination, overjet, occlusal relationships, occlusal contacts, interproximal contacts, and root angulations were used to compare clinical outcomes between a series of 828 consecutively completed orthodontic cases (2005-2008) treated in a university graduate orthodontic clinic with 0.018-inch- and 0.022-inch-slot brackets.

RESULTS
A two-sample t-test showed a significantly shorter treatment time and lower ABO-OGS score in four categories (alignment/rotations, marginal ridges, overjet, and root angulations), as well as lower total ABO-OGS total score, with the 0.018-inch brackets. The ANCOVA-adjusting for covariants of discrepancy index, age, gender, and treatment time-showed that the 0.018-inch brackets scored significantly lower than the 0.022-inch brackets in both the alignment/rotations category and total ABO-OGS score.

CONCLUSIONS
There were statistically, but not clinically, significant differences in treatment times and in total ABO-OGS scores in favor of 0.018-inch brackets as compared with the 0.022-inch brackets in a university graduate orthodontic clinic (2005-2008).


Central nervous system (CNS) events, including CNS relapse and progression to CNS, are known to be serious complications in the clinical course of patients with lymphoma. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of CNS events in patients with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma in the rituximab era. We performed a retrospective survey of Japanese patients diagnosed with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma who underwent primary therapy with R‐CHOP chemoimmunotherapy between September 2003 and December 2006. Patients who had received any prophylactic CNS treatment were excluded. Clinical data from 1221 patients were collected from 47 institutions. The median age of patients was 64 years (range, 15–91 years). We noted 82 CNS events (6.7%) and the cumulative 5‐year probability of CNS events was 8.4%. Patients with a CNS event demonstrated significantly worse overall survival (P < 0.001). The 2‐year overall survival rate after a CNS event was 27.1%. In a multivariate analysis, involvement of breast (relative risk [RR] 10.5), adrenal gland (RR 4.6) and bone (RR 2.0) were identified as independent risk factors for CNS events. We conclude that patients with these risk factors, in addition to patients with testicular involvement in whom CNS prophylaxis has been already justified, are at high risk for CNS events in the rituximab era. The efficacy and manner of CNS prophylaxis in patients for each involvement site should be evaluated further. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 245–251)


Greece has been living beyond its means for a long time now and has accumulated foreign debt. The high level of national debt is merely a reflection of the problems; the actual cause is insufficient economic power. The top-priority political objective is to strengthen the substance of the economy-in particular, the export base-to such an extent that in future, the balance of payments is at least equalized. This means Greece needs a growth strategy to catch-up industrialization. So far, revenue in the economic exchange with other countries has been mainly generated by tourism. However, this pillar is far from sufficient; although there are growth prospects in tourism in southern Europe, these should not be overestimated. On the other hand, Greece's industrial base is only small and heavily biased towards the domestic market. Its production structure and foreign trade links for goods show that the Greek economy presents virtually no competition for developed industrialized nations. Consequently, contrary to claims, the wage restraint in Germany has not put the Greek economy under significant pressure, either. The manufacturing sector and large sections of the economy are to a large extent marked by small-scale production. Overall, in Greece, there is one self-employed worker for every two employees; the employment structure more typical of a transition economy.


Objective To determine adverse events after endoscopic flexible vs endoscopic rigid cricopharyngeal myotomy for treatment of Zenker's diverticulum (ZD). Data Sources Systematic review of MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for all years according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Additional studies were identified from review citations and a by hand search of manuscripts referencing ZD. Review Methods A structured literature search was conducted to identify studies for this systematic review. Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies (MINORS) criteria were applied to assess study quality. For inclusion, each study had to provide data for at least 10 adult patients who had undergone endoscopic ZD repair reporting clear association with the postprocedure course in each case. Data extracted included all reported adverse events, recurrences, follow-up, and operative times. Results In total, 115 studies were included. All but 8 were retrospective case series. Sixty-one reported series of patients after rigid endoscopic stapler repair, 31 after rigid laser repair, and 13 with other rigid endoscopic instruments. Twenty-nine flexible endoscopic studies were included. Mortality, infection, and perforation were not significantly more likely in either the rigid or the flexible group, but bleeding and recurrence were more likely after flexible endoscopic techniques (20% vs <10% and 4% vs 0%, respectively). Dental injury and vocal fold palsy were reported rarely in the rigid endoscopic groups. Conclusions Adverse events are rare after endoscopic Zenker's repair. The flexible approach minimizes exposure limitations and can be completed in some patients without general anesthesia. Transoral rigid approaches result in fewer revision surgeries compared with flexible diverticulotomy.


This research investigates patterns in the organization of innovation in subsidiaries and the role of innovation projects in integrating knowledge between the multinational companies and technological partners in the host innovation system. The analysis describes and compares different configurations used in innovation projects by large subsidiaries of multinational companies and their key technological partners in the Brazilian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) manufacturing sector. Rather than best practices, the comparison of configurations in the organization of innovation projects provides a way to examine the complexity of the subsidiary development and the dynamic alignments and misalignments between the evolution of the multinational companies and sectoral innovation systems.


The economic approach proposes three main rules of antitrust law interpretation: the prevalence of substance over form; a practice cannot be deemed unlawful unless it produces a reduction of consumer welfare; a practice that reduces consumer welfare may still be lawful if the loss of consumer welfare is offset by an increase in efficiency (balancing test). To make sense of the "substance over form" principle, we can read it as an "effect's doctrine". But rules focus on structural elements not because they ignore effects, but in order to capitalize on the results of experience. If the effect's doctrine purports that experience is irrelevant and every case should be treated as a new one, it collapses in a concept of law (the s.c. "free law" or "case by case" justice) which is contrary to our legal tradition. The economic approach advocates the centrality of the notion of "consumer welfare". It attempts to present the antitrust judgment as encompassing a simple trade-off between different requirement of the same individual(s). This is not the case. Most anticompetitive practices that increase the welfare of some consumers decrease the welfare of others. Antitrust rules - as most legal rules - resolve conflicts between different interests of different individuals. If this is so, the notion of consumer welfare is useless. The real important point is: what criteria should we use to compare these interests? Among the mechanisms to allocate goods, the market mechanism by its own nature has an important characteristic: the market accepts high levels of inequality not based on the merits (result), but only if inequality is due to casual outcomes of the market mechanism (process) and not to a decision by an individual or a group with greater power. If the economic approach sees competition not in terms of a process but in terms of market performance, it encompasses a fundamental mistake. It ignores that individuals are not indifferent to the way a certain result has been obtained. It is not the same if I cannot go out because of a storm or because someone locked me in. It is not the same if I, consumer, am disadvantaged because of the casual outcomes of competition or because of a decision by a monopolist.


The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Human Biomolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) aims to create a comprehensive high-resolution atlas of all the cells in the healthy human body. Multiple laboratories across the United States are collecting tissue specimens from different organs of donors who vary in sex, age, and body size. Integrating and harmonizing the data derived from these samples and 'mapping' them into a common three-dimensional (3D) space is a major challenge. The key to making this possible is a 'Common Coordinate Framework' (CCF), which provides a semantically annotated, 3D reference system for the entire body. The CCF enables contributors to HuBMAP to 'register' specimens and datasets within a common spatial reference system, and it supports a standardized way to query and 'explore' data in a spatially and semantically explicit manner. [...] This paper describes the construction and usage of a CCF for the human body and its reference implementation in HuBMAP. The CCF consists of (1) a CCF Clinical Ontology, which provides metadata about the specimen and donor (the 'who'); (2) a CCF Semantic Ontology, which describes 'what' part of the body a sample came from and details anatomical structures, cell types, and biomarkers (ASCT+B); and (3) a CCF Spatial Ontology, which indicates 'where' a tissue sample is located in a 3D coordinate system. An initial version of all three CCF ontologies has been implemented for the first HuBMAP Portal release. It was successfully used by Tissue Mapping Centers to semantically annotate and spatially register 48 kidney and spleen tissue blocks. The blocks can be queried and explored in their clinical, semantic, and spatial context via the CCF user interface in the HuBMAP Portal.


Introduction Agent-based modeling frequently used modeling method for multi-scale mechanistic modeling. However, the same properties that make agent-based models (ABMs) well suited to representing biological systems also present significant challenges with respect to their construction and calibration, particularly with respect to the large number of free parameters often present in these models. The challenge of dealing with parameters is further exacerbated due to the fact that a great deal of phenotypic and clinical heterogeneity can be attributed to intrinsic genetic/epigenetic variation manifesting as functional parameter variation. As a result, effectively representing biological populations with ABMs requires dealing with very large multi-dimensional parameter spaces that exponentially increase the computational demands for their use. We have proposed that various machine learning (ML) and evolutionary computing approaches (such as genetic algorithms (GAs)) can be used to more effectively and efficiently deal with parameter space characterization; the current work applies GAs to the challenge of calibrating a complex ABM to a specific data set in a fashion that preserves the parameter spaces required to deal with biological heterogeneity. Methods This project uses a GA to fit a previously validated ABM of acute systemic inflammation, the Innate Immune Response ABM (IIRABM) to clinical time series data of systemic cytokine levels. The genome for the GA is a vector generated from the IIRABM's Model Rule Matrix (MRM), which is a matrix representation of not only the constants/parameters associated with the IIRABM's cytokine interaction rules, but also the existence of rules themselves. Capturing heterogeneity is accomplished by a fitness function that incorporates the sample value range ("error bars") of the clinical data. Results The GA-enabled parameter space exploration resulted in a set of putative MRM parameterizations which closely (though not perfectly) match the cytokine time course data used to design the fitness function. The number of non-zero elements in the MRM increases significantly as the model parameterizations evolve towards a fitness function minimum, transitioning from a sparse to a dense matrix. This results in a model structure that more closely resembles (at a superficial level) the structure of data generated by a standard differential gene expression experimental study, in that there are a small number of powerful causative correlations and a much larger number of weaker/less significant (individually) connections. Conclusion We present an HPC-enabled evolutionary computing approach that utilizes a GA to calibrate a complex ABM to clinical data while preserving biological heterogeneity. The integration of machine learning/evolutionary computing, HPC and multi-scale mechanistic modeling provides a pathway forward to more effectively represent the heterogeneity of clinical populations and their data. Author Summary In this work, we utilize genetic algorithms (GA) to operate on the internal rule set of a computational of the human immune response to injury, the Innate Immune Response Agent-Based Model (IIRABM), such that it is iteratively refined to generate cytokine time series that closely match what is seen in a clinical cohort of burn patients. At the termination of the GA, there exists an ensemble of candidate model parameterizations which are validated by the experimental data;


Within the last decades, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has widely replaced previously used methods such as positron emission tomography (PET) or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the assessment of functional brain activation. However, PET and SPECT remain important tools for in vivo assessment of neurotransmitter receptors and transporters and for the assessment of baseline regional cerebral blood flow. PET and SPECT also provide a unique opportunity to directly quantify genotype effects on protein expression. We review current nuclear imaging techniques for quantification of genotype effects on neurotransmitter receptors and transporters. Furthermore, we describe first multimodal imaging studies that combined PET, fMRI and genetic data in order to measure effects of genotype or the availability of receptor or transporters on functional brain activation. The clinical relevance of these studies will be illustrated and discussed.


Background and purpose: There is a need for new treatment options for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in adults. Dupilumab, a fully human anti-interleukin-4 receptor &agr; monoclonal antibody, has recently been approved for this indication. Methods: A pooled analysis of a phase 2a (NCT01548404) and a phase 2b (NCT01859988) study and a subanalysis of the 2b study evaluated the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous dupilumab 300 mg once weekly (qw) and every 2 weeks (q2w) in adults with moderate-to-severe AD. Results: Dupilumab significantly improved clinical outcomes in both analyses at week 12. Itch was significantly improved in the pooled analysis as measured by peak pruritus Numerical Rating Scale, 5-dimension pruritus scale, and SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pruritus scores (all p < .0001 vs. placebo at week 12). Sleep loss was significantly improved (SCORAD VAS sleep loss score; p < .0001 vs. placebo at week 12); similar results were shown for the q2w dose. Dupilumab had an acceptable safety profile. Conclusions: Consistent with previous studies, dupilumab qw and q2w significantly improved signs and symptoms of AD at week 12, including improvements in itch and sleep loss. Implications for practice: Subcutaneous dupilumab is an effective new treatment option for adults with moderate-to-severe AD.


Based on the three dimensional surfacelet transform, a novel multisensor video fusion algorithm is proposed, in which, multiple frames of input videos are regarded as special three dimensional signals and fused as a whole rather than frame by frame. Meanwhile, selection principles for different subband coefficients are discussed in detail. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the traditional individual-frame-based and motion-based methods in spatial-temporal information extraction as well as in temporal stability and consistency. In addition, it does not require the motion target detection pre-step and is easy to implement.


An interaction between evolution and learning called the Baldwin effect is known as the two-step evolutionary scenario caused by the balances between benefit and cost of learning in general. However, little is still known about dynamic evolutions on these balances in complex environments. Our purpose is to give a new insight into the benefit and cost of learning by focusing on the quantitative evolution of phenotypic plasticity under the assumption of epistatic interactions. For this purpose, we have constructed an evolutionary model of quantitative traits by using an extended version of Kauffman's NK fitness landscape. Phenotypic plasticity is introduced into our model, in which whether each phenotype is plastic or not is genetically defined and plastic phenotypes can be adjusted by learning. The simulation results have clearly shown that the drastic changes in roles of learning cause the three-step evolution of the Baldwin effect (Suzuki and Arita, 2003) and also cause the evolution of the genetic robustness against mutations. We also conceptualize four different roles of learning by using a hill-climbing image of a population on a fitness landscape.


The authors report the case of a 51 year-old man, without any personal or familial history of thromboembolism, presenting with abdominal pain. Portal vein thrombosis was demonstrated by ultrasonography and arteriography. The patient had neither esophageal varices or congestive gastropathy. No cause for portal vein thrombosis was detected. Type I protein C deficiency was demonstrated in this patient as well as in his asymptomatic sister. The presence of a (fortuitously?) associated increase in platelet aggregability initially led to a trial regimen of aspirin (300 mg per day); abdominal pain resolved, and a partial regression of portal vein thrombosis was demonstrated on ultrasonograms six months later; no further complications occurred during the 4-year follow-up period. The 13 previously published cases of protein C deficiency-associated portal vein thrombosis are reviewed.


Distinguishing between cervical spondylotic myelopathy and ALS can be difficult, as illustrated by this report of a patient who had both disorders, as well as a relatively rare arachnoid cyst of the posterior fossa. Attempts to differentiate between ALS and cervical spondylotic myelopathy must persist until diagnosis of one (or both) of the disorders is made, since both the prognosis and treatment of the two are different. Careful neurologic examination with attention to clinical details, muscle biopsy in some patients, and routine EMG will usually lead to the proper diagnosis.


Abstract Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) shells are mesoscale objects with nano-scale dimensional and nanosurface finish requirements. Currently, the shell dimensions are measured by white-light interferometry and an image analysis method. These two methods complement each other and give a rather complete data set on a single shell. The process is, however, labor intensive. We have developed an automation routine to fully characterize a shell in one shot and perform unattended batch measurement. The method is useful to the ICF program both for production screening and for full characterization. It also has potential for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) power plant where half a million shells need to be processed daily.


After the IT revolution, nobody, no matter wherever he is using an information system can avoid cyber attacks. Though prevention against such crimes is possible through tools like IDS, Firewalls, Anti viruses and Encryption techniques etc. but, in a modern warfare, knowing the enemy is important in order to nullify the chances of future attacks. Honeypots are one of the techniques aimed at collecting information about the attacker by entrapping him in such a way that he does not know about it. The paper gives a brief overview of types of Honeypots, their implementation mechanisms and current state of technology in Honeynets.


As a response to increasingly technocratic, top-down teacher professional development that we refer to as antidialogical professional development (APD), this article theorizes a model of critical professional development (CPD) where teachers are engaged as politically-aware individuals who have a stake in teaching and transforming society.  Illuminating three US based case studies of CPD that emerged in response to the unmet needs of justice-oriented teachers- The People's Education Movement, New York Collective of Radical Educators' Inquiry to Action groups, and the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice- this article uses Freire's framework of dialogical action to analyze shared critical practices.  In each independent case, teachers were engaged in a cooperative dialectical process, there was a strong emphasis on unity amongst participants around their social justice goals, the structure was organized through shared power between teachers and organizers, and teacher and student needs were centered using a practice of cultural synthesis.  Reframing the possibilities of teacher professional development through this model of critical, dialogical practice, this article offers a critique of the banking methods and technical content traditionally used within APD, and provides insights into how teachers can successfully be positioned as experts in their own social justice-oriented professional growth.


Apparel consumers use different criteria, including textile attributes and social environment when evaluating apparel quality. The apparel attributes consumers use are grouped into two, namely intrinsic attributes, including, garment style, color, fiber content, etc and extrinsic attributes such as price, country of origin, packaging, among others. Care-labels is also a critical attribute that influence perceptions of apparel quality, since it is associated with different fibres, texture, garment constructions, fabric finishes, among others, as well as time and money required in the care of apparel. The purpose of this study was to assess the attributes influencing perceptions of apparel quality, with special focus on care-labels. The major objectives of this study were to; determine the awareness of care-labels; investigate the existence of care-labels on the locally made and imported apparel products; compare the awareness of care-labels between the academic and non-academic staff and to compare the intrinsic and extrinsic apparel attributes in influencing perceptions of apparel quality. The study adopted a descriptive survey research approach. The target population was 3364, comprising 3000 from Kenyatta University (KU) and 364 from Kenya Utalii College (KUC) staff communities. The sample size was 10% of the target population, i.e. 336, which was worked out to reflect the proportions in KU and KUC, i.e. 300 and 36, respectively. The data were collected using questionnaires which were researcher-administered as well as "drop and pick" self-administered, in cases where the respondents were not available to give the information. The pre-test was used to test the validity of the research instrument and Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha was used to test the reliability of the instrument. The raw data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. The null hypothesis was tested at p :s 0.05. An ANOVA was conducted to compare the consumer's education level in relation to the awareness of the individual care-label symbols. In addition, a post hoc test was also used to find out the effect of consumers' education level on the awareness of individual care-label symbols. Descriptive statistics revealed that the awareness of care-label symbols was low among consumers. The results also revealed that majority of consumers never find care-labels on the locally produced apparel compared to the imported ones. The t-test yielded a p-value of 0.000, implying that there was a relatively more awareness of care-labels among academic staff. The ANOVA results. revealed that education level determines the awareness of the symbols lto'Z, The findings from the post hoc test further confirmed that respondents with higher education had more awareness of care-label symbols and viceaversa. Descriptive statistics analysis indicated that intrinsic and extrinsic apparel attributes had mean scores of 4 and above, i.e. 4.034 and 4.5562, respectively, implying that both of them influenced consumer perceptions of product quality. However, extrinsic attributes had more influence on the apparel quality, since it had a higher mean score of 4.5562. The study recommends, among others, that apparel producers and retailers should promote the awareness of care-labels symbols and their interpretations. The teaching of Home Science in schools should be emphasized to enhance textile properties' knowledge at the basic level. It is also recommended that the textile and apparel producers be compelled using the relevant government legislation to put genuine and comprehensive care-labels instructions on their textile goods before . dispatching them to the market. The legislation should include care-labels instructions as a mandatory feature and one of the quality indicators of apparel to be used to assess the quality of apparel. The study further recommends that KEBS increase its efforts at ensuring that all apparel and other textile products bear care-label instructions.


Abstract Osteosarcoma is a highly invasive kind of malignant bone tumor. Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicles that play an important role in intercellular communication in the microenvironment. Tumor cell progression is promoted through the interaction between exosomes and cells in the microenvironment (including immune cells, mesenchymal cells, and endothelial cells) during tumor development. Neoplastic exosomes can carry a variety of biological information molecules, such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. These molecules play an important clinical role, not only being able domesticate the recipient cells but also being recognized as tumor specific markers. At the same time, exosomes secreted by osteosarcoma can also cooperate with antigen-presenting cells to activate the body's immune response and then to exert anti-tumor effects. Studies on exosomes may be a breakthrough in the search for a new osteosarcoma treatment. In this study, we review the role of neoplastic exosomes in the osteosarcoma microenvironment, summarize their potential as tumor markers, and investigate their clinical application prospects.


This case study of the trajectory of sanitarian Noel Nutels argues that starting in the 1930s and particularly during the long Vargas period, the history of Brazilian public health became characterized by a process of bureaucratization. Although the chief consequence was an increase in problem in implementing public policies, these difficulties do not appear to have prompted any immediate ideological demobilization within the sanitation movement, as occurred under the Old Republic, having instead engendered conflicts between those directly responsible for designing and implementing public policies, on the one hand, and the growing State bureaucracy, on the other. The historical period initiated in 1930 thus marked a broad divergence between the conduct of 'men of science' and 'men of State'. If the period preceding the revolution was characterized by a certain harmony between these two social sectors, won in the late nineteenth century, the process of bureaucratization altered this balance, dislodging public health agents and authorities from the special roles they had enjoyed within the Brazilian State machinery.


Hypogonadal men share a variety of signs and symptoms such as decreased muscle mass, osteopoenia, increased fat mass, fatigue, decreased libido and cognitive dysfunctions. Controlled trials have demonstrated favourable effects of androgen substitution therapy on these signs and symptoms in men with severe primary or secondary hypogonadism. Thus, androgen substitution therapy is warranted in men with true hypogonadism at all ages. Symptoms experienced by otherwise healthy ageing males are non-specific and vague, although some may be similar to symptoms of hypogonadism. Therefore, the term 'andropause' has been suggested. However, testosterone levels show no or only modest variation with age in men; with large prospective studies suggesting a maximal decline of total testosterone of 1.6% per year. Thus, in contrast to the sudden arrest of gonadal activity in females around menopause, men do not have an andropause. As large placebo-controlled studies of androgen treatment in elderly males are lacking, proper risk assessment of adverse effects such as prostate cancer following testosterone treatment in elderly males is completely lacking. In the future, testosterone therapy may prove beneficial in some elderly males with low-normal testosterone levels. However, at this point in time, widespread use of testosterone in an elderly male population outside controlled clinical trials seems inappropriate.


Traffic incidents cause great losses to people's lives and property, and have aroused great attention from researchers. In recent years, many machine learning methods have been utilized for traffic incident detection, e.g. Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Neural Networks (NN). However, all of them fail to consider the full spatial-temporal correlation on traffic data. In addition, the periodicity in traffic data is not well utilized. Traffic data in the same workday usually follows a similar pattern. In this paper, we introduce a deep learning framework, which captures both full spatial-temporal correlation and periodicity, to detect incidents on freeways. Experiments show that our method performs better than the state-of-the-art.


BACKGROUND
During ICSI, we occasionally observe pronucleus sized translucent vacuoles. We investigated why these vacuoles occur and determined the effect on pregnancy outcome.

METHODS
Translucent vacuole-positive oocytes and the corresponding cohort were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and histochemical staining with DiI and ER-Tracker. Stimulation methods, hormonal levels, patients' condition and grade of transferred embryos were compared between vacuole-positive and vacuole-negative cycles.

RESULTS
By TEM, we confirmed that the vacuoles were tubular-type smooth endoplasmic reticulum clusters (sERCs). Numerous small sERCs were also observed in the oocytes from the same cohort. Veeck's grades of transferred embryos were higher in sERC-positive cycles and fertilization rate was similar to those of sERC-negative cycles. However, in sERC-positive cycles, significantly lower pregnancy and higher biochemical pregnancy rates were shown. Serum estradiol levels on the day of hCG administration were significantly higher in sERC-positive cycles.

CONCLUSIONS
The presence of sERCs is associated with lower chances of successful pregnancy, even in sERC-negative oocytes from the same cohort that are transferred along with the sERC-positive oocytes. High estradiol levels could be one of the causes of sERC formation.


The synthetic peptide [Dmt(1)]DALDA (Dmt-D-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH(2); Dmt = 2',6'-dimethyltyrosine; 'super-DALDA') is a mu opioid-receptor agonist. On-line liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the corresponding stable isotope-incorporated synthetic peptide internal standard were used to quantify [Dmt(1)]DALDA that had been extracted from ovine plasma samples. The [M+2H](2+) ion was used to construct the calibration curve, and the product ion was used for verification of the peptide. The detection sensitivity for the [Dmt(1)]DALDA [M+2H](2+) ion was 12.5 fmol and 50 fmol for the m/z 432.3 product ion. The concentration profile of [Dmt(1)]DALDA was determined from a set of ovine plasma samples. The molecular specificity of the peptide quantification was confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).


In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), most higher education institutions require school teachers to study professional development courses in English, a student's non-native language. This research investigates the influence of language of instruction (both Arabic and English) on pre-service school teachers' performance and attitude toward the Educational Technology Course at the College of Education, United Arab Emirates University. Among the 409participants 181 school studies the course in Arabic and others (n=228) participants studied the same course in English. Findings of this Research show that students who studied the course in native language, Arabic for this case, has reported to understand the concepts better compared with other group.Students who studied the course in English for the first time has spend more time for study, has communicated less in the class, and has focused more on the language than learning the course content. Students who studied in their native language performed higher in tests compared to the students who studied in English.


Background Use of ultrasound (US) in rheumatology has increased over the last decade. Until recently, the only US modality used was 2D, which has been shown to be more sensitive for detection of erosions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than X-rays. Within the last years, high frequency volumetric 3D US probes have become available as application for many high-end US machines. With 3D it is possible in the post-processing to inspect two perpendicular planes of the same point. This makes it reasonable to believe 3D will increase the usefulness of US in detection of erosions in patients with RA. The reliability and validity of 3D for detection of erosions has only been investigated in few pilot studies. Objectives The aim of this study was to test the reliability, validity and sensitivity and specificity of a 3D US erosion score in RA. MRI was used as gold standard. Methods Patients with RA were included in the study. A 3D US examination and a 3T MRI scanning over the 2nd and 3rd metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint were performed on the same day in all patients. The joints were examined by US from both the dorsal and volar aspect. The 3D blocks were evaluated for erosions by two investigators. One of the investigators evaluated all examinations twice. The erosions were estimated according to both a semi-quantitative score (SQS) with the size of the erosion scored from 0-3 and measured quantitatively (QS) in mm2. The area was estimated by multiplying the transverse and longitudinal measurement of the erosion. Furthermore, a specialist evaluated the MRI scans by the RAMRIS. For estimation of the reliability the Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and absolute agreement were used. In order to test validity, the correlation between 3D US and MRI was calculated and the sensitivity and specificity were estimated. Results Twenty eight patients with RA were included in the study. The ICC for the inter-observer reliability was 0.41 and 0.13 for the metacarpal and phalangeal bone respectively when assessed with QS and 0.86 and 0.16 when assessed according to SQS. The ICC for intra-observer reliability was 0.75 and 0.48 for the metacarpal and phalangeal bone respectively in the QS evaluation and 0.83 and 0.60 in SQS. The correlation with MRI for the metacarpal was significant for both scores with values of 0.73 (SQ) and 0.74 (SQS). For the phalangeal bone, no significant correlation was found with values of 0.28 (SQ) and 0.26 (SQS). The sensitivity and specificity for the detection of erosions for the metacarpal bone was 86% and 85% respectively. For the phalangeal bone it was 60% and 97%. Conclusions Both good inter- and intra-observer reliability and correlation with MRI were seen in assessment of erosions with 3D US in the metacarpal bone, while results were low and without significance for the phalangeal bone. The results indicate that 3D US still has room for improvement. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Liver dysfunction is one of the most recognized complications in patients with acute Heart Failure (HF) and therefore, a reliable liver function score may be useful to help risk stratify these patients. A number of measures of liver function have been proposed as predictors of operative risk in patients with liver disease, such as the Child-Pugh grade and the Model of End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD). However, there are several limitations to both and they may not be as clinically useful in fully assessing patients with HF. More recently, the Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) score was developed as a new model to assess liver function in liver disease. The ALBI score incorporates two variables, serum albumin and total bilirubin. Although there have been scattered reports recently examining the association between ALBI scores and HF, the relationship between ALBI scores and HF and cardiovascular disease has not yet been elucidated. This article reviews and discusses the findings on ALBI and HF reported to date and future perspectives.


An important concern in the operation of multi-infeed high voltage direct current (HVDC) systems is the inter-area low-frequency oscillation due to the long-distance bulk-power transmission. In this paper, a decentralized coordinated control design is presented for the improvement of inter-area oscillations in the multi-infeed HVDC system. The HVDC modulation controllers are designed based on Linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) optimal method and decentralized observers. Without degradation of controller performance, only the local measurements are required for each damping controller, which greatly reduces the communication burden. A 7-generator, 2-HVDC system was used as the test system. The eigenvalue analysis and nonlinear time domain simulation have demonstrated the validity of the proposed decentralized controllers.


Background Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) in infants is a rare but serious worldwide problem, particularly in Southeast Asia. Apart from exclusive breast feeding, little is known of the maternofetal risk factors that predispose infants to VKDB. Objectives To assess (a) the relationships between functional vitamin K insufficiency in a large cohort of Thai mothers to that of their newborn infants and (b) the importance of delivery risk factors and maternal intakes of vitamin K as determinants of neonatal vitamin K status. Methods Vitamin K status was assessed by measuring undercarboxylated prothrombin (protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonist-II (PIVKA-II)) in 683 mothers and in the cord blood of their babies by sensitive immunoassay. Dietary phylloquinone (vitamin K1; K1) intakes were assessed in 106 of these mothers by food frequency questionnaire. Results Babies were categorised as 'normal' (n=590) or 'high risk' (n=93) according to birth weight and delivery type. PIVKA-II was detectable (>0.15 arbitrary units (AU)/ml) in 85 mothers (12.4%) and 109 babies (16.0%) with median levels of 0.78 and 1.04 AU/ml in mothers and babies, respectively. 'High-risk' babies had a higher median detectable PIVKA-II concentration than 'normal-risk' babies (3.1 vs 1.0 AU/ml, p=0.02) and a higher prevalence of clinically relevant (>5.0 AU/ml) concentrations (p=0.006). Mothers with K1 intakes below the US recommended 'adequate intake' for pregnancy (<90 µg/day) had a higher prevalence of detectable PIVKA-II (18.8%) than those with adequate intakes (3.3%) (p=0.01). Conclusions Functional, clinically relevant, vitamin K insufficiency was more common in 'high-risk' than 'normal-risk' newborns. Vitamin K insufficiency in mothers was linked to lower dietary K1 intakes during pregnancy.


This study examined the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and school performance in primary and secondary school students aged 8 to 13 years (N = 146, M = 10.4, 45.8% girls). EFs were evaluated using the Trail Making Test (TMT), Verbal Fluency (VF), and the Stroop Test. Students' GPAs and teachers' assessment of academic skills were used to measure school performance. To evaluate the students' social behavior, participants were asked to rate all their classmates' prosocial behavior and nominate three students with whom they preferred to do school activities; teachers also provided evaluations of students' social skills. EF measures explained 41% (p = .003, f 2 = .694) of variability in school performance and 29% (p = .005, f 2 = .401) of variance in social behavior in primary school students. The predictive power of EFs was found to be lower for secondary school students, although the TMT showed significant prediction and explained 13% (p = .004, f 2 = .149) of variance in school performance and 15% (p = .008, f 2 = .176) in peer ratings of prosocial behavior. This paper discusses the relevance of EFs in the school environment and their different predictive power in primary and secondary school students.


This research represent a quantitative descriptive research which take regional scope in Province East Java with title " The Influence invesment and job rating that work have to
Product Domestict Regional bruto di jawa timur (Periode Tahun 1993 2006) This objectives of this research are to know influence of invesment to consist of invesment of
Foreign cultivation capiital (PMA) and Cultivation Of Domestic Capital (PMDN) and of growth economic and to know are there have signifikan impact between invesment
(PMDN and of PMA), and job rating that work of PDRB in Province East Java.
Data used this research represent of secondary data series time steming from BPS year 1993 up to year 2006. Datas which is this research in the form of Invesment data (PMDN
and of PMA), and job rating that work of PDRB.
To analyzer that used to see influence of invesment (PMDN and of PMA), and job rating that work of PDRB by using equation of Coob Douglas th Y = A K L , if made by
doubled linier regresi of LogY = LogA + LogK + LogL. The equation later; then take logarithm function (Log) the following Log Y = Log 0 + 1 Log X1 + 2 Log X2, LogY
-12,792+ 2,442 LogX1 + 0,339 LogX2 with free variable that is invesment ( PMDN and of PMA) ( LogX1) and job rating that work ( LogX2) while related/relevant variable that
is PDRB ( LogY). size used to determine that the variables have a signifikanefffect to demand of PDRB thisif t > t, hence refusing hypothesizing zero and accept alternative
hypothesizing.
In result of analysis obtained that range of time 1993 - 2006 know by invesment ( PMDN and of PMA) and job rating that work have an effect on signifikan to PDRB. This Result
from R2 equal to 73,3% its meaning of invesment (PMDN and of PMA) and job rating that work can know PDRB equal to 73,3% while rest of equle to 26,7% explained outside
model. And seen from 2 - sig tail, invesment (PMDN and of PMA) and job rating that work of show signifikan because less than 5%


In the near future, organic semiconductors may be used in a variety of products, including flat-screen TVs, e-book readers, and third-generation organic photovoltaics applications, to name just a few. While organic electronics has received increased attention in scientific journals, those working in this burgeoning field require more in-depth coverage of the subject. Considering the rapid development in this field, Organic Electronics: Materials, Processing, Devices and Applications is a long-overdue assessment of state-of-the-art technology in organic electronics. This valuable reference harnesses the insight of various experts in the field, who contribute entire chapters on their area of specialty, covering chemistry and materials, fundamental physics, device processing, fabrication, and applications. Coverage includes cutting-edge advances in: Organic vapor phase deposition to fabricate organic nanostructures Organic semiconductor device physics Organic thin film and vertical transistors Organic photovoltaic cells OLED technologies for flat panel displays and lighting With its detailed discussion of the latest developments in the field of organic semiconductor materials and devices, this versatile book is ideally suited as a reference tool for scientists, engineers, and researchers or as an overview for those new to the field. In either capacity, its broad range of material will serve as a base for the further development of new sciences and technologies in this area.


Zebrafish are widely used as model organism. Their suitability for endocrine studies, drug screening and toxicity assessements depends on the extent of conservation of specific genes and biochemical pathways between zebrafish and human. Glucocorticoids consist of inactive 11-keto (cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone) and active 11β-hydroxyl forms (cortisol and corticosterone). In mammals, two 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (11β-HSD1 and 11β-HSD2) interconvert active and inactive glucocorticoids, allowing tissue-specific regulation of glucocorticoid action. Furthermore, 11β-HSDs are involved in the metabolism of 11-oxy androgens. As zebrafish and other teleost fish lack a direct homologue of 11β-HSD1, we investigated whether they can reduce 11-ketosteroids. We compared glucocorticoid and androgen metabolism between human and zebrafish using recombinant enzymes, microsomal preparations and zebrafish larvae. Our results provide strong evidence for the absence of 11-ketosteroid reduction in zebrafish. Neither human 11β-HSD3 nor the two zebrafish 11β-HSD3 homologues, previously hypothesized to reduce 11-ketosteroids, converted cortisone and 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) to their 11β-hydroxyl forms. Furthermore, zebrafish microsomes were unable to reduce 11-ketosteroids, and exposure of larvae to cortisone or the synthetic analogue prednisone did not affect glucocorticoid-dependent gene expression. Additionally, a dual-role of 11β-HSD2 by inactivating glucocorticoids and generating the main fish androgen 11KT was supported. Thus, due to the lack of 11-ketosteroid reduction, zebrafish and other teleost fish exhibit a limited tissue-specific regulation of glucocorticoid action, and their androgen production pathway is characterized by sustained 11KT production. These findings are of particular significance when using zebrafish as a model to study endocrine functions, stress responses and effects of pharmaceuticals.


In this paper we present a quasi-Newton projection method for image deblurring. The mathematical problem is a constrained minimization problem, where the objective function is a regularization function and the constraint is the positivity of the solution. The regularization function is a sum of the Kullback-Leibler divergence, used to minimize the error in the presence of Poisson noise, and of a Tikhonov term. The Hessian of the regularization function is approximated in order to invert it using Fast Fourier Transforms. The numerical experiments on some astronomical images blurred by simulated Point Spread Functions show that the method gives very good results both in terms of relative error and computational efficiency.


ABSTRACT Improving the energy performance of existing buildings is crucial for reaching both EU and national climate and energy targets. The main objective of this study was to map challenges that Swedish housing owners perceive when making energy-efficiency refurbishments. A secondary objective was to compare how well these challenges relate to national strategies. The study applied a combined methods approach with audience response meters and in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews. The housing owners express the view that they have sufficient knowledge of national ambitions to improve the energy performance of buildings and welcome the new building regulations. Despite this supposed knowledge and the current economic situation with beneficial loans, the refurbishment rate still remains low. The housing owners explain that they are concerned about the 'performance gap' and request more accurate energy performance predictions. They are also waiting for proof that all sustainability goals can be reached in reality. Probably, too few projects fulfilling ambitions in all categories: economically, socially and energy-wise have been followed up and demonstrated nationally. The new national information centre on refurbishment of buildings may help to spread information about such projects, raise awareness and thus increase the refurbishment rate.


Chemostat cultures in which the limiting nutrient was lactose have been used to study the relative growth rate of Escherichia coli in relation to the enzyme activity of β-galactosidase. A novel genetic procedure was employed in order to obtain amino acid substitutions within the lacZ-encoded β-galactosidase that result in differences in enzyme activity too small to be detected by ordinary mutant screens. The cryptic substitutions were obtained as spontaneous revertants of nonsense mutations within the lacZ gene, and the enzymes differing from wild type were identified by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or thermal denaturation studies. The relation between enzyme activity and growth rate of these and other mutants supports a model of intermediary metabolism in which the flux of substrate through a metabolic pathway is represented by a concave function of the activity of any enzyme in the pathway. The consequence is that small differences in enzyme activity from wild type result in even smaller changes in fitness.


"Abstract: Psychotherapy process research takes us beyond answering the question, 'does psychotherapy work?' This area of research aims to study the hows and whats that happen within the psychotherapeutic session that potentiate change. The psychotherapeutic dialogue is an important source of data for psychotherapy process research. Micro- analyses of dialogical turns within the therapeutic session support the understanding of the therapeutic method. This paper introduces the Helbig Method of Dialogue Analysis. This method is founded upon four pillars: 1) that dialogue is implicit action between persons that is supported by explicit verbally uttered content; 2) that the individual's mode of interaction within the dialogical dyad reflects the person's relationship patterns; 3) that dialogue is an intersubjective process that leads to the development of new intersubjective configurations; and 4) that the observer-researcher's phenomenological involvement plays a part in the analytical process. In this study, Bob Resnick's video-recorded Gestalt therapy session entitled 'A Rose on the Grave of my Family' was selected. The transcription of the session was coded using the instrument, the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme – Leipzig/Ulm. Results obtained from this study are quantified graphical representations of the developing relationship between therapist and client. Simple to operate, scalable and practical, this method is designed for use by therapists and researchers who are interested in tracking, comparing and/or contrasting the developing psychotherapeutic alliance in a single or in multiple psychotherapy sessions. Keywords: psychotherapy process research, dialogue analysis, psychotherapeutic alliance, Gestalt therapy."


The controversy on the usefulness of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in reducing teen pregnancy in Zambian schools raises concern among educationists and stakeholders. This study sought to investigate the implementation of CSE in selected public schools in Samfya District of Luapula province, Zambia. The study employed a qualitative case study research design involving 27 participants who were purposively selected from three schools in the district. Data were collected using lesson observations, document analysis, semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions). Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis. The results showed that CSE is implemented in public schools through sensitization of teachers about CSE; integration of CSE into existing subjects; and the use of extra-curricular activities. However, the integration of CSE was not as comprehensive as it should be because teachers tended to focus mainly on topics bordering on human development and sexual and reproductive health, with more emphasis on abstinence, which were already part of the curriculum of the existing subjects. Other important components of CSE such as values, attitudes and skills; culture, society and human rights; sexual behaviour and relationships, were not emphasized upon because teachers, when integrating, did not use the actual CSE framework. In addition, findings suggested that teachers were not adequately trained in CSE delivery as they were just sensitized by others who attended a workshop on CSE. Furthermore, CSE was not fully integrated in extra-curricular activities. There was also no involvement of key stakeholders such as the local community in the implementation of CSE.This led to the conclusion that the implementation of CSE has not been comprehensive because of inadequate training of teachers, failure by teachers to properly integrate CSE using a CSE framework and inadequate extracurricular activities, and less community involvement. Therefore, the study recommends that guidance and counselling teachers should coordinate CSE implementation in schools. Secondly, while CSE themes are covered in other subjects as cross cutting issues, it should also be a standalone subject taught by guidance and counselling teachers. Thirdly, teachers should be adequately trained on how to integrate CSE using a CSE framework.


Recidivism prediction provides decision makers with an assessment of the likelihood that a criminal defendant will reoffend that can be used in pre-trial decision-making. It can also be used for prediction of locations where crimes most occur, profiles that are more likely to commit violent crimes. While such instruments are gaining increasing popularity, their use is controversial as they may present potential discriminatory bias in the risk assessment. In this paper we propose a new fair-by-design approach to predict recidivism. It is prototype-based, learns locally and extracts empirically the data distribution. The results show that the proposed method is able to reduce the bias and provide human interpretable rules to assist specialists in the explanation of the given results.


This paper highlights the theories of piston effect and ballooning and how they can impact on the success of a completions integrity test. Piston effect caused by pressure changes induced during integrity tests in a tubing string stabbed into a packer bore can cause a reduction in the length of the tubing string. Internal pressure applied to the tubing string in the course of an integrity test can balloon the tubing string also causing a reduction in effective length. The results from this study have clearly shown that the combined effect of piston and ballooning can unseat the tubing seals from the packer bore leading to an unsuccessful integrity test. This was the case here and the (NPT) non productive time cost of this failure was over 450,000 dollars. The well cited in this study is a horizontal oil well completed with a specialized stand alone screen (SAS) capable of providing both sand control and inflow control, aimed at delaying water and gas conning, thereby optimizing production in open-hole horizontal completions. Unlike other conventional sand screen designs, this sand screen achieves inflow control by means of nozzles/inflow control devices located in the screen housing and swell packers used to achieve compartmentalization in cases of non-uniform permeability. However, these nozzles can be plugged by debris from wellbore fluids during deployment and can act as a pseudo-closed system during integrity tests thereby giving rise to substantial piston effect. This sand screen technology is relatively new and the well in this study is the second well to be completed with this sand screen design in the region. Ab-initio, conventional tubing/completion design philosophies practiced in the Niger Delta region consider piston effect and ballooning only as it affects tubing movement during production and not during deployment/installation. Going forward, these effects should be considered in the deployment program. This study has provided procedural recommendations on ways to forestall integrity test failures due to these effects.


This paper is intended to provide an overview of the IEC flicker measurement and assessment procedures. The IEC procedures are correlated with existing IEEE flicker standards to show the benefits of the IEC methodology. Application issues, such as customer impact assessment, are also discussed. Three case studies, two field tests, and one EMTP analysis are provided to show the correlation of IEC flickermeter output values with documented customer complaints. The case studies also provide areas where modifications to the IEC flicker standards may be necessary when developing a new IEEE flicker standard.