This study aims to fill two lacunae in the literature on development in Africa: the contribution of women in general to the development of society, and the role that women fulfill in the areas undergoing rapid urbanization, a newly emerging focus of research, because of the growing importance of these conurbations to the economies,and therefore the life, of these societies. Based on survey data from interviews conducted under the auspices of the Six Cities Project, the study compares the contribution of women in both the formal and informal economic sectors in Niamey and Bamako, the capital cities and major urban centers of Niger and Mali, respectively, focusing on the household as a unit of analysis, and especially on the "hearthhold," defined as mother-child interactions within a household. This study is a preliminary attempt to draw an ethnographic picture or overview of women's lives in these two urban centers at the aggregate level in order to create baseline understandings which can contribute to social and economic change and raise the position of women in society. Key terms: women in development, formal and informal economic sectors, Mali, Niger, Bamako, Niamey, household, hearthhold, urban ethnography of African women


Blood levels of oxytocin during parturition in pelvic-neurectomized rats were determined by radioimmunoassay. Four out of 29 pelvic-neurectomized rats completed parturition within 23 days of pregnancy. These rats exhibited an increase in blood levels of oxytocin during parturition similar to those of shamoperated control rats, but delivery took longer and there was a higher percentage of still-births. The rise in blood levels of oxytocin was smaller in the 16 rats in which the first fetus was expelled but where delivery did not end within day 23 of gestation than that in sham-operated controls. Levels did not increase in the other nine rats which failed to deliver the first fetus within 23 days of pregnancy. They did, however, show signs indicating delivery, such as stretch movements, vaginal bleeding and/or excretion of mucus within 23 days of gestation. Oxytocin infusion (2 mu./min) for 2-4 h increased uterine contractions in the pelvic-neurectomized rats but failed to reduce the percentage of still-births or the duration of delivery. Immunoneutralization of circulating oxytocin by anti-oxytocin serum in intact pregnant rats resulted in a significant but much smaller prolongation of the duration of delivery compared with that observed in pelvic-neurectomized rats. The rise in blood levels of oxytocin during pregnancy may be induced, at least in part, by the Ferguson reflex via the pelvic nerve and may thus facilitate the process of delivery. A shortage of oxytocin secretion may not, however, be the main cause of the dystocia in pelvic-neurectomized rats.


Text in natural images is of arbitrary orientations, requiring detection in terms of oriented bounding boxes. Normally, a multi-oriented text detector often involves two key tasks: 1) text presence detection, which is a classification problem disregarding text orientation; 2) oriented bounding box regression, which concerns about text orientation. Previous methods rely on shared features for both tasks, resulting in degraded performance due to the incompatibility of the two tasks. To address this issue, we propose to perform classification and regression on features of different characteristics, extracted by two network branches of different designs. Concretely, the regression branch extracts rotation-sensitive features by actively rotating the convolutional filters, while the classification branch extracts rotation-invariant features by pooling the rotation-sensitive features. The proposed method named Rotation-sensitive Regression Detector (RRD) achieves state-of-the-art performance on several oriented scene text benchmark datasets, including ICDAR 2015, MSRA-TD500, RCTW-17, and COCO-Text. Furthermore, RRD achieves a significant improvement on a ship collection dataset, demonstrating its generality on oriented object detection.


In a previous paper we introduced a general class of shapepreserving wavelet approximating operators (approximators) which transform cumulative distribution functions (cdf) and densities into functions of the same type. Empirical versions of these operators are used in this paper to introduce, in an unified way, shape- preserving wavelet estimators of cdf and densities, with a priori prescribed smoothness properties. We evaluate their risk for a variety of loss functions and analyze their asymptotic behavior. We study the convergence rates depending on minimal additional assumptions about the cdf/ density. These assumptions are in terms of the function belonging to certain homogeneous Besov or Triebel- Lizorkin spaces and others. As a main evaluation tool the integral p-modulus of smoothness is used


Nanoparticles are potential threats to human health and the environment; however, their medical applications as drug carriers targeting cancer cells bring hope to contemporary cancer therapy. As a model drug carrier, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been investigated extensively for in vivo toxicity. The effect of GNPs on the immune system, however, has rarely been examined. Antibody-secreting cells were treated with GNPs with diameters ranging from 2 to 50 nm. The GNPs enhanced IgG secretion in a size-dependent manner, with a peak of efficacy at 10 nm. The immune-stimulatory effect reached a maximum at 12 h after treatment but returned to control levels 24 h after treatment. This enhancing effect was validated ex vivo using B-cells isolated from mouse spleen. Evidence from RT-PCR and western blot experiments indicates that GNP-treatment upregulated B-lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 (blimp1) and downregulated paired box 5 (pax5). Immunostaining for blimp1 and pax5 in B-cells confirmed that the GNPs stimulated IgG secretion through the blimp1/pax5 pathway. The immunization of mice using peptide-conjugated GNPs indicated that the GNPs were capable of enhancing humoral immunity in a size-dependent manner. This effect was consistent with the bio-distribution of the GNPs in mouse spleen. In conclusion, in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo evidence supports our hypothesis that GNPs enhance humoral immunity in mouse. The effect on the immune system should be taken into account if nanoparticles are used as carriers for drug delivery. In addition to their toxicity, the immune-stimulatory activity of nanoparticles could play an important role in human health and could have an environmental impact.


Impact of artificial circulation on total algal biomass (as chlorophyll a integrated over depth) in a small eutrophic impoundment in the Northern Great Plains, was monitored over three consecutive summers. Chlorophyll a concentration and nutrient concentrations were measured at depths along water columns under aerated and non-aerated conditions at four sampling locations. Aeration destratified the water column, which resulted in homogenous chlorophyll a concentration throughout the water column and across the four sampling locations. The non-aeration resulted in concentration gradient along the water column at all sampling locations. Overall, the artificial circulation resulted in an overall reduction of chlorophyll a concentration along the water column and across sampling locations. Reduced chlorophyll a might be attributed to a shift in dominant phytoplankton species. For example, increased mixing by aeration may have favored dinoflagellates or green algae over cyanobacteria. In conclusion, the artificial circulation in this impoundment was effective in reducing total algal biomass.


The principal aim of this study is to clarify the topic of clerical abuse as it is depicted in the satirical literature of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In Chapter One we examine the satirical works of medieval Portugal (deemed to begin with the Galician-Portuguese satirical lyric, and to close with the works of the poet and dramatist, Gil Vicente). This analysis will establish which are the predominant stereotypes of the clergy and to construct a view of the kinds of representations of the Church that are found in a wide range of writings. Because of the scarcity of medieval Portuguese examples and information, it is essential to refer to the literatures of other, parallel Western European societies: the total volume of extant literary works in medieval Portuguese is too slight to permit us to draw realistically founded conclusions. Also included are comparisons of attitudes to the clergy and the Church, to allow insights into variations of local history and circumstance, and to supply the means to measure the performance of the Portuguese clergy against that of their peers. Once the survey has been carried out, it becomes clear that there are two distinct and opposing images of the clergy in medieval literature. The first of these corresponds to the ecclesiastical ideal, that of the Good Shepherd, the cleric who performs his duties and follows the rules and recommendations of his institution. The other stereotype, found in more than one genre and throughout the period under investigation, tends to be that of the corrupt cleric, a person who falls short of the Church's own clearly stated ideals. Much of the medieval anticlerical satire discussed derives from a perceived discrepancy between ideal and reality. It does not necessarily stem from a ridiculing of normal human weakness, but rather from the failure of the clergy to live up to the proclaimed ideals of their own institution. In Chapter Two, we compare the literary stereotypes of members of the clergy with more reliable, objective views and depictions. Literary descriptions, comments and criticisms of the clergy are set against opinions and views found in other kinds of documents and sources, principally in the writings of the clergy itself. By following this methodology, we are able, to some extent, to determine whether the vision of the clergy that emerges from the literature corresponds to the social reality of the Middle Ages. In order to gauge clerical success or failure in matching Church ideals, certain fundamental areas of clerical activity are singled out for examination: the duties of attending and convoking councils and synods and carrying out visitations. The conclusion reached is that clerical performance is not uniform or regular. This patchiness may be partially due to the uneven pattern of survival of medieval texts and documents, but even taking this factor into account, we must conclude that the Portuguese clergy did not always carry out these specific duties with the assiduity that was expected of them. After a careful review of copious listings of councils, synods, visitations and sermons, it was concluded that the weakest area of performance was that of convening councils and synods. There is documentation to show that visitations were carried out, in order to maintain the discipline of the Church, and to safeguard Church privileges and property. In Chapter Three, we explore another sphere of clerical endeavour, the preaching of sermons. The very small numbers of extant medieval Portuguese sermons might at first cause us to assume that the clergy neglected this obligation. However, a careful scrutiny of a range of source materials (letters, supplications, chronicles, exemplum collections, synodal statutes, ecclesiastical arbitrations, secular legislation) leads us to the conclusion that preaching, in general, is treated seriously and carried out regularly. Standards of preaching inevitably vary at different times and within different sectors of the clergy, but there is never a period within the three hundred years when an extensive variety of sermons are not being preached to an equally wide section of the population. In this respect, the clergy live up to the ideals of their own institution. Chapter Four contains discussion of a specific type of misconduct, and allows us to assess the official responses of the Church (and State) to delinquent behaviour by both clergy and laity. The area selected for scrutiny, superstitious beliefs and practices, lends itself to analysis because of the volume of documentation available for the period in question. This documentation serves a double function: it reveals clerical delinquency, but equally it reveals the mechanisms of ecclesiastical discipline in action, brought to bear as much against the clergy as against the laity. The fifth and final chapter of the thesis presents a review of gambling in medieval Portugal, drawing principally on the literature and legislation of the period. It becomes clear that this was a significant area of clerical abuse, but equally, we find, that the Church made serious and sustained efforts to denounce and punish those members of the laity and clergy who contravene the ecclesiastical laws against gaming. The conclusions reached are that the Portuguese clergy did, on the whole, carry out their duties as prescribed by the Church. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


The contractor prequalification topic has had much written on it over the last two decades. In the past it has been primarily viewed in terms of the appropriate selection of contractors for construction projects. There has been extensive research interest into the functional and process driven aspects of contractor prequalification. However, there has been little research taking a more holistic view of contractor prequalification in terms of the human aspects that surround it. Hence, gaining a wider appreciation on how prequalification systems affect the major stakeholders seems warranted. The use of soft systems thinking allowed for an in-depth and contextual analysis of prequalification issues. This necessitated unstructured in-depth interviews to be carried out with senior industry practitioners. Sifting through their respective experiences allowed for an alternative view of contractor prequalification systems. It allowed a very human perspective of prequalification to emerge. The research suggests that viewing prequalification systems from a human perspective provides a fuller picture of their true benefits and limitations.


The characteristics of caring nursing practice are often, by their very nature, hidden. If caring is to become a core value of the health care system, these caring characteristics need to be uncovered so that they can be taught, rewarded, and recognized as contributing to successful patient outcomes.


Major global vendors, including Google, IBM, Facebook, and Amazon, have recently provided containerized system configurations as a competitive alternative to traditional hypervisor-based virtualization thanks to their rapid deployment, efficiency, compatibility, and maintainability. Similar to traditional cloud environments, energy consumption still constitutes the lion's share of overall infrastructure operating expenses. Most public and private cloud providers have coupled their datacenters with accelerators such as GPUs and FPGAs to improve the energy efficiency of their systems. However, it remains a challenging task to manage such heterogeneous systems and share resources in multi-tenant environments while improving energy efficiency. To address this need, we propose HelmGemm, a system-level component to support energy-efficient computing on CPU-GPU-FPGA heterogeneous architectures for container services. HelmGemm is application-specific to workloads featuring the BLAS3 GEMM routine and allows precision selection across the computational progress, i.e. a technique that recently gave rise to the term "transprecision computing". By evaluating HelmGemm on a POWER9 system with 4×V100 GPUs and 2×9V3 FPGAs, we succeeded in improving the average energy efficiency by up to 2.3× in inter-scale containerized configurations across three representative GEMM-based cloud applications in the field of machine learning, i.e. for speech recognition, language modeling, and deep neural networks.


P29 Epoxy derivatives of arachidonic acid may act as important autocrine and paracrine mediators of endothelial function including regulation of vascular tone and control of inflammation. To identify potential candidates for catalyzing the synthesis of these and further arachidonic acid metabolites, we studied human vascular endothelial cells for the expression of individual cytochrome P450 isoforms belonging to the CYP families 1, 2, 3 and 4. An RT-PCR screening performed with subfamily- and isoform-specific primer pairs revealed mRNAs for the P450 forms 1A1, 1B1, 2C8, 2E1, 2J2, 3A7, 4A11 and 4F2. The identity of the RT-PCR products was confirmed by DNA sequencing. In addition, P450 1A2 mRNA was detected after induction with β-naphthoflavone which also enhanced the expresion of P450s 1A1 and 1B1. P450s 2B6 and 3A4 were not detectable. Similar P450 isoform patterns were obtained analyzing primary human endothelial cells originating from aorta, coronary arteries, dermal microvessels and umbilical veins, as well as an immortalized human endothelial cell line (HMEC-1). Further studies with HMEC-1 cells showed the expression of all human members of the P450 2C subfamily (2C8, 2C9, 2C18 and 2C19). We next used gaschromatography-mass spectrometry to identify the regioisomeric epoxeicosatrienoic acids produced by HMEC-1 cells. Among the P450 forms detected by the RT-PCR screening, P450 2C8 and 2J2 are the leading candidates for producing vasoactive epoxyeicosatrienoic acids. Using recombinant human P450 1A1, we then found that this P450 form catalyzes the formation of various regioisomeric hydroxy derivatives of arachidonic acid. We conclude that P450 1A1 known primarily for its role in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolism, may interfere with endothelial arachidonic acid metabolism, particularly after its induction by drugs and xenobiotics. Furthermore, P450s 4A11 and 4F2 probably contribute to the degradation of lipid mediators of inflammation.


It's been a long history that most object detection methods obtain objects by using the non-maximum suppression (NMS) and its improved versions like Soft-NMS to remove redundant bounding boxes. We challenge those NMS-based methods from three aspects: 1) The bounding box with highest confidence value may not be the true positive having the biggest overlap with the ground-truth box. 2) Not only suppression is required for redundant boxes, but also confidence enhancement is needed for those true positives. 3) Sorting candidate boxes by confidence values is not necessary so that full parallelism is achievable. In this paper, inspired by belief propagation (BP), we propose the Confidence Propagation Cluster (CP-Cluster) to replace NMS-based methods, which is fully parallelizable as well as better in accuracy. In CP-Cluster, we borrow the message passing mechanism from BP to penalize redundant boxes and enhance true positives simultaneously in an iterative way until convergence. We verified the effectiveness of CP-Cluster by applying it to various mainstream detectors such as FasterRCNN, SSD, FCOS, YOLOv3, YOLOv5, Centernet etc. Experiments on MS COCO show that our plug and play method, without retraining detectors, is able to steadily improve average mAP of all those state-of-the-art models with a clear margin from 0.3 to 1.9 respectively when compared with NMS-based methods.


This book is an attempt to invigorate criminological thought by presenting the case for the proper integration of psychological theorising within mainstream criminological theory. Our understanding of criminal behaviour and its causes has been too long damaged by the failure to fully integrate the emotional, psychological, social and cultural influences on people's behaviour. This book is therefore proposing a psychosocial model of approaching understandings of criminal behaviour.

As it developed during the latter half of the 20th century, criminology became a discipline that was dominated by sociological thinking that has emphasised socially structured inequalities as the chief causes of crime. The rejection of the psychological dimension was part of this political viewpoint. Meanwhile, much academic psychology did little to construct dialogue. Psychology's focus on the individual appeared to consist of a circular exercise of blaming the criminal for their own criminal propensities. Few psychologists engaged with criminological theory, and the discipline of psychology was dominated by methodological concern to mimic the success of the natural sciences and study people using experimental methods. Questions about the messy lives of those who end up on the wrong side of the law, and how they got there, do not lend themselves well to the methods of experiment and the laboratory.

This schism is no longer tenable. Criminology without the tools to grasp the significance of the internal and emotional worlds of individuals has reached a dead end. In contemporary social conditions understanding the way that individuals construct their selves and moralities have become ever more pressing. To understand the impact of social structure on people's lives we often have to understand the relationships that they have with others and the histories of those relationships. This book is proposing a model for understanding criminal behaviour in terms of a better understanding of the link between emotions, morality and culture. It will be argued that crime can often be viewed as emerging from disordered social relationships. In order to understand the roots of those disorders we need to be able to explore the emotional worlds of those individuals and how morality, crime and violence are hewn from feelings of anger shame and guilt that develop in relation to others.


The issue of rhetoric and modern statesmanship is divided into four topics: the historical and philosophical background; problems of contemporary presidential rhetoric; the rhetoric of foreign policy and the rhetoric of discourse among statesmen. David Clinton addresses Tocqueville, democracy, and the moral issue in American statecraft. Halford Ryan looks at FDR's presidential rhetoric; Robert Orben examines speechmaking in the Ford administration; Gaddis Smith turns his attention to Carter's political rhetoric and Tom Griscom concentrates on Reagan's rhetoric. In the area of foreign policy, Forrest C. Pogue dissects the Marshall Plan and the Harvard speech; General George M. Seignious II evaluates the rhetoric and reality of change in the Soviet Union and Ambassador John W. Tuthill gives us Jean Monnet-the man and the vision. In conclusion, Ladd Hamilton looks at presidential rhetoric and political discourse while Russell Baker provides an overview of presidential humor, rhetoric, and social criticism. Co-published with the Miller Center of Public Affairs.


This paper presents a dynamic modeling, simulation, and analysis of a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) according to vehicle dynamic characteristics. Mathematical model variants for the components of BEVs can be modeled and investigated using the Matlab/Simulink software. In order to compare the dynamic performance of BEVs under inverter fault and normal conditions, the CarSim co-simulation platform is configured with real vehicle calibration data. Using this approach, it was possible to quickly check for dynamic performance issues of an electric vehicle without incurring the time delay and cost. The simulation results such as motor output, vehicle speed/acceleration, and propulsion forces are discussed and compared for each drive mode.


Professional musicians are expected to perform at a very high level of proficiency. Many times, this high standard is associated with perfectionism, which has been shown to prompt both adaptive and maladaptive motivational dynamics and outcomes among music students. The question about how perfectionism interplays with motivational dynamics in music students is still unanswered and research within this line is scarce, especially in Latin America. In the light of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between the perceptions of motivational context (teachers' motivating styles: autonomy supportive or controlling), basic psychological needs (satisfaction/frustration), perfectionism (adaptive/maladaptive), and flourishing in University music students from Lima, Peru (N = 149; mean age = 20.68, SD = 3.03; 71% men). We performed a path analysis testing a model in which motivational teaching styles predicted both, perfectionism and flourishing via need satisfaction and frustration. The model's fit indices were ideal [χ2 (7, N = 143) = 7.48, p = 0.300, CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.992, RMSEA = 0.021, SRMR =0.040]. In this model, perceived autonomy supportive style predicted need satisfaction positively and need frustration negatively; perceived controlling teaching style did not predict need satisfaction nor frustration. In turn, need satisfaction positively predicted adaptive perfectionism (i.e., high standards) and flourishing; whereas, need frustration predicted maladaptive perfectionism (i.e., discrepancy). These results shed light on the relevance of perfectionism in the psychology of higher music education students. Lastly, we highlight the importance of autonomy support in fostering adaptive high standards and flourishing in music learning.


Stoichiometry is the ratio of elements in a substance or microbial biomass. This paper investigates microbial stoichiometry and the responses of microbes to dissolved nutrient concentrations and ratios. The current work assesses both autrotrophic and heterotrophic responses to nutrient enrichment: autotrophic and heterotrophic states are defined mainly by ecosystem primary production and respiration. In ecosystems dominated by autotrophic microbes, nutrient enrichment can lead to increased biomass and biomass-specific rates of primary production. Heterotrophic ecosystems rely on subsides of organic carbon from outside the system. Their enrichment with N and/or P can accelerate microbial respiration rates and result in carbon losses from detritus-based systems. The Redfield ratio is relatively unknown for major groups of heterotrophic organisms, especially fungi. The degree to which heterotrophic bacteria and fungi are homeostatic given variable N and P concentrations and ratios in the medium is also unknown. A bacterial community can be more homeostatic in terms of biomass C:P and N:P than a single strain culture, though there is some evidence of non-homeostasis in some bacterial communities. In this experiment, we tested if aquatic fungi are homeostatic, i.e. if their biomass C:N, C:P and N:P ratios change with varying dissolved nutrient concentrations and ratios. We also determined fungal "Redfield ratio", which appeared to be C90N9P1, on average. Overall, aquatic fungi were capable of maintaining nearly constant stoichiometric ratio of C:N regardless of changes in their resource stoichiometry or concentrations, while fungal C:P ratio varied to some degree depending on medium C:P ratio and P concentration. The


: Two hospitals sit together on a medical campus located in a large metropolitan area. The larger (746 beds) of the hospitals, St. Catherine's, was established in 1887 by a Catholic congregation of religious women. The other hospital (527 beds), Martindale, was established by a group of Lutheran pastors in 1916. The missions of the two hospitals are very similar. The hospitals are strategically located in the center of a metropolitan area. The marketplace is one which has been characterized as fiercely competitive, with 40 percent of the market enrolled in prepaid plans. The demand for hospital services continues to decline each year. There is significant over capacity in the metropolitan area, with an average occupancy around 50 percent. The hospitals have had a varied history of both cooperation and competition. In 1975, a joint venture organization was established to jointly share expensive technology and develop new shared programs. After a brief study of the declining volumes and profitability in both hospital emergency rooms and identifying that both were perceived as substandard by the public and by the physicians, the question became--"should two competing, neighboring hospitals consolidate their emergency services?" The case reports a problem commonly experienced by hospitals today--when to compete, when to collaborate and how to balance the two in pursuit of organizational competence and advantage.


This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach, along with Vietnam's legal frameworks, to design an automatic hydro-meteorological (HM) observation network for a real-time flood warning system in Vu Gia-Thu Bon (VGTB) river basin, Vietnam. The automatic HM monitoring network consists of weather-proof enclosures containing data loggers, rechargeable batteries, sensors for air temperature, air humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, water level with attached solar panels and mounted upon masts located at fixed ground stations. A total of 20 meteorological stations and five hydrological stations have been built in VGTB river basin. To capture changes in weather and stream flow in the basin, the 5-minute and half-hour recording frequency options were set for meteorological and hydrological variables, respectively. All HM data was transmitted every 30 minutes to the data server at the data processing centre via Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network. These data were then input into hydrological-hydraulic models for inundation simulation in the basin. The results showed that the performance of flood simulation at hourly time step has significantly improved during flood events in September and November 2015. Overall, near-real-time HM data recording from an automatic monitoring network proved beneficial for an flood early warning system.


In order to improve the number of postgraduate enrollment, this paper proposes a study on the quality evaluation and guarantee mechanism of postgraduate enrollment in local colleges. This paper constructs the evaluation system of postgraduate enrollment quality of local colleges from three aspects: evaluation content selection, evaluation index selection and evaluation method application, and grasps the overall status of the enrollment quality of local college graduates. From the goal of constructing the quality evaluation system for postgraduate enrollment, this paper proposes a three-in-one guarantee mechanism for constructing the source quality target mechanism, the admission process control mechanism, and the enrollment quality monitoring and feedback mechanism. Keywords—Local colleges; Master's degree; Quality evaluation; Guarantee mechanism


The present work treats the Manchu script's influence on language studies in Qīng China, roughly covering the period 1607–1911. The Manchu script, which had its roots in the Near East, was used to write the language of the Qīng ruling house and parts of its hereditary military elite. The Qīng empire emerged as a regional power in Northeast Asia in the first decades of the seventeenth century, and subsequently ruled China and parts of Inner Asia from the mid-seventeenth century until 1912, when a republic replaced it in China and parts of the other former imperial possessions. This study argues that Qīng thinkers theorized the Manchu script in reference to ideas from the Inner Asian and partially Buddhist Chinese traditions. As such, the Manchu script formed the basis of a distinct method of serial lexicographic arrangement, eventually applied also to Chinese corpora, and heavily influenced how speech sounds were transcribed across writing systems in Chinese and Manchu dictionaries, thesauri, and language manuals. The study demonstrates this thesis by discussing the development of elementary Manchu language pedagogy, lexicography, and phonology. The dissertation introduces the languages historically spoken and written in China; gives an overview of education in imperial China and traces the development of Chinese lexicography and phonology as disciplines before the late imperial period; describes the history of script creation in Inner Asia, including in Manchuria; discusses the Manchu bureaucracy, education, and publishing in China in the period of Manchu rule; presents the history of the Manchu syllabary; traces the development of Manchu dictionaries as tools for managing information; argues how the encounter with the Manchu script compelled Chinese scholars to develop new methods of indicating the pronunciation of Chinese characters; and, finally, shows that the Manchu script came to be used to clarify the pronunciation of the emerging standard Chinese language of Mandarin. An appendix problematizes and traces how European scholars came to think of the Manchu script not as a syllabary, as they thought of it in China, but as an alphabet similar to the European script.


Up to the present a separate study on al-Junayd has not been undertaken, although his personality and his thoughts are outstanding in Islamic Mysticism, as everyone who is versed in this subject is bound to know. If the study of Hallaj, a pupil of Junayd, has attracted the attention of Orientalists - to mention Massignon's remarkable studies - it is an obvious task to shed light on a personality which has largely formed the ideas of succeeding. mystics, one of whom was Hallaj. A detailed study of Junayd reveals that he has been the central thinker of early Islamic Mysticism and that his ideas are much more balanced, well-grounded and systematic than what is known of the thoughts of his pupil Halaj. Thus in the first part, devoted to Junayd's personality and life, I have tried to draw a picture of his origins, his environment, his studies, his way of trading, and his style as a writer; also of his teachers, his friends, and his pupils re 'resenting the Sufi School of Baghdad. I have given a critical survey of Junayd's writings, preserved and not preserved, sifting the works attributed to him and separating all those that are genuinely his from the pseudo-epigrapha. In the second part I have tried to give the main doctrines which form the system of Junayd for the first time from his original writings, so that the result I was able to achieve may mean a new contribution to the study of Islamic Mysticism. 2.EDITION OF JUNAYD'S RASAIL. I have tried to edit the text of the Rasail from the manuscript, correcting it where necessary. It was a difficult task as the author writes a rather enigmatic style, sometimes not easy to understand. Junayd, in fact, speaks a special language, often trying to hide the meaning. He writes in an elevated esoteric style which is difficult to follow until one becomes accustomed to it. One has to be well-read in mystical literature to comprehend it. 3. TRANSLATION OF THE RASAIL. But the most difficult of all the tasks has been to put such a text into English - an English that would make sense. Confronted by this staggering difficulty, I have tried with all my strength and according to my ability, to do my best to put these seventeen risala into English, and to make the reader comprehend the thoughts without losing, at the same time, the atmosphere and the spirit. For this reason I have sometimes given a free translation. Sometimes I had to supplement a few words. I have made only the most necessary notes in order not to disturb the reader, nor to interrupt the sequence of the language.


The paper discusses the link between commons as they might have been used in prehistoric Norway and the rules concerning the exploitation of the commons as found in the oldest known legislation for regions of Norway, Gulating Law and Frostating Law. One clear social dilemma has been identified: the setting of a common date for moving animals from the home fields up to the summer farms and home again in the fall. The problem was obvious and the solution not particularly difficult to institute. Many more problems were of course present, but they did not rise to the level of a social dilemma. All such problems were managed by the rules enacted by the bygdeting along with other problems of a community. In particular the process of inheritance, the problems of fencing, how to change borders between neighbours and between individually owned fields and the commons, were treated by extensive rules. The bygdeting managed such issues from prehistory until the 16th and 17th centuries when reforms initiated by the Danish-Norwegian kings started to take effect, making the rule-of-law more uniquely a task for the central authorities and of less concern for the local communities. Maybe the basic legacy of the long history of local rule was a strong belief in the court system, that it would secure the old saying: "By law the land shall be built, not with unlaw wasted".


Objective: The main goal of the present study is to compare two methods for evaluating the marginal fit of fixed prosthetic restorations. For this purpose we used a milled ceramic material, out of which we obtained class I inlays. The marginal gap was analyzed using micro CT and electronic microscopy. Materials and methods: After extraction of four caries-free mandibular first molars, first class inlay cavities were prepared. The marginal gap was analyzed circumferentially at the occlusal margin using a Bruker micro CT, by measuring the distance at the occlusal limit of the cavities, between the restoration and the tooth in several points for every surface of each tooth before cementing. For the second method SEM technology was used, and measurements were made at the occlusal limit of the cavities, between the restoration and the tooth in 50 microns steps. The data were compared with One–way ANOVA with Tukey's Multiple Comparison Test performed using 5.00 for Windows (GraphPad Prism 5.00 Software, San Diego, California USA). Results and discussion: For both methods we obtained clinical acceptable values of the marginal gap for the milled ceramic inlays. The null hypothesis was rejected. We obtained statistical significant differences of the measured gaps using the two above mentioned methods. Conclusions: Both evaluation methods are reliable for measuring the marginal gap of fixed prosthetic restorations, each method having specific indications, advantages and disadvantages. They offer indispensable information which lead to improvement of the restorative treatments.


In the present study, energy expenditure (EE) and rates of whole-body protein, glucose, and lipid metabolism were assessed in 8 African American sickle cell disease (SCD) patients and in 6 healthy African American control subjects during the infusion of amino acids, glucose, and lipid. Whole-body protein, glucose, and lipid kinetics were estimated by using L-[1-(13)C]leucine, D-[6,6-(2)H2]glucose, and [(2)H5]glycerol, respectively. After a 2-h tracer equilibration period and a 0.5-h basal period, nutrients were administered intravenously for 3 h with 16% of the energy as protein, 52% as carbohydrate, and 32% as fat. Breath and blood were collected during the last 30 min of nutrient infusion and EE was measured by indirect calorimetry. EE was 14% greater (P < or = 0.05) in SCD patients [145.0 +/- 3.5 kJ x kg fat-free mass (FFM)(-1) x d(-1)] than in control subjects (126.8 +/- 3.8 kJ x kg FFM(-1) x d(-1)). Whole-body protein breakdown (4.4 +/- 0.4 compared with 3.1 +/- 0.1 mg x kg FFM(-1) x min(-1), P < or = 0.05) and protein synthesis (4.6 +/- 0.4 compared with 3.2 +/- 0.1 g x kg FFM(-1) x min(-1), P < or = 0.05) were 42% and 44% greater, respectively, in the SCD patients than in control subjects, but whole-body amino acid oxidation (0.90 +/- 0.05 compared with 1.03 +/- 0.09 mg x kg FFM(-1) x min(-1)) was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Whole-body glucose and lipid kinetics did not differ significantly between the groups. EE increased in SCD patients during exogenous nutrient availability, and the additional energy required for the accelerated rates of whole-body protein breakdown and synthesis made a significant contribution to the increase in EE. These metabolic aberrations may increase the dietary energy and protein requirements of SCD patients.


Objectives To examine the effect of Korea's 2015 tax policy, discuss its effectiveness and limitations and present future directions for tax policy in the context of the tobacco endgame. Design A retrospectively reconstructed cohort study. Setting Korea, August 2014–October 2015. Participants The study examined 41,605 male smokers aged 19 years and older who participated in the 2015 Korea Community Health Survey. Measures and analysis Binary and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the impact of the tax policy on smoking-related behaviour. We adjusted for demographic and health-related variables. Results Among 41,605 men who were smokers in 2014, 15,499 (35.85%, weighted) reported being affected by the price increase. Of all smokers, 1,772 (3.96%, weighted) reported quitting smoking because of the tobacco price increase. Others reduced their smoking amount (n=9,714, 22.48%, weighted) or made other changes such as switching brands (n=4,013, 9.41%, weighted). An additional 2,401 smokers (5.72%, weighted) quit smoking for reasons other than the tobacco price increase. Compared with those in the highest quintile of household income, the odds that those in the lowest quintile quit smoking due to the price increase were almost twice as high (OR=1.98, 95% CI 1.54 to 2.54). Conclusions Korea's 2015 tobacco price increase affected a significant number of smokers within a year, especially in the lowest income group, inducing some to quit or reduce their smoking amount. However, more smokers quit for reasons independent of the price change. Tax policy can effectively reduce smoking, but needs to be combined with other policies for optimal results.


Quantum dots (QDs) have the potential to simplify the performance of multiplexed analysis. In this work, we prepared bioinorganic conjugates made with highly luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals (CdSe-ZnS core-shell QDs) and antibodies to perform multiplexed fluoroimmunoassays. Sandwich immunoassays for the detection of cholera toxin, ricin, shiga-like toxin 1, and staphylococcal enterotoxin B were performed simultaneously in single wells of a microtiter plate. Initially the assay performance for the detection of each toxin was examined. We then demonstrated the simultaneous detection of the four toxins from a single sample probed with a mixture of all four QD-antibody reagents. Using a simple linear equation-based algorithm, it was possible to deconvolute the signal from mixed toxin samples, which allowed quantitation of all four toxins simultaneously.


The applicability of water-based reflux and room temperature synthesis processes for the production of CPO-27 MOFs, suitable for NO delivery applications, is investigated. NO adsorption, storage and release performance of products obtained under reflux conditions are comparable to those of equivalent samples synthesised from traditional solvothermal methods at small scale. Products obtained from room temperature processes show lower NO release capability, although the quantities that are released are still more than adequate for biomedical applications. Results also reveal differences for the first time in NO uptake, storage and release depending on whether Zn, Ni or Mg is employed. The results indicate that while the crystallinity of CPO-27(Zn) and CPO-27(Mg) is not affected by moving to lower temperature methods, the crystallinity of CPO-27(Ni) is reduced. Particle morphology and size is also affected. The low temperature processes are successfully demonstrated at 20 L and 100 L scale and the main problems encountered during scale-up are outlined. The 100 L scale is in itself an appropriate production scale for some niche biomedical products. Indeed, results indicate that this synthesis approach is suitable for commercial production of MOFs for this application field. We also confirm that BET surface area from nitrogen adsorption at 77 K is not a good indicator for successful adsorption of NO.


Extreme values of real phenomena are events that occur with low frequency, but can have a large impact on real life. These are, in many practical problems, high-dimensional by nature (e.g. Tawn, 1990; Coles and Tawn, 1991). To study these events is of fundamental importance. For this purpose, probabilistic models and statistical methods are in high demand. There are several approaches to modelling multivariate extremes as described in Falk et al. (2011), linked to some extent. We describe an approach for deriving multivariate extreme value models and we illustrate the main features of some flexible extremal dependence models. We compare them by showing their utility with a real data application, in particular analyzing the extremal dependence among several pollutants recorded in the city of Leeds, UK.


Prior research has reported evidence of polarization in the consumption and distribution of political news in online social media. Methods to effectively measure slant of news articles at a large scale are lacking in prior literature. To fill this gap, we propose a method to measure slant of individual news articles by observing their sharing patterns on Twitter. Our method monitors tweets about a news article and a set of landmark Democrat and Republican accounts on Twitter to estimate its slant. Our results show that the slant of news articles estimated by our method matches the slant estimated by crowd sourced workers.


This report investigated the current situation regarding attacks targeting the SSH protocol. The study included Kippo SSH honeypots that were deployed in a residential- and campus environment for a duration of 31 days. As part of the study a comparison between these environments was done to identify differences and similarities. A similar comparison was made with related studies in order to view tendencies and trends. Important data that was extracted and examined were the scale of the attacks, username/password combinations, attack activity over time and the sources of the attacks.The results from our study showed that attacks targeting SSH has increased compared to similar studies. Minor changes were identified in regards to used username/password and the geo-location of attacking IPs. The results from the comparison between the two environments showed that the residential honeypot was much more targeted than the campus honeypot.


type="main" xml:id="ecot12058-abs-0001"> This paper studies the evolution of wage inequality in Turkey using household labour force survey data from 2002 to 2010. Between 2002 and 2004, the relative supply of more-educated workers to less-educated workers remained constant while their relative wages decreased in favour of less-educated workers. However, between 2004 and 2010, the relative supply of more-educated workers to less-educated workers rose, while their relative wages remained constant or kept increasing in favour of more-educated workers. This suggests factors other than those implied by a simple supply-demand model are involved, such as skill-biased technical change or minimum wage variations. The decomposition of wage inequality reveals that the price (wage) effect dominates the composition effect particularly in the first period. Our results show that the real minimum wage hike in 2004 corresponds to a major institutional change, which proved to be welfare-increasing in terms of wage inequality. The upper-tail (90/50) wage inequality decreased between 2002 and 2004 and stayed constant thereafter, whereas the lower-tail (50/10) wage inequality decreased throughout the period. Our findings thus provide evidence supporting the institutional argument for explaining wage inequality.


A b s t r a c t . We present a size-aware type system for first-order shapely function defini tions. Here, a function definition is called shapely when the size of the result is determined exactly by a polynomial in the sizes of the arguments. Examples of shapely function defi nitions may be implementations of matrix multiplication and the Cartesian product of two lists. The type system is proved to be sound w.r.t. the operational semantics of the language. The type checking problem is shown to be undecidable in general. We define a natural syntactic restriction such that the type checking becomes decidable, even though size polynomials are not necessarily linear or monotonic. Furthermore, we have shown that the type-inference problem is at least semi-decidable (under this restriction). We have implemented a procedure that combines run-time testing and type-checking to automatically obtain size dependencies. It terminates on total typable function definitions.


The purpose of this chapter is to identify the different meanings of Latin American Good Living (buen vivir) and its diverse intellectual wellsprings, with a focus on the political economy of development. The authors try to answer the following questions: What different types of Good Living lie behind the overall concept? What intellectual wellsprings have the authors drunk from? The authors use the methodological strategies of deconstruction and conceptual genealogy, based on a broad bibliographic review. They conclude that three different types of Latin American Good Living exist: 'indigenist' and 'pachamamist', socialist and statist, and 'ecologist' and 'post-developmentalist'. Moreover, they argue that synthesised notions of the concept exist. These versions are associated with different intellectual influences, such as sumak kawsay, suma qamana and allin kawsay; the Andean world view; development with identity; the theory of reciprocity; post-development; liberation theology; dependency theory; the theory of 'coloniality'; sustainable development; world-system theory; human development; endogenous development; eco-socialism; twenty-first century socialism; social justice; the economics of happiness; eudaemony; the economic theory of relational goods; the social and solidarity economy; intercultural feminism; the feminism of care; eco-feminism; the self-sufficient economy; community economy; barefoot economics and human scale development theory; the Buddhist economy; 'post-extractivism'; 'de-growth'; deep ecology and the theory of conviviality.


Anemia is a frequently observed manifestation during the clinical course of chronic liver disease. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the hospital files of 500 chronic liver disease patients and assessed the frequency, etiology and morphology of anemia in 50 patients who fulfilled the criteria to be included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 48 ± 16 years and male/female ratio was 1.4/1. The mean hemoglobin value was 9.54 ± 2.03 g/dl. The mean MCV was 82.9 ± 10.52 fl. Iron deficiency anemia, defined as absent bone marrow iron stores, was the most common anemia present in 50% of patients. Classical laboratory criteria used in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia (MCV < 80 fl, ferritin < 10 ng/ml) could not be applicable to all of the patients with iron deficiency anemia and hepatic disorders. Hemolytic anemia due to hypersplenism was the second most common anemia (24%) followed by anemias, namely anemia due to gastrointestinal hemorrhage (22%), anemia of chronic disease (8%), β-thalassemia major (8%), folate deficiency (6%), vitamin B12 deficiency (4%), macrocytic anemia (2%), aplastic anemia (2%) and immune hemolytic anemia (2%). Twenty-eight percent of the patients had more than a single cause of anemia. Morphologically, microcytic anemia was the most common seen in 46% of the patients followed by normocytic (42%) and macrocytic anemia (12%). As patients do not always present with classical laboratory findings and may have more than a cause of anemia, a complex diagnostic approach should be considered in anemic patients with hepatic disorders.


The service industry in China is underdeveloped, in comparison with not only the past experience of developed countries at the similar level of GDP per capita, but also other similar developing countries at present. We define this deviation of China's service industry from the development trend in other countries as the "development deviation puzzle," and propose a conceptual framework based on the "manufacturing cost disease" hypothesis to understand the reasons behind this puzzle. We test our hypothesis using the data from the urban cluster in Yangtze River Delta. The results indicate that labor productivity growth in service industry is driven by capital investment and the "development deviation puzzle" is indeed rooted in the "manufacturing cost disease." Our analysis suggests that, to correct the underdevelopment of service industry, the strategy of investment-driven industrialization and urbanization must be changed. Expansion of producer services is important in increasing the intensities of human capital and foreign investment.


A retrospective study was carried out to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial sensitivity to commonly occurring bovine mastitis pathogens in the peri-urban area of Nairobi between 1994 and 2004. Samples were mainly drawn from the
area covered by the ambulatory services of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi, Veterinary Clinic in Kabete, Nairobi.A total of 888 isolates were studied from bacterial cultures obtained from the bovine samples collected
at the clinic. The most common microbial isolates were Streptococcus species (20.6%), Staphylococcus species (20.1%), Escherichia coli (16.8%), Klebsiella species (15.4%), Actinomyces (13.9%) and Pseudomonas species (8.3%). The study showed that sensitivity to antimicrobial agents was highest for gentamycin and kanamycin while it was moderate to low for penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, amoxicillin and penicillin-dihydrostreptomycin. The results of the
study however did not show any clear trend in sensitivity to antimicrobial agents over the 11-years period.


Background: Pain is the most common complaint of the patient that brings him/her to the dentist, pain often occurring in conjunction with inflammation and which considerably reduces the quality of patient's life. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed for the dental pain management. The gastrointestinal complications associated with NSAIDs can be effectively overcome if they are delivered by transmucosal route in the form of buccal patch. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of mucoadhesive lornoxicam patches in odontogenic pain management. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in 60 adult patients of either sex, diagnosed with odontogenic pain, and were attending the outpatient department. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients. A 1 cm × 1 cm mucoadhesive patch containing 4 mg of lornoxicam was applied on the attached gingival region of the tooth with pain. Pain was recorded using a ten-point visual analog scale score before and every 5 min till 30 min after the application of the patch. Statistical analysis was performed using repeated measure ANOVA with P < 0.05. Results: The results of the study revealed a statistically significant drop in the pain scores from baseline to the score recorded after 30 min (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the present study conclusively suggested the suitability, safety, and efficacy of the transmucosal delivery of lornoxicam in the form of mucoadhesive patch for the management of odontogenic pain.


Ecosystem-scale methane (CH 4 ) flux ( F CH 4 ) over a subarctic fen at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada was measured to understand the magnitude of emissions during spring and fall shoulder seasons, and the growing season in relation to physical and biological conditions. F CH 4 was measured using eddy covariance with a closed-path analyser in four years (2008–2011). Cumulative measured annual F CH 4 (shoulder plus growing seasons) ranged from 3.0 to 9.6 g CH 4 m −2 yr −1 among the four study years, with a mean of 6.5 to 7.1 g CH 4 m −2 yr −1 depending upon gap-filling method. Soil temperatures to depths of 50 cm and air temperature were highly correlated with F CH 4 , with near-surface soil temperature at 5 cm most correlated across spring, fall, and the shoulder and growing seasons. The response of F CH 4 to soil temperature at the 5 cm depth and air temperature was more than double in spring to that of fall. Emission episodes were generally not observed during spring thaw. Growing season emissions also depended upon soil and air temperatures but the water table also exerted influence, with F CH 4 highest when water was 2–13 cm below and lowest when it was at or above the mean peat surface.


543 Background: A phase 1b study of pembro (anti–PD-1) plus axi (VEGFR-TKI) showed promising antitumor activity and manageable safety in patients (pts) with previously untreated mRCC. The global, open-label, phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 study assessed the efficacy and safety of pembro + axi vs sunitinib as first-line therapy for mRCC (NCT02853331). Methods: Eligible pts with clear-cell mRCC, no previous systemic therapy for mRCC, and KPS ≥70% were randomized 1:1 to pembro 200 mg IV Q3W for a maximum of 35 cycles plus axi 5 mg orally BID or sunitinib 50 mg orally QD (4-wk on/2-wk off schedule). Treatment was given until PD, intolerable toxicity, or pt/investigator decision. Randomization was stratified by IMDC risk group and geographic region. Primary endpoints were OS and PFS (RECIST v1.1 by blinded, independent central review [BICR]). ORR was the key secondary endpoint. At the protocol-specified first interim analysis, the superiority thresholds were P = 0.0001 for OS, 0.0013 for PFS, and 0.025 for ORR (if OS and PFS were significant). Results: 861 pts were randomized: 432 to pembro + axi, 429 to sunitinib. After a 12.8-mo median follow-up, 59.0% of pts in the pembro + axi arm and 43.1% in the sunitinib arm remained on treatment. Pembro + axi significantly improved OS (HR 0.53 [95% CI 0.38-0.74]; P < 0.0001; 12-mo rate 89.9% vs 78.3%), PFS (HR 0.69 [95% CI 0.57-0.84]; P = 0.0001; median 15.1 vs 11.1 mo), and ORR (59.3% vs 35.7%; P < 0.0001). Duration of response was prolonged with pembro + axi (median not reached vs 15.2 mo). The pembro + axi benefit was observed in all subgroups tested, including all IMDC risk and PD-L1 expression subgroups. Treatment-related AEs were grade 3-5 in 62.9% of pts in the pembro + axi arm vs 58.1% in the sunitinib arm and led to regimen discontinuation in 6.3% vs 10.1%. Conclusions: Pembrolizumab + axitinib provided superior OS, PFS, and ORR compared with sunitinib and had manageable safety in pts with previously untreated, advanced or metastatic clear-cell RCC. These data suggest that pembrolizumab + axitinib should be a new standard of care for this population. Clinical trial information: NCT02853331.


Aim: The purpose of the present study was to compare the cleaning effectiveness of two reciprocating single-file systems with ProTaper Next and ProTaper Universal rotary instruments during the preparation of single-rooted extracted teeth.
Methodology: Sixty freshly extracted single-rooted human teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=15). In group 1, root canals were prepared with ProTaper Universal, in group 2, they were prepared with ProTaper Next, in group 3, they were prepared with WaveOne and in group 4, root canals prepared with Reciproc systems. Canals were prepared to the following apical sizes: ProTaper Universal F3, ProTaper Next X3, WaveOne Primary and Reciproc 25. The irrigant in all groups was 2ml 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution, the final irrigation after preparation all groups was 2ml NaOCl, 2ml EDTA and 2ml saline solution. The roots were split longitudinally into halves and the canals examined using a scanning electron microscope. The presence of a debris and smear layer was recorded at the coronal, middle and the apical thirds of root canals using a five-step scoring scale. Data were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.
Results: All groups showed more efficient smear layer and debris removal coronally than in the middle and apical regions, whereas the mean total debris score and the mean smear layer score in all groups were less in the WaveOne and the Reciproc groups.
Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, for root canal cleanliness Reciproc and WaveOne may be preferred rather than ProTaperUniversal and ProTaperNext.

How to cite this article: İnce Yusufoğlu S, Arı Aydınbelge H. Root canal cleaning with different reciprocating and rotary instrumentation systems. Int Dent Res 2019;9(1):1-8.

Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.


Abstract. The Qinghai Province supports over 40 % of the human population of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) but occupies about 29 % of its land area, and thus it plays an important role in the plateau. The dominant land cover is grassland, which has been severely degraded over the last decade due to a combination of increased human activities and climate change. Numerous studies indicate that the plateau is sensitive to recent global climate change, but the drivers and consequences of grassland ecosystem change are controversial, especially the effects of climate change and grazing patterns on the grassland biomass and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in this region. In this study, we used the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model and two climate change scenarios (representative concentration pathways: RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) to understand how the grassland biomass and SOC pools might respond to different grazing intensities under future climate change scenarios. More than 1400 grassland biomass sampling points and 46 SOC points were used to validate the simulated results. The simulated above-ground biomass and SOC concentrations were in good agreement with the measured data (R2 0.71 and 0.73 for above-ground biomass and SOC, respectively). The results showed that climate change may be the major factor that leads to fluctuations in the grassland biomass and SOC, and it explained 26.4 and 47.7 % of biomass and SOC variation, respectively. Meanwhile, the grazing intensity explained 6.4 and 2.3 % variation in biomass and SOC, respectively. The project average biomass and SOC between 2015 and 2044 was significantly smaller than past 30 years (1985–2014), and it was 191.17 g C m−2, 63.44 g C kg−1 and 183.62 g C m−2, 63.37 g C kg−1 for biomass and SOC under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. The RCP8.5 showed the more negative effect on the biomass and SOC compared with RCP4.5. Grazing intensity had a negative relationship with biomass and positive relationship with SOC. Compared with the baseline, the biomass and SOC changed by 12.56 and −0.19 % for G0, 7.23 and 0.23 for G−50, and −5.17 and 1.19 % for G+50. In the future, more human activity and management practices should be coupled into the model simulation.


A new type of steering system so called Ackerman active steering system is put forward through combining the active steering with Ackerman geometry theory. The application of axiomatic design concepts to the steering system design is presented. The fundamental function requirements and the relative design parameters of desirable steering systems are introduced according to the trend of steering system evolution. The uncoupling control system is proposed and the simulation is conducted to verify the concept. The result shows that the coupled system can be converted into an uncoupled one via further design on control system.


ABSTRACT Recent research has shown that divorce reduces the likelihood of home-ownership. Even in later life, ever-divorced men and women display lower home-ownership rates than their married counterparts. There is, however, a lack of knowledge about the consequences of divorce for a majority of divorcees: those who remain in home-ownership or move back into home-ownership after an episode in rental housing. This paper investigates the economic costs of divorce by focusing on the housing wealth of ever-divorced home-owners in later life (age 50 and over), against the background of changing welfare and housing regimes. The empirical analysis is based on data from ten European countries that participated in the third and fourth waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE 2007/8 and 2011/2). Our analyses support an association between divorce experience and lower housing wealth holdings for men and women who remain in home-ownership after a divorce, or re-enter home-ownership after a spell in rental housing. This means that a divorce has negative housing consequences for a broader range of individuals than thus far assumed. In countries with a dynamic housing market and a deregulated housing finance system, ever-divorced home-owners are worse off than their married counterparts. In these countries, more elderly individuals with a weaker financial situation are able to remain in or regain access to (mortgaged) home-ownership, but at the cost of lower housing equity. Further research should focus on the implications (e.g. for wellbeing, economic position) of such cross-country variations.


We introduce the waveform station anomaly (WSA) of teleseismic P-waves to investigate the crustal and uppermost mantle structure beneath stations, which is a natural extension of relative travel-time and amplitude anomalies. WSA is defined as the observed waveform deconvolved by the average waveform of stations in an array. Since source time function and mantle response are almost identical across the array and cancelled out by the deconvolution, WSA approximately represents the effect of the receiver structure and the instruments peculiar to each station. The procedure was applied to short-period teleseismic waveforms recorded by the J-Array, a large-aperture and short-period seismic array covering the entire Japanese Islands. WSA was consistently determined for a cluster of deep events in the Tonga-Fiji region, with almost identical back azimuth and incidence angle. Especially, near-station reverberations inherent to each station were effectively extracted by the deconvolution. However, relative travel-time residuals showed a slight scatter due to the unequal number of stations used for analysis of each event. Despite the small number of events used in this study, WSA clearly changes with the arrival direction, which indicates that we have to consider a laterally heterogeneous structure beneath the Japanese Islands to explain the observed WSA.


Microbial communities associated with agricultural animals are important for animal health, food safety, and public health. Here we combine high-throughput sequencing (HTS), quantitative-PCR assays, and network analysis to profile the poultry-associated microbiome and important pathogens at various stages of commercial poultry production from the farm to the consumer. Analysis of longitudinal data following two flocks from the farm through processing showed a core microbiome containing multiple sequence types most closely related to genera known to be pathogenic for animals and/or humans, including Campylobacter, Clostridium, and Shigella. After the final stage of commercial poultry processing, taxonomic richness was ca. 2–4 times lower than the richness of fecal samples from the same flocks and Campylobacter abundance was significantly reduced. Interestingly, however, carcasses sampled at 48 hr after processing harboured the greatest proportion of unique taxa (those not encountered in other samples), significantly more than expected by chance. Among these were anaerobes such as Prevotella, Veillonella, Leptrotrichia, and multiple Campylobacter sequence types. Retail products were dominated by Pseudomonas, but also contained 27 other genera, most of which were potentially metabolically active and encountered in on-farm samples. Network analysis was focused on the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter and revealed a majority of sequence types with no significant interactions with other taxa, perhaps explaining the limited efficacy of previous attempts at competitive exclusion of Campylobacter. These data represent the first use of HTS to characterize the poultry microbiome across a series of farm-to-fork samples and demonstrate the utility of HTS in monitoring the food supply chain and identifying sources of potential zoonoses and interactions among taxa in complex communities.


Purpose: This study aims to investigate the influence of applying IFRS on European companies' profitability. The research focuses on adopting the new IFRS 16, specifically the accounting treatment of leases. The new standard introduces revolutionary changes in the treatment of leasing contracts. Many companies have moved away from IFRS, so it is essential to check the impact of IFRS on other companies. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study includes an analysis of two periods, before and after implementing IFRS 16 (leasing). In the study, we focus on specific sectors of economic activity. We examine the distributions of individual variables and compare the medians using parametric and non-parametric tests. The survey results indicate whether the implementation of IFRS 16 negatively affected the results of the companies. Findings: The study proves that adopting new IAS 16 related to leases does not negatively influence companies' profitability than the previous treatment of this financial position within financial statements. This study confirms that European companies improve profitability by adopting new modifications of the IAS 16. Practical Implications: The study represents a motive for managers to accept new accounting treatments of leases that will create tangible value and generate further economic benefits. Originality/Value: We examined companies implementing new assumptions for the recognition of leasing. Contrary to the numerous voices of practitioners pointing to the negative effects of the implementation of IFRS 16, we showed that the implementation of IFRS 16 did not significantly change the profitability of companies. Thus, it can be indicated that the primary objective of introducing IFRS 16, to organize the recognition of company assets, has been met.


Myopia is an increasingly prevalent, complex trait influenced by numerous genetic and environmental factors. Whilst the increasing prevalence may be underlined by changing environmental pressures, the majority of trait variance is explained by genetic risk. In other words, the dispersion or variation in refractive error within individuals of a defined population is largely due to the effect of genes. This is supported by the crude but well-replicated dose-response association of one or more myopic parents and risk of myopia in their child (1-4), and to a better degree the high estimates of heritability for refractive error from twin studies (5-8). Theoretically, a genetic risk score containing all the genes contributing to myopia risk would explain the majority of the heritability and trait variance, whilst also providing a very useful predictive test. However, to date the identified genetic loci associated with refractive error explain only a small proportion of the estimated heritability, as discussed below.


Thedecarbonization of the electric grid is a fundamental technological and socio-economical challenge to address the looming threat of climate change. The reduction of the levelized cost of energy is a critical step to expand the application of carbon-free technologies that rely on high-potential, renewable energy sources such as wind power. Advanced computational tools are instrumental to capturing the tightly-coupled, multi-physics interactions that characterize modern highly-flexible wind turbine rotors. In this work, we use our high-fidelity multidisciplinary design optimization software to perform aerostructural optimization studies of a large wind turbine configuration, using an efficient, highly-scalable, gradient-based approach on a coupled CFD/FEM model. We investigate the trade-offs between steady-state aerodynamic efficiency and structural cost of a benchmark rotor using more than 100 structural and geometric design variables. Mass and torque are simultaneously used as performance metrics as we constrain the maximum stress and tip displacement of the rotor at below-rated operating conditions. We discuss both the optimized design features and the general design trends in the form of Pareto front analyses as we sweep over different prescribed torque values and objective weights. The results highlight the benefits of the coupled model with respect to a single-discipline strategy and showcase the additional insight that high-fidelity analysis tools offer to designers. As we work towards a more refined structural model and the inclusion of a larger set of shape variables to extend the optimization capabilities of the tool, the results support the idea that such high-fidelity approaches can complement conventional low-fidelity tools in the design of light and efficient turbine blades.


The study of history of medical science from non-medical sources needs no apology. At first sight the discussion of what was thought in the past rather than what is known now appears to be of merely anti-quarian value. The Hebrews can be proud of having preserved in the Old Testament many old medical practices and traditions which throw light on ancient medicine in general and on Hebrew medical practices in particular. The Bible is a genuinely documented book presenting the wisdom, medical knowledge and the culture of a nomadic race.


Forty patients with unresectable liver cancer were treated by hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy plus embolization (HAI+HAE). Thirty-four patients had huge masses and 6 nodular lesions. After HAI+HAE, the frequency of greater than or equal to 50% reduction in tumor size was 67.5% (27/40); that of reduction in marked and partial disappearance of tumor blood vessels was 90% (36/40); and that of marked decrease and normalized AFP was 90.3% (28/31). The mean survival of 12 patients treated solely by HAI plus HAE was 17.2 months, and one of them has been alive for 48 months. Twenty-eight patients became operable following HAI+HAE and 26 of them underwent hepatic resection. Pathologic examination revealed obvious necrosis in most part of the tumor with a few viable cancer cells in the periphery and inflammatory reaction as well as fibrotic proliferation around the necrotic tumor tissue. The authors believe that hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy plus embolization for the unresectable liver cancer is effective. If satisfactory shrinkage of the tumor is observed, subsequent resection should be contemplated for cure.


The main objectives of this research are to develop a valid and practical Conceptual Change Texts (CCTs) material related to Newtonian Mechanics and to test the influence of the CCTs in order to increase students' conceptual understanding and overcome their misconceptions in the relevant topics. The research is divided in to two years comprising of three steps, namely 1) preliminary study, 2) design development, and 3) product testing. This article reports some result of the first year research for kinematics materials. The method for the first and the second steps are descriptive qualitative and development research, respectively. Based on the analysis of the preliminary data it is found the weakness of the basic and standard competencies for Newtonian Mechanics materials in Basic Physics 1 course and it has been changed from 7 to 9 standard competencies. It was also arranged essential material and found 9 common misconceptions in kinematics, namely velocity and acceleration are considered equal, position and velocity are considered equal, velocity is not as vector quantity, ego-centered reference frame, heavier objects fall faster, gravity increase as an object falls, acceleration differs along the trajectory of a projectile motion, an object thrown vertically upward from a linier moving object will land behind this moving object, and a bullet will not hit a target if the target falls down at the same time the bullet is fired. These findings are basis to develop the CCTs. It is developing the CCTs for kinematics comprises of: case, question(s), space to answer and reason, kinds of misconceptions, and explanation of the right concepts. The CCTs in turn can be utilized to improve learners' conceptual understandings and to remediate their misconceptions toward the truer concepts in the Kinematics topics.


This study was conducted to investigate the effect of duck skin on cooking loss, emulsion stability, pH, color, protein solubility, texture profile analysis (TPA), apparent viscosity, and sensory characteristics of press type duck ham with different ratio of duck breast meat and duck skin. Five duck ham formulations were produced with the following compositions: T1 (duck breast 70% + duck skin 30%), T2 (duck breast 60% + duck skin 40%), T3 (duck breast 50% + duck skin 50%), T4 (duck breast 40% + duck skin 60%), and T5 (duck breast 30% + duck skin 70%). The cooking loss and fat separation were lower in T1, and the total expressible fluid separations were lower in T1 and T2 than others. The pH ranged from 6.48 to 6.59, with the highest values in T4 and T5. T5 had the highest CIE L*-value, and T1 and T2 had the highest CIE a*-values; however, CIE b*-values did not differ significantly between the duck ham samples. The protein solubility and TPA (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and chewiness) were the highest in T1. T1 and T2 had higher scores for color, tenderness, and overall acceptability. T1, T2, and T3 showed significantly higher values, but there were no significant differences for flavor and juiciness. Regarding apparent viscosity properties, T1 and T2 had higher viscosity values than the other formulations. In conclusion, the T1 (duck breast 70% + duck skin 30%) and T2 (duck breast 60% + duck skin 40%) duck hams show the highest quality characteristics.


Objectives: The present work proposes a secure and robust video watermarking algorithm to detect the camcorder piracy using Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Schur Decomposition. Methods/Analysis: Separate watermark for each video used to improve security. The watermark is further secured using scrambling by Arnold transform and then dividing it into subparts. These scrambled watermark chunks embedded into audio sequence and video frames using robust technique DCT and Schur decomposition. The security has been improved with randomness in frame selection block selection. Recovered information from extracted watermark can be used to authenticate the owner. Findings: Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is not only robust to various attacks but also highly secure. Perceptual quality of watermarked frame has been compared with the original frame. The Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) is 49.21 dB for MB.mp4 video and 48.88 dB for GT.mp4 video file after embedding watermark. Robustness of watermarked video has been tested against various signal processing, video processing attacks and camcorder attack. Extracted watermark is compared with original watermark and Normalized cross correlation (NK) value is calculated, which is coming nearly 1. The security has been strengthened with randomness in frame selection, block selection, Scrambling and division of the watermark. A Watermark is embedded in audio sequence and video frames. Novelty/Improvement: Position of pirate is estimated by comparing original video frames with watermarked video frames. Mean Absolute Error is 2.8 cm.


Despite decades of carbon cycling research in terrestrial ecosystems, a complex suite of biotic and abiotic interactions make a complete understanding of the natural carbon cycle elusive. This thesis aims to advance our understanding of the carbon cycle, and stems from several ongoing projects aimed at quantifying carbon dynamics in forest ecosystems across a range of scales, with a specific effort to include both above and belowground components of forest ecosystems. I begin with a project using detailed chemical measurements on specific segments of root systems from two different tree species, in order to help refine methods that quantify the production of symbiotic root-associated mycorrhizal fungi. Next, I use top-down and bottom-up approaches to determine a comprehensive carbon budget (including the production of mycorrhizal fungi), as well as interannual drivers of carbon fluxes in a northern temperate forest stand. Lastly, I compare patterns of carbon allocation to plant and fungal components in temperate forest stands spanning a range of species composition. Chapter 1 presents results from a project done in collaboration with Dr. Dali Gou and researchers at the Maoershan research station in China, focusing on fine scale patterns of root anatomy, chemistry, and function. I used patterns in fine root chemistry to assess the importance of symbiotic root-colonizing (mycorrhizal) fungi to two important tree species in China that differ in their mycorrhizal associate type — arbuscular mycorrhizal versus ectomycorrhizal fungi. Results indicated a strong fungal association in ectomycorrhizal Larix gmelinii, with fungal material comprising over 50 % of nitrogen and 36 % of the biomass of root tips in Larix. Data from this work helped refine an approach to quantify the production of mycorrhizal fungi in forest ecosystems using stable isotopes. Chapter 2 is the result of a long term effort to quantify carbon fluxes within northern hardwood temperate forest stands at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. The stands used in this study are centered on an eddy covariance flux tower (part of the Ameriflux network), and are also part of NASA's North American Carbon Program (NACP) Tier-2 field research sites. I present a detailed carbon budget of net and gross ecosystem fluxes using measurements collected from 2004-2016. Comparison of interannual fluxes suggested the presence of direct climate controls on wood growth (growing season temperature and moisture), and indirect controls on gross carbon uptake related to conditions in the winter and spring preceding the growing season. The data resulting from this work provide an ideal data set for assessing the capability of ecosystem models to simulate a number of aspects of forest ecosystem carbon dynamics. Chapter 3 is an extension of the carbon measurements around the flux tower at Bartlett, and spans a range of forest stands with varying species composition. This work was unique in its attempt to quantify the production of both plant components and mycorrhizal fungi. Results indicate that as biomass of conifer tree species increased relative to deciduous species, the production of foliage, wood, and fine roots significantly decreased. In contrast, the production of mycorrhizal fungi was more than twice as high in nearly pure conifer stands than in pure deciduous broadleaf stands, at times equaling or exceeding rates of wood production. Stable isotope data indicated that both the tree species present (e.g. conifers), as well as soil nutrient availability were important in influencing rates of fungal production. This dissertation is available at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2301


We aim to focus on improving the performance of slice parallel imaging while simultaneously correcting for spatial shift artifacts related to off-resonance. In multislice controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (CAIPIRINHA), simultaneously excited slices are shifted along the phase-encoding direction by varying the radiofrequency phase for each slice, thereby obtaining virtually shifted coil sensitivity information. Meanwhile, the view angle tilting (VAT) technique provides additional shifts in the readout direction to further spread an image overlap while correcting for field inhomogeneity-induced spatial misregistration using a compensation gradient. By combining these features of CAIPIRINHA and VAT, named CAIPIVAT, the excited individual slices are shifted along both phase-encoding and readout directions. Consequently, the number of aliased voxels is reduced, and the virtual coil sensitivity information is more effectively used. Blurring due to the compensation gradient in VAT was alleviated by using a constrained least square filter. The advantages of CAIPIVAT are shown by signal-to-noise ratio simulation, phantom experiments, and in vivo experiments. Thus, CAIPIVAT can be useful for multislice parallel imaging while providing the correction of off-resonance-related spatial shift artifact.


A telemeterized total hip prosthesis was implanted in one patient and force-data were obtained. Thirty-one days postoperatively, the magnitude of the joint-contact force during double-limb stance was 1.0 times body weight. During ipsilateral single-limb stance the joint-contact force was 2.1 times body weight, and during the stance phase of gait the peak force typically was 2.6 to 2.8 times body weight, with the resultant force located on the anterosuperior portion of the ball. During stair-climbing, the force was 2.6 times body weight. At peak loads, the angle between the resultant force and the axis of the neck was 30 to 35 degrees and that between the resultant force and the plane of the prosthesis was 20 degrees. During stair-climbing or straight-leg raising, the out-of-plane orientation of the resultant force increased substantially. These data provide information concerning the forces that must be sustained by prosthetic hip joints during a number of common activities of daily living within the first month after implantation. The results also provide insight into the progression of early recovery and demonstrate the variety of forces that are generated during this period.


Hemoglobin (Hb) is the protein responsible for the oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells (RBCs). However, its iron-containing, heme prosthetic group is also capable of generating radical species and reacting with nitric oxide (NO). If oxygen is present, the latter reaction results in the oxidation of heme and conversion of NO to nitrate. Within the RBC, Hb redox reactivity is minimized by the presence of protective enzyme systems and NO consumption by RBCs is 600 lower than that of free Hb. However, in hemolytic anemia, cell-free Hb released present in the blood, which results in vasoconstriction and vascular dysfunction. The case of malaria is particularly interesting, because the Plasmodium parasite resides within the RBC and is surrounded by Hb, but also ruptures RBCs as part of its lifecycle, releasing Hb into the blood. In this dissertation the dual role of Hb during malaria is examined: intracellular Hb is evaluated in the context of immune-system-generated, anti-parasitic oxidative species (NO, superoxide, peroxynitrite), while the Hb released into the blood is considered in the context of pathogenesis. It is established that NO and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are unlikely to play an anti -parasitic role, due to the presence of large amounts of Hb within RBCs, as well as possible existence of intrinsic protective mechanism. The cell-free Hb, on the other hand, participates in pathogenesis by scavenging NO in experimental severe malaria (ESM). It is determined that low NO bioavailability contributes to pathogenesis and that NO restoration can protect animals from development of disease. In conclusion, the study of malaria in the context of hemolytic anemia, taking into account the toxic nature of cell-free Hb and its potency as an NO scavenger may leads to the development of new adjust therapies


Obesity has significant medical and psychosocial morbidity and is increasingly prevalent among children. Available evidence suggests that children report binge eating and maladaptive eating behaviors and attitudes, which may contribute to overweight. Further, maternal eating attitudes and behaviors may influence children's eating and weight, yet little is known about the relationship among these variables. Thus, the current study investigated aberrant eating and its cognitive correlates in overweight children of mothers with binge eating problems. Sixty-eight mothers and their biological children were interviewed using the Eating Disorder Examination, adult (EDE) and child (ChEDE) versions, to assess binge eating and associated attitudes and behaviors. Participants also completed the Children's Depression Inventory, EAS Temperament Survey, and a demographic questionnaire. Height and weight was measured in mothers and children to determine BMI (kg/m2). Mothers were on average, overweight (BMI = 32.71 + 7.83 kg/m2), 38 years old, and predominantly Caucasian (63%). Children were 9.5 years old (+ 1.4) and 63% were female. The children's BMI ranged from 19.28 to 35.58 kg/m2 (M + SD; 26.66 + 3.65). Results indicated that 38% of overweight children reported recent loss of control over their eating, a feature related to binge eating in adults. Moreover, similar to findings in adults with BED, children with loss of control also endorsed more eating disorder cognitions and depression compared to children without loss of control (ps < .01). However, the percentage of children reporting loss of control over their eating did not differ in children of mothers with and without binge eating (50.0% versus 35.9%; Х2 (1, N = 53) = .85, p = .355. Secondary analyses utilizing continuous measures of mother and child aberrant eating supported a relationship between maternal and child aberrant eating, as well as relationships among child BMI, child depression, and child aberrant eating. In contrast, child temperament was not related to child aberrant eating in this sample of overweight children. Data from this study will contribute to future work examining factors related to the treatment and prevention of childhood overweight.


Purpose
The extreme climatic events are a result of modern human lifestyles and activities. Climate literacy is one of the significant factors to redefine aggravated human behaviours related to climate change and energy efficiency. Therefore, education relevant to energy efficiency and climate change is identified as a vital requirement in the present education sector. This study aims to identify existing capacity needs for integrating massive open online courses (MOOC)-based climate education in the partner institutions education systems.

Design/methodology/approach
The integrating education with consumer behavior relevant to energy efficiency and climate change at the Universities of Russia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (BECK) project funded by the Erasmus+ programme aimed to address this research gap by introducing new harmonized MOOC modules to the higher education curricular of four European, five Russian and five Asian higher education institutions (partner country higher education institutions). A series of focus group surveys and workshops were carried out to identify the present capacity development needs relevant to the subject topic.

Findings
Accordingly, infrastructure development, awareness-raising, curricular development, capacity building, integration and networking, research and development and financial needs have been identified as the key areas requiring capacity development to integrate energy efficiency and climate change into the higher education curricular. The results have recognized that a MOOC system in curricular will allow better opportunities for research, awareness and capacity development initiatives.

Research limitations/implications
The relevant European best practices can be adopted into the Asian education systems to allow more opportunities in infrastructure, research and networking development. The project continues to implement the MOOC modules in the partner institutions following a contextual research study and a cross-institutional module sharing assessment.

Originality/value
The research outcomes identify the significant facts for formulating the BECK project objectives, which provide wider opportunity for climate literacy improvements and education initiatives in the partner countries.


The objective of this study is to analyze adolescents' knowledge and perceptions of Chile's Family Planning Program. A cross-sectional study using both quantitative (semi-structured surveys) and qualitative (focus group technique and individual surveys) research methods was conducted with a sample of 277 adolescents aged 15-19 years who were users of the Hospital de El Carmen, in the year 2010. The study results showed that 12% of the participants had initiated sexual activity (of this group, 42% of males and 22% of females had done so before the age of 15). Although all participants recognized that both partners should take responsibility, women consulted the program more frequently than men (13.5% of males and 40% of females had consulted the program). Women also acknowledged receiving more information on birth control methods before initiating sexual activity than their male peers. Adolescents of both sexes continue to have misconceptions about birth control. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance activities aimed at heightening awareness of the program among adolescents.


Some traditional applications of structures and devices with homogeneous materials are being gradually replaced by functionally graded materials (FGM) with spatial variation of properties. The analysis of SAW propagating in FGM structures will be different primarily due to variations of material properties and resulting differential equations with variable coefficients. To provide an effective method and accurate results for the analysis of SAWs in FGM structures, we employed the Frobenius method as the only available method for a detailed analysis of SAW in materials with property variations in a linear pattern. Analytical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and the effect of FGM on changes of surface displacements in SAW propagation.


Upper respiratory tract infections and sinusitis are common, but intracranial complications of sinusitis are rare in children and are often clinically unremarkable. Papilloedema secondary to purulent sinusitis is a complication previously not reported. We report two cases to highlight atypical manifestations of sinusitis in children.


Studies in vivo and in vitro suggest that curcumin is a neuroprotective agent. Experiments were conducted to determine whether dietary supplementation with curcumin has neuroprotective effects in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Treatment with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) significantly induced the loss of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra and deletion of dopamine in the striatum, which was attenuated by long-term (7 weeks) dietary supplementation with curcumin at a concentration of 0.5% or 2.0% (w/w). Although curcumin did not prevent the MPTP-induced apoptosis of neuroblasts in the subventricular zone (SVZ), it promoted the regeneration of neuroblasts in the anterior part of the SVZ (SVZa) at 3 days after MPTP treatment. Furthermore, curcumin enhanced the MPTP-induced activation of microglia and astrocytes in the striatum and increased the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) in the striatum and SVZ. GDNF and TGFβ1 are thought to play an important role in protecting neurons from injury in the central and peripheral nervous systems. These results suggest that long-term administration of curcumin blocks the neurotoxicity of MPTP in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system of the mouse and that the neuroprotective effect might be correlated with the increased expression of GDNF and TGFβ1. Curcumin may be effective in preventing or slowing the progression of PD.


Although the control of chemical composition and macromolecular architectures of polymer networks is crucial to tailor their properties, the control and characterization of the crosslinking density and defects remains challenging. Therefore, new synthetic approaches are needed, which can, on the one hand dynamically tune the network structure and functionalization, and on the other hand facilitate characterization. The present study explores the combination of nitroxide exchange reaction (NER) and nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP), in different sequences, to prepare structurally tailored and engineered macromolecular (STEM) networks with controlled strand lengths. The radical nature of the NER enables the precise monitoring of the reaction progress and determination of the defect ratio of the networks in a straightforward manner via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Additionally, the dynamic nature of the NER permits the disassembly of the networks and the determination of the strand length of the prepared networks by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The final networks are also characterized by inverse size exclusion chromatography (ISEC) to determine and compare their mesh-size distributions. Thus, this study demonstrates that the combination of NER and NMP offers a versatile approach for the preparation of dynamic polymer networks with controlled and tunable structures.


In many countries two decision-making institutions, the government and the central bank, manage fiscal and monetary policy separately. Such decentralization can lead to a change in the optimal inflation-output trade-off. In fact lack of cooperation can result in a change in the position of the trade-off curve, or a reversal in the slope of this trade-off, or even the total absence of any exploitable trade-off. In this paper the techniques of differential game theory are used to calculate the efficient inflation-output trade-off within a continuous-time econometric model of the Italian economy, in order to examine the differences in the 'policy possibility frontiers' which arise as the result of cooperative and of noncooperative decision-making. The results show that the outcomes obtained in the case of noncooperation are inferior to those under cooperation, and also impose a policy conflict which would not otherwise be present. Moreover the range of policy choices open to the policy-makers is reduced under noncooperation. The results indicate that efficiency gains are not the only reason for coordinating fiscal and monetary policies.