Preparations of NbX4 (X = Cl, Br) have been developed in good yield, leading to the formation of a series of 2:1 and 1:1 adducts upon reaction with neutral diphosphine ligands. The 2:1 ligand:metal complexes [NbX4(P–P)2] (X = Cl, Br; P–P = Me2P(CH2)2PMe2, Et2(CH2)2PEt2, o-C6H4(PMe2)2) were characterised by IR and UV-visible spectroscopies, their purities determined by microanalysis and the solid-state structures confirmed by X-ray crystallography to be that of eight coordinate dodecahedra or square antiprisms. The dimeric 1:1 complexes [Nb2X4(P–P)2(μ-X)4] (P–P = Me2P(CH2)2PMe2, Et2P(CH2)2PEt2, Ph2P(CH2)3PPh2, Cy2P(CH2)2PCy2, o-C6H4(PPh2)2) were also characterised by 1H and 31P{1H} NMR spectroscopy. A series of six-coordinate monomeric complexes, [NbCl4(L–L)] (L–L = MeS(CH2)2SMe, iPrS(CH2)2SiPr, MeS(CH2)3SMe, o-C6H4(CH2SEt)2, MeSe(CH2)2SeMe, MeSe(CH2)3SeMe and nBuSe(CH2)3SenBu) and [NbCl4(ER2)2] (ER2 = SMe2, SeMe2, SenBu2 and TeMe2) were prepared from NbCl4 and the ligand in CH2Cl2 solution. X-ray structures show that most of them form six-coordinate octahedral complexes, whereas [NbCl4(SeMe2)2] and [NbCl4(TeMe2)2] are thought to be dimeric from X-ray crystallography of the latter. The Nb(IV) complexes were unsuitable as CVD precursors. Monomeric [NbSCl3(L–L)] (L–L = MeS(CH2)2SMe, iPrS(CH2)2SiPr, MeS(CH2)3SMe, nBuS(CH2)3SnBu and MeSe(CH2)3SeMe) and dimeric [NbSCl3(SR2)] (R = Me and nBu) were prepared from reaction of [NbSCl3(NCCH3)2] with the ligand in CH2Cl2 solution or reaction of [NbCl5(SR2)] with S(SiMe3)2 in CH2Cl2 solution and characterised by IR, 1H NMR and 93Nb NMR spectroscopies, X-ray crystallography and microanalysis. Isolated complexes [NbSenCl3(L)] (n = 1, L = CH3CN; n = 2, L = nBu2Se) were identified by IR spectroscopy and microanalysis. [NbSCl3(SnBu2)], [NbSCl3(nBuS(CH2)3SnBu)] and [NbSe2Cl3(SenBu2)] were used as single source precursors in LPCVD. The resulting NbS2 and NbSe2 thin films were characterised via X-ray diffraction, SEM and EDX spectroscopy. Isolated complexes of the form, [MBr5(EnBu2)] (M = Nb, Ta; E = S, Se), were identified via IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopies and the Nb complexes were used as single source precursors in LPCVD to deposit NbS2 and NbSe2 thin films. The growth of 2H-/3R-NbSe2 thin films was controlled by varying the temperature used in LPCVD. All NbS2 and 2H-/3R-NbSe2 thin films were characterised using X-ray diffraction, SEM and EDX spectroscopies. A series of new MoCl4 complexes, [MoCl4(ER2)2] (ER2 = Me2S, Me2Se, nBu2S, nBu2Se) and [MoCl4(L–L)] (L–L = MeS(CH2)2SMe, iPrS(CH2)2SiPr, MeS(CH2)3SMe, and MeSe(CH2)3SeMe), were made using MoCl5 or [MoCl4(NCCH3)2] as the Mo source and characterised using IR and UV-visible spectroscopies, X-ray crystallography and microanalysis. Single source LPCVD precursors, [MoCl4(SnBu2)2] and [MoCl4(SenBu2)2], deposited MoS2 or MoSe2 thin films which were characterised via X-ray diffraction, SEM and EDX spectroscopy.


Alarm Bells The presence of DNA in the cytosol of mammalian cells is a danger signal, indicating, for example, that a DNA-containing virus has infected the cell. This signal triggers an innate immune response, which involves the expression of type I interferons, and is critical for antiviral immunity and responses to DNA vaccines. Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) was recently identified as a sensor of cytosolic DNA. Li et al. (p. 1390, published online 29 August) now use knockout mice to provide genetic evidence that, in multiple cell types, cGAS is the primary DNA sensor required for the type I interferon response in vivo. The cytosolic DNA sensor cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase is essential for antiviral immunity in vivo. Invasion of microbial DNA into the cytoplasm of animal cells triggers a cascade of host immune reactions that help clear the infection; however, self DNA in the cytoplasm can cause autoimmune diseases. Biochemical approaches led to the identification of cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) as a cytosolic DNA sensor that triggers innate immune responses. Here, we show that cells from cGAS-deficient (cGas−/−) mice, including fibroblasts, macrophages, and dendritic cells, failed to produce type I interferons and other cytokines in response to DNA transfection or DNA virus infection. cGas−/− mice were more susceptible to lethal infection with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) than wild-type mice. We also show that cGAMP is an adjuvant that boosts antigen-specific T cell activation and antibody production in mice.


Studies were carried out into various aspects of the ecology of Chamelaucium erythrochlorum m.s. and C. roycei m.s. (Myrtaceae), two declared rare and endangered shrubs restricted to the south west of Western Australia. Initially a soil and vegetation survey was a carried out at the site of all known populations of C erythrochlorum and C. roycei and at some nearby environmentally similar areas where the species did not occur. In addition, aspects of the water relations, phenology and reproductive biology of both species was investigated. Measurements of various floral characters and leaf length were compared for a number of the populations of C. erythrochlorum.

Chamelaucium erythrochlorum was found on a range of soils from the infertile gravelly soils at Dardanup Block near Bunbury to fertile red-brown alluvial loams at the Yoongarillup site near Busselton. The soil of the C. roycei sites in the Tutunup-Ruabon area near Busselton varied from moderately acid, brown sandy loams to red-brown loams over a sheet laterite hardpan at a shallow depth.

Classification of the C. erythrochlorum quadrats produced four community groups, determined primarily by understorey species composition. These groups were partly based on geographic factors and partly on topographic position. All quadrats were in the Eucalyptus marginata - E. calophylla or E. marginata - E. haemotoxylon forest structural type.

Classification of the C. roycei sites and other heathland sites, produced three vegetation groups, with two of the groups containing C. roycei. All of the vegetation groups are structurally mid-dense to dense heathland 0.5 to 1.2 metres high with occasional emergents to 3 metres.

Studies into the water relations of C. erythrochlorum, Bossieaea omata and Hypocalymma robustum at Dardanup Block showed that pre-dawn xylem pressure potentials (XPP) were not significantly different between the three species within the C. erythrochlorum "band" in either summer or autumn. C. erythrochlorum was apparently not restricted to this "band" because of increased moisture availability to the adult plants.

Mid-morning XPP only was measured at the C. roycei site (Tutunup), where C. roycei had the second lowest XPP of the six species measured although it was not significantly different from any of them. Some of the heathland species, but not C. roycei, showed no fall in late-moming XPP between December and March which indicates that they were probably accessing abundant water below the laterite hardpan.

Shoot growth of C. erythrochlorum in 1992/93 at Sabina River started in mid July which was about two weeks earlier than at Dardanup. Flowering was also more advanced at Sabina River (August compared to December) and the flowering season lasted considerably longer (until May) than at Dardanup Block where it finished in February.

More plants in the long-unburnt area at Sabina River produced flowers than in the recently burnt area, and they also produced more flowers per plant. In contrast to those at Sabina River very few of the C. erythrochlorum plants monitored at Dardanup Block flowered over the three seasons of the study.

Many of the flowers of C. erythrochlorum at Sabina River were damaged by ant grazing in February. The damage in most cases was caused by the insect chewing a hole in the ovary or eating part of the stamen or petals. Compared to Sabina River there was very little insect grazing of C. erythrochlorum at Dardanup Block.

All adult plants censused at Sabina River survived over the two and a half years of the study. However 15% of the monitored plants at Dardanup Block had died by the end of October 1993. Most of the plant deaths occurred in late autumn or early winter, primarily from the effects of the summer/autumn drought.

Shoot growth in C. roycei started in June and extended through to late January. Flower formation, which was prolific, tended to coincide with shoot growth and plants in the wetter area had the longest flowering season.

By February 1992 almost three quarters of the adult C. roycei at Tutunup had died, apparently from drought. All of the seedlings in the burnt area at Tutunup died in mid-summer while only 17.5% of the seedlings on the railway embankment did so probably because those on the embankment were more mature.

A leaf and floral morphometric study showed that the populations of C. erythrochlorum could be split into those with larger flowers with longer styles and those with smaller flowers with shorter styles. The flowers at Dardanup Block are intermediate between the two groups. The C. erythrochlorum populations can also be split into two groups in regard to leaf length.

A study of ovule and pollen numbers in both rare species showed that the most common number of ovules/flower for C. roycei is 8 (62% of flowers) and that for C. erythrochlorum is 9 (37%) though 10 and 8 ovules/flower were also quite common. In C. erythrochlorum from Sabina River the lower ring of anthers had 20 to 30% more pollen grains than the upper anthers. There was a large difference in the proportion of apparently inviable pollen between the large-flowered and small-flowered types.

The total number of pollen grains per ovule (pollen/ovule ratio) for C. erythrochlorum was about 610 for the large-flowered and small-flowered types assuming 9 ovules/flower which indicates that this species is facultatively xenogamous. However the high proportion of inviable pollen in some plants, and the fact that their ovaries develop only a single ovule, will have a large bearing on the reproductive success of individual plants.

The lower anthers in C. roycei had more pollen grains than those in the upper whorl, though the difference between the two anther positions was less than for C. erythrochlorum. The proportion of apparently inviable grains in C. roycei was much lower than in C. erythrochlorum. The pollen/ovule ratio in C. roycei from Tutunup is about 540, assuming 8 ovules/flower which indicates facultative xenogamy. However, retention of self pollen on the stigma would seem to promote autogamy, or at least prevent cross pollen from reaching the stigma.


There is a growing body of data to suggest that marginated granulocytes mediate much of the pulmonary damage observed during endotoxemia. The mechanism(s) by which endotoxemia initiates neutrophil margination and cytotoxicity remain either controversial or unknown. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine the temporal relationship between endotoxin-induced decreases in mean arterial pressure and circulating neutrophils, 2) to monitor neutrophil activation in vivo by measuring myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the plasma and lymph, and 3) to assess the interaction between endotoxin and complement in activation of neutrophilic oxidative metabolism in vitro. We found that a bolus injection of endotoxin causes a concurrent decrease in both mean arterial pressure and circulating neutrophils at 2 min postinfusion. Blood pressure recovered to approximately 70% of control values by 180 min, whereas circulating neutrophils remain depressed at 20% of control values for the entire experimental period. Using MPO as a marker for neutrophil activation, we found that infusion of endotoxin produces a dramatic increase in plasma and lymph MPO activity, suggesting activation of neutrophilic metabolism in vivo. In vitro data showed that both endotoxin and plasma were required for optimal neutrophilic degranulation and superoxide formation. We conclude that 1) the appearance of MPO in the plasma (or lymph) may be a useful neutrophil marker for neutrophil activation in vivo and may prove useful in following the course of neutrophil-mediated tissue injury during endotoxemia, and 2) endotoxin-activated complement (C5a) activates neutrophils to produce cytotoxic oxidants.


All common contributing factors to epilepsy such as trauma, malignancies and infections are accompanied by different levels of central nervous system inflammation that in turn have been associated with the occurrence of seizure. Emerging data from human brain tissue and experimental models of epilepsy support the proposed involvement of inflammation in epilepsy. Key mediators of this process include, among others: interleukin (IL) -1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, adhesion molecules and component of complement. Recent advances suggest the involvement of specific inflammatory pathways in the pathogenesis of seizures in patients with pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy, highlighting the potential for new therapeutic strategies. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge on the relationship between inflammatory mediators and epilepsy. We also describe experimental and clinical evidence of inflammation in epilepsy with special emphasis on clinical aspects once the epileptogenic focus has been resected. Further insight into the complex role of inflammation in epileptogenesis may provide new treatment options.


engine for early identification of molecular fragments that bind to disease relevant target proteins ultimately leading to drug development (1). Fragments of larger molecules encompassing widely varying chemical space can be used to quickly and cost effectively assess the ligandability of a target protein. NMR spectroscopy is uniquely suited for this process because it can directly and rapidly identify weakly binding fragments which, through chemical refinement, produce promising drug candidates. Unlike protein observe techniques such as SAR (2), ligand observe experiments exploit weak, transient binding of a ligand to a target protein. The presence of excess ligand relative to protein in the sample maintains a steady state population of bound ligands. The fast koff rate enables detection of the ligands free in solution while they still retain the NMR measurable properties of the protein to which they were bound. Specifically both the NOE and transverse relaxation rate, R2, are highly dependent upon a molecule's rotational correlation time, τC. Thus ligands that have associated with large protein molecules will exhibit much shorter T2 values relative to those that did not interact, Figure 1. For example, in the case of a 300 Da fragment (0.2 nsec τC) bound to a 30 kDa protein (20nsec τC), the NOE (cross relaxation) and R2 (dipole-dipole) transverse relaxation rate of bound ligand Practical Aspects of Fragment-Based Screening Experiments in TopSpin


Background: Several studies have found that parents of children with chronic disease or disabilities have higher stress scores than parents of normal children. Parents with children having intellectual disability experience more stress compared to their counterpart who have children with no intellectual disability. Objective : To assess the role of gender in the account of quality of life and family burden among the parents of children with intellectual impairment. Sample : Total a group of 240 participants (120 children with intellectual impairment and 120 equally divided parents of the children) was selected in the study. Design: A cross-sectional study design was used and the study was conducted at a daycare centre of a non-governmental registered organization, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Tools: Seguin Form Board Test (for children), WHO Quality of Life (BREF) Scale and Family Burden Schedule (for parents of the children). Results and conclusion : In the results, it has been found that both parents either mother or father showed an equal level of quality of life and family burden. There is a non-significant difference was seen between parents of children with a low level of intellectual functioning.


In developing a simulator for a new processor architecture, it often is not clear whether it is more efficient to write a new simulator or to modify an existing simulator. Writing a new simulator forces the processor architect to develop or adapt all of the related software tools. However, modifying an existing simulator and related tools, which are usually not well-documented, can be time-consuming and error-prone. We describe the SImulator for Multithreaded Computer Architectures (SIMCA) that was developed with the primary goal of obtaining a functional simulator as quickly as possible to begin evaluating the superthreaded architecture. The performance of the simulator itself was important, but secondary. We achieved our goal using a technique called process-pipelining that exploits the unique features of this new architecture to hide the details of the underlying simulator. This approach allowed us to quickly produce a functional simulator whose performance is only 3.8-4.9 times slower than the base simulator.


Hand written recognition is an interesting area of current artificial intelligence and advanced computing's researchers. The complexity of the language controls the ability and the challenge of recognition its characters, whereas this complexity and uncertainty becomes multiplied. The use of Latin languages like English, or Spanish, limits the uncertainty because of the limited structure of the character. Arabic language characters are very complex in comparison with the most languages in the world. The character in the Arabic language is not static, it has many shapes – in almost – depends on it location in the world, in addition to the convention. More complexity of that, the Arabic characters is being writing continuously connecting the character with the next or the previous – in most –. This research adopted an algorithm to recognize the single segment characters, supposing that, the connected characters are separated and already segmented. This faces all problems of the character shape, location, style, and the user's style of writing. This paper implements a neural network based system that uses cascaded networks to recognize the characters. MATLAB program is designed to test the implementation and recording the results.


Background: Stroke is one of the foremost causes of morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh. It has diverse risk factors. The present study is aimed to observe the common risk factors of stoke in our perspective. Materials and methods: This observational study was conducted for a 1 year period (April 2010 to March 2011) on 100 patients of stroke admitted in different medicine units of Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Different risk factors were identified along with clinical features after diagnosis of stroke of 100 patents. After collection, data were analyzed and presented to find out demographic pattern, clinical presentation and association with different irreversible and modifiable risk factors. Results: Among the 100 patients of stroke age distribution revealed most of the stroke patients were age group 51-60 years (58%) next to which was 61-70 years (22%). Male was 68 (68%) and female 32 (32%). Male to female ratio was 2.1:1. Among the all study patients most were doing business (22%) and engaged in service (20%). Majority of women were housewife (28%). Regarding type of stroke, 82 (82%) cases were ischemic and 18 (18%) were hemorrhagic type of stoke. Regarding analysis of risk factor of stroke hypertension (62%) was found to be the most common risk factor. Next to which was smoking (54%) followed by DM (28%) and heart disease (24%). Conclusion: From the above findings we can conclude that Hypertension, Cigarette smoking, Diabetes mellitus and Ischemic heart disease are the major risk factor of stroke in our setting.
JCMCTA 2017 ; 28 (2) : 12-15


IMPORTANCE
Very preterm infants are at risk of developing encephalopathy of prematurity and long-term neurodevelopmental delay. Erythropoietin treatment is neuroprotective in animal experimental and human clinical studies.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether prophylactic early high-dose recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) in preterm infants improves neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years' corrected age.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Preterm infants born between 26 weeks 0 days' and 31 weeks 6 days' gestation were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial in Switzerland between 2005 and 2012. Neurodevelopmental assessments at age 2 years were completed in 2014.

INTERVENTIONS
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either rhEPO (3000 IU/kg) or placebo (isotonic saline, 0.9%) intravenously within 3 hours, at 12 to 18 hours, and at 36 to 42 hours after birth.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Primary outcome was cognitive development assessed with the Mental Development Index (MDI; norm, 100 [SD, 15]; higher values indicate better function) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, second edition (BSID-II) at 2 years corrected age. The minimal clinically important difference between groups was 5 points (0.3 SD). Secondary outcomes were motor development (assessed with the Psychomotor Development Index), cerebral palsy, hearing or visual impairment, and anthropometric growth parameters.

RESULTS
Among 448 preterm infants randomized (mean gestational age, 29.0 [range, 26.0-30.9] weeks; 264 [59%] female; mean birth weight, 1210 [range, 490-2290] g), 228 were randomized to rhEPO and 220 to placebo. Neurodevelopmental outcome data were available for 365 (81%) at a mean age of 23.6 months. In an intention-to-treat analysis, mean MDI was not statistically significantly different between the rhEPO group (93.5 [SD, 16.0] [95% CI, 91.2 to 95.8]) and the placebo group (94.5 [SD, 17.8] [95% CI, 90.8 to 98.5]) (difference, -1.0 [95% CI, -4.5 to 2.5]; P = .56). No differences were found between groups in the secondary outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Among very preterm infants who received prophylactic early high-dose rhEPO for neuroprotection, compared with infants who received placebo, there were no statistically significant differences in neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years. Follow-up for cognitive and physical problems that may not become evident until later in life is required.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00413946.


An offline ECG compression technique, based on encoding of successive sample differences is proposed. The encoded elements are generated through four stages, viz., down sampling of raw samples, normalization of successive sample differences; data grouping; magnitude and sign encoding; and finally zero element compression. Initially, the compression algorithm is validated with short duration raw ECG samples from PTB database under Physionet. MATLAB simulation results using ptb-db data with 8-bit quantization results a compression ratio (CR) of 9.02 and percentage root mean square difference (PRD) of 2.51. With mit-db these figures are 4.68 and 0.739 respectively. The algorithm is presently being implemented in a wireless telecardiology system using a standalone embedded system.


We present calculations of the zero-temperature Casimir interaction between two freestanding graphene sheets as well as between a graphene sheet and a substrate. Results are given for undoped graphene and for a set of doping levels covering the range of experimentally accessible values. We describe different approaches that can be used to derive the interaction. We point out both the predicted power law for the interaction and the actual distance dependence.


the subsequent development of abnormal uterine artery Doppler velocimetry (UTDV) in the second trimester (2T). Study design: This study is based on a cohort study design to examine the predictive value of PlGF, sEng and sVEGFR-1 plasma concentrations in the identification of patients destined to develop PE. Only patients that had samples obtained between 8–13 weeks and subsequently had UTDV between 20–25 weeks were included (n = 1,316). Results: 1) Women destined to have abnormal UTDV in the 2T had a lower median 1T plasma PlGF concentration than those with normal UTDV; 2) 1T plasma PlGF concentration of < 26.8 pg/ml (derived by ROC analysis) was associated with abnormalities in UTDV in the 2T (odd ratio 3.2; 95% CI 1.8–5.5) after adjusting for confounders; and 3). Women with abnormal UTDV, with and without subsequent PE, had a lower median 1T plasma PLGF concentration than those with normal UTDV and no PE. Conclusion: A low 1T plasma PlGF concentration is associated with increased impedance to flow in the uterine circulation in the 2T, regardless of whether or not the patient developed PE. These findings suggest that PlGF plays an important role in early placentation.


The quantitative mapping of a database that represents a finite set of classified and/or unclassified data points may be decomposed into three distinctive learning tasks: (1) detection of the structure of each class model with locally mixture clusters; (2) estimation of the data distributions for each induced cluster inside each class; and (3) classification of the data into classes that realizes the data memberships. The mapping function accomplished by the probabilistic modular networks may then be constructed as the optimal estimator with respect to information theory, and each of the three tasks can be interpreted as an independent objective in real-world applications. We adapt a model fitting scheme that determines both the number and kernel of local clusters using information-theoretic criteria. The class distribution functions are then obtained by learning generalized Gaussian mixtures, where a soft classification of the data is performed by an efficient incremental algorithm. Further classification of the data is treated as a hard Bayesian detection problem, in particular, the decision boundaries between the classes are fine tuned by a reinforce or antireinforce supervised learning scheme. Examples of the application of this framework to medical image quantification, automated face recognition, and featured database analysis, are presented as well.


This thesis investigates New Zealand women's menstrual knowledge within a cultural, social and historical context. An analysis or dominant menstrual discourses and their impact on women's menstrual knowledge was undertaken from a feminist poststructural perspective. At the outset, my initial objectives were to examine and record the social construction of menstruation and to determine the extent to which it impacted on New Zealand women's menstrual knowledge. Following a reading of feminist poststructuralism, the initial objective of measuring and quantifying women's menstrual knowledge changed to an approach focusing on discourse. Similarly, I moved to a new methodological focus on feminist epistemologies. As a result, the thesis examines the effects of New Zealand cultural practices and social meanings on women's 'knowing' about menstruation. It seeks to establish the boundaries and markers that both construct and constrain women's menstrual knowledge.  Thirty-seven New Zealand women ranging in age from fourteen to eighty-six years contributed their narratives during open-ended interviews. The women's stories located various discursive practices that impacted on their menstrual knowledge and on their adherence to a common or popular menstrual etiquette. Discourses that construct and confine what, and how, women know about their menstrual cycle are identified and discussed. These scientific, medical, and consumerist discourses intersect and overlap to constitute a dominant menstrual discourse. Menstrual product advertising is identified as a prevailing context that surrounds young women as they become menstruants. Discursive practices such as euphemisms, notions of cleanliness and hygiene, authority through technology, and the commodification of feminist imagery contribute to representations that devalue and stigmatise menstruation. This dominant menstrual discourse can be maintained or disrupted through the way mothers impart menstrual knowledge to their daughters. Mothers are faced with the contradiction of preparing their daughters for an experience that is presented as normal yet constructed within strategies of concealment that menstruating women are expected to follow. When young women do become menstraunts, they are faced with the menstrual 'script' that includes the emotional themes of embarrassment, anxiety and ambivalence. The formal acquisition of menstrual knowledge takes place in our schools and again is positioned within a contradictory framework. Menstruation is conveyed as 'ordinary' yet the teaching of the menstrual cycle is often 'extraordinary' 'Menstruation' is routinely taught in sex-segregated classes, in the evening, in the company of parents and often located within scientific and medical discourses.  This thesis offers new insight into the different ways New Zealand women construct knowledge about our bleeding bodies. Its uniqueness rests with die theoretical framework used to analyse research data. A feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis enabled the positioning of the women's accounts within a social, historical and cultural context, and the identification of a new way of analysing the impact of discursive practices upon meaning and experience of menstruation.


A Nodulisporium species (designated Ti-13) was isolated as an endophyte from Cassia fistula. The fungus produces a spectrum of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that includes ethanol, acetaldehyde and 1,8-cineole as major components. Initial observations of the fungal isolate suggested that reversible attenuation of the organism via removal from the host and successive transfers in pure culture resulted in a 50 % decrease in cineole production unrelated to an overall alteration in fungal growth. A compound (CPM1) was obtained from Betula pendula (silver birch) that increases the production of 1,8-cineole by an attenuated Ti-13 strain to its original level, as measured by a novel bioassay method employing a 1,8-cineole-sensitive fungus (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum). The host plant produces similar compounds possessing this activity. Bioactivity assays with structurally similar compounds such as ferulic acid and gallic acid suggested that the CPM1 does not act as a simple precursor to the biosynthesis of 1,8-cineole. NMR spectroscopy and HPLC-ES-MS indicated that the CPM1 is a para-substituted benzene with alkyl and carboxyl substituents. The VOCs of Ti-13, especially 1,8-cineole, have potential applications in the industrial, fuel and medical fields.


On the grounds of clinico-physiologic investigations the author revises the existing dual theory of photoreception. The paper describes complex clinical investigations of visual functions in patients with alimentary and essential hemeralopias and shows that rods and cones do not function in conditions of scotopic illumination without the presence of rhodopsin. On the grounds of investigations of the phenomenon of inversion and depression in the short-wave part of the visible spectrum in normal persons after dark adaptation in conditions of scotopic illumination, the author comes to a conclusion that there is a so-called "rhodopsin filter" just the presence of which in the process of dark adaptation creates conditions for appearance of this phenomenon. The author believes that there exist two kinds of photoreception: a direct disc two-component and a mediated rhodopsin one-component, as well as the third, transitory, that corresponds to those conditions of illumination in which the Purkinje's phenomenon appears.


Forecasting the future states of a complex system is a complicated challenge that is encountered in many industrial applications covered in the community of prognostics and health management. Practically, states can be either continuous or discrete: Continuous states generally represent the value of a signal while discrete states generally depict functioning modes reflecting the current degradation. For each case, specific techniques exist. In this paper, we propose an approach based on case-based reasoning that jointly estimates the future values of the continuous signal and the future discrete modes. The main characteristics of the proposed approach are the following: 1) It relies on the K-nearest neighbor algorithm based on belief function theory; 2) belief functions allow the user to represent his/her partial knowledge concerning the possible states in the training data set, particularly concerning transitions between functioning modes which are imprecisely known; and 3) two distinct strategies are proposed for state prediction, and the fusion of both strategies is also considered. Two real data sets were used in order to assess the performance in estimating future breakdown of a real system.


#DSON2022
Join us for a Summer Send-Off in your region to connect with current students, families and alumni before the start of the academic year!

Additional information and registration details will be available in the coming weeks.

Dickinson staff representatives will be in attendance and look forward to sharing news from the college and answering your questions!


The paper presents the methodology of conducting those investigations designed to study the intestinal phase of gastric secretion, with the duodenal pH having been taken as the integral index. An acetylcholine test has been developed suggesting to us a preservation of the inhibitory duodenogastral reflex. The study into the gastric secretion in 69 patients with complications of peptic ulcer showed that the intraduodenal pH was disturbed in 39.1 percent of the patients, which fact warrants medicamentous and surgical correction to be instituted in them.


of what is casually known as intelligence. The differences are apparent not only in school, from kindergarten to college, but also in the most ordinary circumstances: in the words people use and comprehend, in their differing abilities to read a map or follow directions, or in their capacities for remembering telephone numbers or figuring change. The variations in these specific skills are so common that they are often taken for granted. Yet what makes people so different? It would be reasonable to think that the environment is the source of differences in cognitive skills—that we are what we learn. It is clear, for example, that human beings are not born with a full vocabulary; they have to learn words. Hence, learning must be the mechanism by which differences in vocabulary arise among individuals. And differences in experience—say, in the extent to which parents model and encourage vocabulary skills or in the quality of language training provided by schools—must be responsible for individual differences in learning. Earlier in this century psychology was in fact dominated by environmental explanations for variance in cognitive abilities. More recently, however, most psychologists have begun to embrace a more balanced view: one in which nature and nurture interact in cognitive development. During the past few decades, studies in genetics have pointed to a substantial role for heredity in molding the components of intellect, and researchers have even begun to track down the genes involved in cognitive function. These findings do not refute the notion that environmental factors shape the learning process. Instead they suggest that differences in people's genes affect how easily they learn. Just how much do genes and envi-


Background: Durotomy induced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage is a terrible complication in spine surgery that could be occurred even with expertise. The estimated rate of CSF leakage in intentional durotomies varies from 5 to 13% in intradural spinal tumor resection to even higher rate for surgeries for tethered cord syndrome or Chiari I malformation. Different treatment modalities are utilized as conservative measures, direct sutures, autograft, dural substitutes and sealant agents to overcome this complication. Patient and method: This is a retrospective descriptive study of thirty patients were operated upon at neurosurgery department of Elsahil teaching hospital from November 2014 to November 2019. They were operated for intradural spinal cord tumor excision followed by primary direct sutural repair of the durotomy site augmented with autograft and concomitant insertion of subfascial tube as a drainage tube for seven to ten days. Aim: To evaluate the results of primary direct dural repair with continuous locking sutures and on lay gel foam layer augmented with autograft (fat or muscle) without sealant agents. With concomitant insertion of subfascial tube closed system as drainage in planned intradural surgery. Results: After subfascial tube removal three cases (10%) show persistent leakage that managed conservatively with tapering cessation within three J Spine Res Surg 2020; 2 (4): 130-137 DOI: 10. 26502/fjsrs0023 Journal of Spine Research and Surgery 131 weeks till complete cessation of the CSF leakage occur. One of the three cases developed pseudomeningocele (3.3%) after complete wound closure and cessation of the leakage. Conclusion: Direct sutural repair of the durotomy site with continuous locking sutural closure and on lay gel foam layer and fat or muscle graft without any sealant agents, and concomitant insertion of subfascial tube closed system as a drainage tube for seven to ten days, is effective and safe economic method for dural repair.


This project is a research about the spiritual history of locations, objects and their meanings. The chronicles of history are tied to the locality: there is no history without location. I developed an artistic form and language for the complex connections between history and presence in the context of this location, its metaphorical or narrative content and its objects.Catching the sun in a cup / German title Brunnen und Spiegel, is a series of objects and installations in the Bukow church of the St. Bartholomew pilgrimage and is close to the park of Castle Nennhausen in Brandenburg, near Berlin, Germany. The church was built in 996 AD on the location of a Slavonic sacred well. Later the church became a station of the St. Bartholomew pilgrimage. The church guarded the blood of St.Bartholomew and the water of the holy well. The poet Friedrich de Lamotte Fouquee lived in the nearby Nennhausen Palace and wrote the famous piece Undine, which was the model for the Little Mermaid by the Danish writer H.C. Anderson. All works and installations are referring to the history and Romantic atmosphere of these two locations. The well and mirror installation connect the sun with the water of the metaphorical underworld by rebuilding the well in the church at its former location and by drawing attention to how the sun reflects itself in the water. The exhibition refers to different objects and installations in the sacred pilgrimage and the miraculous, holy relics. The installations on the lake of the Nennhausen Palace are referring to the German Romantic period, in memory of the great poem "Undine" (Arielle) that was written in this location almost 200 years ago.


Precipitation maxima during the West African summer monsoon propagate generally westward in tandem with African easterly waves. A heretofore unreported, repeating pattern of northward drift of precipitation maxima is detected on Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM satellite) time-latitude distributions of daily accumulations over the eastern tropical Atlantic. Corresponding 3-hourly TRMM accumulations show that the northward drifting envelopes of precipitation during August 2006 are often comprised of individual swaths propagating towards the southwest, presumably as mesoscale squall lines. The implied northward drift on the time-latitude distribution is a component of a resultant northwestward movement. The study examines the entire available record of TRMM precipitation observations, 1998-2010, to summarize TRMM maxima propagation over the eastern tropical Atlantic. Meridional displacements of precipitation maxima are most prevalent in June-September 2006, occurring less frequently during other summers. An investigation of geopotential and circulation fields, limited to two case studies, suggests mechanisms to explain some of the observed propagation of TRMM maxima. In one event, northward drift of the precipitation envelope is consistent with the corresponding displacement of the intertropical convergence zone trough, although the southwest propagation of individual mesoscale convection maxima does not correspond to any synoptic feature on reanalysis circulation or reanalysis downscaled by a regional model. One speculation is that southwestward propagation of precipitation maxima could be caused by regeneration of convection at outflow boundaries of mature thunderstorms.


Si1-xGex alloys with small atomic fraction of Ge, x≤ 0.05 are investigated. The Hall mobility of electrons in n-type materials was measured at cryogenic temperatures, T≤ 100 K. Taking into account the partial mobility due to charge carrier scattering by ionized centers and phonons it is possible to estimate the partial mobility associated with alloy scattering. It appears that this contribution to the electron mobility in n-Si1-xGex at low temperatures is important even at x≈0.01. The obtained results can be useful for understanding the nature of SiGe alloys and their transport properties.


Understanding the mechanisms which determine the capacity of any species to adapt to changing environmental conditions is one of the foremost requirements in accurately predicting which populations, species and clades are likely to survive ongoing, rapid, climate change. The polar oceans are amongst the most rapidly changing environments on earth with reduced regional sea ice duration and extent, and their faunas expected sensitivity to warming and acidification. These changes potentially pose a significant threat to a number of polar fauna. There is, therefore, a critical need to assess the vulnerability of a wide range of species to determine the tipping points, or weak links in marine assemblages. Knowledge of the effect of multiple stressors on polar marine fauna has advanced over the last 40 years, but there are still many data gaps. This study applies ecological risk assessment techniques to the increasing knowledge of polar species' physiological capacities to identify their exposure to climate change and their vulnerability to this exposure. This relatively rapid, semi-quantitative assessment, provides a layer of vulnerability on top of climate envelope models, until such times as more extensive physiological data sets can be produced. The risk assessment identified more species that are likely to benefit from the near future predicted change (the winners), especially predators and deposit feeders. Fewer species were scored at risk (the losers), although animals that feed on krill were consistently as under the most risk.


SUMMARY The Memorial Lychgate of St Mary's Church at Whitkirk in east Leeds was dedicated in 1949. It is an unusual, perhaps unique, War Memorial that commemorates symbolic features from the Second World War. Two stonework panels on the outside of the walls contain blocks from six important war damaged buildings. The stones can be identified as follows: Permian Magnesian Limestone (Cadeby Formation, Anston Stone) from the Houses of Parliament, London; Upper Jurassic Portland Stone from St Paul's Cathedral, London; Triassic New Red Sandstone (Sherwood Sandstone Group, Hollington Formation) from Coventry Cathedral; Middle Jurassic Ketton Stone from St Martin-le-Grand in York (used for 1920–1930s restoration work); Carboniferous Millstone Grit (Lower Follifoot Grit) from Leeds Town Hall; and Carboniferous Coal Measures (Elland Flags, Harehills Stone) from the Leeds Philosophical Hall and Museum. All these stones played an important part in the history of British building stones, and it is remarkable to find examples of them all at one locality. Their source is discussed.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to close the gap between the theoretical nature of existing contributions in customer engagement value (CEV) and its need to practically empower business decisions. This is done by proposing a framework that consists of three techniques, each of which combines the components of CEV to make it more comprehensive and applicable. The paper also reviews and analyzes the work that has been done so far in the area of CEV whether in business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C) or consumer to consumer (C2C) markets.

Design/methodology/approach
CEV is a comprehensive term that measures the total value of the customer through capturing his transactional and non-transactional behaviors. Hence, it is an essential term for measuring the value of the customer in direct marketing. This motivates researchers to compete in developing models to maximize CEV. Meanwhile, most of the existing models are conceptual and the majority of them lack applicability due to many reasons. First, these models relied on a linear version of the CEV model, hence double-counting the value of the customer; also they weighted the components of CEV equally, which is unrealistic. Finally, the effect of the environmental components in determining the engagement level of each customer was almost ignored. In this paper, two main contributions are presented. First, a summary and analysis of the contributions of the literature in the CEV field for different market types whether in B2C, B2B or C2C. Furthermore, three modifications are added to the existing models. The first model introduces a non-linear relationship of the components of CEV. The second model is a weighted linear model of these components. Finally, the third model adds the environmental factors to the CEV components. All the proposed models are theoretical in nature, however, these models are expected to show superiority when being applied to real data sets due to their ability to capture the complexity in the relationship between the firm and its customers in real-life situations. The proposed models are expected to attract the practitioners and other researchers and they both are encouraged to apply the proposed models on real-life data sets, test their performance, compare them against each other, to be able to apply each of them on the best suitable data set and business scenario.

Findings
Based on the review and analysis that has been done on about 87 papers, it is found that the majority of the contributions that have been done in the area of CEV are theoretical in nature, in spite of the effectiveness of CEV in empowering business decision. It is also found that few researchers proposed a set of theoretical comprehensive frameworks that combined CEV's components together. Meanwhile, those frameworks are not practically applicable.

Research limitations/implications
Although the contribution of the proposed models expected to attract both researchers and practitioners, these are not applied to real-life case studies to prove their effectiveness.

Practical implications
The research in this paper has many industrial and managerial implications. First, it helps managers and decision takers to treat the customers as assets and cost-free resources who can work with the firm to achieve what's both aims to (i.e. increase customer satisfaction and firm's profitability). Second, it helps the firm to determine the total value of each customer and treat its customers accordingly. Third, it empowers the managers to do target marketing, based on grouping the customers upon their total engagement. This would save time and cost and for sure increase the profitability and customer satisfaction. Forth, the proposed models take into consideration not only the transactional behavior of the customers but also the non-transactional factors that play a significant role in formulating the relationship between the firm and its customers.

Originality/value
This is hereby to certify that the paper is original, neither the paper nor a part of it is under consideration for publication anywhere else. Also, this study has no conflicts of interest to disclose.


Employment-based reinforcement interventions have been used to promote abstinence from drugs among chronically unemployed injection drug users. The current study used an employment-based reinforcement intervention to promote opioid and cocaine abstinence among opioid and/or cocaine-dependent, HIV-positive participants who had recently completed a brief inpatient detoxification. Participants (n = 46) were randomly assigned to an abstinence and work group that was required to provide negative urine samples in order to enter the workplace and to earn incentives for work (n = 16), a work-only group that was permitted to enter the workplace and to earn incentives independent of drug use (n = 15), and a no-voucher control group that did not receive any incentives for working (n = 15) over a 26-week period. The primary outcome was urinalysis-confirmed opioid, cocaine, and combined opioid/cocaine abstinence. Participants were 78% male and 89% African American. Results showed no significant between-groups differences in urinalysis-verified drug abstinence or HIV risk behaviors during the 6-month intervention. The work-only group had significantly greater workplace attendance, and worked more minutes per day when compared to the no-voucher group. Several features of the study design, including the lack of an induction period, setting the threshold for entering the workplace too high by requiring immediate abstinence from several drugs, and increasing the risk of relapse by providing a brief detoxification that was not supported by any continued pharmacological intervention, likely prevented the workplace from becoming established as a reinforcer that could be used to promote drug abstinence. However, increases in workplace attendance have important implications for adult training programs.


Inspired by previous research on the promising internal model-based impedance control (IMBIC) scheme, it was implemented and experiments were undertaken to determine the stochastic estimation of human arm impedance. A 2-DOF selective compliant assembly robot arm (SCARA) robot with significant nonlinear frictions was used in the experiments in order to test the accuracy and reliability of the estimation under nonlinear frictions, with the IMBIC and with a proportional derivative (PD) control, respectively. After the stochastic estimation method with the SCARA robot and the IMBIC was validated using a spring array, the method was applied to the estimation of human arm impedance. The experimental results demonstrated that the stochastic estimation using the IMBIC yields accurate and reliable estimations even under substantial frictions: the multiple coherence functions exceeded 0.95 throughout the frequency range investigated and the estimated magnitudes and phases matched well with a second-order best-fit model. Furthermore, the best-fit model demonstrated reasonable agreement with the results of previous research. The stochastic estimation using the IMBIC has also demonstrated effectiveness in the estimation of human arm impedance using conventional robots.


Expression of TGF‐β4 mRNA and protein was studied in the developing chicken embryo using specific cDNA probes and antibodies for chicken TGF‐β4. Expression of TGF‐β4 mRNA was detected by day 4 of incubation (Hamburger and Hamilton stage 22, E4) by RNA Northern blot analysis and increased with developmental age until day 12 of incubation (stage 38, E12) where it was detected in every embryonic tissue examined, with expression being highest in smooth muscle and lowest in the kidney. The steady‐state level of expression of TGF‐β4 mRNA remained relatively constant in most embryonic tissues through day 19 (stage 45, E19). In situ hybridization analysis detected TGF‐β4 mRNA as early as the "definitive primitive streak" stage (stage 4); during neurulation (stage 10), TGF‐β4 mRNA was detected in all three germ layers, including neuroectoderm. Following neurulation, TGF‐β4 mRNA was detected in the neural tube, notochord, ectoderm, endoderm, sclerotome, and myotome, but not dermotome at stage 16. By day 6 of incubation (stage 29, E6), TGF‐β4 mRNA was localized in several tissues including heart, lung, and gizzard. Immunohistochemical staining analysis also showed expression of TGF‐β4 protein in all three germ layers as early as stage 4 in various cell types in qualitatively similar locations as TGF‐β4 mRNA. These results suggest that TGF‐β4 may play an important role in the development of many tissues in the chicken. © 1993 Wiley Liss, Inc.


The popular arts and mass culture represent our environment. The flood of their products reduces high art to minority status. This situation leads us to reconsider the privileged status of high art and the role of aesthetics as its theory, which is my main focus here. I take up three different cultural eras: early modern times, when the notions of art and aesthetics as a philosophical discipline were founded; our own day as the time of mass culture; and, lastly, the popular culture in the Edo period in Japan, the seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries, which reflected different choices. In early modern Europe, the popular arts were born at the same time as high art. Art for the use of the people became possible because of the increase in productivity and wealth. There was a different notion of popular art as art produced by the people, a notion associated with Herder. Popular art, in this sense, was claimed to be the true art according to the concept of creativity from below and the plant model concretizing that concept. Modern aesthetics adopted the same plant model to insist on individuality as genius, for that was the only way in the commercialized world to win the right of free creative activity backed up by the right of intellectual property. Hence, high art was consecrated thanks to popular art, which in Herder's sense reserved its own right. By mass culture, I mean the aesthetic and intellectual activities mediated by the systems of mass media or, broadly, those activities in "the age of mechanical reproduction." Forms of mass culture, such as movies, TV, popular songs, comics, video games, fashion, advertisements, websites, and so on, quantitatively overwhelm high art, and, in its forms of experience, mass culture obscures the sacred border of art. The situation is similar to when art and aesthetics were about to be established. The difference is that art is now firmly recognized as high culture, and the role of aesthetics is not to claim the right of art but only to justify the privilege art is already enjoying. A new aesthetics is to be hoped for, one that looks for a new order in the nebulosity of mass culture. Popular culture in the Edo period in Japan, including ukiyo-e, haikai and kabuki theater, offers a counter example to the Western modern period and a sense of possibility for a new aesthetics. In this period, the people were not only consumers but also producers of culture. Traditional high culture existed but popular culture was segregated from it. Creativity, however, was absolutely on the side of the popular; the three forms of art mentioned above were new inventions of the people. Literature was not separated from the sciences of ethics and still fulfilled a critical function. The Ukiyo-e edition was of a conglomerated character: its subjects or genres were taken from the erotic world, sports, theater and tourism. These suggest the possibility of a different constellation of cultural fields for a new aesthetics.


Histoid leprosy is a rare form of multibacillary leprosy with distinct clinical and histopathological features. It is a variant of lepromatous leprosy with a very high bacillary load. It appears in patients as relapse after dapsone monotherapy and resistance or rarely, "de novo." Although leprosy is slowly declining the exact mode of transmission is unclear. At least until recently, the most widely held belief was that the disease was transmitted by contact between cases of leprosy and healthy persons. Transmission by the respiratory route is also gaining ground. There are other possibilities such as transmission through insects, which cannot be completely ruled out. However, the present case report possibly suggests the role of skin as a portal of both exit and entry for the bacillus in histoid leprosy transmission. De novo form of histoid leprosy has numerous solid staining bacteria inside the epidermis. The reports show that these bacilli can be eliminated from the intact epidermis, which indicate an unusual role of the skin in the transmission of leprosy.


Aims Routine application of PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) in colorectal cancer (CRC) is limited due to lack of standardized scoring criteria, antibody clones, and intratumoral staining heterogeneity. We assessed PD-L1 protein expression on full face CRC tissue sections and applied two algorithms based on the published clinical trials that support the recent FDA approval for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPI) therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods PD-L1/CD274 IHC (Roche/Ventana, clone SP142) was performed on representative tumour blocks from 52 mismatch repair-deficient (MMR-D) and 52 MMR-proficient (MMR-P) CRCs. Membranous PD-L1 expression was scored for the tumour cell (TC) and tumour-infiltrating immune cell (IC) components. PD-L1 positivity status was determined based on the published NSCLC clinical trials that utilized the Ventana SP142 assay. Hybrid capture-based comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) was performed on a separate set of 2268 clinically advanced CRCs and the frequency of PD-L1/PD-L2 amplification was determined. Results PD-L1 expression in the TC and IC correlated with MMR-D (p=0.013, p<0.0001), T stage (p=0.036, p=0.0036) and clinical stage (p=0.022, p=0.0037). PD-L1 positivity status correlated with MMR-D by two algorithms. Five of 2268 (<1%) advansced CRCs demonstrated amplification of either the PD-L1 or PD-L2 genes by CGP. Conclusions PD-L1 expression in TC and IC is associated with advanced stage and MMR-D. PD-L1 positivity status by the published algorithm is associated with MMR-D. PD-L1 amplification is extremely uncommon in CRC. Evaluation of whole tissue section and incorporation of IC staining enhance the sensitivity to screen patients who may benefit from ICPI therapy.


Orthogonal test method was applied to optimize the ultrasonic extraction of proanthocyanidin from peanut skin. On the basis of single factor test, the influencing factors of extraction power, temperature, time, solid-liquid ratio, ethanol concentrationultrasonic frequencies were determined by orthogonal test method with five factors and four levels in the ultrasonic frequency of 28 KHz. The results of the orthogonal test showed , the effects of five factors on ultrasonic extraction of proanthocyanidin from peanut skin were listed in the order of importance as: solid-liquid radio > ultrasonic power > time > temperature > ethanol, the optimum extraction conditions were as follows: ultrasonic output power 120W , extraction temperature 35°C, extraction time 5 min, solid-liquid ratio 1:24, ethanol concentration 55%.Under the optimum extraction, the extraction rate of proanthocyanidin was 12.1%.


Background: Traumatic events and armed conflicts can lead to many mental disorders, especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in children. We investigated the PTSD symptoms, psychosocial difficulties, general health levels of the parents, and direct and indirect effects of trauma on psychological outcomes. Materials and Methods: A total of 482 children were included in the study. Two hundred and eight of those children were from Derik district, where street fights, curfews, and conflict have been experienced, and 274 of those children were from Yeşilli district, where no conflicts have been observed despite being in the same province. All children filled out the child posttraumatic stress disorder reaction index, the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), and parents filled out the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ). Results: All children showed moderate PTSD symptoms; however, no significant difference was observed between the two groups. In the exposed group, children, who had to leave their homes for a while due to conflicts, had worse PTSD symptoms, higher SDQ difficulty scores, and parents' GHQ scores. It was determined that being a female having high maternal GHQ scores and leaving home due to the conflicts significantly increase the risk of occurrence of trauma symptoms. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that children are susceptible to the direct and indirect effects of trauma. It is crucial for intervention programs to be developed for the detection, prevention, and treatment of PTSD symptoms to be applied to all children, regardless of exposure type, in areas affected by conflict.


Background : Patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD) are at higher risk for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infections than in general population. Strict infection control is essential to prevent nosocomial transmission. We aimed to investigate the incidence of HBV infection in the HD population in Sanglah General Hospital as well as risk factors acquired HBV infection. Method : All adult patients receiving maintenance HD (n=267) in 3 dialysis units at Sanglah Hospital were studied between March to June 2016. In this study, medical record of patients on maintenance hemodialysis were reviewed and the patients were interviewed by the researchers to collect data regarding the serology status of these patients before and during HD, and potential risk factors which could be associated with HBV acquisition. Results : Participant mean age was 54.07 ± 0.80 years and 154 (57.7%) were male.We found 21 patients (7.8%) were sero-positive for HBV (HBsAg positive) with mean titer was 9.26±1.85. Of the sero-positive patients,1 patient (4.8%) were known to be infected before the initiation of HD and 20 patients (95.2%) were infected during HD. Incidence of HBV infection during  HD was 7.5% (20/266). Sero-positive patients were younger with mean age was 51.81±2.76 years, had longer time on dialysis and had previous blood transfusions. Risk factors, which significant associated with hepatitis B infection were history of transfusion (p<0.01; OR: 2.49; 95%CI: 1.29-8.18) and duration of hemodialysis (p < 0.01; OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.03-3.74). Conclusion : Patients on maintenance HD in Sanglah General Hospital have a high incidence of HBV infection. The factors associated with HBV infection are highly suggestive of nosocomial transmission within HD units. History of transfusion and duration of hemodialysis were significant risk factors for HBV infection in patients receiving maintenance HD.


General relativity allows for the existence of closed time-like curves, along which a material object could travel back in time and interact with its past self. This possibility raises the question whether certain initial conditions, or more generally local operations, lead to inconsistencies and should thus be forbidden. Here we consider the most general deterministic dynamics connecting classical degrees of freedom defined on a set of bounded space-time regions, requiring that it is compatible with arbitrary operations performed in the local regions. We find that any such dynamics can be realised through reversible interactions. We further find that consistency with local operations is compatible with non-trivial time travel: three parties can interact in such a way to be all both in the future and in the past of each other, while being free to perform arbitrary local operations.


Background: Malaria is a major public health problem and principal cause of morbidity and mortality in Zambia. We investigated key factors that may be associated with the utilisation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) as a malaria prevention strategy among women of reproductive age (15–49) in Zambia.
Methods: Data on the characteristics of women (n=4567), ownership and utilisation of ITNs were obtained among others from the Zambia National Malaria Indicator Survey of 2010 (ZMIS 2010). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of ITN utilisation using Stata 11 (College Station, Texas, USA). Absence, <10% was the most important cause of non-response.
Results: Overall (n=4567), the median age was 27 (IQR 20.3). The proportion of respondents aged 15–19, was 21.1%. Those who resided in rural areas accounted for 59.3% and less than half (40%) had acquired primary level education. The proportion of the women who lived in households with at least one ITN was 69% and those who slept under an ITN on the night before the survey was 46%. Net use among those living in a household with at least one ITN was significantly higher in rural areas than urban areas (52% vs. 38%, P<0.01). The predictors of ITN use included age, having <5 children, information availability and educational level. Whereas use of ITNs was less likely in households with a higher number of children under five years (OR, 0.62; 95%CI 0.42, 0.92), a higher likelihood for use was seen in older women than in younger women (OR, 1.36; 95%CI 1.27, 1.47) who reported having heard any information on malaria (OR, 1.70; 95%CI 1.30, 2.24) and having had a higher level of education (OR, 1.58; 95%CI 1.34, 1.86). The household and eligible women response rates were 97.2% and 89.6% respectively.
Conclusion: ITN ownership did not necessarily mean utilisation in this population. Differential ITNs utilisation observed might indicate limitations in past malaria control efforts. Strategic ITNs utilisation promotional campaigns should thus consider various geographical and demographical contextual differentials such as education levels in this setting.


A novel implementation of discrete complex image method (DCIM) based on the Sommmerfeld branch cut is pro posed to accurately capture the far-field behavior of the layered medium Green's function as a complement to the traditional DCIM. By contour deformation, the Green's function can be naturally decomposed into branch-cut integration (radiation modes) and pole contributions (guided modes). For branch-cut integration, matrix pencil method is applied, and the alternative Sommerfeld identity in terms of kz integration is utilized to get a closed-form solution. The guided modes are accounted for with a pole-searching algorithm. Both one-branch-cut and two-branch-cut cases are studied. Several numerical results are presented to validate this method.


Cyclins are key components of the cell cycle progression machinery. They activate their partner-dependent kinases (CDKs) and target them to respective substrate proteins within the cell. CDK-mediated phosphorylation of specific sets of proteins drives the cell through particular phases or checkpoints of the cell cycle. During unperturbed growth of normal cells, the timing of expression of several cyclins is discontinuous, occurring at discrete and well-defined periods of the cell cycle. Immunocytochemical detection of cyclins in relation to cell cycle position (DNA content) by multiparameter flow cytometric techniques has provided a new approach to cell cycle studies. This approach, like no other method, can be used to detect the "unscheduled" expression of cyclins, namely, the presentation of G1 cyclins by cells in G2/M and of G2/M cyclins by G1 cells, without the need for cell synchronization. By use of multiparameter flow cytometric and laser scanning cytometric analysis, we correlated the expression of cyclin B1 with cell cycle position in normal lymphocytes stimulated to proliferate by the mitogen phytohemagglutinin and in 28 primary human tumors of different organ and type. Eighteen of the 28 tumors expressed the cyclin B1 in more than 5% of cells (B1 positive), and the rest showed cyclin expression from 2.1 to 5% (B1 negative). In normal lymphocytes, the expression of cyclin B1 was restricted to very late S and G2 + M phases of the cell cycle. In 15 of 18 primary tumors studied, the expression of cyclin B1 was "unscheduled" (unrestricted to particular phases of the cycle). The data suggest that the "unscheduled" expression of cyclin B1 might be a common defect in neoplasia.


Forces defined in the framework of optical reference geometry are introduced in the case of stationary and axially symmetric Kerr black hole and naked-singularity space–times with a repulsive cosmological constant. Properties of the forces acting on test particles moving along circular orbits in the equatorial plane are discussed, whereas it is shown where the gravitational force vanishes and changes its orientation and where the centrifugal force vanishes and changes its orientation independently of the velocity of test particles related to the optical geometry; the Coriolis force does not vanish for the velocity being nonzero. The space–times are classified according to the number of circular orbits where the gravitational and centrifugal forces vanish.


We review results on the in vivo properties of neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) that receives its afferent input from the retina and projects to the visual cortex. In addition, the dLGN receives input from the brain stem and from a rather strong corticothalamic back-projection, which originates in layer 6 of the visual cortex. We compare the behaviour of dLGN cells during spontaneous changes of the frequency contents of the electroencephalograph (EEG) (which are mainly related to a changing brain stem influence), with those that are obtained when experimentally silencing the corticothalamic feedback. The spatial and temporal response properties of dLGN cells are compared during these two conditions, and we report that the neurons behave similarly during a synchronized EEG state and during inactive corticothalamic feedback. In both situations, dLGN cells are rather phasic and their remaining tonic activity is temporally dispersed, indicating a hyperpolarizing effect. By means of a novel method, we were able to chronically eliminate a large proportion of the corticothalamic projection neurons from the otherwise intact cortex. In this condition, we found that cortical cells also lose their EEG specific response differences but, in this instance, probably due to a facilitatory (depolarizing) plasticity reaction of the remaining network.


An elevated plasma apolipoprotein B (apoB) level is a strong predictor of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Epidemiologic and family linkage studies have suggested a genetic basis for the wide variations of plasma apoB levels in the general population. Using a human apoB transgenic (HuBTg) mouse model, we have previously shown that hepatic apoB-100 secretion is a major determinant of the high and low plasma human apoB levels in HuBTg mice of the C57BL/6 (B6) and 129/Sv (129) strains, respectively. In the present article, we present the identification of two novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) as major regulators of plasma human apoB levels in the F(2) and N(2) (backcrossed) offspring (n = 572) derived from crosses between the B6 and 129 mouse strains. These loci were designated ApoB regulator genes (Abrg), because the gene products are likely to be involved in the regulation of plasma apoB levels either directly or indirectly. The first locus, designated Abrg1, was mapped to chromosome 6 in 8-week-old male and female mice with a combined logarithm of odds ratio (LOD) score of 14 at the D6Mit55 marker ( approximately 45.9 cM). Abrg1 contributed approximately 35% of the genetic variance. The second locus, designated Abrg2, was mapped to chromosome 4 with an LOD score of 8.6 in 8-week-old male mice but an LOD score of only 2.0 in 8-week-old female mice at the D4Mit27 marker ( approximately 35 cM). Abrg2 contributed approximately 26% of the genetic variance. Epistasis between Abrg1 and Abrg2 was detected and accounted for approximately 12% of the genetic variance. The combination of these two QTL has major effects (>70%) on the regulation of plasma human apoB levels in the tested population. In summary, we have identified two novel loci that have a major role in the regulation of plasma apoB levels and are likely to regulate the secretory pathway of apoB. The human orthologs for the Abrg loci are strong candidates for human disorders characterized by altered plasma apoB levels, such as FCHL and familial hypobetalipoproteinemia.


This paper examines the discovery process of a recent and extraordinarily successful, non-traditional, export activity in developing country – namely the flower industry in Ethiopia. To be able to break into non-traditional exports, developing countries do not need to invent new products, but mainly producing at lower cost goods that are already established in the world markets. This necessitates tapping into the global pool of knowledge and diffusion of the imported technology in the course of experimentation. This is an ongoing learning process which involves continuous interaction among different actors, institutions and networks. The paper adopts a functional innovation systems framework in a catching-up country context, to map the dynamics of the interactions among various actors in the discovery process and how success was achieved. It provides detailed information on sector development based on a recently conducted census of all flower farms in Ethiopia and follow-up interviews with industry leaders and policy makers. The study highlights the strategic collaboration required between government and the private sector in the promotion of a non-traditional export in a developing country. It should enrich our understanding of development strategies in the context of an increasingly globalized world.


Abstract This research aims to explore the processing of embodied meaning during the comprehension of Chinese transfer verbs which is different from the typical structure of transfer verbs in English and other Indo-European languages. An Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) paradigm was used, in which participants were asked to read sentences describing a transfer verb either away from (At the court, a player throws tennis ball to opposite side) or toward themselves (At the court, a player throws tennis ball to my side). Following the transfer verb, a visual motion cue appeared on the screen after one of the three stimulus onset asychrony (SOA), prompting participants to move their hand either away from or toward themselves by pressing a button. The results showed that under short SOAs (cue presented 100 ms or 200 ms after the verb onset), interference occurred in the matching conditions. After larger delaying of the cue (350 ms), facilitation emerged in matching conditions. The results reflect special features in describing motion events by using Chinese transfer verbs, providing evidence that the comprehension of transfer-verb sentences in Mandarin activates the sensory-motor systems of our body, either interfering or facilitating a motor response performed in parallel.


This paper studies the problem of robust downlink beamforming design in a multiuser multiple-input-single-output (MISO) cognitive radio network (CR-Net) in which multiple secondary users (SUs) coexist with multiple primary users (PUs) of a single-cell primary radio network (PR-Net). It is assumed that the channel-state information (CSI) for all relevant channels is imperfectly known, and the imperfectness of the CSI is modeled using a Euclidean ball-shaped uncertainty set. Our design objective is to minimize the transmit power of the SU-Transmitter (SU-Tx) while simultaneously achieving a lower bound on the received signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for the SUs and imposing an upper limit on the interference power (IP) at the PUs. The design parameters at the SU-Tx are the beamforming weights, and the proposed methodology to solve the problem is based on the worst-case design scenario through which the performance metrics of the design are immune to variations in the channels. The original problem is a separable homogeneous quadratically constrained quadratic problem (QCQP), which is an NP-hard problem, even for uncertain CSI. We reformulate our original design problem to a relaxed semidefinite program (SDP) and then investigate three different approaches based on convex programming. Finally, simulation results are provided to validate the robustness of the proposed methods.


One of the main objectives in telerobotics is the development of a telemanipulation system that allows a high task performance to be achieved by simultaneously providing a high degree of telepresence. Specific mechatronic design guidelines and appropriate control algorithms as well as augmented visual, auditory, and haptic feedback systems are typical approaches adopted in this context. This work aims at formulating new design guidelines by incorporating human factors in the development process and analyzing the effects of varied human movement control on task performance and on the feeling of telepresence. While it is well known that humans are able to coordinate and integrate multiple degrees of freedom (DOF), the focus of this work is on how humans utilize rotational degrees of freedom provided by a human-system interface and if and how varied human movement control affects task performance and the feeling of telepresence. For this analysis, a telemanipulation experiment with varying degrees of freedom has been conducted. The results indicate that providing the full range of movement, even though this range is not necessary to accomplish a task, has a beneficial effect on the feeling of telepresence and task performance in terms of measured interaction forces. Further, increasing visual depth cues provided to the human operator also had a positive effect.


Background: Treatment utilization/costs and work performance for persons with major depressive disorder (MDD) by severity of illness is not well documented. Methods: Using National Comorbidity Survey‐Replication (2001–2002) data, US workforce respondents (n=4,465) were classified by clinical severity (not clinically depressed, mild, moderate, severe) using a standard self‐rating scale [Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self‐Report (QIDS‐SR)]. Outcomes included 12‐month prevalence of medical services/medications use/costs and workplace performance. Treatment costs (employer's perspective) were estimated by weighing utilization measures by unit costs obtained for similar services used by MDD patients in claims data. Descriptive analysis across three severity groups generated χ2 results. Results: Using a sample of 539 US workforce respondents with MDD, 13.8% were classified mild, 38.5% moderate, and 47.7% severe cases. Mental health services usage, including antidepressants, increased significantly with severity, with average treatment costs substantially higher for severe than for mild cases both regarding mental health services ($697 vs. $388, χ2=4.4, P=.019) and antidepressants ($256 vs. $88, χ2=9.0, P=.001). Prevalence rates of unemployment/disability increased significantly (χ2=11.7, P=.003) with MDD severity (15.7, 23.3, and 31.3% for mild, moderate, and severe cases). Severely and moderately depressed workers missed more work than nondepressed workers; the monthly salary‐equivalent lost performance of $199 (severely depressed) and $188 (moderately depressed) was significantly higher than for nondepressed workers (χ2=10.3, P<.001). Projected to the US workforce, monthly depression‐related worker productivity losses had human capital costs of nearly $2 billion. Conclusions: MDD severity is significantly associated with increased treatment usage/costs, treatment adequacy, unemployment, and disability and with reduced work performance. Depression and Anxiety, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Tocotrienols and tocopherols are isoforms of vitamin E. Vitamin E may exhibit antioxidant, prooxidant and non-antioxidant activities depending upon circumstances. In this study, the effect of tocotrienols and α-tocopherol on the activities of HMG CoA reductase and cholesterol 7 α-hydroxylase was investigated. Pure tocotrienols were isolated from palm fatty acid distillate and pure α-tocopherol was obtained commercially. Guinea pigs were treated with different dosages of tocotrienols and α-tocopherol. After the treatment period, animals were sacrificed and liver microsomes were prepared. HMG CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase were assayed using tracer techniques. Our results showed that the effects of tocotrienols and α-tocopherol on the activities of both the enzymes were dose-dependent. At low dosages, both tocotrienols and α-tocopherol exhibited an inhibitory effect on both the enzymes. Moreover, tocotrienols were a much stronger inhibitors than α-tocopherol. At high dosages, on the other hand, tocotrienols and α-tocopherol showed opposite effects on the enzymes. While tocotrienols continued to exhibit an inhibitory effect, α-tocopherol actually exhibited a stimulatory effect on both the enzymes. A possible explanation for this observation is suggested.


The paper investigates the impact of distributed generators integration in Dutch Medium Voltage grids. Typical protection problems are described and analyzed. The current applied time-graded overcurrent protection scheme is evaluated and its shortcomings are highlighted. A new software algorithm for coordinating relays in any arbitrary network is proposed. The real hardware implementation of the protection scheme that makes use of an advanced sensor and microprocessor technology, and a communication infrastructure is explained in details. Simulation results reveal significant improvements in the protection speed performance and the DG during-fault availability.


Nowadays XML processing is performed using one of two approaches: using the SAX (Simple API for XML) or using the DOM (Document Object Model). While these two approaches are adequate for most cases there are situations where other approaches can make the solution easier to write, read and, therefore, to maintain. This document presents a rewriting approach for XML documents pro- cessing, focusing the tasks of transforming XML documents (into other XML formats or other textual documents) and the task of rewriting other textual formats into XML dialects. These approaches were validated with some case studies, ranging from an XML authoring tool to a dictionary publishing mechanism.


Archery hunting in Oregon has increased dramatically over the past 2 decades. At the same time, spring juvenile to adult female ratios of RockyMountain elk (Cervus elaphus) have been declining. This has raised concern that archery seasons may be disrupting elk breeding and contributing to the decline in recruitment. Twomechanisms could contribute to reduced juvenile:female ratios: 1) reduced pregnancy rates, and 2) delayed conception dates because of human disturbance during the rut. We varied the number of archery hunters at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range over 13 years to evaluate effects of archer density on reproduction of elk. Archer densities were maintained at high densities during 4 years ðx 1⁄4 1:09 tags sold=km2Þ, low densities during 3 years ðx 1⁄4 0:53 tags sold=km2Þ, and no archers during 6 years. We determined pregnancy status, age, kidney fat index (KFI), lactation status, and fetus conception dates for 622 female elk harvested in December. We found pregnancy rate differences of 0.105, 0.080, and 0.021 between high and no archer density years (P 1⁄4 0.004), high and low archer density years (P 1⁄4 0.054), and low and no archer density years (P 1⁄4 0.616), respectively. Conception dates were 4 days later for high archer density compared to low archer density (P 1⁄4 0.006), but did not differ between high and no archer years (2 days; P 1⁄4 0.136) or between low and no archer years (2 days; P 1⁄4 0.108). We compared generalized linear model estimates of pregnancy rates and determined pregnancy rates for 28% of the lactating female elk to be affected by high archer density, whereas archer densities had no significant affect on pregnancy rate estimates for non-lactating females. We found no difference in conception dates among archer densities when comparing model estimates. Our results suggest that archer density and its interaction with nutritional condition of elk influence pregnancy rates of lactating females with low KFI levels; however, the effect of archer density alone does not explain the magnitude of decline in juvenile to female ratios observed in Oregon. 2012 The Wildlife Society.


High surface area activated carbon (AC) obtained by KOH activation of petroleum coke was leached by HCl aqueous solution and the effects of the ash contents of AC on performance of electric double layer capacitors (ECs) in 3M KOH aqueous electrolyte and 1 M (C2H5)4NBF4/propylene carbonate electrolyte were investigated by cyclic chronopotentiograms and electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS). An equivalent circuit model based on a mixed kinetic and charge transfer control was proposed to fit EIS spectra. The model parameters were extracted by Marquardt best fitting. The series solution resistances, polarization resistance and diffusion coefficient related to Warburg impedances were obtained. It is found that the series solution resistances remained constant, polarization resistances decreased and the diffusion coefficients increased after acid leaching for each electrolyte, indicating that acid leaching can remove the electronic inert ash, which decreases contact resistance among particles of activated carbon and opens or widens the blocked pores by ash components. Moreover, the specific capacitances of AC were increased by the acid leaching.


Forage production from a newly established pinepasture system at 1000 trees per ha and pasture alone was compared. Pastures of ryegrass/clover, cocksfoot/clover, phalaris/clover and lucerne were used. Overall, forage production varied little between the grass/clover pastures and was little affected by the pine trees except for the 14% reduction in pasture area in the trees because of herbicide-treated planting strips. Lucerne production between the trees was similar to that of the grass/clover pastures but in the open pasture, lucerne yielded a total of 29.5 t DM/ha compared with 22 t DM/ha from grass/clover treatments. Pasture growth within 1 m of the trees in the third summer was reduced by as much as 40%, indicating that competitive dominance was shifting in favour of the pines.


Coexistence of two illnesses in the same patient may result in atypical manifestations of either or both diseases. A case of hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis in a patient who presented with a pharyngeal mucosal mass lesion as a manifestation of superadded Leishmania infection is presented here. The clue to the diagnosis was the origin of the patient from an area highly endemic for leishmaniasis and the presence of unexplained polyclonal hypergammaglobulinaemia. The patient responded very well to therapy with amphotericin B with complete disappearance of the mucosal lesion.


In Death in Documentaries: The Memento Mori Experience, Benjamin Bennett-Carpenter suggests that documentaries are an especially apt form of contemporary memento mori; that is, documentaries offer transformative experiences for a viewer to renew one's consciousness of mortality.


What distinguishes the Socrates of the early from the Socrates of the middle dialogues? According to a well-known opinion, the "dividing line" lies in the difference between the Socratic and the Platonic theory of action. Whereas for the Platonic Socrates of the early dialogues, all desires are good-dependent, for the Platonic Socrates of the middle dialogues, there are good-independent desires. The paper argues first (I) that this "dividing line" is blurred in the "Symposium", and second (II) that we have in the "Symposium" a more distinctive dividing line, namely the introduction of the separate existence of the idea of beauty. This introduction by Diotima/Plato of separate ideas and the lack of (noetic) understanding of separate ideas – here the idea of beauty – by Socrates may have been the limit not only of the Socrates of the early Platonic dialogues, but of the historical Socrates as well.


Soybean is a most important crop providing edible oil and plant protein source for human beings, in addition to animal feed because of high protein and oil content. This review summarized the progresses in the QTL mapping, candidate gene cloning and functional analysis and also the regulation of soybean oil and seed storage protein accumulation. Furthermore, as soybean genome has been sequenced and released, prospects of multiple omics and advanced biotechnology should be combined and applied for further refine research and high-quality breeding. of the FAD2 gene family reveals the limitations of gel based TILLING in genes with high


Tumor hypoxia is often linked to decreased survival in patients with breast cancer and current therapeutic strategies aim to target the hypoxic response. One way in which this is done is by blocking hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. Antiangiogenic therapies show some therapeutic potential with increased disease-free survival, but these initial promising results are short lived and followed by tumor progression. We hypothesized that this may be due to altered cancer stem cell (CSC) activity resulting from increased tumor hypoxia. We studied the effects of hypoxia on CSC activity, using in vitro mammosphere and holoclone assays as well as in vivo limiting dilution experiments, in 13 patient-derived samples and four cell lines. There was a HIF-1α-dependent CSC increase in ER-α-positive cancers following hypoxic exposure, which was blocked by inhibition of estrogen and Notch signaling. A contrasting decrease in CSC was seen in ER-α-negative cancers. We next developed a xenograft model of cell lines and patient-derived samples to assess the hypoxic CSC response. Varying sizes of xenografts were collected and analyzed for HIF1-α expression and CSC. The same ER-α-dependent contrasting hypoxic-CSC response was seen validating the initial observation. These data suggest that ER-α-positive and negative breast cancer subtypes respond differently to hypoxia and, as a consequence, antiangiogenic therapies will not be suitable for both subgroups.


Online hedonic experiences are increasingly of interest in both research and practice. In particular, it has been proposed that 'traditional usability approaches are too limited and must be extended to encompass enjoyment' (Blythe and Wright 2003, p.xvi). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among: (i) website design features; (ii) user's experience of enjoyment; and (iii) informal learning such as that occurring with a museum website. A cross-over experimental design was employed with web pages from the National Palace Museum, Taiwan. Results indicated that, as expected, a multimedia game-based 'lesson' led to both more enjoyment and more learning than a text-based 'lesson'. With text-based pages more enjoyment also meant more learning. The situation was complicated, however, with the game-based pages, as results were not in the expected direction. The study points to the need for more research in this complex area.


Abstract This collection of papers on Securing Women's Land Rights presents five articles relating to eastern Africa. Four of these illustrate practical approaches to securing land rights for women in distinct situations: law-making for women's land rights (Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda); land tenure reform in practice (Rwanda); women's rights under pastoral land tenure (Ethiopia); and women's rights in areas of matrilineal-matrilocal land tenure (Malawi). This article serves as an overall introduction to the subject, reviewing past issues and highlighting new ones, and setting out the shape of a positive, pragmatic approach to securing women's land rights in eastern Africa. Five key themes emerge: the role of customary institutions; the continuing central role of legislation as a foundation for changing custom; issues of gender equity and equitability, and underlying goals; the challenges of reform implementation and of growing women's confidence to claim their rights; and the importance of encouraging effective collaboration among all those working in the field of women's land rights. The article calls for a stronger focus on gender equity – on securing equal land rights for both women and men – in order to achieve sustainable positive change in broader social and political relations.


To quickly obtain new labeled data, we can choose crowdsourcing as an alternative way at lower cost in a short time. But as an exchange, crowd annotations from non-experts may be of lower quality than those from experts. In this paper, we propose an approach to performing crowd annotation learning for Chinese Named Entity Recognition (NER) to make full use of the noisy sequence labels from multiple annotators. Inspired by adversarial learning, our approach uses a common Bi-LSTM and a private Bi-LSTM for representing annotator-generic and -specific information. The annotator-generic information is the common knowledge for entities easily mastered by the crowd. Finally, we build our Chinese NE tagger based on the LSTM-CRF model. In our experiments, we create two data sets for Chinese NER tasks from two domains. The experimental results show that our system achieves better scores than strong baseline systems.


Pressure sensing in an internal combustion engine with an intrinsic fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFPI) integrated with a spark plug is demonstrated for the first time. The spark plug was used for the ignition of the cylinder in which it was mounted. The FFPI element, protected with a copper/gold coating, was embedded in a groove in the spark-plug housing. Gas pressure in the engine induced longitudinal strain in this housing, which was also experienced by the fiber-optic sensing element. The sensor was monitored with a signal conditioning unit containing a chirped distributed-feedback laser. Pressure sensitivities as high as 0.00339 radians round-trip phase shift per pounds per square inch of pressure were observed. Measured pressure versus time traces showed good agreement with those from a piezoelectric reference sensor mounted in the same engine cylinder.


The rapid demand for Cloud services resulted in the establishment of large-scale Cloud Data Centers (CDCs), which ultimately consume a large amount of energy. An enormous amount of energy consumption eventually leads to high operating costs and carbon emissions. To reduce energy consumption with efficient resource utilization, various dynamic Virtual Machine (VM) consolidation approaches (i.e., Predictive Anti-Correlated Placement Algorithm (PACPA), Resource-Utilization-Aware Energy Efficient (RUAEE), Memory-bound Pre-copy Live Migration (MPLM), m Mixed migration strategy, Memory/disk operation aware Live VM Migration (MLLM), etc.) have been considered. Most of these techniques do aggressive VM consolidation that eventually results in performance degradation of CDCs in terms of resource utilization and energy consumption. In this paper, an Efficient Adaptive Migration Algorithm (EAMA) is proposed for effective migration and placement of VMs on the Physical Machines (PMs) dynamically. The proposed approach has two distinct features: first, selection of PM locations with optimum access delay where the VMs are required to be migrated, and second, reduces the number of VM migrations. Extensive simulation experiments have been conducted using the CloudSim toolkit. The results of the proposed approach are compared with the PACPA and RUAEE algorithms in terms of Service-Level Agreement (SLA) violation, resource utilization, number of hosts shut down, and energy consumption. Results show that proposed EAMA approach significantly reduces the number of migrations by 16% and 24%, SLA violation by 20% and 34%, and increases the resource utilization by 8% to 17% with increased number of hosts shut down from 10% to 13% as compared to the PACPA and RUAEE, respectively. Moreover, a 13% improvement in energy consumption has also been observed.


This paper is based on evidence gathered in 20 fi rms, matched by size and business sector, in each of three Central Asia cities — Almaty in Kazakhstan, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, and Samarkand in Uzbekistan. In each fi rm the owner(s) and/or senior managers supplied information about the business, focusing on methods of recruitment, training, and employee career development. Parallel questionnaire surveys gathered information about the family and educational backgrounds, and labour market and employment biographies, of all the young (up to age 30) employees in each of the 20 companies. A total of 1,402 young employees completed questionnaires, and from these, eight per city, with equal numbers of males and females, with and without higher education, were subsequently interviewed in depth. The evidence is used to identify how families that were advantaged under the old (communist) system were continuing to reproduce their advantages intergenerationally. It is shown that this was mainly, though not entirely, via their children's superior chances of progressing through higher education. The evidence 60 Young 17:1 (2009): 59–80 is also used to argue that cultural capital was playing a stronger role than social capital in the inter-generational transmission of advantages, that the critical events in the potentially life-long status attainment process were concentrated within a relatively short time frame, and that the multiple strategies to which families with economic and cultural assets could resort were liable to neutralise all efforts to diminish their ability to pass their advantages down the generations.