In 2012, Congress changed the patent landscape in a crucial way. In an attempt to deal with the perception that low-quality patents and suits instituted by nonpracticing entities ("trolls") were imposing a heavy tax on innovation, the legislature established the Patent Trials and Appeal Board (PTAB) to review the validity of patent claims under three new inter partes procedures. These procedures have proved extremely popular and startlingly effective at weeding out bad patents. But with a cancellation rate of close to 80% of the claims tried, the PTAB has been heavily criticized as a "death squad," the place where patents go to die. This study looks beyond the numbers to examine the decisions themselves. Seen from that perspective, I argue that the high rate of cancellations is unexceptional. Challengers come forward only when they have strong cases; many claims rise or fall together; and the same claim may be the subject of multiple challenges, be it by different parties, or by the same party using different prior art or asserting different theories of invalidity. My main objective is not, however, to defend the PTAB. Rather, it is directed at institutional questions, to gauge how well the PTAB functions to ameliorate the effect of Federal Circuit's isolation as the sole court hearing patent appeals: to see whether PTAB decisions provide a basis for the Federal Circuit to consider new perspectives and to examine whether the decisions will furnish better guidance to the examining corps and to the district courts. A second goal is to draw greater academic attention to the potential these procedures have for changing the patent system and to provoke discussion — outside the emerging PTAB bar — on how they ought to operate. In particular, the statute layers inter partes review in a specialized agency under appellate review in a specialized court. I offer some thoughts on how authority over patent jurisprudence should be allocated between these two centers of expertise. The Federal Circuit was an important experiment in judicial administration; these procedures represent a further experiment in structuring the administrative state.


Small villages in northern Sweden have seen a continuing removal of key services, such as schools, shops and public transport, since the 1970s. Disinvestment in public services has not been strategically planned but has happened in response to population loss and increased costs on a case-by-case basis. More recently, there has been a shift in policy thinking to what might be termed a 'de-growth' approach where digitalisation and increased personal mobility are used to provide new ways of delivering services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of 'resource deserts' in Southern Lapland and the emergence (or consolidation) of village hierarchies in allocating public services. We map out the distribution of neighbourhood services (grocery stores, pre-/schools and petrol pumps) among villages, and explore the lived experiences in accessing these resources in different villages. Our results show that resource deserts clearly exist in the south and east of the region, while villages in the more sparsely populated western mountain areas were generally in a better position to retain resources. We identify a lack of consistent and transparent service planning at the village level as a key shortcoming in municipal and regional service strategies. There appear to be unofficial settlement hierarchies in the differential treatment of villages that are otherwise similar in population size, population change and distance to central places. We find that political decisions on service allocations are likely influenced by several factors. These include legacy effects relating to historic settlement status, the location of villages in relation to key transport or mobility corridors, as well as ideological factors favouring villages with more 'exotic' features and development potential in line with the municipalities' economic, social and political priorities. We finally argue that a shift to de-growth needs to be more strategically planned if it is to eliminate resource deserts and promote equity of service access across all villages.


An all-fiber delay interferometer and narrowband filter based an all-optical format conversion scheme, which can convert return-to-zero (RZ) signals with variable duty cycles to nonreturn-to-zero signals, is proposed and demonstrated. The passive converter is independent of wavelength and input power. The operation principle is analyzed and simulated. Experimental results of 20-Gb/s RZ signals with three different duty cycles accord well with the simulation results. The bit-error-rate measurements show the good performance of the proposed scheme. The conversion performances of different wavelengths and parameters are also discussed.


Abstract Allegheny woodrats (Neotoma magister) currently receive protected status throughout their range due to population declines. Threats associated with habitat fragmentation (e.g., introduced predators, disease, loss of connectivity among sub-populations and habitat loss) may explain why Allegheny woodrats are no longer found in many areas where they existed just 25 y ago. In southern West Virginia, surface coal mining is a major cause of forest fragmentation. Furthermore, mountaintop mining, the prevalent method in the region, results in a loss of rock outcrops and cliffs within forested areas, typical habitat of the Allegheny woodrat. To determine the extent that Allegheny woodrats make use of reclaimed mine land, particularly rock drainages built during reclamation, we sampled 24 drainage channels on reclaimed surface mines in southern West Virginia, collected habitat data at each site and used logistic regression to identify habitat variables related to Allegheny woodrat presence. During 187 trap nights, 13 adult, 2 subadult and 8 juvenile Allegheny woodrats were captured at 13 of the 24 sites. Percent of rock as a groundcover and density of stems >15 cm diameter-at-breast-height (DBH) were related to Allegheny woodrat presence and were significantly greater at sites where Allegheny woodrats were present than absent. Sites where Allegheny woodrats were present differed substantially from other described habitats in West Virginia, though they may simulate boulder piles that occur naturally. Our findings suggest the need for additional research to examine the dynamics between Allegheny woodrat populations inhabiting rock outcrops in forests adjacent to mines and populations inhabiting constructed drainage channels on reclaimed mines. However, if Allegheny woodrats can use human-created habitat, our results will be useful to surface mine reclamation and to other mitigation efforts where rocky habitats are lost or disturbed.


Arch Med Interna 2013 35(3):93-100 Psoriasis is a common worldwide disease and is considered of immune affiliation. In Europe and the U.S. population reported a prevalence of 0.6 to 4%. There are no reports of Uruguay prevalence. The classic presentation is vulgar plates. Although in most cases the disease is paucisymptomatic and topical therapies allows control (mild psoriasis), in a significant proportion can severely affect quality of life associated with generalized psoriasis or involvement of other organs. Even lead to death. The main objective of this article is to provide unified guidelines on the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis with moderate to severe presentation. This part discusses systemic "conventional" treatments, giving priority to phototherapy, methotrexate, cyclosporin A and retinoids. The so called "Biologic Therapies" wich are already conventional alternatives in developed countries, will be the subject of Part II of these recommendations.


"AIM:
To investigate the distribution and expression changes of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-like immunoreactivity (IR) in focal cerebral ischemic rat brain.
METHODS:
The expression of bFGF was observed by fluoro-immunohistochemistry. The focal cerebral ischemic injury was carried out using middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model.
RESULTS:
Confocal images demonstrated that both the striatum and the frontoparietal cortex showed increases of bFGF-like IR after 2-h MCAO and 24-h reperfusion. In striatum, the increase patterns of bFGF-like IR were different according to the ischemic extent. In the core of infarct and its surrounding region (with more IR induction), bFGF-like IR was mainly located in astrocytes. In region adjacent to infarct (with most IR induction, the grey ratio of bFGF-like IR increased from sham-98% +/- 10% to ischemia-125% +/- 6%), some neurons also showed an upregulation of bFGF-like IR. In frontoparietal cortex, strong induction of bFGF-like IR was mostly seen in neurons (The grey ratio of bFGF-like IR increased from sham-104% +/- 11% to ischemia-132% +/- 28%), although it was observed in astrocytes as well.
CONCLUSION:
The expression of bFGF increased after focal cerebral ischemia in rats, suggesting that: in striatum, astrocytes may play an important role in the protection of neurons via the overexpression of bFGF; whereas in cortex, neurons probably exert an autoprotection through expressing bFGF themselves."


Whole saliva samples collected from available people at risk in Boston for infection with human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III/LAV), from late 1984 through early 1985, were analyzed for the presence of antibodies to viral proteins. Fourteen of 20 (70%) acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and 14 of 15 (93%) AIDS-related complex (ARC) patients had salivary antibodies that reacted with the virus-encoded glycoproteins gp160 and gp120 of HTLV-III infected cells. All of the AIDS and ARC patients had serum antibodies to the same antigens. Of 20 sex partners of AIDS/ARC patients, nine (45%) showed anti-HTLV-III antibodies, and four of 18 (22%) healthy homosexual males also were positive for such antibodies. Serum and salivary antibody status were the same in these groups. A minority of those patients positive for salivary antibodies to env gene-encoded gp160 and gp120 also had salivary antibodies to gag gene-encoded proteins of 55,000, 24,000, and/or 17,000 daltons. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) class antibodies comprised the majority of the salivary antibody response. The spectrum of HTLV-III proteins detected by the salivary and serum antibodies was similar. The possibility that secretory IgA from the gut-associated lymphoid system may play a role to restrict salivary transmission of HTLV-III should be considered.


Effect of hypothermia was studied on the twitch and tetanic contractions of the chronically denervated rat diaphragm muscles under isotonic conditions. The muscles were denervated for 15-20 days and the temperature was lowered from 35 degrees C to 15 degrees C. The results showed that hypothermia and chronic denervation had very little effect on the isotonic contraction parameters since these were found to be unaltered at all temperatures except at 15 degrees C. It is suggested that denervation has no significant effect on the contractile component of our experimental muscles.


Objective: To explore the changes in tear film with different phases of the female reproductive cycle.  METHODS: A descriptive type cross sectional study was carried out with the assistance of self-designed proforma on sample size of 30 female volunteers (60 eyes) having normal reproductive cycle. Age ranged from 17 to 34 years. Every participant was examined in each (menstrual, follicular, ovulational and luteal) phase of menstrual cycle, with Schirmer strips. Friedman Post HOC test for several related samples were applied.  RESULTS: Mean tear production was 13.4±3.57mm, 9.23±3.91mm, 12.97±3.22mm and 13.37±2.95mm in menstrual, follicular, ovulatory and luteal phase respectively. Tears levels were significantly low in follicular phase with p<0.0001.  CONCLUSION: Tear production rate varied during the four different phases of reproductive cycle. Tear production rate is lowest in follicular phase of reproductive cycle. So clinicians should consider this factor in the females of respective age group presenting with dry eye symptoms.


This study investigated the extent to which funding, communication and marketing predict library service delivery to Persons With Hearing Impairment, PWHI, in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. Two states were randomly selected from each of NorthCentral, North-West, South-South and South-West geo-political zones. They are the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Niger State, Kaduna State, Kebbi State, Edo State, Delta State, Oyo State and Ondo State respectively. FCT was considered a state in the study because, it has a standard facility for the research. One school of the deaf with standard library was randomly selected from each of the eight states. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, being the only higher institution for special students in Nigeria, and also to select one public library from each of the eight states. Moreover, random sampling technique was used to select one academic library from each of the eight states. Finally, purposive sampling technique was used to select one each of central market, church, mosque in the states capital so as to interview the public PWHI. Total enumeration sampling technique was used to select 687 respondents comprising 218 senior class two students, 148 NCE III students of FCE (Special) Oyo, who made use of PWHI resources in the college library, 8 school of the deaf librarians, 13 FCE (Special) librarians, 97 academic librarians, 48 public librarians and 168 pubic PWHI. Three instruments were used: Library Service Delivery to Students with Hearing Impairment Questionnaire (x=0.84) (Students), Library Service Delivery to People with Hearing Impairment Questionnaire (x=0.81) (librarians) and Interview Checklist (x=0.69) (Public


Summary Enzymatic production of nitric oxide (NO) in arterial endothelial cells requires the cofactors calmodulin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). Experiments were designed in investigate whether these cofactors are required for endothelium-dependent relaxations in canine femoral veins. Veins were removed from anesthetized dogs and cut into rings. Endothelium was deliberately removed from some rings. All rings were incubated with indomethacin (1 $$ 10 -5 M). In separate sets of experiments, rings were incubated withcalmidazolium(1 $$ 10-5 M), fendiline (1 $$ 10-6M), both inhibitors of calmodulin or diphenylene-iodonium (1 $$ 10 -5 M; DPI) an inhibitor of NADPH. Concentration-response curves were obtained for acetylcholine (ACh), ADP, thrombin, A23187, and NO in rings contracted with a submaximal concentration of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α in the presence of the inhibitors and compared with a solvent control (dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO). Relaxations to ACh, ADP, and thrombin were reduced by the inhibitors of both cofactors. Relaxations to A23187 were reduced by inhibitors of calmodulin but not NADPH; inhibitors of both NADPH and calmodulin caused no significant reduction in relaxations to NO. These data suggest that endothelium-dependent relaxations in canine femoral veins are mediated by factor(s) that are partly dependent on calmodulin or NADPH as cofactors for their production or release.


As one of the most prominent seasonally recurring atmospheric circulation patterns, the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) plays a vital role for the life and livelihood of about one-third of the global population. Changes in the strength and seasonality of the ASM significantly affect the ASM region, yet the drivers of change and the varied regional responses of the ASM are not well understood. In the last two decades, there were a number of studies reconstructing the ASM using stalagmite-based proxies such as oxygen isotopes (δ18O). Such reconstructions allow examination of ASM drivers and responses, increasing monsoon predictability. In this review paper, we focus on stalagmite δ18O records from India at the proximal end of the ASM region. Indian stalagmite δ18O records show well-dated, high-amplitude changes in response to the dominant drivers of the ASM on orbital to multi-centennial timescales, and indicate the magnitude of monsoon variability in response to these drivers. We examine Indian stalagmite records collated in the Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and AnaLysis version 1 (SISAL_v1) database (http://researchdata.reading.ac.uk/139/) and support the database with a summary of record quality and regional climatic interpretations of the δ18O record during different climate states. We highlight current debates and suggest the most useful time periods (climatic events) and locations for further work using tools such as data-model comparisons, spectral analysis methods, multi-proxy investigations, and monitoring.


Three new species, Acantholimon bashkaleicum sp. nov., Acantholimon artosense sp. nov. and Acantholimon hoshapicum sp. nov. (Plumbaginaceae) are described and illustrated. The species are all confined to B9/B10 Van Province in East Anatolia where they grow either on calcareous mountain slopes or on mountain steppes. Diagnostic morphological characteristics from the closely related species are given, along with a discussion dealing with their taxonomic relationships, and their conservation statuses are pointed out. A revised key to the Acantholimon species with heterophyllous leaves, two or more flowered and four or more bracteated spikelets is also provided. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 144, 497–505.


This project entitled Creating and Assessing a Web Site for Science Students was created to facilitate the use of the Internet in the teaching and learning of Science at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. In order to accomplish this, different avenues for creating web pages were explored and a web site creation program called ADOBE Go Live 5.0 was learned and used to built the Science Department web site. The site was then uploaded to the district server and attached to the Lindsay Thurber web page. Teachers within the Science department introduced the site to students, and the students were given several months to use the site. Students were surveyed to determine the effectiveness of the site, how it was being used, and how the site might be improved for future use. The results of the survey show that students think the web site is well designed; yet it is not being used in a very significant way. Having students and teachers use the site is critical to realizing the value of this project. The challenge that lies ahead is getting students and teachers to use the site as a tool that can make teaching and learning of Science more efficient. This challenge will be met by involving more teachers in the vision of this project, posting information for students that they can only get off the site, and implementing changes to make the site easier to use.


Bumble bees are one of the most common and important non-managed pollinators of agricultural crops and are therefore vital to society's ecological and agricultural health. Recent declines in bumble bee populations, likely due to pathogens and land-use change, are concerning and have led to subsequent research on pathogen vulnerability and resistance in bumble bees. Social bumble bees have a specific and relatively consistent gut microbiome. The bumble bee microbiome is typically dominated by only a few bacterial species, and is important for both general and specific resistance against pathogen infections. This gut microbial community has been specifically associated with increased pathogen resistance against the trypanosomatid pathogen Crithidia bombi, which is known to increase bumble bee mortality under harsh conditions. Currently little is know about how differences within the microbial community impact rates of infection by Crithidia . We examined how differences in the microbiomes of wild and commercial bumble bees may impact Crithidia infection rates. Wild and commercial bumble bees were inoculated with microbiomes from both wild and commercial bees, and then infected with Crithidia . We found that high OTU diversity, evenness of gut population, and presence of Apibacter and Saccharibacter in the gut community were all correlated with lower Crithidia infection rates. These results indicate that even relatively minor differences between microbial communities can have a significant impact on the microbiome's ability to help protect against pathogen infections.


In this paper, a real-time image transmission algorithm in WSN with limited bandwidth networks is studied. Firstly, a simple and effective monitoring network architecture is established, which allows multiple video monitoring nodes to access the network, and the data transmission is controlled by the synchronization mechanism without collision. Then, the image data is compressed locally at the monitoring nodes (over 85%), so that the image of each node can meet the needs of real-time data transmission, and the overall power consumption of the system is greatly reduced. Finally, based on NVIDIA TX1, four test nodes are constructed to test the algorithm cumulatively, which verifies the effectiveness of the system framework and compression algorithm.


Von Willebrand's disease is the most common inherited bleeding disorder of dogs occurring with particularly high frequency in Doberman pinscher dogs. Because of its method of transmission (autosomal incomplete dominant), the clinical and laboratory severity of the disease varies considerably. "Stress" may be required to make the increased bleeding tendency clinically apparent. This report describes five cases of Von Willebrand's disease in Doberman pinscher dogs and illustrates the variety of clinical expressions that the disease may take.


Objective
The pathological effects of internal exposure to manganese dioxide-56 (56MnO2) radioisotope particles have been previously examined in rats. Here we further examine the effects of 56MnO2, focusing on changes in blood parameters.

Materials and Methods
Ten-week-old male Wistar rats were exposed to 3 doses of neutron-activated 56MnO2 powder, nonradioactive MnO2 powder, or external 60Co γ-rays (1 Gy, whole body). On days 3 and 61 postexposure, the animals were necropsied to measure organ weights and clinical blood parameters, including red blood cell and white blood cell counts; concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium; and levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, amylase, creatinine, urea, total protein, albumin, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and glucose.

Results
In the 56MnO2-exposed animals, accumulated doses were found to be highest in the gastrointestinal tract, followed by the skin and lungs, with whole-body doses ranging from 41 to 100 mGy. There were no 56MnO2 exposure-related changes in body weights or relative organ weights. The ALT level decreased on day 3 and then significantly increased on day 61 in the 56MnO2-exposed groups. There were no exposure-related changes in any other blood parameters.

Conclusion
Although the internal doses were less than 100 mGy, internal exposure of 56MnO2 powder showed significant biological impacts.


in the study period. In all cases we performed a complete fetal echocardiography with B – Mode and color Doppler. The threevessel views were stored with color Doppler. In the study period we were able to detect 36 congenital heart defects between 11 + 0 and 13 + 6 gw. We differentiate between the following groups: Coarctation aortae N = 10; AVSD (atrioventricular septal defect, one with right aortic arch) N = 8; Fallot N = 1; PA (pulmonary atresia) N = 2; HLHS (hypoplastic left heart) N = 4; DORV (double outlet right ventricle, one with right aortic arch) N = 3; right sided Aortic arch N = 8; Aortic stenosis N = 1, TAC (Truncus arteriosus communis) N = 1 (the TAC was together with right sided aortic arch). Results: It was possible to examine the three-vessel view in all normal cases with color Doppler during the study period. In 23 of the 36 (63%) detected congenital heart defects the three – vessel view was suspicious. The suspicious findings were the direction of blood flow, turbulences (together with small b-mode diameter and four-chamber-view findings) or the direction of the aortic arch. Some of these heart defects were not suspicious in the four-chamber view. In 10 cases of suspicious three-vessel view, the NT was in a normal range. In 5 cases the three-vessel view was suspicious without four-chamber-view findings. Conclusions: In an experienced hand the three vessel view have the same diagnostic weight as the four chamber view in detecting CHD. In the presented study there were 63% of the detected heart defects suspicious in the three vessel view.


This article examines the basis of the success of the Lok Dal in electoral politics in Uttar Pradesh in relation to a wide range of indicators of agricultural innovation and change. It argues that the Lok Dal, through its political practice and electoral strategy, was able to create and sustain an electoral following across the state which subsumed many potentially divisive identities and interests and that the party is better understood as one which created and articulated new aspirations and interests rather than one simply mobilising traditional identities. It goes on to examine how events after the mid‐1980s produced circumstances which inhibited the further consolidation of the Lok Dal and led to major changes in the party political system in Uttar Pradesh.


Abstract Martian gullies were initially hypothesized to be carved by liquid water, due to their resemblance to gullies on Earth. Recent observations have highlighted significant sediment transport events occurring in Martian gullies at times and places where CO2 ice should be actively sublimating. Here we explore the role of CO2 sublimation in mobilizing sediment through laboratory simulation. In our previous experimental work, we reported the first observations of sediment slope movement triggered by the sublimation of CO2 frost. We used a Mars regolith simulant near the angle of repose. The current study extends our previous work by including two additional substrates, fine and coarse sand, and by testing slope angles down to 10°. We find that the Mars regolith simulant is active down to 17°, the fine sand is active only near the angle of repose and the coarse sand shows negligible movement. Using an analytical model, we show that under Martian gravity motion should be possible at even lower slope angles. We conclude that these mass-wasting processes could be involved in shaping Martian gullies at the present day and intriguingly the newly reported CO2-creep process could provide an alternative explanation for putative solifluction lobes on Mars.


Malaria during pregnancy and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continue to be enormous public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Sulfadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) and cotrimoxazole (CTX) that are currently recommended for prevention of malaria and opportunistic infections (OIs) in HIV infected persons respectively, are both sulphur-based drugs with similar modes of action. Owing to the risk of adverse reactions, SP is contraindicated in HIV -infected women who are already on daily CTX. Natural immunity against malaria during pregnancy is acquired in a gradual gravidity-dependent manner and is dependent on the diversity of parasites to which an individual is exposed, multiplicity of infections (MOl), and the period of exposure. Studies have shown that the graviditydependent acquisition of immunity is affected by both SP intake and HIV infection. However, there is limited information on the effect of drugs used during pregnancy and HIV infection on MOIs. This study therefore sought to investigate the effect of drugs used to prevent both malaria during pregnancy and OIs, and HIV -infection on the MOls of Plasmodium falciparum in 332 peripheral and placental samples collected between August 2008 and June 2009 in a retrospective study conducted in Siaya and Bondo district hospitals. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from dried blood spots (DBSs) by Chelex method was analysed by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the highly polymorphic merozoite surface proteins (MSP-l and MSP-2). In this study, MSP-l MOl was higher in peripheral than placental samples, while MSP-2 MOl was more predominant in placental samples. These differences were, however, not statistically significant. HIV infection and high parasite densities, 1001-9999 parasites/ul. and 2:10000 parasites/ul., were associated with significantly high MOls (p = 0.036, p = 0.023 and p = 0.002, respectively). Similarly, primigravidae was associated with significantly high MOIs (p = 0.043). There was a trend towards high MOIs in women presenting with anaemia and fever, however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.085 and p = 0.090 respectively). Overall, there was no association between drug intake during pregnancy and MOIs. These findings suggest that first pregnancy and high parasite densities may be independent risk factors for high MOIs in pregnant women living in malaria endemic areas. The role of SP and/or daily CTX on P. falciparum MOIs in pregnant women requires further evaluations using a larger sample size and alternative molecular markers such as microsatellite markers in order to fully elucidate the effect of drugs on MOls.


We investigated the changes in the oxidative stress response of yeast cells suffering mitochondrial dysfunction that could impair their viability. First, we demonstrated that cells with this dysfunction rely exclusively on cytosolic thioredoxin peroxidase I (cTPxI) and its reductant sulfiredoxin, among other antioxidant enzymes tested, to protect them against H2O2‐induced death. This cTPxI‐dependent protection could be related to its dual functions, as peroxidase and as molecular chaperone, suggested by mixtures of low and high molecular weight oligomeric structures of cTPxI observed in cells challenged with H2O2. We found that cTPxI deficiency leads to increased basal sulfhydryl levels and transcriptional activation of most of the H2O2‐responsive genes, interpreted as an attempt by the cells to improve their antioxidant defense. On the other hand, mitochondrial dysfunction, specifically the electron transport blockage, provoked a huge depletion of sulfhydryl groups after H2O2 treatment and reduced the H2O2‐mediated activation of some genes otherwise observed, impairing cell defense and viability. The transcription factors Yap1 and Skn7 are crucial for the antioxidant response of cells under inhibited electron flow condition and probably act in the same pathway of cTPxI to protect cells affected by this disorder. Yap1 cellular distribution was not affected by cTpxI deficiency and by mitochondrial dysfunction, in spite of the observed expression alterations of several Yap1‐target genes, indicating alternative mechanisms of Yap1 activation/deactivation. Therefore, we propose that cTPxI is specifically important in the protection of yeast with mitochondrial dysfunction due to its functional versatility as an antioxidant, chaperone and modulator of gene expression.


The article contains determination of the status of legal regulation for proper working conditions and shows environmental safety position in this system. Specifics of environmental safety as a management principle indirectly conditioned by international legal standards are studied herein. Poor legal awareness of business entities and uncoordinated efforts to ensure adequate environmental safety explain the lack of legal standards for environmental safety. The authors determined approaches to the definition of the working conditions as determinants accompanying an employee within the working environment and execution of job duties and expressed in the equipment quantity and quality, the order and methods of its application, the condition of the working premises and the environment which affect the employee's health and working capacity during professional activity. The research issue is believed to be urgent because a vector of legal regulation of public relations associated with environmental safety has to be changed not as an external influence of the enterprise on the environment, but as an integral part of the enterprises' activities, which currently seem an integral part of administration. While in developed countries new systems of human resource management are being introduced and advanced technologies are being used replacing human resources, in our country, environmental standards are not even developed to regulate enterprises' activity. Obviously, it is caused not only by the status of legal regulation, but also by poop consciousness of the citizens involved in the enterprises management and operation. To study environmental safety as an object of environmental law seems to be ordinary as well as to define the essence of environmental safety as an object of commercial law. This is because the issue of environmental safety is universal, and concerns everyone. However, public relations appeared, changed, and terminated in the field of proper working conditions still stay out of attention. Environmental safety is an essential condition for each employee. As for the theoretical and legal substantiation to study the enterprise environmental safety as a prerequisite for compliance with proper working conditions, the concept of enterprise environmental safety has to be defined, the best international practices and solutions have to be analyzed, and a single concept of the stable development of proper working conditions at enterprises have to be outlined. In this regard, this article is aimed at revealing features of the environmental management system in Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to study social relations associated with the enterprise ecological safety as a precondition for compliance with required working conditions. The methodology of the research is based on the integrated approach to the study, systematization and analysis of effective practices of environmental safety at different levels of its implementation. The international experience in ensuring the environmental safety at the company for proper working conditions, particularly, the experience of Japan, France, and the United Kingdom is described herein. The article seems to be useful for researchers concerned with ecological safety, labor protection and implementation of an effective environmental management system, fixed at the regulatory level.


The pigeon is one species among the numerous domestic animal types that contribute to the economy of Turkey as food and work, and provide diversion and pleasure for the nation's people. Pigeons are kept at the household level, usually in small numbers, by many hundreds of thousands of Turkish families, yet they have been subject to little study. This paper collates much of the information available (almost all in the Turkish language) to provide a brief history of the bird in Turkey. An inventory of the nine groups and 72 breeds that have been identified is presented. Some of these breeds are international in status, some are widespread in Turkey and some have only local distribution; many breeds have synonyms which are used in their areas of distribution. There is little government or academic support for pigeon breeders. The private Pigeon Breeders Association of Turkey and the Turkish Pigeon Federation are umbrella organisations for a number of breed clubs. In an initial attempt to standardise the national pigeon genetic resources, two of the more widespread breeds have been registered with the Animal Breeds Registration Committee of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.


Periodic wrinkled surfaces have generated significant interest over the past decade as these structures can be easily fabricated over large areas with minimal fabrication cost, but these structures have generally been limited to thin films on soft elastomeric substrates, which limits their general applicability and utility. Here we present a simple methodology to generate wrinkled surfaces on rigid substrates by surface segregation of a photocatalyst. Upon ultraviolet light (UV) induced photopolymerization, increased catalyst concentration yields a cross-linked layer at the free surface that is supported on top of a more liquid-like bulk film due to differences in polymerization rate. Further polymerization of the underlayer provides the requisite mechanical stress (contraction due to polymerization) to create a wrinkled pattern. A system based upon the renewable monomer, furfuryl alcohol, that is cross-linked with a photoacid generator, triphenyl sulfonium triflate, is utilized to illustrate this concept. Moreover, the polymerized furfuryl alcohol can be transformed into amorphous carbon by heating at elevated temperatures in an inert environment. The role of photoacid generator concentration and substrate temperature on the wrinkle formation and morphology is presented. Finally, exposure through a simple mask can generate hierarchical structures with the wrinkled structure conforming to the geometric constraints of the photopatterned area, including curvilinear structures. This photocatalyzed surface segregation-based methodology provides a promising route to the facile fabrication of microstructured surfaces based upon the wrinkling instability.


There is a general trend to work towards a more evidence based medical practice. An
 increasing number of guidelines are being developed to translate new evidence to
 medical practice. The implementation of guidelines, however, is a complex process.
 This thesis compares two methods of continuing medical education (CME).
 Reimbursement data were used to provide quantitative information to support the
 methods. We used the regionally organized, typically Dutch, peer review groups
 (PRGs) of primary care physicians and pharmacists to address professionals. In
 addition we included patient outcome measures to evaluate the effect of our program
 patients' well being. Chapter 1 describes the state of the art in the diffusion of
 innovations, the use of reimbursement data for research, and how to define -and how
 measure- the quality of prescribing and how to measure patient outcomes. Chapter 2
 is about the assessment of the quality and suitability of our data. We describe a
 systematic tool to test the appropriateness of a given database for specific research
 questions. It gives insight into data collecting and data quality, relevant for both
 researchers and readers. We describe in particular the potency and the pitfalls of
 reimbursement data and express our belief that these data need to be protected and
 valued more. Chapter 3 describes how we used reimbursement data to assess the
 quality of prescribing. Chapter 4 compares the prevalence of complaints mentioned
 by users of anticholinergic antidepressants to a control group of former users in a
 population of ambulant elderly. In Chapter 5 we compared several rating scales to
 assess depression, since inclusion criteria are an essential element of good guidelines.
 Chapter 6 describes qualities of the PRGs in the area. We selected and evaluated
 characteristics of PRGs that were thought to be relevant for the effect of our outreach
 program. Chapter 7 describes the intervention we undertook to reduce the
 prescribing of highly anticholinergic antidepressants in the elderly and its effect on
 incident prescribing. The intervention was designed following insights usually
 referred to as academic detailing. We added a group versus individual approach
 design. Addressing groups may be an important tool to support acceptance of new
 guidelines. More research in group-learning processes is needed to improve our
 understanding of CME. Chapter 8 compares the questionnaires of users, living in the
 intervention and control areas. Chapter 9 includes some final considerations, in
 which we speculate on what CME might look like in the future. What will be the role
 of very large medical databases in diffusion of innovations, quality assessment and
 improvement? What actually is to be defined as optimal prescribing? How do we
 maintain large medical databases without jeopardizing privacy? It aims at stimulating
 to think ahead -and to take action- on employing ICT (Information and
 Communication Technology) for the benefit of health care. Please enjoy my
 unfinished thoughts.


Detailed data about stock option contracts are used to measure and analyze the pay to performance incentives of executive stock options. Two main issues are addressed. The first is the pay to performance incentives created by the revaluation of stock option holdings. The findings suggest that if CEO stock holdings were replaced by the same ex ante value of stock options, the pay to performance sensitivity of the median CEO would approximately double. Relative to granting at the money options, a value neutral policy of regularly granting options out of the money would increase pay to performance sensitivity by approximately 27 percent. The second issue is the pay to performance created by yearly stock option grants. Because most stock option plans are multi year plans, it is shown that different option granting plans have significantly different pay to performance incentives since changes in current stock prices affect the value of future option grants in different ways. Four option granting policies are compared and contrasted. Ranked from highest powered to lowest powered, these policies are: 1) LBO-style up-front options, 2) fixed number policies, 3) fixed value policies, and 4) an (unofficial) policy of back-door repricing.' Empirical evidence suggests that (even ignoring the revaluation of past option grants) the pay to performance relationship in practice is stronger for 1) stock option grants relative to salary and bonus, and 2) fixed number plans relative to non-fixed number plans.


Recent progress in the field of photosensitive materials has prompted a need to develop efficient methods to synthesize materials with basic intermolecular architectural designs and novel properties. Accordingly, in this work we design and study a photoactive polymer as a photo-switchable polymeric system in the presence and absence of ZnS nanoparticles (average size < 10 nm) at 5 wt.%. The influence of UV light irradiation on its properties were also studied. The photoactive block copolymer was obtained from styrene (S) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as monomers and 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3,3-dimethylindoline-6-nitrobenzopyran (SP) was grafted to the block copolymer backbone as a photochromic agent. Furthermore, the incorporation of ZnS (NPs) as photo-optical switch component into the system enhances the purple colored photo-emission, with the open form of the spiropyran derivative (merocyanine, MC). The ZnS stabilize the isomeric equilibrium in the MC interconversion of the photochromic agent. The photo-switchable properties of the PS-b-PMMA-SP in the presence of ZnS (NPs) were examined using UV-VIS spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, optical fluorescence and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM-EDX.). The observed changes in the absorbance, fluorescence and morphology of the system were associated to the reversible interconversion of the two states of the photochromic agent which regulates the radiative deactivation of the luminescent ZnS NPs component. After UV irradiation the photoactive polymer becomes purple in color. Therefore, these basic studies can lead to the development of innovative functional and nanostructured materials with photosensitive character as photosensitive molecular switches.


A three-dimensional (3D) general coupling model for electromigration has been developed with the use of the mass conservation equation. The flux terms that include concentration gradient, electron wind force, stress migration, and thermal migration are considered. The constitutive equation for the electromigration strain has been derived. Then, the governing equations for one-dimensional (1D) metal lines are obtained for both totally fixed and stress-free mechanical boundary conditions. The numerical results reveal that the hydrostatic stress is significantly lower than the predicted results in the existing literature for the totally fixed configuration. Extensive discussions are presented to provide the explanations of such difference. The vacancy concentration gradient plays an important role in formulating electromigration problems. The current-driven flux can be entirely balanced by the concentration gradient that acts as an opposing force during electromigration under a stress-free condition in steady-state. The new solutions of the critical threshold jL, the product of current density, and metal line length are obtained in terms of vacancy concentration. As electromigration is eventually determined by the void growth, the critical vacancy concentration is used to reanalyze Blech's experiment data. The theoretical predictions are consistent with the experimental observations.A three-dimensional (3D) general coupling model for electromigration has been developed with the use of the mass conservation equation. The flux terms that include concentration gradient, electron wind force, stress migration, and thermal migration are considered. The constitutive equation for the electromigration strain has been derived. Then, the governing equations for one-dimensional (1D) metal lines are obtained for both totally fixed and stress-free mechanical boundary conditions. The numerical results reveal that the hydrostatic stress is significantly lower than the predicted results in the existing literature for the totally fixed configuration. Extensive discussions are presented to provide the explanations of such difference. The vacancy concentration gradient plays an important role in formulating electromigration problems. The current-driven flux can be entirely balanced by the concentration gradient that acts as an opposing force during electromigration under a stress-free condition in stead...


Timing side channels arise in software when a program's execution time can be correlated with security-sensitive program input. Recent results on software side-channel detection focus on analysis of program's source code. However, runtime behavior, in particular optimizations introduced during just-in-time (JIT) compilation, can impact or even introduce timing side channels in programs. In this paper, we present a technique for automatically detecting such JIT-induced timing side channels in Java programs. We first introduce patterns to detect partitions of secret input potentially separable by side channels. Then we present an automated approach for exploring behaviors of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to identify states where timing channels separating these partitions arise. We evaluate our technique on three datasets used in recent work on side-channel detection. We find that many code variants labeled "safe" with respect to side-channel vulnerabilities are in fact vulnerable to JIT-induced timing side channels. Our results directly contradict the conclusions of four separate state-of-the-art program analysis tools for side-channel detection and demonstrate that JIT-induced side channels are prevalent and can be detected automatically.


Hundreds of different types of coatings are used to protect a variety of structural engineering materials from corrosion, wear, and erosion, and to provide lubrication and thermal insulation. Of all these, thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) have the most complex structure and must operate in the most demanding high-temperature environment of aircraft and industrial gas-turbine engines. TBCs, which comprise metal and ceramic multilayers, insulate turbine and combustor engine components from the hot gas stream, and improve the durability and energy efficiency of these engines. Improvements in TBCs will require a better understanding of the complex changes in their structure and properties that occur under operating conditions that lead to their failure. The structure, properties, and failure mechanisms of TBCs are herein reviewed, together with a discussion of current limitations and future opportunities.


This paper quantifies the determinants of heterogeneity in R&D investment and its implications for growth. Using a panel of Norwegian manufacturing firms we document a negative correlation between R&D intensity and firm size, driven mainly by small firms with high R&D intensity. We estimate a Schumpeterian growth model with heterogeneous firms, that differ with respect to innovation efficiency. The estimated model fits the shape of the R&D investment distribution as well as the negative correlation between R&D intensity and firm size. A larger selection effect contribution to aggregate growth is found when we include R&D moments in the estimation. Finally, we study the link between firm heterogeneity and R&D subsidies, and show that the growth effects of subsidies depend crucially on how the policy influences the equilibrium distribution of firms.


This dissertation connects Kenneth Burke and Ralph Ellison in the context of a radical 1930s culture through their shared term "action" and explains the prominent appearance of "action" in Invisible Man as a vestige of Ellison's radical beginnings. Chapters clarify the emergence of Burke's and Ellison's writings in the 1930s, cluster appearances of "action" in relation to other key terms, assess political motives, and counter readings and appropriations of their work that ignore, reduce, or redirect such political elements. Attending particularly to Burke's first editions of Permanence and Change and Attitudes toward History, as well as to uncollected writings in the period, the dissertation draws out Burke's "communistic" attitude, commitments to organized politics as a literary and rhetorical critic, and wariness toward American philosophical pragmatism and John Dewey. It traces radical concerns and tropes from Ellison's early writings to drafts of his novel and places Ellison's positive reception of Burke's paper at the third American Writers' Congress in 1939 alongside the influence of Richard Wright and Langston Hughes. The dissertation argues that Burke and Ellison conceived themselves as cultural participants in a project to transform social relations and shows how recent scholarship concerning these writers, especially work seeking to claim them from a neopragmatist perspective, domesticates markers of their 1930s political imaginary.


The expression of ganglioside GD3, which plays crucial roles in normal brain development, decreases in adults but is upregulated in neoplastic cells, where it regulates tumor invasion and survival. Normally a buildup of GD3 induces apoptosis, but this does not occur in gliomas due to formation of 9-O-acetyl GD3 by the addition of an acetyl group to the terminal sialic acid of GD3; this renders GD3 unable to induce apoptosis. Using human biopsy-derived glioblastoma cell cultures, we have carried out a series of molecular manipulations targeting GD3 acetylation pathways. Using immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, western blotting, and transwell assays, we have shown the existence of a critical ratio between GD3 and 9-O-acetyl GD3, which promotes tumor survival. Thus, we have demonstrated for the first time in primary glioblastoma that cleaving the acetyl group restores GD3, resulting in a reduction in tumor cell viability while normal astrocytes remain unaffected. Additionally, we have shown that glioblastoma viability is reduced due to the induction of mitochondrially mediated apoptosis and that this occurs after mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Three methods of cleaving the acetyl group using hemagglutinin esterase were investigated, and we have shown that the baculovirus vector transduces glioma cells as well as normal astroctyes with a relatively high efficacy. A recombinant baculovirus containing hemagglutinin esterase could be developed for the clinic as an adjuvant therapy for glioma.


A prospective study of the incidence and severity of congenital deformities of calves, attributable to maternal infection by Akabane virus, was carried out on a population of 174 susceptible animals that were between one and nine months pregnant at the time of infection. The study was carried out in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales during 1983, after an epidemic of Akabane virus infection in late February to early March 1983. The incidence of virus-induced abnormalities in calves and fetuses was 17.8 per cent (31/174). The highest incidence of abnormalities occurred during the third and sixth months of gestation (27 to 29 per cent). The earliest abnormality was observed after infection at 76 days of gestation, and the last after infection at 249 days. The development of the pathological entities of hydranencephaly/porencephaly and arthrogryposis were found to be quite distinct. Cases of hydranencephaly and porencephaly developed after infection between 76 and 104 days of gestation whereas arthrogryposis developed after infection between 103 and 174 days of infection. It was concluded that the type of congenital deformity produced by maternal infection with Akabane virus was dependent on the stage of fetal development at the time of infection. The data suggest that the infection was transplacental and that fetuses of less than two months of age were protected from infection.


Anisotropic circular dichroism (ACD) spectroscopy of macroscopically aligned molecules reveals additional information about their excited states that is lost in the CD of randomly oriented solutions. ACD spectra of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII)-the main peripheral antenna of photosystem II in plants-in oriented lipid bilayers were recorded from the far-UV to the visible wavelength region. ACD spectra show a drastically enhanced magnitude and level of detail compared to the isotropic CD spectra, resolving a greater number of bands and weak optical transitions. Exciton calculations show that the spectral features in the chlorophyll Q y region are well-reproduced by an existing Hamiltonian for LHCII, providing further evidence for the identity of energy sinks at chlorophylls a603 and a610 in the stromal layer and chlorophylls a604 and a613 in the luminal layer. We propose ACD spectroscopy to be a valuable tool linking the three-dimensional structure and the photophysical properties of pigment-protein complexes.


Starting with an argument for a humanistic approach to climate change, this paper discusses the concept of the 'Collective Artist Residency' as a practicable means for engaging with complex socio-ecological issues that require collective answers. Through our analysis of the research project 'Imaginative Disruptions,' we propose that there is a need for creative spaces that include artists and non-artists alike, and which engender aimless play, inquisitive making and dialogic contemplation in the face of issues which are too painful, overwhelming and complex to rationally comprehend. We further argue that such residencies can generate comfortable, and even light-hearted, spaces in which people can be uncomfortable together. In other words, environments that feel safe and caring but that also encourage us to challenge status quos and experiment with alternatives via emotional, aesthetic, cognitive, somatic and social processing. The paper closes with five (suggested) guiding principles for designing a Collective Art Residency that supports groups of people to co-reflect upon their fragility whilst re-imagining present and future possibilities for being in the world: deeply participatory, balanced between comfortable / uncomfortable emotions, highly experiential, cross-sectoral and intergenerational, place-based.


As the importance of self-sourcing reservoirs continues to increase, it is more important than ever to evaluate rock properties that contribute to productive wells. It has become increasingly evident that in order to maximize potential returns, an integrated approach to shale play characterization is necessary to identify productive areas. Numerous criteria exist to characterize ultra-low permeability shale reservoirs and their associated resource potential; these include measures of organic richness, thermal maturity, lithologic heterogeneity, and formation brittleness. The latter, a descriptor of the geomechanical rock properties, can play a significant role in overall well performance and is commonly a key productivity driver. Thus, an understanding of the mechanical properties of the target section is fundamental for high-grading prospective areas, well placement design, and hydraulic stimulation effectiveness. Observation of geomechanical attributes extracted from seismic data in the Eagle Ford Shale captures changing mechanical properties indicative of strike-oriented lithologic facies changes. Using acoustic logs, core, and three-dimensional seismic data, we assess the mechanical contrast between Eagle Ford facies units and their effect on well performance. We use three-dimensional seismic data to map the structure and facies distribution in an area where identification of reservoir facies is a major challenge to development drilling. In this study, we demonstrate how Young's modulus and density, inverted from three-dimensional seismic data, prove as effective discriminators for the purpose of identifying and mapping facies changes and establishing the hydraulically fracturable limits in areas where effective stimulation and proppant embedment in the formation during pressure drawdown is a concern. The result is an interpretation that identifies and uses the mechanical changes from three-dimensional seismic data attributes associated with the brittle carbonate-rich Eagle Ford facies to predict both the reservoirs hydraulically fracturable limits as well as the variability in well performance associated with proppant embedment. The changes in mechanical properties of the Eagle Ford facies are important in high-grading productive intervals in these ultra-low permeability rocks. We believe we can apply this method to other shale reservoirs where rock mechanics may play an important role.


Multimedia information retrieval (MIR) and delivery plays an important role in many application domains due to the increasing need to identify, filter, and manage growing amounts of data, notably multimedia information. To efficiently manage and exchange multimedia information, interoperability between coded data and metadata is required and standardization is central to achieving the necessary level of interoperability. In the context of this paper, the term retrieval refers to the process by which a user, human or machine, identifies the content it needs, and the term delivery refers to the adaptive transport and consumption of the identified content in a particular context or usage environment. Both the retrieval and delivery processes may require content and context metadata. This paper will argue that maximum quality of experience depends not only on the content itself (and thus content metadata) but also on the consumption conditions (thus context metadata). Additionally, the rights and protection conditions have become critically important in recent years, especially with the explosion of electronic music commerce and different ldquoshoppingrdquo conditions. This paper will review existing multimedia standards related to information retrieval and adaptive delivery of multimedia content, emphasizing the need for such standards, and will show how these standards can help the development, dissemination, and valorization of MIR research results. Moreover, it will also discuss limitations of the current standards and anticipate what future standardization activities are relevant and needed. Due to space limitations, the paper will mainly concentrate on MPEG standards although many other relevant standards are also reviewed and discussed.


Analysis of the state of nutritional support in military medical institutions of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. In order to study the state of nutritional support chiefs (heads) of anaesthesiology and resuscitation military medical organizations of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the practice of Clinical Nutrition were interviewed. These amounts reflect the organization, strategy, equipment and the need for means and methods of nutritional support, depending on the level of the organization, as well as provide a basis for improving the practice of nutritionally metabolic support in critically ill patients.


In this article we consider a Markov decision process subject to the constraints that result from some observability restrictions. We assume that the state of the Markov process under consideration is unobservable. The states are grouped so that the group that a state belongs to is observable. So, we want to find an optimal decision rule depending on the observable groups instead of the states. This means that the same decision applies to all the states in the same group. We prove that a deterministic optimal policy exists for the finite horizon. An algorithm is developed to compute policies minimizing the total expected discounted cost over a finite horizon. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 44: 439–456, 1997


Current research on wound infections is primarily conducted on animal models, which limits direct transferability of these studies to humans. Some of these limitations can be overcome by using–otherwise discarded—skin from cosmetic surgeries. Superficial wounds are induced in fresh ex vivo skin, followed by intradermal injection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa under the wound. Subsequently, the infected skin is incubated for 20 hours at 37°C and the CFU/wound are determined. Within 20 hours, the bacteria count increased from 107 to 109 bacteria per wound, while microscopy revealed a dense bacterial community in the collagen network of the upper wound layers as well as numerous bacteria scattered in the dermis. At the same time, IL-1alpha and IL-1beta amounts increased in all infected wounds, while—due to bacteria-induced cell lysis—the IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations rose only in the uninfected samples. High-dosage ciprofloxacin treatment resulted in a decisive decrease in bacteria, but consistently failed to eradicate all bacteria. The main benefits of the ex vivo wound model are the use of healthy human skin, a quantifiable bacterial infection, a measureable donor-dependent immune response and a good repeatability of the results. These properties turn the ex vivo wound model into a valuable tool to examine the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and to test antimicrobial agents.


With the exception of the dimer, the small clusters of beryllium have yet to be successfully characterized by spectroscopy. In this study, the geometries and dissociation energies of Be4 and Be5 are computed using highly accurate coupled-cluster methods. Dunning's correlation consistent polarized-valence basis sets are employed, and the energies computed for the tetramer are extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. The importance of triple and quadruple excitations from the zeroth-order wavefunction are assessed for both clusters. Triples are found to be essential to describing the clusters, but quadruples are found to be of only minor importance. Computations on the challenging Be2 molecule are reported for the purpose of benchmarking our results. For the tetramer, fundamental vibrational frequencies and rotational constants are obtained by applying second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2) to a full quartic force field computed at the c∼CCSDT(Q)/CBS level of theory. Index words: Be2, Be4, Be5, beryllium tetramer, beryllium pentamer, beryllium dimer, beryllium clusters, CCSDT(Q), quartic force field Small Beryllium Clusters: Be2, Be4, and Be5


The efficacy of midazolam (0.071 +/- 0.006 microgram/kg) inactivation by flumazenil, a direct antagonist of benzodiazepines, was assessed in 20 patients during local and regional anesthesia. The hemodynamic values were assessed and a complex of psychological tests used. A single intravenous injection of flumazenil in a dose of 0.2 mg (2.8 +/- 0.41 micrograms/kg) resulted in a smooth an reliable arrest of benzodiazepine effect and effective repair of the main psychomotor reactions. Reversion of benzodiazepine effect is possible after an hour, which may require repeated injection of flumazenil.


Background: Gingivitis is the most common oral disease that involves various areas of the mouth with different degree and intensity. The beginning of gingivitis is seen in age 5, and its prevalence is increased with age. There are different opinions about the involved areas that are most commonly or most severely affected in epidemiological researches. This study was designed to determine the pattern and distribution of gingivitis and to compare the prevalence and severity of gingivitis in involved areas. Materials and methods: In this investigation, 659 randomly selected cases of school children were evaluated with periodontal Russel Index. The results of this study were compared to those of others. Results: The findings showed that %43.5 of the students had gingivitis and its prevalence was more in boys than girls and more in the lower Jaw than the upper one. The prevalence and severity of the disease was more in the molar area than the incisor area and the most affected teeth were the first molars. The prevalence of gingivitis was almost similar in the right and left sides but its intensity was a little more in the right side. The most affected age was 15 years old. Conclusion : High incidence of gingivitis indicates that oral hygiene measures are poor among Booshehri school children and need much more attention and consideration. Key words: Gingivitis, Distribution, Gingiva


Pharmaceutical activities during the Second Empire have been neglected by historians of science in recent decades, even though pharmacy was an important discipline in Mexico City. This is shown by analyzing 12 papers published in the Gaceta Médica de México, the journal of the Sociedad Médica de México. Examination of these papers helps us understand the interests, practices and pharmaceutical activities of some of this group's physicians and pharmacists, as well as detailing scientific endorsement of the therapeutic use of Mexican flora. This allows us to trace a historical continuity in the activities of pharmacists in the capital city throughout the nineteenth century. Abstract Pharmaceutical activities during the Second Empire have been neglected by historians of science in recent decades, even though pharmacy was an important discipline in Mexico City. This is shown by analyzing 12 papers published in the Gaceta Médica de México, the journal of the Sociedad Médica de México. Examination of these papers helps us understand the interests, practices and pharmaceutical activities of some of this group's physicians and pharmacists, as well as detailing scientific endorsement of the therapeutic use of Mexican flora. This allows us to trace a historical continuity in the activities of pharmacists in the capital city throughout the nineteenth century.


The addition of molecular biomarkers is needed to increase the accuracy of pathologic factors as prognosticators of outcome in penile squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Evaluation of these biomarkers is usually carried out by immunohistochemistry. Herein we assess p53 immunohistochemical expression on tissue samples of penile SCC using freely-available, open-source software packages for digital image analysis. We also compared the results of digital analysis with standard visual estimation. Percentages of p53 positive cells were higher by visual estimation than by digital analysis. However, correlation was high between both methods. Our study shows that evaluation of p53 immunohistochemical expression is feasible using open-source software packages for digital image analysis. Although our analysis was limited to penile SCC, the rationale should also hold for other tumor types in which evaluation of p53 immunohistochemical expression is required. This approach would reduce interobserver variability, and would provide a standardized method for reporting the results of immunohistochemical stains. As these diagnostic tools are freely-available online, researchers and practicing pathologists could incorporate them in their daily practice without increasing diagnostic costs.


A multispectral scanning radiometer has been used to obtain measurements of the reflection function of marine stratocumulus clouds at 0.75, 1.65 and 2.16 pm. These observations were obtained from the NASA ER-2 aircraft as part of the First ISCCP [International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project] Regional Experiment (FIRE), conducted off the coast of southern California during July 1987. Multispectral images of the reflection function were used to derived the optical thickness and effective particle radius of stratiform cloud layers on four days. In addition to the radiation measurements, in situ microphysical measurements were obtained from the University of Washington Convair C- 13 I A aircraft. In this paper we compare remote sensing results with in situ observations, which show a good spatial correlation for both optical thickness and effective radius. These comparisons further show systematic differences between remote sensing and in situ values, with a tendency for remote sensing to overestimate the effective radius by -2-3 pm, independent of particle radius. The optical thickness, in contrast, is somewhat overestimated for small optical thicknesses and underestimated for large optical thicknesses. An introduction of enhanced gaseous absorption at a wavelength of 2.16 pm successfully explains some of these observed discrepancies. Marginal probability density functions of optical thickness, liquid water path and effective radius have been derived from our remote sensing results. The joint probability density function of liquid water path and effective radius shows that the effective radius increases as the liquid water path increases for optically thin clouds, in contrast to optically thick clouds for which the effective radius decreases with increasing liquid water path.


The article presents phenomenological research, the aim of which is to describe supervision from the existential-phenomenological perspective by distinguishing its characteristic features. The research is based on a description of the experience of 12 research participants acting as supervisees and supervisors. The results are summarized in two definitions. The research has revealed four dimensions of the phenomenon, three of which coincide from both of the research participants' positions: the peculiarities of the supervision process, the way of the supervisor's presence and the relationship between the supervisor and the supervisee have been distinguished as important characteristics of existential-phenomenological supervision by the research participants. The way in which the supervisor is present has been named as one of the most important characteristics of existential-phenomenological supervision by the research participants acting as supervisees. Meanwhile, the research participants, acting as supervisors, placed stronger emphasis on the supervision process itself. The result of the supervision as a sensuous change and not the reception of a mental answer has been described as an important feature of phenomenological supervision. Meanwhile, research participants, acting from a supervisor's position, described interventions used in the supervision as an important, yet a least-frequently met characteristic of existential-phenomenological supervision.


The development and performance characterization of a new differential pressure-based flow meter for human breath measurements is presented in this article. The device, called a "Confined Pitot Tube," is comprised of a pipe with an elliptically shaped expansion cavity located in the pipe center, and an elliptical disk inside the expansion cavity. The elliptical disk, named Pitot Tube, is exchangeable, and has different diameters, which are smaller than the diameter of the elliptical cavity. The gap between the disk and the cavity allows the flow of human breath to pass through. The disk causes an obstruction in the flow inside the pipe, but the elliptical cavity provides an expansion for the flow to circulate around the disk, decreasing the overall flow resistance. We characterize the new sensor flow experimentally and theoretically, using Comsol Multiphysics® software with laminar and turbulent models. We also validate the sensor, using inhalation and exhalation tests and a reference method.


The history of nursing is rarely one of triumph in the face of adversity but of struggle and compromise and often defeat.

Starting a paper on the future of nursing with such a quote may be rather melancholic, but I am troubled for the profession of which I am a devoted and committed member. We, together with the rest of our health care colleagues—in every continent, it seems—are experiencing change unprecedented in its nature and scale. The turbulence is disorientating and almost prohibits us from seeing the things that matter. My purpose here, therefore, is to refocus on those essential elements that give nursing its structure, its character, its presence, and its strength in a turbulent environment. I want to explore the issues facing us, how we are tackling them, and to finish by considering what the future holds for us.

Some will recognise the description in the box (p 1648) as coming from one of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories, Welcome to the Monkey House.2 What interested me was the caricatures he used to portray the hostesses. These were manipulative, seductive, coercive individuals, trained in the techniques of caring but programmed to carry out definite tasks. They were plausible, socially skilled, and they upheld the values of the ruling party. There were no scientists or doctors in this story; the world government was in control, whose president, by the way, was an ex-suicide hostess. The great evils—illness, aging, suffering—seemed to have been overcome, but the world was without purpose or spirit.

Perhaps this is one future scenario for nursing that we need to consider. If technology comes up with all its promises and delivers us from suffering and death what need will there be for nursing? Will we become agents of control, using our interpersonal and caring skills to …


A study on macrobenthos of Acquatina Lake, a transitional water basin, was performed in order to evaluate its present status and detect any faunistic changes after the digging of a larger connection with the open sea that has improved the hydrological conditions. A total of 5029 individuals belonging to 51 taxa were collected. Molluscs were taxonomically the richest group, but polychaetes were the most abundant due to the high abundance of Heteromastus filiformis . The sites representing two extremes of the biotope in terms of both the salinity gradient and the distance from the sea had the most variable assemblages, while the central area showed a more homogeneous faunal composition. This was due to the different distribution patterns of molluscs and polychaetes: the former seemed to be more influenced by salinity, while the latter were also influenced by oxygen saturation. The comparison between the present and historical data showed the increase of polychaete diversity, the change in the dominant taxa (from Naineris laevigata to H. filiformis ) and the disappearance of some opportunistic forms (e.g. Capitella capitata ). Changes in the salinity gradient and the improvement of trophic conditions, possibly enhanced by biotic interactions (e.g. possible competition between the two capitellids H. filiformis and Notomastus latericeus ), may have led the polychaete assemblage towards the new equilibrium.


In this work, C-doped TiO2 nanorods were synthesized through doping carbon black into hydrothermally synthesized solid-state TiO2 nanowires (NWs) via calcination. The effects of carbon content on the morphology, phase structure, crystal structure, and photocatalytic property under both UV and solar light by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) were explored. Besides, the photoelectrochemical property of C-TiO2 was systematically studied to illustrate the solar light degradation mechanism. After doping with C, TiO2 NWs were reduced into nanorods and the surface became rough with dispersed particles. Results showed that C has successfully entered the TiO2 lattice, resulting in the lattice distortion, reduction of band gap, and the formation of C–Ti–O, which expands TiO2 to solar light activation. Comparing with P25 and anatase TiO2 NWs, doping with carbon black showed much higher UV light and solar light photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity was characterized via the degradation of MB, showing that Kap was 0.0328 min–1 under solar light, while 0.1634 min–1 under UV irradiation. The main free radicals involved in methylene blue degradation are H+ and OH•–. Doping with carbon black led to the reduction of photocurrent in a long-term operation, while C-doping reduced the electron–hole recombination and enhanced the carrier migration.


There are many contexts in which investigators want to interview suspects about their intentions without alerting the suspects that they are actually being interviewed. In the present experiment, we developed and tested an "undercover interviewing" technique. Liars were instructed to run a crime-related reconnaissance mission to a nearby island and were further instructed to generate an innocent cover-up story to hide their criminal intentions. On arrival at the hovercraft terminal, an undercover agent, acting in the role of either a doctoral student or an amateur photographer, approached the liars and asked apparently innocuous questions about their forthcoming trip. Actual tourists using the hovercraft terminal served as a control group. The questions were designed in the knowledge that liars tend to avoid and escape and do not expect spatial questions and that truth tellers have detailed representations of intentions they are about to execute. In support of the hypotheses, liars were less willing to be photographed, less accurate in identifying the places they planned to visit, and less concrete and more uncertain when describing their intentions.


BACKGROUND/AIMS Idiopathic recurrent acute anterior uveitis (RAAU) is a common reason for attendance at ophthalmic casualty departments. Patients who suffer with this condition may have multiple recurrent episodes which are often debilitating and necessitate time off work. If recurrences are identified early and treatment initiated rapidly, the inflammation can be minimised and settles quickly on topical treatment with a speedy functional recovery by the patient. It has been our clinical impression that some patients with RAAU relate recurrences of inflammation to psychological factors. Therefore stress could be a trigger factor for recurrence, and at such times, patients should be alert to the early signs of uveitis and seek prompt examination by an ophthalmologist. This study tests the hypothesis that stressful life events are associated with the onset of RAAU. METHODS The number of stressful life events in patients presenting to the casualty department with RAAU in the month immediately preceding symptom onset was compared with a control group of patients with other ocular problems taken from the casualty department using the Holmes and Rahe scale and the Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory. RESULTS 35 patients with RAAU did not report a higher number of stressful life events or higher levels of anxiety compared with 29 controls in this study on both Holmes and Rahe scale and Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory. Scores for both groups were comparable with those published for normal adults of the same age and sex. CONCLUSION Stress was not shown in this study to be involved in triggering the recurrence of idiopathic acute anterior uveitis.


Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001. 312 pp. $34.95. The first and most famous proclamation of a masculinity deficit among Jewish males can be dated to Max Nordau's speech at the 1898 Zionist Congress in Basel, in which he proclaimed the need for a "muscular Jewry" that would rehabilitate the image of the timid and sickly European Jews of that era. From the medieval period on, he declared, the ghettoized Jews of Europe had been forced to practice an unnatural mortification of the flesh, and the result was an entire repertory of daily humiliations that could be remedied only by a physical rehabilitation that would reclaim Jewish personalities as well as Jewish bodies from their inferior status vis-a-vis other European males. Nordau described in painful detail the contemporary image of the Jew as physically out of control -- pathetically clumsy, tripping over his own feet, unable to stand up straight, etc. The caricatures of "Jewish soldiers as ridiculous scarecrows" that appeared in boulevard magazines, he wrote, provided amusement to Jewish and Christian antisemites alike. A full century after Nordau's call for Jewish men "with a bold look in their eyes," popular and scholarly writing on Jewish masculinity is thriving. On the popular side, there are books that celebrate culturally anomalous types like Jewish sports figures and Jewish gangsters. This genre emphasizes cultural "pride" in Jewish male performances while displaying less interest in what might be culturally anomalous about Jewish athletes and criminals in the first place. Understanding such cultural anomalies requires a familiarity with centuries of Jewish social history, so it is hardly surprising that reader-friendly treatments of Jewish he-men do not include such historical excursions. These treatments of Jewish male heroes rather conform to Nordau's view that Jewish male dignity is to be achieved by adopting the predominant Western masculine norms -- the familiar emphasis on force of character and the physical abilities that allow a man to conquer both his women and his enemies. Warren Rosenberg's book is a recent and important addition to a more scholarly literature on Jews and masculinity that dates from the publication of Paul Breines' Tough Jews: Political Fantasies and the Moral Dilemma of Modern Jewry (1990). Daniel Boyarin's Unheroic Conduct: The Rise of Heterosexuality and the Invention of the Jewish Man (1997) is another example of this subgenre. The distinguishing feature of these books is their combination of cultural history and redemptive ambition, for while the essays collected in Sander Gilman's The Jew's Body (1991) present straightforward cultural history concerning racial folklore about Jews, Breines, Boyarin, and Rosenberg apply cultural and literary history to the daunting task of persuading their fellow Jews that what Breines calls "the historically dominant (if presently eroding) ideal of Jewish gentleness" is the true foundation of a genuinely Jewish masculinity. The subgenre to which Legacy of Rage belongs is thus unabashedly confessional in useful ways. The author's formative experiences around masculinity issues serve as points of departure for the exploration of Jewish male experience in a more general sense. Rosenberg's claim that his experiences "participate in a common cultural script for Jewish men" (p. 15) can be confirmed in most of the American literary texts he examines as well as in countless other sources beyond the purview of his book that document the nature of Jewish male experience throughout the American twentieth century. The thematic center of Rosenberg's book is what he calls "the contemporary Jewish male's dilemma. We have absorbed the stereotype that we tend to be more verbal and smarter than other men," he writes, "but we frantically resist the implication that we are therefore somehow less than fully masculine, that we are 'all talk'" (p. 1). The Jewish male, in short, is caught in "the continuing tension in Judaism between passivity and action, acceptance and resistance, earthly physical force and cerebral evasion, Esau and Jacob" (p. …


Resveratrol derivatives have been reported to have important bioactivities. Synthesis of monomeric resveratrol derivatives has been a challenging topic in both organic and medicinal chemistry. A Synthesis of prenylated resveratrol was developed through prenylation between resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) and prenyl bromide (3,3-dimethyl allyl bromide) using heterogeneous superbase catalyst γ-Al2O3/NaOH/Na. The aim of this research is to obtain prenylated resveratrol compound that has important bioactivity and to identify a type of prenylation, Oor C-prenylation. Characterization of the product was carried out using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR). The antioxidant activity of the samples was determined using DPPH radical scavenging assay. The results of LC-MS analysis of the product showed the molecular ion peak at m/z 365.38 [M+H] that indicated the presence of prenylated resveratrol with two prenyl (C5H9-) substituent. The H-NMR spectrum of the product indicated that the addition of two prenyl substituent occurs at the hydroxyl group on the structure of resveratrol (O-prenylation). Prenylation caused decreasing free radical scavenging activity of the product (IC50 = 102,75 ppm) compared to resveratrol (IC50 = 63,52 ppm) and it means that the addition of prenyl substituents occurs through O-prenylation.


BACKGROUND
Screening examinations for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are performed routinely in the neonatal intensive care unit and are a recognised cause of pain in the newborn.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the effect of instillation of topical anaesthetic eye drops compared with placebo or no treatment on pain in infants undergoing ROP screening.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group. This included a search of the Cochrane Neonatal Group register and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, Issue 10, 2010). We identified relevant studies by searching the following: (1) computerised bibliographic databases: MEDLINE (1966 to October 2010), EMBASE (1988 to October 2010) and Web of Science (1975 to March 2010; (2) the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials. We searched electronically abstracts from PAS from 2000 to 2010 and handsearched abstracts from ESPR from 2000 to 2009.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All randomised, or quasi-randomised controlled trials, or randomised cross-over trials.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We used the standard methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group.

MAIN RESULTS
We identified two studies for inclusion. Both studies were randomised cross-over trials performed in single centres. Both studies used the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) score as a measure of pain response. Different methods of evaluating PIPP scores are presented including the absolute PIPP score, a PIPP score > 10 or > 12 and an increase in PIPP ≥ 4 from the baseline value. There is a nonsignificant reduction in pain scores at one minute and a nonsignificant increase at five minutes post insertion of the speculum. PIPP score > 12 at one minute resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the number of patients who experienced pain (typical risk ratio (RR) 0.56, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.89; typical risk difference (RD) -0.23, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.86; number needed to treat to benefit (NNTB) 4). When pain was defined as an increase in PIPP > 4 there was a statistically significant reduction in the absolute number of patients who experienced pain at one minute (typical RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.94; typical RD -0.19, 95% CI -0.34 to -0.04; NNTB 5.3).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The administration of topical proparacaine 30 seconds prior to the ophthalmological evaluation was associated with a reduction in pain scores especially at the time of speculum insertion. However, despite treatment, screening remains a painful procedure and the role of nonpharmacological and pharmacological intervention including different local anaesthetic agents should be ascertained in future randomised trials.


A general objective of the Harbor Development study is the investigation of the wave energy distribution in harbor areas. Treated in a general way, the energy distribution in a harbor can be considered in two parts. The first concerns the amount and distribution of energy entering the harbor through the breakwater opening. Second is the consideration of the redistribution of energy by reflection
and absorption at the harbor boundaries.

The first part, that of diffraction through breakwater openings, has been presented by this Laboratory in previous progress reports(l).

The second part, that of reflection and absorption at harbor
boundaries, is the subject of this report. These factors are important in harbor design because the resultant wave pattern in a harbor is determined by both the incident and reflected waves.

In any harbor with reflecting boundaries the resultant wave
pattern is usually complex and an exact solution by graphical or mathematical treatment would prove very difficult. However, an approximate graphical solution, developed recently by this Laboratory, appears promising.

This report presents the results of extensive measurements of wave disturbances in two idealized harbors and compares these results with those of the graphical analysis.


We consider a user who buys a number of identical capital goods systems (e.g., medical, manufacturing, or communication systems) for which she must have very high availability. In such a situation, there are typically several options that can be used to facilitate this availability. Often, the user can choose to build in cold standby redundancy for critical components. She may also typically buy spare parts with the systems so that during their exploitation phase, when a part in a system fails, the failed part can be replaced by a ready-for-use part from inventory. In addition, an emergency procedure is usually available by which a part is shipped from a distant central warehouse (at an additional cost) to be applied when there is a stock out. To these options we introduce another: The possibility of initiating an emergency shipment when stock is one. Thus, the user may choose one of three policies per component: The different combinations of the redundancy decision and the timing of applications of the emergency procedure. (In addition, she must decide how much spare parts inventory to purchase, for any policy.) Each policy provides different total uptime against different total costs incurred. We formulate the problem as the minimization of the total costs incurred for the systems over their lifetimes, under a constraint for the total uptime of all systems. These total costs consist of acquisition costs, spare parts costs, and repair costs. We optimally solve the problem by decomposing the multi-component problem into single-component problems, and then conducting exact analysis on these single-component problems, we derive results on when each of the three policies is optimal. Using these, we construct an efficient frontier which reflects the trade-off between the uptime and the total costs of the systems. In addition, we provide a method to rank the components by the relative value of investing in redundancy. We illustrate these results through numerical examples.


This fourth volume in the Discourse, Power, Resistance series takes the theme into new territory, setting educational thinking and practice firmly in its global political context. Drawing on schools of thought as diverse as Marxism and eco-feminist theology, the contributors to Part 1 (Global Imperialism and Terror: The Theory and Practice of Othering), led by Peter McLaren, examine the possibilities for critical thinking and transformative practice in the aftermath of 9/11 and the new age of cultural and political imperialism. In Part 2 (Praxis: Thinking and Doing) contributors draw on a range of critical perspectives to examine both the theory and practice of education, taking the reader from the self to the system and back again via dynamic systems theory, flow theory and a multiplicity of diverse (and often conflicting) practices of subversion. The book closes with two radical departures from the norm: a seriously playful transgression into the fields of pop art and film, and a searing poetic lament on the current state of educational policy and practice. As educators, we are all, in William Pinar's words, 'behind enemy lines', in a field which, despite our continued bids for autonomy, is increasingly hijacked by globalizing political forces. This book offers modes of resistance which are startling, unsettling and challenging. It will be of great interest to students, tutors and researchers in education, policy studies and related fields, and to those who are involved in training, or becoming, the educators of the future. The contributors are Peter McLaren, William Pinar, Mike Cole, Lisa Isherwood, Elizabeth Atkinson. Tamsin Haggis, Sue Clegg, Gill Boag-Munroe, Ros Ollin, and Victoria Perselli.


Background: The search for alternative and effective forms of training simulation is needed due to ethical and medico-legal aspects involved in training surgical skills on living patients, human cadavers and living animals. Aims: To evaluate if the bench model fidelity interferes in the acquisition of elliptical excision skills by novice medical students. Materials and Methods: Forty novice medical students were randomly assigned to 5 practice conditions with instructor-directed elliptical excision skills' training (n = 8): didactic materials (control); organic bench model (low-fidelity); ethylene-vinyl acetate bench model (low-fidelity); chicken legs' skin bench model (high-fidelity); or pig foot skin bench model (high-fidelity). Pre- and post-tests were applied. Global rating scale, effect size, and self-perceived confidence based on Likert scale were used to evaluate all elliptical excision performances. Results: The analysis showed that after training, the students practicing on bench models had better performance based on Global rating scale (all P < 0.0000) and felt more confident to perform elliptical excision skills (all P < 0.0000) when compared to the control. There was no significant difference (all P > 0.05) between the groups that trained on bench models. The magnitude of the effect (basic cutaneous surgery skills' training) was considered large (>0.80) in all measurements. Conclusion: The acquisition of elliptical excision skills after instructor-directed training on low-fidelity bench models was similar to the training on high-fidelity bench models; and there was a more substantial increase in elliptical excision performances of students that trained on all simulators compared to the learning on didactic materials.


Wild yam tuber considered as famine food and played a prime role in the food habit of tribal people of Koraput district of Odisha, India. The tribal people employed a range of processing of these yams such as boiled, soaked and sun dried for detoxification of antinutrients in accordance with their needs. There is a scarcity of documented information on their nutrient composition/retention by traditional processing methods. The current study assessed the traditional processing (boiled, soaked and sun dried) associated changes in chemical composition and physico-functional characteristics of 6 wild and 1 cultivated Dioscorea tubers collected from Koraput, India. Different processing led to a significant reduction of proximate compositions and nutrient content compared to the raw tuber, whereas physico-functional parameters increased significantly (p<0.05). In addition, there was significant decrease in the antinutrients, minerals and vitamin content by different processing in studied yam species. Results suggested that wild Dioscorea tubers as safe food sources for mass consumption and should be used in boiling form, as it retains higher nutrients coupled with significant removal of antinutritional compositions.


Energy security is conditioned by numerous factors, among which solutions and patterns of energy storage play important role. Electrical energy storage (EES) is the process by which energy is stored from the power network to a form which can be used later when converted back to electrical energy. There are various ways by which electrical energy can be stored for future purposes. Nowadays, the electrical energy is mainly stored in pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES) that comprises about 99% of EES worldwide and the battery energy storage (BES) that uses chemical energy with both methods yielding characteristic advantages and disadvantages. Electrical energy is mainly stored when there is low demand and when there is high generation of power at low costs. The energy is then used when there is high demand of power and the generation cost is high or when there are no other means of generating electrical energy. Electrical energy storage has many uses such as in the electrical devices, motor vehicles and stationery energy resources and is gaining special attention with the widespread usage of renewable energy sources (RES). In this paper, we are focusing on the sustainable development of the electrical energy storage. We are drawing a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of pumped hydroelectric storage and batteries that use chemical energy and assess their implementation based on various scenarios of the future development. We conclude that although HPS is still the more economical option, new advances in BES might alter the energy market and change the rules of the game by fostering the sustainable development through the more effective storage and transportation of electric energy.